Chapter 119: Adults, the Times Have Changed!

Chu Zhongtian comforted her, "It seems Xiao An lost due to a lack of combat experience. Don't be too hard on him; his performance just now was already an unexpected pleasant surprise."

Qin Wanru still couldn't help but say, "Initially, I truly didn't have high hopes for him. No one could have imagined he possessed such miraculous movement techniques. But since he has such ability, victory wasn't impossible. Who knew he would just seize verbal advantages from beginning to end, and even have the leisure to mess around with some background music? Now that his opponent is serious, how can I not be angry?"

In her opinion, if Zu An had exploited this information asymmetry from the start to catch his opponent off guard—for instance, by using his strange movement technique to place his weapon on the opponent's vital points—he might have already won.

Instead, he merely slapped his opponent twice. While this certainly humiliated the Yuan family, it also completely enraged his opponent. When a fifth-rank master gets serious, a mere movement technique alone isn't enough to prevail.

The outcome of this grand competition was profoundly significant for the Chu family. If Zu An had conceded at the beginning, she wouldn't have felt so upset. But now, knowing there was a chance to win yet watching it slip away, that sense of disparity was enough to drive one almost mad.

Chu Zhongtian sighed, "He is still young. Experience is the best teacher; after this incident, he should understand. For now, let's be ready to save him at any moment, lest he truly dies by Yuan Wendong's sword."

Chu Hanzhao, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, "Father, Mother, why are you so lacking in confidence in him? I, for one, believe Brother-in-law can definitely do it."

Hong Xingying finally found an opportunity to speak, "Second Miss, there's a chasm-like difference between cultivators for every major realm they ascend. If a fifth-rank cultivator were so easy to defeat, they wouldn't be universally recognized as masters."

He considered himself fiercely loyal to the Chu family, yet if forced to choose between the Chu family losing the competition and Zu An winning, he would still prefer the Chu family to lose.

To allow a good-for-nothing he had always despised to steal the limelight, especially when he himself had lost and had previously showered Zu An with ridicule, was a humiliation few in the world could stomach.

Chu Hanzhao's smile stiffened. Although she disliked cultivation, how could she not know these basic facts? "Hmph, Brother-in-law can definitely do it, right, Sister?"

Her tone softened slightly, and she had to turn to her sister to affirm her belief.

"Perhaps," Chu Chuyan replied casually, her beautiful eyes fixed thoughtfully on the figure in the arena.

At that moment, Yuan Wendong's heart settled as he looked at the swords and blades floating all around in the air. "Zu An, I must admit, your movement technique truly surprised me. If you had attacked aggressively from the start, you might have had a chance to win against me. What a pity you didn't seize it. Now, all of this ends."

With newfound confidence, he was in no hurry to make a move. He preferred to play a cat-and-mouse game, wanting to see regret and vexation surface on his opponent's face.

Zu An looked at him with a strange expression. "If I had defeated you right away, wouldn't that have let you off too easily? You treated Xiao Zhao like that just now; if I don't get even with you, how can I avenge her?"

Below the stage, Chu Hanzhao's face lit up with surprise. She quickly tugged at her parents' sleeves and exclaimed, "See? I told you Brother-in-law must have a reason for doing this!"

Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru frowned slightly, feeling that this reason was too childish. However, since the other party was standing up for their daughter, they found it difficult to comment.

"Who does he think he is?" Hong Xingying's heart twisted with maddening jealousy, thinking that Zu An had not only married the eldest daughter but was also so close to the second daughter. "If he can defeat a fifth-rank master, I'll eat this table right here and now!"

Chu Hanzhao snorted and turned her head away, ignoring him.

At this moment, Yuan Wendong on the stage, exasperated, burst into laughter. "Hahaha, so you were deliberately holding back just now to avenge your sister-in-law? Hahaha, that's the funniest joke I've heard in years!"

Enraged, Yuan Wendong's fury surged by 666 points!

"That's the funniest joke you've heard?" Zu An shrugged. "It just shows how limited Young Master Yuan's experience is."

Yuan Wendong was speechless.

Yuan Wendong's fury surged by another 250 points!

He simply couldn't comprehend how this guy's mind worked, still discussing jokes at a time like this.

Fearing he would be so enraged he'd vomit blood if he continued speaking with his opponent, he declared, "I can't be bothered to waste any more words on the likes of you. Let me show you what fifth-rank cultivation truly means, and what the gap between you and me truly is!"

With a wave of his hands, the swords and blades suspended in mid-air shot towards Zu An like a torrential downpour. His eyes were filled with madness and hatred. "Suffer! Wail! Then all of you, die!"

His opponent's movement technique was indeed strange, but now the entire arena was filled with swords and blades, a truly indiscriminate saturation attack. No matter where he dodged, he would be riddled like a porcupine.

"Brother-in-law, be careful!" Chu Hanzhao was so startled she sat bolt upright, but the pain from her injuries immediately made her collapse back onto the stretcher.

Chu Zhongtian and Chu Chuyan's expressions were grim, ready to intervene at any moment.

Shi Kun, observing from the stage, frowned subtly. This Yuan Wendong was still too impetuous; striking with intent to kill from the start meant Chu Zhongtian would surely intervene, and he might not succeed in harming the fellow as he wished.

At this moment, Zu An calmly called out, "Little Bottle!"

"Yes!" Cheng Shoubing, who had been waiting near the arena, responded and then threw a strangely shaped shield he held in his hand towards Zu An.

Seeing Zu An hold the shield in front of him, Yuan Wendong sneered inwardly, thinking, "Do you take me for a novice like Chu Hanzhao? Your shield can block what's in front, but how will it block what's on your sides and behind you?"

"My awakened ability allows me to manipulate metal; making those flying swords turn is as easy as turning my hand!"

"But this works out well; the Chu family will have no reason to interfere."

He let out a sinister chuckle, then mentally split the airborne blades and swords into several groups, sending them flying from Zu An's sides, behind him, and from overhead.

At this point, he suddenly noticed Zu An detaching a piece from the middle of the shield, leaving a large empty space in the center, making the whole thing look like a U-shape.

"What the hell kind of shield is this? It's absurd!"

Yuan Wendong just thought his opponent had gone mad, or perhaps was trying to signal the Chu family to rescue him, so he couldn't help but accelerate the flying swords.

"Huh, what's going on? Why are some of these swords and blades no longer obeying my command?"

His expression changed drastically as he saw the swords and blades in mid-air suddenly tremble violently, as if two forces were clashing.

Suddenly, the swords and blades flying from all directions seemed guided by another force, converging in a single direction. Ultimately, dozens of blades and swords all clung tightly to the strange shield in front of Zu An, refusing to budge an inch, no matter how Yuan Wendong commanded them.

"This... how is this possible!"

The entire audience was in an uproar, completely baffled as to why such an unexpected turn of events had occurred in the arena.

Yuan Wendong's voice trembled as he stared in disbelief at Zu An, who had reappeared from behind the shield. "You... how did you do that?"

Zu An shook his head and let out a long sigh. "My lord, times have changed."

Ever since he witnessed Yuan Wendong's sword control ability at the academy, he had been pondering how to counter this move. After all, it was very difficult to dodge swords flying all over the arena, and he didn't possess Pei Mianman's destructive black flames.

Furthermore, even if he could dodge, it wouldn't be ideal. The opponent would look so stylish and cool controlling flying swords, while he would be scrambling to hide, losing face.

Whether the move could win wasn't the point; the key was to be cool!

The first method he thought of was magnets, but natural magnets had too weak a magnetic force to resist the control of metal element cultivators. Otherwise, metal element manipulators in this world wouldn't be able to survive.

Fortunately, Zu An stood on the shoulders of giants, possessing the knowledge reserves of thousands of years of humanity from his previous life. He then thought of electromagnets, which possess immense magnetic strength, making it easy to lift cars and other objects in industrial applications.

The principle of electromagnets was simple, and making them wasn't complicated. He easily produced one after discussing it with a rune master at the Chu family manor.

Another bigger problem was electric current. Although there was no electricity in this world, there were lightning-element cultivators, and it wasn't difficult to temporarily store lightning power within a special array.

Zu An had money, so he directly asked the family's rune masters to handle all of this for him. None of it was particularly difficult or technically advanced, so the rune masters easily completed it, not even bothering to report it to the family head.

Little did he know, the combination of lightning power and the pair of opposing coils he had created could generate such immense magnetic force.

At this point, others in the arena also recovered from their shock, all staring at the strangely shaped shield in Zu An's hand.

"Huh, could this be the Chu family's latest secret weapon?"

"I told you, how can the Yuan family compare to the Chu family, with their hundreds of years of foundation in weapon forging?"

"Chu Zhongtian is truly an old fox. Before, he pretended that their Spirit Spring was destroyed and their weapon quality had declined, making them unable to compete with the Yuan family. It turns out he planned to publicly humiliate the Yuan family during the grand competition."

Sensing the playful gazes from Sang Hong and others on the main platform, Chu Zhongtian looked utterly bewildered. "What in the world is that thing in Xiao An's hand? I have no idea either!"

Yuan Wendong was nearly fainting. The bizarre events occurring one after another today were simply beyond his comprehension. Looking at the smiling figure opposite him, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

"Who knows how many more tricks this guy has up his sleeve to use against me!"

Sensing the shift in his courage, both the Wu family head and the Yuan family head's expressions changed. They simultaneously transmitted their thoughts via vital energy:

"Fool, that's just a new type of weapon developed by the Chu family. It might be effective against flying swords, but it's incredibly clumsy. How could it possibly be used in close combat?"

"Stop controlling the flying swords. Challenge him directly with your swordsmanship! Guard yourself with sword qi; even if his movement technique is extraordinary, the cultivation gap between you two is immense. He can't possibly harm you!"

Receiving their guidance, Yuan Wendong's spirits lifted, and his fighting intent instantly returned. "That's right! While Zu An has a lot of strange contraptions, the sheer power gap is undeniable. Even if I don't use elemental power, my cultivation alone is enough to crush him."

Having understood all this, his mood relaxed slightly. He said coldly, "Zu An, I must admit your peculiar weapon genuinely surprised me. But this showcases the Chu family's weapon-forging prowess, not your own strength. As I told you at the academy last time, relying on external forces ultimately doesn't last. True strength comes from one's own power."

Having been repeatedly humiliated by this guy in the arena, he had to seize every opportunity to reverse the public's perception.

He drew the long sword from his waist and casually created a sword flourish. Immediately, his body was faintly imbued with clusters of translucent sword qi. The crowd in the training ground watched in admiration. He was indeed worthy of being a fifth-rank master; his swordsmanship was simply astonishing, truly deserving of his reputation as a renowned young genius.

Along with this, everyone also felt that what he said made sense. Although Zu An had captured attention with various strange gadgets, he still couldn't win. Once Young Master Yuan recovered his composure, Zu An would ultimately lose.