Chapter 365: Ning Zhuo vs. Chang Yan

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The next day, Lin Shanshan inquired again.

Ning Zhuo informed her that he had already comprehended the first image and was currently studying the second.

Lin Shanshan was greatly surprised and immediately asked Ning Zhuo to demonstrate the spell.

After Ning Zhuo did so, Lin Shanshan’s heart trembled, and she said frankly, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, I originally thought it would be a stroke of luck if you could comprehend one image in the remaining days. I never expected your comprehension to be so astonishing. It is I who have eyes but failed to recognize a genius, I have underestimated you too much."

Ning Zhuo was humble, speaking from genuine feeling.

He knew his comprehension wasn't so outstanding; the greatest contributor was the Lingyin Willow.

Speaking of the Lingyin Willow, with its help, Sun Lingtong had also rapidly comprehended three images, taking an hour less time than Ning Zhuo.

Sun Lingtong's comprehension was extraordinary.

Ning Zhuo had sensed this long ago.

Sun Lingtong's self-created blade techniques were all extremely sharp. One could say his talent was quite remarkable.

By the third day, when Lin Shanshan inquired, Ning Zhuo informed her that he had fully comprehended the Image of Listening to Waves in the Mountain Night.

On the fourth day, when Lin Shanshan asked again, Ning Zhuo showed a troubled expression, saying he was stuck on the third image, the Image of Peering at the Sky from Under the Tree, feeling its difficulty was very high.

After being amazed, Lin Shanshan comforted Ning Zhuo, saying that this image contained the strongest spell, so its comprehension difficulty was naturally doubled and more. She advised Ning Zhuo to try to maintain a normal mindset and not be impatient. With just the two spells he had now, dealing with Chang Yan already gave him sufficient advantage.

But Ning Zhuo shook his head, "It's still not enough!"

"Please forgive me, Miss Lin. I have already decided to publicly announce that in the battle with Chang Yan, I will not use the Oil Slick Talisman."

Lin Shanshan was puzzled, asking if this action wasn't tying his own hands.

Ning Zhuo then explained, "Although I have obtained a spiritual talisman for protection, I have always been vigilant and constantly reminded myself not to rely too much on this item."

"Because once reliance becomes habitual, it will weaken the spirit of enterprise and greatly hinder the improvement of one's own strength."

"Miss Lin, rest assured, I am not a rigid person."

"This experience at the Little Peak Contest should be primarily for tempering myself, not relying on external objects to show off and assert dominance. What is the meaning of showing off to these cultivators?"

Upon hearing these words, Lin Shanshan looked at Ning Zhuo with newfound respect again: "With such a disposition, Young Master Ning Zhuo is bound to achieve something in the future. At sixteen..."

Lin Shanshan sighed. She had seen many youths of this age, boastful and arrogant, looking down their noses at others. How could they compare to Ning Zhuo's humility and steadiness?

"Young Master Ning Zhuo, your battle with Chang Yan makes me even more look forward to it."

Ning Zhuo smiled, "Temporary success or failure is of little importance. It is just that if I lose to Chang Yan in the future, please do not blame me for failing to live up to your nurturing of me, Miss Lin."

"What nurturing? Young Master, your words are truly too kind for me," Lin Shanshan showed a look of shame.

In her opinion, Ning Zhuo's immense progress was primarily due to his own intelligence, comprehension, and hard work.

And in Ning Zhuo's view, having a training partner like Lin Shanshan was truly rare. Lin Shanshan was the offspring of a Nascent Soul cultivator and had been cultivated from a young age. Her basic skills were solid in all aspects, with no shortcomings.

Ning Zhuo had truly learned a lot from sparring with her.

A few days later.

Ning Zhuo and Chang Yan appeared on the training ground.

Chang Yan was dressed in yellow and stood six feet tall. His transformation was highly advanced, only his amber pupils still retained the vertical slit of a snake.

Humans are the spirits of all things.

Demon cultivators generally transform into human form. Once the transformation is successful, their spiritual nature increases greatly, which greatly aids in comprehending cultivation methods, spells, and so on.

Therefore, one can also infer some of a demon cultivator's strength from the degree of their transformation.

Chang Yan's snake eyes reflected Ning Zhuo's figure. He opened his mouth and said, "Young Master Ning Zhuo, I heard you spread the word that you will absolutely not use a spiritual talisman for protection in this battle. Is this true?"

Ning Zhuo nodded and then shook his head, "In a critical moment, the spiritual talisman will naturally protect my life. However, relying on a Golden Core spiritual talisman to spar with Fellow Daoist Chang Yan would be somewhat an unfair victory. It is also not conducive to honing my combat skills and my determination to advance."

"Therefore, in this battle and subsequent battles, if I use the Oil Slick Talisman to protect myself, then I will have proactively admitted defeat."

As soon as these words were spoken, the spectators burst into an uproar.

Some exclaimed in admiration, "I never expected this Ning Zhuo, despite his noble background, to have such a spirit!"

Others sneered, "Spiritual talismans are also part of one's strength. Deliberately abandoning them is like tying one's own hands, simply utterly pedantic!"

Lin Shanshan was still mixed in the crowd. Hearing someone mocking Ning Zhuo, she sneered internally, "How can you people understand Young Master Ning Zhuo?"

Chang Yan received Ning Zhuo's response and snorted coldly, "Since you have made such a decision, do not regret it when you are defeated later."

Ning Zhuo smiled and gestured with his hand, "Please."

The battle began.

Chang Yan stomped his foot and burrowed directly underground.

His main body was an earth snake, and the technique of earth遁 had long been an instinct for survival, as familiar as breathing.

Generally speaking, cultivators dealing with earth遁 techniques would naturally prioritize ascending to mid-air.

This way, if Chang Yan wanted to use earth遁 for a sneak attack at close range, he would inevitably miss.

But Ning Zhuo did not do so. Instead, he silently chanted incantations, paired with hand seals, and finally squatted down, slamming his palms onto the ground.

Wood Element – Root and Vine Entanglement.

Chang Yan quickly moved underground, and in a blink of an eye, he was about to reach Ning Zhuo's feet.

At this moment, a large number of tree roots and vines rapidly grew underground, defending the ground beneath Ning Zhuo's feet as if it were an impenetrable fortress.

Numerous roots and vines broke through the soil and quickly entangled towards Chang Yan.

Chang Yan hurriedly dodged.

His遁 speed was extremely fast, and he successfully evaded, secretly urging an earth element spell.

Earthquake!

The ground of the training ground vibrated violently. An invisible shock force emanated from the epicenter, surging forth and impacting Ning Zhuo and the roots and vines beneath his feet.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and unleashed the second spell he had been brewing for a long time.

Wood Element Spell – Pine Waves and Green Tides.

This was the spell Ning Zhuo had comprehended from the Image of Listening to Waves in the Mountain Night.

In an instant, a full fifty percent of his magic power surged out.

One unit of fire element magic power generated two units of earth element magic power. Two units of earth element magic power mutually generated four units of metal element magic power, four units of metal element magic power generated eight units of water element magic power. Eight units of water element magic power naturally resulted in sixteen units of wood element magic power!

Ning Zhuo's five element magic power was evenly distributed. One unit of fire element magic power was equal to sixteen units of wood element magic power. One unit of earth element magic power could be transformed into eight units of wood element magic power. One unit of metal element magic power became four units of wood element magic power. One unit of water element magic power transformed into two units of wood element magic power.

Including the previous wood element magic power, there were a total of thirty-one units!

After the mutual generation of the five elements, the entire magic power expanded by more than six times!

Therefore, the Pine Waves and Green Tides spell unleashed formed vast, long emerald green waves that surged outwards in all directions.

The green tides and the invisible force of the earthquake collided, overturning the entire ground of the training ground.

The ground shook, cracks appeared everywhere, large chunks of soil collapsed into pits, and some were squeezed and bulged.

The two sides clashed with spells from a distance.

Ning Zhuo was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but relying on the excellence of the Three Sects' Superior Techniques and the transformation of the mutual generation of the five elements, he actually fought to a stalemate with Chang Yan, who was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

But this was not over yet!

Ning Zhuo roared, clapping his palms together in front of his chest.

Wood Element – Tree World Descent!

Vines broke through the soil, emerged from the ground, rapidly ascended, and grew into giant trees.

A dense forest of thick trees and countless branches and leaves formed an impenetrable cage of trees.

In this huge tree world, Chang Yan was like an insect, trapped within.

Chang Yan was shocked, feeling the boundless wood element magic power constantly eroding towards him.

"He actually knows this move!"

Chang Yan dared not use any more earth element spells. In this tree world, it was purely adding nourishment to the opponent.

He had to activate various magical artifacts, using their sharpness to cut vines and chop down trees.

However, no matter how many he cut down, the same number of trees grew back in an instant.

If it weren't for the limited range of the training ground, Ning Zhuo could have expanded the entire tree world.

Chang Yan was a demon cultivator, and there was no major demon cultivator force in this Southern Bean Kingdom. Chang Yan was just a rogue cultivator.

Being a rogue cultivator, his magical artifacts were unremarkable, all being subpar.

These magical artifacts had minimal effect and couldn't even get close to Ning Zhuo.

Chang Yan's strength was earth element spells, but Ning Zhuo directly unleashed three rounds of spells, seizing the initiative, and the entire battlefield was set up. Chang Yan had no ability to turn the tide.

"Damn it!"

"If I had launched an earth element spell first and competed for the attack, it wouldn't be so embarrassing now!"

After holding on for a short while, Chang Yan reluctantly admitted defeat.

"You have yielded," Ning Zhuo lightly jumped down from a tree branch, cupped his hands to Chang Yan, and was courteous.

Chang Yan's mouth twitched. He shook his head, calmed himself down, stiffly congratulated Ning Zhuo a few words, and was the first to leave the training ground.

"We won!" Lin Shanshan clenched her fists, excited.

She had known for a long time that Ning Zhuo had mastered these three wood element spells. But witnessing this victory with her own eyes, she still found it a bit unbelievable.

The first two spells were one thing, but the key was the third one, Tree World Descent, which was very difficult to cultivate, yet Ning Zhuo had successfully accomplished it.

"Such comprehension!" Lin Shanshan sighed with emotion, "This is already comparable to the Senior Brother's comprehension in swordsmanship."

The surrounding cultivators were also sighing with emotion.

"I never thought Ning Zhuo actually mastered the Tree World Descent technique."

"I've seen many wood element cultivators, but this is the first time I've seen someone cast this technique with my own eyes."

"Tree World Descent is indeed powerful, but Ning Zhuo's magic power reserves are also quite abundant. He maintained it for so long without any signs of weakening."

"If you ask me, his tactical choice was absolutely correct. By seizing the initiative, he rendered Chang Yan powerless to turn the tide. Chang Yan was already countered by wood element spells and lost the initiative, which is why he was defeated so decisively."

The cultivators analyzing the battle indeed had some insightful observations.

Regarding this battle, the general consensus was that it would be a protracted war of attrition. Unexpectedly, under Ning Zhuo's powerful wood element spells, it ended so quickly.

"Ning Zhuo got Chang Yan's cave dwelling, but it's far from over. His combat power is definitely capable of challenging for the top ten cave dwellings."

Just as the cultivators were guessing Ning Zhuo's next challenge target, Ning Zhuo had already left the training ground and was walking side by side with Lin Shanshan on a tree-lined path.

"Miss Lin," Ning Zhuo suddenly said during their conversation, "I'd like to ask for a favor. This might make you feel awkward."