Chapter 128: Harsh Reality of the World
"Is he really strong?" Chu Qiguang asked. "Cant I beat him without revealing my true cultivation base?"
Thanks to the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique, the Sumeru King Scripture, and the large quantity of pills that he had consumed, the average third-state martial artist stood no chance against him. However, according to Qiao Zhi, that still wasn't enough.
"You've only been cultivating martial arts for a short time, and most of that time has been spent strengthening your physical constitution and advancing your cultivation base," Qiao Zhi said. "In contrast, Jiang Longyu isn't just an extremely formidable martial artist. He also has tremendous battle experience, especially for someone his age. Unless you reveal the full extent of your cultivation base, defeating him will be almost impossible."
There was a fundamental difference in the qi and blood of a third-state martial artist and a fourth-state martial artist. If Chu Qiguang revealed his qi and blood as a fourth-state martial artist, waves of intense heat would erupt from his body, and everyone watching would immediately realize his true cultivation base.
I can't afford to reveal my true cultivation base so soon. If I do, there's no telling what the imperial court and the Heavenly Master Religion will do to me. But if I can't defeat Jiang Longyu, my symptoms will only keep getting worse. Eventually, I won't be able to hold back, and I'll be forced to reveal my true cultivation base anyway.
Somehow, I have to beat him quickly while pretending to be a third-state martial artist. If I can't do that, then I'll just have to surrender. In any case, I'll still be able to pass the martial examination even with one loss.
"The main advantages that Jiang Longyu has over you are his battle experience and the number of martial arts techniques he has mastered," Qiao Zhi analyzed. "That's why it'll be almost impossible for you to defeat him without crossing the third-state threshold."
"What am I supposed to do about that?" Chu Qiguang asked. "It's not like I can overcome those disadvantages in such a short time."
"Even with your aptitude, you're definitely not going to surpass Jiang Longyu overnight," Qiao Zhi said. "He's one of the top prodigies of this generation, and even you don't have much of an edge over him when it comes to martial arts aptitude."
Chu Qiguang could see that Qiao Zhi looked very confident, so he remarked, "It looks like you already have a solution."
"There was once a brilliant man who fought alongside his cat," Qiao Zhi said. "Through countless battles together, they developed a strong bond of friendship, and eventually, they were even able to link their hearts. In pursuit of greater power, they worked tirelessly for many years and developed a human-cat complementary technique."
"A human-cat complementary technique?" Chu Qiguang repeated skeptically.
It sounded like complete nonsense to him, and his first instinct was that Qiao Zhi was trying to swindle him.
Qiao Zhi appeared unbothered by Chu Qiguang's skepticism. In fact, he seemed to grow even more excited as he continued, "The human-cat complementary technique uses the strong bond between a human and a cat to achieve spiritual resonance between them. It allows cats and humans to share a mental connection and even use one another's martial arts. That way, the two can work together more smoothly in battle. If we can master the technique, I'll be able to help you in battle."
"Does that mean I can use your martial arts in battle?" Chu Qiguang asked.
"Precisely!" Qiao Zhi confirmed. "You used my blood to complete the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique, so the two of us are connected by blood. That should make it easier for us to master the complementary technique. I'm well versed in many human martial arts techniques, and with my help, I guarantee you'll be able to beat Jiang Longyu with ease!"
"That sounds like a feasible plan," Chu Qiguang mused with a thoughtful expression.
Chu Qiguang decided to give it a try. In any case, even if worse came to worst, he could simply surrender.
The two of them spent the entire night practicing the complementary technique, and before long, morning arrived.
***
Upon arriving at the examination venue, Chu Qiguang discovered that there were even more spectators than on the previous day, and there were even many street vendors selling snacks and fruits trying to capitalize on the action.
On the way to the venue, Chu Qiguang overheard many conversations about him among the spectators.
"Did you hear about Chu Qiguang? Not only has he screwed over the entire Ding Clan, I heard that he used underhanded methods to defeat a bunch of examinees yesterday, including Chen Yuebai and Tao Zhiyue!"
"What do you mean by underhanded methods? Didn't he beat them on the platform? Surely the examiners would've disqualified him if he cheated."
"You don't know anything! These battles are meant to be sparring matches, and you're not supposed to go overboard. Yesterday, I saw Chen Yuebai's fist strike Chu Qiguang's head, and if Chen Yuebai hadn't pulled his punch at the last second, Chu Qiguang's head would've exploded!
“At that point, he was already defeated, but he took advantage of Chen Yuebai's mercy to retaliate like the shameless scoundrel that he is! Chen Yuebai must've also thought that the battle was already decided, so he got complacent, and that was how Chu Qiguang ended up beating him!"
Hao Xiangtong was in the same booth in the same restaurant as the day before, and she just so happened to be in a position to overhear the conversation.
"What a load of nonsense!" she yelled down at the people with a furious expression. "Chu Qiguang won yesterday fair and square!"
The group of young men down below raised their heads to rebuke her, but they were all momentarily stunned into silence by Hao Xiangtong's beauty, and they sheepishly shuffled away.
"There were already people telling these stories starting from last night," Hao Yongtai sighed. "The people who were defeated by Brother Chu must be starting a smear campaign against him in retaliation. There are plenty of sore losers among martial artists. They'll slander their opponents after being defeated, or make excuses like claiming that the ground was too slippery, the platform was too small, their opponent used shady techniques against them... You name it.
“Right now, Chu Qiguang is a public enemy to the martial artists of the Vast Heavens Faction, so even if he wins, he's still going to be slandered. He's only one person, whereas there are countless people slandering him, so public opinion is naturally going to go against him."
