In the dead of night, within the Inner Academy, participants of the Grand Inner Academy Competition were resting in their rooms. Tomorrow's matches were crucial, determining the top fifteen on the Strong Rankings, leaving no room for carelessness.
A small figure in white arrived at a secluded corner of the Inner Academy. This was a detached residence where someone was cultivating Dou Qi. Suddenly, an ear twitched, and eyes opened.
"Wang Mang, get out here!"
A voice came from outside the courtyard gate, and the young man, Wang Mang, frowned even deeper upon hearing it.
"Zi Yan, what are you doing here at my place?!"
The youth named Wang Mang walked out, looking at Zi Yan who was clenching her fists, feeling a sense of unease. He couldn't fathom how he had provoked this difficult little "ancestor."
"I'm really annoyed today. That slippery brat made me furious."
Zi Yan, seeing Wang Mang appear, cracked her knuckles. "Old Man Su told me that my opponent for tomorrow suddenly claimed to have a stomach ache tonight. I'm really pissed off right now and want to fight someone."
"Why did you come looking for me? I have no grievances with you."
Wang Mang furrowed his brows. No one would be comfortable being sought out like this, as it was clearly an unprovoked disaster.
Zi Yan stared at Wang Mang and said, "You're recognized as the number one on the Strong Rankings, but we've never fought. I don't acknowledge your claim to be number one on the Strong Rankings. Is that reason enough?!"
"If you want to fight, I'll accept your challenge in the arena three days from now. Right now, it's the Strong Rankings tournament, and I—"
"Why are you spouting so much nonsense? Are you a man or not?"
Zi Yan barked, not waiting for Wang Mang to finish, and charged directly. Her speed was incredibly fast, her explosive power even greater. She arrived directly in front of Wang Mang and threw a punch. The force of her punch rippled through the air, causing Wang Mang's pupils to suddenly shrink.
"Boom~~~"
Wang Mang turned his head and stepped aside, raising his hand to block Zi Yan's punch. Pale golden Dou Qi erupted, and he shimmered with golden light, like a God of War.
"Since you want to fight, why should I fear!"
Wang Mang said as he unleashed a punch. The pale golden Dou Qi formed a sharp, resilient Dou Qi, directly attacking Zi Yan's head without mercy.
Wang Mang's Dou Qi attribute was metal, excelling in both offense and defense. Only his speed was slightly inferior, but that was in terms of long-distance pursuit or movement techniques. In close combat like this, his attack speed was not slow at all. With this punch, golden light burst forth like a brilliant torrent.
"Rumble~~~"
Zi Yan shifted her body, not dodging but planting her feet and striking out. The two fists, one large and one small, collided with a thunderous roar, as if the entire residential area trembled. The result of the collision was Wang Mang being sent flying backward.
Zi Yan's strength was unexpectedly powerful to Wang Mang. Although he knew Zi Yan's nickname as the "Brute King," he had not fought her in previous Strong Rankings competitions, nor did they have much interaction in daily life.
He had only heard that Zi Yan's strength was immense, but he never imagined it to be this strong. Even with his metal-attributed Dou Qi, he couldn't fully resist a direct confrontation. This power was probably even more terrifying than that of a Dou Emperor.
"What's going on? Someone's fighting tonight!"
Just as the two clashed, several powerhouses in the Inner Academy's residential area had already noticed the commotion. Most, however, were not surprised.
Because the law of the jungle was common in the Inner Academy, and fighting in the residential area was not unheard of. It was just that the timing tonight was a bit unusual, especially during the Strong Rankings tournament. Most Inner Academy members shouldn't have been in the mood for such things!
"It's coming from Wang Mang's direction. Who is he fighting?"
The top experts on the Strong Rankings, however, sensed something out of the ordinary. The commotion was coming from Wang Mang's residence. Someone was actually challenging him, which naturally piqued their interest. They moved quickly, soaring towards the most obvious source of the disturbance.
"Wang Mang, do you submit?"
In Wang Mang's courtyard, Zi Yan proudly raised her small fist, while Wang Mang clutched his chest with a look of frustration. He had miscalculated Zi Yan's strength and lost the initiative, then was suddenly struck in the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest, an important Qi gate. He had lost so inexplicably without even using much of his strength.
"How did you, cough cough, suddenly hit me there?"
Wang Mang clutched his chest. Even he only just realized that striking his Tanzhong acupoint could have such an effect. He desperately wanted to know how the other party knew about this seemingly weak spot.
"I just hit whatever was there. Your two hands were both knocked away by me just now, where else would I hit but your chest!"
Zi Yan's gaze was somewhat peculiar, but she still spoke casually. She was, of course, lying. That spot was where Yan Qingshan had told her to try hitting.
Yan Qingshan had previously analyzed and researched Dou Qi of various attributes. He found that metal-attributed Dou Qi was somewhat similar to external martial arts like the Golden Bell Shield or Iron Cloth Shirt. This led him to speculate about this attribute: could there be a weak point like in wuxia novels?
Wang Mang's background was ordinary. The high-level Xuan tier metal-attributed cultivation method he practiced came from the Inner Academy's cultivation technique pavilion. After Yan Qingshan exchanged for and studied this technique, he found that his hypothesis was not entirely wrong. Several acupoint nodes where this technique operated indeed had the potential to become weaknesses.
Of course, this weakness was not absolute. If the cultivator was already aware of it, it usually wouldn't work. Moreover, breaking through metal-attributed defense using this method required considerable strength. He couldn't do it, but Zi Yan could, which led to the current scene.
"Wang Mang, oh my, oh my, I can't believe the number one on the Strong Rankings is in such a pathetic state. It looks like you're about to give up your spot!"
A handsome man fanning himself with a folding fan walked over, speaking mockingly. His face was slightly effeminate, and his gaze towards Zi Yan and Wang Mang occasionally flickered with apprehension.
"Mu Yun, do you also want a beating? I'm quite annoyed right now!"
Zi Yan turned as if provoked again, then threw a punch.
"Brute King, you maniac! I didn't provoke you!"
Mu Yun had no idea Zi Yan would attack so directly. He quickly circulated his pale blue Dou Qi to block with his folding fan, but he couldn't completely withstand Zi Yan's strength. He was sent flying, smashing through a section of the wall.
"Are you all here to watch the show too? No one is leaving today!"
Pale purple Dou Qi suddenly surged from Zi Yan's body, forming wings. She then directly pounced on the three other Dou Kings and several peak Dou Spirits who had just arrived. Their expressions immediately changed drastically, and they scrambled to flee.
Some of them had previously fought Zi Yan and knew that the Brute King was not to be trifled with. But even more so, seeing that even the first and second on the Strong Rankings had been dealt with by this third-ranked individual, they knew that she was the truly ruthless one.
With such a ruthless person attacking, who would dare to linger? Being caught by her wouldn't just be a good beating; they wouldn't even be able to resist!