Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

Chapter 44 Gods Among Mortals, The Battle of Grandmasters

After Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo left the private room, Zhan Yuanyuan stood there stunned for a long time.

She looked at the closed door, then at Zhou Cheng, her lips moved, but she didn't know what to say.

Zhou Cheng didn't say anything, but simply picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

Zhan Yuanyuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and muttered softly, "Your Majesty—why did Your Majesty leave? What about me? What am I going to do?"

Zhou Cheng put down his teacup and looked at her: "Weren't you already promised to me?"

Zhan Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red.

She lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito's hum: "Then—then am I—"

From now on, —

Zhou Cheng nodded: "From now on, you will follow me."

Zhan Yuanyuan pursed her lips, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her.

She wasn't really stupid; she naturally understood why Zhan Doudou wanted to keep her here.

As the eldest princess of Northern Qi, and out of favor, she knew from a young age that she could not escape the fate of being married off.

She had thought countless times in the dead of night about which country she would be sent to, which man she had never met, and how she would grow old alone in a foreign land.

But now————

She secretly glanced at Zhou Cheng.

His face looked exceptionally beautiful in the afternoon sunlight, with a touch of languor in his eyes that made her feel close to him and at ease.

He took her out of the palace, accompanied her to the night market, bought her candied hawthorns, helped her put on her dolls, and even held her possessively as she fell asleep.

Zhan Yuanyuan suddenly felt that this outcome seemed—not bad at all.

She pursed her lips, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Seeing her shy yet secretly delighted expression, Zhou Cheng reached out and pulled her onto his lap.

Zhan Yuanyuan gasped softly, then heard, "It seems you like it too, you can hardly contain your laughter. My great princess, laugh if you want to. Since you've come with me, I won't let you suffer any injustice."

Xin Zhan Yuan Yuan gently pushed him away, her face flushed, "No, I didn't..."

1

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the room, spreading a golden patch of light across the floor.

Just as Zhou Cheng finished washing up, he heard a clear whistle coming from outside the window.

He opened the window and saw Haitang Duoduo squatting on the opposite rooftop, listlessly resting her chin on her hand. When she saw him peeking out, her eyes lit up.

"Hey! My master agreed!" She waved at him. "Shall we go now?"

Zhou Cheng nodded, then turned and went next door to wake up the sleepy Zhan Yuanyuan.

Half an hour later, an inconspicuous blue-curtained carriage drove out of the east gate of the capital.

Inside the carriage, Zhou Cheng leaned back on the cushions, while Zhan Yuanyuan sat obediently beside him, her hand held by his, secretly amused.

Haitang Duoduo sat opposite, clutching two short axes in her arms, chewing on fruit she'd somehow found, and mumbled a complaint: "Hey, can you two stop being so lovey-dovey so early in the morning? You're not even married yet, be mindful of your manners!"

.

Zhan Yuanyuan blushed and subconsciously tried to pull her hand away, but Zhou Cheng gently patted her hand instead.

Zhou Cheng glanced at Haitang Duoduo: "So what if you're not married yet? Who cares about those superficial things? Especially you, you have the least right to say that. A dignified Holy Maiden of Northern Qi, standing and sitting with no manners, dressed like a village girl, carrying two axes—those who know you might think you're carefree and unpretentious, but those who don't might think you're going up the mountain to steal firewood!"

Haitang Duoduo chuckled, not caring at all.

Normally, she dressed quite elegantly in the palace, but today she simply threw on a linen blouse. She preferred the rough texture of cotton and linen to the finest silks and satins.

Just then, the carriage stopped for a moment. Soon the curtain was lifted, and a figure in moon-white robes slipped inside.

Zhan Doudou was dressed in men's clothing as usual, holding a folding fan, with handsome features and a composed demeanor.

She sat down beside Haitang Duoduo and nodded slightly to Zhou Cheng: "Please don't be offended, sir. I was really curious about what it would be like for grandmasters to fight, so I shamelessly came along."

Zhou Cheng glanced at her, nodded slightly, and said nothing.

When Zhan Yuanyuan saw that Zhan Doudou had also arrived, she became a little nervous. Her hand was still being held, but she sat up straight.

The carriage rumbled along for about half an hour, and the scenery outside the window gradually became more serene.

A distant rumbling sound drifted across the sky, like muffled thunder rolling across the heavens, or like ten thousand horses galloping. The sound grew closer and clearer until finally, the entire world seemed to be filled with that roar.

"We've arrived." Haitang Duoduo lifted the carriage curtain and jumped out first.

Zhou Cheng led Zhan Yuanyuan out of the car, with Zhan Doudou following closely behind.

What I saw before me was a magnificent sight.

A waterfall cascades down a cliff hundreds of feet high, like a silver river hanging upside down, with a magnificent force.

The water crashes into the deep pool at the bottom of the cliff, creating a mist that refracts into a rainbow of colors in the sunlight. Steep cliffs on either side of the waterfall are covered in moss and vines, and several old pine trees stand atop the cliffs, their gnarled branches twisting and turning, their forms ancient and vigorous.

The roar was deafening, and the spray of water hit us, carrying a slight coolness.

Zhan Yuanyuan gently covered her ears, stunned by the sight, and couldn't help but exclaim, "So beautiful—"

Zhan Doudou stood beside her, but her gaze was fixed on the waterfall.

There stood a simple pavilion, built against the cliff, with a thatched roof supported by a few logs. Inside the pavilion was a stone table and two stone benches, on which sat a set of rough pottery tea utensils.

A person was sitting in the pavilion.

The man was dressed in a drab gray monk's robe and wore a bamboo hat, obscuring his features. He sat there quietly, blending into the waterfall, cliff, and old pine behind him, as if he were an integral part of the world.

Bitter lotus.

Ku He slowly raised his head, and Zhou Cheng happened to look over as well; their eyes met in the air.

For a moment, the world seemed to fall silent.

Zhan Yuanyuan felt a tightness in her chest, as if a heavy stone was pressing down on her, making it inexplicably difficult to breathe. She instinctively grabbed Zhou Cheng's sleeve, only to find her hand trembling slightly.

Zhan Doudou instinctively gripped the folding fan in her hand, the veins on the back of her hand bulging. An invisible pressure made her dizzy, almost causing her to lose her balance.

Haitang Duoduo's reaction was even stronger than the other two; she not only frowned but her face even turned slightly pale.

Just then, Zhan Yuanyuan suddenly widened her eyes.

She saw that the cascading waterfall behind Kuhe, the waterfall that had poured down from a hundred-foot cliff and roared for thousands of years, seemed to have frozen in time.

The water flowed suspended in mid-air, maintaining its cascading posture, yet remained completely still. The splashing droplets and rising mist were all frozen in place, like a painting frozen in time.

"This—" Zhan Yuanyuan opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

The next moment, Zhou Cheng chuckled softly.

The laughter was soft, yet it seemed to shatter the illusion between reality and illusion.

Zhan Yuanyuan then saw the frozen waterfall crash down, the water mist rise again, and the roar once more filled the heavens and earth.

Everything returned to normal, as if what had just happened was just her imagination.

Kuhe, wrapped in a monk's robe, stood up and gestured for him to enter from a distance.

Zhou Chengchong nodded slightly and walked towards the pavilion.

Zhan Yuanyuan instinctively tried to follow, but was pulled back by Haitang Duoduo.

"Don't go." Haitang Duoduo's voice was a little dry. "We'd better stay away from those two monsters right now."

Zhan Yuanyuan looked at her and saw that this usually carefree saintess was now pale and her forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

She didn't understand, but she still obediently nodded.

Haitang Duoduo then looked at Zhan Doudou and saw that the other party had taken several deep breaths and calmed down.

She knew that the two of them were not skilled in martial arts, so they couldn't clearly sense what was happening and their reactions were minimal. Apart from the people involved, she was probably the only one who knew what had just occurred.

The mental clash between Grandmasters was so intense that even the aftershocks made her, a ninth-rank cultivator, extremely uncomfortable. She couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be to face such an inhuman mental attack head-on.

I reckon a normal ninth-rank character would probably die from just one look...

Inside the pavilion.

Zhou Cheng sat down opposite Ku He. The two were separated by a rough stone table, on which sat a pot of freshly brewed tea. The tea was clear and steaming, but there were no utensils for starting a fire around them.

Kuhe slowly removed the straw hat from his head, revealing a bald head, the wrinkles on his forehead exuding a quiet and peaceful aura.

"Haitang said you came to see me." Kuhe's voice was calm, like a mountain spring. "She told me a lot."

Zhou Cheng nodded.

Ku He looked at him, and in her weathered eyes, Zhou Cheng's excessively youthful figure was reflected.

"I never expected that another grandmaster would be born into this world, and so young at that," Ku He said slowly. "Your appearance will shatter the stalemate that has lasted for decades."

"You're right. Even a grandmaster would not survive a three-on-one fight."

"Although Grandmasters never fought to the death in the past, they could sense each other. If Ye Liuyun, that person from the Qing Kingdom's palace, and you were to join forces, Si Gu Jian and I would surely die."

He spoke calmly, one sentence at a time, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Zhou Cheng didn't speak, but listened quietly.

Kuhe's gaze fell on his face; it was a peaceful gaze, yet it seemed to penetrate everything.

"I'm very interested in knowing your purpose, your thoughts," Ku He said, changing the subject. "Before I truly understand you, I'd like to have a match with you."

Zhou Cheng was not surprised.

Ku He: "You are a Grandmaster, you should understand. A Grandmaster's words can deceive, his actions can deceive, but a Grandmaster's true energy, which integrates his spirit, thoughts, and philosophies, cannot deceive. I want to know what kind of person is standing before me."

He paused, and a sharp glint suddenly flashed in his aged yet bright, moon-like eyes.

"Only after we've fought can I decide whether I can trust you, and if so, how much."

Zhou Cheng looked at him and stood up.

"it is good."

Ku He then stood up and walked out of the pavilion. Zhou Cheng followed closely behind.

As soon as they moved, Haitang Duoduo quickly led her people to follow.

Zhou Cheng slowed down, and Ku He slowed down as well.

The two groups of people walked up the path on the cliff face, one after the other. After walking for about fifteen minutes, they crossed a ridge and the view suddenly opened up before them.

This is a vast primeval forest. The mountains are steep, ancient trees reach for the sky, blocking out the sun, and thick vines entwine among them, while the ground is covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves. Sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Occasionally, birds and animals would be startled, fluttering into the air or rustling away.

Kuhe gestured for Haitang Duoduo and the other two to stop at a high place and not to come any closer.

He and Zhou Cheng stepped onto the treetops and flew forward for a while.

Kuhe stopped on a big tree and turned around.

Zhou Cheng also stopped atop a tree several feet away from him.

The two exchanged a glance, and their eyes met again, and the world suddenly changed.

The bright sunlight seemed to dim instantly, and the sky appeared to be shrouded in a thin veil of shadow. The wind stopped, the calls of birds and beasts ceased, and even the rustling of the swaying branches fell completely silent.

The entire jungle seemed to have its pulse suppressed by an invisible giant hand, frozen in a deathly stillness.

On a distant mountain ridge, Haitang Duoduo, along with Zhan Yuanyuan and Zhan Doudou, stood atop the canopy of a giant tree. From here, they could overlook the entire jungle, enjoying an excellent view.

Zhan Yuanyuan stared at the small white figure from afar, her hands clenched tightly, biting her lip.

Zhan Doudou had already tucked her folding fan into her sleeve, her gaze fixed intently on the two figures. She wasn't a martial artist, and her eyesight was limited, so she couldn't discern the subtle changes in the confrontation between the two in the distance. However, she could sense that when the two stopped, the forest had completely changed.

Haitang Duoduo stood at the very front, her eyes fixed intently on what lay below. As a ninth-rank upper-level cultivator, only a step away from becoming a grandmaster, she knew better than anyone what she was about to see.

That is the pinnacle of human achievement, the realm of gods.

"It's starting," she whispered.

Before the words had even finished—

The two figures moved at the same time!

There was no probing, no building up momentum, and no fancy opening moves.

It's the simplest, most direct, and purest thing—a palm strike!

At that moment, Zhan Yuanyuan felt a momentary dizziness.

Even though there were only two people, the moment those two palms were extended, she seemed to see two towering giants simultaneously throwing punches in the void!

"boom!!!"

A deafening explosion erupted, like a thunderclap, making her eardrums ring and causing her to lose her balance!

The sound was so loud that it was no longer a sound, but a tangible impact that slammed into them.

Even from a great distance, the sound alone caused the ancient trees beneath the three people's feet to tremble and their branches and leaves to fall.

They're doing relatively well.

On the other side, the moment Zhou Cheng and Ku He clashed, the towering ancient trees beneath their feet exploded with a deafening roar.

The thick tree trunks and sturdy branches were blasted into dust in the raging airwaves before they even had a chance to fly horizontally!

Within a radius of several dozen feet around the two, ancient trees that had existed for decades, even centuries, were torn apart and fell in a radial pattern. A violent shockwave, carrying mud, rubble, broken wood, and fallen leaves, formed a massive torrent that swept outwards in all directions!

The two were clearly insignificant in front of those towering ancient trees, but with just a movement, those structures steeped in history and requiring everyone to look up to them became as fragile as paper, instantly turning to ashes!

Zhan Yuanyuan's eyes widened and her mouth opened wide, but she couldn't make a sound.

She had seen masters clash, palace guards compete, and those so-called "masters" fight with incredible skill. But compared to what she was witnessing, it was on a completely different level!

This is not a battle between people!

This is—this is a natural disaster!

Zhan Doudou was also unable to make a sound. Only now did she truly grasp the concept that a Grandmaster could "fight against a nation alone".

Such power with a casual strike—the army is truly a joke!

Haitang Duoduo stared intently at the scene below, not daring to blink.

She saw Zhou Cheng's body fly backward in mid-air during the violent impact, and take two steps back after landing.

His white robes fluttered wildly in the blast, and his hair danced wildly in the wind, making him look somewhat disheveled.

Kuhe landed straight down from the sky, her feet completely still.

"As expected, Master has the upper hand—" Haitang Duoduo didn't feel anything was wrong, and even felt relieved.

Ku He is, after all, a senior grandmaster, so it is only natural that he is stronger.

The stronger the bitter lotus, the more advantageous it will be for the Northern Qi.

A thought flashed through her mind, and then she saw Zhou Cheng regain his footing and make another move!

This time, his momentum was even stronger than before!

The domineering true energy poured out without reservation; it was a pure, violent, and unreasonable power, as if it wanted to tear everything in front of it to pieces!

Even from a distance, the intense domineering aura made Haitang Duoduo's heart tremble and she was subdued by it.

The bitter lotus remained calm.

His palms moved swiftly, the Heavenly Dao True Qi flowing endlessly, like the surging of the sea, ever-renewing. That true qi was gentle yet resilient, encompassing all things, yet concealing a hidden sharpness.

The two clashed again!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

One loud bang after another, like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart!

The entire jungle trembled, groaned, collapsed, and throbbed before that violent force. Ancient trees fell one by one, the ground cracked, and the earth, silent for countless years, was ripped up by the impact.

Wherever the two went, everything turned to dust!

Zhan Yuanyuan had long lost the ability to think and could only stare at the small white dot representing Zhou Cheng, secretly worried.

She couldn't see the details clearly, but she could tell that the little white dot was being suppressed and retreating.

"I hope he'll be alright—"

Looking at the devastating scene, she muttered to herself. Under her sleeves, her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh, and she was oblivious to the stinging pain in her palms.

No one answered her.

Zhan Doudou stared intently down below, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two figures.

She was equally stunned by the scene before her, but compared to Zhan Yuanyuan's trepidation, she felt quite joyful.

She shared the same thought as Haitang Duoduo; she had always hoped that Kuhe would be as strong as possible.

The stronger Ku He is, the greater the bargaining power of Northern Qi, and the more confident she will be in negotiations with Zhou Cheng.

But when she thought about the stakes, she suddenly became uncertain.

Looking at that devastating scene, looking at that power that was like a natural disaster—can this really be measured by bargaining chips?

At this moment, no one noticed that Haitang Duoduo's eyes were opening wider and wider.

"How is this possible—" she almost groaned.

She suspected she was hallucinating.

Because she saw that as the two fought in the distance, the distance Zhou Cheng was retreating was visibly decreasing.

At first, they would retreat several feet after each exchange of blows, then they would only retreat a few steps, and now when they collide, neither of them retreats, and they seem to be evenly matched!

Ku He has been famous for decades and has been a Grandmaster for nearly thirty years. Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, says that his years of martial arts training are less than a fraction of Ku He's!

Even so, judging from the looks of it, in just a few minutes, he was actually going to be evenly matched with Ku He!

Below, the battle intensifies.

Zhou Cheng's offensive became increasingly fierce. He no longer used only domineering true qi, but instead combined domineering true qi with Hundred Refined True Qi. The two different powers were used alternately in his hands, working together seamlessly.

The domineering true energy is fierce and violent, unstoppable, but difficult to sustain. In contrast, the refined true energy is balanced, peaceful, and continuous, perfectly compensating for the shortcomings of the domineering true energy.

Ku He's Heavenly Dao Heart Method emphasizes the unity of heaven and man, where the whole person is like the eye of the sea, with true energy circulating endlessly within the body. However, facing Zhou Cheng's strange fighting style, which is sometimes violent and sometimes protracted, he actually began to feel strained.

"boom!"

Another collision!

The soil within a radius of several tens of feet was shaken up by three feet.

This time, both of them retreated three steps!

"Good!" Ku He suddenly clasped his hands together. "What domineering true qi! What an exceptionally talented young man!"

""

Zhou Cheng stopped what he was doing and stood with his hands behind his back.

Ku He looked at Zhou Cheng, his eyes and voice full of admiration and amazement.

"Have you met Mr. Wu?"

Zhou Cheng nodded; he knew that the "Mr. Wu" that Ku He mentioned was Wu Zhu.

Kuhe's gaze fell on his face, a look that carried a hint of nostalgia.

"As soon as we exchanged blows, I sensed a certain familiarity. You must have fought against the Five Great Masters before, or even learned from them. Your fighting style bears a resemblance to theirs. But the Five Great Masters are ultimately different."

Zhou Cheng didn't speak, but listened quietly.

Ku He continued, "The Five Great Masters don't possess true qi. To fight against them, you need pure speed and extreme power, without any fancy fighting techniques. You were clearly used to this style of fighting at the beginning, neglecting the other level of competition between us Grandmasters—the struggle for the primordial energy of heaven and earth. That's why you were at a disadvantage at the beginning."

"But you realized and learned too quickly. The two kinds of true energy combined with each other, and you also began to take advantage of the surrounding heaven and earth energy. My initial advantage was easily reversed."

He sighed, his tone tinged with complexity.

"If you continue, you can gain the upper hand. However, my Heavenly Dao is in harmony with Heaven and Man, and my resilience is extraordinary. It will not be easy for me to defeat you overnight."

He looked at Zhou Cheng with admiration in his eyes, and a hint of relief in them.

"I can feel the conviction contained within your inner energy. Now, it's ready."

Zhou Cheng nodded.

"At the beginning—the master was holding back," he said. "Otherwise, if he had gone all out, even if I hadn't died, I would have inevitably been injured."

Ku He just gave a bitter smile and didn't say anything.

The emergence of another Grandmaster has a tremendous impact on the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing both structure and overall structure).

He disliked the unpredictability of someone like Zhou Cheng.

"When the fight began, he discovered Zhou Cheng's weakness."

The opponent clearly had not fought against other grandmasters, and his style was more like Wu Zhu's straightforward approach.

If he had gone all out from the start, relying on his advantage and the support of his control over the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, there might have been a real possibility that he could have severely injured or even killed Zhou Cheng.

No grandmaster would willingly give up the opportunity to kill another grandmaster.

But the opportunity is fleeting.

By the time he realized Zhou Cheng's weakness stemming from inertia and thus harbored murderous intent, Zhou Cheng had already instantly come to his senses. He decisively stopped using his domineering true energy and instead used two complementary true energies to compensate for his disadvantages, quickly launching a contest for the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

That decisiveness amazed him.

He hadn't even made up his mind to kill before he lost his chance.

Most importantly, his murderous intent was also exposed.

The spiritual conviction within a Grandmaster's true energy does not lie; he did not believe that Zhou Cheng had not sensed it.

But Zhou Cheng didn't say anything.

Ku He sighed, suppressing his emotions, and looked at Zhou Cheng: "What is your relationship with Mr. Wu?"

Zhou Cheng thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't matter. If I had to say, we probably fought for about a month."

Ku He nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

"I have sensed your conviction. I can judge your words. Let's go back, and we can talk slowly."

Zhou Cheng has no problem with it.

In the wasteland spanning several miles, the two turned around simultaneously.

Even though they had tried their best to control the area and barely moved, the Grandmaster's power still left indelible scars on this jungle.

Ku He looked at the three figures on the distant mountain ridge, "You and the descendants of the Zhan family can become the crown prince of Qi."

His voice was calm. "This is my promise to you, Ku He, as the Grandmaster of Northern Qi and as a member of the Qi royal family."

Zhou Cheng stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, faced Kuhe, and solemnly bowed.