Chapter 28: Who Is the Real Genius?
In the final battle, the Ninth Prince, Zhang Ruochen, faced off against the number one genius of the Situ Clan, Situ Linjiang.
Before the year-end assessment, Zhang Ruochen was still regarded by everyone as a waste who had just awakened his Divine Martial Mark. But now, no one dared to underestimate him—including Situ Linjiang, who stood across from him.
"Fight!"
Situ Linjiang let out a loud roar and immediately infused his true qi into his long spear.
The pitch-black spear was engulfed in flames, transforming into a fiery serpent as it thrust toward Zhang Ruochen.
Situ Linjiang was well aware that Zhang Ruochen's cultivation and strength were definitely inferior to his own. However, Zhang Ruochen's control over true qi and power was exceptionally precise, which made him somewhat wary.
To defeat Zhang Ruochen, he had to launch a fierce and relentless assault, leaving Zhang Ruochen no chance to counterattack.
As long as Zhang Ruochen had no opportunity to strike, this battle would be his to win.
Situ Linjiang was indeed far stronger than Xue Kai, and his spear technique was executed with near perfection. Yet, Zhang Ruochen remained calm, showing no signs of panic or fear.
"Blazing Fire Spirit Snake!"
The spearhead, resembling the head of a fire snake, chased closely behind Zhang Ruochen, aiming for the center of his back.
Zhang Ruochen ducked low, dodging the spear, and thrust his Bishui Sword forward, directly targeting Situ Linjiang's right hand that held the spear.
Situ Linjiang took a step back to evade the sword strike, then immediately struck again, swinging the spear like a staff toward Zhang Ruochen's head.
Before the spear could land, sparks of fire had already fallen onto Zhang Ruochen, burning small black holes into his imperial python robe.
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, "Such fast reaction speed!"
At this moment, there was absolutely no time to dodge.
"Heavenly Heart Sword Bell!"
Zhang Ruochen activated all eleven of his internal meridians, channeling a steady stream of true qi into the Bishui Sword, awakening two of its ice-type inscription patterns.
He twisted his body and swung the sword to block.
"Whoosh!"
A pale blue bell shadow, over three meters tall, enveloped Zhang Ruochen's body, spinning rapidly and emitting a chilling cold aura.
Situ Linjiang struck the surface of the pale blue bell shadow with his spear, but a powerful force repelled him, preventing him from shattering the bell shadow.
It was blocked!
"Boom!"
The recoil force numbed Situ Linjiang's arm.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen charged out from within the sword bell and slashed his sword toward Situ Linjiang, unleashing a sword aura over eight meters long.
"Heavenly Heart Points the Way!"
Another spirit-level low-grade sword technique!
Situ Linjiang's expression shifted slightly. He immediately retreated to evade the sword aura, then roared again and thrust his spear once more at Zhang Ruochen.
"Crackle!"
Due to the extreme speed of the spear thrust, the blazing spearhead rubbed violently against the air, turning red-hot and scattering sparks.
Zhang Ruochen avoided a direct clash with Situ Linjiang, leaping into the air to dodge the spear strike.
"Foolish! In midair, you can't gain any leverage—you're a sitting duck. Let's see how you dodge my second strike!"
Situ Linjiang reacted swiftly, pushing off the ground with both feet and launching himself into the air, thrusting his spear toward Zhang Ruochen's chest.
"Who says I can't gain leverage? I'll use your force!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword repeatedly, clashing with the spear.
"Clang! Clang!"
Each time the Bishui Sword struck the spear, Zhang Ruochen's position shifted subtly. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ruochen delivered nine consecutive slashes, each one hitting the spear.
By the time the ninth slash landed, Zhang Ruochen had moved below Situ Linjiang, leaving Situ Linjiang suspended in midair, now the sitting duck.
Those nine slashes had been executed in an instant. Anyone with insufficient eyesight would only see a blur of sword shadows, unable to grasp the subtlety.
Damn it!
Situ Linjiang's mind raced with panic. He hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen's control over force to reach such a level.
Advantage and disadvantage had swapped in an instant.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword forward.
The Bishui Sword was completely enveloped in cold air, its surface coated with a layer of ice crystals, with white frost emanating from the blade.
At this moment, Situ Linjiang had yet to land and couldn't gain any leverage, making it impossible to dodge.
"Fire Snake Strikes the Eye!"
Situ Linjiang gritted his teeth and thrust his spear as well, unleashing a burst of crimson flame power from the spearhead.
"Boom!"
The sword and spear collided, cold air and flames clashing violently, producing a deafening metallic sound.
A tremendous force traveled through the sword into Zhang Ruochen's arm, pushing him back seven steps.
Situ Linjiang fared even worse, being flung backward and nearly falling to the ground. Fortunately, at the last moment, he struck the ground with his spear, using the rebound to land steadily on both feet.
Only after regaining his balance did he notice that the sleeve of his right arm was completely frozen solid. He circulated his true qi and shook his arm, shattering the sleeve into pieces of ice that fell to the ground.
Without pause, the two clashed again.
An old eunuch in a blue-gray official robe stood behind the Yunwu Commandery Prince and exclaimed in admiration, "This is truly a clash of geniuses among the younger generation—absolutely spectacular! The Ninth Prince, as the bloodline of Your Highness, is only at the Yellow Extreme Minor Extreme realm, yet he can fight on equal footing with Situ Linjiang of the Situ Clan. It's simply unbelievable."
"Indeed! The Ninth Prince is a late bloomer with astonishing talent. His future achievements are beyond our imagination. Congratulations, Your Highness! The royal clan has given birth to another peerless prodigy." A general in armor below flattered.
Hearing the praise, the Yunwu Commandery Prince was naturally delighted. After all, the facts were clear: the Ninth Prince possessed heaven-defying martial arts talent. If they were at the same cultivation level, that number one genius of the Situ Clan's younger generation would have likely already lost.
Which father wouldn't be happy to see his child possess supreme cultivation talent?
The Yunwu Commandery Prince smiled and said, "Jiu'er's formidable combat strength is no accident. Haven't you noticed? Although Jiu'er is only at the Yellow Extreme Minor Extreme realm, he has already opened eleven meridians in his body."
"What? Eleven meridians at the Yellow Extreme Minor Extreme realm?"
The consorts, eunuchs, princes, princesses, generals, and ministers standing beside the Yunwu Commandery Prince all turned their gazes toward Zhang Ruochen on the training ground.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't been circulating his true qi, no one would have been able to see the number of meridians in his body. However, in his battle with Situ Linjiang, Zhang Ruochen had to go all out, revealing the number of meridians.
Of course, only those powerful older martial artists could see the meridians in his body.
"Eleven meridians! Really? Ninth Brother is that impressive? I recall that when Seventh Brother was at the Yellow Extreme Minor Extreme realm, he had only opened ten meridians." The Ninth Princess widened her beautiful eyes, deeply shocked.
If these words hadn't come from the Yunwu Commandery Prince himself, she would never have believed that anyone could have greater talent than the Seventh Prince.
The more meridians a martial artist opened, the stronger their martial body and the greater their potential.
For example, the Fifth Prince, who had reached the Yellow Extreme Major Extreme realm, had only opened twelve meridians. Even if he reached the Yellow Extreme Great Perfection, he would at most open fifteen meridians.
This meant that even if he later reached the Mysterious Extreme or Earth Extreme realms, he would still have only fifteen meridians, naturally unable to compare with martial artists who had opened sixteen or seventeen meridians.
In the Yellow Extreme realm, each additional meridian opened increased a martial artist's potential.
Of course, opening fifteen meridians was already more impressive than most martial artists.
"Eleven meridians! He's only at the Yellow Extreme Minor Extreme realm, and he's already opened eleven meridians—how is that possible? Does this mean his potential is even greater than the Seventh Prince's?" Lin Fengxian was deeply shocked, never imagining Zhang Ruochen could be such a genius.
This was no longer just genius—it was prodigy, a freak of nature.
Lin Ningshan asked, "Father, has he really opened eleven meridians?"
Lin Fengxian nodded, a hint of regret rising in his heart. If he had known the Ninth Prince's talent was so astonishing, he wouldn't have treated Lin Fei so coldly when she returned to the Lin Mansion to seek his help last time.
He shouldn't have even let Lin Ningshan get engaged to the Seventh Prince. After all, even if Lin Ningshan married the Seventh Prince, she would at most become a secondary consort, never the primary wife.
But if Lin Ningshan had been engaged to the Ninth Prince, given his past affection for her and their cousinly bond, she would undoubtedly have been the primary wife. If she could help the Ninth Prince become the heir to the throne, the Lin family's influence in the Yunwu Commandery would be far greater than it was now.
Of course, it was too late to say anything now.
"Who says the Ninth Prince can't defeat Situ Linjiang? Look—it's still unclear who will win or lose! Hehe!" Qin Ya laughed.
Mo Hanlin nodded and said, "With the Ninth Prince displaying such extraordinary talent, his future achievements may not be inferior to the Seventh Prince's. After this year's year-end assessment, the situation in the Yunwu Commandery is bound to undergo considerable changes!"