Isn't This Pretty Good?

"Whoa!" Under the glare of lightning, Tong Yuan glanced to his side. "Isn't this going a bit far?" "Relax, relax." Lou Suwen continued swiping his dried nuts, cracking them with mounting enthusiasm. "Yanyue knows her limits. At most, she's throwing a little tantrum. Even if she wants to settle a score, she'd have to find the real culprit to make things right, wouldn't she?" At that, Tong Yuan fell silent, his expression turning increasingly bizarre. *The real culprit?* *Excuse me... wasn't the Security Bureau exhibition match between Chaocheng and Yacheng back then secretly arranged by you? You even badgered me with endless chatter for at least half a month over it!* *To ensure your daughter took a beating, you didn't even bother pretending during the draw, assigning her opponent directly.* *Wasn't every bite of this humble pie spoon-fed to her by you, her own father?* *How can this old bastard be so wicked!* "Shh, hush. Look." Lou Suwen grinned, his pupils lit by the fiery radiance bursting from the Encircled Realm. "Here comes the good stuff!" The Five Towers and Twelve Cities manifested; the heavenly gates swung wide in succession. Amidst the swirling five colors, a speck of purest gleam emerged from nothingness, growing inch by inch and extending downward under Lou Yanyue's command. Boundless lightning coiled around it, forging a shimmering spear that hissed and wailed like the cry of a Bifang. Its mere presence made the entire workshop shudder in waves, verging on collapse. This was: *An immortal caressing the crown, sending the whole household straight to the beyond!* "Are you ready, Ji Jue?" Lou Yanyue looked down, flicking her hand. A thread of lightning pointed faintly toward Ji Jue's face as she teased, "If you don't change your mind, I'm afraid it'll be too late." "Still holding back even now?" Ji Jue laughed, sighing in admiration. "Who says you've got a bad temper? You're clearly as gentle as can be." *Hiss...* In the brief silence, Lou Feng wasn't the only one staring slack-jawed in the corner; even the two old bastards secretly watching couldn't help shrinking their necks, drawing in a sharp breath and exchanging looks. Amidst the boundless lightning, Lou Yanyue's expression froze slightly, as if taken aback. "I'm ready." Ji Jue raised his hand and crooked his finger, answering solemnly, "No need to hold back. Bring on whatever you've got!" "..." For an instant, Lou Yanyue seemed on the verge of speaking, but then her hesitation hardened into cold resolve, devoid of any softness. "—If you want to die, I'll grant your wish!" The silhouette of the heavenly city shuddered violently as the five colors converged and lightning erupted. Destruction condensed into tangible form, borne within the lightning as it descended inch by inch from her hands. Like a heavenly punishment, with nowhere to evade and nowhere to hide. Confronted with such power, all one could do was tremble in terror and accept oblivion! "As expected of the Five Towers and Twelve Cities. A profound legacy indeed." Tong Yuan praised with feeling. "Such mastery in the Exaltation realm has at least a fraction of the charm of Lieque in a Celestial-Human's hands. Only, well..." *Why is it so slow?* *Isn't that right?!* The terror of Lieque and the illustrious fame of the Five Towers and Twelve Cities lay in the fact that to strike was to hit, and to hit was to wound! From spiritus shaping to the Encircled Realm, the entire foundation had been forged around the terrifying divine might of a blade fresh from Heaven's whetstone; was it not customary to manifest it as lightning precisely to harness that grand, swift fury? Compared to its usual terrifying, lightning-swift speed, right now, fast as it was, it was completely visible to the naked eye—slow enough for the two old men to chat through a couple of lines in between. It couldn't be that her training was lacking, could it? When she beat people up outside before, it certainly hadn't looked like this! "So what!" Lou Suwen glared and retorted sharply, "Magnificent and imposing, conquering through sheer presence—what's wrong with taking its time? My daughter is subduing the enemy without fighting! Just watch! Once this strike lands, I guarantee that brat will be rolling and crawling away, if not dead, then... then... EH?!" His words cut off abruptly. He saw Ji Jue actually overestimating himself, raising his arm and reaching out a hand toward that descending thunderbolt? Even Lou Suwen couldn't help being shocked. Courting death! These days, what normal person sees a sparking high-voltage power line and reaches out to touch it?! What was more, could ordinary high-voltage electricity even compare to the lightning of the Five Towers and Twelve Cities? A single wisp of spiritus held thirty-six qualitative transmutations and seventy-two derivatives; five colors overlapping, tens of thousands of techniques merged into one. It seemed minimalist, yet was overwhelmingly complex, and practicing it was fraught with mortal danger—over generations, plenty of Lou family inheritors had died during the process. Great skill appears uncrafted; immense weight handled with effortless ease. In the end, even such magnificent, tempestuous lightning would shed its outward ferocity until form merged with formlessness, becoming in Lou Suwen's hands a genuine cleft torn in the heavens. Whatever stood in its path shattered; nothing indomitable remained! Such was truly the case... At this moment, in Ji Jue's eyes, as his fingers spread, an infinitely fracturing world rushed toward him. In those boundless possibilities, there were no exceptions. With every reach, his fingers instantly vaporized and burned to ash beneath the tyrannical lightning. In a mere split second, the descending lightning reduced Ji Jue's hands to smoke. Yet in the very next instant, the destroyed hands reconstructed anew, the Encircled Realm unfurled, and Ji Jue reached out once more... In a fleeting span of breaths, across that razor-thin distance, Ji Jue had no idea how many times he attempted it. Ear-piercing sounds of shattering and grinding echoed through the workshop. Every single touch was vaporized clean in an instant... yet he simply refused to give up, fighting on through every defeat. *Useless!* Lou Suwen shook his head. In a contest and suppression between Encircled Realms, heritage and completeness were the decisive factors. Without the apocalypse's reinforcement from the Saintly Fool's Evolution, how could Lou Yanyue's rank, control, and the Lou clan's ancestral Five Towers and Twelve Cities be a hurdle bridged merely by holding back a little? In those brief exchanges, he had already seen through Ji Jue's strengths and limits: ten fingers remaking all creation was indeed terrifying in potential, and the Non-Offensive Encircled Realm held boundless marvels, but the time Ji Jue had wielded it was far too short after all. Never mind the lack of blessing enhancements; his sheer proficiency was miles behind! *But why...* He blinked, questioning his own eyes. *Did the lightning of the Five Towers and Twelve Cities just... slow down a fraction?!* In those few short seconds, Ji Jue's hands turned to ash again and again, reconstituting each time, until finally they couldn't even finish rebuilding. All that could be seen were two faint, indistinct silhouettes of hands, clawing in vain toward the lightning right in front of him. The lightning still pressed forward without deviating in the slightest. Yet inexplicably, its speed had slowed by a hair! *Still holding back?!* Lou Suwen's first thought was that Lou Yanyue was showing mercy, but she would need the ability to do so in the first place! No matter how effortless "lifting weight as if light" looked, it was first and foremost *weight*! The power of the Five Towers and Twelve Cities was so immense and violent that if Lou Yanyue could actually pull her punches calmly at such a hairbreadth moment, Lou Suwen's grin would have split his face. *My daughter has the makings of a supreme sovereign!* But looking at Lou Yanyue's stunned expression right now, that clearly wasn't the case at all! Then what was this?! What had happened? The grating screech grew higher and sharper, like the fabric of reality tearing apart—Encircled Realms colliding, two distinct forces and depths grating against one another at high frequency, shaking the entire workshop. Having shed their flesh and vessel, the two hands of the Encircled Realm clamped down firmly upon the lightning. Palms layered and crossed, the dual reinforcement triggered a qualitative shift! Through endless repetition and countless attempts, he finally achieved something unthinkable: he truly touched the essence of the lightning! Yet he could not budge it! Right now, it was as if his hands gripped a white-hot blade. No matter how tightly he squeezed, even as it sliced open his hands and left them dripping with blood, the force behind the blade pressed relentlessly forward, unwavering and unstoppable. Hope was clearly in sight, yet remained so far away! Just a bit more, just a sliver! Only a tiny fraction left! *Crack—* An overstrained splintering sound rang from deep within his soul. Under this unprecedented pressure, Ji Jue gave his absolute all, barely holding on. Yet perversely, he felt as if something was still being overlooked. Like running at full tilt when one leg can no longer bear the strain and feeling the twitch and feedback of the other; like struggling to grip something with one hand and subconsciously raising another hand he hadn't even realized was there! The existence of reserve strength! Power that even he had remained unaware of gradually surfaced in his perception under the crushing pressure, until he finally caught sight of his blind spot. He could no longer hold it back and burst into laughter. "Indeed, just a bit more!" *BOOM!!!* In that instant, right between his hands, the advancing lightning ground to a dead halt! No, not just two hands... A third phantom silhouette and Encircled Realm appeared over his overlapping hands! The third spiritus hand that Ji Jue had once forged by observing and emulating Sage Quicksilver's Manifestation emerged right atop his hands. Like a moth's wings after metamorphosis having their veins cleared under external pressure, bringing the newly formed organ fully under control and perception. A third hand, which should have been intangible, condensed into solid shape! Then, the stacking of three Non-Offensive Encircled Realms brought about an exponential leap! Amidst an instant of shock and dead silence, Ji Jue, practically set ablaze by the incandescent glare, roared decisively. Gripping the lightning in his grasp, he jerked violently, plucking that wisp of destructive glare into his hands, and hurled it back toward Lou Yanyue high in the sky. Repelled! The thunderbolt surged from the ground, swelling like a tidal wave and engulfing the stunned figure in midair. But right before Lou Yanyue, before she could even react, the torrent parted down the middle, bypassed her entirely, and returned to the silhouette of the heavenly city within the Five Towers and Twelve Cities. Returned to its original owner! She hovered in midair, stunned, unable to process what had happened, still caught in disbelief. She heard Ji Jue's booming laughter, brimming with delight. A mere fractional advancement had broken through his past limitations, opening the door to a whole new world, making every phenomenon in sight seem entirely transformed. It had been a long time since he felt such deep satisfaction and thrill. Even though his body was battered and riddled with holes, teetering on the verge of falling apart, he felt an indescribable clarity and exhilaration. The moment the thunderbolt left his hands, he already understood. After half a month of intensive study and grueling practice... Secret Art of the Encircled Realm: Mohist Defense had finally crossed the threshold into basic mastery! After cheering and celebrating, he turned around to repair his Regeneration form. As he reveled in smug delight, humming and dancing, he finally noticed Lou Yanyue's dazed state. She was standing nearby, staring down at the floorboards, utterly downcast. Apparently she had been like this ever since he threw the lightning back. Ji Jue paused. Only at times like this did one remember that she was still just a kid, not even of legal age. Ji Jue slapped his forehead, feeling a pang of guilt. *I got too carried away and bruised her pride!* Bullying Old Lou came with zero guilt, but she had come here to help him. Doing this was a bit lacking in loyalty. How could he rub it in someone's face the second he made a little progress? "Don't feel bad, it was just a fluke," Ji Jue consoled her. "A lucky stroke that worked once, and only because you held back. If we tried it again, I really couldn't pull it off." This was the truth, without a shred of false modesty. His Mohist Defense was only at the introductory stage, functioning intermittently. That earlier burst was an unprecedented peak state; even Ji Jue himself had no certainty of reproducing it. If forced to do it again, he'd likely wipe out. But once achieved, was the second time far off? Having crossed the threshold from nothing to something, the correct sensation was already engraved into Ji Jue's instincts. With slow, steady practice, he would gradually reach full mastery. Wasn't it just a matter of grinding? If it required spending a fortune, he might hesitate, but if it came down to sheer relentless grind, he was wide awake! *If you suck, just practice more!* As his thoughts wandered, he drifted off into his own world. "Hey..." Lou Yanyue turned around, suddenly glaring. "Oi!" "Hm?" Ji Jue looked over earnestly, preparing to offer some recompense, when he heard her voice, dripping with annoyance. "Your current level is still way too low! You only succeeded once on pure luck, what are you so smug about?! You should be glad it was me; against anyone else, you'd be as dead as can be." Habitually resting her hands on her hips and lifting her chin, her gaze nonetheless began to wander as she spoke, stammering, "In the future... if you want to practice, I'm free anytime... I mean, since I'm already here, I'm pretty bored anyway..." "That's great!" Ji Jue was overjoyed. As expected of a good bro! He slapped Lou Yanyue's shoulder heartily. "Are you free this afternoon? My treat—let's go grab a big meal first!" "...Yeah." Lou Yanyue kept her head down, seemingly in low spirits. That made good food and drinks all the more necessary. Ji Jue pulled out his phone and immediately began booking and placing orders, telling Haian's private kitchen to whip up several heavy-hitting dishes for them! Amidst the surrounding dead silence, someone stifled a snort of laughter. "Oho!" Cracking melon seeds, Tong Yuan's mouth curled up. "You're done for, Senior Lou. Looks like your daughter has fallen in love." "Huh? What?!" Lou Suwen finally seemed to process it, eyes widening. "Wait..." What did he mean, fallen in love?! *Yanyue, your father doesn't recall teaching you this sort of thing! Lift your head and glare at that brat! Go on! Give him two good thumps!* *Isn't it just losing a single exchange?* *Wait, blushing?* *What are you shy about?!* Lou Suwen grew panicked. Forgetting all about hiding and enjoying the drama, his Celestial-Human silhouette faintly emerged from the corner. He waved to catch Lou Yanyue's attention, jerked his head aside, and shot her a meaningful glare: *Eat what? Don't eat! Get yourself home right now, your dad has things to tell you!* "..." Lou Yanyue froze for a second. Then, before Lou Suwen's dumbfounded gaze, she instinctively looked away as if she hadn't seen a thing. "What's wrong?" Ji Jue looked over in confusion. "Nothing." Head lowered, Lou Yanyue walked briskly ahead. "What are we eating? Hurry up. I'm... *cough*, I'm starving..." "Aww! The rebellious phase~" Amidst the crisp crack of dried nuts, Tong Yuan sighed softly and tossed a big handful into his mouth. His grin couldn't be stopped. As long as the melon wasn't from your own patch, it was delightfully sweet! Just who on earth invented a creature like Ji Jue, anyway... *** And so, in the bleak silence, the brief sparring session drew to a close. Aside from Lou Feng—whose workshop was wrecked, who suffered heavy losses, and who was cast to the back of his aunt's mind—no one was harmed. Half an hour later, having hung up the phone, Tianlu lapsed into a rare daze, experiencing the exact brand of bewilderment his students had long grown accustomed to. *What did you just say?* *You pulled it off?!* *No, how could you possibly succeed!* *You shouldn't be able to!* After all, from the very beginning, Tianlu hadn't expected Ji Jue to succeed. Not that he wanted to hold anything back—such things were best experienced and comprehended on one's own first. Besides, he had originally intended for this little whelp to bang his head against a brick wall, taste some frustration, and temper his arrogance. Yet the outcome had turned so bizarre. What did he mean, without any ancestral guidance or Exaltation blessings, he'd just fumbled around on his own and somehow learned Mohist Defense?! And even grazed the fringes of Quelling Violence, a more advanced counter-defensive technique?! Running a half-marathon before learning to walk? Can you even skip prerequisites on the skill tree like that?! Was this right? Not right in the slightest! That old bastard back then never told him such an operation was even possible! In the silence, Tianlu rubbed his chin, questioning his life choices. "Why the sour face again?!" Fan Qian kicked the door open and swaggered in, tossing the plastic bag in his hand onto the table. "Next time, could you please move your ass and pick up your own takeout? I'm busy too, you know!" Tianlu didn't answer, remaining lost in thought. After a long while, he finally lifted his head. "Old Fan, do you think there's a possibility..." He raised a hand, pointing at himself, and asked solemnly: "—that I'm a fake Juzi?"