At this point, even the biggest fool could see that these two had co looking to stir up trouble.
Why don’t you just go pick a fight with Ms. Wen? Did anyone ask my opinion?! Damn it, I’m a pacifist at work, fighting is not on my nu!
Most importantly, with this kind of nonsense, whether you won or lost, there was no benefit.
Ji Jue wasn’t afraid of losing; he was more afraid of what would happen if he won.
This brat had that “smile with a dagger hidden behind it” look. His mind might even be sharper than his teacher’s, and if Ji Jue won, who knew how long he’d nurse a grudge... or, more likely, he’d never have the chance to do that before he passed to the netherworld.
Since Ji Jue was ten, he had never held back in a fight. As a kid, it was one against many; later, with Lu Feng, it beca two against many. If he had ten units of force, he’d throw out twelve! He’d launch high kicks to the groin, stomp on his attackers’ feet, and twist their fingers without hesitation. If you told him it was a battle of life or death, he would never back off. But if you tried to hold back, he’d start to get afraid.
Sorry, what do you an “hold back”? That’s not in my dictionary!
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ji Jue forced a smile and waved his hand. “No, no, let’s stop this. Fighting and killing just ruins the mood. After all, swords and knives[1] have no eyes. Causing trouble isn’t good for anyone.”
“Heh, that arrogant look of yours reminds a little of Master Ye. You’re truly the top apprentice of the house.” Kong Qingyan laughed, her sarcasm almost sounding like praise. “Don’t worry, we’re not sore losers. Rather than worrying that Lou Feng will cheat, you’d better worry about yourself!”
Ji Jue didn’t say another word, instead he sighed and looked at Professor Ye.
Ye Xian remained calm, as if she could read Ji Jue’s mind. She simply waved a hand. “If you want to fight, fight. There are two masters here. You don’t need to be afraid that one of you will die. If soone dies, it just ans their skills weren’t up to par. Don’t bla your opponent.”
Ji Jue’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Well, if you say so...
He pressed his hand against the gun at his back and flashed a polite smile. “You’re making shy.”
***
Two minutes later, the empty courtyard of the factory was still spotless.
Above, the sky was a clear, endless blue, and the sun shone fiercely. A few birds chirped as they flew past, and everything felt crisp and fresh. In the distance, the faint rumble of engines, like tractors, echoed along the roads. Further off, the tide rolled in, the waves crashing into the shore.
It was the perfect weather for a fight.
“According to the standard duel rules for Chosen Ones, there will be no restrictions on process, weapons, or style. The first to admit defeat, or the first to lose the ability to continue, loses.” Ye Xian stood in the shade under the eaves with her hands behind her back as she announced, “You may begin.”
Ji Jue and Lou Feng faced each other, ten ters apart.
Unlike Ji Jue, who had his gun openly displayed, Lou Feng’s hands were empty and tucked in his pockets. His tailored outfit glead faintly in the sunlight, his hair and shoes reflecting a waxy shine. He looked utterly luxurious.
By comparison, Ji Jue looked pitiful. With worn-out sneakers over six months old, work pants, and a T-shirt, his entire outfit combined was probably not worth a single button on Lou Feng’s outfit. It was plain poverty on display.
Not to ntion that the rings on Lou Feng’s fingers, the bracelets on his wrists, the necklace, and even the gold-rimd glasses were all glowing faintly with spirit matter. He was fully equipped.
Lou Feng lifted a hand to adjust his glasses, his smile calm and graceful. “Mr. Ji, let’s do our best.”
“Of course, of course...”
Before Ji Jue could finish speaking, his pupils constricted.
Bang!
The emblem of the White Deer flickered across his thighs for a mont, and his body shifted several ters to the left without any warning. The rubber soles of his sneakers scraped against the ground, letting out a sharp, grating sound.
The sudden dodge almost made him lose his balance. And right where he had been, a wailing scream echoed, followed by a flash of white light and a slicing wind, sharp as a blade.
What was that? An ambush?!
By the ti he reacted, Ji Jue’s last shred of playful tolerance vanished completely.
What the hell is up with this guy? He’s so sneaky!
If it weren’t for the intelligence tip Ye Chun had sent to his phone earlier, plus yesterday’s brutal training with Mr. Zhang, he probably would have gone down right there.
The Lou family of Tide City had a unique heritage. For generations, their Chosen Ones, aside from a few who awaken naturally, all went through the sa divine craftsman ceremony for Resonance. That ant the abilities they awakened were fixed, just varying in strength.
Lou Feng unleashed Spirit Morph. As the na suggested, this ability allowed one to mold their own spirit matter into any form, freely shifting between liquid, solid, and gas states. With such an endlessly versatile ability, Lou family Chosen Ones usually specialized in the Ascension Path to further explore its potential, or the Entropy Path to enhance its power and destructive force.
But applied to the Ember Path, it had a special use: Lou Feng could perform alchemical operations directly on his spirit matter, achieving material transformations and far greater control.
anwhile, the matrix inherited by Kong Qingyan, called “Exquisite Work,” maximized a craftsman’s alchemical speed. Together, the two complented each other perfectly.
In other words, Lou Feng was carrying countless invisible weapons on him at all tis!
Damn it, a forr-class-changer is bullying a complete rookie like ... Have so sha!
At the sa ti, on the other side, seeing his carefully planned strike fail, Lou Feng froze. But it wasn’t just the attack missing that stunned him, it was the way Ji Jue responded.
His expression shifted from alert, to suspicious, to finally enlightened, and he said calmly, “Sorry, looks like I misunderstood.”
What the hell did you misunderstand, you bastard?
Without thinking, Ji Jue raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
A shattering sound rang out. Right in front of Lou Feng, his spirit matter flowed and quickly ford a massive shield. It wasn’t just a single layer. Apparently specially trained, the inner part was divided into multiple layers of liquid spirit matter, letting bullets spin slowly through it before dissipating harmlessly.
So blocking bullets was a basic Lou family technique.
A whistle tore past Ji Jue’s ear. A flash of spirit matter appeared, like an iron hamr with sharp, ruthless edges driving toward his forehead. Yet it missed by a hair, smashing into the ground and cracking it.
Ji Jue had already dodged effortlessly. Not to brag, but an attack of this level was nowhere near Mr. Zhang’s skills! If it weren’t for yesterday’s spirit matter attack-and-defense training, he would have had to unleash the Lazy Donkey Roll[2]...
Thanks, Mr. Zhang. Once I’ve got money, I’m getting that gold mbership at your massage parlor!
Kong Qingyan, observing from afar with hands behind his back, glanced at Professor Ye. “The material transformation and Supre Benevolence reinforcent are handled pretty well. I can see he’s practiced a lot. But you didn’t teach him Dissociation Technique?”
Ye Xian stayed silent and ignored Kong Qingyan’s mocking remarks, as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
She almost felt like sneering. So they’d co prepared, showing up specifically to guard against this trick, huh?
As for material transmutation and Supre Benevolence reinforcent, it was nonsensical to think that Ji Jue would have mastered them already. He had only started studying a few days before. For this kind of applied course, she simply hadn’t had ti to teach him anything else aside from the basic groundwork.
Her fingers, hidden behind her back, twitched slightly. The day before yesterday, he couldn’t do any of this. And now he could cast at will, without even a wind-up? Which ant that this absurd level of proficiency was sothing he’d picked up just yesterday, over at the Security Bureau?
Yet even now, even using material transmutation and Supre Benevolence reinforcent, Ji Jue was still being completely suppressed. He was unable to deal a counterattack, looking more like he was being toyed with.
His irritation flared.
If I had a shotgun loaded with slugs[3], would I still be stuck in this sorry state? Fine. In that case, I won’t bother pretending to be so upright gentleman anymore...
Seizing an opening, he emptied an entire magazine at Lou Feng in an instant. Then Ji Jue suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, “Mr. Lou, watch your back!”
For a brief mont, even Lou Feng was taken aback. No, more than that, he was shocked that his opponent would actually pull such a kindergarten-level trick!
And even more so, why would he think I’d fall for it? You’ve got to be kidding ! Do I look like the kind of idiot who’d turn around just because you say—
BEEEEEP!!!!
A thunderous roar, as if from fate itself, ended his sentence for him right then and there.
A huge, ferocious shadow dropped from above, casting itself over Lou Feng’s startled face just as he turned his head, turning the scene into sothing both miserable and absurd.
The next mont, the brand-new wheel Ji Jue had just replaced the day before ca crashing down onto Lou Feng’s face with a deafening impact. As the tire spun, the little scooter let out a roaring cry.
Crack!
Lou Feng’s spirit matter defense shattered on the spot. Imdiately after, a muddy, dust-sared tire mark was stamped firmly across his face.
Lou Feng was knocked flat onto his back by the impact. The necklace at his throat lit up, erupting with a terrifying repulsive force that instantly blasted the scooter away.
Midair, the little scooter perford a nimble flip. Both of its wheels hit the ground, and like a hunting dog, it returned to Ji Jue’s side, basking in its master’s pats and praise.
Ji Jue let out a mocking sigh. I was joking with you, and you still had the nerve to give that attitude?
“As everyone knows, my ability is tool manipulation. So carrying a small scooter around with is perfectly normal, right?” Ji Jue explained calmly as Lou Feng glared at him.
Lou Feng’s expression darkened. Standing under layers of hardened spirit matter, he slowly wiped the mud and dust from his face. When he looked at the little scooter wriggling at Ji Jue’s side, his vigilance only grew sharper. But his attacks remained utterly rciless!
You think grabbing so half-finished product from your teacher is enough to bluff ? Dream on!
Even Kong Qingyan fell silent. She wasn’t foolish enough to think, like Lou Feng, that Ji Jue was bluffing with Ye Xian’s tools. Any competent craftsman could see how crude and chaotic the scooter really was. Three of the four core elents had been negated, after all.
Give a break. Sothing this ssy and nonsensical? Even soone as proud as Ye Xian would rather hang herself than make this kind of garbage! Then who made it? That brat Ji Jue?!
Her narrow eyes flicked toward him. She could sense the spirit resonance between him and the scooter, as well as the little machine’s agile responses, and she could hardly suppress the envy and resentnt in her gaze.
He’s only been an apprentice for half a year, maybe a year at most! And he’s already completed a creation of this caliber?! Do I have to let that damned Ye Xian woman be better than at everything?!
“Stop dawdling, Feng,” Kong Qingyan barked. “I didn’t teach you to be this weak!”
Lou Feng remained silent. Only his expression shifted abruptly, and he turned as pale as paper. The fluctuations in his spirit matter surged. With the flow of runes and spirit circuits, and bolstered by Exquisite Work, the specialized application of the Supre Benevolence reinforcent emblem manifested. In fact, in terms of complexity, it even surpassed Ji Jue’s.
It was Origin!
Lou Feng reached out and clenched his fist. Ji Jue felt his balance tilt, and he staggered, nearly losing his footing. He could feel an imnse force pulling from Lou Feng’s position, tugging at him.
This was the effect developed from Origin, Gravity!
1. 刀剑无眼 (dāo jiàn wú yǎn) is a Chinese proverb. It ans that sharp weapons like knives and swords have no eyes, so in violent conflicts or high-risk situations they can easily cause accidental injury or unintended death. It is often used to warn others or to express concern about uncontrollable risks, emphasizing that the consequences of using force are unpredictable. ☜
2. The "Lazy Donkey Roll" (懒驴打滚 - lǎn lǘ dǎ gǔn) is a martial arts move featured in Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传). The phrase translates literally, capturing the imagery of a move where a combatant rolls on the ground, often used defensively or as a quick escape maneuver. ☜
3. A shotgun slug is a heavy projectile made of lead, copper, or other material and fired from a shotgun. Slugs are designed for hunting large ga, and other uses, particularly in areas near human population where their short range and slow speed helps increase safety margin. ☜
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