**Chapter 25: Confrontation with the Inheritor of Confucianism: Zhong Haoran**
An ivory folding fan twirled beside Zhong Haoran, emanating a powerful aura of righteousness.
Leo also activated the "Unheavenly Transformation" technique, his true energy transforming into eighteen shimmering stars that sparkled as if in rhythm with his breath.
(With his cultivation reaching the ninth level of Qi Refinement, "Unheavenly Transformation" could now produce the maximum number of stars!)
(Swoosh—)
The ivory fan transformed into a beam of white light, swiftly flying toward Leo. This was Zhong Haoran's simplest form of testing. Leo did not want to prolong the fight; he raised his hand to block it!
The force of the stars swirled in his palms, and constellations manifested on his arms, glowing brightly. Within those hands, it seemed as if a nebula coiled around, reaching to grip the pure white fan!
Though the fan appeared unassuming, it contained a clear intent to kill, and with the infusion of tremendous spiritual power, physically resisting it was akin to courting death!
"Is he truly a body cultivator?!" The onlookers below momentarily became confused about Leo's identity. Some claimed he was a body cultivator since he had overwhelmed Wu Chi with "Dao techniques," while others asserted he was a Dao cultivator, given that he wielded a solid steel sword and could contend directly against magical artifacts with his body!
(Clang clang clang—)
As Leo's hands collided with the ivory fan, the nebula in his hands violently clashed with the righteousness contained within the fan, producing explosive sounds.
"You truly are a descendant of the Ancient Daxia!" Zhong Haoran's expression changed sharply.
Ignoring him, Leo continued to reach forcefully for the fan!
However, the fan, which had previously charged forward without hesitation, suddenly halted, spun in place a few times, and slipped out of Leo's grasp, returning to Zhong Haoran's side.
Leo, showing signs of impatience, remarked, "Brother Meng, let's end this quickly!"
"I have urgent matters to attend to and can't afford to waste time." Those urgent matters involved hurriedly returning to accompany Reyana.
It had been nearly an hour and a half since their meeting, and Reyana hadn't left Leo's side for that long.
Upon hearing Leo's comment, Zhong Haoran visibly frowned, as if the excitement he had just built up had vanished, completely losing the timid and humble demeanor he had exhibited earlier.
"Brother Leo, do you think I am wasting your time?"
"During a match, with outcomes still to be determined, it's best to focus on the present!"
Without waiting for the words to settle, he reclaimed his folding fan and began writing in the air with it!
"Gentleman's Five Precepts!"
The white fan paused in midair, transforming into an inkwell that poured out black true energy. Zhong Haoran held his left hand behind his back and gracefully wielded the fan with his right, writing in a rhythmic manner as he spoke.
(Benevolence! Righteousness! Propriety! Wisdom! Faith!)
These were the Confucian Gentleman's Five Precepts. Only a truly noble and refined high-level Confucianist could unleash the full power of this skill!
As a Practitioner at the Concentration level, Zhong Haoran could not achieve that, but to Leo's eyes, the might behind these five characters was already terrifying, equal to a Golden Core level attack!
To be able to exert such power across levels indicated that Zhong Haoran had a profound understanding of these five characters, coupled with the earnest practice of the gentleman's way—he was undoubtedly an orthodox successor of Confucianism!
Leo immediately focused intently, fixating on Zhong Haoran as he wielded the ink brush in the air.
This was the extraordinary aspect of the Confucian School; their techniques utilized, not just spiritual energy, but the power of belief!
As long as a successor fully comprehended Confucian thoughts and earnestly practiced the way of the gentleman, they could unleash even greater power in their techniques.
The adage "Inner Sage, Outer King" was precisely this!
This aspect had similarities with the practitioners of Buddhism.
When Zhong Haoran finished his final stroke, the five characters glowing with golden light overlapped, forming a single stamp that instantly reached its peak in power!
The onlookers trembled, silently circulating their protective techniques. The elders sitting at the judges' table exchanged glances, their expressions grave, raising their hands to reinforce the courtyard's barrier.
"Break for me!"
Zhong Haoran shouted, his robes billowing out, giving his slender frame an imposing presence. He clasped his hands together and pushed forward, sending the enormous ink stamp rolling toward Leo!
(Thrum—)
The thunderous roar of true energy was accompanied by a chorus of voices, resembling Confucian scholars chanting their teachings. The stamp composed of the Five Precepts moved forward slowly but bore an overwhelming weight, exhibiting tremendous might!
This was the faith of generations of Confucian cultivators, the echo of countless scholars burning the midnight oil, and the standard pursued by Confucian gentlemen!
With such a magnificent skill, even the elders at the judges' table could not help but be shocked. "This must be an orthodox Confucian successor; I wonder which high-level Confucianist's disciple he is," one elder with short white whiskers from the Hidden Valley remarked.
"Don't they always look down on our Outsiders' approach? Why would they come here?"
"Elder Cao, I heard you were in charge of reviewing the entries of both Leo and Zhong Haoran. Do you remember what identities they reported?" an elder in green asked neighboring Elder Cao.
Elder Cao, whose white hair and beard gave him an ethereal appearance that surpassed the other elders, was indeed the chairman of the judges. He nodded upon hearing the question.
"I remember Leo brought a little girl with him. They both looked ragged and emitted a fishy odor, clearly having escaped from a conflict, so I didn't pursue further inquiries."
"I asked Zhong Haoran about himself, and he only said he was a self-cultivator, not mentioning his Confucian identity. Reflecting on it now, it certainly seems odd…"
The other elders nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Confucianism had always clashed with the Hidden Valley. Their cultivated personalities were often found in the grand halls of society, navigating the mundane affairs of the world, so why would they come to the Hidden Valley to retreat from society?
The elders fell deep into thought…
(Meanwhile, on the arena)
Leo gazed at the enormous ink stamp charging toward him, raising his hands to activate "Unheavenly Transformation."
Faced with such a powerful technique, he knew he couldn't avoid it with his current skills and could only meet it head-on. However, that suited him perfectly.
He was eager to test the extent of his current physical strength, to see what kind of might "Heavenly Harmony True Essence" could manifest solely based on the technique!
(Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump!)
Within his dantian, the ring of "Heavenly Harmony True Essence" pulsated intensely, initiating the "Dragon Rise!"
The rotation speed of the ring increased, driving the spiritual energy throughout Leo's body to surge!
A torrent of true energy rolled forth from his dantian, forming a brilliant golden sun that quickly manifested clear and luminous contours!
"Here comes that move again! He's using it once more!"
The surrounding spectators erupted in excitement, eager to witness this technique that could defeat Golden Core cultivators!
"What the hell is this skill? The aura is so terrifying!" Those seeing Leo fight for the first time suddenly turned pale and asked in astonishment.
"I have no idea! I've never heard of any sect on the continent being able to condense such a magnificent and realistic sun!
Only those who had witnessed Leo's victory over Wu Chi earlier turned pale, murmuring, "He's gotten stronger again…"
"In just a week, he's actually become stronger!"
The golden sun blazed fiercely, unafraid of the massive ink stamp several times its size, proudly radiating light.
Around the brilliant sun, other stars illuminated, reflecting its brightness, as if the sunlight was awakening them, and they responded with steadfast starlight!
Even the golden light seemed to possess lethality; spectators with slightly weaker minds felt their consciousness being painfully pricked by the golden light, as if thousands of blades pierced through them, clutching their heads in agony.
The elder judges' expressions changed drastically. They hurriedly formed seals, dropping a barrier between the competition area and the audience section to protect the other cultivators.
Wherever the golden light reached, the swirling black true energy surrounding the ink stamp dissipated like murky snow.
"How is this possible?!" Zhong Haoran's eyes widened in disbelief; he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Once again, he raised his hands, using the fan to draw upon spiritual power, pouring it all into the stamp of the Five Precepts!
But this move only slightly quickened the stamp's momentum.
Leo stepped forward, actively welcoming it—
(Thud!)
The massive ink stamp shattered instantly, and the five characters spelling "Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, Faith" escaped from their layered state, transforming into swirling black ink that scattered across the air, fading into the distance.
Yet the golden sun remained radiant! It charged toward Zhong Haoran like a myriad of blades and halberds, determined to devour him like a mad dragon! "Heavenly Harmony True Essence" flourished, swirling like a dragon in Leo's dantian, a vast force of spiritual energy flooding forth.
Zhong Haoran's expression froze, quickly turning into an expression of disbelief and fury.
"I don't believe it! Come again!"
Grinding his silver teeth, face twisted in rage, he attempted to unfold the fan!
"Enough! Zhong Haoran, you have lost!"
A stern voice from the judges' table abruptly interrupted Zhong Haoran's action!
Zhong Haoran seemed struck by lightning; he paused, unable to unfold the fan.
"I declare the winner of this match is, Leo!"
An elder announced.
Leo glanced at the judges' table, then at Zhong Haoran, who stood frozen, dazed not far away.
This clearly felt like favoritism.
The elders of the Hidden Valley did not want Zhong Haoran to activate the fan nor wish for him to engage Leo to the very end!