Chapter 115: Has Li Linzhou Lost?

"Greetings, Commander!"

"We pay our respects, Commander!"

"..."

The group of men carrying long swords on their backs turned their heads upon hearing the voices. Recognizing the newcomer, they hurriedly bowed in greeting.

"Is he Li Linzhou?" Lin Tuotian asked in a low voice, standing beside Su Jingxing at the right moment.

"It is him." Su Jingxing replied calmly. As he watched Li Linzhou walk into the hall step by step, he stepped forward slightly and said, "Commander Li, I apologize for inviting you here in this manner. We were left with no other choice and had to resort to such extreme measures."

Li Linzhou did not speak; he merely gazed at Su Jingxing with indifference. Su Jingxing stared back, his expression unwavering.

What were the specific traits of a fourth-grade martial artist?

True Qi transforms into liquid, the liquid nourishes the spirit, and one gathers the essence of martial intent. These are not things that can be seen on the surface. The best way to judge whether a martial artist has reached the fourth grade is to test their True Qi cultivation. Specifically, one checks if the fluctuations in their True Qi, when released, reach the level of sixty years.

Of course, possessing sixty years of True Qi cultivation does not automatically mean one is a fourth-grade martial artist. However, a fourth-grade practitioner will generally have at least sixty years of cultivation. Anything less than fifty-five years, and the True Qi cannot liquefy.

Su Jingxing possessed seventy-two years of True Qi cultivation. He had not yet liquefied it, choosing instead to build a deeper foundation. Although his internal refinement had only just begun, his external fluctuations were stronger than those of an average fourth-grade expert. With such confidence and lack of fear, he did not lose ground in their clash of presence.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the two stared at each other. Finally, Li Linzhou withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, "Who said that family duels have been abolished?"

"It... it was Supervisor Zheng," a female employee replied, trembling.

"Supervisor Zheng?"

"It must be Zheng Aoshan," the man with the long sword on his back interjected.

"Zheng Aoshan? A man from the Shi family?" Li Linzhou muttered the name twice before nodding to show he understood. "Dismiss him immediately."

"Yes!" the man with the long sword replied in a deep voice, then took two steps back.

"You are applying for a family duel. Do you meet all the requirements?" Li Linzhou asked, looking at Lin Tuotian and his group.

"Yes, we are only missing the final step, which requires Commander Li’s verification." Lin Tuotian looked toward Su Jingxing.

"Commander Li, where shall we conduct the verification?" Su Jingxing glanced around the hall. "Here, or outside?"

"Outside, naturally." Li Linzhou turned and walked toward the entrance.

Su Jingxing followed at a leisurely pace, and the others trailed behind. Conduct the verification outside? Verify what? Those in the know were excited, while those unaware were completely confused. A large crowd followed Li Linzhou and Su Jingxing to the small plaza in front of the Martial Suppression Bureau headquarters.

The onlookers stood on the steps. Su Jingxing and Li Linzhou stood facing each other, separated by forty or fifty meters.

"Are you ready?" Su Jingxing asked in a low voice. Li Linzhou remained impassive.

Seeing this, Su Jingxing stopped wasting words. He instantly mobilized sixty-five years of True Qi cultivation, gathered it into his hands, and unleashed a sudden punch into the air following the path of the "Hundred-Step King Fist."

"BOOM!"

It sounded like a thunderclap, echoing throughout the plaza and the vast street. A silver-black fist imprint manifested out of thin air, carrying a terrifying aura and whipping up swirling tornadoes of force as it surged toward Li Linzhou.

Whoosh!

Gale winds whistled, and energy spiraled. The silver-black fist imprint grew in intensity as it traveled, amplifying again and again. Finally, exerting a force of over 450,000 jin, it shattered the air inch by inch, exploding through the street until it reached Li Linzhou.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Sword energy coiled and danced around Li Linzhou, instantly forming a massive disc that blocked the fist imprint.

"CRASH!"

A deafening sound erupted. The silver-black fist imprint and the sword-energy disc collided, interweaving and dissolving each other. The resulting shockwave stirred up a massive cloud of dust that covered the entire plaza.

The moment the sword-energy disc collapsed—

BANG!!!

A violent explosion resounded down the entire street. A tangible circular shockwave rippled out from the plaza, sweeping in all directions. The crowd was knocked to the ground, and cars parked along the street shook violently, their horns blaring incessantly.

When the dust finally settled and everyone looked toward the center of the arena, Su Jingxing remained standing in his original spot, unchanged. Li Linzhou, however, had been pushed back more than ten meters, the ground beneath his feet spiderwebbed with countless cracks.

Did he lose? Had Li Linzhou lost?

The confused crowd erupted into an uproar. The group of men with long swords watched Su Jingxing in astonishment. While others couldn't tell, they understood perfectly. Li Linzhou had blocked Su Jingxing’s punch; he hadn't lost, but he hadn't won either.

The most critical requirement for a family duel is that one of the participating members must be a fourth-grade martial artist!

The standard for verifying a fourth-grade martial artist is a personal test by the City Commander. The current result clearly showed that Su Jingxing had met the criteria. Could someone who wasn't fourth-grade push back Li Linzhou with a single punch? Not a chance!

Sure enough—

"The duel application is approved," Li Linzhou’s calm voice rang out across the small plaza.

"Understood." The man with the long sword on his back responded in a deep voice. With that, he turned and walked into the lobby to process the paperwork himself.

"Great!" Shen Qian, Jiang Tianhao, Xiao Chengyue, and the others cheered in excitement.

It was done! It had finally succeeded! With the duel application approved, the Shi family would have to fight, whether they wanted to or not.

Naturally, to create an even bigger sensation, the members of the "Anti-Shi Alliance" online sprang into action. They publicized on the internet that for the first time in thirty years, the Lin family had initiated a vengeful family duel against the Shi family.

Once the Martial Suppression Bureau officially announced the time and location of the duel, they spent heavily to follow up through television, radio, and newspapers. In just one morning, the entire city learned that a family that had been silent for thirty years was challenging the Shi family, the tyrants of the West District.

A family duel! A life-and-death battle involving over a hundred martial artists. There was no doubt that this news sent the entire city into a frenzy.

"A family duel? This is my first time hearing about such a thing."

"Heh, that just means you're ill-informed. Family duels have existed since ancient times. Once started, they end in bloodshed; one family is bound to vanish. Of course, it could also end in mutual destruction."

"I’m curious, where did this Lin family pop out from? How come I’ve never heard of them before?"

"Don't look at me; I'm forty and I've never heard of them either."

"Let me educate you. Thirty years ago, the Lin family was the largest power in the West District. The Shi family back then was no match for them at all. It was only because the Shi family used underhanded methods—killing most of the Lin family in a duel—that they disappeared from the scene."

"That's right! My grandfather said the Lin family back then was extremely powerful and had a great reputation. Unlike the Shi family, who have done nothing but evil all these years. Those girls who were kidnapped earlier? That definitely has something to do with them."

"Haha, never mind the Lin family or the Chen family. Either way, this duel will be a spectacle to watch."

"Heh, we get a show, but the Shi family might not be so happy. They’re probably absolutely furious right now!"