Chapter 103: The Premature Final Battle
Having witnessed Zhang Ruochen's formidable cultivation, the new students from Yunwu Commandery were no longer afraid. They rushed forward and began punching and kicking Wang Lang and Qinghai Tian.
Even Zhang Shaochu charged over, raising his foot to kick Wang Lang in the crotch.
This groin-shattering kick caused Wang Lang to spasm in pain, his legs trembling.
"You... you want to rebel..."
Wang Lang roared, enduring the pain in his crotch as he circulated his true qi, preparing to resist.
Liu Chengfeng struck out with a palm, slamming it onto Wang Lang's head and knocking him back to the ground. "How dare you resist? Break both their dog legs, strip them naked, and throw them into the center of the Western Courtyard's training ground. Let's see who dares to bully the students of Yunwu Commandery from now on."
Qingyou, lying not far away, had already woken up. Seeing Wang Lang and Qinghai Tian being beaten, he wisely closed his eyes again and continued pretending to be unconscious.
Liu Chengfeng walked over to Zhang Ruochen, cupped his hands slightly, and smiled. "Your Highness, the Ninth Prince, do you think I've gone too far?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't know what to say. If he had to personally beat up Wang Lang and Qinghai Tian, he would have felt embarrassed to do so. But the students from the Four Directions Commandery indeed needed to be taught a lesson.
Only by truly hurting them would they hesitate before trying to target the students of Yunwu Commandery again.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen remained silent, Liu Chengfeng understood that Zhang Ruochen had tacitly approved of his actions.
A commotion arose from the crowd.
Feng Zhilin emerged from the crowd with over a dozen young students, standing opposite Zhang Ruochen. Someone had informed Feng Zhilin of the situation, so he had rushed over immediately.
Feng Zhilin shouted coldly, "Enough!"
His voice carried true qi, sounding like a clap of thunder.
Liu Chengfeng, Zhang Shaochu, and the other students from Yunwu Commandery were clearly intimidated by Feng Zhilin's powerful cultivation. Seeing him arrive, they immediately stopped and retreated behind Zhang Ruochen.
"Feng... Young Master Feng... you... you must... must avenge us..." Qinghai Tian lay on the ground, his clothes stripped off, his face swollen and bloody, his head battered, and even his legs broken by Zhang Shaochu with a boulder. He was a pitiful sight.
Feng Zhilin looked at the injured man pinned under the boulder, frowned slightly, and said with displeasure, "Who are you?"
"I am... Qing... Qinghai... Tian..." Qinghai Tian's voice was slurred, barely understandable.
"You are Qinghai Tian?" Feng Zhilin walked over and carefully examined the man lying on the ground, finally confirming his identity.
No wonder—Liu Chengfeng and Zhang Shaochu had been too ruthless, beating Wang Lang and Qinghai Tian beyond recognition, so Feng Zhilin hadn't recognized Qinghai Tian.
"Bang!"
Feng Zhilin struck out with a palm, sending the boulder crushing Qinghai Tian's legs flying. He looked at the miserable Qinghai Tian on the ground, a sharp coldness in his eyes. "Zhang Ruochen, we're all students of the Western Courtyard. Don't you think you've gone too far?"
Zhang Shaochu retorted, "We went too far? When you broke both my arms a month ago, did you think you went too far?"
Feng Zhilin's eyes narrowed, a cold gleam flashing in his pupils. "Zhang Shaozhu, do you really think Zhang Ruochen can protect you? Once he dies on the life-and-death platform, I'll deal with you slowly."
Zhang Shaochu, recalling Feng Zhilin's ruthless methods, felt a chill in his heart and involuntarily stepped back two paces.
Zhang Ruochen took two steps forward. "Feng Zhilin, you're far too arrogant. Do you really think you can definitely beat me?"
The two stood five steps apart, locking eyes as their auras continued to rise.
Feng Zhilin stared into Zhang Ruochen's eyes, then suddenly a smile appeared on his face. "It seems the Ninth Prince is brimming with confidence. In that case, why wait until tomorrow? Let's go to the life-and-death platform tonight and settle this once and for all."
He then added with a slow smile, "That is, if the Ninth Prince dares."
Zhang Ruochen also smiled faintly. "Fine. Tonight it is."
Liu Chengfeng, being more perceptive, said, "Your Highness, don't fall for Feng Zhilin's scheme. You've just fought three masters at the Mysterious Extreme Middle Pole Realm, and now you're going to fight him on the life-and-death platform. You'll be at a disadvantage."
That was exactly Feng Zhilin's plan.
Seeing Nie Xuan, Wang Lang, and Qinghai Tian lying on the ground, Feng Zhilin knew that Zhang Ruochen had made significant progress in his cultivation and was a formidable opponent.
He was convinced that after three consecutive battles with martial arts masters, Zhang Ruochen's stamina and true qi must have been heavily depleted. That's why he proposed the life-and-death platform duel tonight, aiming to maximize his own advantage.
Feng Zhilin was no mindless brute; he was quite clever.
But Zhang Ruochen wasn't concerned. After all, defeating Nie Xuan, Wang Lang, and Qinghai Tian hadn't cost him much effort.
Since Feng Zhilin wanted to settle things on the life-and-death platform tonight, Zhang Ruochen was happy to resolve the trouble early, so he agreed.
The news of Zhang Ruochen and Feng Zhilin's premature duel quickly spread throughout the Western Courtyard.
Many students who had been in seclusion for cultivation emerged and headed to the life-and-death platform, eager to watch the spectacle.
Although conflicts between students in the Western Courtyard were common, few dared to duel on the life-and-death platform. After all, within the academy, no matter how big the fight, no one dared to kill. As long as one worked hard and learned from humiliation, there was always a chance for revenge.
But the life-and-death platform was different. It was usually reserved for mortal enemies. Once a student stepped onto it, it was either your death or theirs.
Every year, the Western Courtyard would see only one or two life-and-death platform duels, most often sparked by two male students vying for a female student's favor, or two female students fighting over a male student.
Never underestimate the female students, especially those of the Western Courtyard. When they fought, they could be even more terrifying than the male students.
Tonight's life-and-death platform duel was particularly noteworthy because one of the participants was this year's top new student, a prodigy of exceptional talent.
Everyone was curious: if such a genius were to lose on the life-and-death platform, would the academy's elders intervene?
The matter had indeed reached the ears of the Western Courtyard's elders.
Elder Xie, who held a favorable opinion of Zhang Ruochen, frowned upon hearing the news and muttered to himself, "Why didn't this little fellow tell me about this? Why must he duel Feng Zhilin on the life-and-death platform? Can his cultivation really match Feng Zhilin's?"
Elder Xie was aware of the grudge between Zhang Ruochen and Feng Zhilin. He had thought that if Zhang Ruochen came to him for help, he would certainly mediate the conflict.
But a month had passed, and Zhang Ruochen hadn't sought him out. Elder Xie assumed Zhang Ruochen had approached another elder, so he didn't press further.
Now, with the news reaching him, Elder Xie realized the situation had escalated to such a dire degree.
"Yunwu Commandery has finally produced a genius student in the Martial Market Academy. He must not die on the life-and-death platform. I should go and persuade him," Elder Xie said.
Xie Nantian was himself a martial artist from Yunwu Commandery, so he naturally favored Zhang Ruochen and hoped he would grow to become a high-ranking figure in the Martial Market Academy and the Martial Market Bank.
At the same time, the news reached the Dragon Martial Hall.
"A life-and-death duel tonight? Interesting. I want to see how far his cultivation has progressed in the past half-month," Duanmu Xingling said upon hearing the news, a playful smile appearing on her face. She transformed into a graceful green shadow, darting through the night sky toward the life-and-death platform.
Duanmu Xingling wasn't worried about Zhang Ruochen losing; she was merely curious about his recent training results.
When Duanmu Xingling arrived at the life-and-death platform, she noticed a breathtakingly beautiful woman standing on a distant viewing platform. Moonlight bathed her, making her seem cloaked in holy light, every inch of her skin crystalline and radiant, indescribably stunning.
On her back was an ancient sword, and her waist-length hair was a brilliant sapphire blue. Her figure was elegantly curved, her demeanor icy, like a moon palace fairy descending from the heavens. The other students dared not approach her.
This woman, as ethereal as a celestial maiden, was Huang Yanchen. As one of the three great female demons of the Western Courtyard, who would dare come near her?
"Sister Chen, you arrived before me," Duanmu Xingling said, her eyes narrowing as she turned into a streak of afterimages and flew to Huang Yanchen's side.
Huang Yanchen gazed at Zhang Ruochen in the distance, her starry eyes carrying a cold, frosty aura. "I came to see how Feng Zhilin will kill him."
Duanmu Xingling smiled mysteriously. "He's the number one Yellow Rank of our Dragon Martial Hall, a peerless talent. You should have some faith in him. Who knows, he might just defeat Feng Zhilin."
"A Mysterious Extreme Middle Pole Realm martial artist defeating a Mysterious Extreme Great Pole Realm martial artist? Has such a genius ever existed in the history of the Martial Market Academy?" Huang Yanchen shook her head gently, not very optimistic about Zhang Ruochen.
"But I heard he's already reached the Mysterious Extreme Later Realm, making great progress," Duanmu Xingling said with a laugh.
Huang Yanchen replied, "Even if he's reached the Mysterious Extreme Later Realm, he's still three realms behind."
Huang Yanchen was herself a top-tier genius, so she understood the limits of talent.
Some geniuses were invincible within the same realm. Others could cross one or even two realms to defeat their opponents.
But crossing three realms to defeat an opponent was something even Luo Xu, the greatest genius in the Western Courtyard's history, had never achieved.
Moreover, Feng Zhilin was a student of the Western Courtyard.
Every student admitted to the Western Courtyard was a genius. Among Mysterious Extreme Great Pole Realm martial artists, Feng Zhilin was undoubtedly at the top, capable of taking on three to five opponents of the same level simultaneously.
Thus, for Zhang Ruochen to defeat Feng Zhilin was practically impossible.
Huang Yanchen wasn't alone in this belief. Most of the students present didn't think Zhang Ruochen stood a chance, viewing the duel as a foregone conclusion.
Even if Zhang Ruochen had defeated three Mysterious Extreme Middle Pole Realm masters, what did that matter? Middle Pole Realm and Great Pole Realm were entirely different levels.