The crowd arrived at the Ning Family's martial arts arena.
Ning Zhuo had originally wanted to rent the martial arts arena in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, but Zhou Zeshen said there was no need to waste money. There was also no need to go to the Zhou Family specifically; they could just have a small duel at the Ning Family's arena.
This statement made Ning Zhuo glance at Zhou Zeshen, causing him to ponder.
Ning Yong immediately stood up and raised his hand: "I will go and contact the family's martial arts arena."
Seeing Ning Zhuo nod, Ning Yong ran out of the courtyard excitedly.
Zhou Zeshen smiled and suggested: "A big bet is harmful, a small bet is entertaining. Brother Ning, how about we wager something?"
Ning Zhuo also smiled and said: "It seems Brother Zhou made some preparations before coming here."
Zhou Zeshen spread his hands: "Brother Ning saw through me. I thought I couldn't come empty-handed to visit you, so I brought this."
As he spoke, Zhou Zeshen took out a crossbow from his storage waist belt.
This crossbow was very small, only about three times larger than an adult's palm, with a delicate structure made of bronze.
Notably, it did not have the traditional arrow quiver; instead, it had a rectangular wooden box.
"This is the Rivet Force Crossbow, with some of my improvements; it has considerable power." Zhou Zeshen displayed a confident smile. "Brother Ning, if you win, I will give this to you along with the mechanical diagram."
Ning Zhuo's heart stirred. He took out a mechanism Explosive Flame Monkey: "If you win, I will give this to you, also with the mechanical diagram. I'm just worried I won't be able to give it away."
"Hahaha." The two of them looked at each other and laughed heartily.
Ning Yong quickly returned, panting, saying he had booked the Ding Number Martial Arena.
The group immediately left the courtyard and headed to the martial arts arena in a crowd.
The cultivator in charge of the arena greeted Ning Zhuo respectfully and enthusiastically, asking what kind of battlefield they needed.
Ning Zhuo looked at Zhou Zeshen.
Zhou Zeshen then said: "Since we have mountains and valleys here, let's use a mountain terrain."
So, several arrays in the arena were activated in succession.
The originally flat ground had countless red soil bursting out, piling up higher and higher.
It was as if an invisible great force was molding the red soil into two small hills that greatly surpassed the family walls of the Ning Family Clan Land.
But that wasn't the end of it.
The power of wood acted on the hills, causing the grass and trees on the hills to mature within a dozen breaths, forming a dense forest.
A dark cloud gathered, floating over the battlefield, pouring rain along its path.
A large amount of water was also generated out of thin air, forming a small river between the two hills.
According to Zhou Zeshen's request, the array to conceal the battlefield was not activated.
Such a great commotion quickly attracted other Ning Family members.
After introductions by Ning Zhuo's classmates, everyone soon understood the situation.
"Young Master Ning Zhuo is going to have a duel with Zhou Family's genius Zhou Zeshen!"
"Why?"
"Zhou Zeshen requested the duel."
"Damn, Zhou Zeshen looks sinister; is Young Master Ning Zhuo being tricked by him? Is Zhou Zeshen using Ning Zhuo to gain fame?"
"Cough, cough, that's a bit much. Zhou Zeshen was famous long before Young Master Ning Zhuo."
"Didn't you see that they are getting along well? Both are smiling."
"This is bad. I've heard of Zhou Zeshen; he has the talent of Water Accumulating into Abyss and has been cultivated by his family for a long time. But Young Master Ning Zhuo has talent too, but it hasn't been detected yet. How can he fight?"
"Young Master Ning Zhuo, rise to the occasion!"
"We all support you!!"
More and more Ning Family members gathered, discussed for a while, and started cheering for Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo waved to everyone, greeting them, which made the cheers and shouts even louder.
As the battlefield was set up, Ning Zhuo and Zhou Zeshen entered the arena simultaneously, each choosing a mountain top to stand on, facing each other.
Zhou Zeshen transmitted his voice: "Brother Ning, please."
Ning Zhuo replied: "Brother Zhou is the guest; you go first."
"Very well, then I will begin." Zhou Zeshen clapped his storage waist belt and released ten mechanism Driller Rats.
The Driller Rats moved very quickly, extremely nimbly, weaving through the dense forest with ease.
Each mechanism rat had a Mana string trailing behind it. As the rats moved further from Zhou Zeshen, the Mana strings also stretched, gracefully and steadily.
Ning Zhuo similarly clapped his belt and released five mechanism Explosive Flame Monkeys.
He also used Mana strings to control the monkeys, making them leap and glide among the branches and leaves.
The arena was ultimately limited in size, and both sides' mechanisms were fast, quickly meeting at the foot of the mountain where Ning Zhuo stood.
The front end of the mechanism rats had spiral drill heads, very sharp, capable of drilling holes into the mechanism monkeys if hit.
The mechanism monkeys were much larger in size than the mechanism rats, with greater strength. Their movements were quite agile, and they could coordinate with each other, quickly gaining the upper hand.
Bang, bang, bang...
Zhou Zeshen's Mana strings were connected to his ten fingertips. After the clash, three of his fingertips trembled slightly, and the Mana strings broke.
This meant he lost three mechanism Driller Rats in succession!
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Zhou Zeshen cupped his palms inward, causing the remaining seven mechanism rats to retreat simultaneously.
"Good!" The watching Ning Family members cheered loudly.
Just now, their view was largely obscured by the forest. Additionally, with so many rats and monkeys battling, it was quite chaotic and difficult for them to differentiate.
Now, with Zhou Zeshen's mechanism rats retreating, both sides were separated and everyone could see clearly.
Zhou Zeshen had lost three mechanism rats, while Ning Zhuo's side suffered almost no losses, except for one Explosive Flame Monkey falling behind during the chase.
Obviously, its mechanism leg was damaged, affecting its mobility.
The first probing clash ended with Zhou Zeshen decisively retreating to create distance between his and his opponent's mechanisms.
Ning Zhuo was unwilling to let this happen and increased his Mana output, commanding the Explosive Flame Monkeys to pursue.
But the mechanism rats were two times faster than the monkeys, having a significant speed advantage.
Seeing that the Explosive Flame Monkeys couldn't catch up, Ning Zhuo said: "Brother Zhou, be careful; I'm going to use weapon attachments now."
The next moment, the Explosive Flame Monkeys spewed red firecrackers from their mouths.
The mechanism monkeys forcefully threw the firecrackers out.
With loud explosions, soil and rocks flew, trees toppled, and smoke and dust rose.
As the smoke and dust cleared, only a few remnants of mechanisms were left at the explosion site.
It turned out that at the critical moment, the mechanism rats drilled into the ground to escape.
However, two rats were unlucky, being at the concentrated point of explosion. Despite drilling, they were still blasted to pieces.
"Only five left," Ning Zhuo quietly calculated.
He frowned slightly.
The Driller Rats had drilled into the mountain, making Ning Zhuo lose track of them, not knowing their whereabouts.
They might have returned to Zhou Zeshen's side or were preparing to launch a surprise attack from underground on Ning Zhuo's side.
"Should I continue attacking? Or use spells for reconnaissance?"
Ning Zhuo chose to use spells to scout his surroundings.
"Has he chosen defense first?" Zhou Zeshen, standing on the mountain top, saw this scene, and his eyes flashed with brilliance.
He secretly noted this detail.
One's nature often revealed itself more directly and honestly in battle.
This was one of the reasons Zhou Zeshen proposed the duel.
The Zhou Family wanted to win over Ning Zhuo, and Zhou Zeshen deeply realized that Ning Zhuo had enormous growth potential. Following the current trend, Ning Zhuo would undoubtedly become a significant figure in Fire Persimmon Immortal City in the future.
To win over a key person, the prerequisite was to have a thorough understanding.
A friendly duel often allowed cultivators to quickly form a bond and deepen their understanding of each other.
"The Explosive Flame Monkeys are only five, so Ning Zhuo doesn't have much pressure controlling them."
"He could easily be casting reconnaissance spells while commanding the mechanism monkeys."
"Indeed."
"He understands my main intention for this duel!"
"No wonder he is a genius like me."
Zhou Zeshen's lips curled slightly, finding it comfortable dealing with a smart person like Ning Zhuo! Many things did not need to be explicitly stated to understand each other.
Ning Zhuo deliberately slowed down the battle rhythm; Zhou Zeshen then tossed out a storage bag.
The storage bag fell to the ground, its opening wide as several mechanical bats—Night Sky Bats—flew out.
The Night Sky Bats sliced through the air, heading toward Ning Zhuo.
Seeing this, Ning Zhuo clapped his belt and released a swarm of Silent Thunderbirds.
This type of mechanism was very common, highly praised for its simplicity and ease of control.
The Silent Thunderbirds and Night Sky Bats collided mid-air, initiating the second direct confrontation between Ning Zhuo and Zhou Zeshen.
The Silent Thunderbirds attacked straightforwardly, whereas the Night Sky Bats moved unpredictably, with sharp turns and dodging capabilities far superior to the Thunderbirds.
The Night Sky Bats, mechanisms from the Mudflow Sect, were clearly superior in performance to the popular Silent Thunderbirds.
Although Ning Zhuo's Silent Thunderbirds outnumbered the Night Sky Bats, they quickly lost numbers and were at a clear disadvantage after engaging.
The Ning Family members grew serious, some frowning in concern for Ning Zhuo.
"He's holding back," Zhou Zeshen realized.
Just now, Ning Zhuo had skillfully controlled the five mechanism monkeys, displaying a high level of control.
But during this aerial combat, Ning Zhuo's Silent Thunderbirds hardly showed any operation, moving in a straight line, making their attack paths easily predictable.
This gave Zhou Zeshen a huge advantage.
"It's because during the first clash, my Driller Rat squad retreated. Ning Zhuo is deliberately losing here to save my face."
"This guy..."
Zhou Zeshen gritted his teeth, feeling complicated emotions.
He felt gratitude for Ning Zhuo being considerate of his reputation, showing such tacit understanding. But he was also quite displeased, as being yielded to like this was a rare experience for the genius.
"Though it's a friendly duel, I've always been serious."
"I'm giving it my all, but you're holding back..."
"While it is kind, to me, it is also a form of humiliation."
"Ning Zhuo!"
"I want you to take me seriously!!"
Zhou Zeshen shouted inwardly.
Motivated, he took a medium-sized mechanism from his storage waist belt.
This mechanism resembled a fierce tiger. It was about two and a half zhang long, its shoulder height was five chi, its claws were three cun long, and its teeth were two cun long. Its white fur had black stripes, its tiger eyes were golden, looking quite intimidating.