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

"The character '兑' (dui) – Black Glazed Glass!!!"

With a hysterical roar, the last glimmer of clear blue light in the center of the training ground was completely extinguished.

Instead, a chilling shade of ink appeared.

At this moment, Zhuge Qing was no longer the dashing young master he usually was.

His skin was turning black at a visible speed, as if a layer of flowing black glass was covering his entire body. Beneath that eerie blackness, red veins bulged out like red-hot iron wires, writhing wildly on his face and neck.

That is a sign that the five elements of Qi in the body are completely out of balance.

The Qimen formation originally intended for self-protection has now become a collapsing alchemy furnace, and Zhuge Qing himself is the elixir about to explode within that furnace.

Whoosh—

A fierce howling wind echoed through the area, as if out-of-control Qi was tearing the air apart.

Bright red blood trickled down from Zhuge Qing's seven orifices, instantly evaporating into a wisp of red smoke upon hitting the ground.

"I want you... dead!!!"

Zhuge Qing stared intently at Zhang Taichu with his eyes, now only the whites of his eyes remaining, and let out a low growl like a wild beast.

boom!

The ground beneath his feet instantly collapsed, and he transformed into a streak of black and red light, carrying an aura of world-destroying power, charging towards Zhang Taichu without regard for anything else.

This is hardly a martial arts competition or friendly sparring session.

This is clearly a suicide attack aimed at mutual destruction!

"Ah Qing! Stop!!!"

From the highest point of the stands, a frail, aged voice suddenly cried out in surprise.

Several elderly men in long gowns suddenly jumped up from their seats, their faces turning deathly pale.

These were several elders of the Zhuge family.

"That's... a forbidden technique that forcibly merges the Samadhi True Fire with the Divine Strategist of Marquis Wu?!"

"He's gone mad! This child has gone mad!"

"Forcibly reversing the meridians and triggering the five elements' mutual restraint... even if he wins, he'll be crippled!"

One of the elders, so anxious that his beard and hair stood on end, flipped over the railing, trying to rush down to save the person:

"Quick! Stop him! Stop him!"

"Referee! Stop the game! Stop it now!"

however.

too late.

The black and red streak of light was incredibly fast, reaching Zhang Taichu almost instantly.

The terrifying heat and violent air pressure even lifted the bluestone slabs off the ground, pulverizing them into dust in mid-air.

The referee, a Taoist priest, was forced to retreat repeatedly by this terrifying aura, unable to get even half a step closer. He could only watch helplessly as the devastating blow was about to land.

"It's over..."

Zhuge Bai, standing in the stands, covered his eyes and cried out in a voice trembling with emotion:

"Brother Qing..."

Seeing the scene before my eyes.

Zhang Taichu frowned slightly, looking at the young man who had completely lost his mind and was acting like a madman.

"Ugh."

A soft sigh pierced clearly through the deafening howl of the wind.

"Why are young people these days so short-tempered?"

"They're always risking their lives."

Zhang Taichu shook his head and helplessly pulled his hand out of his sleeve.

Swish!

Just as the black and red light was about to hit the tip of his nose.

Zhang Taichu's figure suddenly blurred for a moment.

Followed by.

His hand, which looked withered and even calloused, seemed to transcend the barriers of time and space, completely ignoring the violent protective aura surrounding Zhuge Qing.

Snapped.

A crisp, clear sound echoed throughout the training ground.

Then, Zhuge Qing's charging figure suddenly stopped.

The black, lustrous sheen on his forehead, like a shattered mirror, quickly cracked and peeled away.

That violent black and red Qi energy, like a punctured balloon, instantly deflated completely with a "pop."

"Well……"

The madness in Zhuge Qing's eyes quickly faded, replaced by a look of bewilderment and disorientation.

His body swayed, as if all his bones had been removed.

It slumped forward limply.

puff.

He collapsed into Zhang Taichu's arms, his head slumped on Zhang Taichu's shoulder, and he completely lost consciousness.

Everything has settled down.

The training ground, which had been like an apocalyptic scene, instantly returned to calm.

Only the rubble and cracks scattered on the ground testify to what had just happened here.

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone gaped, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

Is that... all there is to it?

The devastating, world-destroying, and mutually destructive attack was just wiped out by... a single slap?

Even the elder from the Zhuge family who was about to rush down to save people is now frozen in mid-air, still in the hurdle position, with a blank expression on his face.

"This...this..."

In the center of the field.

Zhang Taichu looked down at Zhuge Qing, who was hanging heavily on him, with a look of disgust.

"Tsk."

"She looks quite thin, how come she's so heavy?"

"It's all dead flesh."

As he spoke, he shrugged and stepped back.

Boom!

Zhuge Qing, who had been leaning against him, fell face down to the ground.

"Ouch……"

This fall actually woke up Zhuge Qing from his coma.

He let out a painful groan, struggled to turn over, and lay on his back on the ground.

His vision was still a little blurry, and it felt like a swarm of bees was buzzing in his head.

"I...I'm..."

Zhuge Qing was panting heavily, feeling a dull ache in all the meridians of his body, but strangely, the sense of impending explosion had disappeared.

Instead, there is an unprecedented sense of openness.

It's like a sewer that's been clogged for years suddenly being cleared.

"woke up?"

A lazy voice came from above.

Zhuge Qing opened his eyes with difficulty.

Zhang Taichu was squatting next to him, and he was munching on a cucumber that had somehow appeared in his hand.

"Dao... Daoist Master..."

Zhuge Qing tried to sit up, but found that he had no strength at all.

"Don't move."

Zhang Taichu pointed at Zhuge Qing's forehead with half a cucumber in his hand:

"That slap just now dispersed the rebellious energy that was pressing against your Baihui acupoint."

"I'll also help you straighten out the disordered Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang."

"Otherwise, do you think you can still breathe?"

Zhang Taichu took a bite of cucumber and mumbled:

"You little brat, if you're going to practice martial arts, just practice martial arts. Why do you have to do this Yin-Yang reversal thing?"

"If you don't have the skills, why take on a job you're not qualified for?"

"If I hadn't slapped you in time, you'd probably be blown to bits by now."

Zhuge Qing was stunned.

He lay on the ground, looking at the face so close to his, still chewing.

The feeling of surviving a disaster made his whole body tremble slightly.

He remembered that feeling of losing control very clearly.

That was truly a brush with death.

What pulled him back was the disheveled Taoist priest in front of him, whom he had regarded as an enemy and looked down upon in every way.

Why...?

Zhuge Qing's voice was somewhat hoarse, and his eyes were extremely complex:

"Why did you save me...?"

"Just now... I really wanted to kill you."

"Kill me?"

Zhang Taichu burst out laughing as if he had heard a joke.

Several pieces of chewed cucumber scraps almost sprayed onto Zhuge Qing's face.

"Young man, you're overthinking it."

Zhang Taichu clapped his hands, stood up, and looked down at Zhuge Qing:

"Your skills just now were only good enough to tickle this humble Taoist priest."

"Kill me? You'd need to train for another eight hundred years."

"As for why I saved you..."

Zhang Taichu rolled his eyes and pointed to the surrounding stands:

"If you really die here, the Celestial Master's Mansion will have to collect your body."

"If your old folks come and cause trouble, will the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony still be able to proceed?"

"I'm looking forward to the victory celebration banquet tonight, and I don't want to miss my meal because of your trivial matter."

Zhuge Qing stared blankly at Zhang Taichu.

This reason...

Although it sounded infuriating, he could tell that the other person wasn't lying.

In this man's eyes, his own life might not be as important as a victory celebration banquet.

"Alright."

Zhang Taichu dusted himself off and prepared to turn and leave.

After taking a couple of steps, he seemed to remember something and turned back.

"Oh, right."

He stretched out a hand and waved it in front of Zhuge Qing:

"At current market prices, it would cost at least ten thousand to eight thousand yuan to have a top-tier traditional Chinese medicine doctor treat your meridians."

"That slap just now had the combined effects of bone setting, massage, and acupuncture."

"This consultation fee..."

Seeing Zhuge Qing's face freeze instantly, Zhang Taichu grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth:

"Let's skip it this time."

"Even if it's just me doing good deeds and accumulating some merit in secret."

"Next time you're thinking of self-destruction, remember to stay away from me."

"I was covered in blood, so washing the clothes was a real hassle."

Done.

Zhang Taichu never looked back.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he strode with an arrogant, pigeon-toed gait, slowly making his way towards the contestants' tunnel amidst a sea of ​​shocked stares.

"Referee, aren't you going to announce the result yet?"

"If we don't stop working soon, there won't be any food left in the cafeteria."

In the distance, the referee, who had been stunned, finally came to his senses.

He glanced at Zhuge Qing, who was lying on the ground unable to move, and then at the departing figure, before quickly raising the flag in his hand.

His voice trembled, yet it resonated throughout the entire venue:

"Group B...Group B (White Tiger Group)!"

"The winner is Zhang Chu!!!"