Chapter 30: Duel with Zhang Zhiwei

"Young friend Zhao, allow my foolish disciple Zhang Zhiwei to spar with you a couple of rounds. By the way, there is one thing I must tell you: the 'Zhang' in his name is a name he adopted."

As Zhang Jingqing’s words faded, the crowd’s gazes toward Zhang Zhiwei became noticeably more astonished. Those attending the Lu family’s birthday banquet were all prominent figures in the world of the supernatural; naturally, they understood the true implication of Zhang Jingqing’s statement.

It meant that this Zhang Zhiwei before them was, in all likelihood, the next person to inherit the mantle of the Celestial Master!

Zhao Zhen bowed slightly toward Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing before turning his gaze back to Zhang Zhiwei.

He was tall—truly tall. Even though Zhao Zhen’s stature was already considered quite impressive among his peers, Zhang Zhiwei still appeared to loom slightly over him.

It was a completely different feeling from their private interactions in the past. Standing before Zhao Zhen now, even before a single move had been made, Zhang Zhiwei radiated an intensely dangerous aura from head to toe.

"Brother Zhao, allow me to properly experience your 'Golden Escape Flowing Light' next."

"I, too, have long wished to experience the legacy techniques of the Celestial Master’s Mansion."

"Shall we begin then?" Zhang Zhiwei raised an eyebrow.

"Heaven and Earth, the Xuan Sect, the root of all Qi. Cultivated through billions of eons, I bear witness to my divine power. Within and without the Three Realms, the Dao alone is supreme. My body is clad in Golden Light, shielding and reflecting my form!"

"Let’s go," Zhao Zhen nodded with a smile.

*Hum!*

As soon as Zhao Zhen finished speaking, a dazzling golden radiance suddenly erupted around Zhang Zhiwei’s body.

"Such blinding Golden Light! Is that the legendary, secret technique of the Celestial Master’s Mansion—the Golden Light Incantation?"

"I heard that this Golden Light Incantation is not only an incredibly powerful defensive technique, but at higher levels of cultivation, one can even manifest Qi into physical forms, integrating both offense and defense!"

"So strong. The level of refinement in this Golden Light—even among the many senior disciples of the Celestial Master’s Mansion I’ve met before, I have never seen one as powerful as this Brother Zhang!"

...

"The Golden Light Incantation, eh? Interesting."

Zhao Zhen narrowed his eyes and took a measured step to the side, his footwork following a mysterious pattern.

"Hmm? This footwork..."

Zhang Zhiwei’s eyes flickered. He saw at a glance that the turning points of Zhao Zhen’s steps subtly aligned with the positions of the Big Dipper and the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. It appeared to be a Taoist technique—the "Pacing the Dipper and Stepping on the Stars."

"Brother Zhao, your studies are truly extensive."

"I have no choice. Unlike you, Brother Zhang, I do not come from a prestigious lineage with orthodox tutelage. I don't have the luxury of a thousand-year-old heritage to provide me with defensive techniques to learn. After the old man raised me, aside from teaching me a single move of Golden Escape Flowing Light to save my life, the only things left to me were enemies all across the world. Consequently, to survive, I’ve had to swallow my pride and learn whatever defensive techniques I could from others during my years of wandering. After all, when you’re out in the world, having more skills is never a burden..."

"I understand."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded with a smile. In the next instant, his figure vanished from where he stood.

By the time Zhao Zhen reacted, Zhang Zhiwei was already upon him!

Golden light surged like a tidal wave around Zhang Zhiwei. He held his right hand in a claw shape and thrust it forward, his fingers wreathed in golden light, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle.

Zhao Zhen tapped his toes lightly on the ground, retreating rapidly while his waist tensed like a taut bow. Three paper talismans shot out from his sleeves.

"Seal Meridian Talisman?"

A flash of brilliance crossed Zhang Zhiwei’s eyes. His protective Golden Light suddenly transformed into a roaming dragon, wrapping around his body. The moment the talismans touched the light, they were instantly shattered into dust!

"So strong... even without the Golden Light Incantation, his own cultivation of life and energy is already terrifying!" Zhao Zhen thought to himself.

"Brother Zhao, such tricks are useless against me."

As the words fell, a golden shimmer suddenly ignited amidst the cloud of talisman ash—Zhao Zhen had used Golden Escape Flowing Light to teleport to his side and rear, the Qi condensed at his fingertips pointing directly at a vital meridian point near the heart!

In the viewing gallery, Zuo Ruotong nodded slightly: "To use the talisman ash to mask the traces of the Golden Escape Flowing Light..."

Zhang Zhiwei did not turn around, but the Golden Light behind him suddenly solidified. When it met the strike, it rang out with the sound of clashing metal.

Afterward, Zhang Zhiwei slowly turned his head and said, as if casually, "Brother Zhao, being proficient in one method is better than being a master of many. I haven't cultivated many defensive techniques, but I have been particularly diligent with the most fundamental one—the Golden Light Incantation of my sect. If you intend to continue hiding your true strength, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do anything to me today."

"Indeed, Brother Zhang speaks the truth. But what if one day in the future, I manage to reach mastery in all the myriad methods I have learned?"

Having said this, a golden shimmer flashed at Zhao Zhen’s fingertips. The next second, in the area on Zhang Zhiwei’s back where his finger had made contact, the Golden Light, which had been as hard as stone, vanished without a trace!

Seeing this, Lu Ci, who was watching intently from the side, exclaimed, "That’s it! That’s how my Ruyi Force was neutralized yesterday!"

Deprived of the protection of the Golden Light, Zhao Zhen’s fingers drove straight forward, aiming fiercely for the vital point on Zhang Zhiwei’s back.

At this moment, the flow of Zhang Zhiwei’s Golden Light could no longer keep up with the speed of Zhao Zhen’s fingers. There was simply no time to patch the hole in his defense.

But just as Zhao Zhen’s finger was about to touch Zhang Zhiwei’s back, a white electric current suddenly began to dance around Zhang Zhiwei’s body.

*Swish!*

Almost the instant the white electricity appeared, Zhao Zhen did not hesitate for a second and triggered the Golden Escape Flowing Light again, vanishing from behind Zhang Zhiwei.

*Boom!*

The second after Zhao Zhen’s figure disappeared, a bolt of lightning struck the exact spot where he had been standing, leaving the ground scorched black.

Amidst the dust, Zhang Zhiwei held a thunder seal with his left hand, white light flickering at his fingertips. "Tsk, that was a fast reaction..."

Dozens of meters away, accompanied by a flash of golden light, Zhao Zhen suddenly reappeared.

"This white lightning—this must be the legendary supreme technique of the Celestial Master’s Mansion, the Thunder Method, right? Brother Zhang, you intentionally lured me into using the Golden Escape Flowing Light to break your Golden Light Incantation, only to seize the opportunity to switch to the Thunder Method and strike me. That was truly a brilliant move."

"Brilliant as it may be, didn't you react in time, Brother Zhao? However, I have a question: was your reaction just now pure instinct, or had you been on guard against my Thunder Method all along?"

Faced with Zhang Zhiwei’s question, Zhao Zhen did not answer directly this time, choosing instead to smile in silence.

"What incredible lightning! Is that the Thunder Method?"

"I heard the Thunder Method is the core legacy of the Celestial Master’s Mansion. Only a very few high-ranking practitioners with the potential to inherit the title of Celestial Master are qualified to be taught it, and even then, only half of it. The complete version of the Thunder Method can only be fully mastered by the Celestial Master himself!"

"Clear, agile, dignified, and luminous—powerful and unstoppable. It cannot be wrong; this is the Five Thunders Orthodox Method!"

...

Zhang Zhiwei paid no mind to the crowd’s exclamations, instead sensing the gap in the Golden Light on his back. With a thought, he retracted the Golden Light surrounding his body.

"Although I had my suspicions, I truly wanted to test it myself. I never expected that your Golden Escape Flowing Light, Brother Zhao, would actually be capable of displacing even my protective Golden Light..."