Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

"You %￥&￥#￥!@#￥%..."

In the end, I just couldn't hold back once again.

Facing someone's continuous onslaught, Gu Miyun couldn't help but feel dazed for a moment, but when he dismantled every word coming out of Mr. Jiang's mouth, he found that it actually made a lot of sense.

Why would someone who's been in the sect for three years have to duel with someone who's been in for thirty years?

Yeah, why indeed.

"You can't beat me without using a Magic Treasure, and then you want me to find my own faults?"

"How about this, I'll have my senior sister spar with you, and if you can't beat her you look into your own issues, okay? Then I'll get a few more allies, and if you can't beat Yu Ying, can't beat Yang the protector, can't beat all the Peak Masters, you look into your own issues, okay?"

"Tell them not to use Magic Treasures, just with bare hands fight you, and if you can't win, look into your own issues, okay?"

"Mid-grade Nascent Soul against low-grade Core Formation! How do you say win? How to win! Don't tell me you can't use Magic Treasures, even if you had both hands tied up, you could still kick me to death!"

"With this kind of stupid grouping, how do I win! Played to death! Operated to death!"

"..."

Uh.

Scratched his cheek.

His expression was a bit awkward.

Although Jiang Feng's words were a bit vulgar, on careful reflection, it really is the case. Between Core Formation and Nascent Soul, there is indeed an insurmountable gap. Of course, it's not to say that a Core Formation Stage confronting a Nascent Soul Stage has no ability to fight; from ancient times there have been cases of stunning geniuses crossing realms to single-handedly defeat Nascent Soul Stage masters.

But.

I'm also a genius youth, after all.

For a Core Formation Stage equipped with sect inheritance and high-level Magic Treasures, going out to find loose cultivators who lack any foundation, defeating them isn't difficult, but...

He has two Earth Rank Daoist Skills, one Earth Rank Cultivation Technique, two Earth Rank Magic Treasures, and three Treasure Divine Weapons.

Yes, even during his mid-grade Core Formation stage, he had personally killed a Nascent Soul Stage evil cultivator outside.

You know why as soon as the group was assigned, Gu Yuanshan's first order was to instruct Gu Miyun not to use any Magic Treasures?

Because with his current strength and the inheritable Magic Treasure of Dragon Head Peak, Gu Miyun could even clash with someone at the Divinity Transformation Stage. Has no one noticed, even without using any Magic Treasures, he could still match Deacon Ma, who was at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage.

If the other side hadn't directly burned his Nascent Soul to self-destruct, given enough time, it's estimated he could have defeated the opponent all by himself.

This battle indeed can't be fought.

"Uh, Junior Brother Jiang, stay calm."

"Well, although the groupings are somewhat unconventional, the Sect Master gave me an order."

"To ensure fairness in the disciples' battles, I actually have quite a lot of restrictions, like not using Spiritual Energy, Magic Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, anyway, anything above Earth Rank, including those Divine Weapons, I should not use any of them."

"Martial arts sparring among fellow disciples: we stop before going too far. If we win by overwhelming the opponent with realm and treasures, then what fun is there? I certainly won't do that, so you don't need to worry, Junior Brother Jiang."

He nodded.

"Good, good, good good."

The frenzied man suddenly calmed down, even with a smile on his face.

He wasn't calming down; he just laughed it off in anger.

From the sounds of it, during the duel he won't give me a swift end; instead, he plans to torture me slowly with a dull knife, gradually increasing the heat until I'm ultimately humiliated to death.

A solitary "6".

Took a deep breath; before they knew it, the two had already walked to Jiang Feng's small courtyard. Although it didn't occupy much space, the courtyard had three houses of decent decoration scale. The largest in the middle naturally belonged to Jiang Feng.

Su Yi and Lu Luo both had their quarters, but both were habitually hanging around at Jiang Feng's place, and just as they stepped into the courtyard, the gentle and tender Su Yi was already waiting by the door.

Politely bowed, smiling gracefully, her courteous demeanor was natural and refined, gentle yet dignified, generous yet poised; this was why Jiang Feng, even at the risk of being beaten, had to make clear about Su Yi to Cen Yueyue and promised to give her a title in the future.

Who wouldn't love a woman like this?

Understanding, polite, generous yet gentle, the key is her high emotional intelligence, always giving you enough face in front of others.

Voluntarily serving tea and water, offering snacks, fruits, and fine wines as hospitality; these were things Jiang Feng himself researched and taught Su Yi.

Throughout the process, she maintained a smile like a spring breeze, and after hosting, she didn't leave immediately but walked near the courtyard gate, staying at a distance where she couldn't eavesdrop but could easily respond with a call.

Simply perfect.

"Junior Brother Jiang has such good taste."

Even Gu Miyun, who was usually indifferent to women, couldn't help but praise a couple of lines. If it were the old him, someone would surely flaunt it a bit, but now he had no such thoughts, only smiled and politely inquired.

"Senior Brother Gu, since you say the sparring among fellow disciples stops before going too far, the matter of victory shouldn't be so important. How about after we have an enjoyable duel, you concede, Senior Brother Gu, after defeating me? Wouldn't that be great?"

"That's not quite right; sparring is about the honor of the mountain gate. For these decades that Swordmaster Peak has remained seclusive, all the first place titles have been won by my Dragon Head Peak. How can it be easily let go? Oh! This wine is nice, sweet and tangy."

The heart that was hanging finally perished.

He initially intended to see if he could establish some PR ties, but now it appears this path is blocked too. His smiling face instantly lost its brightness, raising an eyelid to look at someone gorging inside his courtyard.

From the looks of things, it seemed as if he was about to grab back the items at any moment.

Perhaps sensing someone's mood had hit rock bottom, Gu Miyun awkwardly laughed and swiftly changed the topic.

"Speaking of which, Brother Jiang, besides notifying you of the next round of the duel, there's something else I need to convey on behalf of the Sect Master."

His expression changed immediately.

Between intelligent people, there's no need to state the matter bluntly; just a tone, a glance can let each side understand the other's thoughts, especially the last sentence where Gu Miyun specifically mentioned the Sect Master instead of grandpa. This alone proved many issues.

"What's the matter."

Though his mind was a turbulent sea of thoughts, his expression remained composed, only pausing a bit while holding a tea cup before continuing to drink, appearing calm and unruffled. This scene made Gu Miyun's assessment of Jiang Feng rise even higher.

"Junior Brother Jiang naturally has some clues."

"Junior Sister Yun's Daoist Skill and Condensed Ink into Soldiers, not to mention the regular Core Formation stage, even typical Nascent Soul stage experts might avoid confronting head-on, even the same realm body cultivators wouldn't dare use physical strength to receive it."

"The Five-Rank Red Heart and Five-Rank Body Refining, the former from the Southern Border, the latter from Purple Cloud, though both are true natural treasures capable of greatly enhancing the physical constitution, they ultimately can't achieve such an extent."

"Therefore, Junior Brother Jiang, you naturally understand what I mean."

He said nothing.

His hand continuously rubbed the tea cup, his expression didn't change much, but from his actions, it wasn't hard to determine the fluctuation in his heart. He uttered not a word, just gazed at the other as if waiting for the next statement.

There was no fear on his face, because he knew, there must be a twist.

"Junior Brother Jiang, you are truly composed."

"If it were someone else being pointed out for such a secret, they'd probably be flustered, having thunder in the heart but a calm lake on the face is truly rare; however, you need not worry, Junior Brother Jiang, I am not here to cause trouble, and the Sect Master has no intention of blaming you."

"What he wishes to convey is simply for you to remain true to your heart, earnestly follow and learn from the Peak Masters going forward, hoping you can surpass this power."

"So, I hope you, Brother Jiang..."