Chapter 329: The Lion and the Cat, an Understated and Naive Zhao Longtu (4K)

Chapter 329: The Lion and the Cat, an Understated and Naive Zhao Longtu (4K)



Upon hearing Xue Jing's words, Zhao Longtu didn't immediately strike but instead furrowed his brows and asked, "You're in a bad state?"

His tone sounded peculiar, as if he should have been in a normal emotional state, but his words carried a hint of anger, a kind of irritability that would make anyone he spoke to frown.

Xue Jing was curious, "Why do you think so?"

Although it was true that he had just undergone a test and used the Continuous Serious Punch, his physical and mental state were indeed much worse than when he was in peak condition.

However, with his level of aura concealment, it shouldn't have been noticeable.

Zhao Longtu replied indifferently, "No particular reason, just a hunch."

Xue Jing nodded, "I see, so you're the type of person with strong instincts."

In this world, there were indeed some people who could sense situations without any apparent clues, as if they had a divine revelation... Xue Jing had encountered many such individuals, and a typical example was Yuuga Rinroku.

Rinroku's instincts had reached a level almost akin to a superpower... Perhaps it should be called 'super instinct' or 'super intuition.'

"Since I guessed correctly, let's call it a draw this time. I don't want to win by default."

Zhao Longtu retracted his fighting stance and shook his head.

"If your state is truly poor, why insist on saying you're ready? Go on, if you want to fight me, come find me in a higher floor when you're in better condition."

Xue Jing was a bit surprised.

This person looked like a late-stage manic-depressive patient, yet unexpectedly, he seemed to have a strong sense of martial arts ethics.

He shook his head with a smile and said, "Zhao, your instincts are strong, but not strong enough."

Zhao Longtu narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Xue Jing flexed his wrist.

"Your instincts are accurate. I'm indeed in a bad state, and I might not even be able to exert a tenth of my peak strength."

"But, when I say I'm ready, I'm not lying."

"Even if a lion is severely ill, it doesn't need to wait until it's fully recovered to catch a small cat." Xue Jing said softly, "It's a pity that your instincts aren't powerful enough to sense the gap between us."

His words, which were both reasonable and absurd, left Zhao Longtu and the surrounding martial artists stunned.

"Damn, who is this guy? He's really putting on an act... But I have to admit, he's got some balls."

"He speaks so matter-of-factly... It feels like he genuinely believes what he's saying, not just showing off... Could he be a real badass?"

"Hard to say, he looks around the same age as Zhao Longtu. No matter how strong he is, it's unlikely that he could beat Zhao Longtu when he's only able to exert a tenth of his strength."

"Do you really believe him? He also said that he used a thousandth of his strength when he fought with you the other day."

"This is Xue Jing! You don't know him? He's an outsider, and I've seen his videos; he's a fierce one!"

On the arena, Zhao Longtu's eyes filled with anger:

"... Never mind, I'm too lazy to argue. I've already said what I needed to say. If you insist on pushing yourself, then let's fight. The consequences are on you."

He changed his stance and assumed a peculiar fighting pose.

With one arm raised above his head, his fist pointed forward like a rhinoceros horn, his body leaned forward in a low crouch, resembling a frenzied charging bull, exuding a powerful wild aura.

"Oh! Here it comes, this is the 'Asura Great Rhino Stance' from the True Form lineage!"

"He's starting with a killing move. Looks like Zhao Longtu took those words to heart and is taking his opponent seriously!"

"This is going to be good. The 'Asura Great Rhino Stance' is unmatched in its frontal charge, unstoppable. Since this person is in poor condition, he probably can't block it head-on. But if he wants to dodge..." Those who thought like that were already lying in the medical area.

Amidst the eager gazes of the spectators, Zhao Longtu moved.

In an instant, the air exploded with a loud blast, and a ring of energy waves rippled out from Zhao Longtu's position. He vanished from his original spot and appeared in front of Xue Jing in the blink of an eye, so fast that almost no one saw it.

His speed was incredible, with hardly any starting motion. He seemed to teleport like a bullet fired from a gun, instantly transitioning from absolute stillness to extreme speed, making it hard to defend against.

If there were a high-speed camera to capture this moment and play it back in slow motion, one would see that Zhao Longtu's body was enveloped in an air current that formed a transparent giant rhino visible to the naked eye. The raised fist above his head corresponded to the rhino's horn.

Sch Jing's eyes flashed with a subtle golden vertical pupil.

— Eye-Piercing Flow.

In his eyes, time seemed to slow down, and Zhao Longtu's movements appeared 'slow' as he approached. Weaknesses and openings appeared and disappeared all over his body.

It had been a long time since Sch Jing last used the Eye-Piercing Flow to perceive weaknesses.

Since his strength skyrocketed, his battles had mostly been one-sided, and he rarely needed to use the Eye-Piercing Flow... And against extremely powerful opponents, even this technique couldn't reveal their weaknesses.

But now, having just unleashed the Continuous Serious Punch, he was in a rare state of weakness and couldn't overpower Zhao Longtu's offense.

Or rather, even if he could, it wouldn't be an impressive sight... It might even become a brief stalemate.

Even if he won in the end, even if he was currently weak, Sch Jing couldn't accept this outcome.

It went against his desire to establish his authority as a teacher.

Since that was the case, it was a good opportunity to use the long-unused Eye-Piercing Flow to outsmart his opponent.

As his martial cultivation deepened and with the Yellow Matriarch Technique's internal organ refinement, Sch Jing's liver had become exceptionally strong.

A strong liver enhances vision, and when he activated the Eye-Piercing Flow, the effect was extraordinary.

His already exceptional eyesight, honed by his precise aim, became even more powerful with the Eye-Piercing Flow. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, as if he had gained the superpower of 'bullet time'.

Countless points and lines representing weaknesses and openings appeared and disappeared. Just as Zhao Longtu's 'rhinoceros horn' was about to make contact with Sch Jing's body, he finally moved.

His right hand extended slowly but swiftly, grabbing Zhao Longtu's wrist. As if predicting the moment, just as Sch Jing grasped his wrist, a barely noticeable 'point' appeared there.

— Seamless Heaven!

The ultimate human calculation ability of this peerless martial art allowed Sch Jing, after a series of complex calculations, to anticipate the exact spot on Zhao Longtu's wrist where a weakness in his force exertion would appear.

"Pa—!"

With a firm grip on Zhao Longtu's wrist, Sch Jing deftly shook and flicked his wrist, causing Zhao Longtu's eyes to widen in shock.

Zhao Longtu's originally solid and unified force exertion, like a perfectly solid and unbreakable castle, suddenly had a seemingly insignificant brick removed.

Then, it crumbled.

A minuscule flaw, so subtle that even Zhao Longtu hadn't noticed it, was struck by Sch Jing's force, causing a domino effect. The minor flaw disrupted the rest of his force exertion, leading to more and more mistakes...

A thousand-mile dam breached by an ant's nest.

Amidst the cracking sounds, Zhao Longtu's killing move disintegrated, and the formed transparent Vajra Bull Power seemed to let out a silent wail, dissipating into the air.

Sch Jing, holding Zhao Longtu's wrist as his force exertion went haywire, casually twisted and turned, causing Zhao Longtu's entire body to spin like a top in the air.

Then, like picking up a piece of ragged clothing, he slammed Zhao Longtu onto the ground.

"Bang—!!"

Protected by the SC force field, the arena remained intact, but Zhao Longtu, who had landed on his chin, twisted his neck and fell into a faint.

The scene fell silent.

The incident had begun suddenly and ended swiftly, leaving everyone stunned.

After a few seconds...

"Huh...? What happened?"

"Is... is it over?"

The watching martial artists stared at the handsome youth standing on the arena, his clothes still neat, and at Zhao Longtu, lying motionless on the ground, looking lifelike in his sleep.

Sch Jing scratched his head:

"I might have been a bit too heavy-handed... Oh well."

He picked up Zhao Longtu's foot and, like someone who had just killed someone and was about to dispose of the body, walked off the arena.

The watching martial artists instinctively parted to the sides, making way for Sch Jing.

Due to the force of the slam, Zhao Longtu now had blood flowing from his nose, and his face was pressed against the ground. As he was dragged, a trail of blood smeared across his face, making him look even more like a corpse.

The onlookers witnessed this scene, wanting to say something but feeling speechless.

"Mystic Wing, please send me back to the first floor."

Sch Jing spoke up.

"Okay~" A lazy yet pleasant female voice sounded in his ear, and the next moment, an orange light membrane appeared beneath Sch Jing's feet.

As the light membrane enveloped Sch Jing completely, the watching martial artists burst into lively discussions.

Meanwhile, Sch Jing had already returned to the preparation hall on the first floor of the Supreme Martial Ascension Palace.

In just a few short minutes, Ning Yuantai and Cao Sini were still discussing whether to call Sch Jing when they saw him return.

Ning Yuantai's eyes lit up, just as he was about to ask about the situation, he noticed what Sch Jing was dragging.

"Hmm, no wonder it's Brother Sch. In such a short time, you've killed someone again. Where do you plan to bury him?"

Cao Sini, standing beside him, gave him a blank look.

He didn't have to flatter, but what did he mean by 'no wonder it's you who killed someone again'?

She glanced at the corpse, whose head was seeping blood, and hesitantly asked, "Teacher Sch, is this... Zhao Longtu?"

Sch Jing smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's him... Let's go, the mission is complete. We're heading back."

With that, he calmly dragged Zhao Longtu towards the main gate...

Passersby who witnessed this scene were stunned:

"What the heck? A creative luggage?"

...

Xuanwu Mansion, Infirmary.

Zhao Longtu lay on a pure white bed, groggily opening his eyes.

"Ouch—"

He covered his face with his hand and gasped.

For some reason, his entire face felt scorching and painful, as if it had just been rubbed against a grinding wheel.

Zhao Longtu patted his still-dizzy head.

His memory lingered on the approaching orange light membrane and the vibrating pain coming from his chin.

"You're awake? The surgery was successful."

Hearing a voice from the side, Zhao Longtu turned to look.

A young man in a white lab coat, who looked rather handsome but had a strangely shifty expression, was sitting by his bed, peeling an apple with a fruit knife.

"Who are you... What happened?" Zhao Longtu asked, frowning.

He Han nodded and said indifferently, "Good question."

"It's now the year 290 of the New Era. From the time you fell asleep until now, more than twenty years have passed. During your slumber, humanity has perished. This is the 3306th 'Ark Shelter,' and I am the physical AI robot of this shelter. You can call me—'Lan Ran You Shui Jie'!"

Zhao Longtu's eyes narrowed, "A name from the Far East? So, this is a shelter located in the Far East?"

A subtle glint flashed in He Han's eyes, "Ah, yes... It is."

"How did humanity perish?" Zhao Longtu asked, taking a deep breath.

Such crystal-clear foolishness... He Han's face lit up with amusement, "It was destroyed by an entity known as 'Sch Devil.' He dominated humanity's taste buds with his culinary skills, making everyone submit to his tyranny under his frying pan..."

Zhao Longtu was shocked, "Dominate all of humanity with cooking skills?!"

"Bang—"

The infirmary door swung open, and Cao Sini walked in expressionlessly. She slapped He Han on the back of his head, causing his face to land in the fruit plate he was holding.

Zhao Longtu was taken aback, "Humanity is not extinct? Who are you then?"

He Han trembled as he raised his hand, "She is one of the Four Heavenly Kings under Sch Devil, the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, known as..."

Bang—

He Han collapsed, unconscious.

Seeing this, Zhao Longtu sat up, his face filled with vigilance as he assumed a fighting stance, "Why are there five people in the Four Heavenly Kings?"

Cao Sini gave him a speechless look.

"Can you please stop believing everything people say?"

"Let's go. Now that you're awake, come with me to see the teacher..."

At the mention of 'teacher,' Zhao Longtu's expression turned fierce, and he raged, "What teacher? Where are we?!"

Cao Sini remained unfazed by his outburst, her expression calm as she said, "Xuanwu Mansion... is where you took the martial arts exam."

Zhao Longtu grew anxious, "Who is this teacher you're talking about?!"

Cao Sini glanced at him and said calmly, "You've already met him, haven't you?"

"The examiner who led us through the exam, Sch Jing, Teacher Sch."

"Sch Jing..." Zhao Longtu was taken aback.

Vivid memories began to assault him.

"He's... the teacher?"

Student Zhao, your intuition is strong, but not strong enough.

Zhao Longtu clenched his teeth as he recalled the words of that person, "So that's how it is...!"

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end