Free Web NovelChapter 556: Chapter 337: Sacred Hall of Combat
Zou Feng didn’t panic at all as Jiang Wanzhao’s Qi Force enveloped him.
He knew perfectly well that Jiang Wanzhao was inspecting his body, just in case Liu Chenyu had left anything behind.
’But why does being wrapped in this Qi Force feel so strange?’
It was like being scrubbed and massaged by hundreds of tiny hands.
It would have been one thing if it were just his upper body being probed like this, but the crucial part was...
In short, Jiang Wanzhao’s inspection was far too thorough. Her intricate probing even reached places that, strictly speaking, should have been off-limits.
"Senior Sister Jiang..." Zou Feng coughed, a soft protest.
He was just short of blurting out, "Not there!"
"Be quiet!"
Jiang Wanzhao’s expression remained unchanged, her poker face suggesting this was strictly business, devoid of any romantic undertones.
After this went on for quite some time, the Qi Force enveloping Zou Feng finally began to dissipate.
Zou Feng, on the other hand, was already drenched in sweat and looked utterly exhausted.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zou Feng was about to ask Jiang Wanzhao if she had found anything during the inspection.
But when he looked up, he saw that Jiang Wanzhao had, at some point, transformed again, returning to her mature, dominant state.
’Huh? Doesn’t she only transform when she gets worked up?’
’She was just inspecting my body this time, so why did she transform halfway through...?’
However, the transformed Jiang Wanzhao looked perfectly composed, so Zou Feng didn’t dare press the issue.
’It’s probably because she only just grasped this transformation, so it’s not easy to control.’
"There shouldn’t be any issues now," Jiang Wanzhao concluded. "It seems the Clear Heart Soul Suppressing Talisman completely cleaned up all of Liu Chenyu’s nasty little tricks."
"But, after this tribulation, has your Foundation Establishment run into a problem?"
’As expected of a True Disciple of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect,’ he thought. ’She saw right through my awkward predicament in an instant.’
To put it bluntly, he’d been scared stiff—or rather, limp. The "Heavenly Gate" that had just begun to form had shrunk back into itself.
Hearing this, Zou Feng looked frustrated. "You’re right," he said. "I’m afraid I’ll have to spend more time preparing again..."
’A psychological scar like this can only be healed with time, it seems.’
But Jiang Wanzhao had a completely different opinion. "That’s not necessary. The root of your problem with Foundation Establishment is that your confidence and momentum took a blow. You subconsciously ’retreated,’ and that’s why you can no longer see the ’Heavenly Gate’..."
Zou Feng thought about it for a moment and realized she had a point.
Foundation Establishment, much like a duel, requires all your preparation and gathered momentum to be unleashed in one single, decisive push.
If anything interrupts that process, your momentum wanes on the second attempt and is exhausted by the third.
"What you say makes sense, Senior Sister Jiang. Dare I ask... is there a solution?" Zou Feng asked humbly.
Jiang Wanzhao nodded slightly. Then, she shifted her weight onto her right leg, placed her left hand on her hip, and turned her head to gaze at the sky, deliberately showing off her profile in a pose she considered very stylish.
But anyone could tell she was completely unpracticed in the series of movements; they were noticeably stiff.
It couldn’t be helped. Jiang Wanzhao was still unfamiliar with her developed body.
Yet she desperately wanted to imitate those female cultivators who possessed naturally long legs and an air of sublime grace.
The result was a clumsy, awkward imitation.
"It’s only natural to suffer a setback when a True Disciple makes a move against you."
"Liu Chenyu is a bitch, no doubt about it, but compared to a good-for-nothing like Lu Guanghua who was on his last legs anyway, she’s leagues stronger..."
Her words were clearly meant to help Zou Feng adjust his mindset.
But while that might be true, adjusting his mindset wasn’t something he could do in an instant.
After a few words of encouragement, Jiang Wanzhao changed her tune. "But losing a little confidence and momentum is a small problem. You just have to win them back in a fight!"
’Win them back?’
’How could I possibly go looking for Liu Chenyu to win anything back?’
’She’s one of the best in the Golden Core Realm. There’s no way I could fight her and win. I wouldn’t stand a ghost of a chance.’
Seeing Zou Feng’s confusion, Jiang Wanzhao didn’t keep him guessing. "Naturally, I mean you should go fight the prodigies within our Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect who are at the same Realm as you! Win back your confidence that way!"
It dawned on Zou Feng then. Ever since advancing to the Spiritual Energy Realm, he’d almost exclusively been fighting in the big leagues.
He was either fighting a Reincarnated Sword Emperor or punching up against cultivators in the Dao Foundation Realm.
He had even gone through successive battles of wits and strength against the Outer Body Incarnations of two different True Disciples.
Constantly playing in such high-stakes matches, it was a small miracle that he had only suffered a true setback now.
’But now she wants me to go back to my own Realm and fight low-tier battles? It would feel like shooting fish in a barrel. Could that really help me get my edge back?’
’No, wait. It actually could work!’
’Shooting fish in a barrel is incredibly satisfying. And as you keep doing it, you’ll quickly start to feel invincible, like you’re a true genius.’
’Even if it’s mostly an illusion, all I need right now is to get my confidence back.’
’But the question is, where can I find a fish pond like that?’
After a pause, Jiang Wanzhao leaned forward, awkwardly brushing a stray strand of hair from her forehead as she switched to yet another pose.
Her previous pose was meant to accentuate her transformed long legs and her sharp, angular profile.
This new one, however, was meant to show off the... ample assets her transformation had given her.
Unfortunately, it was still incredibly stiff and looked just as awkward.
"Hmph. Don’t think it will be that simple. In the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, there’s never a shortage of peerless prodigies, no matter the Realm."
"You don’t actually think Li Dingjie was the only one in the sect who reincarnated to recultivate, do you? And you’re the one who took him out."
Her question really gave Zou Feng pause. In fact, just like the Outer Sect, the Inner Sect also had a ranking list similar to a potential ranking, called the Sky-Ascension List.
