Hearing the Summer Valley chief’s words, the crowd thought that Lian Kun had suggested that the fight end once an opponent was lightly attacked not only to protect Zhou Donghuang from death but also to remind Zhou Donghuang that, by saving him from an ugly situation now, Zhou Donghuang must no longer sell fake goods to the Summer Valley.
“Since you have made this clear, Valley Chief, in this sparring battle with your disciple, I shall stop once I have lightly defeated him.” Zhou Donghuang’s lips curled into a playful smile.
Zhou Donghuang understood the hidden meaning behind Lian Kun’s warning. Lian Can also understood.
“Master has so little trust in me?” Lian Can’s expression was unbelievably ugly.
The crowd of Summer Valley disciples and elders that had gathered now turned condescending and looked on with disdain after hearing what Zhou Donghuang had said. They thought that he was too arrogant.
“Make your move.” Zhou Donghuang leaped into the skies and stood face to face with Lian Can. His tone was calm and measured as he said, “I still have many things to do. The faster I defeat you, the quicker I can get back.”
“Ridiculous!” Lian Can’s eyes gleamed coldly, and his expression was dark. “Zhou Donghuang, you only reached the Dharma stage less than a month ago, do you think you can defeat me? Ridiculous! Today, let me teach you some humility. There is always someone stronger than you!”
With that, Lian Can’s inner Yuan poured out in waves. Instantly, his Dharma, which was that of an early Dharma adept, appeared floating above his head. It was the same giant palm print Dharma that had pinned Da Zhuang to the ground that time in the market. Its size was domineering.
“It’s been less than a month, where would you find the time to train your Dharma? Today, let me allow you to understand the difference between my Dharma and yours!”
Lian Can looked at Zhou Donghuang and laughed coldly, “Now, why don’t you show your Dharma.”
“As you wish.” Zhou Donghuang casually looked at Lian Can. The inner Yuan within his body trembled as one of the four animal Dharmas within him suddenly extended a strong wave of inner Yuan that flowed out through Zhou Donghuang’s body. Since attaining the Dharma stage, the four Golden Essences within Zhou Donghuang had merged together with the Dharmas. Or more accurately, the Golden Essence had become a part of the Dharma, making the Dharma crystallize and solidify. If Zhou Donghuang’s inner Yuan used to come from the Primal Core, now his inner Yuan was produced by the Dharma.
Of course, most ordinary adepts only had one Dharma within them, but he’d practiced this “Way of the Four Supremes” technique so that he would have four Dharmas within him that were completely different from each other: a dragon, a tiger, a bird, and a tortoise. These were the four supreme animal Dharmas. However, the four Dharmas within Zhou Donghuang’s body were not fully grown yet. The dragon looked like a snake, the white tiger like a house cat, the peacock like a sparrow, and the tortoise like a terrapin.
“Roar!” Although the white tiger Dharma was still like a small cat internally, it produced a ten-meter tall Dharma that looked majestic and fearsome when it roared with the dominance worthy of the animal king.
“I’ll defeat you within ten strokes!” Seeing Zhou Donghuang’s Dharma appear, Lian Can, who was eager to begin, called out as he transformed into a lightning bolt that rushed at Zhou Donghuang. Streaking through the air with him was the giant palm print Dharma, which was ten meters tall.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the giant palm print Dharma streaked through the air, because it was so fast, the air around it produced a gushing sound accompanied by a sharp whistling. It was like ghouls wailing, a shriek so shrill it could shatter eardrums.
Lian Can’s eyes locked on Zhou Donghuang coldly. He conservatively estimated ten strokes. He felt that he would certainly be able to defeat Zhou Donghuang with less than five.
As the considerable crowd looked on, Zhou Donghuang stood motionless, and his massive white tiger Dharma laid down. It closed its eyes and yawned lazily as if it could fall asleep at any time.
“Is Zhou Donghuang too scared to move?”
“This must be his first battle as a Dharma adept. It’s normal to be frightened stiff.”
Seeing Lian Can and his palm Dharma approach, Zhou Donghuang did not make any movement at all. The crowd chattered excitedly.
This time, He Mengxi, who was watching the fight from the sidelines, could not help but call out cautiously, “Little Brother!”
“Zhou Donghuang, looks like I overestimated you! With just one stroke, I’ll easily defeat you!” As Lian Can neared Zhou Donghuang, he still had not made a move. Seeing this, Lian Can was filled with excitement, and his eyes flashed with anticipation. He quickly lifted his hand, and the giant palm print Dharma seemed to sense his movement as it slapped down on Zhou Donghuang and his white tiger Dharma, following the motion of Lian Can’s hand.
“Little Brother!” He Mengxi cried out as her expression changed once again.
Boom! Boom!!
The crowd watched as Lian Can’s palm Dharma fell upon Zhou Donghuang and his tiger Dharma like a little hill, in all its sheer might.
Just as everyone was sure that Zhou Donghuang would be defeated by Lian Can with only one stroke, at the critical moment, Zhou Donghuang’s peaceful eyes suddenly flashed open.
In the next instant, the white tiger Dharma, which was lazily lying in mid-air, stood up furiously. Faced with the giant palm print Dharma that was rushing down less than ten meters away from it, the tiger flew straight up into the air.
“It’s too late.”
“Lian Can has the upper hand, and his Dharma has an absolute advantage.”
The crowd could already imagine a scene in which the tiger Dharma would be destroyed by the palm Dharma with just a single strike.
Wham!!
As the white tiger Dharma took on the palm Dharma, which had the overarching advantage, a huge boom resounded as the inner Yuans clashed in mid-air, producing huge gusts of wind that swept in all directions and a loud sound.
In the next instant, the massive tiger Dharma caused the giant palm print Dharma to dissipate with just a light bump. The crystallized inner Yuan spread out in all directions, flowing endlessly.
Boom!!
“Ah!” After the giant palm print Dharma had been destroyed by the white tiger Dharma, the rebound of inner Yuan was so strong that Lian Can’s body was flung backward. In that instant, Lian Can’s expression turned terrible, and he spit out a mouthful of blood. His body went limp. It was clear that he had been gravely injured.
“Roar!” The white tiger Dharma stood proudly in the air and let out a formidable roar like the king of beasts displaying undeniable might that could not be challenged. Until the white tiger Dharma was stowed away by Zhou Donghuang, everyone was deathly silent.
“Little…Little Brother?” He Mengxi was the first person to regain her senses. She looked at Zhou Donghuang as if she had seen a ghost. “Did he really just reach the Dharma stage?” She was utterly shocked. How could he be so powerful even though he had only just reached the Dharma stage? Once he progressed even further, how frightening would his power be? There was no other early Dharma adept in the Lightning Sword Sect who could match her Little Brother!
“Impossible! It’s impossible!!” In the sky, Pan Yilin held Lian Can steady. His eyes were filled with disbelief and helplessness as he looked at Zhou Donghuang. He had never imagined even in his wildest dreams that he would be defeated with just one blow by someone who had only reached the Dharma stage less than a month ago—especially not when he had the upper hand and full advantage!
In that instant, Lian Can remembered what his Master had told him. Now, it seemed that his Master indeed had reason to worry. His opponent must have been absolutely confident in his abilities before coming here to challenge him!
Before the Summer Valley’s disciples could even regain their senses, Zhou Donghuang looked at He Mengxi and reminded her, “Third Sister, now it looks like Lian Can is no longer able to protect Pan Yilin. Don’t you want to help Da Zhuang take revenge?”
He Mengxi flew toward the frightened Pan Yilin. Without any warning, she beat up Pan Yilin. His face turned white with fear as he whimpered. The whole time, he did not have the courage to fight back. He knew that it was useless and would likely anger He Mengxi even further.
“Third Sister, let’s go back.” As he glanced at the crowd, Zhou Donghuang and He Mengxi left the Summer Valley together. Nobody from the Summer Valley stepped forward to stop them.
Lian Can had been injured by Zhou Donghuang in a friendly sparring battle. It was rude of He Mengxi to injure Pan Yilin, but on account of the fact that even the court would not dare offend her, the people of the Summer Valley could do nothing about it. Furthermore, Pan Yilin had only been injured lightly, and not severely beaten up.
“Did that Autumn Valley disciple, Zhou Donghuang, really only attain the Dharma stage recently?” Many Summer Valley elders and disciples doubted this.
Lian Can and Pan Yilin were certain that, one month ago, Zhou Donghuang had indeed not yet attained the Dharma stage. He’d been a Golden Essence adept just like the Autumn Valley disciple, Da Zhuang.
“Master.” Lian Can returned to Lian Kan with a sour face. “I was careless. I did not expect him to be so powerful that he could defeat me with just one strike.”
“One strike?” Lian Kun was aware that Lian Can had lost to Zhou Donghuang, but he did not know that Lian Can had been defeated with just a single strike. His eyes narrowed as he asked, “How did he defeat you? Did he have the upper hand and take advantage of his position?”
To Lian Kun, a scenario in which an opponent had the upper hand and took the advantage of it to defeat his son when he was being careless, would be alarming but not impossible.
“No,” replied Lian Can, his face dark and solemn. “I was the one who had the upper hand and the advantage. He only returned the blow at the last minute. It was only when my Dharma was ten meters away from his that his Dharma took any action.”
