Chapter 305: The Most Familiar Stranger

The onlookers were all baffled: you, a youth who looks twenty, calling a girl listed as fifteen "older sister"?

Are you flirting? Does being handsome make you so great that you flirt even in this situation?

Yuan Muyu pressed her lips together.

Others thought it was flirting, but that single "older sister" actually made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

Because the tone was no longer the familiar intimacy and adoration of the past, nor the flirtatious coquetry and spoiled sweetness tinged with affection; it was just a common respectful address, like him saying "senior" or "your lordship." Or rather, he had always called her this, so he simply continued to do so, nothing more.

If one were to be more sensitive, even... was there perhaps a hint of coldness?

Yuan Muyu knew that when facing her own older sister, Ye Tinglan, she would use exactly the same tone.

Even the mindset of "please grant me instruction" might be identical.

—See if, after I left, I became better than I was then. My cultivation, my reputation, have you seen them?

And does the Heavenly Yao Holy Land still recognize you, Ye Fuyao, while the Hall of Yama has no record of my name?

Projecting her own feelings for her older sister onto this, every word and every expression of Lu Xingzhou at this moment resonated deeply within her.

In your heart... am I just like Ye Tinglan is to me?

Actually... it really does seem so.

Is this the reason Ye Tinglan sought to win you over?

Yuan Muyu felt somewhat dazed, hearing only her own voice say: "Then let me see your current fortune."

Lu Xingzhou stepped forward and delivered a side kick immediately.

From Ye Tinglan to Bai Mao to A Nuo, everyone stretched their necks to watch, and a thought arose in each of their hearts: "As expected."

His first strike would definitely be with his leg!

This ordinary-looking roundhouse kick carried how many flavors in their hearts.

Yuan Muyu gritted her silver teeth, casually blocking with her left hand, and said: "The force is too light, the amplitude too large, with too many openings. Is this your leg technique?"

Before her words had finished, hand met leg.

"Boom!" Fire on the leg erupted violently.

This was no longer the fire attached to the Fire Bones before; with the destructive enhancement of the Annihilation Golden Fire and the learned method of activating the Infernal Sunset, the fire eruption at this moment gave Yuan Muyu the sensation of a volcanic eruption. Whether in scorching temperature or surging force, it far exceeded her understanding of what a third-grade cultivator should be capable of.

Naturally, she entered the fight according to the persona of a "third-grade early stage" cultivator; it was impossible for her to enter with super-grade power.

But Yuan Muyu was already very unaccustomed to fighting opponents with third-grade early stage power; suddenly encountering a freak like Lu Xingzhou, she could not immediately think of what means to use to deal with him without exceeding the limits.

Thus, the people of the Angry Jiao Island watched in stunned silence as the Lord of the Hall of Yama, whom they thought had come to bully the weak, was kicked by the opponent into a stumbling retreat, his cloak nearly blown open by the force of the wind.

Lu Xingzhou did not stop; his other foot was already cycling for another kick.

Yuan Muyu raised her hand to block again, but the leg was no longer erupting with fire; instead, it was water-soft and soaking, penetrating every pore and entering her meridians, instantly inciting a rebellion of the Water Element within her body.

If this were an ordinary third-grade early stage opponent, such a strange invasion would likely have caused immediate trouble.

Fortunately, she was Yuan Muyu.

The Water Element within her body was suppressed and calmed in an instant; instead, a force of receding tide counter-attacked straight out, slightly knocking Lu Xingzhou back.

She herself retreated three steps, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.

Is this truly Xingzhou?

Leaving aside the ruthless consecutive kicks that could truly cause serious injury, with no intention of holding back... judging solely by the abilities displayed in these two kicks, they had absolutely nothing to do with her understanding of Lu Xingzhou.

It was as if they were two completely different people...

Before she could finish being shocked, Lu Xingzhou, while being knocked back a step, planted his foot and reflexively returned; while still in mid-air, he delivered another flying kick to her chest.

Anyway, it's steel plate; it won't break.

Yuan Muyu pushed her hands forward horizontally, and that flying kick landed squarely in her palms.

"Boom!"

Yin and Yang energies exploded fiercely; Lu Xingzhou's currently strongest explosive technique, the Great Ultimate Heavenly Gang, erupted recklessly against Yuan Muyu's chest, like a small nuclear explosion.

The smile that had vanished from Ye Tinglan's lips returned to the corners of her mouth; she leisurely leaned back against the chair and casually picked up the teacup from the table beside her, taking a light sip.

He is really beating him! Without holding back at all!

Hehe.

Three consecutive kicks, each with a different application of force; if it were anyone else, they would have been completely disoriented long ago.

Yuan Muyu, however, seemed to exhale in relief, because all of these were still within the scope of techniques and did not exceed the limits too much.

Watching the figure undergoing the nuclear explosion visibly blur, like a afterimage.

The true body had already appeared beside Lu Xingzhou, kicking out a small foot: "Go."

If it were a few days ago, Lu Xingzhou actually could not have blocked this kick.

This kick looked ordinary, yet its intent was self-contained; just like that sword of Du Gu Qingli previously, the opponent, a big man, appeared to be able to seize the initiative to attack, but was actually one beat slower than her; it was something that could not be judged by the naked eye. If one blocked according to conventional judgment, one could only block the afterimage, while the small foot had already kicked the chest.

But at this moment, Lu Xingzhou seemed to sense something.

He did not attempt to block; instead, his body quickly leaned backward, narrowly avoiding this kick, the embroidered shoe sweeping past his face.

It looked very easy to catch...

But Lu Xingzhou did not catch it; he retreated at high speed.

Yuan Muyu landed her foot, looking somewhat dazedly at Lu Xingzhou who had created distance, staring blankly.

He could avoid this kick...

No, you actually didn't catch it? I didn't hide any follow-up moves.

Ye Tinglan's smile continued to spread.

At this moment, the whispers in the arena were almost exploding: "So strong..."

"This Lu Xingzhou's three consecutive kicks, each more bizarre and fierce than the last; if it were me, I might withstand the first kick but would definitely be trapped by the second."

"What are you saying? Could you really withstand the first kick? Is that level of flame fire what a third-grade early stage cultivator should possess?"