: Ning Zhuo vs. Chang Yan

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-10-20

: Ning Zhuo vs. Chang Yan

The next day, Lin Shanshan asked again.

Ning Zhuo told her he had already comprehended the first diagram and was currently studying the second.

Lin Shanshan was overjoyed and immediately asked Ning Zhuo to demonstrate the spell.

After Ning Zhuo did so, Lin Shanshan was deeply impressed. She said frankly, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, I initially thought it would be fortunate if you could comprehend one diagram in the remaining days. I never expected your comprehension to be so astonishing. I failed to recognize your talent and underestimated you."

Ning Zhuo responded with genuine humility.

He knew his comprehension wasn't particularly outstanding—the real credit went to the Spirit Concealment Willow.

Speaking of the Spirit Concealment Willow, with its help, Sun Lingtong quickly comprehended three diagrams, taking even less time than Ning Zhuo by an hour.

Sun Lingtong's comprehension was extraordinary.

Ning Zhuo had sensed this long ago.

Every sword technique Sun Lingtong created was exceptionally sharp. It could be said his talent was quite remarkable.

On the third day, when Lin Shanshan asked, Ning Zhuo told her he had comprehended the "Mountain Night Listening to Waves Diagram."

On the fourth day, Lin Shanshan asked again, and Ning Zhuo frowned, saying he was stuck on the third diagram, "Viewing the Sky from Under the Tree," finding it very difficult.

After expressing amazement, Lin Shanshan comforted Ning Zhuo, saying this diagram contained the most powerful spell, so the difficulty of comprehension was more than doubled. She advised him to remain calm and not be impatient. With just the two spells he had now, he already had a sufficient advantage against Chang Yan.

But Ning Zhuo shook his head. "It's not enough!"

"Please don't blame me, Miss Lin, but I've decided to publicly announce that I will not use the Glossy Talisman in my fight against Chang Yan."

Lin Shanshan was puzzled, asking if this wasn't tying his own hands.

Ning Zhuo explained, "Although I have the spirit talisman for protection, I've always been cautious, often reminding myself not to rely on it too much."

"Because once dependency becomes a habit, it weakens the drive to improve and greatly hinders the growth of one's own strength."

"Don't worry, Miss Lin, I'm not a rigid person."

"This training at Little Struggle Peak should be about honing myself as much as possible, not relying on external tools to show off. What's the point of flaunting power in front of these cultivators?"

After hearing this, Lin Shanshan looked at Ning Zhuo with renewed respect. "Young Master Ning Zhuo, with such a temperament, you are sure to achieve great things in the future. Sixteen years old..."

Lin Shanshan sighed. She had seen many youths of that age showing off and acting arrogantly. None were as humble and steady as Ning Zhuo.

"Young Master Ning Zhuo, I'm even more looking forward to your fight with Chang Yan now."

Ning Zhuo smiled. "Success or failure in the moment is insignificant. But if I lose to Chang Yan in the future, please don't blame me for failing to live up to your guidance."

"Guidance? Young Master, you flatter me too much." Lin Shanshan showed a look of shame.

In her view, Ning Zhuo's tremendous progress was mainly due to his own intelligence, comprehension, and hard work.

In Ning Zhuo's view, a training partner like Lin Shanshan was truly rare. As the child of a Nascent Soul cultivator, she had been trained since childhood, with solid fundamentals and no weaknesses.

Ning Zhuo had learned a lot from sparring with her.

A few days later.

Ning Zhuo and Chang Yan appeared on the training ground.

Chang Yan wore yellow robes and stood six feet tall. His transformation was highly advanced, with only his amber pupils remaining snake-like slits.

Humans are the spirits of all things.

Monster cultivators generally transform into human form. Once successful, their spiritual nature greatly increases, benefiting their comprehension of techniques and spells.

Thus, the degree of transformation could indicate a monster cultivator's strength.

Chang Yan's snake-like pupils reflected Ning Zhuo's figure as he said, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, I heard you announced that you won't use the spirit talisman for protection in this fight. Is that true?"

Ning Zhuo nodded and shook his head. "In a life-threatening situation, I would naturally use the talisman to protect myself. However, relying on a Golden Core spirit talisman to spar with Fellow Daoist Chang Yan would be an unfair advantage. It also wouldn't help temper my combat skills or my determination to improve."

"So, in this fight and future ones, if I use the Glossy Talisman to protect myself, I will consider it a voluntary surrender."

As soon as he said this, the spectators erupted in discussion.

Some praised him: "I never thought Ning Zhuo, despite coming from a great clan, would have such spirit!"

Others sneered: "Spirit talismans are part of one's strength. Deliberately giving them up is like tying your own hands—utterly foolish!"

Lin Shanshan, still hidden in the crowd, scoffed at those mocking Ning Zhuo, thinking, "How could people like you ever understand Young Master Ning Zhuo?"

Chang Yan, hearing Ning Zhuo's response, snorted coldly. "Since you've made this decision, don't regret it when you lose later."

Ning Zhuo smiled and gestured. "Please."

The fight began.

Chang Yan stomped his foot and immediately burrowed underground.

His true form was an earth snake, and earth遁 was as natural to him as breathing.

Generally, cultivators counter earth遁 by rising into the air.

This would force Chang Yan to emerge and attack from below, missing his target.

But Ning Zhuo didn't do this. Instead, he murmured an incantation, formed hand seals, and finally crouched, slamming both palms onto the ground.

Wood Element—Root and Vine Entanglement!

Chang Yan swiftly moved underground, approaching Ning Zhuo's feet.

Suddenly, numerous roots and vines burst through the earth, fortifying the ground beneath Ning Zhuo like an impregnable fortress.

The roots and vines snaked through the soil, rapidly entangling Chang Yan.

Chang Yan quickly dodged.

His遁 speed was fast, allowing him to evade smoothly. He secretly activated an earth-element spell.

Earthquake!

The training ground shook violently. Invisible shockwaves emanated from the epicenter, crashing toward Ning Zhuo and the roots and vines beneath him.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and unleashed his second prepped spell.

Wood Element Spell—Pine Waves and Emerald Tides!

This was the spell Ning Zhuo had comprehended from the "Mountain Night Listening to Waves Diagram."

In an instant, half of his法力 surged forth.

One part of fire法力 generated two parts of earth法力. Two parts of earth法力 produced four parts of metal法力. Four parts of metal法力 created eight parts of water法力. Eight parts of water法力 naturally yielded sixteen parts of wood法力!

Ning Zhuo's five-element法力 was evenly distributed. One part of fire法力 equaled sixteen parts of wood法力. One part of earth法力 could convert to eight parts of wood法力. One part of metal法力 became four parts of wood法力. One part of water法力 turned into two parts of wood法力.

Combined with his original wood法力, it totaled thirty-one parts!

After the five-element amplification, his法力 expanded by more than six times!

Thus, the unleashed Pine Waves and Emerald Tides spell formed vast, emerald-green waves that surged outward in all directions.

The emerald tides clashed with the invisible earthquake force, churning the training ground's surface into chaos.

The earth shook, cracks spread everywhere, large sections of soil sank, and some areas bulged upward.

The two exchanged spells from a distance.

Ning Zhuo was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, but thanks to the superiority of the three supreme methods and the five-element conversion, he matched Chang Yan, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, evenly.

But it wasn't over yet!

Ning Zhuo shouted, clapping his palms together in front of his chest.

Wood Element—Tree Realm Descent!

Vines burst through the soil, sprouting from the ground and rapidly growing into giant trees.

The thick forest and countless leaves formed an impenetrable wooden cage.

Trapped within this vast tree realm, Chang Yan was like an insect.

Chang Yan was shocked, feeling the boundless wood法力侵蚀 toward him endlessly.

"He actually knows this move!"

Chang Yan didn't dare use any more earth spells—in this tree realm, they would only fuel his opponent.

He could only activate various magical tools, using their sharpness to cut through the vines and fell the trees.

However, no matter how many he cut down, just as many grew back instantly.

If not for the limited size of the training ground, Ning Zhuo could have expanded the tree realm further.

Chang Yan was a monster cultivator. In the Southern Bean Kingdom, there were no major monster cultivator factions. Chang Yan was merely a散修.

As a散修, his magical tools were mediocre at best.

These tools had minimal effect—they couldn't even get close to Ning Zhuo.

Chang Yan's strength lay in earth spells, but Ning Zhuo's three-spell combo seized the initiative, setting up the battlefield perfectly. Chang Yan had no chance to turn the tide.

"Damn it!"

"If I had used earth spells to attack first, things wouldn't be so embarrassing now!"

After holding out a little longer, Chang Yan had no choice but to concede defeat.

"You honor me." Ning Zhuo lightly jumped down from a treetop, cupping his hands politely toward Chang Yan.

Chang Yan's嘴角 twitched. He shook his head, calmed himself, stiffly congratulated Ning Zhuo, and was the first to leave the training ground.

"He won!" Lin Shanshan clenched her fist, exhilarated.

She already knew Ning Zhuo had mastered these three wood spells. But witnessing the victory firsthand, she still found it somewhat hard to believe.

The first two spells were one thing, but the third—Tree Realm Descent—was extremely difficult to cultivate. Yet Ning Zhuo had mastered it in one go.

"Such comprehension!" Lin Shanshan sighed with emotion. "It's on par with Eldest Brother's grasp of sword techniques."

The spectating cultivators also marveled.

"I never thought Ning Zhuo would know the Tree Realm Descent technique."

"I've seen many wood-element cultivators, but this is the first time I've witnessed someone using it."

"Tree Realm Descent is indeed powerful, but Ning Zhuo's法力 reserves are impressive too. He maintained it for so long without showing signs of depletion."

"In my opinion, his tactical choice was spot-on. Seizing the initiative left Chang Yan powerless. Chang Yan was already countered by wood spells, and losing the initiative led to such a quick defeat."

The cultivators analyzed the battle, offering many insights.

Most had expected a prolonged battle of attrition. But under Ning Zhuo's overwhelming wood spells, it ended swiftly.

"Ning Zhuo has won Chang Yan's cave dwelling, but this is far from over. His combat strength can definitely challenge for a top-ten cave."

While the cultivators speculated about Ning Zhuo's next challenge, he had already left the training ground. Walking side by side with Lin Shanshan on a shaded path, he said, "Miss Lin, I'd like to ask for your help with something." His tone grew serious. "This might put you in a difficult position."

(End of )