"Who do you think will win?"
"Does that even need asking? It's definitely our Senior Brother Qi!"
"Our Senior Brother Qi is at the late stage of the Martial Dao Dan Jin realm. Among the many direct disciples of our Master Abbot, his strength is second only to Senior Brother Wei Ping and Senior Sister Zhi Shan. It's easy for him to defeat some kid who appeared out of nowhere."
"Exactly. This fellow is at best an outer disciple of our Wuliang Daoist Temple. Have you forgotten how many years Uncle-Master Chang left our Wuliang Daoist Temple..."
Watching Wan Yunting, who stood with his back straight, hands behind his back, and a poker face with a faint smile, confronting Qi Wu, who had adopted an offensive stance, caused the surrounding young male and female disciples to point and whisper amongst themselves.
"Senior Brother, who do you think will win?"
Zeng Yongchang, walking beside Wei Ping, turned his head and asked.
Wei Ping was tall and slender, with his long hair tied up in a Taoist bun, revealing his thin cheeks. His narrow phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, flashing with a hint of sinister sharpness, giving him an air of deep wisdom and cunning.
"It's hard to say."
Wei Ping shook his head slightly and said in a soft voice, "Although Uncle-Master Chang has been away from our sect for a long time, according to Master, he was once second only to our Master among the few disciples of our Ancestral Master. Therefore, the disciples taught by Uncle-Master Chang should not be too bad."
"Ah."
This made Zeng Yongchang's expression freeze. He glanced at Li Zihang, who was standing beside him with a mischievous grin, and knew that he had been tricked by this brat.
"Take this!"
Immediately after, Qi Wu, with his tall physique, charged at Wan Yunting. He was easily over six feet tall, and his robust build could not be hidden by his green Taoist robe. Especially his fists, the size of sandbags, changed rapidly. Following his footwork, they reached Wan Yunting in the blink of an eye, and he unhesitatingly threw his right fist towards Wan Yunting's face.
*Crack!*
Wan Yunting, with a smile on his face, had no intention of dodging. He blocked his face with his left palm. With a crack, Qi Wu's sandbag-sized fist hit his palm. In an instant, Wan Yunting's left hand twisted inward, and with the agility of his supple body, his left foot drew a half-circle backward on the ground. His left hand neutralized the force of Qi Wu's punch.
But in the next second, Wan Yunting did not hold back. He stood firm in a horse stance, suddenly exerted force with his waist, and Qi Wu clearly felt a fierce force erupt from his left palm. The hidden energy within it caused Qi Wu's expression to change drastically. Before he could react, Wan Yunting pushed him away with his left palm, sending him flying backward through the air for four to five meters…
*Rustle…*
Qi Wu's feet shuffled backward a few more meters on the bluestone ground. The young disciples watching behind him quickly moved aside. Finally, his right foot reacted and he firmly planted himself, stabilizing his figure. He then looked up, his eyes wide open, staring directly at Wan Yunting in front of him, revealing an expression of disbelief as he muttered in shock, "Such powerful hidden energy!"
For a moment, the surrounding young disciples were silent, their mouths agape, staring with wide eyes at Wan Yunting, who had retracted his horse stance and stood straight, and at Qi Wu, who had just stabilized himself…
Although they had only exchanged one move, Qi Wu had been sent flying so far by Wan Yunting's palm. Especially now, they could see that Qi Wu's right fist was trembling uncontrollably, and he could clearly feel his entire arm going numb and temporarily losing sensation…
"How, how is this possible!"
Zeng Yongchang, standing beside them, stared with wide eyes. Although he had felt earlier that Li Zihang was tricking him, seeing Wan Yunting and Qi Wu exchange just one move, and Qi Wu being sent flying by a palm, made him feel it was incredible.
After all, Qi Wu was at the late stage of Martial Dao Hua Jin. His fellow disciples were well aware of this. But for Wan Yunting to send him flying with a single palm, it meant that his Martial Dao realm was definitely above Qi Wu's.
"Dan Jin!"
Wei Ping's narrow phoenix eyes also widened involuntarily, as he stared intently at Wan Yunting in front of him. Because he himself was at the Martial Dao Dan Jin realm, Wei Ping could clearly sense the surge of energy from the hidden force Wan Yunting had unleashed with his left palm. He immediately determined that Wan Yunting was at the Martial Dao Dan Jin realm.
"What, he's at the Dan Jin realm?"
Upon hearing this, Zeng Yongchang's expression became shocked again, and his voice changed. He pointed at Wan Yunting in front of him and said disbelievingly, "How is that possible? How old does he look?"
"Junior Brother Wan is indeed at the early stage of Martial Dao Dan Jin."
Li Zihang, standing beside him, chuckled, "And he only broke through recently. Senior Brother Qi is just asking for trouble."
These words were also heard by the surrounding young male and female disciples. Upon hearing that Wan Yunting was at the early stage of Martial Dao Dan Jin, they all showed expressions of disbelief and astonishment, pointing at him and discussing, "How is this possible? He looks to be the same age as me, yet he's already at the Martial Dao Dan Jin realm. This is too monstrous."
"Exactly. Compared to him, I feel like a complete failure…"
Wan Yunting smiled and clasped his hands in front of the ever-changing expression of Qi Wu, saying, "Acknowledged."
He had already retracted his strength, otherwise Qi Wu's arm would have been crippled.
Qi Wu, who had finally reacted, had a grim and embarrassed expression. But he still forced himself to endure the slight tremor in his right hand and clasped his hands in front of Wan Yunting in a respectful bow. He said nothing further.
Wan Yunting also said nothing more. He turned back and saw Wei Ping and Zeng Yongchang beside Li Zihang. He nodded and smiled.
Zeng Yongchang, who had also reacted, nodded awkwardly. Wei Ping said with a smile, "Junior Brother Wan, your martial arts are superb. To have broken through to the Martial Dao Dan Jin realm at such a young age is truly a prodigy in martial arts."
"Senior Brother is too kind. I was just lucky," Wan Yunting said with a humble and polite smile, clasping his hands.
Wei Ping smiled and said nothing more.
"Junior Brother Wan, let's go to the mess hall to eat," Li Zihang said.
"Alright."
Wan Yunting nodded, and followed Li Zihang away with Kang Nuolan…
Just then, Li Zihang seemed to recall something and turned back, pointing at Zeng Yongchang and shouting, "Senior Brother Zeng, remember to wash my underwear for a month."
"You brat…"
Seeing the surrounding disciples lowering their heads and snickering, Zeng Yongchang glared at him angrily, but there was nothing he could do, as he had been tricked by this bratty junior brother.
"Senior Brother Wei, I've embarrassed Master."
After Wan Yunting and the others left, Qi Wu finally stepped forward and said dejectedly.
Wei Ping waved his hand. He gave off a gentle and approachable aura, smiling, "It was just a spar, you don't need to take it to heart, lest it affect your Taoist heart."
"I understand."
Qi Wu nodded and looked at Wan Yunting's departing back. He still felt disheartened, "I just didn't expect him to be at the Martial Dao Dan Jin realm."
"Indeed."
Zeng Yongchang also sighed and said, "Senior Brother, I remember you only broke through to the late stage of Hua Jin and entered the Dan Jin realm at the age of thirty-two. And that was only after Master refined a pill for you to help you break through. I estimate that for that kid to reach Dan Jin at such a young age, Uncle-Master Chang must have used some secret method to help him break through."
"Heh heh."
Wei Ping smiled, shook his head, and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, stop being so sour. Instead of talking about others, it's better to spend more time practicing your own skills. Especially you, Junior Brother Zeng. It's been several years, and you haven't broken through to the late stage of Hua Jin yet. Zihang is almost catching up to you."
"Sigh…"
These words made Zeng Yongchang feel embarrassed. Seeing that the surrounding young disciples were still gathered, he waved his hand and shouted, "What are you all standing around for? Get back to practice!"
"Yes…"
The young disciples then returned to their respective positions and continued practicing the Chunyang Fist method…
"Junior Brother Qi, calm your mind. This was just a spar, don't be discouraged, understand?" Wei Ping patted Qi Wu's arm and comforted him.
"I understand, Senior Brother."
Qi Wu nodded. Although he felt a bit unbalanced in his heart, the spar with Wan Yunting had also ignited his fighting spirit and determination.
"Take them to practice well. I'm going to greet Master and Madam," Wei Ping said, then turned and left with Zeng Yongchang.
At this time, in a newly built residence in the backyard of the Taoist temple, which was the residence of the Abbot Duan Wuyu, the house was built with money from Sima Boyong.
"Cough cough…"
Duan Wuyu, wearing a white robe and sitting on a large redwood bed, coughed twice. His complexion was somewhat pale and not good. His wife Yang Jingyi entered from outside and saw him coughing. She quickly came over, sat by the bed, and patted his back, saying, "If it's really not working, let Junior Brother Sima come and take a look."
"I'm fine."
Duan Wuyu waved his old hand and let out a sigh of relief, smiling, "It's just an old problem acting up. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
Yang Jingyi stood up and went to tidy up the Taoist robe he was supposed to wear for the day. She said, "Do I not know how your body is? If it's really not working, let Wei Ping share more of your burden. He's grown up now."
Duan Wuyu stood up and said, "Wei Ping's mind is a bit too preoccupied. It's not easy for him to take over my position!"
Yang Jingyi turned and took the Taoist robe from the hanger nearby, shook it, and helped him put it on. She said, "Wei Ping is a bit too calculating, but he acts steadily. If you don't let him succeed you as Abbot, then who do you want to succeed you?"
Duan Wuyu turned to her and smiled, "What do you think of Junior Brother Sima?"
Yang Jingyi paused her movements and looked up at him, "You want him to succeed you as Abbot?"
Duan Wuyu nodded and said, "I do have this intention…"
"I object!"
Yang Jingyi immediately interrupted him, saying, "I cannot see through that person, Sima Boyong. Although he has done a lot for the Taoist temple over the years, I don't think he will bring a good future to our Wuliang Taoist temple!"
Duan Wuyu turned to look at her and said, "Madam, do you have an opinion about Junior Brother Sima?"
Yang Jingyi adjusted his collar, her expressionless face saying, "I have no personal opinion about him, but I object to you wanting to give the position of Abbot to him."
Duan Wuyu's slightly graying eyebrows furrowed slightly. He was about to say something when there were two knocks on the door, followed by Wei Ping's voice, "Master, Madam, are you awake?"
"Yes, we're awake."
Duan Wuyu responded and then sighed slightly, no longer discussing the topic with Yang Jingyi. He turned to open the door. Wei Ping smiled, "Master, drink your medicine…"