9: Chapter 9 Battle against Wang Lie

Everyone looked toward the source of the voice.

They saw Li Changsheng stepping out from the crowd.

He helped Li Changhu up from the ground and channeled a trace of True Qi into him to help stabilize his injuries.

"Changsheng, you..."

Li Zhenshan started to speak but then hesitated.

"Li Changsheng of the Li Family. Please advise."

Li Changsheng walked into the center of the field and looked directly at Wang Lie.

An uproar broke out.

"Is Young Master Changsheng crazy? He seems to be only at the fourth layer of the Houtian Realm!"

"Even Li Changhu at the fifth layer of the Houtian Realm was defeated in one Move. Isn't he just going up to die?"

"His courage is commendable, but..."

Wang Lie was stunned at first, then laughed loudly.

"Fourth layer of the Houtian Realm?"

"Has the Li Family truly reached a point where they have no one left?"

Wang Minghao also shook his head and smiled.

"Nephew Changsheng, I've heard your medical skills are quite good."

"But the path of Martial Dao is not something medical skills can compensate for."

"You should step down to avoid getting hurt."

Li Changsheng remained unmoved, simply watching Wang Lie quietly.

"Do you dare, or do you not?"

Wang Lie's smile vanished, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes.

"Since you're looking for death, I'll fulfill your wish!"

Before his voice had even faded, he pounced like a leopard.

His right hand formed a claw, aiming straight for Li Changsheng's throat.

He was actually using a lethal Move!

The members of the Li Family on the sidelines cried out in alarm, and Li Zhenshan was even about to step in to stop it.

But in the next moment, everyone was stunned.

Li Changsheng didn't dodge or evade; at the moment Wang Lie's claw wind reached his body, his form shifted slightly like a spirit ape.

His right hand, seemingly slow but actually fast, caught and guided Wang Lie's wrist.

"Whoosh—"

Wang Lie flew out following his own momentum, stumbling for several steps before standing firm, his face full of disbelief.

"What kind of movement technique is this?!"

Wang Minghao stood up abruptly.

In just one simple round, Wang Lie, who was at the seventh layer of the Houtian Realm, actually suffered a setback?

Li Changsheng slowly withdrew his stance and stood quietly.

In his mind, that memory from the Reincarnation Simulation surfaced again.

That was a life he simulated in a certain low-martial world.

He had spent thirty years in a martial arts hall there. He practiced half a volume of the Spirit Ape Fist to the ninth layer of the Houtian Realm, then unfortunately died while traveling the Jianghu.

At this moment, the Concept of the Spirit Ape Fist flowed through his heart.

It wasn't a simple memory of Moves, but an instinct precipitated by thirty years of bitter cultivation.

Like a spirit ape climbing a branch or an old ape picking fruit, every movement and stillness fully displayed the natural Dao.

"Again."

Li Changsheng beckoned to Wang Lie with his finger.

Wang Lie was furious and erupted with all his strength!

The True Qi of the seventh layer of the Houtian Realm surged out as his palms transformed into a sky full of palm shadows, blocking all paths of retreat!

"The Wang Family's ultimate technique, the Gale Palm!"

A knowledgeable clan Elder cried out.

"Li Changsheng is in danger now."

"He should have quit while he was ahead just now; he shouldn't have provoked Wang Lie again."

"The seventh layer of the Houtian Realm is no joke."

Facing this storm-like attack, Li Changsheng was like a solitary boat in the waves.

He seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, but in reality, he avoided every attack by a hair's breadth at the most critical moments.

His movements weren't fast, yet he always managed to appear in the gaps between the palm shadows.

Ten Moves, twenty Moves, thirty Moves...

The more Wang Lie fought, the more alarmed he became.

"Strange."

He clearly felt that the next palm would hit, yet it always missed by a tiny margin.

The opponent seemed able to predict all his movements, and that feeling of frustration almost drove him mad.

"Is dodging all you can do?!"

Wang Lie suddenly roared.

Li Changsheng suddenly stopped, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"As you wish."

He no longer dodged but instead met Wang Lie's palm wind head-on.

At the moment when Wang Lie's palm force was about to be unleashed, Li Changsheng's right fist was like a spirit ape reaching for the moon, piercing through a gap in the palm shadows from an incredible angle.

Using the opponent's strength against them, deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces!

"Bang!"

The fist and palm collided, producing a muffled sound.

Wang Lie felt his palm force disappear like a clay ox entering the sea.

Immediately after, an even stronger force surged back at him!

"Puff..."

He spat out blood and was sent flying backward.

He fell even further and harder than Li Changhu!

The entire field fell into a dead silence.

The teacup in Wang Minghao's hand shattered on the ground with a "clatter."

Elder Zhao, who had been silent since entering, now had his eyes wide open.

His mouth was wide open as if he had seen something that transcended his understanding.

Grand Elder Li Qingsong's hunched back also straightened unconsciously as he stared blankly at the field.

Li Changsheng withdrew his fist.

His breathing was as steady as before, as if he had just casually swatted away a fly.

He looked at the dumbstruck Wang Minghao and said calmly.

"The younger generation of the Wang Family is nothing more than this."

"Regarding the matter of the Black Iron Mine, does Second Master Wang have any other brilliant insights?"

The scene was now pin-drop silent.

Only Wang Lie, lying on the ground, tried to stand up twice but failed.

The sunlight fell on Li Changsheng, casting a long shadow from his not-so-tall figure.

Wang Minghao stepped forward and helped Wang Lie up.

With a grim face, he squeezed out a single word from between his teeth.

"Go."

Then he hurriedly departed.

The middle-aged man in black robes, Elder Zhao, also followed closely as they left the Li Family.

At this moment, an unprecedented light ignited in the eyes of all the Li Family disciples.

Deep in Li Changsheng's mind, new information quietly surfaced:

[Combat Insight: Spirit Ape Fist Layer 1 mastered. Mental clarity achieved. Reward: 3 Mental Energy points. Current Mental Energy: 5 points.]

Li Changsheng was inwardly confused; he was a bit baffled about how this System's Mental Energy was obtained.

Last time it was a reward for Realm restoration, and this time it was for combat insight.

Moreover, it was triggered randomly with no pattern to speak of—it was a headache.

On the afternoon Wang Lie was defeated, the entire Li Family fell into a state of surreal carnival.

"Young Master Changsheng defeated Wang Lie of the seventh layer of the Houtian Realm with one punch!"

"That's a top-three expert of the Wang Family's younger generation!"

"Our Li Family has hope!"

The news of Li Changsheng defeating Wang Lie spread through the Li Family in just the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

And in just one day, it swept through the entire Qinghe Town.

Li Changsheng, who was once considered 'crippled,' had now become the strongest combat power of the Li Family's younger generation.

But beneath the carnival, the undercurrents grew even more turbulent.

Inside the Patriarch's courtyard, several clan Elders had solemn expressions.

"Changsheng's punch..."

"What do you all think?"

Second Elder Li Zhenchuan spoke first with an unfriendly expression.

Grand Elder Li Qingsong pondered.

"That wasn't the performance of the Spirit Ape Fist at this stage."

"I observed that his Fist Intent was as agile as an ape, using the opponent's strength against them and deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces. This kind of martial arts attainment..."

"He has obviously been immersed in it for a long time; it doesn't seem like something he could achieve at his age."

"Could it be that he had another fortuitous encounter?"

The Third Elder speculated.

"Who knows what kind of encounter it was?"

The Second Elder echoed.

Patriarch Li Zhenshan shook his head.

"Everyone has their own Opportunity."

"The important thing is that Changsheng indeed has this strength."

"For the mine dispute in three months, we have hope."

At the mention of the mine, everyone's spirits rose.

The Black Iron Mine is located thirty li north of Qinghe Town and is the most important joint property of the three great families.

The black iron Ore produced by the mine is an essential material for forging low-grade weapons.

The annual profit is sufficient to support the entire expenses of a small Family.

According to the agreement from three years ago, the mining rights are redistributed every three years through a martial arts competition.

In the last round, the Li Family won narrowly and obtained the mining rights for these three years.

The Family's resources were thus much more abundant, and the cultivation speed of the younger generation significantly improved.

If they were to lose the mine...

"The Wang Family didn't come with good intentions this time."

The Grand Elder said in a deep voice.

"With Wang Lie's defeat, they will definitely not let it go."

"I'm worried that the next three months will not be peaceful."

A cold light flashed in Li Zhenshan's eyes.

"Pass down the order: all young disciples are to reduce their outings in the near future."

"Strengthen the Family guards. Also..."

He paused.

"From today on, the Family resources will lean toward Changsheng. We must ensure he makes another Breakthrough within three months!"

No one opposed this decision.

In this world where Martial Dao is supreme, strength is the right to speak.