Chapter 114 - 90: My Junior Brother is Actually Stronger Than Me?
’Since Senior Sister isn’t here, this is the perfect time to test my true limits.’
Sparring with Wang Qingli certainly helped hone his practical combat skills, but Chu Bai always held back.
After all, they were from the same sect and were renting this Cultivation Room together. If he accidentally hurt her, it would be difficult to explain.
But now...
Chu Bai took a deep breath, and the Five Elements Small Cycle within him instantly accelerated to its maximum.
"Spirit Water Needle!"
This time, it wasn’t just a tentative few dozen needles.
SWOOSH!
In an instant, it was as if a torrential downpour had begun inside the Cultivation Room. A full three hundred azure Water Needles materialized from thin air, densely occupying half the space.
Furthermore, these Water Needles not only possessed the fluid resilience of water but were also imbued with slivers of incomparably sharp, pale gold Geng Metal Qi!
"Go!"
With a point of Chu Bai’s finger.
The three hundred Spirit Water Needles shot forward like an enraged Flood Dragon, letting out a shriek that tore through the air as they slammed into the black target.
The dense sounds of impact merged into a single, piercing wail. Before this terrifying torrent, the supposedly indestructible Qi Cultivation Limit Target lasted for less than a single breath.
CRACK!
With a sharp crack, the puppet’s hard outer shell instantly shattered, exploding into a cloud of fragments.
An instant kill!
But it wasn’t over yet.
Chu Bai stomped his foot, unleashing Fire Step Ascension. He reappeared as if by teleportation in the center of the fragments before they had even started to regroup.
"Formless Cloud Hand!"
An incredibly solid, giant Cloud Hand slammed down from out of nowhere. This palm strike contained not only his Perfection Level control but also the essence of life and death from his Life and Death Qi.
BANG!
The ground trembled. The puppet fragments, which had just begun to reassemble, were instantly pulverized by the palm strike. They dissipated completely, and could only be restored by the Array.
Chu Bai let out a long breath.
He relaxed his stance, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes. It had been a long time since he’d gone all out. Unleashing that full combo was truly exhilarating.
’With the enhancement from my Five Elements Spiritual Power, the might of my Magic Techniques has increased by at least thirty percent. Combined with my Perfection Level control, a rigid target like this is basically made of paper in front of me.’
He sat cross-legged and performed Breath Regulation for a brief moment, and his Spiritual Power was already fully restored.
Staring at the progress bar on the panel, which was still slowly ticking upward, Chu Bai grew thoughtful.
’Even after a Magic Technique reaches Perfection, the progress bar keeps rising. This means... there’s definitely a path beyond Perfection.’
’Perhaps Divine Techniques? Or some kind of Mental Realm?’
’But now isn’t the time to be studying this. The Immortal Official Examination is only half a month away. Time is short, so consolidating my current combat strength is more important.’
’This test just now gave me a good baseline. From now on, I’ll have a better idea of how much power I need to use against my opponents.’
Just as he was thinking, he heard familiar footsteps outside the door.
...
Wang Qingli walked with hurried steps.
She tightly clutched two bottles of Qi Recovery Pills she had just acquired from the Pill Medicine Pavilion, vowing to herself, ’Chu Bai’s recovery speed is too fast. If I don’t take pills, I can’t keep up with his rhythm at all. I refuse to be left behind again this time!’
This was why she had been in such a hurry to leave earlier. She was truly putting everything on the line for the upcoming Immortal Official Examination.
Lost in thought, she soon found herself back at the door to the Cultivation Room.
Before she even opened the door, she heard a series of alarming explosions from within. Even through the thick, restricted door, she could feel the ground tremble slightly.
’Is that... Junior Brother practicing Magic Techniques by himself?’
A thought struck Wang Qingli. ’Such dedication... truly extraordinary. No wonder he’s improving so quickly.’
She first knocked politely on the door, then took out her Token to open the Restriction.
The moment she stepped inside, the scene before her made her eyes fly wide open.
In the center of the training area, the test target that should have been perfectly intact was now in a wretched state—shattered to pieces, its Spiritual Light dim, struggling to slowly reform under the influence of the Array.
On the control console to the side, the indicator light for the target’s difficulty was conspicuously lit up in the highest red section.
’This is... the target set to the limit for Early-stage Qi Cultivation?!’
Wang Qingli gasped, her heart pounding with shock.
A target of this strength was equivalent to a Qi Cultivation Third Layer practitioner who specialized in Defense Techniques.
To destroy it would require at least a quarter of an hour of relentless bombardment.
’But how long was I gone?’
’Less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!’
’Judging by the signs of it re-forming, it’s obviously been destroyed more than once.’
’In other words, in the brief time I was gone, not only did Chu Bai not rest, but he unleashed even more terrifying Destructive Power than before and instantly obliterated this target?!’
Wang Qingli looked over at the young man calmly performing Breath Regulation to the side. A powerful sense of defeat washed over her, but it quickly transformed into an even deeper awe.
’So that’s how it is...’
’During our half-month of sparring, my Junior Brother has been holding back on me this entire time?’
’Our so-called "even matches" were just him deliberately suppressing his true strength to protect my pride!’
Seeing Wang Qingli standing at the entrance with a complicated look on her face, Chu Bai wasn’t surprised. He stood up and smiled.
"Senior Sister, how’s your Spiritual Power recovery? Are you ready to practice again?"
Wang Qingli snapped back to reality. She took a deep breath, quickly swallowed a Qi Recovery Pill, and suppressed the shock in her heart.
"About seventy percent. I’m ready to start."
She walked up to Chu Bai, her expression more serious than ever. "But from now on, I have one condition for our practice."
"Hm?"
"You don’t need to hold back anymore."
Wang Qingli looked directly into Chu Bai’s eyes, her tone resolute. "If you keep holding back all the time, not only will it be unsatisfying for you, but I won’t get any real training out of it either."