Chapter 380: I Really Want to Be Ravaged by Young Master Ning Zhuo Again
But this could not allow Hua Guzi to keep eating!
Ning Zhuo controlled the mechanical fists and feet, all of them burst forth violently, launching another wave of powerful offense.
Hua Guzi’s divine sea surged chaotically, making it difficult to cast her wood element techniques for a counterattack. She used all her strength to cast a Fragrant Flower Disorienting Art.
The mechanical fists and feet missed their target, but quickly caught up to Hua Guzi again.
Hua Guzi screamed, “This lady knows a bit of martial arts too!”
She really only knew a little.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ah! Ah! Ah!
The spectators saw twenty mechanical fists and feet surrounding a young girl, pummeling her nonstop.
The punches and kicks were like a violent storm, beating Hua Guzi into a continuous string of miserable screams.
Eventually, Ning Zhuo took the initiative to stop.
Hua Guzi had been beaten black and blue, her whole head swollen like a pig’s, barely recognizable.
Her eyes had swollen into slits. She stretched out her bruised fingers and shakily pointed at Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and used the mechanical fists and feet to carefully pick her up and carry her out of the Martial Arena.
The attending cultivators immediately announced in loud voices that the victor was Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo, smiling, cupped his hands to the surrounding spectators in thanks. Then he approached Hua Guzi and publicly cast a healing spell on her.
After a dozen breaths, Hua Guzi’s appearance was restored, but her limbs were icy cold, trembling violently from the chill.
Ning Zhuo then took out a cup of Warm Autumn Wine and handed it to Hua Guzi.
Hua Guzi’s pupils contracted. She realized this was actually Golden Core-grade medicinal wine. But she forced herself to remain composed, her teeth chattering: “N-no, I don’t want it. This lady…”
Ning Zhuo raised an eyebrow.
With a cold snort, he stepped forward, grabbed Hua Guzi’s tender cheeks, and squeezed lightly, forcing her to open her cherry lips.
Then, he rudely and forcefully poured the Warm Autumn Wine straight into her mouth.
Hua Guzi’s body and mind trembled violently, completely unprepared for Ning Zhuo’s assertive gesture.
Instinctively, her throat moved, and she swallowed the Warm Autumn Wine.
“Circulate your energy. Digest it.” A moment later, Ning Zhuo’s indifferent command rang out.
Hua Guzi trembled again. Suddenly, something jolted her, and for reasons she didn’t understand, she actually complied with Ning Zhuo’s words, sat cross-legged on the spot, and began circulating her energy to heal.
Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but be surprised.
He had not planted the Divine Ability—Life Hanging by a Thread on Hua Guzi. Normally, in public, he wouldn’t do that. To prevent anyone from noticing it.
Without the connection of Life Hanging by a Thread, Ning Zhuo also couldn’t use the Treasure—Buddha Heart Demon Seal to sense Hua Guzi’s inner emotions.
He hadn’t expected Hua Guzi to be so obedient, so cooperative!
“This female cultivator was just stubbornly refusing to admit defeat. Now she can bend and yield. That’s strange.” Ning Zhuo frowned inwardly.
After all, he was only sixteen. Even though he had spent fourteen years observing people’s hearts, he had never encountered someone like Hua Guzi before.
Victory!
This battle between Ning Zhuo and Hua Guzi was an overwhelming triumph.
Through this match, he had intimidated the cultivators on Lesser Strife Peak. Even the likes of Lai Wuying and Zheng Xingchen acknowledged Ning Zhuo’s strength.
In this battle, Ning Zhuo confirmed the combat level of his wood element power and tested the effectiveness of the mechanical fists and feet in real combat.
Lastly, he had personally healed Hua Guzi, even using Golden Core-grade medicinal wine, and gained a wave of good reputation.
Even if some secretly mocked him for being pretentious, using Golden Core-grade resources was undeniably generous. It was hard to criticize.
For a time, all discussions on Lesser Strife Peak centered around Ning Zhuo.
“Didn’t expect Young Master Ning Zhuo’s mechanical arts to be even stronger than Five Elements techniques.”
“Truly a peerless genius.”
“At first glance, he seemed ordinary, but he’s clearly deeply talented.”
“If I were Ning Zhuo, I would’ve used the mechanical arts in the first battle to crush everyone. But he kept it hidden. That’s not very straightforward.”
“What do you mean ‘not straightforward’? That’s called being low-key, called humility. That’s the demeanor of a disciple from a cultivation family. That’s bearing.”
His solid battle record spoke for itself. A large number of cultivators began to praise Ning Zhuo.
“Hmph, these clan disciples obviously can rely on their families, yet they come to Myriad Medicines Sect to compete with us rogue cultivators.”
“That’s not quite fair—at least not when talking about Young Master Ning Zhuo. Haven’t you heard? This is just one stop on his journey. When the time is right, he’ll leave.”
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong were both masters at spreading rumors.
Especially Ning Zhuo, who, confident in himself, had already spread the rumors in advance with Sun Lingtong’s help.
Now, these rumors were having a positive and effective impact for him.
When people realized: Ning Zhuo was just a dragon crossing the river, not a local snake, the resentment toward him eased greatly.
“So when is he leaving?”
“That, no one knows.”
“I actually think he’s quite well-suited for Lesser Strife Peak.”
“He’s really good-looking. Watching him fight is a real treat!”
“He’s so gentle and refined. After defeating Hua Guzi, he even fed her Golden Core-grade medicinal wine. Who else would do that?”
People also came to understand why Ning Zhuo had recovered so quickly after his fight with Han Zhou.
The next day, Martial Arena.
Han Zhou once again fell back under the siege of more than twenty mechanical fists and feet, finally calling to stop the match himself.
But Ning Zhuo didn’t feel the same satisfaction as before.
He realized that this kind of training now gave him much less inspiration—barely even thirty percent of what it had.
He thought silently, “Mainly because the previous fight with Hua Guzi was true combat. I understood many of my strengths and flaws in that match.”
“Continuing this kind of sparring with Han Zhou, where neither of us can go all out, just doesn’t stimulate me.”
Ning Zhuo increasingly felt that Lesser Strife Peak was his blessed land.
Here, he could engage in real combat and greatly patch up his shortcomings. In many aspects, he had made substantial progress.
“Though the gains from Han Zhou still exist, they’re too little now.”
“Perhaps it’s time to find someone new to spar with.”
“But I should maintain a good relationship with Han Zhou and get more Bitter Water to drink.”
Ning Zhuo pondered.
As this spar ended, he and Han Zhou walked side by side out of the Martial Arena.
Han Zhou said, “Daoist Friend Ning Zhuo, why did you bother healing Hua Guzi after the match? In my opinion, using up Golden Core-grade medicinal wine like that was completely unworthy.”
Han Zhou was clearly disgruntled.
Because earlier, when Ning Zhuo asked him to infuse the mechanical fists and feet with Bitter Cold Qi, he had agreed enthusiastically.
On the one hand, he had long looked forward to others suffering under the mechanical fists and feet. On the other, he hoped to use Ning Zhuo’s hands to spread the Bitter Cold Qi and increase the chances of converting others.
But in the end, Ning Zhuo healed her after the battle and dispelled the Bitter Cold Qi.
Ning Zhuo smiled faintly and explained to Han Zhou that he didn’t want to come off too overbearing or bully a weak girl. He had no intention of truly making Hua Guzi his enemy. All of it had been just sparring.
He offered a cup of Warm Autumn Wine simply to form a positive connection with Hua Guzi. He didn’t want to make things tense between himself and those around him. After all, having one more friend while out in the world was always better than one more enemy.
Han Zhou couldn’t help but sigh, “Young Master Ning Zhuo truly has the bearing of a great family. But perhaps you don’t know—Hua Guzi has always been arrogant and temperamental, vengeful and strange. She’s of half-human, half-demon blood, naturally bearing a demonic nature!”
“If you treat her like that, she won’t appreciate it. On the contrary, she’ll hate you even more and take revenge later!”
Ning Zhuo was slightly taken aback and showed a puzzled expression.
Just as he was about to ask more, a “lantern” flew toward him from a distance.
Looking closely, it was Hua Guzi, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe, floating straight toward them.
Hua Guzi charged straight up to Ning Zhuo, her eyes locked firmly on him.
Han Zhou and Ning Zhuo instantly became alert!
“Young Master Ning Zhuo, please accept this!!!” Hua Guzi suddenly stopped in front of Ning Zhuo, bowed deeply, and offered a plate of dumplings with both hands.
Ning Zhuo and Han Zhou: ?!
The two of them were completely dumbfounded, not knowing what kind of trick Hua Guzi was playing.
Ning Zhuo grew wary, his spiritual sense enveloping the dumplings and Hua Guzi. His first thought—could these dumplings be poisoned?
But the next moment, he dismissed that idea.
Because even if they were poisoned, it wouldn’t be so blatant.
So, what was Hua Guzi up to?
Ning Zhuo guessed that Hua Guzi had some difficulty and wanted to ask for help.
He immediately said, “Daoist Friend Hua, let’s talk elsewhere.”
Unexpectedly, Hua Guzi remained in her bowing posture, face toward the ground, completely unmoving: “Please, Young Master Ning Zhuo, accept my sincerity!”
Ning Zhuo: ??
He extended his spiritual sense and scanned the surroundings, finding that there were few people nearby. He immediately used his trump cards.
Divine Ability—Life Hanging by a Thread.
Treasure—Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
In the next moment, he sensed a torrent of emotions from Hua Guzi.
Hua Guzi didn’t dare look directly at Ning Zhuo. Her face, nearly parallel to the ground, was flushed bright red!
She was screaming in her heart.
“Ahhhh!”
“Why, why!”
“This lady actually did this!!”
“Hua Guzi, what are you doing?!”
“You shameless thing, how could you treat a man like this, degrading yourself so much?!”
“But, but…”
“It… it felt so good.”
“Being this close to him, it’s like the air is filled with his scent. So pleasant!”
“Young Master Ning Zhuo, truly a flower-like man.”
“I really want to be beaten by him again, surrounded by his mechanical fists and feet, then have my mouth pinched open and warm medicine wine poured in…”
Ning Zhuo: ?!!
Though he couldn’t fully perceive Hua Guzi’s clear thoughts, he could sense her turbulent, twisted emotions.
Ning Zhuo instinctively took a small step back.
Looking down at Hua Guzi’s petite back, he felt a chill in his heart: “What is with this woman?!”
For a moment, Ning Zhuo couldn’t figure out Hua Guzi’s intentions.
To be cautious, he directly refused: “There’s no need for this, Daoist Friend Hua. We only sparred. You owe me nothing. That Warm Autumn Wine—I offered it willingly, never expecting repayment.”