In the Martial Arts World, there exists an unwritten rule.
One only inquires about an opponent’s martial skills when facing a counterpart of the same echelon.
If the gap between the two is too large, no one would respond.
In the face of Zhou Yu’s questioning, Lian Zheng took a deep look at Zhou Yu and spoke:
"Gathering Heaven Palm!"
"The Gathering Heaven Palm can converge the momentum of heaven and earth around oneself into a single palm strike."
"That attack just now was not the full extent of my power."
"Young man, the Han Family of Shanghai is one of the top forces in the city. I see you and this girl are at most lovers; there is no need for you to offend such a massive entity for her."
"Of course, perhaps even if I exerted my full strength, you might still be able to handle it."
"But you must understand that I am not the top expert in the Han Family. Even if you can stop me today, what will you do when the Han Family sends someone even more powerful in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu looked up and laughed lightly.
"Senior, you are mistaken."
"On my path of martial arts, there has never been a word of retreat."
"For me, once I fear in the face of battle, flaws will appear in my martial heart, and it will never be complete."
Lian Zheng’s expression darkened.
"So you’re saying, you plan to resist to the end."
"Since that is the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
Lian Zheng crossed his arms in front of his chest, and in an instant, the force of heaven and earth within a two-hundred-meter radius surged rapidly and converged.
Immediately after, Lian Zheng released both palms simultaneously, and the force of his palms followed in quick succession.
Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes; Lian Zheng truly hadn’t been bluffing—he hadn’t used his full strength just then.
Facing this successive barrage of palm strikes, Zhou Yu dared not take it lightly.
He instantly activated his Golden Cauldron Technique and also circulated the Gui Water True Qi, constructing a double layer of defense both outside and inside his body.
Then, a series of explosive sounds followed.
Lian Zheng’s Gathering Heaven Palm was relentless, one palm after another, striking upon Zhou Yu’s body.
Zhou Yu’s figure kept retreating.
With every step back, his ankles sank deeply into the ground.
The foundation of Bencao Tang violently shook under Zhou Yu’s feet.
The surrounding medicine cabinets, windows, and decorations all shattered simultaneously.
Even the reinforced concrete roof began to show cracks.
With Lian Zheng’s final palm strike, Zhou Yu’s figure was abruptly flung more than ten meters backwards.
Li Shuangshuang beside him cried out in alarm, her face filled with worry.
However, Zhou Yu landed steadily on the ground, though his complexion was a bit pale, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine."
But Lian Zheng was stunned.
In his eyes, a look of disbelief emerged.
Just now, he had nearly exerted his full strength; such a high-frequency use of the Gathering Heaven Palm placed an extreme burden on his body.
After these more than ten palms, his body was nearly at its limit.
Yet Zhou Yu only spat blood?
How was that possible!
Even a Saint Realm master would be injured after taking so many strikes head-on.
He suddenly thought of something.
"Is this... the Golden Cauldron Technique?"
"No, there’s also the Gui Water True Qi as internal defense!"
"You’ve actually cultivated both Body Refinement and Qi Refinement, reaching the Great Innate Peak simultaneously!!"
Lian Zheng found it hard to believe.
Wasn’t Qin State a declining land in the Martial Arts World?
How could such a terrifying martial arts genius emerge?
Zhou Yu sneered coldly.
"Elder has broad knowledge."
"Just now, you had your fun attacking, now it’s my turn."
As he spoke, a powerful fist force suddenly exploded from Zhou Yu.
It was the Eight Desolations Fist.
The sparring on the previous day’s arena with Ban Zongqiang had deepened Zhou Yu’s understanding of the fist technique by a step.
At this moment, the Eight Desolations Fist he displayed, while still not up to Ban Zongqiang’s level, had nevertheless improved a lot from before.
Zhou Yu launched a punch.
This punch not only carried the Eight Desolations Fist, but also the augmentation of Dragon Gang Strength and Nether Fire True Qi.
His fist, like a meteor falling from the sky, had an astonishing momentum.
Lian Zheng’s face drastically changed color; his cultivation technique was good for offense and poor in defense, and the power of this punch had exceeded his limits of endurance. Furthermore, after a series of palm strikes just now, his body had not yet recovered, so how could he dare to meet it head-on?
Lian Zheng made a snap decision and retreated explosively.
But Zhou Yu seemed to have anticipated this, his fist force tightly locked onto Lian Zheng, pursuing him relentlessly.
A booming sound echoed.
Lian Zheng was directly knocked back more than ten meters.
His complexion turned beet red.
This strike made his qi and blood churn within, and it was only by clenching his teeth that he avoided spitting out blood.
Han Mingjie, standing to the side, had not yet reached the Innate Realm and thus failed to see the peril in the situation.
He simply observed how Lian Zheng and Zhou Yu were fighting so fiercely but Lian Zheng couldn’t defeat Zhou Yu for quite a while, which made him grow impatient.
"Lian elder, what are you doing?"
"Does it take you so long to deal with this kid?"
Lian Zheng took a deep breath and said solemnly,
"Young master, this young man’s strength is very formidable, comparable to the top young experts from Haizhou. I might not be able to overcome him."
Han Mingjie immediately became furious upon hearing this.
Lian Zheng was a revered elder of the Han Family, a Saint Realm powerhouse, and he was saying that he couldn’t subdue Zhou Yu?
How could the Han Family maintain its face?
Besides, if they couldn’t subdue Zhou Yu, they couldn’t take Li Shuangshuang away. If he couldn’t complete such a simple task, how could he face returning home?
Han Mingjie immediately shouted in anger,
"Lian elder, I don’t care how heaven-defying this kid is, you must cripple him for me."
Right after saying that, he reached into his pocket for a pill and threw it directly at Lian Zheng.
Upon receiving the pill, Lian Zheng’s face immediately turned somewhat grim.
Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes.
He recognized this pill.
Qiu Baiwan from the Martial Arts Repository had consumed this type of pill before.
After taking it, one could temporarily boost their strength dramatically by burning their essence blood.
However, the side effects were very severe.
Could it be that Lian Zheng, a Saint Realm powerhouse, was actually going to use this pill?
While Zhou Yu wavered in disbelief, Lian Zheng closed his eyes and swallowed the pill.
His body’s strength blazed up like a pile of dry straw set aflame, shooting up into the sky at once.