Chapter 549: Three-Tenths Strength!

"Come, come! Let's test our strength!"

With the Second Cao Shixiong and Ninth Liang Shidi about to arm-wrestle, Xu Zishuai excitedly lifted the four-immortal table and moved it to the center of the hall.

Slap!

A large hand pressed down on the square table, and it didn't budge an inch.

Xu Zishuai looked up.

"Master?"

Yang Dongxiong grabbed the edge of the table and pulled it back, saying irritably, "You're the only one who would ruin things. This yellow pear wood four-immortal table was custom-made when I was courting your mistress; do you think it can withstand a martial artist's roughhousing?

Don't touch a single thing in this house! If you want to compete, go outside and move a rock to compete with!"

"Where am I supposed to find a rock? How about I take the Jianghuai lake stone from your pond... Fine, fine, I'll go, I'll go."

Liang Qu cupped his hands and laughed, "Sorry to trouble you, Cao Shixiong Xu."

"Forget it, just wait! I'm going up the mountain to dig one out, I'll find a piece of green steel stone!"

Xu Zishuai flicked his sleeves and headed out.

An incense stick's time later, a green steel stone covered in green moss was placed in the center of the martial arts arena. As it landed, it pressed a deep crater into the ground, and several small insects crawled out from the moss, scurrying in all directions.

The six senior brothers and sisters gathered around, all concerned about the outcome of the contest.

"What do you think? Second Young Master or Ninth Young Master, who will win?"

The hired hands and servants in the Yang residence heard that the disciples were going to test their strength, and having nothing better to do, they all rushed over to join the fun, peeking through a gap in the wall.

"It has to be the Second Young Master. Look at how sturdy the Second Young Master's build is; he's just like the Third Young Master, not a bit smaller than an ox."

"I also think it's the Second Young Master. The Second Young Master has been with the Master for so many years; how long has the Ninth Young Master even been here?"

"But I heard the Ninth Young Master is a natural-born... what was it? Martial Bone? He has divine strength!"

"I'm betting on the Ninth Young Master. I've served the Master for decades and seen all nine disciples; the Ninth Young Master is in a league of his own! I can't be wrong."

"Hey, Old Fan, you old rascal, your son is raising horses under the Ninth Master, so you're saying that on purpose, aren't you?"

The tree shadows swayed, and waves of heat rose up.

"Cao Shixiong, please don't hold back."

"Liang Shidi, there is no need for you to save face for me either."

The two brothers raised their hands in a bow, exchanging formal greetings.

Slap!

Liang Qu flicked his sleeves, settled into a half-horse stance, and gripped the rough, sturdy right hand of his Second Cao Shixiong, Yu Dun.

Xu Zishuai stepped forward and wrapped his hands around their locked fists.

"I'm letting go, the contest begins!"

"Right!" *2

Before the words had even faded.

Xu Zishuai flashed aside.

Boom!

Liang Qu and Yu Dun exerted force instantly.

Surging waves of Qi erupted violently. The servants hiding behind the wall felt the gale hit their faces and retreated in unison. A hairpin fell from a maid's head, her dark hair dancing in chaos, and in the scramble, it was snapped underfoot.

The vast yellow-earth martial arts arena, centered on the giant stone, cracked all at once, as if it were farmland that hadn't seen a drop of rain in three months of scorching summer heat. Dense cracks spread almost to the feet of the other disciples!

The earth was ravaged.

Strangely, the entire green steel stone remained completely unscathed, bearing the full brunt of the violent contest between two Wolf Smoke martial artists!

The Fifth Senior Sister, Zhuo Shaoqin, stepped back and lifted her foot, looking utterly astonished.

"Cao Shixiong Xu, where did you dig up this rock?"

Xu Zishuai looked blank, "Just from the back mountain of the former Fahua Temple, now the Confucian Temple. I found a big rock at the foot of the mountain and just hugged it back."

"Cao Shixiong Xu, could it be that you stumbled upon some kind of treasure material, just like in the storybooks?"

"It's not the rock's doing." Lu Gang raised a hand, "Look."

Hearing the Third Cao Shixiong speak, the others looked closely and indeed saw a faint layer of golden light surging on the surface of the green stone, subtly protecting its integrity.

Liang Qu didn't practice many techniques, and his senior brothers and sisters knew them all by heart.

"Is that Liang Shidi's Golden Body? He has actually cultivated it to such a realm? It's much stronger than his performance in the June tournament."

"Extending it to external objects? How domineering!"

"Strange, strange."

Xu Zishuai muttered.

The outcome was not yet decided, but even while locked in a test of strength, Liang Qu still had the capacity to protect his belongings...

"Second Cao Shixiong, this is not good."

Hu Qi said, "I recall that for Liang Shidi's Golden Body cultivation, he needs to consume precious plants with similar yet distinct properties?"

"Can't afford to train with them."

The senior brothers and sisters whispered among themselves; neither of the two in the arena dared to lose focus for even a second.

Yu Dun exhaled a stream of air from his nose and mouth, his blood and Qi surging and circulating. His feet took root like an ancient tree, his entire body condensing into an immovable pillar. The veins on his forearms writhed like snakes, and a force like a mountain collapse or a tsunami poured out wildly.

Even a giant ox several zhang tall should have been flipped over by now.

Yet, facing Liang Qu, all that power seemed like a clay ox entering the sea—it couldn't stir up even the slightest ripple!

Beneath that thin clothing was a powerful physique so formidable it made people hold their breath!

The scorching blood-Qi was more searing to the heart than the blazing sun!

Yu Dun was shocked.

Liang Qu was also surprised.

This...

How incredibly easy!

Did Cao Shixiong Yu really exert any force?

Liang Qu had little interaction with the Second Cao Shixiong, so his thoughts shifted; he tactfully kept his mouth shut and silently endured Yu Dun's surging blood-Qi force.

Boom—!

The yellow earth beneath the giant rock collapsed further, turning into swirling yellow dust. An even more surging force came from the Second Cao Shixiong's arm; clearly, Yu Dun had unleashed some kind of internal force or martial art.

This repeated three times.

Liang Qu remained as unmoved as a mountain in a storm, his hand only swaying slightly and unexpectedly during Yu Dun's few bursts of effort.

He did not force himself to persist.

Yu Dun withdrew his force, and their hands separated.

The others were silent.

Although neither side had overwhelmed the other, the result of the test of strength was obvious.

With a difference of nearly a whole realm and so many years of seniority, in a pure test of strength, the Second Cao Shixiong had actually lost!

"I lost."

Yu Dun's right hand trembled slightly; the successive bursts of power had left his right arm slightly exhausted.

"Liang Shidi, how much... force did you use?"

Liang Qu thought for a moment.

"Thirty percent..."

The pupils of the many senior brothers and sisters dilated sharply. With only thirty percent, he could actually firmly suppress him in strength...

"Not even that?"

"..."

Yang Dongxiong's expression was calm; when he felt the bones, he had already sensed the surging power contained within that physique.

This was just confirmation.

"Not even thirty percent... this, even using both hands, I couldn't win."

Xiang Zhangsong's eyes lost focus. With such terrifying martial bones, below the Hunting Tiger Realm, where could he have a rival?

"Not necessarily." Lu Gang shook his head. "Just entering the Hunting Tiger Realm, one might not necessarily be able to suppress the Little Liang Shidi."

"Damn!" Xu Zishuai shoved his hands into his hair and combed back fiercely, the roots of his hair aching. "From now on, in our sect, is it only Master and the First Cao Shixiong who can suppress this kid?"

A test of strength cannot prove everything; eighty percent force might not necessarily lose to ten percent force.

The fatal part was that the gap was so large—two hands couldn't beat one hand—so the outcome of a real fight was equally obvious.

How could a child win?

Sixth Cao Shixiong Cao Rang wiped the cold sweat from his temples: "Luckily, the First Cao Shixiong has been in the Hunting Tiger Realm for a long time, otherwise the Ninth would really become the eldest."

Xu Zishuai looked up upon hearing this.

"Master, for the birthday celebration, how is the First Cao Shixiong coming back? Is he meeting up with our boat in Pingyang Prefecture, or will we meet when we reach Huangzhou?"

"Your senior brother said in his letter that he is setting out from Heyuan Prefecture, heading south to the Imperial Capital, first visiting General Xu Wenzhu to give my regards, then taking a boat down the Duhai Canal.

We will wait for him at the canal mouth. We can travel leisurely and stay in the Imperial Capital for a few more days. Calculating the time, he might have already set out."

"Good, good, good! We must let the First Cao Shixiong teach the Little Liang Shidi that there is always someone better than oneself!"

"He can't teach him at all." Xiang Zhangsong looked pessimistic. "The First Cao Shixiong and the Ninth Liang Shidi are nearly a generation apart; winning wouldn't mean much anyway."

"If no one can keep the Liang Shidi in check, what will we do if he develops an arrogant habit in the future?" Xu Zishuai beat his chest and stamped his feet. "The Liang Shidi is arrogant and conceited, looking down on everyone—it pains my heart as a senior brother."

"?" Liang Qu raised an eyebrow. "How am I arrogant and conceited, looking down on everyone?"

"Look, you dare to talk back to your senior brother now; I don't even dare to imagine what you'll dare to do in the future!"

"..."

"Alright, Ashui, come with me." Yang Dongxiong interrupted Xu Zishuai and called Liang Qu into the study for a private talk.

"Master?"

"Regarding the changes in your martial bones, how do you plan to explain it to the outside world?"

"This disciple has been thinking..."

Yang Dongxiong pondered for a moment: "Don't show yourself regarding this matter; leave it to me to say."

Liang Qu was overjoyed.

"Thank you, Master!"