Chapter 784: Master Zhang, Yours Is Too Short

"Feather duster?"

Ying Qin was stunned.

The spear in my hand is a top-grade spirit weapon, forged from East Sea Mysterious Jade, over two meters long, especially the spear tip, made from Emerald Cold Essence, with hypnotic and dizzying effects, capable of cutting through gold and jade, incredibly sharp...

With such a divine weapon, you actually want to fight me with a feather duster?

This thing is just made from an ordinary bamboo pole; a light touch will break it in two. How can you fight?

Not only him, but even Ruohuan Gongzi beside him was stunned.

Using a feather duster against a top-grade spirit weapon? Master Zhang... humiliating the opponent in this way is really too much!

But... why am I so happy?

"Alright, I'll go right away!" With a wide grin and an excited face, Ruohuan Gongzi immediately ran over.

"You..."

Seeing this guy's smug look, Ying Qin's face turned livid with anger, feeling like his lungs would explode: "Master Zhang, I sincerely challenge you. Since you agreed, I hope you take it seriously. Deliberate humiliation is not what a genius like you should do!"

"Humiliation?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head: "I'm really not humiliating you. Besides, you're not qualified for me to humiliate. The reason I'm not using a spear is that the spear technique I practice is too fierce; I'm afraid I might accidentally impale you, which would be troublesome. A feather duster, though weaker, is easier to control and won't hurt anyone!"

He truly had no intention of humiliating the other party.

If he really wanted to humiliate, he could defeat him without using anything.

Using a feather duster was already giving face.

"You..."

Ying Qin laughed in extreme anger, his eyes narrowing: "Fine, fine, then let me see how you'll impale me!"

A freshman, competing against a top expert from the fourth year, not only unafraid but repeatedly claiming he would impale him... this made his chest surge with uncontrollable rage.

During the conversation, Ruohuan Gongzi fetched the feather dusters, more than a dozen of them, and threw them all onto the high platform, piling them up for Zhang Xuan to choose.

Picking up one casually, Zhang Xuan turned to look at Ying Qin not far away and pointed with it: "Alright, let's begin!"

"You're asking for death!"

Seeing that this guy was actually using a feather duster to fight him, Ying Qin roared, and his spear thrust forward like a dragon.

The wind howled, the force like a tiger, giving a feeling of tearing people apart.

The top-grade spirit spear, like an indestructible fortress, infused with true qi, emitted a sharp sound of breaking air, making it hard to resist.

"So strong..."

Luo Xuan, Ruohuan Gongzi, and others below the stage narrowed their eyes.

Although this person had suppressed his cultivation to the peak of Bridge Heaven realm, his power was profound, far beyond what they could contend with.

Not to mention anything else, just this move—saying it was invincible in the Bridge Heaven realm might be an exaggeration, but at the same level, over ninety-nine percent of the academy's masters could not withstand it.

Even early-stage Return to One realm experts would have to avoid its edge temporarily, not daring to confront it head-on.

So sharp, how would Master Zhang... defend?

Everyone turned to look at Zhang Xuan opposite, and saw that facing such powerful force, his face showed no change; instead, he smiled slightly and extended the index and middle fingers of his left hand.

Crack!

The immensely powerful spear was thus gently pinched between two fingers.

The spear light, which had been as ferocious as a dragon, seemed to sink into a quagmire, unable to move no matter how it struggled.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Holding the spear, Zhang Xuan raised the feather duster and lashed it wildly at Ying Qin's head and face.

In an instant, bright red marks appeared on the latter's face.

"What the... is this even a thing?"

"How does it feel like an adult hitting a child?"

"Yeah, this... fight is way too simple!"

...

Everyone below the stage was stunned.

Just now, seeing Ying Qin's spear technique, everyone was startled, thinking it was hard to resist. Who knew... before it even reached him, Master Zhang had caught it with two fingers.

Couldn't pull it back, couldn't pull it out, as if trapped. Even with a feather duster, he could easily lash wildly.

They thought it would be a fierce battle between dragon and tiger, but who knew... it was a complete slaughter!

"Ah!"

Ying Qin hadn't expected the other's eyesight to be so good and strength so great; his sharp spear was caught directly. The more he thought, the more anxious he became, and he roared: "Let go!"

At the same time, his true qi boiled, and he pulled back with all his might.

If he didn't pull back the spear, he would remain passive.

"You want it? Here..."

Seeing his pulling force growing stronger, Zhang Xuan laughed and suddenly released his fingers.

Stagger, stagger, stagger, stagger!

The force suddenly disappeared; overexerting himself, Ying Qin involuntarily stepped back several paces, leaving a series of footprints on the ground as he struggled to control his momentum.

"Great! Get down!"

Though disheveled, having retrieved his spear, Ying Qin's confidence surged again. He shook his arm, and the spear whistled as it swung straight at the young man opposite.

Earlier he thrust and was caught; this time he switched to a sweep, so it should be fine, right?

Just as he thought about how to knock him down, he felt the other's figure flicker again, and the next moment, two fingers appeared from somewhere, effortlessly pinning the spear shaft.

"What's going on..."

Ying Qin staggered.

He had swung so fast just now; how did the other catch it?

It was simply impossible!

But before he could think further, the feather duster came crashing down on his head again.

Although it was just a bamboo pole, infused with the other's true qi, it hurt more than a leather whip on the face. In just a few lashes, his face was cut and bruised, and his body was covered in blood.

"Damn it..."

Holding a spear, yet at the same level, being beaten bloody by a feather duster—Ying Qin felt he was going mad. He exerted force with both arms and leaped upward.

He used all his strength, just as his true qi was about to explode from exertion, the other's force disappeared again.

Clatter!

Losing control again, Ying Qin stumbled back. Before he could steady himself, he saw Zhang Xuan somehow already in front of him, pinning the spear, and the feather duster came down in another flurry.

"Holy crap..."

Ying Qin was on the verge of tears.

He had grown up to now, fought countless battles, and sparred with innumerable people—but never like this!

As soon as he thrust, the other would run over and grab it, then lash wildly. When he tried to pull back, the other would release the force, making him lose balance, then charge again...

This is not how it's done!

Can we have a proper match?

"Ah..."

The more he thought, the angrier he became, a fire burning in his chest.

Boom!

The true qi suppressed within him could no longer be controlled; it burst through the shackles, instantly breaking through his cultivation.

Early Return to One realm! Mid Return to One realm... Peak Void Step realm!

In an instant, he unsealed his suppressed cultivation and restored his original strength.

Having restored his strength, he looked at Master Zhang again and saw that he had already retreated several meters away, holding the feather duster, looking over calmly: "Want to concede?"

"Concede? Impossible! From the fight just now, I found that your strength is definitely not just peak Bridge Heaven realm... Now that I've restored my Void Step realm strength, dare you fight me?"

Ying Qin gritted his teeth.

Having just been beaten all over the face, how could he concede like that?

Besides, the other had easily caught his spear and prevented him from pulling it free; his strength was definitely not just peak Bridge Heaven realm. Since that was the case, not suppressing himself wouldn't be considered bullying.

"Alright," Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had told this guy earlier to use his full strength, but he insisted on suppressing it. This way was fine too; it would also allow him to test his own strength.

"Let's begin!"

Whether the other suppressed his strength or not didn't matter to him. Zhang Xuan didn't mind, raising the feather duster and pointing it at him.

"Hold on!"

Seeing his movement and recalling the miserable beating he had just endured, Ying Qin flinched, then gritted his teeth: "I want to compete with you in spear technique. That feather duster of yours is too short; you're using close-combat martial arts! Can you use a spear to fight me?"

The other had just grabbed his spear and then lashed him up close; that wasn't a spear duel but close-quarters combat.

With a spear over two meters long, once the opponent got within less than a meter, it naturally became restricted, unable to leverage its advantage, and he was thoroughly thrashed.

He couldn't let the other use a short weapon; otherwise, even with restored strength, he would surely be abused just like before.

"Close combat? Spear?" Understanding his meaning, Zhang Xuan chuckled: "You mean... my feather duster is too short, and you want me to use a longer weapon to fight you?"

"Exactly!" Ying Qin nodded.

"Well... alright!" Nodding, Zhang Xuan turned to Ruohuan: "Help me tie all these feather dusters together."

"Yes!"

Ruohuan Gongzi nodded, jumped onto the high platform, and tied the feather dusters together with rope.

He had taken more than a dozen, and when connected, they were over ten meters long, like a slender tree trunk.

He lifted the bundled feather dusters; countless feathers fluttered in the wind, like a flagpole erected before everyone, unconventional.

"Is this long enough?"

Taking the long pole, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Of course!"

Ying Qin's eyes lit up.

Earlier, his spear was too long, and once the opponent got close, he couldn't maneuver, leading to such a miserable beating. Now that the feather duster was made so long, over ten meters, once the opponent got close, how could he fight?

He would surely be thoroughly thrashed, avenging the earlier humiliation.

"If you lose this time, you can't deny it again!"

Seeing him agree, Zhang Xuan also smiled, shook his wrist, and the "super spear" formed from over a dozen feather dusters rustled.

"Naturally not, but you'd better be careful; I won't lose so easily!"

Seeing this "spear" spanning over ten meters, as long as he entered that range, it would be useless, Ying Qin's eyes brightened. He shook his spear and let out a roar.

"Let's begin!"

Seeing him so confident, Zhang Xuan said no more. He raised the feather duster, pointing it into the sky like a lightning rod connecting heaven and earth, while beckoning with his left hand, smiling lightly: "Come... I'll allow you to run thirty-nine meters first!"