# Chapter 270: Nine Spirit Beast King Form
That inner palace student immediately knelt on the ground, bowing repeatedly to Qiu Lin, saying: "Greetings, Senior Brother Qiu. If Senior Brother Qiu has no further instructions, I shall take my leave!"
Qiu Lin stood there arrogantly, giving a look that said, "You may scram now."
That inner palace student, as if receiving a great pardon, scrambled away in a flurry.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at that inner palace student and shook his head with a sigh: "To be able to enter the inner palace academy, your talent must be considerable. It's just a pity that your will is not firm. From now on, you won't go far on the path of martial arts."
That inner palace student, standing among the crowd, heard Zhang Ruochen's words but thought to himself: "You are the prince consort of the Thousand Water Commandery, backed by the royal clan of the Cloud Wu Commandery, so naturally you don't fear Qiu Lin. But I have no background. With Qiu Lin's strength, he could crush me with just one finger. How can I fight him? Once I become strong, I will naturally avenge today's humiliation. On the path of martial arts, if one doesn't know when to bend and when to stand firm, how can one live long?"
Everyone has their own set of practices they believe to be correct. You might think others are foolish, but they might think you are the foolish one.
In the distance, a group of beautifully dressed young female students walked toward the Merit Tower.
Chen Xier walked among that group of female students. Her stunning beauty and perfect figure made her stand out like a crane among chickens, enough to attract everyone's attention.
Among the other female students, there were a few proud daughters of heaven with decent looks, but compared to Chen Xier, they paled in insignificance.
"Who is arguing up ahead?" Chen Xier asked.
A twenty-something female student with an aristocratic temperament smiled gracefully: "It's said to be Qiu Lin and Zhang Ruochen."
"Zhang Ruochen? Qiu Lin? How did they end up arguing?"
Chen Xier was somewhat surprised. She had never heard of any conflict between them.
"Isn't it because of you? They're fighting over your affections. You know Qiu Lin has been pursuing you all along. If you had agreed to him earlier, why would he go and trouble Zhang Ruochen?"
"Although Qiu Lin is formidable, Zhang Ruochen is no pushover either. It's said he has already killed several Heavenly Extreme Realm martial arts legends. His strength is considerable, and he might actually be able to fight Qiu Lin."
"With you saying that, I'm almost looking forward to their fight. I wonder who is stronger?"
Chen Xier smiled faintly and said: "You all just want to see chaos. Qiu Lin is already thirty-two years old. He reached the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection five years ago. He is a triple-excellence genius himself, and in terms of combat experience and martial technique application, he has reached a level of perfection. Zhang Ruochen is only eighteen this year. Even if his cultivation is on par with Qiu Lin's, when they actually fight, there will definitely be some gap."
Chen Xier walked over, deciding to help Zhang Ruochen out of his predicament.
In Chen Xier's view, Zhang Ruochen's potential was greater than Qiu Lin's. Even if he wasn't Qiu Lin's match now, he would definitely surpass Qiu Lin in the future.
Besides, Zhang Ruochen was her cousin's husband-to-be, wasn't he?
"Qiu Lin, you are already a figure ranked highly on the Earth Ranking, yet you still trouble a junior brother who just entered the inner palace academy. Can't you learn from Senior Brother and be more broad-minded?" Chen Xier said.
Seeing Chen Xier defend Zhang Ruochen, Qiu Lin became even more displeased, but he didn't want Chen Xier to think he was narrow-minded. So he smiled and said: "Junior Sister Xier, you misunderstand. I only heard that Junior Brother killed the Poison Spider Young Master, and I admired him greatly. I wanted to spar with Junior Brother. But I didn't expect Junior Brother to be so proud and aloof, unwilling to discuss martial arts with me."
Chen Xier frowned slightly and asked: "Is that really the case?"
"Of course. I am very sincere in wanting to spar with Junior Brother."
Chen Xier glanced at Zhang Ruochen, seeking his opinion.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't be bothered to argue and said: "Fine! Since Senior Brother Qiu wants to spar, I naturally cannot refuse."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen agree, Qiu Lin was delighted and laughed: "Junior Brother, how straightforward!"
"Since that's the case, let it be a friendly match. If anyone deliberately injures the other, I will definitely report it to the Law Enforcement Elder." Chen Xier glared at Qiu Lin and said coldly.
"Rest assured, Junior Sister Xier. I know my limits." Qiu Lin smiled.
"Zhang Ruochen actually dares to fight Senior Brother Qiu? He should weigh his own strength first. He'll probably end up with broken bones."
"Impossible, right? Senior Sister Chen already said no deliberate injury."
"Heh! If Qiu Lin 'accidentally' injures Zhang Ruochen severely, that wouldn't be called deliberate injury, would it?"
"I see."
The inner palace students quickly retreated, standing ten zhang away.
Qiu Lin spread his legs outward, raised his arms, and assumed an opening stance, laughing: "If there are any shortcomings in my martial arts, I hope Junior Brother can offer some guidance."
Watching Qiu Lin's opening stance, Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly. Truly worthy of being an Earth Ranking expert. Just this one opening stance had already been cultivated to the Great Perfection realm, almost without any flaw.
"Senior Brother Qiu's opening stance is called 'Standing Like a Pine.' His legs are like pine roots planted in the soil, and his arms are like pine branches swaying in the wind. Just this one opening stance alone would be enough for an ordinary martial artist to practice for a lifetime."
Zhang Ruochen did not assume any opening stance. He simply stood there casually.
"Nine Spirit Beast King Form, Third Style, Tiger King Cuts Corpse."
Qiu Lin transformed as if into a tiger king, pouncing toward Zhang Ruochen. Golden true qi surged from his body, forming the giant shadow of a golden divine tiger.
It was as if he had merged with the tiger king. He struck out with his palm, and with a bang, the stone slab beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet shattered into pieces.
Zhang Ruochen floated away like willow catkins, landing three zhang away.
"Nine Spirit Beast King Form, Seventh Style, Ape King Hammers Ground."
Qiu Lin clasped his fists together, his true qi taking the form of a giant ape, and fiercely struck toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Nine Spirit Beast King Form is one of the top-tier spirit-grade mid-rank martial techniques, and extremely difficult to cultivate. Senior Brother Qiu has already reached the Seventh Style. Truly impressive."
"I suspect it's not just the Seventh Style. Haven't you noticed that Senior Brother Qiu's moves have no end? He might have even mastered the Eighth Style."
Zhang Ruochen shifted his foot, and with a whoosh, he teleported several zhang away, once again dodging Qiu Lin's attack.
Having been evaded twice, Qiu Lin became furious and said coldly: "Zhang Ruochen, are you only capable of running? If you have the guts, fight me head-on!"
"Fine. I'll fight you head-on. If you can force me to take a single step back, I'll consider it my loss." Zhang Ruochen said.
"Arrogant!"
"Nine Spirit Beast King Form, Eighth Style, Qilin King Carries Mountain."
Qiu Lin's martial aura surged greatly. His true qi condensed into a qilin king, ferociously attacking Zhang Ruochen.
"Dragon-Elephant Shadow!"
Zhang Ruochen struck out with both hands simultaneously, channeling true qi into his arms, manifesting a divine elephant palm print and a divine dragon claw print.
"Boom!"
Qiu Lin flew backward, landing awkwardly on the ground. His legs bent, and he nearly fell.
Zhang Ruochen, however, stood motionless in place, appearing very calm.
In an instant, the difference between them was clear.
Outside the Merit Tower, those inner palace students all seemed to have stopped breathing, staring at Zhang Ruochen in shock.
"Am I seeing things? Zhang Ruochen actually defeated Senior Brother Qiu? Does that mean he also has the strength to enter the Earth Ranking?"
"No wonder he could kill several martial arts legends from the Black Market. Truly formidable. His strength is probably enough to enter the top ten thousand of the Earth Ranking."
Chen Xier looked at Zhang Ruochen with some surprise, a strange brilliance shining in her beautiful eyes. "Zhang Ruochen broke through to the Earth Extreme Realm less than half a year ago, yet he can already defeat Qiu Lin. Truly impressive. No wonder my cousin became engaged to him."
"I haven't lost yet."
Qiu Lin let out a long roar, and all the true qi in his body surged out, forming the heavenly-earth phenomenon of "Hundred Zhang Golden Light."
"Nine Spirit Beast King Form, Ninth Style, Dragon King Flies to Heaven."
"Roar!"
His true qi condensed into a massive dragon shape, enveloping Qiu Lin's body. He soared into the sky, extending a palm to strike directly down at Zhang Ruochen.
His palm transformed into a dragon claw.
"Qiu Lin has even mastered the Ninth Style of the Nine Spirit Beast King Form! Has he reached the Great Perfection realm?"
Gasps of surprise arose all around.
For an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist to cultivate a spirit-grade mid-rank martial technique to Great Perfection was already quite remarkable.
As for spirit-grade high-rank martial techniques, naturally some Earth Extreme Realm martial artists practiced them, but they took too much time. Deliberately pursuing martial techniques would instead cause slow progress in martial realm cultivation.
Therefore, among Earth Extreme Realm martial artists, those who could cultivate a spirit-grade high-rank martial technique to Great Perfection could be counted on one's fingers.
Zhang Ruochen's ability to cultivate the spirit-grade high-rank "Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow" to Great Perfection at the Earth Extreme Realm was also due to his previous life's cultivation experience and powerful spiritual power.
An inner palace student said: "Senior Brother Qiu is, after all, a top-tier genius. Moreover, he started cultivating the Nine Spirit Beast King Form five years ago. Calculating the time, he should have mastered this spirit-grade mid-rank martial technique by now."
"Five years to master a spirit-grade mid-rank martial technique. Worthy of being a triple-excellence genius."
"Having cultivated the Nine Spirit Beast King Form to Great Perfection, Senior Brother Qiu's strength must have increased by another large margin, enough to reach the level of three-and-a-half excellences. Compared to Senior Brother, he probably isn't much weaker."
"With Senior Brother Qiu's current strength, he can definitely enter the top ten thousand of the Earth Ranking."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze sharpened. He mobilized his true qi and struck out six palms in succession.
The palm force overlapped, unleashing six times the attack power.
"Elephant Force Ninefold."
Qiu Lin spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward again. Under the attack of sixfold power, even a Great Perfection spirit-grade mid-rank martial technique could not withstand it.
With a bang, Qiu Lin crashed to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen still stood in place, staring at the dejected Qiu Lin, and said calmly: "Your Nine Spirit Beast King Form appears to have reached Great Perfection, but in reality, it hasn't unleashed the full power of Great Perfection. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
Qiu Lin knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his hands on the ground. He stood up, gritting his teeth, staring fixedly at Zhang Ruochen.
Could Zhang Ruochen possibly understand the Nine Spirit Beast King Form better than he did?