Xiao Yu, Didn't You Say I Could Win?

"Brother Chen, let it go..." Meng Yan stood behind Chen Zhuo and whispered, "He's in the middle stage of Qi Refining, not like us. Stepping up now is just asking for trouble. Your immortal Dao potential is obviously higher than his. Once you reach the middle stage of Qi Refining too, won't you be able to take your revenge whenever you want?" In the Immortal Mansion, pride was meaningless! When someone stepped on your head, you had no recourse; there was only one thing you could do: endure it. "No need to worry," Chen Zhuo said. "The academy has strict regulations. Aside from special occasions, students are forbidden from attacking each other with spiritual qi. That means Wang Heng can only match me with his physical body at best. What is there to fear?" Indeed, Chen Zhuo wasn't afraid of that in the slightest. Wang Heng's footwork was unsteady, an obvious sign that he had neglected physical conditioning once he reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Many of the Immortal Mansion's top cultivators practiced dual cultivation of body and magic to maximize their combat capability. For a cultivator from an ordinary background like Wang Heng, however, dual cultivation was thoroughly unrealistic; he simply lacked the money to support body tempering. As a result, most people only tempered their bodies during the early stages of Qi Refining to build a foundation. Once their flesh could handle the intensity of spiritual qi, they devoted themselves entirely to refining qi and abandoned their physical conditioning. Noticing Chen Zhuo's composure, Wang Heng frowned and whispered into his jade slip, "Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, he isn't backing down at all. Knowing I'm at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, he's still coming forward. Could he have some sort of trump card?" "Haha! Next, I will tell you in the plainest, most direct, most straightforward, most truthful, most heartbreaking... and most cutting way: I can't even keep a straight face! What trump card could a cultivator with an acquired, implanted spiritual root at the second layer of Qi Refining possibly have? If you can't even win this, you might as well get a spiritual root resection and sell yours off! Believe in yourself—you're definitely going to win!" *Definitely going to win?* Hearing Xiao Yu say that, Wang Heng relaxed completely. Right. What was there to panic about? If the guy had any trump cards, would he be stuck at the second layer of Qi Refining as an implant recipient? Wang Heng was instantly reassured. *What is this guy babbling about?* Chen Zhuo watched Wang Heng muttering a long string of gibberish to his spiritual communication jade slip, utterly bewildered. Only after a moment did Chen Zhuo realize the guy was probably consulting "Xiao Yu." Without question, the other guy's Xiao Yu seemed far more sophisticated than his own. Even so, Chen Zhuo felt a little more at ease. If his opponent needed Xiao Yu even to think, what was there to worry about? Could he really lose? "You're Chen Zhuo, right? In that case, I'll grant your wish!" Wang Heng sneered arrogantly. "Don't worry, I'll naturally pull my punches a bit. At most, I'll break a few of your ribs so you don't have to spend too much on medical fees." Chen Zhuo's face remained blank. "Cut the crap. Come on." Both of them stepped out from their desks and moved into an open space. Though Wang Heng acted dismissive, he was, after all, a fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator; he possessed basic combat literacy. Wang Heng immediately assumed a standard Immortal Mansion Military Boxing stance. "After you." By contrast, Chen Zhuo's opening stance appeared much simpler, one foot forward and one foot back. Wing Chun—Chen Zhuo! The surrounding innate spiritual root students shook their heads, and several began whispering among themselves: "A subordinate turning on his better? Wang Heng, teach this punk a lesson!" "Wang Heng's spiritual root might not be great, but he's been cultivating for over a decade. He still has the fundamentals." "Just watch. Within ten moves, Chen Zhuo will be eating dirt." "Spot on." "..." Plenty of onlookers crowded around, but none wanted to get involved. Even though their cultivation realms weren't low, what if they got hurt? Treating injuries meant burning through their own immortal Dao potential! It simply wasn't worth it! Meng Yan nervously watched the scene, anxiety churning in his gut. Meanwhile, Liang Ningwan, who had taken a seat in the corner of the classroom at some point, looked over with curiosity. After they exchanged a brief fist-and-palm salute, Chen Zhuo suddenly lunged forward, charging straight at Wang Heng! That sudden forward leap drew gasps across the classroom. "Holy crap, a lower-class cultivator is actually throwing hands!" "No way! He dares to initiate the attack?!" "..." Seeing this, Wang Heng froze, caught off guard by Chen Zhuo's audacity. Instinctively, he moved to retreat, but Chen Zhuo was already upon him, hurling a punch! *Boom!* Startled, Wang Heng hastily raised his arms to block. Yet almost immediately, he found himself confused. He felt the force behind Chen Zhuo's strike. Only... It didn't feel particularly strong. Then why had he dared to challenge him? Wang Heng had assumed this Chen Zhuo kid had some laborer's physique with natural-born Herculean strength. Before Wang Heng could make sense of it, Chen Zhuo struck again. This punch was faster and fiercer than the last! Wang Heng instantly dispelled all stray thoughts, beginning to dodge while searching for an opening to counterattack. Chen Zhuo had anticipated this all along. Seeing Wang Heng attempt to strike back, he sneered, swinging his left fist around with savage force! *Thud!* The blow connected with a dull impact. "Ah!" Wang Heng grunted, a sharp pain flaring beneath his ribs. Pain or not, he knew he couldn't just clutch his stomach and collapse. Without hesitation, he channeled his spiritual qi, gathering every bit of it into his palm, and swung it down straight toward Chen Zhuo's head! The academy prohibited private duels with spells. However, if spiritual qi was merely used to reinforce hand-to-hand combat, it didn't technically violate the rules. What Wang Heng didn't expect was that Chen Zhuo wouldn't even attempt to dodge. Instead, he swung another punch straight back at him! He was trading blow for blow! Wang Heng's heart leaped in shock. He had only wanted to teach Chen Zhuo a lesson, not fight him to the death. If his palm truly landed on Chen Zhuo, he would take a solid punch in return. A fourth-layer cultivator trading blow for blow with an acquired root implantee at the second layer? It wasn't worth it! After a split second of hesitation, Wang Heng immediately chose to pull back, aiming to create distance and regroup. That retreat, however, made Chen Zhuo rejoice. *You think you can back away now?* Chen Zhuo pressed forward relentlessly, closing the distance stride for stride! The moment he got inside, he unleashed a barrage of wild, windmill punches, raining them down indiscriminately upon Wang Heng. He was determined to trade blow for blow! Wang Heng could only scramble to block with both hands. He found himself utterly suppressed by Chen Zhuo, without even an opening to hit back! *Wait, how did it come to this?!* In a panic, Wang Heng looked at the fierce intensity in Chen Zhuo's eyes and felt completely lost. His opponent was far too direct. This didn't feel like a simple campus brawl—it felt like a fight to the death! *Just because I mocked you a couple of times, you're willing to trade blow for blow?!* *Are you insane?!* The more Wang Heng fought, the more shaken he became, his footwork growing increasingly erratic. He clearly possessed a higher realm and more abundant spiritual qi, yet under Chen Zhuo's tempestuous assault, he was reduced to purely passive defense, helpless to counter. *How does he dare?* *Isn't he afraid of getting hurt and having to spend spirit stones on medical treatment?* Wang Heng felt intensely aggrieved; this was completely different from what he had envisioned. Meng Yan's eyes went wide, watching the spectacle in disbelief before shouting excitedly, "Great hit! Brother Zhuo, beat him down!" Right then, Chen Zhuo let out a low growl and delivered a punch with all his might! *Thwack!* Wang Heng shrieked in agony and collapsed limply to the floor. At the sight, the entire classroom fell deathly quiet. Everyone stared dumbfounded at Wang Heng groaning on the ground, then looked at Chen Zhuo standing there, his chest heaving with measured breaths. Only after several seconds did someone finally snap out of it and blurt out, "Wang Heng lost?!" "A fourth layer of Qi Refining lost to a second layer?!" "Am I the only one who thinks this makes sense? Wang Heng's grandfather was an acquired implant cultivator, and his father and older brother are both mortals. Even though he has an innate spiritual root, his qi affinity is only twenty. In my eyes, he's barely any different from an acquired root implantee." "..." The surrounding classmates whispered among themselves, already preparing to revoke Wang Heng's status as an innate cultivator. Meanwhile, Wang Heng lay dazed on the floor. Instead of scrambling up to save face, he pulled out his spiritual communication jade slip, bore the pain, and whispered, "Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, didn't you say I could win? How did I lose?" A moment later, a gentle female voice spoke from the jade slip: "I apologize; I made an error... Next, I will answer you in the plainest, most direct, most straightforward manner: you can't beat him! The opponent may possess some sort of innate Daoist physique, merely without a spiritual root. While the probability is low, it is not impossible! It is also possible that his family has a military background and specializes in combat..."