Chapter 65: Chapter 59: Arrogant and Haughty? No, Zhong Ming Is Humble and Polite

Looking at Zhuang Yi’s wretched state, Zhong Ming felt truly frustrated.

He could sense that Zhuang Yi was just a bit belligerent, but not a bad person at heart. This was why Zhong Ming hadn’t intended to severely injure him.

That was why he had warned him several times beforehand. He had also held back much of the power in the droplet he’d just flicked.

He hadn’t even used Bright Mirror Stilled Water - Ripples.

Unfortunately, being at the same cultivation level, Zhuang Yi simply refused to believe Zhong Ming could be that much stronger than him—he even thought he was the one with the advantage!

With this mindset, even though Zhong Ming had warned him several times, he still hadn’t taken the droplet seriously enough.

Zhong Ming... He, too, had somewhat underestimated his own power under the enhancement of the Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water.

As a result, Zhuang Yi was gravely injured after just one blow.

"Quick, come help him."

Shaking his head in frustration, Zhong Ming immediately ran to Zhuang Yi’s side and began to treat him.

His shout snapped Qi Hong, Shi Yun, Yi Yunya, and the others out of their stupor, and they all rushed over.

At the same time, they all felt awkward and deeply embarrassed when facing Zhong Ming.

The same words, when spoken by people of different strengths, reflect a completely different character.

If Zhong Ming’s strength was equal to Zhuang Yi’s, then attacking with just a single drop of water would have been an absolute insult—a display of unbridled arrogance and disrespect.

But Zhong Ming’s strength far surpassed Zhuang Yi’s. In that context, his attack with a single droplet, coupled with his repeated warnings beforehand, meant something entirely different.

’Wildly conceited, arrogant and domineering? No, that had nothing to do with Zhong Ming at all.’

’It was clearly a sign of him caring for his fellow disciple, of being humble and courteous!’

Realizing they had misunderstood Zhong Ming, Qi Hong, Orchid, and the others were naturally embarrassed. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

At this moment, Shi Yun even felt a lingering fear, and his heart filled with gratitude for Zhuang Yi.

’Good thing you were here. If you hadn’t stepped up to fight Junior Brother Zhong Ming first, I would’ve been the one in trouble.’

Shi Yun knew his own personality all too well. Had he not seen Zhong Ming’s strength with his own eyes, he would have ignored the warnings. Even if Zhong Ming had told him to use his mid-stage Qi Cultivation strength or risk severe injury, the more Zhong Ming insisted, the less likely he would have been to comply.

To save face, he would have used the Magical Power of an early-stage Qi Cultivation practitioner to fight against Zhong Ming.

But even though he was stronger than Zhuang Yi, he didn’t think he could have withstood that terrifying blow, especially if he had been caught unaware.

’Junior Brother, thank you for taking that hit for me.’

As he was lost in these thoughts, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Shi Yun, you’ve become too complacent. You absolutely cannot be like this in your upcoming match with Zhong Ming. You need to get back into your wartime mindset."

The speaker was Lin Shuyu. Shi Yun couldn’t argue with the accusation of being complacent.

But soon, he gave a cold laugh. "I have grown complacent, it’s true. But haven’t you all as well?"

As he said this, Shi Yun even felt a little aggrieved.

"You can’t blame me for being careless... Who could have expected Zhong Ming’s power to increase so drastically after just a day or two?"

"It’s completely illogical!"

...

Shi Yun’s words echoed the thoughts of Qi Hong and the others.

And so, after Shi Yun’s sound transmission, the group fell into an especially profound and emotional silence.

Yang Chen: "It truly is a bit outrageous."

Qi Hong: "I tried to estimate Zhong Ming’s Talent as highly as I could, but it seems we still underestimated our junior brother."

After their shared moment of reflection, it was Lin Shuyu who broke the silence. "Shi Yun, you misunderstand. I wasn’t scolding you. I just wanted to tell you that in the upcoming duel, you must win."

Lin Shuyu’s tone in the sound transmission was extremely serious:

"Zhong Ming’s increase in strength is a good thing for us, but we’ve only known him for a short time, and our connection isn’t strong. If you lose to him, it will mean we can no longer offer him any help..."

Lin Shuyu didn’t finish his sentence, but Shi Yun already understood what he meant.

It’s true that when a person attains the Dao, even their household ascends with them. But those who benefit are the ones who stay close to the Daoist and bask in his glory.

Strictly speaking, their acquaintance with Zhong Ming was only a few days old.

If, from this point forward, they were of no help to his cultivation, then even after Zhong Ming became powerful, he wouldn’t necessarily give them a second thought.

Upon this realization, Shi Yun’s gaze sharpened, and an aura of iron-blooded Sha Qi began to radiate from his body.

He was beginning to get back into the mindset he had when fighting for the Demon Suppression Bureau.

"Don’t worry. I’ll go all out."

Seeing him turn serious, Lin Shuyu quickly began to explain the subtleties of Zhong Ming’s last attack. "Also, be careful of his attacks. He has already grasped a deeper application of the ’Flowing’ principle. Our Longxi Peak’s Flow of Water can do more than just deflect an enemy’s attack. It can also conceal an attack within a current and then, when the enemy puts up their defenses, use the principle of Ripples of Water to transmit the attack directly into their body."

Shi Yun: "You don’t have to tell me. I know how to handle that move."

...

One had to admit, Yang Chen and the others were quite capable; they had managed to partially analyze the Dao Rhyme that Zhong Ming comprehended.

[Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water (Incomplete) (39.3%)]

This was a trait that only a Fifth Realm Master, or even a Sixth Realm Grandmaster, could normally obtain. Although Zhong Ming had stacked six "Flow of Water" traits, they were only Third Realm traits.

As a result, even six of them stacked together weren’t enough to complete the Dao Rhyme’s progress.

Fortunately, unlike his extremely incomplete Dragon Flood Dragon Dao Rhyme, he could use the Flow of Water once it reached 33% completion. The only drawback was that because the Dao Rhyme was incomplete, its power was weaker and its functions were less comprehensive.