Chapter Twenty-Three: Jiang Yue’s Weakness... She’s Short!
“Haha... haha...”
Jiang Yue waved to summon back her short-handled hammer, her triumphant laughter echoing wildly across the stage.
“Let’s see if you can still act so arrogant this time!”
“This princess will have her revenge!”
“Don’t think you’re so great just because you have a spiritual armor for protection. I’ve never feared anyone with a spiritual weapon!”
Watching Wang Li curled up in pain, Jiang Yue felt utterly delighted and sneered, “Trash will always be trash. You are nowhere near worthy of Sister Yu. She’s about to reach the eighth level of Foundation Establishment!”
“You can’t even defeat me, so just go home and practice!”
“I really don’t know what Father was thinking back then, letting someone like you become his son-in-law!”
As soon as she finished, those who had previously felt some sympathy toward her began to feel distinctly uncomfortable.
Everyone here had seen with their own eyes that Wang Li was truly at the Foundation Establishment stage. If he was trash, what did that make the rest of them?
Less than trash?
Someone muttered discontentedly, “This little girl really has a poisonous tongue! I was just cursing Wang Li on her behalf a moment ago—turns out I was wrong. Looks like she’s the one who deserves a beating!”
“Heh... yeah. For a ten-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator to look down on us ‘trash’ who only reached Foundation Establishment in our thirties or forties—it’s not so odd, is it?”
“She’s casting her net too wide, making too many enemies...”
“Don’t judge by appearances. She looks cute enough, but her words are sharp as knives!”
“She really has the style of the notorious Three Scourges. Those three are already infamous, and now there’s another spoiled one. The sect leader must be getting a headache...”
“Heh heh... you’re all just jealous. Sour grapes, all of you—can’t get what you want, so you say it’s not worth having. Look at me: I decided from the start to just lie flat. No matter how monstrous these prodigies are, it’s got nothing to do with me. Isn’t that great?”
“Pah, just admit you’re a true piece of trash!”
“So what if I am? Want me to play dead right on top of you?”
“Uh... you win!”
Elder Xiuye stroked his beard as he sensed the lingering spatial fluctuations on the stage, unable to hide a twitch of annoyance.
“Using a high-grade Void Piercing Talisman for a children’s brawl—what a waste!”
“Sect leader, what are you doing?”
Casting a worried glance at the smug Jiang Yue, Elder Xiuye felt a pang of concern...
Though the crowd’s chattering seemed chaotic, their eyes were all fixed on Wang Li atop the stage.
It was common knowledge that Wang Li was the janitor boy in the Sutra Depository, and his inability to cultivate was no secret. Nor was it a secret that he’d become a nominal disciple of Master Chu Xuan. But his sudden promotion to transmission steward and attainment of the Foundation Establishment realm had everyone thoroughly intrigued.
Everyone was eager to glean some insight from Wang Li.
Perhaps Wang Li had some secret to speeding up cultivation?
The allure of that possibility far outshone the spectacle of the spoiled sect leader’s disciple.
At this moment, though Wang Li appeared to be writhing in pain on the ground, his mind was anything but idle.
He realized the reason he’d fallen for the little girl’s trick was because he hadn’t anticipated her sudden switch to a hammer and her use of a spatial talisman. Having suffered this loss, he immediately adjusted his internal scenario, conjuring a simulated “Jiang Yue” armed with a hammer and various elemental talismans, and sparred with her more than twenty times in his mind.
While Jiang Yue was busy ridiculing him, Wang Li had already found her weakness—her height!
Compared to other girls her age, Jiang Yue wasn’t short, but she was only eleven or twelve, just tall enough to reach Wang Li’s chest.
Her small stature meant shorter arms, and by abandoning the long sword for a short-handled hammer, she’d further limited her effective striking range.
All Wang Li needed to do was maintain a certain distance, and she’d be unable to hit him; he could also avoid her flying hammer attacks. As long as he found an opening to close in, the fight would be over.
Having found a way to attack, Wang Li was confident that his simulated battles could help him identify his opponent’s weakness, but he wasn’t absolutely sure it would work.
After all, Jiang Yue was the granddaughter and disciple of Master Liuguang. Who knew what cards she might have up her sleeve?
Like that sudden spatial talisman—if she had more of those, his simulated experience would count for nothing.
With a void talisman in hand, Wang Li doubted he could get close to her at all.
While Wang Li was hesitating, Master Sheng’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
“Boy, don’t be afraid. The space of the Heavenly Profound World is extremely stable. To break it takes the power of a True Immortal at least. That spatial talisman ripped open a rift because it was infused with a vast amount of True Immortal power during its creation—the materials must be incredibly rare. That little girl couldn’t possibly have more than a few. Just go at her a few more times; maybe she’s already out.”
“Give her a good beating, and then go to Liuguang for compensation. Be confident!”
Bolstered by Master Sheng’s words, Wang Li no longer hesitated. He rolled to his feet and, exerting force, dashed to within five feet of Jiang Yue. With a sweep of his hand, he unleashed two palm strikes in succession, sending a pair of fireballs straight at her.
This was the only ranged attack in the “Furious Vajra Palm,” known as “Demon Subjugation.” It compressed fire-attribute spiritual power into fireballs and sent them flying; once they struck, they exploded instantly. In his simulations, the technique had shown impressive power, though its speed left something to be desired.
Outwardly, Jiang Yue looked supremely confident, all her attention seemingly on mocking Wang Li. In reality, she knew her attacks couldn’t truly harm him and had already gripped her hammer in preparation for defense.
She swung her hammer left and right, shattering the fireballs into a rain of sparks.
“That’s all you’ve got? So slow—even the old granny selling popsicles in Dragon City is faster than you!”
Jiang Yue continued to taunt Wang Li, but her hammer was already sweeping toward his face.
Wang Li had already anticipated her counterattack. Seeing her effortlessly dissipate his strike, he retreated a half-step, narrowly dodging the hammer blow.
Jiang Yue’s attack missed, so she pressed forward two steps, swinging her hammer once more.
After firing off two fireballs, Wang Li retreated again, keeping half a dozen feet between them.
Jiang Yue’s strike missed again, and she batted away another incoming fireball before closing in for another attack.
The two of them continued this dance—one retreating, the other advancing—for seven or eight exchanges, with neither able to gain the upper hand.
By this point, Jiang Yue had fallen right into Wang Li’s trap and was growing more and more anxious.
Wang Li seized the chance to speak. “Do you know what your weakness is?” he asked.
“You’re just too short. Your arms are too short, and you insist on using a short weapon. What, was your head kicked by a donkey? Abandoning your sword for a hammer—are you out of your mind?”
“If I were you, I’d give up now. My cultivation is higher, my spiritual power greater—I could wear you down to exhaustion!”
“You’re the short one!”
Jiang Yue, small as she was, loathed being called short. Wang Li’s words struck her right at her sore spot.
Flustered, her attack rhythm fell apart, and one of Wang Li’s fireballs nearly struck her.
“If you’re short, just stay home and spare yourself the embarrassment. Beat you, and others would only say I bullied a little kid!”
Seeing her riled up, Wang Li pressed his advantage.
“Wang Li, you asked for this!”
Initially, Jiang Yue hadn’t wanted to truly hurt Wang Li, which was why she’d forsaken her swordsmanship.
But Wang Li’s words had successfully provoked her fury.
“Sword, to me!”
The high-grade earth-tier spiritual sword she had put away appeared in her hand.
“Now!”
This was exactly the opening Wang Li had been waiting for. He instantly poured most of his spiritual power into his Earth Spirit Armor, pushing his speed to the limit.
He charged forward with a wild rush.
Wang Li didn’t want to hurt her either, so he chose the same method he’d used to defeat her before to end the fight.
With his calculated timing, Jiang Yue had yet to fully grip her sword before she felt her body hurtling uncontrollably through the air. By the time she realized it was Wang Li who’d sent her flying, her consciousness was already growing hazy.
When she finally hit the ground, her eyes rolled back and she fainted once more.