’How is this possible?’
Enduring the immense pain, Gong Ning dazedly lifted her head to look at the figure in front of her, who hadn’t moved an inch. ’In those last few seconds, who on earth was I fighting? A man made of iron? Am I even awake? Or is this all just a dream?’
After a moment, Gong Ning gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the absurd sense of terror in her heart.
’No, that was just a probe. I still have trump cards!’ Gong Ning charged at Lu Yun again!
This time, she pushed her Wandering Dragon Eight Trigrams Palm to its absolute limit. A flurry of palm shadows appeared as the wind howled.
But Lu Yun remained as steady as a mountain, meeting her attacks with only his two palms. Every block was perfectly timed, and every one of her strikes was fruitlessly repelled, leaving her in unbearable pain.
The tenth exchange, the fifteenth, the twentieth...
At that moment, a sharp glint suddenly flashed deep within Gong Ning’s beautiful eyes!
She switched from palms to fists, executing another of the Gong Family’s ultimate techniques, the Spiritual Snake Xingyi Fist!
This fist style was strange and unpredictable, cunning and ruthless, specializing in striking the opponent from unexpected angles!
Gong Ning had bested countless opponents with this sudden switch in technique. Even her own father had praised her, saying her "Spiritual Snake Xingyi Fist has reached a state of mastery"!
In the blink of an eye, Gong Ning feinted with her left fist while her right shot out like a silent, ghostly shadow, aimed directly at Lu Yun’s lower left ribs!
The punch was fast, precise, and vicious, completely bypassing all of Lu Yun’s frontal defenses!
’It’s a hit!’
A bright light flared in Gong Ning’s eyes. Yet, facing this punch, a faint smile actually appeared on Lu Yun’s face.
He made no move to block it, nor did he even think of dodging.
Lu Yun just stood there, allowing her fair-skinned fist to land squarely on his lower left side.
A dull THUD.
The light in Gong Ning’s eyes instantly froze. She felt as if she hadn’t struck flesh and blood, but an iron wall reinforced with steel rebar.
No, it was an anvil forged from solid refined steel!
The rebounding force was like a landslide or a tsunami, surging back along her knuckles, wrist, and forearm, crushing everything in its path!
"Ah!"
Faced with the searing pain on her fist and the feeling that her knuckles were about to shatter, she cried out in front of everyone. The rebounding force was so great it made her knees buckle.
With a dull THUMP, she fell to her knees before Lu Yun.
This scene instantly silenced the majority of the audience, who had just been in an uproar.
Gong Ning knelt there, staring down at her right hand, now even more red and swollen. Her mind was a complete blank.
’Impossible.’
Gong Ning could tell that this Lu Yun had cultivated a Horizontal Training art that made his skin and muscles as tough as iron, impervious to blades and swords.
But she couldn’t understand why her Dark Force had no effect at all, given that she was a Martial Artist at the Peak of Anjin.
After all, the main characteristic of Dark Force was its ability to penetrate the body. It could bypass external defenses like skin and muscle to directly strike the fragile internal organs!
Even a Grandmaster of Huajin who practiced Horizontal Training couldn’t completely ignore the damage from Dark Force! This was common knowledge in the world of Martial Arts!
And yet... Gong Ning blankly raised her head to look at Lu Yun, who was just a few feet away.
His expression was normal, his breathing was steady, and he hadn’t even furrowed his brow.
This meant that the surge of Dark Force she had just poured into Lu Yun’s body with all her might hadn’t caused so much as a ripple.
Why? Of course, Gong Ning would never know.
Lu Yun’s "Hard Qi Gong" had tempered his skin, muscles, and bones to be as tough as black iron. Moreover, it could significantly weaken the Qi of a Grandmaster of Huajin and grant complete immunity to the Dark Force of an Anjin Martial Artist.
If it couldn’t even get past the front door, how could it wreak havoc inside?
Lu Yun looked down at Gong Ning kneeling by his feet, becoming lost in thought.
’This young lady’s strength is truly impressive. Not only has she reached the Peak of Anjin at the age of twenty-seven, but she’s also cultivated two high-level Martial Arts to such a degree.’
’Yes, her talent and aptitude are both top-tier.’
’Besides, she holds no grudge against me. Her challenge is just part of the official procedure for the Martial Arts Demonstration, and I just happen to be the advisor who was "called out".’
’Should I let this young lady live?’
Lu Yun remained silent for a few more breaths as hundreds of gazes in the hall focused on him.
"No way!"
In the crowd, a young Martial Artist’s eyes went wide as he stared in disbelief at the black-clad figure kneeling on the high platform.
"This pretty lady is the expert who killed Master Ma, and he was at the Peak of Anjin! She only lasted twenty-some exchanges against Advisor Lu?"
"Twenty-some exchanges, and Advisor Lu didn’t even move from his spot the entire time," someone next to him added grimly.
"HISS!"
A wave of sharp hisses spread through the crowd. "A Grandmaster of Huajin... so this is their power!"
"Hey, don’t jump to conclusions. The pretty lady hasn’t been completely defeated yet, has she?"
"She still has a chance!"
Hearing this, an older Martial Artist shook his head. "What good is it that she hasn’t collapsed? Just look at her hands."
Everyone looked over in unison.
Gong Ning’s hands were raised in front of her face. Her knuckles were red, and her palms were even worse, looking as if they had just been pulled out of boiling water.
"Is that from hitting someone, or from being hit?" someone muttered.
"...She did that to herself."
After a brief silence, a low voice drifted from a corner, "Such a beautiful woman... If she really loses and ends up meeting a tragic end, I’ll feel pretty bad just thinking about it."
Someone next to him immediately chimed in, "Then don’t you dare lay a killing blow later! The moment her martial arts are crippled, I’ll take her home and take care of her for the rest of her life!"
"Fuck off! A toad lusting after a swan!"

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