One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

"Splash—"

With the sound of flushing water, the door to the public toilet behind the old locust tree next to the training ground was finally pushed open.

Zhang Taichu slowly swaggered out, fastening the frayed waistband of his trousers.

That comfortable expression on his face was as if he had just finished a full-on massage.

"That feels good."

Zhang Taichu shook his sleeves and casually wiped the water stains he hadn't completely cleaned off on a tree trunk by the roadside.

The atmosphere inside the training ground was extremely tense at this moment.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the disheveled Taoist priest who had kept them waiting for a full ten minutes.

Especially the pink ocean on the east side of the stands.

Zhuge Qing's fans were squeezing their glow sticks so hard they were cracking, and they were all gritting their teeth, their eyes filled with a desire to pounce on Zhang Taichu and devour him alive.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Zhang Taichu completely ignored the almost solidified murderous aura around him and swaggered into the center of the arena.

He looked at Zhuge Qing, who still maintained an elegant posture but whose face was so gloomy it could drip water, and grinned:

"Young people these days are so hot-tempered; they can't stand holding it in for even a little while?"

"I'm doing this for your own good. It would be so undignified if you suddenly needed to pee halfway through the fight."

Zhuge Qing remained silent.

He simply closed the folding fan in his hand slowly.

Snapped.

A crisp sound.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent training ground.

Zhuge Qing lowered his eyelids slightly, and his usually squinting eyes suddenly opened a crack.

A deep blue light swirled wildly within those narrow slits of his eyes.

"You jest, Taoist priest."

"Now that the Taoist priest has finished relieving himself, shall we..."

Let's begin.

boom--!!!

The moment the words fell.

An immense, suffocating surge of Qi erupted from Zhuge Qing's body without reservation.

Zhuge Qing suddenly stomped his right foot on the ground.

hum!

Centered on the soles of his feet, a pale blue halo instantly spread outwards.

Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui.

Eight enormous ancient seal script characters, as if they had come to life, spun rapidly on the ground, covering the entire training ground in the blink of an eye.

The once ordinary bluestone pavement now seems to have transformed into a vast star chart.

"Holy crap! That's...!"

"Wuhou Qimen! Starting strong right from the start?!"

"Is this the foundation of the Zhuge family? What a terrifying aura!"

The people in the stands instantly erupted in chaos.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

Zhuge Qing's ability to fix the center palace, whether in terms of coverage or speed of formation, was enough to make more than 90% of the sorcerers present feel despair.

The female fans screamed until their voices were hoarse.

"Ahhh! Ah Qing is so handsome!!"

"That's genius! Crush that stinking Taoist priest!!"

Zhuge Qing, who was at the very center of the Qimen Dunjia formation, had his hair flying and his clothes fluttering in the wind.

He stood in the central position, as if he were the master of this world.

He coldly stared at Zhang Taichu, who still had his hands in his pockets and looked indifferent, a cruel smile curving his lips.

Since you like to pretend so much.

Then I'll let you pretend to your heart's content.

"The character '艮' (Gen) represents the Earth River Chariot!"

Zhuge Qing made a hand seal with one hand and pointed at Zhang Taichu from afar.

Rumbling--

The earth began to tremble.

The bluestone slab beneath Zhang Taichu's feet suddenly shattered.

A colossal earth dragon, formed entirely from rocks and soil, roared into the sky like an ancient beast emerging from the earth, exuding an aura that could crush everything!

The earthen dragon was as thick as a water bucket, its body covered with sharp stone spikes, and its wide-open mouth went straight for Zhang Taichu's legs to bite.

If it bites you hard, not only your leg, but your whole body will be turned into mincemeat.

"Goodness."

Zhang Taichu raised an eyebrow, looked at the earthy smell that wafted towards him, and slightly shifted his footing.

call--

The ferocious dragon head brushed past the hem of his Taoist robe.

The immense wind pressure whipped his long hair back, but his feet remained rooted to the spot, completely still.

"hide?"

Zhuge Qing sneered, his fingers moving with lightning speed:

"Where can you hide in my bureau?"

"The character '巽' (xùn) – a wind rope!"

Whoosh whoosh!

A sharp explosion suddenly rang out in the air.

Dozens of invisible wind blades appeared out of thin air within this enclosed space.

Intertwined and entangled, they instantly transformed into more than a dozen transparent ropes, binding Zhang Taichu from all directions.

The spectators in the stands held their breath.

Is this the reason why Zhuge Qing is called the strongest genius in decades, with such a high level of continuous spellcasting and such seamless coordination?

However, they faced this encirclement and attack.

Zhang Taichu didn't even take his hands out of his sleeves.

He simply leaned his body slightly forward, then swayed left and right.

But it was precisely this seemingly slow movement that was extremely eerie.

Those dozen or so lightning-fast wind ropes passed right in front of him, behind him, and under his armpits each time, but never touched a single hair on his head.

Two guy ropes even collided with each other due to insufficient retraction, producing a crisp popping sound.

"Snapped!"

Zhang Taichu continued walking slowly toward Zhuge Qing without stopping.

As they walked, they continued to comment:

"This breeze is quite nice, it's very refreshing."

"You were just a little too hasty. Remember to be gentler next time, or you'll mess up your hairstyle."

Zhuge Qing's expression changed.

He watched the figure approaching step by step, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

coincidence?

No.

Once is a coincidence, twice is luck.

But he dodged more than a dozen attacks in a row, each time narrowly missing them...

This is absolutely no coincidence!

This Taoist priest... can he see through the direction of air currents?

"Since you have good movement skills..."

Zhuge Qing gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes:

"Then let's see if you can dodge this move!"

Swish!

Zhuge Qing took several quick steps, instantly changing his position.

The originally azure blue Qimen formation suddenly turned crimson the moment he stood still.

That's the color of fire.

Fierce, scorching, burning everything!

"The character 'Separation'—Red Serpent!!!"

Zhuge Qing roared and thrust his hands forward violently.

boom--!!!

A fiery serpent, five or six meters long, burst forth from his palm, accompanied by rolling heat waves.

This flame is no ordinary fire.

It is formed by the compression and combustion of pure Qi, at an alarmingly high temperature.

Wherever the flames passed, even the air was burned and distorted, emitting a series of teeth-grinding sizzling sounds.

The audience in the front row of the stands felt a wave of heat hit them, their eyebrows almost getting scorched, and they all retreated in fright.

"This is it!"

"An attack of this range is impossible to dodge!"

"That Taoist priest is going to turn into a roasted pig!"

The crimson flames reflected on Zhang Taichu's calm face.

The fire serpent opened its massive jaws, as if it wanted to swallow him whole.

The distance was less than three meters.

This time, Zhang Taichu did not dodge.

He stopped and frowned in disdain.

"Tsk."

"Playing with fire in this sweltering heat, aren't they afraid of getting heatstroke?"

Amidst the horrified gazes of the entire audience.

Zhang Taichu finally took his right hand out of his sleeve.

He casually waved his hand at the roaring fire serpent that was charging towards him.

call--

A gentle breeze swept by.

next second.

That menacing, fiery serpent seemed capable of incinerating everything.

With Zhang Taichu's wave of his hand...

Went out.

Not only was it extinguished, but not even a single spark remained.

Only a wisp of black smoke remained, rising gently in front of Zhang Taichu before quickly dissipating into the air.

Inside the martial arts arena.

Zhuge Qing remained frozen in place, his handsome face filled with disbelief, still holding the pushing palm posture.

"This...how is this possible?!"

"My Crimson Serpent... that was the prototype of the Samadhi True Fire!"

"Just like that... gone with a wave of the hand?!"

Even when facing the elders in his family, or those old monsters who had cultivated for decades, his move could not be broken so easily!

This is like a hallucination!

"Want to come again?"

Zhang Taichu yawned and patted off non-existent cigarette ash from his palm:

"If that's all you've got, then I'll have to go back and catch up on my sleep."

"I don't believe it!!!"

Zhuge Qing's mentality completely collapsed at this moment.

His pride as a genius was shattered by Zhang Taichu's nonchalant attitude.

He let out a roar, his steps becoming incredibly fast, his entire body transforming into a blur as he frantically traversed the Qimen formation.

"Kan character - water bullet!"

"The character '震' (zhen) – thunder!"

"The character '巽' (Xun) – howling wind!"

Bang bang bang bang bang——

The entire training ground instantly transformed into a testing ground for various magical bombardments.

The water balloon exploded, lightning flashed, and a gale howled.

Zhuge Qing unleashed all the techniques he had learned over the past twenty years.

He doesn't believe it!

I don't believe there's anyone in this world who can ignore the rules of Qimen!

however.

Reality, however, gave him the loudest slap in the face.

Amidst the swirling magical light and shadows.

Zhang Taichu's figure was still as... lazy as ever.

even.

He even had the leisure to reach up and scratch his back, and then casually straighten his collar, which had been ruffled by the wind.

The bombardment lasted for a full three minutes.

Zhuge Qing finally stopped.

It's not that he doesn't want to play anymore.

It's not that they can't fight anymore.

Such intense spellcasting, coupled with frequent positional shifts, was almost too much for him, even with his Qi reserves.

He was panting heavily, his hands on his knees, sweat dripping from his chin. His expensive haute couture suit was soaked through and clung to his body, making him look disheveled.

On the other hand, look at the other side.

Zhang Taichu didn't even dabble in his breathing.

Not even a speck of dust remained on that tattered Taoist robe.

A deep sense of powerlessness overwhelmed Zhuge Qing's heart like a tidal wave.

Why...?

Zhuge Qing raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Zhang Taichu, his voice hoarse:

"Why can't I hit it...?"

"My location... is perfect..."

"Good or bad fortune, mutual generation and restraint, time of birth... my calculations are flawless!"

"Why?!"

Zhang Taichu looked at the young man who was on the verge of collapse and shook his head.

He walked over slowly, hands behind his back.

This time, Zhuge Qing did not attack again.

He could only watch helplessly as Zhang Taichu stopped less than five meters away from him.

Zhang Taichu stretched out a finger and pointed to the spot where Zhuge Qing was standing.

"Young man."

Zhang Taichu's voice was calm, without a trace of sarcasm, but rather carried the tone of an elder lecturing a younger person:

Don't bother.

"Do you think that by standing in the Kun position, with your back to the earth and possessing great virtue, you can be invincible?"

Zhuge Qing was taken aback.

He subconsciously glanced down at the hexagram at his feet.

That's right, it's the Kun position.

This was the last escape route he had deliberately left for himself during that series of attacks.

It is a position that allows for both offense and defense, making it an auspicious location.

"He knows the book quite well."

Zhang Taichu curled his lip, his gaze as if he were looking at a bookworm who only knew how to study.

"What a pity, they didn't quite get it."

"You used it wrong."

"What?" Zhuge Qing's pupils widened in shock.

Zhang Taichu raised his head, glanced at the blazing midday sun overhead, and then pointed to the terrain surrounding the training ground:

"It is noon, when the yang energy is at its peak."

"This place is also the training ground of Longhu Mountain, where the earth's fiery energy is rising."

"At this time and in this place, you are clinging to Kuntu and refusing to let go."

"Fire generates earth, that's correct."

"But if the fire is too strong, the earth will scorch."

Zhang Taichu stepped forward, and an invisible pressure instantly enveloped Zhuge Qing's entire body:

"Scorched earth is bound to be brittle, and brittle earth is prone to collapse."

"The fortune and misfortune you calculated are just the fortune and misfortune in books."

"And at this time, in this place."

Zhang Taichu pointed to Zhuge Qing's feet and said, word by word:

"This location..."

"It's the Death Gate."

"It's not the exit!"