Chapter 15: I’ll Take Care of You

Xu Ziyan saw his speed and intensity, and already knew he was using his full power. She couldn’t reveal her own cultivation level, so she had to carefully control her cultivation level at the Sixth Layer of Houtian. While dodging with her steps, she deflected his force and engaged with him.

However, with this, there was a realm difference between the sixth Houtian layer and the eighth Houtian layer. Xu Ziyan simply couldn’t withstand his attacks head-on. She could only dodge, occasionally borrowing his force to counter. This put her at a disadvantage. Xu Ziyan focused intensely. Her figure moved like a butterfly flitting through flowers, weaving through his punches and kicks.

Although she was in a sorry state, the foundational knowledge she learned earlier in the Main Hall gradually became fully integrated, from the inside out, from her Soul to her body. Back in the Main Hall, Xu Ziyan had only integrated what she learned in her mind; she hadn’t applied it practically. In other words, it wasn’t a union of mind and body yet.

Now, under the fierce pressure from an eighth Houtian layer opponent, she had to muster all her attention and handle things carefully. This actually accelerated the fusion of Xu Ziyan’s mind and body. At first, under his pressure, Xu Ziyan was extremely hard-pressed. Though she wasn’t injured, that was because while dodging, she secretly raised her cultivation level to the seventh Houtian layer, only controlling it at the Sixth Layer of Houtian when attacking. Besides, initially, Xu Ziyan was so heavily pressured by him that she had no chance to fight back at all.

But gradually, Xu Ziyan truly achieved complete integration. The initial extreme embarrassment was gone, leaving only some awkwardness. As time passed, Xu Ziyan was no longer embarrassed. Although she was still at a disadvantage, her defense became extremely tight, and her dodging was also very light. After a while more, Xu Ziyan began to be able to counterattack.

Logically, as a Senior Disciple, he must have attended many lectures in the Main Hall before, and those teaching elders probably taught the exact same things. But just because you listened, doesn’t mean you comprehended. Even if he did comprehend, he only understood the secrets up to the eighth Houtian layer. How could he fully understand the secrets all the way up to the twelfth layer like Xu Ziyan? This was the difference in cultivation level; the height you stand at is different, and the perspective you see from is also different.

After this round of fighting, Xu Ziyan, relying solely on a sixth Houtian layer cultivation level, actually fought the eighth Houtian layer opponent to a draw, and there was even a hint of her gaining the upper hand.

This not only shocked and puzzled the surrounding New Disciples and Senior Disciples, but even the elders in the Pavilion Tower nearby felt the same. Especially that Brother Min, his heart was wildly shaken. He recalled earlier in the Main Hall, after he finished teaching, the disciples in the hall all had blank looks, except for this girl currently fighting in the arena, whose eyes were completely clear. At first, he thought she hadn’t listened to his lecture at all. But seeing the current situation, it wasn’t that she hadn’t listened; she had completely understood everything he taught!

“Then… she must be a genius!” Brother Min kept thinking. Suddenly, his heart shook violently. “No, she only has a sixth Houtian layer cultivation level. How could she understand everything I taught today? You must know, what I talked about today was a summary from Houtian Layer One to the twelfth layer. And since it’s a summary, it’s a general outline, not detailed. She actually comprehended it to this extent? Could she be a genius?”

At this time, the elders standing with him were also staring dumbfounded. Xu Ziyan’s actions completely overturned their previous understanding of cultivation. This girl before them could actually use weakness against strength… oh, no, it looked like she was about to win against a stronger opponent.

“Brother Min, this girl doesn’t seem like she didn’t listen to your lecture.”

“Yes, not only does it not seem so, it seems she understood everything you taught!”

Leaving aside these elders in the Pavilion Tower watching and questioning Brother Min, Xu Ziyan in the arena had now completely taken the initiative. In terms of understanding cultivation, Xu Ziyan was already far ahead of her opponent. Moreover, although Xu Ziyan controlled her cultivation level at the Sixth Layer of Houtian, her true level was the Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage. So naturally, she had more stamina than her opponent, who was only at the eighth Houtian layer.

By now, that young man had lost his initial sharpness. The True Qi in his body was almost depleted, and his punches and kicks had become somewhat weak and limp. He kept wondering in his heart:

“Who is this girl in front of me? How does her sixth Houtian layer cultivation have more stamina than my eighth layer!”

Just as he was puzzled, his focus slipped for an instant. Even without slipping, he was already at a disadvantage. Now with this lapse, his openings became wide open. Xu Ziyan’s palm ruthlessly slapped his face. He only heard by his ear:

“Smack ~~”

A lingering echo remained in the Inner Space: “Smack ~~ Smack ~~ Smack ~~”

The young man froze on the spot, his face turning bright red. Half was from being slapped by Xu Ziyan, the other half was from the shame of being slapped in front of so many people by a girl. But he understood in his heart that he was no match for Xu Ziyan. Yet, even if he was no match, being publicly slapped so resoundingly by his opponent, he should still make some move. Otherwise, how could he keep his standing in the Outer Hall in the future?

So, the young man had a quick wit in desperation and immediately made his move. With a “Thud,” he fell to the ground, pretending to be unconscious.

Xu Ziyan naturally saw that he was faking it, because she had been watching him the whole time. Before “passing out,” he forcefully closed his eyes, putting on a righteous and unyielding appearance, clearly pretending to be unconscious. Xu Ziyan felt amused inside but didn’t expose him. Winning was fine, but further humiliating him was something Xu Ziyan couldn’t bring herself to do yet.

She looked up towards the Senior Disciples. Their faces stiffened. Today they came to bully the New Disciples, to have fun, to reap rewards. They never expected a female disciple at the sixth Houtian layer would slap two of them unconscious in a row. They couldn’t help but feel some fear and awe towards Xu Ziyan.

To be clear, these people weren’t the true top experts of the Outer Hall. The true experts were the figures behind these four groups outside the Main Hall, namely the Gang Leaders behind these four groups.

Currently, there were over a thousand Outer Hall Disciples. Among these thousand-plus people, four experts emerged: Xu Gan, Xu Wen, Xu Tianxiao, and Xu Dongxue.

These four currently all had Postnatal Twelfth Layer cultivation levels and were considered key cultivation targets of the Clan. These four had the same cultivation level, and none could defeat the others, so they divided the Outer Hall disciples and established four gangs. Xu Gan’s gang name was just like his name, called the Brave Gang. Xu Wen, true to his name, naturally looked down upon Xu Gan’s vulgarity and named his gang the Splendid Gang. Xu Tianxiao named his gang the Soaring Heaven Gang. Xu Dongxue was the only female among the four and named her gang the Plum Blossom Gang.

These four didn’t come today. They thought dealing with a bunch of New Disciples didn’t require their presence. So they just sent their subordinates. They never expected someone like Xu Ziyan would appear among this batch of New Disciples.

At this moment, Xu Ziyan’s gaze calmly swept over the Senior Disciples opposite. The hearts of those Senior Disciples grew apprehensive. But the New Disciples, especially those who had been insulted earlier, were greatly excited. Their looks towards Xu Ziyan were full of excitement and admiration.

Xu Ziyan moved. Still unhurried, she walked towards the direction of the Senior Disciples. Behind her followed those few dozen New Disciples.

As her eyes flickered, Xu Ziyan saw eight people at the ninth Houtian layer among the Senior Disciples. They were looking at each other. Meanwhile, the Senior Disciples at the eighth layer and below had completely lost their bearings, their expressions even showing some confusion.

The crowd parted, and a figure stepped out slowly. He nodded towards Xu Ziyan and said with an arrogant expression:

“I am Xu Xiangqian of the Brave Gang. You can follow me from now on. I won’t treat you badly.”

Seeing no change at all on Xu Ziyan’s face, still stepping towards him pace by pace, acting as if he didn’t exist in her eyes, Xu Xiangqian couldn’t help but fly into a rage. He said coldly:

“Little girl, you should know you only have a sixth Houtian layer cultivation level, while I am at the ninth Houtian layer. Do you think that by luckily winning against an eighth Houtian layer cultivator, you can defeat me, a ninth Houtian layer?”

He paused here, then his face revealed a look of pity from a superior as he said, “If you don’t want to be crippled, just submit to me. As long as you serve me diligently from now on, I’ll take care of you.”