At a glance, it seemed Yang Qianqian was evenly matched with Zou Feng. A closer look, however, revealed Zou Feng’s calm expression, while beads of cold sweat were faintly forming on Yang Qianqian’s brow.
The more she fought, the more shocked and bewildered she became.
’Why can an Evil Skill be so... strong and beautiful!?’
Yang Qianqian was no exception; she was a woman who loved flowers.
Therefore, she had to admit that each of Zou Feng’s palm strikes was like a Lotus blooming—utterly beautiful!
In fact, these endlessly blooming "Lotuses" nearly put her in a trance, making her feel as if she wanted to lose herself in them...
This was clearly the might of "Divine Charm," something that only appeared when a Cultivation Skill was practiced to an extremely high Realm.
’Could it be? Has Zou Feng cultivated his Skill to the level of "Refined Skill"!?’
Having received the most orthodox Martial Dao education from a young age, Yang Qianqian was extremely rich in theoretical knowledge and had considerable experience.
Thus, when this speculation appeared in her mind, she immediately began to regret rashly entering the carriage to spar with Zou Feng.
Yang Qianqian had cultivated Three Skills to the Realm of Integration and Mastery. Furthermore, these were all high-quality Righteous Skills, so it was no exaggeration to call her one of the best among Eighth Grade Martial Artists.
She was well aware of this, which was why she had taken the initiative to challenge him, even knowing his public combat record.
In truth, although Yang Qianqian disapproved of Zou Feng, it wasn’t as if she truly hated him.
She had come to fight simply because she was eager to prove her own "Dao" was the correct path, thereby strengthening her convictions.
But just as Yang Qianqian was beginning to have regrets, Zou Feng suddenly spoke. "Miss Qianqian, did you forget to eat?"
"Since we’re sparring, could you please put some effort into it?"
With that, Zou Feng let out a yawn.
His expression was clearly filled with... disappointment!
He had thought that Yang Qianqian, hailed as a genius and a practitioner of a High Grade Skill, would be more formidable.
He had hoped to take this opportunity to gain some experience fighting against a Righteous Dao Martial Artist.
’But in the end... this is it?’
In this, Zou Feng was actually misjudging Yang Qianqian.
The woman wasn’t a weakling; the problem was that Zou Feng sparred daily with Bian Yixia, a Seventh Grade Expert, which had raised his standards considerably.
As a result, he subconsciously felt that Yang Qianqian was underwhelming.
Although Yang Qianqian continued to attack, her expression clearly froze for a moment.
More than Zou Feng’s mocking words, what she truly found unacceptable was the obvious disappointment in his eyes...
’What right does he have to be disappointed in me!?’
A wicked flame of anger shot straight to her Skull, and Yang Qianqian snapped.
"AHHHH—"
Her earlier regret vanished without a trace. Yang Qianqian’s Inner Qi erupted along with her fury. With a palm strike from one hand and a punch from the other, she unleashed the most frenzied barrage of attacks she had ever managed.
Her "Inch Kill" went into overdrive, instantly causing the entire carriage to shake violently.
Viewed from the outside, it was a rather dramatic "carriage-rocking" scene.
Seeing this, Zou Feng finally perked up, his Shaking Flower Hand moving in a flurry.
Unfortunately, Yang Qianqian definitely couldn’t sustain such a high-intensity burst for long.
And so, as the fight wore on, no matter how unwilling she was, she could only gasp for breath and slow the rhythm of her attacks.
Zou Feng was instantly dissatisfied again. "Is that all you’ve got?"
Yang Qianqian’s face flushed bright red. "You... I..."
Zou Feng waved his hand impatiently. "Get out. You can’t give this Hall Master a satisfying fight!"
"I... I didn’t come here for your satisfaction—" Amid a hysterical scream, Yang Qianqian went berserk and threw herself at Zou Feng.
It wasn’t that she had suddenly lost her mind and was about to offer herself to him.
Rather, "Inch Kill" had an ultimate move that used the entire body as a weapon for Emitting Force, not just the fists and feet.
Only someone who had advanced to the Eighth Grade and possessed exceptionally dense Inner Qi could possibly execute such a technique.
Once she successfully unleashed it, Yang Qianqian could use any part of her body to Emit Force—even channeling lightning itself.
Seeing that Yang Qianqian had gone completely mad, Zou Feng helplessly shook his head.
’If she doesn’t know when to back down, she can’t blame me for what comes next...’
In an instant, Zou Feng’s hands flew through a Sealing Technique, and his expression changed in a flash, as if he had put on a different face.
One moment, he was relaxed and carefree; the next, he looked heartbroken and despondent, as if he had recalled something incredibly tragic.
Overwhelmed with grief, Zou Feng sent out a palm strike that seemed slow but was deceptively fast.
There was no howling wind, no surge of Inner Qi. The palm strike landed on Yang Qianqian’s shoulder as if it had no force behind it at all.
The moment the palm hit, Yang Qianqian froze in place.
The crazed look in her eyes, born from her anger, rapidly faded.
She didn’t feel much pain from the strike; it was as if Zou Feng had simply given her a gentle push.
But she suddenly felt that everything had become meaningless.
Sparring with Zou Feng, proving she was on the right path, joining the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, climbing toward the peak she had dreamed of since childhood...
All of it now felt pointless, utterly boring.
In short, all Yang Qianqian wanted to do right now was return to the Yang Mansion, pull the covers over her head, and sleep.
Just by looking at Yang Qianqian’s expression, Zou Feng knew his assessment of the Great Compassion Hand was correct.
It really could, with a single palm strike, turn a proud and accomplished leader on the Martial Dao into a completely apathetic slacker.
However, this effect couldn’t be attributed entirely to the Great Compassion Hand. After all, his Inner Qi was driven by the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force, so even without deliberately Cultivating, it carried the "Fire Suppression"-like effect inherent to the technique.
"Miss Qianqian, you can get out now, right?"
Even though she suddenly felt everything was meaningless, upon hearing Zou Feng’s words, Yang Qianqian pouted, and tears began to stream down her face.
Without another word, she pushed the door open and left.
After getting out of the carriage, she didn’t even get on her own white horse, but simply covered her face, sobbing as she ran away.
Zou Feng felt a massive headache coming on.
’There are still a lot of people on the street. With Yang Qianqian leaving my carriage in tears, especially after all that commotion earlier...’
"Brother Hu, follow her. Take her horse, and while you’re at it, pay a visit to the Yang Mansion."
He was obviously sending Zhao Tianhu to explain the situation—specifically, to make it clear that Yang Qianqian was crying because she had lost a spar, and absolutely not because he had... *done something* to her.
If rumors were to spread, it would ultimately be a hassle.
Although Zou Feng no longer feared the Yang Mansion, he still had to consider the reaction from the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall.
After all, the master of the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall was, at least publicly, the number one expert in Yuan Guang County.
"Chunzi, Datian, explain to the onlookers. Tell them directly that the young miss from the Yang Mansion and I were just sparring!"
A crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle, and they were all still murmuring amongst themselves.
After a stern warning from Liu Chun and Xiong Datian, the crowd hastily dispersed.
Although some gossip was unavoidable, Zou Feng’s current status as a Hall Master of the Black Flood Dragon Gang served as a deterrent, preventing people from spreading outrageously exaggerated stories too openly.
Never mind that factions like the Celestial Essence Sword Sect or the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall looked down on the Black Flood Dragon Gang.
Even some wealthy families, thanks to special protection from the Government Office, could afford to ignore such low-level gangs.
But to the ordinary citizens of Yuan Guang City, the Black Flood Dragon Gang was an entity they would never dare to provoke.
This was an unwritten rule, even for the residents of the Inner City.
This wasn’t to say that these gangs would openly oppress the populace. Rather, the Black Flood Dragon Gang, the Mountain and River Association, and others like them were essentially large, monopolistic enterprises.
Countless citizens in the city, directly or indirectly, relied on these "enterprises" to make a living.
These gangs even helped maintain a semblance of order among the lower strata of society.
Once they were on their way again, Zou Feng couldn’t help but sigh.
Yang Qianqian was clearly desperate to avoid any rumors involving him, yet every time a rumor started, it was because she herself had created the misunderstanding.
’After this lesson, though, she probably won’t still see me as the type of person where "even thinking about him is a sin," right...?’
By the time he returned to the Dragon Gate Boat, it was already late.
Just as he was about to enter the apothecary, he noticed a considerable commotion coming from the riverbank.
A group of people had arrived at the docks, preparing to board the Dragon Gate Boat.
After advancing to the Eighth Grade, Zou Feng’s eyesight had improved dramatically, so even from a distance, he could see that the person in the lead was the Sixth Young Master, Song Sixing.
Beside Song Sixing, a man with his hair tied back and an arrogant expression was gazing at the Dragon Gate Boat with his hands clasped behind his back.
The man wore a plain white long robe with a Long Sword hanging from his waist.
From the insignia on his robe, it was clear that this man was a disciple of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.
Furthermore, for Song Sixing to be acting so deferential, the man had to be a Seventh Grade Elite Disciple.
’Huh, what’s Song Sixing doing here at the Dragon Gate Boat with an Elite Disciple from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect?’
’And it looks like they’ve brought a lot of stuff with them...’
Though curious, he figured it had nothing to do with him. After a few glances, Zou Feng returned to the apothecary.
He finally had some free time today, so naturally, he had to seize the opportunity to practice his skills.
The competition for the Immortal Treasure was still half a month away.
Theoretically, this was enough time for Zou Feng to mess up the other two opponents—everyone except for the Danxin Alliance Elder, Zhu Qiming—to the point where they couldn’t even take care of their daily lives.
After all, it was obvious that Zhu Qiming, just like Chen Jingsheng, had secretly advanced to the Seventh Grade long ago.
However, Zou Feng had no intention of completely crippling those two just yet.
The reason was simple: if both of them were incapacitated and realized their defeat was certain, might that not lead to unforeseen complications?
The Heart Demon Poison Oath was in place, true, but if they knew they were going to lose, the thought of missing out on such an Immortal Treasure would make them angrier and angrier. Wouldn’t they just go crazy and leak the information, ensuring that if they couldn’t have it, no one could?
Therefore, to eliminate this possibility, Zou Feng couldn’t inflict any serious problems on them for the time being.
He just needed to give them some "minor ailments" that wouldn’t have too great an impact.
This way, as long as nothing unexpected happened during the competition, victory was already guaranteed.
First, with his Evil Skills at the level of "Refined Skill," there was no reason he would lose to an Eighth Grade Martial Artist from the Danxin Alliance.
As for the fights with Chen Jingsheng and Wang Xingjian, he could secretly cultivate on the sidelines and temporarily "add weight" to Zhu Qiming and the others.
Imagine this: the fight is neck and neck, and suddenly Zhu Qiming’s back twinges with pain, or he gets a sudden chill and an uncontrollable urge to sneeze. With such a distraction, it would basically be game over.
Having made his decision, Zou Feng began to ponder which Cultivation Skill he should use to inflict these "minor ailments" on the three of them.