The following day, Lin Shanshan asked again.
Ning Zhuo informed her that he had already understood the first picture and was currently studying the second.
Lin Shanshan was very surprised and asked Ning Zhuo to perform the magic on the spot.
After Ning Zhuo did so, Lin Shanshan was shaken and said directly, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, I originally thought that if you could comprehend one picture in the remaining days, it would have been very fortunate. I didn't expect your comprehension to be so astounding, I truly didn't recognize your talent and underestimated you."
Ning Zhuo was humble and sincere.
He knew his own comprehension was not this extraordinary; the main credit was due to the Spirit Hidden Willow.
Speaking of the Spirit Hidden Willow, with its help, Sun Lingtong also rapidly comprehended the three pictures, taking one two-hour period less than Ning Zhuo.
Sun Lingtong's comprehension was extraordinary.
This, Ning Zhuo had felt long ago.
The sword skills created by Sun Lingtong himself were all very sharp. It could be said that his talent was quite exceptional.
By the third day, when Lin Shanshan inquired, Ning Zhuo informed her that he had comprehended the Mountain Night Listening Wave Picture.
On the fourth day, Lin Shanshan asked again, and Ning Zhuo showed a troubled expression, saying he was stuck on the third picture, the Tree Base Sky Peeping Map, feeling the difficulty was quite high.
After Lin Shanshan expressed her amazement, she consoled Ning Zhuo, saying that this picture contained the strongest magic, so naturally, the difficulty of comprehension was more than double. She told Ning Zhuo to maintain a normal state of mind and not to be anxious. Relying on the two spells he had now, he already had enough advantage against Chang Yan.
Yet Ning Zhuo shook his head, "It's not enough!"
"Please don't take offense, Miss Lin, but I have decided to announce to the public that in the battle against Chang Yan, I will not use the Oil Slick and Smooth Talisman."
Lin Shanshan didn't understand and said that this action wasn't like binding his own hands and feet.
Ning Zhuo then explained, "Although I've obtained the protection of the Spirit Talisman, I've remained vigilant in my heart, constantly reminding myself not to rely too much on it."
"Because once reliance becomes a habit, it will weaken the spirit of progress and greatly hinder the improvement of my own strength."
"Rest assured, Miss Lin, I'm not an old-fashioned person."
"This experience at Little Struggle Peak should be about enhancing oneself as much as possible, rather than relying on external objects to show off one's ability and prowess. What's the point in flaunting over these cultivators?"
After hearing these words, Lin Shanshan looked at Ning Zhuo with new respect, "Young Master Ning Zhuo with such a temperament, will surely achieve great things in the future. Sixteen years old..."
Lin Shanshan sighed. She had seen many youths of this age who boasted and strutted around with their noses in the air, but who had Ning Zhuo's humility and stability?
"Young Master Ning Zhuo, I'm even more looking forward to your battle with Chang Yan now."
Ning Zhuo smiled, "A single victory or defeat is of no great concern. But if I should lose to Chang Yan in the future, please don't blame me, Miss Lin, for not living up to your nurturing."
"What nurturing? Your words are too severe for me," said Lin Shanshan, showing a color of shame.
In her view, Ning Zhuo's significant progress was primarily due to his own intelligence, comprehension, and sufficient effort.
But in Ning Zhuo's eyes, a sparring partner like Lin Shanshan was truly rare. Lin Shanshan, being a Nascent Soul Descendant who had been cultivated from a young age, had very solid foundational skills without any weak points.
Ning Zhuo really learned a lot from sparring with her.
Several days later.
Ning Zhuo and Chang Yan appeared in the Martial Arts Arena.
Chang Yan, dressed in yellow, stood six feet tall. His transformation level was very high, with only his amber pupils still showing the vertical slits of his serpentine kind.
Humans are the most spiritually advanced of all beings.
Demon Cultivators generally turn into human form. Once the transformation is successful, their spiritual nature greatly increases, which is greatly beneficial to the understanding of cultivation techniques, spells, and so on.
Therefore, from the degree of transformation, one can also infer some of the strengths of Demon Cultivators.
The snake pupil reflected Ning Zhuo's figure, and Chang Yan opened his mouth, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, I have heard that you have announced you will not use the Spirit Talisman for protection in this fight, is it true?"
Ning Zhuo nodded, then shook his head, "In a moment of crisis, I will naturally use the Spirit Talisman to protect my life. However, relying on the Golden Core Spirit Talisman to spar with Daoist Chang Yan would somewhat undermine the honor of victory. It's also not conducive to honing my combat skills and the determination to advance."
"So, in this battle and the ones that follow, as long as I use the Oil Slick and Smooth Talisman to protect myself, then it will be considered that I have conceded defeat."
As these words came out, the onlookers were in an uproar.
Some admired, "I didn't expect Ning Zhuo, although from a great family, to have such spirit!"
Others scoffed, "The Spirit Talisman is also a part of one's own strength. Deliberately discarding it is like tying up one's own hands, truly too old-fashioned!"
Lin Shanshan, still mixed in the crowd, heard people mocking Ning Zhuo and quietly thought, "How could you people understand Young Master Ning Zhuo?"
When Chang Yan received Ning Zhuo's response, he snorted coldly, "Since you've made such a decision, later on, when you are defeated, do not regret it."
Ning Zhuo smiled and gestured with his hand, "Please."
The battle began.
Chang Yan stomped his foot and directly burrowed underground.
His true form was that of an Earth Snake, and the Earth Escape technique was as natural to him as breathing.
Normally, a cultivator would counter an Earth Escape technique by immediately ascending into the air.
In doing so, if Chang Yan tried to approach silently using the Earth Escape, he would be bound to miss.
But Ning Zhuo didn't do so; instead, he muttered a chant, coordinated his hand signs, and finally squatted down, slamming his palms onto the ground.
Wood Element—Root Vine Entanglement.
Chang Yan swiftly tunneled underground, rapidly approaching right beneath Ning Zhuo's feet.
At that moment, a large number of roots and vines grew at a breakneck speed below ground level, protecting the land under Ning Zhuo as solidly as a fortified wall.
Root vines in lines, broke through the soil, rapidly entwining towards Chang Yan.
Chang Yan hastily dodged.
His evasive speed was extremely fast, successfully avoiding the attack, secretly urging his Earth Element Magic.
Earthquake!
The ground of the Martial Arts Arena violently trembled, the invisible shockwave force, emitting from the epicenter, overwhelming, rushing towards Ning Zhuo and the tree roots and vines beneath his feet.
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, having already conjured the second spell he had prepared.
Wood Element Magic—Pine Waves Green Waves.
This was a spell Ning Zhuo had comprehended from the Mountain Night Listening Wave Picture.
In an instant, a full fifty percent of his Mana surged forth.
One part Fire-attribute Magic Power generated two parts Earth Element Power. Two parts Earth Element Power birthed four parts Gold Element Magic Power, and four parts Gold Element Magic Power brought forth eight parts Water Element Magic Power. With eight parts Water Element Magic Power, naturally sixteen parts Wood Element Mana were produced!
Ning Zhuo's Five Elements Mana was evenly distributed, one part Fire-attribute Magic Power was equivalent to sixteen parts Wood Element Mana. One part Earth Element Power could transform into eight parts Wood Element Mana. One part Gold Element Magic Power could change into four parts Wood Element Mana. One part Water Element Magic Power could convert into two parts Wood Element Mana.
Together with the previous Wood Element Mana, there were thirty-one parts!
The entire Mana, after the process of Five Elements Generating, had expanded more than six times!
Therefore, the Pine Wave Green Wave Skill that was cast formed massive, long-lasting green tidal waves, pushing outwards in all directions.
The green waves and the invisible force of the earthquake opposed each other, churning the ground of the entire Martial Arts Arena upside down.
The earth shook, fissures everywhere, large chunks of soil collapsed downwards, and some were squeezed up forming mounds.
The two confronted each other from a distance with their spells.
Ning Zhuo was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but relying on the superiority of the Three Superior Sect Techniques and the transformation of Five Elements Generating, he managed to fight Chang Yan, a late stage Foundation Establishment, to a standstill.
But it was not over yet!
Ning Zhuo shouted loudly, clapping his hands together in front of his chest.
Wood Element—Tree Realm Descent!
Vines broke through the soil, emerged from the ground, quickly rising and growing into towering trees.
The thick forest, countless branches and leaves formed an impenetrable prison of trees.
In this enormous Tree Realm, Chang Yan was like an insect trapped within.
Chang Yan was greatly shocked, feeling endless Wood Element Mana constantly eroding towards him.
"He can actually use this move!"
Chang Yan dared not use any more Earth Element Magic, as in this Tree Realm, it was purely adding nutrients to the opponent.
He had no choice but to activate various Magic Artifacts, using the sharpness of the artifacts to cut vines and fell trees.
However, no matter how many trees he cut down, an equal number would grow back in the blink of an eye.
If it weren't for the limited range of the Martial Arts Arena, Ning Zhuo could have expanded the entire Tree Realm even further.
Chang Yan was a Demon Cultivator, and in the Southern Bean Country, there wasn't any significant power of demon cultivators. Chang Yan was just a Loose Cultivator.
Being a Loose Cultivator, his Magic Artifacts were nothing to write home about, all of them were flawed and inferior.
These artifacts had negligible effects, not even coming close to Ning Zhuo.
Chang Yan's strength lay in his Earth Element Magic, but Ning Zhuo directly took the initiative by casting three rounds of spells, taking the upper hand, and the entire battlefield was well laid out by him, leaving Chang Yan with no ability to turn the tide.
"Damn it!"
"If I had taken the initiative earlier to cast Earth Element Magic and competed in offense, it wouldn't look so bad now!"
After struggling for a short while longer, Chang Yan reluctantly conceded defeat.
"I admit defeat." Ning Zhuo hopped down from the treetop and greeted Chang Yan with a cupped fist salute, the epitome of courtesy.
Chang Yan's mouth twitched briefly, he shook his head, calming his emotions, and congratulated Ning Zhuo coldly before being the first to exit the Martial Arts Arena.
"We won!" Lin Shanshan clenched her fists, thrilled to the core.
She had long known that Ning Zhuo had mastered these three Wood Element Magic. Yet, witnessing this victory with her own eyes, she still found it somewhat unbelievable.
The first two spells were acceptable, but the key was the third, Tree Realm Descent, a high-difficulty magic that Ning Zhuo had proficiently executed.
"Such comprehension!" Lin Shanshan sighed with emotion, "This is on par with the senior brother's understanding of Swordsmanship."
The onlooking cultivators were also marveling.
"I didn't expect Ning Zhuo to actually master the Tree Realm Descent technique."
"I've seen quite a few Wood Element Cultivators, but to see someone execute this technique firsthand is a first."
"Tree Realm Descent is indeed powerful, but Ning Zhuo's Mana reserves are also quite robust, having sustained for so long without any signs of weakening."
"If you ask me, his tactical choice was very correct. It was taking the initiative that made Chang Yan powerless to counter. Chang Yan was already restrained by Wood Element Magic, and losing the initiative led to his decisive defeat."
The cultivators analyzed the battle, indeed offering many insights.
As for this fight, the public expected it to be a war of attrition. However, under Ning Zhuo's formidable Wood Element Magic, it ended so quickly.
"Ning Zhuo won Chang Yan's Cave Mansion, but it's far from over. His combat ability is definitely strong enough to challenge the top ten Cave Mansions."
While the cultivators speculated about Ning Zhuo's next challenge, Ning Zhuo had already left the Martial Arts Arena, walking shoulder to shoulder with Lin Shanshan on a shady path.
"Miss Lin, I would like to ask for your help with something." During their conversation, Ning Zhuo suddenly spoke, "This might put you in a difficult position."