[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou":3,"chapter-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-174":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ink Saint of Great Zhou",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2292137,4481,"Chapter 174","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-174",174,"\u003Cp>\"I don't think it's necessary to be so serious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang raised an eyebrow and said, \"How about this—I'll take back some crystals, so the stakes are equal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan agreed immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha furrowed her brows and gave Lu Fang a meaningful glance; she couldn't understand why, after all the warnings, he still insisted on this contest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to pay attention to Pan at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang smiled at her and mouthed, \"It's fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha shook her head and replied in the same way, \"As long as you're happy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exchanged a glance and unconsciously smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan watched this and sneered, \"Since the Marquis of Wenguan has agreed, let the contest begin—I'd like to see just how far behind you are.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang walked to the foot of the snowy mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no interest at all in climbing the snowy peak, but just now, as Pan revealed his materials, Mo Xin had signaled to him that one item was extremely precious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Mo Xin’s excitement, he sensed the importance of the material, which was why he accepted the challenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Xin: \"You must win. I never expected this item to appear here. If you obtain it, you can inflict real damage on Fa, and even on those who carry Fa’s aura.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Win? Shouldn’t be a problem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang said confidently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Pan walked beside Lu Fang and whispered, \"Marquis of Wenguan, you’d better prepare yourself mentally. With my formidable physical body, I may already reach the summit while you’re still struggling halfway up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that so?\" Lu Fang smiled faintly. \"I forgot to tell you—my physical body is also very strong. Much stronger than you imagine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan burst into loud laughter as if hearing the funniest joke. \"Marquis of Wenguan, you really are amusing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Amusing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang chuckled softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan nodded vigorously and grinned. \"You clearly know nothing about our Luo Sha clan. If this were a contest of poetry or prose, I’d be no match for you. But in physical strength, you can’t possibly beat me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our Luo Sha clan’s bodies are naturally far stronger than your human race’s. In Da Zhou, you all think the demon races have powerful bodies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But our Luo Sha bodies are still significantly stronger than those of the demon races.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang smiled. \"Then today, I’ll see for myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan nodded with a grin and turned to Snow Luo Sha. \"Snow Princess, you’ll serve as witness to this mountain-climbing contest. When you say ‘begin,’ the contest starts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha, seeing the situation was settled, sighed and said, \"For this mountain-climbing contest, I propose no restrictions—use every method you have to determine the winner.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She made this suggestion because she favored Lu Fang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Lu Fang was the Marquis of Wenguan from Da Zhou, and he had acquired many rare treasures in the previous Seventh-Class Small Realm bubble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could use external items or elixirs instead of relying solely on physical strength, he might actually win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan frowned and shook his head. \"That won’t do. This climb is meant to test raw physical strength. If you’re allowed to use treasures or elixirs, it loses all meaning. Marquis of Wenguan, what do you say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine,\" Lu Fang said without hesitation. \"Just raw physical strength is fine too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Begin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha was already tired of speaking and gave up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a big deal anyway—even if Lu Fang lost, what did it matter? It was just a contest. He didn’t seem the least worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan crossed his arms, smugly declaring, \"Marquis of Wenguan, you’ve come a long way as a guest. I won’t even say I’m taking advantage—I’ll let you climb first for fifteen minutes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re quite confident.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang chuckled softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan beamed. \"I have every right to be. I just hope you don’t make a fool of yourself later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fifteen minutes, confirmed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang stretched his limbs and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan smiled. \"Snow Princess can vouch—I won’t take a single step forward during those fifteen minutes. Marquis of Wenguan, feel free to go all out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha nodded. \"Then, Marquis of Wenguan, begin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang didn’t hesitate. He walked to the steep snowy slope, thrust his hands into the frozen ice, and began climbing steadily upward using only the strength of his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan watched Lu Fang climbing and said, \"Snow Princess, do you think this Marquis of Wenguan from Da Zhou can beat me in this contest?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha ignored Pan entirely, her gaze fixed on Lu Fang with concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan mused, \"No wonder the Marquis of Wenguan is famed—even at the mountain’s base, where the extreme yin energy is weak, it still affects ordinary people greatly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Lu Fang showed no effect at all, climbing faster and faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Pan truly regretted his decision—he realized he’d underestimated Lu Fang. With this pace, Lu Fang’s physical body must be extraordinarily strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow Luo Sha smiled faintly. \"Pan, do you regret giving him that extra fifteen minutes? At this rate, he’ll leave you far behind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as she finished speaking,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang’s climbing speed surged again—like a nimble bird, he ascended with astonishing speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After enduring the wait, the fifteen minutes finally passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan looked up at Lu Fang, now halfway up the mountain, and began his own climb. With only his physical strength, he surged upward quickly from the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Lu Fang had already reached nearly halfway in fifteen minutes—if Pan didn’t hurry, he might actually lose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is extreme yin energy? It’s freezing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the halfway point, Lu Fang frowned. He hadn’t taken the climb seriously at first, because his long-term consumption of scholarly qi had made his physical body exceptionally resilient—he truly feared no one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, at the mountain’s midpoint, he finally sensed the presence of extreme yin energy, and understood why reaching the summit was so difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this difficulty was relative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Lu Fang had planned to reach the summit within fifteen minutes; even if he failed, his pace was still far from slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite the interference of extreme yin energy, Lu Fang continued to increase his climbing speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this real?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, Pan stood frozen in shock. He’d expected Lu Fang to tire once he reached the halfway point, to slow down—then he could catch up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t expected Lu Fang to accelerate even further under the assault of extreme yin energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sixth-rank Confucian scholar’s physical body was this strong?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, even a sixth-rank Confucian scholar would exhaust all his energy just resisting the extreme yin energy there.\u003C\u002Fp>",1104,"2026-06-20T03:56:21.568Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","39fbf5e31e2f486cd4d2c28e2d1f2dfbe26da60794bf7c8781d3d0b094182b0b","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-175","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-173",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]