Chapter 369: Ning Zhuo vs. Hanzhou

The day of the Small Contention.

On the large sparring arena, Ning Zhuo and Hanzhou stood facing each other.

There were many onlookers.

The cultivators were very familiar with Hanzhou, but most were seeing Ning Zhuo for the first time.

"Is he the Ning Zhuo from Fire Persimmon Immortal City?"

"In my opinion, he is unremarkable. How could he gain the favor of the Young Lady?!"

"Whether he is unremarkable or not, we will see in this battle."

A large number of scrutinizing gazes rested on Ning Zhuo.

Among them was Lin Shanshan, who was disguised.

Since she had promised Ning Zhuo to watch the battle, she kept her word. But she had heard some annoying rumors these days, so she disguised herself slightly and did not use her real appearance.

Lin Shanshan was mixed in the crowd and was not conspicuous.

Little did she know, a gaze descended quietly, overlooking the entire sparring arena, and accurately found Lin Shanshan in the crowd.

The owner of this gaze was none other than Lin Bufan, the Sect Master of the Myriad Medicine Sect.

He was busy with ten thousand tasks and was currently in a very busy period; he would not have had the chance to learn of this gossip.

However, the people around him were eager to please and worried for their master, so they reported it while Lin Bufan was resting.

"Shanshan has never been like this toward a male cultivator since she was a child. Who is this Ning Zhuo? Go and investigate him."

After Lin Bufan gave the order, he also remembered the date of the battle between Ning Zhuo and Hanzhou.

Now, he deliberately paused his work and operated the array; although he was far away at the Original Mountain, he could see all the battles on the Small Contention Peak clearly.

"A good-looking skin, indeed..." Lin Bufan nodded slightly at the first glance of Ning Zhuo.

He himself was handsome, and Ning Zhuo's demeanor made him feel that the other party came from an extraordinary background, at least from a cultivation family.

Lin Bufan's first impression of Ning Zhuo was not bad.

Ning Zhuo was observing Hanzhou.

Hanzhou was thin, and his face was pale.

His face was covered with traces of wind and frost, looking exhausted and weary. But his eyes were very calm, revealing a firm will and fearlessness toward suffering.

His hair was sparse and messy, showing a grayish-white color, like the remnants of melted ice and snow. It was tied loosely behind his head with a simple hemp rope, in a chaotic manner.

He wore a tattered gray robe, full of patches and cracks. He wore a pair of worn-out straw sandals, making a rustling sound as he walked; the soles were already worn out, revealing his blue-frozen toes.

His skin was quite rough, full of frostbite and scars, and his fingers were stained with a layer of white frost.

Generally speaking, even if cultivators were not well-off, they would keep themselves relatively clean, and their clothes would at least be tidy.

But Hanzhou was not like this; he seemed afraid that others wouldn't know he was a beggar.

Ning Zhuo bowed, "Brother Hanzhou, I have been looking forward to this battle for a long time. Today, I wish to experience your Bitter Cold Scripture."

Hanzhou's voice was hoarse, "Fellow Daoist Ning, you and I have this battle by chance; let us both do our best."

Hanzhou was quite straightforward; after saying this, he strode forward and took the initiative to run toward Ning Zhuo.

His fists were clenched, and cold air scattered, forming frost flowers.

White frost spread rapidly, covering the surface of his fists with a layer.

Frost Fist!

Ning Zhuo's face was solemn; the moment Hanzhou started, he retreated almost simultaneously.

While retreating, he channeled his spells.

In an instant, green vines broke through the ground, flexible as snakes, entangling toward Hanzhou.

Hanzhou suddenly accelerated, attempting to bypass the vines.

Ning Zhuo expanded his spiritual sense, constantly controlling the vines to grow and entangle Hanzhou.

Seeing he couldn't dodge, Hanzhou simply stood in place, let out a low drink, and his fist shadows flew.

His fists hit the vines, immediately freezing them, and the cold air overflowed, spreading rapidly to the surroundings.

Ning Zhuo had already obtained the intelligence and discovered that the cold air emitted by Hanzhou contained mysteries; it was the Bitter Cold Qi cultivated from the Bitter Cold Scripture.

These auras were difficult to defend against and easily infiltrated the cultivator's body, eroding the cultivator's flesh and spirit.

At first, this erosion was minimal.

But as time passed and it accumulated, the impact of the erosion became more and more obvious.

If a cultivator did not have good means to clear this Bitter Cold Qi, the injuries in their body would become heavier and heavier, and their state would decline significantly.

Many of Hanzhou's past opponents had been defeated under this layer of Bitter Cold Qi.

Ning Zhuo channeled his Five Elements magic power, rotating it and purifying it into the Fire element.

He pointed a finger, and a pillar of fire immediately sprayed out.

The fire pillar was only a thin line at first, but halfway through, it expanded, swelling like a giant python; by the time it impacted in front of Hanzhou, the fire pillar had expanded, its size like a pillar supporting a palace.

Hanzhou stood still, without even a dodging movement, letting the flames cover his entire body.

The flames burned for a moment, and the intense Bitter Cold Qi infiltrated the fire, causing the fire to wither immediately.

Even with Ning Zhuo adding magic power, he couldn't make the flames expand any further.

After a few breaths, the flames originally burning on Hanzhou were only remnants, attached to his hair tips and sleeves.

"Good Fire element." Hanzhou commented lightly and continued to rush toward Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and cast an Earth element spell.

For a time, yellow sand flew, sweeping the entire sparring arena.

The sand and soil attached to Hanzhou's body, constantly accumulating, gradually wrapping him into a mud puppet.

Earth element spell—Mud Molding Technique!

But soon, large patches of white frost infiltrated the surface of the mud puppet from the inside out.

The white frost froze the sand and soil into blocks, decomposed the structure, and they all fell off.

Hanzhou strode forward again, walking out of the mud puppet with his true body. His expression was calm, his eyes firm, his look sorrowful, and he only said, "Good Earth element."

Ning Zhuo was expressionless and cast a Metal element spell.

His palms were like knives, slashing at Hanzhou. Palm prints turned into golden knives in mid-air, hacking at Hanzhou.

Hanzhou walked forward, still not dodging.

The golden knives hit his body, finally making his clothes even more tattered, and wounds appeared on his flesh, flowing with a little blood.

"Good Metal element!"

Hanzhou's expression became even more sorrowful, but his momentum soared to the extreme.

He was only passively beaten, but he gave people a very strong impression. Ning Zhuo felt it the most, and a powerful pressure filled his heart, like a giant stone pressing down.

The onlookers were talking a lot.

"Hanzhou has shown a full-strength fighting posture as soon as he came up."

"Although I am a bystander, I can feel his respect for Ning Zhuo from Hanzhou's attitude! It is precisely because of this respect that he went all out as soon as the battle started, using the Suffering Body."

"Ning Zhuo's technique for casting spells is very skilled. But even the Metal element, known for its attack, only caused Hanzhou some flesh wounds. He is in danger!"

Lin Shanshan was mixed in the crowd, hearing everyone's comments, and agreed in her heart.

She couldn't help but feel nervous, knowing that Hanzhou's offensive would inevitably be more violent and brutal next.

This is because the "Suffering Body" is a type of physical technique similar to the "Diamond Body"; the latter strengthens one's own defense, while the former increases one's own various abilities by enduring external blows.

As long as Hanzhou has the strength to fight, the heavier the blows he receives, the stronger he becomes.

"Young Master Ning Zhuo's Metal element spell has had little effect and cannot break the Suffering Body in one blow. What should he do?" Lin Shanshan was anxious.

She very much hoped that Ning Zhuo could win.

Not only because she had a lot of good feelings for Ning Zhuo, but also because she had put a lot of effort into helping Ning Zhuo train.

The more she put in, the more she would look at things from Ning Zhuo's perspective.

Hanzhou stepped on the ground, causing the floor tiles of the sparring arena to crack directly! His speed soared, like a cannonball, rushing toward Ning Zhuo.

The distance between the two sides shortened rapidly!

Ning Zhuo raced against time, pushed his palms, and cast a Water element spell.

Three waves of water appeared out of thin air, carrying huge power to impact Hanzhou, wanting to push Hanzhou back.

Hanzhou's momentum was greatly reduced in the first round of water waves. But in the second round, his strength increased enough to stand in place.

By the third round, he rushed out against the current!

The more attacks he suffered, the stronger he became. Such a peculiar Suffering Body naturally had the ability to weaken the opponent's fighting will.

Hanzhou used his body as a knife, split the water waves, and finally arrived in front of Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, his eyes shooting sharp light. After training for several days, he was about to use this good opportunity to test his training results through actual combat!

The two sides exchanged blows, engaging in close combat.

At first, the two sides were evenly matched, but soon, Hanzhou grabbed the rhythm.

His fists and feet alternated, attacking in turns, like a storm.