Volume Two: Travels in the Qi Kingdom Chapter 113: Adjournment

“You’re toying with me.” Wang Fugui’s anger flared. His spatial ring flashed, and a long sword materialized out of thin air. Gripping the sword tightly, his gaze turned cold as he swung a horizontal slash toward Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng effortlessly dodged with a swift sidestep.

As he retreated, Zhang Heng pondered silently: Why couldn’t the Spirit Gathering Finger technique be unleashed? Just moments ago, he had intended to use it to swiftly end the fight, but when he tried, there was no response at all.

Forget it. He’d practice a few more times.

All the cultivators watching saw Zhang Heng, each time evading Wang Fugui’s attacks, flash behind him and press two fingers against his back.

A genius among the spectators realized—this kid was using Wang Fugui as a training dummy.

So arrogant! Who fights while practicing at the same time?

Just as the lower-level cultivators were bewildered, a sharp scream erupted from Wang Fugui’s mouth. Earlier, he had been casually attacking Zhang Heng, but suddenly felt an immense explosion of spiritual energy at his back. In an instant, his protective aura was shattered, and his very foundation was harmed.

The Spirit Gathering Finger had finally succeeded.

“You’re no match for me. Get lost,” Zhang Heng said coolly, striking a pose in the arena.

He was very satisfied with the damage caused by the Spirit Gathering Finger. Using the spiritual energy of a seventh-rank Clear Spirit Realm cultivator to injure a Nascent Core Realm expert was no small feat.

Wang Fugui was defeated and had no choice but to leave the arena with hatred burning in his eyes. He looked deeply unwilling, convinced that if it had been a direct confrontation, he would have crushed Zhang Heng.

But there were no ifs. Losing is losing.

Those watching near the arena secretly appraised Zhang Heng. A low-level Clear Spirit Realm cultivator who could defeat a Nascent Core Realm expert—if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it.

Yet, although Zhang Heng’s combat power had reached Nascent Core Realm levels, it still wasn’t enough for Qi Xuan and Mu Wanqing to regard him with genuine respect. There had to be another reason.

They decided to wait and see what other cards Zhang Heng had up his sleeve.

Seeing no one else stepping forward, Zhang Heng gathered his spiritual energy and shouted loudly in the arena, “I know many of you don’t like me and want to teach me a lesson. Come one by one.”

“Are you all too scared to come?”

He needed to practice the Spirit Gathering Finger technique more, so he deliberately provoked them.

Sure enough, no sooner had the words fallen than another challenger could no longer resist and flew into the arena.

This time, the newcomer was a third-rank Body Refinement genius.

Like before, he immediately unleashed his ultimate move. Zhang Heng used the Small Aurora Phantom footwork to dodge.

With experience on his side, Zhang Heng decided not to mess around. Appearing behind the opponent, he struck with the Spirit Gathering Finger directly at his back.

But this time, the Spirit Gathering Finger only inflicted light injury. The man was still able to fight, quickly gathering his spiritual energy and charging at Zhang Heng again. Zhang Heng used his usual tactic, dodging behind him and stabbing again.

After numerous strikes, the opponent finally admitted defeat and retreated quietly.

From this battle, Zhang Heng realized his combined technique of Spirit Gathering Finger and Small Aurora Phantom was effective up to about the third rank of Nascent Core Realm.

Of course, this was just the current limit.

Having practiced enough, Zhang Heng decided to yield the arena to others after the man withdrew.

Just as Zhang Heng was about to leave, another genius appeared in the arena—Liu Hai, the third son of the great general. He already possessed fifth-rank Nascent Core Realm strength, ranking among the top talents.

He was the one who proposed this “martial friendship” gathering and had long wanted to teach Zhang Heng a lesson. But since Liu Hai was somewhat powerful himself, he feared acting too soon would draw ridicule as bullying the weak. Now that Zhang Heng had defeated a third-rank Nascent Core cultivator, it was only natural for Liu Hai to step forward.

“Hey, don’t leave yet. Stay and play with me a bit more,” Liu Hai sneered when he saw Zhang Heng preparing to depart.

“Who are you?” Zhang Heng replied lazily, uninterested.

“I am Liu Hai, from the general’s household,” he answered politely.

“I’m tired. Find someone else to spar with,” Zhang Heng said, not out of fear but because he already knew his limits. Continuing was pointless.

He felt uneasy fighting below while others watched from above.

“You’re scared, aren’t you? It’s fine, just consider it sparring. I won’t seriously hurt you,” Liu Hai persisted, lost in his own delusions. To him, Zhang Heng was simply afraid.

Zhang Heng smiled and walked toward Liu Hai. “You really want to fight, huh?”

“Please, teach me,” Liu Hai bowed respectfully.

Suddenly, Zhang Heng’s figure flickered, and he leapt off the arena. In an instant, he was back at his seat.

This stunned all the cultivators.

They had learned something new from Zhang Heng—how to gracefully back down when losing, making it seem natural and inevitable.

Only Liu Hai remained alone in the arena, awkwardly standing there. To maintain face, he didn’t dare insult Zhang Heng outright.

Ignoring everyone’s reactions, Zhang Heng said to Mu Wanqing, “Miss Mu, I’m a bit tired. Since he wants to practice, why don’t you go have a little fun?”

Jealous? Envious? There’s nothing you can do about me.

Mu Wanqing said nothing, only nodding. Then, to everyone’s shock, she leapt gracefully into the center of the arena.

The other spectators were dumbfounded. After so many strange events today, they couldn’t process what was happening.

Why was their cold goddess Mu Wanqing so obedient to Zhang Heng?

At that moment, Liu Hai was the most bewildered. He knew himself well—his modest cultivation was enough to scare off low-ranking cultivators but not enough to challenge a talent like Mu Wanqing. He definitely wouldn’t last a move against her.

He could only smile and respectfully say, “Fairy Mu, how could I dare to fight you?” Then, without hesitation, he returned to his seat, face flushed with embarrassment.

Now the scene was awkward. With Mu Wanqing standing in the arena, no one else dared to step forward.

Only top geniuses like Qi Xuan and Wu Ba could match her, but they wouldn’t take action.

First, because of the pride of geniuses; second, to conserve strength; and third, because they might not be able to defeat Mu Wanqing.

Seeing the silence dragging on, Zhang Heng spoke again, “Miss Mu, you should come back. Just standing there is enough to paralyze them. How could they dare fight you?”

Without a word, Mu Wanqing flew back to Zhang Heng’s side. Though her graceful figure stirred wild imaginations among the crowd, most were still baffled—why was the icy beauty Mu Wanqing so obedient to Zhang Heng?

Even Zhang Heng himself did not know why.

As the organizer of this gathering, Qi Xuan stepped forward once more to break the tension. “Talents, if anyone still wishes to compete, the stage is open.”

For the lower-level cultivators, this was a chance. They could try their best to impress, hoping to earn a spot as a loyal follower among the true geniuses.

So what followed was that the real geniuses sat on the sidelines watching, while some lower-level cultivators gave their all in the arena.

Zhang Heng paid no mind to this. Sitting peacefully, he closed his eyes and meditated to restore his spiritual energy.