Chapter 32: Chapter 32: A Show of Strength
"There seem to be quite a few newcomers this time!" a young man suddenly laughed.
"Have you forgotten? This is the once-every-five-years Selection to leave the mountain gate!" another young man remarked.
"No wonder there are so many trash coming all at once!" The first young man stepped forward. He appeared to be no more than eighteen years old, but his aura had already reached the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement, and it was incredibly condensed.
He clasped his hands behind his back as if he were a general and circled around Zhou Heng and the others. Then, he stepped back, placing one foot on a nearby flowerpot, and said, "Trash, crawl under my legs!"
What, such an outrage!
All the newcomers were furious. Each one of them was a local prodigy. None had ever suffered such humiliation, and they all showed visible anger.
This was a show of power!
"Won't crawl? Then I'll beat you until you're willing to crawl!" The second young man also stepped forward, his aura of the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement surging powerfully.
"What good can come from disciples taken in during the mountain gate's selection!" The third young man muttered, cracking his knuckles with a popping sound that released the Ninth Layer of Body of Refinement's aura.
The last young man didn't move. If he could stand equally with the previous three, how could he be any inferior?
No wonder it's the Nine Spirit Sect. Just any four people walking out have the Cultivation Level of the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement. Imagine, in any small town, these would be top-notch prodigies!
"Then let's fight!" Shi Qingfeng was the first to step forward. "I want to see what kind of stuff you are made of!"
"Trying to lead, destined to suffer!" The first young man moved in a flash, his speed incredibly fast. In an instant, he was in front of Shi Qingfeng, his right fist clenched, and he struck. With a bang, Shi Qingfeng was sent flying, bent like a bow.
Slam—Shi Qingfeng hit the ground hard, his face paling as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and struggled to get up, only to fall down again immediately.
How powerful!
Both were of the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement. How could there be such a big gap in strength!
"Remember my name, Kong Xiang!" the first young man declared proudly, stepping over and stomping on Shi Qingfeng's face, grinding it under his foot a few times. "Outer Sect member ranked tenth!"
No wonder he was so strong—it turns out he was the tenth ranked among the Outer Sect disciples! But on second thought, if the tenth was this powerful, what about the ninth, the eighth, the seventh... the first and the second?
Shi Qingfeng, already supremely arrogant, was publicly humiliated in this way. Anger overtook him, and he fainted on the spot.
"Any other trash who disagrees?" the second young man dug at his ears and said, "Forgot to introduce myself, I'm Wei Quanhe, ranked ninth among the Outer Sect disciples. This one here is Ren Anyi, not living up to his name at all, not tranquil at all, ranked eighth, and then there's this one, Wei Jinping, ranked seventh!"
Hiss, Kong Xiang is so formidable, yet his strength is actually the lowest of the four!
"Just crawl through nicely!" Kong Xiang pointed at his crotch, looking at Zhou Heng and the others. His eyes lingered heatedly on Shen Xinqi, "What's this junior sister's name? She really looks enchanting!"
Shen Xinqi wore a beguiling smile, walked over, and whispered a few words to Kong Xiang, only to see him immediately drop his arrogant demeanor and instead show a flattering one, resembling a dog in heat.
Wei Quanhe and the others also crowded around, encircling Shen Xinqi like stars around the moon.
Zhou Heng knew she had connections with Elder Tianzhu and was also a high existence in the Third Layer Heaven of Gathering Spirit. Mere lower-tier Outer Sect disciples hardly dared to offend her; naturally, they could only try to ingratiate themselves with her.
Zhang Zijun also came forward and likewise whispered something to her, and the conflict ended without a fight.
Clearly, he also had a high-level elder as his backer.
But, it seems the rest were really "ordinary people."
"Hey, don't daze, hurry up, I still need to go cultivate 'Crimson Bright Fist'!" Kong Xiang said impatiently.
"Old Tenth Kong, no matter how hard you try, you will never become Old Ninth Kong!" Wei Quanhe laughed loudly, blowing on his fingers as if blowing away earwax, his disdainful expression greatly annoying Kong Xiang.
The crowd's eyes turned to Shen Xinqi and Zhang Zijun, hoping they could speak for them, but the two were expressionless, ignoring their gazes.
With the example of Shi Qingfeng right before their eyes, the young men looked at each other, gritted their teeth with sad and angry expressions, and lowered their heads to crawl between Kong Xiang's legs.
Revenge of a gentleman, a decade is not too late!
Endure!
Not everyone was spineless, though. Chang Kang jumped out to forcefully pass through, but he was kicked in the chest by Wei Quanhe and similarly failed to get up again.
Lastly, only Zhou Heng was left.
Shen Xinqi smiled brilliantly; she was very curious about Zhou Heng, and this was a good opportunity to see just how much potential this kid had. If he were worth fostering, she might as well ask her grandfather to take him as a renowned disciple.
"You—" Kong Xiang saw Shen Xinqi suddenly smiling at Zhou Heng, and a discomfort immediately surged in his heart. He looked at Zhou Heng grimly and strode over, reaching out to grab Zhou Heng's chest.
Zhou Heng displayed his Cloud Flying Step, dodging the grab. He frowned slightly and said, "People do not offend me, I do not offend people!"
"Hahaha, are you, boy, trying to fight me?" Kong Xiang laughed loudly, his eyes becoming even more sinister, "What if I do offend you?"
"Asking for a beating!"
Zhou Heng snorted coldly and suddenly stepped forward, throwing a punch!
"A mere Seventh Layer of Body Refinement—"
Thud!
Kong Xiang naturally did not take Zhou Heng seriously at all, but just as he reached out to grab Zhou Heng, he saw that his opponent's figure had suddenly disappeared! At that moment, he felt a pain in his back, having been solidly hit by a punch.
Kong Xiang staggered forward three or four steps, and then turned around, only to see Zhou Heng standing right behind him, looking completely at ease.
This made everyone's eyes widen.
Previously, Zhou Heng had also knocked Shi Qingfeng down with a punch, but that was mainly because Shi Qingfeng was too careless and had never expected Zhou Heng to dare to make a move! But what about this time? Kong Xiang was the man who had knocked down Shi Qingfeng with one move, how could he also not dodge Zhou Heng's attack?
"Hahaha, Old Tenth Kong, you're getting worse as you age, you might as well buy a block of tofu and crash into it to kill yourself!" Wei Quanhe took the opportunity to make a cutting remark.
——Being in the top ten of the Outer Sect disciples is a great honor, granting access to abundant cultivation resources, and naturally, the higher the rank, the greater the honor and the more resources obtained, making the internal competition extremely fierce!
Kong Xiang, ranked tenth, naturally had his eye on the ninth spot, so although the two appeared to be allies, they were actually fiercely competitive behind the scenes. If it were not for the need to give the newcomers a lesson this time, they would never have joined forces.
"Hmph!" Kong Xiang's face looked ugly. Whether it was carelessness or not, the fact that he had been punched by Zhou Heng was as solid as iron, a massive humiliation! He sprung forward, grabbing at Zhou Heng once again.
"Stubborn fool!" Zhou Heng snorted coldly, displaying the Cloud Flying Step again.
Thud!
Kong Xiang was hit by another punch, feeling an even greater force that almost sent him sprawling to the ground like a dog.
Everyone was shocked, including the three people with Wei Quanhe.
The first time could be said to be Kong Xiang's carelessness, but what about this time?
What a miraculous movement technique!
Indeed, Zhou Heng had passed through the Body Refining Twelfth Layer of the Copper Man Array with this movement technique, and how could Kong Xiang, unrivaled at the same level, compare to that?
If Kong Xiang and the others had known that Zhou Heng had passed through the entire Copper Man Array, they probably wouldn't have troubled him now, would they?
The newcomers all sneered, eager to see Kong Xiang beaten bloody, to vent their anger.
"Kid, do you think having a cleverer movement technique allows you to strut around?" Kong Xiang said coldly, quickly calming his raging emotions, clenching his fists, and assuming a starting stance.
He was originally known for his fist techniques, and had used claws before only because he bullied Zhou Heng's weak cultivation level. Now, after being hit twice, he dared not underestimate Zhou Heng and utilized his strongest fist technique.
——He had to break at least ten of Zhou Heng's bones!
Zhou Heng shook his head, laughing, "What a joke, it's always you guys pushing aggressively, I'm merely defending myself, how is it suddenly my fault?"
"Don't find tricks in speech!" Kong Xiang shouted fiercely, his figure moving, his fists striking wildly, like a mad demon.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh, the air screamed, showing his terrifying power and speed.
"Is this really the power one can have at Body Refinement Ninth Layer?"
"Judging from the aura of cultivation, he really is at Body Refinement Ninth Layer, but his True Yuan Force is incredibly pure, hence it operates faster, allowing him to unleash greater power and speed!"
"Is this the kind of Sect Member the Nine Spirit Sect trains?"
The newcomers all felt their hearts beating wildly. While Kong Xiang and the others had given them enormous shame and pressure, they also saw hope that one day they could become such experts, or even stronger!
Thud, thud, thud!
However, Zhou Heng's performance was literally eye-opening!
He was actually suppressing Kong Xiang in the fight!
No, saying he was suppressing him is a bit off, because Zhou Heng was merely leveraging his bizarre movement technique, continually sneaking in punches at Kong Xiang, one after another!
Even in broad daylight, seeing Zhou Heng's evasive movement forefront and suddenly behind, everyone still felt a chill as if seeing a ghost in daylight.
How could there be such a terrifying movement technique in this world!
Kong Xiang, caught in the midst of it, felt this even more acutely: Zhou Heng would be right in front of him, but as soon as he launched a punch, Zhou Heng would immediately change position, making him use up his strength in vain!
This feeling of having power but nowhere to use it was driving him crazy!
He had never encountered such a fight before, fighting for five or six minutes without once facing his opponent directly!
"Fight me directly if you dare, what's the point in just dodging?" he called out loudly.
Everyone looked at him with contempt. You, at Body Refinement Ninth Layer, are demanding a direct confrontation from someone at Body Refinement Seventh Layer, have you no shame? Why don't you go fight someone from the Blood Refinement Realm directly?
"Then take this punch!" Zhou Heng stopped the Cloud Flying Step, stood in front of Kong Xiang, and threw a straight punch.
"Haha, you're seeking death!" Kong Xiang never expected Zhou Heng would fall for such a juvenile provocation, and was immediately delighted, throwing out a punch in response!
He intended to cripple one of Zhou Heng's hands!