“Third Sister, you underestimate Da Zhuang,” said Zhou Donghuang while shaking his head.
“What? Are you saying that, although Da Zhuang has only just broken through to the Dharma stage, he is already more powerful than me? Little Brother, Da Zhuang is not like you!” He Mengxi did not believe him.
“Da Zhuang, why don’t you spar with Third Sister,” said Zhou Donghuang as he looked at Da Zhuang with a smile.
Da Zhuang quickly shook his head when he heard Zhou Donghuang’s suggestion. “No way. How can I do anything bad to Sister?”
“Da Zhuang, it’s just a friendly challenge.” Zhou Donghuang’s confidence made He Mengxi doubt herself. She looked at Da Zhuang and said, “Since Little Brother has so much faith in you, I also want to see how powerful you are. If you manage to defeat me, I will be happy for you.” He Mengxi looked at Da Zhuang with motherly eyes.
He Mengxi’s words made Da Zhuang light up. He smiled and shook his head, replying, “Sister, I am no match for you.”
Whoosh! He Mengxi took to the skies and floated in mid-air, looking down at Da Zhuang. “Come on, Da Zhuang.”
“Go ahead.” Seeing Da Zhuang glance at him, Zhou Donghuang smiled calmly and said, “Don’t hold back! Otherwise, Third Sister won’t be happy.”
“That’s right! Da Zhuang, if you hold back while sparring with me, I will be very unhappy with you,” He Mengxi added. She was also curious to know the source of Zhou Donghaung’s confidence in Da Zhuang.
He Jin had not muttered a word since the beginning. He just watched quietly as Da Zhuang also took to the skies and came face-to-face with his daughter. In his opinion, Da Zhuang, who had only just attained the Dharma stage, was surely no match for her. On the other hand, Zhou Donghuang’s confidence made him doubt himself. Although he had not had many interactions with Zhou Donghuang, the lad had sprung countless surprises on them in this short time. First, he had tricked the Summer Valley people with his fake goods. Then, not long after attaining Dharma, he’d managed to defeat the arrogant Summer Valley disciple, Lian Can, who was the son of the Summer Valley’s chief, Lian Kun.
Now, Zhou Donghuang had produced an ancient elixir that had allowed Da Zhuang to attain Dharma within one short month. The two incidents, Zhou Donghuang easily defeating Lian Can within a short time of achieving Dharma and helping Da Zhuang reach Dharma, were extremely shocking for He Jin. These were feats he considered next to impossible!
“Da Zhuang has been practicing the ‘Fiery Thunder Training Regimen.’ If this wasn’t an accident, he should have a lightning fire Dharma. As the thought crossed Zhou Donghuang’s mind, Da Zhuang took to the skies. He came face to face with He Mengxi, who was waiting to begin. Inner Yuan radiated from his body.
The next moment, He Mengxi produced a ten-meter-tall Dharma that extended from her body: a ten-meter-long sword. After it took shape, it radiated fearsome power as the inner Yuan surrounding the sword swallowed it like a colossal python waiting to strike.
“Da Zhuang, go all out. Let me see how powerful you are now that you’ve attained Dharma.” With that, He Mengxi’s giant sword Dharma swooped beneath her feet and lifted her up into the air, carrying her toward Da Zhuang.
“Yes, Sister.” Da Zhuang agreed as his Dharma also appeared. It was a blazing flame ten meters tall. In the middle of the flame flashed a streak of white lightning. As the fire burned, it made an extremely sharp crackling sound.
“What Dharma is this?” He Mengxi was taken aback. From her understanding of the technique that Da Zhuang was practicing, after Da Zhuang had attained Dharma, he should have produced a knife-shaped Dharma. However, the Dharma that Da Zhuang had just created took her by surprise.
It was not only He Mengxi who was surprised, but Chief He Jin was also shocked. He was knew what training technique Da Zhuang was using. Unless he’d changed techniques, he should have produced a knife Dharma. “Could Da Zhuang have changed his technique?” He Jin looked at the young man in white, who was not far from him, and saw that he did not seem surprised at all to see the Dharma that Da Zhuang had just produced. It was as if he had expected Da Zhuang to create a Dharma that looked like fiery thunder.
“Da Zhuang, I’ll make my move.” Although surprised at Da Zhuang’s Dharma, He Mengxi did not overthink it. She called out to Da Zhuang, then drove the massive sword Dharma beneath her feet toward Da Zhuang, attacking him.
Whoosh!! The giant sword Dharma pierced the air. It made a shrill whooshing sound as it split the sky. Waves of icy cold wind were released from either side of the giant sword Dharma. Its cold wind washed over Zhou Donghuang and He Jin below, making their robes flap noisily.
Faced with the onslaught of the giant sword Dharma, Da Zhuang’s eyes flashed with terror. After all, this was his first time challenging a Dharma adept in battle. Furthermore, he was going against an adept using a fierce offensive Dharma such as the giant sword. With just a single strike, the sword Dharma could easily pierce the wind and destroy anything in its path!
Zhou Donghuang could see the fear and anxiety in Da Zhuang’s eyes, so he reminded him, “Da Zhuang, don’t forget that you are a Dharma adept too.” He could understand Da Zhuang’s feelings. In the past, when he had just attained Dharma, he had also had the same reaction during his first battle against a Dharma adept.
Hearing Zhou Donghuang’s reminder, Da Zhuang’s expression changed, and his body wrapped around the flame like a python around its prey. In the next instant, the fire exploded. Da Zhuang and his fiery thunder Dharma faced the onslaught of He Mengxi and her sword Dharma head on.
“Hmm?” Just as Da Zhuang struck out, he stared straight at the sword coming directly toward him. He wanted to escape from it at first, but then, suddenly had a flash of insight. He felt as if he could easily take down this sword with just a flick of his hand. His muscles tightened, and he coiled like a spring, ready to pounce. This feeling seemed to control him, as if he’d been possessed. He reached out for the giant sword Dharma flying toward him.
When she saw this, He Mengxi’s expression changed. She tried to reduce the force of her attack. But she soon realized that Da Zhuang’s outstretched hands, with the flame surrounding the lightning and thunder, were gripping her giant sword Dharma and stopping it from moving even an inch. She tried to increase her strength, but the giant sword Dharma did not budge.
It was only when she utilized all of her strength that the giant sword Dharma trembled lightly in Da Zhuang’s hands. Even then, Da Zhuang was still fully controlling his Dharma. No matter how much she struggled, the giant sword could not be removed from the iron clasp of Da Zhuang’s hands.
“How is this possible?!” This situation seemed simply incredible for He Mengxi. Da Zhuang had just attained Dharma, so how could he possibly take control of her giant sword Dharma so easily? Furthermore, Da Zhuang was still holding on to her giant sword. His hands were like pincers, and her giant sword could not move an inch.
“Sister, use more strength.” Da Zhuang looked at He Mengxi with confusion. He thought that He Mengxi had been holding back to protect him. He said with a smile, “Sister, you do not have to hold back your strength. I am still able to withstand this.”
More strength? If she had not known Da Zhuang well enough to know that he would not say something like this for fun, He Mengxi would have thought that Da Zhuang was making fun of her.
“Da Zhuang, I am already using all my strength,” He Mengxi replied with a bitter smile.
“Huh?” Da Zhuang was shocked. His eyes opened wide as he asked, “Sister, are you already using all of your strength?”
“Based on pure strength, I was never as strong as you. Now, let go,” said He Mengxi gently. “I’ll try to attack you secretly. Your weakness has always been your slow reaction time, so this is a good chance for me to test your reaction time now that you’ve attained Dharma.”
“Alright.” Da Zhuang nodded stiffly. He released his hands, freeing He Mengxi’s giant sword Dharma. He Mengxi could have also ust given up her giant sword Dharma. But, if she had, her inner Yuan would have been greatly depleted, and the next time she formed a Dharma, it would have been far weaker. Then, she would be even less capable of matching Da Zhuang.
Da Zhuang’s reaction time was always at least half a beat too slow. This was his weakness. In the past, when he had entered the Lightning Sword Sect, joined the Autumn Valley, and sparred with disciples of the same skill level, he’d lost every round. His strength was formidable, but if his opponent launched a sneak attack at him, his reaction was so slow that he would end up defeated. Today, He Mengxi had already tested his strength since attaining Dharma, and she now wanted to test if his reaction speed had improved or whether it remained his weakness.
Whoosh! As He Mengxi’s giant sword rushed at Da Zhuang from behind, Da Zhuang could hardly respond. But his muscles instinctively tightened, and his fiery thunder Dharma rushed over to the back of his body and opened up into a colossal flame to receive He Mengxi’s sword.
However, since the fiery thunder Dharma had only reaceted out of self-defense, its power was far less than what it would have been if Da Zhuang had taken the initiative to control it. Even so, when it stopped He Mengxi’s sword, it was as if her sword had stabbed into a ball of cotton wool. It was very hard to remove.
“Huh?” Da Zhuang only realized what had happened when he saw the giant sword up close. He flicked his hand, and the fiery thunder rushed out and consumed the giant sword. He Mengxi was taken aback by his inner Yuan’s rebound, which was so strong that she spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Sister!” Seeing that he had hurt He Mengxi, Da Zhuang’s expression changed drastically and filled with anxiety. “Sister, I…I did not do that on purpose. I did not do it on purpose!”
However, although He Mengxi was hurt, she was only slightly injured and ignored Da Zhuang’s angst. With a swift motion, her inner Yuan from was released from her body and filled up the giant sword Dharma, returning it to its full strength. At the same time, she made the giant sword Dharma beneath her rush around Da Zhuang.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
…
In an instant, He Mengxi produced almost a hundred swords that attacked Da Zhuang from all angles. Da Zhuang’s reaction time had always been slow before, so how could he possibly react to this?
However, at that very moment, Da Zhuang’s fiery thunder Dharma condensed. It turned into fiery armor, compacting the thunder and lightning to protect the man at its center. No matter how viciously the swords flew around, they were not enough to break through the strong armor. Da Zhuang was untouched.
