Chapter 2140: The Fragrance of Tea

Zhang Jia was also stunned, only then realizing that the young master's earlier remark about cultivating slowly was not showing off, but... truly this fast!

Others cultivate with various trials, adjusting qi and blood, learning, barriers... But this person before him had none of these, unaffected by any constraints.

Cultivating was like drinking water—with a gulp... he broke through!

Just as he was marveling at the power of the man before him, he heard the other's voice: "Xiao Jia, come and punch me!"

Knowing the young master wanted to test his newly elevated cultivation, Zhang Jia did not hesitate, stepped forward, and said: "Alright!"

The young master wanted to test his cultivation, and it also wanted to see just how strong it had become.

More than a day had passed since breaking through to the Divine God realm, and it had not been idle. It continuously refined the techniques the young master had given it, making up for previous problems and defects. Although the consolidation time was short, the progress rivaled the sum of the previous ten years.

Whoosh!

The massive fist descended with the wind, the air crackling with sonic booms as if it might tear apart at any moment.

Qi Ling'er's pupils contracted.

She had always thought that although this Scale-Armor Beast had broken through, its strength would not be too great—after all, it had only just shattered its shackles. She never dreamed that its fist force would be so狂暴, coupled with its invincible defense. Not to mention lower-grade Divine God experts, even a middle-grade Divine God would find it hard to withstand.

With such strength going all out, how could the young master Zhang, who was only at the upper-grade peak Divine Spirit realm, possibly resist?

Full of doubt, he looked over and saw the young man before him, neither dodging nor evading, his five fingers sweeping forward.

Bang!

Zhang Jia flew backward, his back crashing into a large tree, snapping it in half. His momentum unabated, he then smashed through a wall before finally stopping, gasping for breath.

Young master...

Zhang Jia was completely convinced.

He had thought that with his recent progress in cultivation, the gap between them had narrowed, but now it seemed it hadn't shrunk at all—it had only grown wider!

With this level of strength, do you have any confidence against those three?

Zhang Xuan turned to look at Qi Linger.

His fight with Zhang Jia served two purposes: first, to test his recently improved cultivation and power, and second, to probe from the other's mouth just how strong those three who wanted to become city lord really were.

If a lower-grade divine lord peak encounters him, they would not be a match, but... there is still a certain gap with a middle-grade divine lord. I'm afraid... he may not be able to contend.

After a moment's hesitation, Qi Linger spoke.

Although this man's combat strength was formidable, and even a peak lower-grade divine lord might not be his match, but... having contended for so long in Yehuicheng without yielding to each other, the strength of these three, even among middle-grade divine lords, was definitely among the top!

How could such strong men easily admit defeat, especially to a young man who hadn't even broken through to the divine lord realm?

"Let's go find them!" Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Having only advanced from the early stage of the Upper Divine to the peak, he hadn't expected to defeat all three. Some gap was normal; as long as it wasn't too large, with the Eye of Insight and the Library, defeating them shouldn't be difficult.

"Go now?"

Not knowing where his confidence came from, Qi Ling'er couldn't help but say, "Once you challenge, you enter the competition. Before the results come out, you'll definitely be harassed endlessly. Are you sure you don't want to break through to the Divine Lord first? With your combat strength, after breaking through, competing will be much easier..."

For others, breaking through to the Divine Lord would take who knows how long, but having witnessed his cultivation, she knew it shouldn't take too long.

In that case, why not break through first? Why rush these three to five days?

"Let's go now!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

The cultivation technique he practiced was completely different from others. Although he knew the direction, he hadn't yet created the formula, so forcing a breakthrough was impossible.

Rather than run into problems, it was better to resolve things now.

"Then... who do we challenge first?" Qi Ling'er analyzed, "Ming Laixiang has the lowest cultivation but is the most formidable. Lin Xie and Wu Yang are about the same, but strictly speaking, a rogue cultivator is still weaker. My opinion is... challenge Wu Yang first. If you succeed, you'll replace him and gain some support. But if you lose the first match, it will be a big blow to your confidence!"

Fight with all your might at the first go, then flag, then be exhausted.

The same goes for competing for the city lord position.

Win the first match, gain confidence, and the rest will naturally be easier. Lose, and it will greatly affect your side's morale.

"Let's challenge Ming Laixiang!" After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan said.

Qi Ling'er was stunned.

So... everything she had said was nonsense!

Hadn't she just said that one was the most formidable?

"Why?" Unable to hold back, she asked.

Zhang Xuan said, "She's closest. Going there saves us the trouble of traveling."

When he had gone to find the Three-Whiskered Daoist earlier, he had presumably asked about the residences of these three and knew that Ming Laixiang was the closest to their current location.

"..." Qi Ling'er was exasperated.

Was this how a normal human being thought?

They were about to challenge the city lord, and the opponent was so strong that they might lose... He wasn't considering winning or losing, but the distance...

He wasn't thinking of challenging all three in one day, was he!

Challenging someone of the same level or even a higher level normally required an appointment in advance, various preparations to adjust one's state, and time to recover if injured...

Wasn't he considering any of this? Not factoring it in?

After several more attempts at persuasion, finding the other party completely unconcerned, Qi Ling'er had no choice but to follow helplessly.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a mansion.

It was precisely where Ming Laixiang lived.

Zhang Xuan said, "Present the visiting card!"

"The visiting card hasn't been prepared yet... I still don't understand the challenge rules of Yehuo City..." Qi Ling'er said.

Seeing how reckless the man before her was, she wanted to dissuade him but couldn't, so she could only make an issue of this, hoping he would calm down and not be so impatient.

"Sun Qiang, you go!"

Frowning, Zhang Xuan turned his head.

"Alright!" Excited, Sun Qiang strode to the front of the gate, his voice suddenly booming, echoing in all directions: "Our young master wants to contend for the position of city lord. Everyone inside the courtyard, come out and accept the challenge. Consider yourselves defeated..."

"..." Qi Ling'er was stunned.

Is this a challenge?

It's a provocation...

Originally, contending for the city lord didn't involve enmity; even if one lost, they would at most suffer minor injuries, stopping at the point of contact. Now, with this slap in the face, if she didn't retaliate fiercely, what qualification would this Ming Laixiang have to compete for the city lord position?

"How insolent! Who is making such a racket outside!"

Sure enough, as Sun Qiang's voice rang out, the entire courtyard erupted. The surrounding mansions also opened their doors, wanting to see what kind of fool would dare to challenge so arrogantly.

Among the three experts contending for the city lord, although Ming Laixiang's cultivation was low, she had always held the upper hand.

Facing such a strong opponent, to be so rude...

Truly, one wonders what he was thinking.

Chest out, Sun Qiang laughed: "If you want to be city lord, come out and accept the challenge; otherwise, admit defeat. Stop wasting words here. Our young master has no time for nonsense!"

"How dare you... challenge our young lady like this..." Before the people inside could finish their shouts, a woman's indifferent voice sounded: "If you want to challenge, then come in!"

Creak!

As the voice ended, the courtyard gate opened.

Smiling slightly, Zhang Xuan, Sun Qiang, and the others walked in.

The courtyard was very spacious. Inside stood a tall woman, not as beautiful as Qi Ling'er, looking somewhat imposing with a large frame. Judging by her figure alone, she seemed more like a man than a woman.

"You want to be city lord?"

Looking at Zhang Xuan, the woman sneered: "Little brother, at your age and cultivation level, you'd better go home and coax your wife to sleep. Competing for city lord... I'm afraid you have the intention but not the life!"

"No need for your concern..."

Smiling faintly, Zhang Xuan looked over: "Since we're both contending for the city lord, talking more is useless! Now I'll give you two choices. First, compete with me and ultimately admit defeat. Second, I'll give you a Beauty Pill, and you admit defeat without fighting!"

Ming Laixiang was startled: "Beauty Pill? Was the Beauty Pill from Yeming City refined by you?"

Although the Beauty Pill had not been around long, its reputation was immense. In the blink of an eye, it had spread far and wide. Every woman was tempted by it.

This Ming Laixiang was no exception.

She was naturally large-boned, her physique somewhat resembling a man's. Because of this, over the years, all her friends had found partners, while she could only cultivate in solitude.

However, this had also made her a master, giving her the capital to contend for the city lord.

Hearing that Yeming City had Beauty Pills for sale with excellent effects, she had planned to go and buy one, but upon learning that only twenty were available and they were already sold out, she had restrained herself.

Unexpectedly, shortly after hearing this news, this man came to challenge her.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan nodded: "I refined them. This Qi Ling'er handles all the pills from Yeming City."

"Qi Ling'er?"

Ming Laixiang looked over and indeed saw a somewhat charming girl standing awkwardly behind the others.

It was Qi Ling'er.

Although she had never seen this controller of Yeming City's underground black market in person, she had heard about her appearance and could recognize her at a glance.

"Greetings, senior..."

With an awkward smile, Qi Ling'er stepped forward.

"Hmm." Without saying much, Ming Laixiang turned to Zhang Xuan: "Your Beauty Pill, besides making one's appearance beautiful, can it also change the bone structure?"

Her face wasn't too ugly; the main issue was her body frame, which resembled a man's.

"Bone structure is hard to change..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Appearance involves skin and muscles, which Heavenly Dao true qi can refine. Changing bone structure involves medical skills; they are completely different concepts.

"If it's hard to change, then it's not that attractive to me... Let's fight. Let me see what strength you have, being able to refine Beauty Pills and daring to come so openly to seize the city lord position!"

Smiling slightly, Ming Laixiang no longer dwelled on it. She looked over, her gaze carrying gravity and coldness.

Daring to challenge so recklessly, she knew it couldn't be as simple as it seemed on the surface.

"Alright!"

Nodding, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and a long sword appeared in his palm.

It was precisely the sword gifted by Wu Fangqing, the former city lord of Yeming City. He had already refined it on the road, making it his own treasure.