Chapter 187: Ning Zhuo vs. Zhou Zeshen (Part 1)

The group arrived at the Ning family's martial arts arena.

Ning Zhuo had originally wanted to rent a martial arts arena within the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, but Zhou Zeshen said there was no need to waste money like that. There was also no need to make a special trip to the Zhou family; it would be better to have a small sparring match right here at the Ning family's arena.

This statement made Ning Zhuo take a look at Zhou Zeshen, and he began to ponder in his heart.

Ning Yong stood up immediately, raised his hand, and said, "Then I'll go contact the family's martial arts arena first."

Seeing Ning Zhuo nod, Ning Yong ran out of the small courtyard excitedly.

Zhou Zeshen smiled and suggested, "Big bets hurt the body, small bets are for fun. Brother Ning, why don't we bet on something?"

Ning Zhuo also smiled and said, "It seems Brother Zhou was already prepared before coming here."

Zhou Zeshen spread his hands: "Caught by Brother Ning. I thought about it, I couldn't come to visit you empty-handed, right? So I brought this."

As he spoke, Zhou Zeshen took a crossbow from his storage belt.

This crossbow was very compact, only about thirty percent larger than an adult's palm, with an exquisite structure and made of bronze.

It is worth noting that it did not have a traditional arrow magazine; instead, it was replaced by a small rectangular wooden box.

"This is a Rivet Power Crossbow. After some minor improvements by me, its power is not small." Zhou Zeshen showed a confident smile, "Brother Ning, if you win, I will give this to you, along with the mechanism blueprints."

Ning Zhuo's heart stirred, and he took out a Fire-Exploding Monkey mechanism: "If you win, I will give this to you, also with the corresponding mechanism blueprints. My only worry is that I'm afraid I won't be able to give it away."

"Hahaha." The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

Ning Yong returned quickly, panting, and said he had booked the Ding-grade martial arts arena.

The group immediately left the small courtyard and went to the martial arts arena in a crowd.

The branch-line cultivator in charge of the martial arts arena was respectful and enthusiastic toward Ning Zhuo, asking what kind of battlefield he needed.

Ning Zhuo looked at Zhou Zeshen.

Zhou Zeshen then said: "We have rolling hills here, so let's go with mountain terrain."

Thus, several magic arrays in the martial arts arena were activated one after another.

The originally flat ground immediately had countless red soil churning up, piling higher and higher.

It was as if an invisible giant force was molding the red soil into two small hills, the height of which greatly exceeded the family walls of the Ning family compound.

This was not the end.

The power of the Wood element acted on the hills, causing the grass and trees on them to grow to maturity within a dozen breaths, forming dense mountain forests.

A dark cloud condensed and floated over the battlefield, sprinkling heavy rain along the way.

A large amount of water also appeared out of thin air, forming a small river between the two hills.

According to Zhou Zeshen's request, the martial arts arena did not activate any concealment arrays.

Such a big commotion soon attracted other members of the Ning family.

After introductions by Ning Zhuo's classmates, everyone quickly understood the situation.

"It's Young Master Ning Zhuo going to spar with the Zhou family's genius, Zhou Zeshen!"

"Why?"

"Zhou Zeshen took the initiative to request the spar."

"Oh no, that kid Zhou Zeshen looks insidious at first glance. Could Young Master Ning Zhuo have been schemed against by him? Is Zhou Zeshen trying to use our Ning Zhuo to make a name for himself?"

"Cough, cough, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Zhou Zeshen made a name for himself long ago, much earlier than Young Master Ning Zhuo."

"Don't you see the two of them communicating quite well? They're both smiling."

"This is going to be bad. I've heard of this Zhou Zeshen; he possesses the talent 'Water Accumulates into an Abyss' and must have been cultivated by his family for a long time. But although Young Master Ning Zhuo has talent, it hasn't even been tested yet. How can he fight this?"

"Young Master Ning Zhuo, rise up!"

"We all support you!!"

The Ning family members gathered in increasing numbers, and after discussing for a while, they shouted one after another to cheer for Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo waved to acknowledge everyone, causing the crowd's cheers and shouts to grow even louder.

The battlefield was set up, and Ning Zhuo and Zhou Zeshen entered the martial arts arena at the same time, each choosing a mountaintop to stand on, facing each other.

Zhou Zeshen transmitted his voice: "Brother Ning, please."

Ning Zhuo then said: "Brother Zhou is the guest, you should please go first."

"Alright, then I will show my incompetence." Zhou Zeshen patted his storage belt and directly released ten Burrowing Rat mechanisms.

The Burrowing Rat mechanisms were very fast and agile, moving through the dense mountain forest with ease.

Each mechanical rat dragged a mana thread. As the distance between the mechanical rats and Zhou Zeshen increased, the mana threads also continuously lengthened, elegant and stable.

On Ning Zhuo's side, he also patted his belt and took out five Fire-Exploding Monkey mechanisms.

He also adopted mana thread manipulation, letting the mechanical monkeys flip and jump among the branches and leaves.

The range of the martial arts arena was limited after all, and the speed of both sides' mechanisms was not slow, so they soon met at the foot of the mountain where Ning Zhuo was.

The front of the mechanical rats were spiral drills, very sharp; if they hit a mechanical monkey, they could drill a hole through it.

The mechanical monkeys themselves were much larger than the mechanical rats and had more power. Their movements were quite flexible, and they could cooperate with each other, quickly gaining the upper hand.

Bang, bang, bang...

Zhou Zeshen's mana threads were each connected to the tips of his ten fingers. After the clash, three of his fingertips trembled slightly, and the mana threads snapped.

This meant that he had lost three Burrowing Rat mechanisms in succession!

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Zeshen curled his ten fingers inward, and the remaining seven mechanical rats retreated at the same time.

"Good!" The watching Ning family members finally cheered loudly.

Just now, their view had been largely obscured by the forest. Furthermore, with so many mechanical rats and monkeys, the scene of the battle was chaotic, making it quite difficult for everyone to distinguish.

Now that Zhou Zeshen's mechanical rats had retreated and the two sides were separated, everyone could see clearly.

Zhou Zeshen's side had lost three mechanical rats, while Ning Zhuo's side had almost no losses, with only one Fire-Exploding Monkey lagging behind during the pursuit.

Clearly, its mechanical thigh had suffered damage, affecting its mobility.

In the first wave of probing, Zhou Zeshen retreated decisively, wanting the mechanical rats to widen the distance between the enemy and himself.

Ning Zhuo, of course, was unwilling and directly increased his mana output, commanding the Fire-Exploding Monkey mechanisms to pursue the victory.

However, the speed of the mechanical rats was two points faster than the monkeys, giving them a clear advantage.

Seeing that the Fire-Exploding Monkeys couldn't catch up, Ning Zhuo said: "Brother Zhou, be careful, I'm going to use weapon accessories."

The next moment, the Fire-Exploding Monkeys opened their mouths and spat out fire-red firecrackers.

The mechanical monkeys threw the firecrackers with force.

The bang-bang-bang explosions caused the earth and rocks to crack, trees to collapse, and smoke and dust to rise everywhere.

When the smoke and dust dissipated, only a few mechanical remains were left at the explosion site.

It turned out that at the critical moment, the mechanical rats had burrowed into the ground to escape.

Only two, although they also burrowed, were unfortunately located at the firepower points where the firecracker explosion was more concentrated.

Even after burrowing, they were blown into fragments.

"Only five left." Ning Zhuo calculated secretly.

He frowned slightly.

This was because the Burrowing Rats had entered the mountain terrain, causing Ning Zhuo to lose his target; he didn't know where they had gone.

They might have returned to Zhou Zeshen's side, or they might be launching a surprise attack on Ning Zhuo from underground.

"Should I continue the attack? Or cast a detection spell?"

Ning Zhuo chose to cast a spell to detect his surroundings.

"Did he choose to hold his ground first?" Standing on the mountaintop, Zhou Zeshen saw this scene, and a sharp glint flashed across his eyes.

He secretly noted this detail.

From a battle, one's temperament can often be revealed more directly and honestly.

This was precisely one of the reasons why Zhou Zeshen proposed the spar.

The Zhou family wanted to win over Ning Zhuo, and Zhou Zeshen also deeply realized that Ning Zhuo possessed huge potential for development. Following the current trend, he would inevitably become a pivotal figure in Fire Persimmon Immortal City in the future.

And to win over a key figure, the prerequisite is to have sufficient understanding.

A friendly spar can often allow cultivators to quickly close the distance and increase their understanding of each other.

"There are only five Fire-Exploding Monkeys; the pressure on Ning Zhuo's control is not great at all."

"He could have cast a detection spell while commanding the Fire-Exploding Monkey mechanisms."

"Sure enough."

"He understood the main intention of my spar!"

"He is worthy of being a genius of the same type as me."

Zhou Zeshen's mouth curled slightly; he felt that dealing with a smart person like Ning Zhuo was just comfortable! Many things didn't need to be stated explicitly for them to understand each other.

Ning Zhuo deliberately slowed down the pace of the battle, while Zhou Zeshen threw out a storage bag.

The storage bag fell to the ground, its mouth wide open, and more than a dozen mechanical bats—Night Sky Bats—flew out from it.

The Night Sky Bats streaked across the sky, flying toward Ning Zhuo.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo patted his belt and released a flock of Thunder-Silent Birds.

This type of mechanism is very common; because it is simple to control and easy to learn, it is widely acclaimed.

The Thunder-Silent Birds and the Night Sky Bats collided in mid-air, unfolding the second direct confrontation between Ning Zhuo and Zhou Zeshen.

The Thunder-Silent Birds' attacks were straightforward, while the Night Sky Bats were elusive, with sensitive turns, and their evasion ability far exceeded that of the Thunder-Silent Birds.

The Night Sky Bats were mechanisms of the Mud Flow Gate, and in terms of performance, they were clearly a cut above common mechanisms like the Thunder-Silent Birds.

The number of Ning Zhuo's Thunder-Silent Birds was greater than the Night Sky Bats, but after the clash, the Thunder-Silent Birds suffered rapid attrition, clearly at a disadvantage.

The Ning family members' faces were serious, some with furrowed brows, secretly worrying for Ning Zhuo.

"He is holding back." Zhou Zeshen's heart stirred.

Just now, Ning Zhuo controlled five mechanical monkeys, which were very agile, showing a high level of control.

But in this wave of air combat, Ning Zhuo's Thunder-Silent Birds had almost no operation, moving straight back and forth, making it quite easy to judge the attack path.

This gave Zhou Zeshen the upper hand.

"Is it because my Burrowing Rat flock retreated in the first clash? So Ning Zhuo is deliberately losing a hand here to take care of my face."

"This guy..."

Zhou Zeshen gritted his teeth, his mood somewhat complicated.

He was grateful that Ning Zhuo was thinking of his face, such tacit understanding. There was also a lot of annoyance; being yielded to like this, Zhou Zeshen, this genius, rarely had such an experience.

"Although it is a friendly spar, I have always been very serious."

"I am using my full strength, yet you are holding back..."

"Although this is a good intention, to me, it is also a different kind of humiliation."

"Ning Zhuo!"

"I want you to look at me squarely!!"

Zhou Zeshen shouted in his heart.

Inspired by this, he took a medium-sized mechanism from his storage belt.

This mechanical creation looked like a fierce tiger, about two and a half zhang long, five feet tall at the shoulder, with three-inch claws and two-inch teeth, white skin with black stripes, and golden tiger eyes, quite fierce.