Man on the ark, forced to become king

Lin Lu turned to look at Chong Yue, revealing a warm smile.

However, this expression, combined with his exposed muscular upper body and the still-present, frightening aura, hardly made him seem friendly.

"He is our eldest brother, Chongyue."

Ling nodded, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Now she finally understood why Lin Lu could so easily and casually devise a plan with the Grand Tutor to kill the Year Beast when they were in Shang Shu.

Everything depends on strength.

Even without that black sword that made her tremble, the Beast of the Year wouldn't be a match for Lin Lu based on its own strength alone.

Such a person could be described as overwhelmingly powerful and capable of controlling the world with a single hand.

He alone is comparable to an entire nation. Ordinary armies are meaningless in the face of such a powerful being, and even ancient gods might not be of much use.

The difference between a god and him is perhaps as great as the difference between a mortal and a god.

"Then, brother, shall we have a match?"

Lin Lu raised her hands in a fist salute, her gaze sharp.

That demon wasn't particularly strong; his boiling blood and fighting spirit hadn't dissipated yet, and it would be too painful to stop now.

"I heard from your sister that your elder brother has been practicing martial arts for hundreds of years. Why don't we have a friendly spar right here at Yumen Pass?"

"..."

Chongyue looked at his 'brother-in-law' with mixed feelings and remained silent for a long time.

"Mr. Lin is too kind. With such superhuman strength, I admit that I am no match for him."

What can he use to fight?

Putting aside the fact that he had long since shed his divine past, this body of his is now merely that of an ordinary person.

Even if the divine body were still intact, it would be impossible to defeat such a monster.

Even at his peak, he's unlikely to be able to win; he'll only lose even more miserably.

The difference between the two is obvious to anyone with eyes, so why bother with a competition?

It's not that I'm afraid of losing face in front of everyone.

It just doesn't make sense.

"Don't worry, brother. When we spar, we won't use magic; we'll only compete in martial arts."

"I heard from your sister that my elder brother has practiced martial arts for hundreds of years and has reached a state of perfection, the pinnacle of martial arts. It is truly a pity that I cannot witness it."

Lin Lu stepped forward, her ferocious aura subsiding as she returned to her usual demeanor.

In his duel with Chongyue, he indeed did not intend to use any spells or blessing prayers, not even the blessing of the Golden Tree.

This sparring match was really just a simple contest of martial arts skills.

"A martial arts contest?"

What exactly is martial arts? Strength? Skill? The art of killing?

If assassination and sneak attacks are considered skills, then killing can be done by any means necessary, so why treat it as a discipline?

In his quest for an answer, he relinquished his divine power, sealed himself within the sword, and sculpted a human body.

To this day, Chongyue has been thinking for a very long time. He watched as steel cities stood tall on the earth, thousands of troops swept across the land, high-speed warships charged and crashed, and cannon fire flew everywhere.

Before meeting Lin Lu, he thought that no matter how strong a person was, he could not defeat a thousand troops or a high-speed warship.

The era of 'martial arts' seems to have quietly faded away.

However, Lin Lu's appearance shattered his preconceived notions.

It turns out that even a frail mortal can achieve such a level of skill through martial arts practice.

One person's strength can truly rival that of a thousand troops.

Such a powerful figure now stands before him, eager to spar...

In terms of strength, Chongyue knew he was no match, but when it came to a contest of martial arts, he had to admit that he was indeed tempted.

It's been too long...

He hadn't encountered an opponent in a long time who could make him throw punches without any effort, without even trying.

call!

The outer robe covering his body was casually thrown off, revealing the loose training clothes underneath. Chong Yue assumed a fighting stance, and an invisible 'intention' emanated from his body, enveloping the surroundings.

"Then let's go."

"it is good!"

Lin Lu grinned and, without hesitation, made the first move.

Zuo Xuanliao and Ling retreated to the side. On the empty city wall, two figures vanished instantly. The next second, fists and palms collided, and the invisible impact pressed down on the air, exploding into visible ripples.

Boom boom boom!

Each collision between the two bodies, both hardened by countless trials, produced a dull thud, like the blows of a heavy hammer.

Chongyue's movements are light and graceful, soft yet firm, with well-defined advances and retreats, and his alternating fist and palm strikes create a unique style.

In contrast, Lin Lu's style is much simpler and more direct. She doesn't have any fancy moves, only extremely concise actions. Every attack is just right, and her strength and speed are perfectly balanced.

dong dong dong dong!

After countless collisions, the two gradually slowed down, and the number of times they exchanged blows also began to decrease.

Pure skill has replaced the contest of strength.

"I have never seen anyone who can fight a grandmaster and be evenly matched."

Zuo Xuanliao watched the changes on the field closely and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

He had assumed that Mr. Lin was skilled in magic and possessed an inhumanly powerful physique.

Unexpectedly, even setting aside those external factors, Mr. Lin's martial arts skills had reached their pinnacle.

There are many martial artists in Yumen Pass, but compared to the two people in front of them, those Jianghu travelers are not much more naive than children.

These two have reached a point where their martial arts skills cannot be improved any further. They have exhausted all variations, simplified the complex, and refined them to the extreme.

They are no longer confined to the moves themselves, nor are they limited to 'martial arts'.

Rather than saying they practiced martial arts, it would be more accurate to say that they were 'martial arts' themselves, the ultimate goal of the martial arts path. No other martial artist could possibly defeat them in the martial arts world.

After all, how can a person who practices martial arts possibly defeat martial arts itself?

"call!"

Once again, their figures intersected, and the two who had been locked in combat were now on opposite sides, their eyes meeting. Chongyue exhaled a breath that seemed to pierce through the air like a bolt of lightning.

This was the first time in many years that he had fought so thoroughly.

Before this, he was the pinnacle of martial arts. In all the world, how many people could withstand a single move from him? How many punches could they take?

Hundreds of years have passed, and the number of years is very small.

Now, he has finally met his true match.

When facing Lin Lu, Chong Yue had the illusion of seeing another version of himself.

That is the ultimate skill that exhausts all variations of moves and integrates martial arts into fists and feet.

No special moves are needed; every move incorporates thousands of techniques.

At this point in the duel, Chongyue knew that he had already lost.

Because from the very beginning, Lin Lu had restrained most of her power and even intentionally weakened herself, which is why this battle has lasted this long.

When people practice martial arts, what they pursue is never a particular ultimate goal.

Strength and skill are equally important.

To reach the pinnacle of martial arts, one needs not only to hone one's skills to perfection, but also to develop a well-trained physique.

In terms of pure skill, the two are evenly matched, but in terms of physical strength, the difference is too great.

Chong Yue didn't think he could really hurt that monstrous body. His punches and kicks landed on Lin Lu, but if she hadn't deliberately weakened herself, they probably wouldn't have hurt her at all.

But he can't.

Even though Lin Lu had restrained her terrifying power, he felt that his body's endurance was nearing its limit after fighting for so long.

If they really went all out, Lin Lu would have countless opportunities, while he could only withstand one punch.

With a body capable of withstanding demons, a single punch from that body would likely be enough to break even the steel walls of Yumen Pass, let alone a flesh and blood body.

How can we win like this?

"I admit defeat."

After calming his breathing, Chongyue clasped his hands together and simply admitted defeat.

He's not someone who can't accept defeat; if he loses, he loses, and there's no point in arguing about it.

"Having practiced martial arts for hundreds of years, I never imagined there was someone like Mr. Lin in the world."