Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 356 Why does Senior Sister Zhong only hit people in the face?
He Shilie suddenly touched his nose, his hand was covered in bright red blood, and he couldn't help but stare wide-eyed in surprise.

It wasn't anger, it was just that I genuinely hadn't expected it—

Zhong Hui has never been this fierce in her usual sparring!

You should know that once the Qi is drawn into the body, the cultivator's body has been tempered by spiritual energy, making it much stronger than that of an ordinary person. Not to mention being hit until the nose bleeds, even getting a scratch is not easy. Ordinary iron and stone cannot easily injure a cultivator.

Unfortunately, Zhong Hui was also a cultivator. If her fists were imbued with spiritual power, they would be far more powerful than ordinary iron and stone!
It's just a sect competition, and only the second round. Is it really necessary to be so ruthless?

"Senior Sister Zhong, you..."

Before He Shilie could finish speaking, Zhong Hui suddenly charged forward again, his fists glowing with a faint yellow light, his attacks relentless, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

The uproar from the audience grew even louder.

"My God, did Senior Sister Zhong take the wrong medicine today? She's so strong!"

"Senior Brother Heshilie was careless! If he hadn't held back his strength just now, we might have been able to fight to a draw..."

"What do you know? It's a sect competition, not a life-or-death struggle. Senior Brother He Shilie is just being kind!"

Yan Wuqi, watching from below the stage, frowned slightly.

With her sharp eyes and deep understanding of her junior sister whom she had watched grow up, she naturally realized that Zhong Hui's move just now was precisely because she had calculated that He Shilie would not suddenly strike with full force, which was why she took such a risky and desperate move.

This decision and...a slight "lack of martial ethics" gave her a new understanding of the competition between immortal cultivators. It seemed that here, victory or defeat was far more important than the "decency" in the process.

In fact, He Shilie was only knocked back a few steps. He was neither thrown off the stage nor forced to admit defeat. In addition, although Zhong Hui's punch looked fierce, it did not really render him powerless to fight back. Therefore, the two did not determine a winner.

He was still hesitating about whether to simply admit defeat and wait for the "resurrection match" when he was forced to face Zhong Hui's punch again, which only fueled his competitive spirit.

However, with the sword already out of his hand, there was no time to analyze the situation and return it to its place. He Shilie had no choice but to circulate his spiritual power to protect himself and raise his arm to try and withstand Zhong Hui's punch.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several muffled thuds echoed as Zhong Hui unleashed his Tai Xu Fist, not just one move at a time, but several punches in succession, all aimed at He Shilie.

The collision of spiritual energy stirred up visible shockwaves that crashed against the protective barrier around the arena, creating ripples that made it difficult to see the figures of the two figures crossing paths on the stage.

The two figures were clearly not moving fast, yet they kept going back and forth, one after another, their spiritual light flashing incessantly, dazzling the eyes of onlookers.

"Drink—"

With a loud shout, a yellow spiritual light, its power suddenly amplified several times, flashed out and shot straight at He Shilie's face.

Suddenly, He Shilie felt a bitter taste in his mouth:
Why does Senior Sister Zhong slap someone in the face when she hits them?!
Having prepared, He Shilie suddenly gathered his spiritual power and threw a punch at the attacker—

He didn't want to have another nosebleed!
Around the fist that He Shilie suddenly threw, a faint phantom image resembling a mountain was flickering!

This set of fist techniques was also learned from a secret manual in the sect's library. Legend has it that it was a set of fist techniques condensed by an extraordinary body cultivator when tempering his body. It is extremely powerful and fierce, with astonishing power. He Shilie only learned a bit of it as a precaution and was not proficient in it, but it is still impressive enough to use now. At least it looks more intimidating than the Tai Xu Fist that Zhong Hui used.

"Boom—!!!" A deafening roar, far more violent than any previous collision, exploded out, and the intense light caused many people in the audience to instinctively close their eyes.

This set of boxing techniques, full of "special effects," is indeed just for show.

Suddenly, the solidified mountain phantom on He Shilie's fist shattered instantly upon contact with Zhong Hui's punch, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer.

Then, there was a crisp "crack" sound. He Shilie's fist had actually been broken by the force of the blow!
Zhong Hui was also not having an easy time. He Shilie's sudden punch was not easy to meet. The force of the recoil made her blood and qi surge in her chest and her spiritual energy became quite disordered. However, she was strong-willed and stubbornly held on, without even swaying her body. She looked as if she still had strength left.

He Shilie suddenly hissed softly, then shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Senior Sister Zhong, I admit defeat, okay? I really can't beat you! Please stop slapping me in the face!"

While Zhong Hui breathed a sigh of relief, he remained outwardly calm, even smiling with his crescent-shaped eyes revealing two small dimples on his cheeks.

She put her hands on her hips triumphantly and replied, "Oh! That's right! Why didn't you just admit defeat earlier? I'm the senior sister, you know!"

He Shilie almost burst out laughing, but the pain from his broken hand made him gasp for breath before nodding and saying, "Yes, yes, Senior Sister is better than me. I admit defeat, I admit defeat!"

At this moment, the paper puppet floating in the sky announced: "In the second round of the Western District, Zhong Hui, a disciple who reached the fifth level of Qi Refining in the previous year of the Immortal Origin, has won!"

There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a burst of enthusiastic discussion.

"She won! Senior Sister Zhong really beat Senior Brother He Shilie!"

"Good heavens! I'm really impressed! How come Senior Sister Zhong slaps someone in the face when she hits them?!"

"Wow! It seems like Senior Sister Zhong is going to take first place. I feel like after Senior Brother He Shi Lie wins the revival match, he'll have to face her again!"

"Not necessarily. Don't forget that the inner disciples are also coming to participate in the sect competition!"

"What's wrong with the inner sect? Those inner sect disciples are from the later batches, and their cultivation levels aren't that high!"

……

As expected, but what Yan Wuqi found rather awkward was that everyone had been discussing the sudden competition between Zhong Hui and He Shilie for so long, yet no one had mentioned anything about Zhong Hui launching a "sneak attack."

It's as if this behavior is actually insignificant, and even the strange rule of "don't hit someone in the face" is valued more by the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect than "ambush".

Yan Wuqi let out a soft breath, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.

Zhong Hui's Taixu Fist is indeed powerful, combining strength with softness and softness with strength. Its instantaneous burst of power is also remarkable, exceeding the normal level of a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator.

She unconsciously touched the very ordinary iron sword hanging at her waist, secretly calculating in her mind.

If I were to face Zhong Hui at this moment, since we are both Qi Refining stage cultivators, what would my chances of winning be?
or……

Yan Wuqi gently closed his eyes, concealing the complex expression in them, and sighed almost imperceptibly.

Chang Ping'an, you are now...

What level have we reached?
(End of this chapter)