Chapter Twelve Genius and Genius

  On the empty ground, Wu Zongming didn't deliberately hold his breath and walked slowly towards Fang Mian's disciple.

  Ten steps, nine steps, eight steps,... five steps!

  Surprisingly, the first to launch an attack was not Wu Zongming, but Fang Lian's disciple. His legs slightly popped up, and with one stride, he rushed out, his right arm hanging down in the air drew a strange arc from bottom to top, striking towards Wu Zongming.

  Hmph!

  The air shattered with a loud noise, and on the edge of Fang Lian's right hand, a faint dark glow flashed, which was a sign that his internal energy was about to break through his physical body.

  "Go back!"

  Wu Zongming let out a low shout and slapped Fang Shidi's right hand with his palm.

  Bang!

  The majestic and imposing square-faced disciple's feet left the ground, was struck back to his original position with a crisp and clean blow, and immediately retreated in disarray for over a dozen steps, almost falling to the ground.

  Cough! Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Fang's disciple pointed at Wu Zongming, "You, you..." Only said one word, and the person fainted.

  Suddenly, the square was filled with a loud noise.

  Although everyone knew that Fang Lian's disciple might not be a match for Wu Zongming, they did not expect the gap to be so large. Moreover, it seemed that Wu Zongming had not used any martial skills and was purely using ordinary moves to counterattack. The first disciple of the outer sect was indeed not to be underestimated.

  Ye Chen's view was different from others. To be serious, the gap between the 8th and 10th layers of Qi Refining Realm was not that big. Moreover, Fang Lian had used the high-level martial skill "Xiao Ye Sha Palm" which had an attacking power almost reaching the threshold of the 10th layer of Qi Refining Realm. Even if he couldn't defeat Wu Zongming, it wouldn't be to the point where he would directly faint.

  The real reason is that if Ye Chen's guess is correct, the level of Wu Zongming's cultivation method is higher than that of Fang Lian's disciples. Whether it is the quality or quantity of internal energy, neither of them is at the same level. In addition, Wu Zongming has obviously cultivated his skills to a higher level, and his control and application of internal energy far surpass those of Fang Lian's disciples.

  Thinking of this, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile bitterly.

  The world he lived in was called the True Spirit Continent, a vast and boundless landmass whose size no one knew. No one knew how many people or demons lived on this continent either. One thing was certain: this continent was dominated by sects and warriors, with countries playing a slightly secondary role.

  On this continent, there are two things that are crucial for a martial artist: one is martial skills and the other is internal energy techniques.

  Compared with martial skills, the importance of Gongfa is several times more.

  The value of a low-level human-grade cultivation technique is absolutely no less than that of a mid-level human-grade martial skill, and sometimes even surpasses it.

  If martial skills can bring out twice or even thrice the combat power, then Gongfa is a person's foundation. If the foundation is strong, one will have an absolute advantage from the very beginning.

  Normally, a warrior who cultivates a higher-level technique will increase their internal energy by 30%. This means that if two warriors have the same level of cultivation, one cultivating a low-level human-grade technique and the other cultivating a mid-level human-grade technique, the latter's internal energy will be more than double that of the former. If the latter cultivates a high-level human-grade technique, it will be 1.7 times that of the former. A top-level human-grade technique is twice as much plus 10%, and the huge gap between them is like an unbridgeable chasm.

  Apart from the issue of internal energy quantity, when the level of Gongfa is higher, the quality of internal energy will also be greatly improved. To put it simply, if we compare the internal energy produced by practicing lower-level Gongfa to a piece of wood, then the internal energy produced by practicing higher-level Gongfa would be like a stone or even metal. How can wood possibly compete with stone and metal? They are clearly not on the same level.

  Wu Zongming, as the first disciple of the outer sect, had a cultivation method that was at least mid-grade human rank, while Ye Chen's cultivation method was low-grade human rank. Even if his opponent had the same level of cultivation as him and was in the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, their total internal energy would still be 30% more than his, not to mention that his opponent's cultivation was even higher than his.

  Fortunately, in terms of internal energy quality, Ye Chen is confident that he won't lose to Wu Zongming. A month ago, he had already practiced the Cloud Energy Technique to the point of perfection, surpassing the level described in the secret manual by at least one grade, roughly equivalent to a mid-level human-grade cultivation technique.

  With one move, Fang Lian's disciple was defeated. Wu Zongming didn't show any sign of triumph. To him, Fang Lian's disciple was just a clown, and defeating him couldn't bring excitement. The purpose of teaching him a lesson was to let others know that even if he failed in the trial, not everyone could compare to him.

  Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

  A slightly immature but handsome young man clapped his hands and walked over, "Too great, worthy of being the first disciple of the outer sect, Wu Zongming, you are qualified to be my opponent."

  Wu Zongming turned his head sideways, narrowing his eyes, "Zhang Haoran."

  Zhang Haoran's appearance was slightly immature, but his temperament was quite mature. He smiled faintly and said, "You're cultivating the Human Grade High-Rank Cultivation Method, Pei Yuan Gong. I don't know which level you've reached."

  "Not yet, I've just stepped into the fourth peak."

  Ye Dun heard this and suddenly realized, no wonder Wu Zongming's casual slap could knock out Fang's disciple. It turned out that he was cultivating the Pei Yuan Gong, as a high-level human cultivation method, Pei Yuan Gong may not be very outstanding in other aspects, but it has one unique point, its cultivated internal energy is exceptionally deep and thick, even higher than the same level of cultivation methods. Moreover, Pei Yuan Gong is divided into five levels, and reaching the peak of the fourth level is already quite impressive.

  "Little did you expect that Zhang Hao Ran would sneer with a smile, 'Compared to ordinary people, you are indeed a genius, but at this moment, you are no longer my opponent.'"

  "Wu Zongming sneered: 'Arrogant people have never had a good ending.'"

  "Really? Don't worry about hurting your feelings, I cultivate the Human Grade High-Rank Cultivation Method Lingyun Gong, but it has already reached the highest realm of the Fifth Layer. This is the gap between you and me."

  As soon as this remark was made, the public square was filled with discussions and debates.

  "It's too exaggerated! Cultivation techniques are the hardest to improve, Zhang Hao Ran has only had the Lingyun Technique for more than four months and he's already reached the fifth level, how is this possible?!"

  "Yes, the human-level high-ranking technique is generally divided into five levels. Ordinary people want to reach the first level, at least three or four days are needed, the second level needs ten days, the third level a month, the fourth level three months, and the fifth level takes more than a year. I remember that when the inner door disciples converted to practice human-level top-ranking techniques, the original human-level high-ranking technique was not completed, but was directly abandoned."

  "It seems that in terms of talent, Zhang Haoran is still more powerful."

  Unlike others' astonished reactions, Ye Chen felt it was only natural. A genius is a genius because they can't be predicted with common sense; otherwise, they wouldn't be geniuses. As for Wu Zongming, he wasn't far behind either. After all, he was only one step away from reaching the fifth level of Peiyuan Gong. Perhaps in just half a month, he would break through to the fifth level.

  Wu Zongming was indeed surprised, he had obtained the human-level high-ranking method of cultivating Yuan Gong after taking first place in the Wooden Man Lane half a year ago. He thought that it was already impressive to have cultivated to the fourth heavy peak in just six months, considering ordinary people would need around five months to cultivate from the first heavy to the fourth, and another five months to reach the fourth heavy peak. How could he have expected Zhang Haoran to be even more talented, reaching the highest realm of the fifth heavy in just over four months?

  Taking a deep breath, Wu Zongming calmly said, "There's no point in talking too much, strength isn't something that can be compared."

  Zhang Haoran smiled, "That's right, so this time in the Woodman Lane competition, I will be the first place."

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and left, leaving behind a back view for everyone.