Chapter 148 I Want to Keep a Low Profile Too

Now that the demonic forces had been driven away, no one was in a rush to clean up the battlefield. Instead, they gathered at a distance, their eyes alight with excitement. For them, the fact that Zhou Shitong, the top-ranked newcomer, had taken the initiative to issue a challenge promised an exhilarating fight.

Even Ye Wuyou felt a spark of interest.

“Big brother, don’t chicken out—beat him to a pulp!” Xia Dang raised his great axe and shouted excitedly.

“Brother Qingxi, I believe in you!” Lin Feng stood among the Lingyuan Sect faction, leaning close to the sect leader Qiu Mingzi, subtly gesturing as if to ask, “Brother, want a buff?”

Qingxi shook his head.

Ridiculous. Facing Zhou Shitong, did he really need any luck? To thoroughly crush him, no luck was required—only pure strength.

Thinking this, Qingxi stood calmly in place, letting the heavy rain fall upon him, his gaze indifferent as he looked at Zhou Shitong.

“I accept your challenge.”

“Splendid!” Zhou Shitong laughed heartily. “I once thought there was no one among the younger generation in the Yunchuan Prefecture who could stand against me, but unexpectedly, I have met you. This battle shall be my last before I leave Yunchuan Prefecture! I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

Those words held a wealth of implications. Qingxi’s interest was piqued. “Leaving Yunchuan Prefecture... Could it be that a powerful being from beyond the realm has taken notice of you?”

Qingxi knew Zhou Shitong possessed an earth-grade spiritual root. Usually, a prodigy of such caliber would have long since been taken away by an external master for cultivation, yet he remained in Yunchuan Prefecture—it was quite peculiar.

Zhou Shitong shook his head, then nodded and said, “Want to know why? Defeat me first!”

Qingxi nearly fainted. This guy, so stubborn, was he?

It seemed that if he didn’t teach him a proper lesson today, he wouldn’t get a straightforward answer.

As the two stood off, Ye Wuyou and Xia Yan walked side by side, stopping about a hundred meters from the center of the battlefield, appraising Qingxi with keen interest.

“Young and already achieved the early stage of innate perfection, his vitality surges like the sea—surely his physical strength is formidable. He must be following the path of dual cultivation: physical body and magic.”

Ye Wuyou stood proudly with his sword, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Silent Laugh, Qiu Yingying, Wang Shuiling, and other top newcomers also stood nearby, their eyes fixed intently.

They all wanted to see if Qingxi, who had rampaged through the demonic horde, could overcome Zhou Shitong, the long-standing number one on the newcomer rankings and known as the Little Spear King.

Mu Yue retracted the sword-energy petals she used for defense, her bright eyes watching Qingxi, amazed at the speed of his cultivation.

In her memory, even in the place she remembered, such rapid advancement was considered extraordinary.

Yet whenever Mu Yue recalled those memories, her head ached unbearably, growing more painful the more she thought; resigned, she ultimately gave up trying to understand.

Qingxi did not strike immediately.

His gaze caught sight of Long Ma sneaking about. Pulling his eyes away from the little Vajra monkey perched atop Long Ma’s head, Qingxi smiled in satisfaction.

But when he looked toward Zhou Shitong, the dazzling light forced him to squint, and he said irritably, “Could you tone down the brightness a bit?”

“This is a manifestation of power and a sign of respect for one’s opponent. Why should I tone it down?”

Zhou Shitong looked puzzled. The silver spear in his hand continuously emitted blinding radiance, almost preventing Qingxi from opening his eyes. Muttering a curse, Qingxi immediately rummaged through the system space.

Soon, he found a piece of black crystal, cut it with sword-energy into a pair of large sunglasses, and calmly put them on.

The glare before him finally softened considerably.

“They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. To protect the eyes, you need glass... Never thought that even after crossing into the cultivation world, I’d still have to wear glasses!”

Qingxi grumbled angrily to himself.

He made up his mind—next time anyone shone so brightly, he would strike them down—hard.

Everyone watching him put on the sunglasses felt his style instantly elevate by several degrees, unable to help but feel envious.

Xia Dang, the top little brother, eyes shining, exclaimed, “Big brother is truly big brother—always bringing us a different kind of shock!”

Lin Feng quietly agreed, “I think so too.”

“Me as well,” echoed Long Ma and the little Vajra monkey in unison.

Silent Laugh felt an indescribable aura of dominance from Qingxi with the sunglasses on. Though initially skeptical, he now inexplicably believed Qingxi could win.

“This must be a special spiritual artifact designed for tracking. With it, Zhou Shitong’s proud speed advantage will be greatly diminished,” Silent Laugh analyzed coolly.

After some thought, the other top newcomers nodded in agreement.

Zhou Shitong’s fighting style could be summed up in two words: reckless. Fast speed, precise attacks, simple yet effective.

To counter him, one must focus on speed.

In their eyes, the strange item Qingxi wore was undoubtedly a spiritual tool to enhance vision and counter speed-based fighters like Zhou Shitong.

“I think Qingxi has a high chance of winning.”

Ji Mingshan couldn’t help but admit Qingxi was extraordinarily formidable.

“Zhou Shitong has held the top spot on the newcomer rankings for so long—there’s no way he’ll lose easily. In my opinion, Qingxi will be kneeling on the ground begging for mercy within ten moves.”

One prodigy boasted for Zhou Shitong, utterly dismissing Qingxi’s chances.

...

Amid the buzz of speculation, Zhou Shitong finally chose to attack.

He suddenly unleashed the supreme bronze technique, “Wind and Thunder Step,” attempting to close the distance instantly, then planned to use the master-level technique, “Wind and Thunder Spear Technique,” to defeat Qingxi.

But to Zhou Shitong’s shock, no matter how he struggled, he could not move.

“What’s going on?”

His expression changed drastically.

He realized his body was bound by an invisible force; his torso, head, limbs, even the silver spear in his hand could not budge.

“Paralysis Technique?”

Suddenly, Zhou Shitong recalled the term. When they had besieged the Frost Demons in the Chiyan Mountain Range, Qingxi had shouted this phrase. At the time, he had thought it was just a bluff—but it was real!

“That’s right, you may think of it as such.”

A twisted smile crept across Qingxi’s face.

Having endured Zhou Shitong’s blinding “high beams” for so long, now finally having the chance to take revenge stirred his heart, and he leapt forward.

Reaching behind Zhou Shitong, Qingxi deployed a simple martial skill, “Spirit Staff.” True energy surged in his hand, rapidly condensing into a sturdy long staff.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Qingxi struck Zhou Shitong’s backside fiercely, causing him to howl in pain, feeling deeply humiliated and even on the verge of tears.

“I told you to tone down the light!”

“I told you to challenge me!”

“I told you... never mind, I just want to beat you up!”

Qingxi cursed as he struck.

If Zhou Shitong had launched a direct assault from the start instead of standing there shining his light to build momentum, the battle might have been different.

But instead, he had given Qingxi an opening.

During their standoff, Qingxi had quietly condensed spatial energy to perfectly immobilize Zhou Shitong. Though now discovered, it was too late.

No matter how hard Zhou Shitong struggled, it was futile—he could only be thoroughly beaten.

The onlookers gawked in astonishment.

No one had expected that what should have been a spectacular battle would end like this.

“What on earth is happening?”

Everyone was baffled, unable to comprehend.

Qingxi looked at their shocked faces and shook his head inwardly.

“I wanted to keep a low profile, but my strength simply won’t allow it—such melancholy!”