Free Web NovelChapter 74: Chapter 74: Touching the Wrong Answer
Shen Wuji’s opening movement was strange.
He did not rush directly. He stepped diagonally, his body lowering as if slipping beneath the edge of Qin Yuheng’s vision. Dark red mist gathered around his left hand, while his right hand rested on the hilt of his short blade.
Qin Yuheng recognized the pattern from the recordings.
Shen Wuji liked contact through unexpected angles.
Wrist.
Armor edge.
Weapon vibration.
Shadow step.
The first touch was not meant to injure.
It was meant to read.
Qin Yuheng allowed him to approach halfway, then moved.
Not Thunder Shadow Flash.
Basic footwork first.
His black sword cut downward, forcing Shen Wuji to draw his blade and parry.
Clang.
The moment the blades met, Qin Yuheng felt a thin dark-red vibration trying to enter through the sword.
It was subtle.
Like a needle of cold blood.
His Primordial Thunder Emperor Body responded instantly, ready to crush it.
Qin Yuheng stopped it from overreacting.
Instead, he allowed the interference to touch only the surface of his visible thunder-body circulation.
A controlled layer.
A false wall built from truth. freēwēbnovel.com
Shen Wuji’s eyes flickered.
Contact.
Information.
He sensed thunder.
Strong.
Stable.
Fruit-born?
Perhaps.
But not weak.
Qin Yuheng twisted his sword and broke contact.
Shen Wuji retreated lightly.
"Your thunder circulation is smoother than expected," he said.
"Expected by whom?" Qin Yuheng asked.
Shen Wuji smiled.
"People are curious."
"Curiosity is often rude."
"Only when exposed."
They moved again.
Shen Wuji’s blade was fast, but not overwhelmingly powerful. His danger came from angles and contact. Each strike attempted to touch joints, weapon edges, or energy flow points.
Qin Yuheng blocked some, avoided others, and allowed two controlled contacts.
Each time, Shen Wuji’s dark-red mist tried to read deeper.
Each time, Qin Yuheng fed it the same answer.
Thunder-body talent.
High stability.
Recent but fully integrated.
Strong physical foundation.
Moderate movement energy consumption.
No obvious secondary talent.
No bloodline activation.
No reward anomaly.
The last two were hidden behind Primordial Origin Evolution’s natural concealment and Qin Yuheng’s deliberate suppression.
From the upper platform, Yu Qingmei watched without blinking.
Xu Chengdao murmured, "Qin Yuheng is letting contact happen."
"Yes," Yu Qingmei said.
"Dangerous."
"Controlled."
Zhao Lan also noticed.
Her expression became thoughtful.
Zhao Tianyu did not. He only saw Qin Yuheng fighting evenly with Shen Wuji and clenched his fists.
On stage, Shen Wuji changed rhythm.
His short blade suddenly disappeared into his sleeve, and he struck with a palm toward Qin Yuheng’s chest.
Dark red mist condensed.
This was the same type of palm that had disrupted Zhao Tianyu’s Crimson Beast Blood.
Qin Yuheng could avoid it.
Instead, he partially blocked.
The palm touched his forearm.
Dark-red suppression entered.
For one breath, Qin Yuheng felt it try to slow his thunder circulation and search for instability.
He allowed his arm to go slightly numb.
Then he circulated thunder in a clean, stable loop and forced the mist out.
Violet sparks crackled around his sleeve.
Shen Wuji’s eyes narrowed.
"Very stable."
Qin Yuheng stepped forward.
"Your turn."
His sword flashed.
Shen Wuji retreated, but Qin Yuheng activated Thunder Shadow Flash in a restrained burst.
He appeared at Shen Wuji’s side and struck.
Shen Wuji barely blocked.
The impact pushed him back.
Qin Yuheng did not follow with full speed. He intentionally let the movement appear costly. His breathing deepened slightly, and his next step slowed by a fraction.
Shen Wuji noticed.
"High-grade movement skill. Heavy consumption."
Qin Yuheng did not answer.
Good.
Let him record that.
Shen Wuji pressed the advantage, increasing contact attempts. Qin Yuheng defended with visible effort, occasionally using thunder bursts to force distance. To the audience, the fight looked close and technical.
But those with sharper eyes saw something else.
Qin Yuheng was controlling the rhythm more than Shen Wuji realized.
At the tenth exchange after the palm contact, Qin Yuheng changed from defense to offense.
War Thunder Advance.
Not fully.
Only a small part.
His step became heavy and forward-driven. Shen Wuji tried to slide sideways, but Qin Yuheng’s pressure followed. The black sword cut through his escape line.
Shen Wuji raised his blade.
Clang!
He was forced back.
Qin Yuheng struck again.
And again.
Not fast enough to reveal overwhelming ability, but steady enough to break Shen Wuji’s preferred spacing.
Shen Wuji’s expression changed slightly.
He disliked being forced into direct rhythm.
Qin Yuheng pressed him toward the arena edge.
Shen Wuji suddenly released a stronger dark-red mist.
The mist spread across the ground.
For a moment, Qin Yuheng felt his shadow pull backward.
[External suppression field detected.]
[Effect: Movement drag, talent circulation interference.]
[Resistance: High.]
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
This was more than he had shown against Wei Chen and Zhao Tianyu.
Shen Wuji had escalated.
Han Shuren took half a step forward but did not stop the match.
Qin Yuheng decided to end it.
He released a clean burst of thunder—not overwhelming, but bright and controlled.
The dark-red mist tore open around him.
Thunder Shadow Flash.
One burst.
He appeared behind Shen Wuji.
But instead of placing the sword at his neck, he struck the back of Shen Wuji’s blade hand with the flat of his sword.
Shen Wuji’s fingers numbed.
His blade fell.
Qin Yuheng’s sword stopped at his throat.
The arena went silent.
Han Shuren spoke.
"Winner: Qin Yuheng."
The silence broke into loud discussion.
"He won!"
"Shen Wuji lost?"
"His suppression did not work!"
"Qin Yuheng’s thunder talent is too stable."
"Maybe the Talent Fruit he used was extremely high grade."
That was the conclusion Qin Yuheng wanted.
Shen Wuji looked at the blade near his throat.
Then he smiled.
"Your talent foundation is impressive."
Qin Yuheng withdrew his sword.
"Your suppression is interesting."
"Interesting enough to study?"
"Dangerous enough to avoid trusting."
Shen Wuji laughed softly.
The match ended.
But as he stepped down from the arena, Shen Wuji’s expression darkened slightly.
He had touched Qin Yuheng multiple times.
He had sensed stable thunder.
He had sensed movement strain.
He had sensed no bloodline awakening.
No secondary talent.
No reward anomaly.
And yet...
Something felt wrong.
Too clean.
As if he had placed his hand on a closed door painted to look like a wall.
That evening, Shen Wuji reported to Xue Rong.
"Thunder-body talent confirmed. Fruit-awakened but extraordinarily stable. High-grade movement skill. Strong control. No obvious bloodline reaction. No detectable second talent."
Xue Rong listened silently.
"Your conclusion?"
"Surface explanation is plausible."
"Surface?"
Shen Wuji paused.
"He knew what I was trying to sense."
Xue Rong’s eyes narrowed through the communication talisman.
"And?"
"He let me sense something."
The room fell silent.
Then Xue Rong smiled slowly.
"Good. Then Qin Yuheng is more dangerous than his talent."
Shen Wuji lowered his head.
"What next?"
"Stay in the city. Do not challenge again. Watch who approaches him."
The talisman dimmed.
Shen Wuji looked out the window toward Heavenly Gate Academy.
For the first time, the wandering challenger felt that he had lost more than a duel.
He had touched the wrong answer.
And Qin Yuheng had chosen it for him.
