Chapter 104: Change in Strength

"Senior Brother Fang is heading to Dueling Platform Number Three. Let’s hurry over."

"Okay."

Fang Yun, who was quite famous, always attracted a large number of Outer Sect disciples whenever he engaged in a friendly spar.

Among these Inner and Outer Sect disciples, the proportion of those who came just to watch Fang Yun’s spars was growing ever larger.

After the two ascended the Dueling Platform.

Lu Zefeng took his position, unwrapped the cloth covering his right hand, and rolled up his sleeve.

His right arm was thus exposed for all to see.

"Whoa! What’s going on?"

"What happened to Senior Brother Lu’s arm?"

"I’ve seen plenty of things like that on the bodies of some of those Evil Demons and Crooked Paths."

Lu Zefeng’s action, revealing a withered and purplish-black right arm, instantly drew the gazes of the Inner and Outer Sect disciples below the Dueling Platform.

Some disciples had seen similar bodies when they were out on missions, but this was the first time seeing one within the sect.

"Senior Brother Lu couldn’t have gone down the wrong path, could he?"

"Junior Brother from the Outer Sect, don’t spout nonsense. If Junior Brother Lu had really gone astray, he wouldn’t be appearing on the Dueling Platform."

Below the Dueling Platform, the Inner and Outer Sect disciples, beyond their surprise at the change in Lu Zefeng’s body, were mostly just curious.

Some of the Inner Sect disciples who knew Lu Zefeng already planned to ask him what had happened after the spar was over.

"Fang Yun, Qi Refining Seventh Layer."

"Lu Zefeng, Qi Refining Eighth Layer."

After the standard procedures on the Dueling Platform were completed.

At Fang Yun’s nod, Lu Zefeng quickly launched his attack.

The main goal of this spar was to test his right arm and see what kind of power it possessed.

And so, without using any other techniques, Lu Zefeng closed in on Fang Yun at top speed.

This approach was more like the fighting style of a Body Cultivator.

Lu Zefeng struck with his purplish-black, withered palm, but Fang Yun’s Profound Iron Shield, which had appeared from nowhere, was already in front of him, blocking the heavy blow.

Against Fang Yun’s defense, Lu Zefeng’s strike looked utterly ordinary.

Soon, Lu Zefeng was using his full strength, maximizing the use of Spiritual Power in his right arm.

Under these conditions, the drain on his Spiritual Power was immense.

The fluctuations of Spiritual Power grew more and more intense, yet Fang Yun still looked as relaxed as ever.

"Junior Brother Fang, how’s this move of mine?" Lu Zefeng asked directly.

The fluctuations of Spiritual Power were obvious, but Fang Yun’s expression made it impossible for him to get a more accurate read.

"It’s very strong. The power of this arm is even better than I expected," Fang Yun said honestly.

Compared to his last spar with Lu Zefeng, this one was consuming far more of his Spiritual Power.

Based on the amount of Spiritual Power he was expending, Fang Yun could make an accurate judgment of the power behind Lu Zefeng’s attack.

If this Upper Grade Magical Artifact-level arm was used well, the frontal assault capability of Lu Zefeng, a Qi Refining Eighth Layer, would be in no way inferior to that of a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator.

"That’s good to hear."

Hearing those words from Fang Yun, Lu Zefeng was overjoyed.

Throughout the rest of his spar with Fang Yun, he attacked more flexibly with his right hand. As a result, his control over the arm also improved.

Fang Yun’s effortless defense allowed Lu Zefeng to attack even more recklessly, trying to strike from all sorts of angles.

But no matter what angle or timing he chose, Lu Zefeng’s blows would only ever land on Fang Yun’s Profound Iron Shield.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The dull thuds were accompanied by intense fluctuations of Spiritual Power.

Below the Dueling Platform, some of the Inner and Outer Sect disciples watched with boiling blood.

"Is Senior Brother Lu going to become a Body Cultivator from now on?"

No matter how you looked at it, Lu Zefeng’s current offensive style was just like that of a Body Cultivator.

"What kind of Body Cultivator fights with only one hand... Junior Brother Lu’s arm is an Upper Grade Magical Artifact." A sharp-eyed Inner Sect Disciple quickly saw through the mystery.

"So it’s an Upper Grade Magical Artifact!"

"I think I can guess what happened to Senior Brother Lu. He most likely ran into trouble on a mission, which led to him losing his arm. Now, he’s had it replaced with an Upper Grade Magical Artifact."

"Senior Brother Fang truly lives up to his nickname, the Turtle Immortal. Even under Senior Brother Lu’s assault, his defense is watertight."

"So far, in all of his spars, no one has ever broken through Senior Brother Fang’s defense."

As the Spiritual Power in Lu Zefeng’s Qi Sea was about to run out, the spar was also coming to an end.

After putting some distance between himself and Fang Yun, Lu Zefeng conceded defeat.

Fang Yun put away his Profound Iron Shield and checked the Spiritual Power consumed from his Qi Sea.

Compared to the last spar with Lu Zefeng, this time Lu Zefeng had managed to drain an additional sixty percent of his Spiritual Power.

In Fang Yun’s eyes, this was a very clear sign of progress.

The only drawback to Lu Zefeng’s attack method was that it required close combat. When fighting using only this arm, his style was that of a Body Cultivator.

With the spar concluded, Fang Yun’s next opponent was also decided. It wasn’t Zhang Cailing, but another female Inner Sect Senior Sister at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.

On their way to register with the Steward, Fang Yun and Lu Zefeng continued to talk about Lu Zefeng’s right arm.

"Senior Brother Lu, as for your right arm’s poison ability, you could go to Smoke Cloud Peak and buy a Demon Beast to test its effects."

The Demon Beasts raised on Smoke Cloud Peak, aside from being used for Spiritual Food, were absolutely ideal test subjects.

Testing on ordinary beasts wouldn’t be enough to reveal the true effects of Lu Zefeng’s right arm.

"Mm, I’ll go try that later," Lu Zefeng nodded.

After registering, Lu Zefeng didn’t stay to watch Fang Yun’s second match, choosing instead to go restore his Spiritual Power.

Having sparred with Fang Yun and become more familiar with his arm, he now wanted to try sparring with other senior and junior brothers.

If he wanted to spar, he naturally had to restore his Spiritual Power first.

Seeing Lu Zefeng leave to restore his Spiritual Power, some of the Inner Sect disciples who wanted to ask him questions went to watch Fang Yun’s second spar instead.

They could ask about Lu Zefeng’s situation after he had recovered his Spiritual Power.

After watching the spar between Fang Yun and Lu Zefeng, Zhang Cailing came to a conclusion.

In the future, when she and Lu Zefeng were out on missions, if they encountered an enemy in close quarters, Junior Brother Lu would be able to display considerable strength. This was undoubtedly a good thing for them.

Fang Yun’s second spar ended without much suspense.

Although Zhang Cailing didn’t get to be Fang Yun’s second opponent, she got her wish and secured the third match.

However, after the second spar ended, Fang Yun needed to restore his Spiritual Power.

She would have to wait before she could spar with Fang Yun again.

While she was waiting, Lu Zefeng recovered his Spiritual Power.

Some disciples began asking him about his situation, and from him, they learned that his current arm had been refined for him by Fang Yun.

"Lu Zefeng."

The Steward’s voice rang out, indicating that Lu Zefeng’s next opponent had been matched.

Zhang Cailing calculated the time. Fang Yun should be finishing his Spiritual Power recovery soon, so she didn’t go to watch Lu Zefeng’s spar and continued to wait.