Chapter 392: Golden Finger

"Someone's here?" Zu'an jumped. "Wait, is it a person or a fierce beast?"

No matter how much he pressed, Mi Li remained silent, apparently having fallen into a deep sleep.

"Just falls asleep like that? Are you a pig?" Zu'an grumbled indignantly. She had only mentioned someone was coming, but didn't elaborate. Now, deep in Dragon Concealment Mountain, could it be some kind of fierce beast?

He quietly gripped the Tai'a Sword, his entire body tensing.

A short while later, a figure appeared not far away. It was a person!

Zu'an inwardly cursed his bad luck. Protagonists in other novels typically encountered fairies or beauties in the wilderness, but he had run into an old, ugly man.

His clothes were tattered, making him look like a beggar, but his eyes were bright and piercing, clearly indicating he was a cultivator of no low rank.

His disheveled appearance likely stemmed from spending too much time in the mountains without clean clothes, combined with general unkemptness.

"Hey there, just out for a stroll in the mountains?" After a moment's thought, he decided to initiate the greeting. He wasn't the kind of person to judge by appearances.

The middle-aged man was first startled when he clearly saw Zu'an, then burst out laughing. "It truly is a case of finding something without even looking for it! You little brat, you're unlucky to have run into me here."

Zu'an frowned. "Who are you? Are you feeling alright?"

The middle-aged man was enraged. "You ruined me, and now you don't even recognize me!"

Anger value from Wu Di: +666!

Seeing the name in his system, Zu'an suddenly recalled the incident at the clan competition and blurted out, "Are you the one whose mom called him home for dinner?"

Wu Di: "..."

Anger value from Wu Di: +999!

Wu Di said grimly, "At the clan competition, your single comment caused me to lose to that little girl, Chu Chuyan. I, a dignified sixth-rank cultivator, lost to a fifth-rank. Not only did I become the laughingstock of the entire clan, but I was also banished to the mountains to gather herbs, exposed to the elements day and night, my future utterly ruined..."

As he thought about how he'd been living lately, his anger flared.

Anger value from Wu Di: +1024!

Zu'an blinked, then instinctively replied, "You, a sixth-rank cultivator, couldn't defeat a fifth-rank junior. You really do deserve to be mocked."

Wu Di: "..."

He had expected the other party to feel afraid, guilty, or at least a little embarrassed upon hearing of his predicament.

But to his utter shock, Zu'an was actually gloating.

He felt his lungs were about to burst from rage.

Anger value from Wu Di: +444, +444, +444...

"You little brat," Wu Di's laughter grew colder, "at the clan competition, with everyone watching and the Chu family protecting you, I couldn't touch you. But heaven must be looking out for me, to let me run into you in this desolate wilderness, heh heh heh..."

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. He noticed Old Man Mi and Wei Dan nearby, then focused on the storage bags in Zu'an's hand. A flicker of greed appeared in his eyes, and his breathing quickened. "You little brat, give me those two storage bags. If I'm feeling generous, I might just let you live."

Zu'an nodded. "Alright!"

With that, he tossed the two storage bags across.

Wu Di was taken aback. He had expected Zu'an to refuse or try to bargain, not hand over the items so readily.

This guy certainly doesn't play by the rules.

Initially, he was worried the two storage bags might be a trap. He concentrated, cloaking his body in vital energy, and then cautiously took them. He examined them thoroughly, finding no hidden mechanisms.

He suddenly grew excited. "This aura... this is a Grandmaster-level storage bag!"

As he spoke, he tried to open them to see what treasures lay within. However, after several attempts, even summoning flames, he still couldn't open them.

He then tucked the two storage bags into his robe and looked back at Zu'an. "You little brat, I didn't realize you were such a spineless coward, surrendering without a single fight."

Zu'an frowned. "What's wrong? Are you going back on your word?"

At the same time, Zu'an secretly regretted giving Wu Di the storage bags. He had held a glimmer of hope that Wu Di, being a sixth-rank master from a prominent family and having lived so long, might know how to open them. He hadn't expected Wu Di to be just as clueless. If he'd known that, he wouldn't have wasted his time.

"What if I do go back on my word?" Wu Di sneered, advancing on him. "Today, I'll teach you a lesson: when you're out in the world, don't be so naive."

Zu'an sighed. "Haven't you noticed I haven't shown a shred of fear this entire time? Why don't you think about the reason behind that? Who's truly naive here?"

Wu Di was startled, stopping abruptly to look around. "Are there Chu family members lying in ambush here?"

He scanned the area but saw no one, then snorted. "You almost got me. I just recently heard that the Chu family has undergone major changes. They wouldn't have spare hands to send out to this wilderness."

Seeing Zu'an's cold gaze, as if he were looking at a dead man, Wu Di felt extremely displeased. "You little brat, today I'll show you that without the Chu family's protection, you're nothing!"

As he spoke, he reached out a large hand to grab Zu'an. He had seen Zu'an fight at the clan competition; he was only a third-rank cultivator back then. Only an oblivious simpleton like Yuan Wendong would carelessly lose to such a youngster.

He, a full sixth-rank cultivator, could crush Zu'an as easily as stepping on an ant.

Seeing Wu Di so carelessly reach for him, Zu'an was confident he could sever his arm with a single sword stroke.

However, he had just completed an upgrade and wanted to test his new strength. Wu Di's cultivation was neither too high nor too low, making him the perfect opponent for practice.

So he put away the Tai'a Sword and met the incoming palm with his own.

"This guy is truly asking for death!" Seeing Zu'an make no attempt to dodge, a hint of mockery flashed in Wu Di's eyes. A sixth-rank's power was countless times greater than a third-rank's; a head-on collision like this would shatter Zu'an's entire arm.

How could the Chu family choose such a useless person as a son-in-law? They should have chosen him instead.

The moment their palms met, he instinctively applied force, intending to snap Zu'an's fingers. He didn't want a quick victory; he wanted to slowly torture him, bit by bit, to truly vent his hatred.

*Crack!*

A crisp sound of bone breaking was followed by a piercing scream that echoed through the mountain forest.

Wu Di stared at his finger, bent and twisted at a ninety-degree angle, his face contorted in utter horror.

Th-this... how is this possible!

"You've been so boisterous from the start, acting like such a big deal. Are you really a sixth-rank cultivator?" Zu'an didn't press his advantage, remaining where he stood and speaking with an air of doubt.

Hearing such blatant mockery, Wu Di nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Anger value from Wu Di: +458!

At this moment, he harbored the same doubt: Was this guy really only a third-rank cultivator?

Had he misjudged the situation entirely?

He dared not be careless any longer. He immediately drew his long saber, and a stream of red flames wrapped around the blade.

Then, with a roar, he hacked toward Zu'an. His left and right hands had always been equally proficient, so an injury to one wouldn't affect his ability to wield the saber with the other.

Zu'an suddenly remembered the Sunflower Finger technique Old Man Mi had taught him. He hadn't had a chance to test it out yet, and Wu Di seemed like the perfect practice dummy.

Seeing Zu'an extend a single finger to meet his blade, Wu Di's expression turned feral. "If I don't sever all ten of your fingers, you can write my name backward!"

Before the saber and finger even connected, Zu'an could already feel the scorching heat of the flames emanating from Wu Di's blade.

His heart tensed. After all, his opponent was a sixth-rank master. Although his own strength and speed were nearly comparable to a sixth-rank, the elemental damage Wu Di inflicted was still very real.

A flash of inspiration struck him. He immediately summoned "Blue Teal," drawing the surrounding water elements and attaching them to himself.

The forest was dense with trees, and water vapor was naturally abundant. Soon, a mass of water elements clung to Zu'an, instantly alleviating the intense heat.

As the opponent's flaming blade drew nearer, Zu'an's finger moved, directly poking the side of the blade.

Wu Di felt a strange, spiraling force travel along the blade, almost causing him to lose his grip on his long saber. The raging flames on the blade were momentarily scattered, but he reacted quickly, restoring them to their former intensity.

He was utterly aghast. "What kind of technique is that?"

Zu'an brought his finger to his mouth and gently blew away a tiny flame at the tip. "This is the Kato... *cough cough*, I mean, my self-created Golden Finger. Pretty powerful, wouldn't you say?"