Chapter 651 - 405: Strength is the Source of Confidence

Chapter 651: Chapter 405: Strength is the Source of Confidence

Zhu Xinru saw that Lin Li’s smile never wavered. He looked so calm and unconcerned that she knew he wasn’t taking her words seriously. She sighed inwardly and decided to elaborate.

"Mr. Lin, you can’t be careless when you spar with my cousin. The Superpower she awakened is..."

Before Zhu Xinru could finish, she was cut off. "Xinru, don’t give away my secrets!"

"Cousin, I told you about Mr. Lin. Now you know what Superpower he awakened, but he has no idea about yours. That’s not fair at all..." Zhu Xinru retorted against Li Qian’s protest.

"Uh..." Li Qian thought for a moment. It was true, and she couldn’t argue with it. She smiled and said, "Fine, you can tell him."

"Mr. Lin, the Superpower my cousin awakened is—" Zhu Xinru tried to finish what she had started, but Lin Li didn’t give her the chance. He just smiled at Li Qian, walked forward, and vaulted onto the platform.

"Huh?!"

Li Qian stared in surprise as Lin Li landed on the platform, standing four or five meters away and looking right at her.

"Young Master Lin, why didn’t you wait for my cousin to finish telling you about my Superpower before coming up here?"

"It’s not necessary. Whether I know about your Superpower or not makes no difference to the outcome," Lin Li said with a smile, exuding an air of supreme confidence.

"..." Li Qian fell silent after hearing his explanation. A few seconds later, a brilliant smile spread across her face.

"Alright, you’ve got personality. I admire people who are so confident in their own strength. But there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance."

The smile on Lin Li’s face didn’t waver, and he offered no reply.

’This young man is so arrogant. Does he have any idea how strong Miss Li is?’

’The last person who said something like that while sparring with Miss Li got taught a harsh lesson.’

The servants gathered around the platform, watching the match, all silently scoffed at Lin Li.

If they didn’t all know he was their young miss’s guest, they would have voiced their complaints out loud.

’Sigh...’ Zhu Xinru watched the two on the platform, about to begin their spar, and sighed faintly.

"Miss, you don’t have to worry. For your sake, Miss Li won’t be too hard on Mr. Lin..." Her maid, Chunxiang, noticed her mistress’s concern and quickly tried to comfort her.

"My cousin is usually reasonable enough, but once she steps onto a platform to spar, it’s like she becomes a different person. It’s easy for her to forget to hold back when she attacks," Zhu Xinru said.

"..." Chunxiang scratched her head, not knowing what else to say.

At that moment, the two on the platform began to fight.

"Are you ready?" Li Qian asked the smiling Lin Li.

"I am. And you?" Lin Li replied.

"I’m ready too. Let’s begin!"

"Mm."

After their brief exchange, the expression on Li Qian’s face grew serious as the Spiritual Energy within her body began to circulate rapidly.

The Spiritual Energy Wave of a Second Rank Initial Stage Cultivator flared to life, and the aura she projected strengthened rapidly. She was clearly more than a cut above the two Second Rank Initial Stage guards who had sparred earlier.

’What a powerful Spiritual Energy Wave! Miss Li’s cultivation has improved so much. It looks like she’ll break through to the Second Order Middle Stage within the year. She truly is one of the few cultivation geniuses in Dongwu City.’

The few guards with Second Rank Initial Stage cultivation watching from around the platform couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement as they sensed the Spiritual Energy Wave emanating from Li Qian.

"Ms. Yu, if my cousin can’t control her strength during the spar, could I trouble you to intervene and stop her...?"

Hearing the guards’ gasps of surprise, the worry on Zhu Xinru’s face deepened. She turned her head to He Manyu, who had been standing beside her silently, and made her request.

"Mm." He Manyu nodded, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at Lin Li.

She was a woman of vast experience. For Lin Li’s expression to remain completely unchanged even after Li Qian revealed her power was far too strange.

Normally, when a Tier Two Cultivator with Perception Ability saw an opponent reveal their strength, if they discovered the opponent’s Spiritual Energy Wave was stronger than their own, it would be difficult to remain so composed.

’Could it be... this young man...’

Li Qian frowned slightly. Even after she had revealed her power, Lin Li remained perfectly composed and hadn’t even mobilized the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian.

But now that she had mobilized her Spiritual Energy and entered a combat state, overthinking things wasn’t her style.

’Since he isn’t making a move, I’ll strike first and test the waters.’

THUD, THUD, THUD...

Emitting a Spiritual Energy Wave far stronger than that of other Cultivators at her level, Li Qian charged forward. In the blink of an eye, her speed reached a point an ordinary person could never hope to match.

"Hah!"

With a low cry, Li Qian closed the distance to Lin Li and raised her right arm. Her fist, glowing with a faint, condensed golden light, shot toward Lin Li’s chest.

WHAP.

Li Qian’s punch was blocked, the immense force of the impact vanishing into thin air.

Lin Li, who had raised a hand to stop her fist, was now emitting the Spiritual Energy Wave of a Second Rank Initial Stage Cultivator.

The Tier Two Cultivators present who had Perception Ability discovered that the Second Rank Initial Stage Spiritual Energy Wave emanating from Lin Li was in no way weaker than Li Qian’s.

"This... This person’s cultivation is actually on par with Miss Li’s!!!"

A few of the Second Rank Initial Stage guards exclaimed in shock. When the other onlookers heard this, the same expression appeared on their faces.

"This Young Master Lin is no simple man," He Manyu said, watching Lin Li.

WHOOSH... Zhu Xinru’s heart leaped into her throat the moment her cousin attacked. But when she saw Lin Li block the punch with such ease, she immediately relaxed and let out a soft sigh of relief.

Still, knowing her cousin, she didn’t think Lin Li could actually win.

"Hah!"

After her attack was blocked, Li Qian gave another low cry and threw a punch with her left hand.

THUD.

Lin Li met her punch with his own. Their fists collided, and they each retreated a few steps to put some distance between them.

The first exchange was a draw. Neither side had gained an advantage.

Although her attack had been blocked, the corners of Li Qian’s serious expression lifted into a smile.

"My turn," Lin Li muttered, not content to just stand there and take hits. He stomped his feet, and his entire body shot forward like a cannonball.

His attack speed was even a notch faster than Li Qian’s had been during her charge in the first exchange.

"Nice! Now this is interesting." Seeing Lin Li take the offensive, the happy smile on Li Qian’s face grew even brighter.

As the City Lord’s daughter, Li Qian loved to spar, and very few people ever refused her invitations.

But her opponents were always conscious of her status as the City Lord’s daughter. So, regardless of whether they were strong or weak, they never dared to go all out and usually fought passively, only countering her attacks.

Now, faced with an opponent whose Spiritual Energy Wave was on par with her own—and who, at a glance, was clearly not holding back and dared to attack with his full power—Li Qian was genuinely thrilled.

BAM.

BAM.

BAM...

Spiritual Light flared as fists wreathed in Spiritual Energy collided. The two figures zipped back and forth across the platform, their movements as swift as a gale, leaving the servants below struggling to follow the action.

...