CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 371: CRUSHING SITUATION

When Lu Zheng donned the fish scale armor and performed a double jump kick, Duan Xiaolong fell silent.

Even Zhang Tiexia was stunned. Although he could do it too, Lu Zheng’s movements were just too effortlessly smooth.

"Younger Brother Lu, you’re a master!" Zhang Tiexia praised.

At this moment, he also donned a twenty-kilogram Song Dynasty infantry armor, holding a spear nearly two meters long, looking even more like an iron tower.

"Baji! Zhang Tiexia!"

"White Cloud Temple! Lu Zheng!"

"Younger brother, did you learn martial arts from the Daoist family?" Zhang Tiexia couldn’t help but ask.

"Which White Cloud Temple?" Zhao Wenyu was also hearing Lu Zheng introduce himself for the first time, wondering if Lu Zheng truly had some lineage.

Lu Zheng waved his hand, "It’s not any of the famous White Cloud Temples, don’t guess blindly."

"Oh, oh." Zhao Wenyu nodded and didn’t ask further.

Duan Xiaolong couldn’t help but interject again, "Isn’t the Daoist family known for practicing swordsmanship? Why are you practicing with long weapons?"

At this time, Lu Zheng was holding the Bright Silver Coiling Dragon Spear, which Zhao Wenyu had kept as a collectible.

"The Erlang God is also from the Daoist family, yet he uses the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Saber," Zhao Wenyu said.

"That’s mythology!" Duan Xiaolong argued.

"Why do you have so many questions? Isn’t fighting all that matters?" Zhao Wenyu said helplessly, unable to understand why Duan Xiaolong was at odds with Lu Zheng.

Duan Xiaolong pursed his lips; he was just annoyed by Lu Zheng’s indifferent attitude towards him.

"Aren’t you all preparing to enter the long weapon tournament? It’s perfect to test it out here first; I’ll keep score for you," Du Lin came out.

He briefly explained the rules to the two.

Only long weapons can be used. Hitting the opponent’s body scores points: hitting the limbs is one point, hitting the body is two points, and hitting the head is five points.

Disarming the opponent scores ten points, knocking them to the ground scores ten points, and knocking them out of the area scores ten points.

The match lasts ten minutes, with three matches in total. The side with the most points in the end wins.

"The weapons are blunted, but they’re all real materials. The tournament is in ten days, so everyone should stop at the right point!" Du Lin added.

...

Of course, the contest wasn’t held in the storage room; what if something got broken?

On the outdoor factory space, a roughly marked area was set up, where Lu Zheng and Zhang Tiexia stood opposite each other, ready.

"Are you ready?" Du Lin asked each of them, "The match begins!"

"Swish!"

Zhang Tiexia strode forward, swinging his long spear, directly targeting Lu Zheng’s chest.

Eight Extremes Spear: Stab!

Lu Zheng remained motionless, lightly redirecting Zhang Tiexia’s spear with his own spear, then smoothly advancing and thrusting towards his right shoulder.

Zhang Tiexia retreated swiftly, using his spear to block Lu Zheng’s attack.

However, while Zhang Tiexia’s spear shaft bent, Lu Zheng’s spear remained unchanged.

Zhang Tiexia’s pupils contracted sharply, "Is your spear made of pure iron?"

Lu Zheng smiled slightly, "Bright Silver Coiling Dragon Spear, with a shaft of one meter eighty, a spearhead of one point two meters, entirely forged from solid steel, weighs twenty-eight kilograms."

"Hiss——"

Zhang Tiexia gasped.

"Hiss——"

Duan Xiaolong also gasped.

This guy is like Guan Gong reborn, but Guan Gong is known for using the mighty saber, not the deft spear!

A typical iron spear should have a hollow shaft, right?

A solid steel-forged iron spear, even if you can lift it, can you wield it?

Lu Zheng showed them it was possible.

Moreover, with a solid steel-forged iron spear, you can even perform spear twirls.

Zhang Tiexia quickly retreated another step, then lifted his spear with both hands, and suddenly it rose like a venomous dragon stabbing toward Lu Zheng’s side.

Lu Zheng remained unconcerned, once again precisely pinpointing the weak spot on Zhang Tiexia’s spear shaft, then flicking his spear again, heading for Zhang Tiexia’s right shoulder.

This time, the distance was closer, and since the spear was halted and Zhang Tiexia retreated inadequately, he was finally tapped on the right shoulder.

However, Lu Zheng withdrew immediately after making contact, exerting no force, "One point."

Seeing Lu Zheng still able to control the force finely while wielding a sixty-pound iron spear, Zhang Tiexia suddenly felt like crying.

"Right shoulder, one point."

"Left leg, one point."

"Right leg, one point."

"Under the rib, two points."

"Abdomen, two points."

"Chest, two points."

"Face, five points."

It didn’t even take ten minutes, but just ten rounds, and Lu Zheng was already leading by fifteen points.

As for Zhang Tiexia’s score, it was zero.

With this, Lu Zheng mentioned he had already restrained most of his strength, behaving very much like an ordinary person.

What?

Restraining to match Zhang Tiexia, winning by skill?

Then why should I put on a facade!

"No more, no more, can’t defeat you!" Zhang Tiexia took a step back, waving his hands continuously.

He had just used all his bottom-drawer spear techniques, to no avail.

"How about a mixed martial arts bout?" Duan Xiaolong immediately asked.

He still held onto some hope, as pure spear techniques and mixed martial arts were quite different; after all, Zhang Tiexia was among the top ten in the army’s grand competition.

Zhang Tiexia blinked, then said to Lu Zheng, "I know I can’t match you, but I want to see how big the gap is between us in mixed martial arts."

"Sure." Lu Zheng had no objections, still eager to continue.

"I’ll use a sword and shield," said Zhang Tiexia.

He thought, with a shield, he could at least somewhat fend off some of Lu Zheng’s attacks.

"I’ll just use a saber, Brocade Spring Saber," Lu Zheng said casually.

Du Lin, standing on the side, felt as if he were watching a movie, also recalling that when Lu Zheng first came to his Ten Thousand Ridges Ancient Sword Hall, the weapon he purchased was a saber, the Brocade Spring Saber!

...

"Begin!"

With Du Lin’s command, Zhang Tiexia braced his shield on his chest, with the sword hidden behind his waist, ready.

Lu Zheng launched forward with a step.

"What?"

Zhang Tiexia thrust his shield, but Lu Zheng sidestepped effortlessly, slashing his saber across Zhang Tiexia’s side, hitting his ribs.

Zhang Tiexia turned around, only to find Lu Zheng had already moved to the other side, hastily back-stabbing but hitting empty air, meanwhile feeling pain on his right ribs, another strike landed.

Then...

"Two points!"

"Two points!"

"Five points!"

"Five points!"

This time, not even a sound of weapon clashing could be heard; it was purely Lu Zheng circling Zhang Tiexia.

If it weren’t for Zhang Tiexia having armor for protection and Lu Zheng’s saber being unsharpened, Zhang Tiexia might have been dismembered by a thousand cuts.

Zhang Tiexia couldn’t even hit Lu Zheng, can you believe it?

"No more, no more, there’s too much of a gap between us!" Zhang Tiexia took a step back, waving his hands continuously.

...

"Younger brother, how do you train? How are you this formidable?" Zhang Tiexia was very shocked.

"Just trained willy-nilly," Lu Zheng waved his hand.

Zhang Tiexia, "..."

Duan Xiaolong, "..."

Big brother, you’re brushing us off too much!

"Old Zhang is already impressive; hardly anyone can pass your level," Lu Zheng said.

Du Lin couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Unless someone can overpower Old Zhang, no one’s taking your tournament spot."

As for overpowering Zhang Tiexia?

That’s too much to ask...

Zhang Tiexia wasn’t a professional athlete, nor had he undergone professional training. He would definitely not be able to beat same-tier professional players in boxing or UFC.

Yet full armor combat is a newly emerging activity, with few experts, not even categorized by weight class. Plus, with armor protection, it’s possible to simply attack without defending. Zhang Tiexia is robust, trained in the family Chuan Wu, having undergone military training, making him an absolute expert in this.

If someone like this is being overpowered by Lu Zheng, Du Lin found it hard to imagine who could overpower Zhang Tiexia to claim Lu Zheng’s spot.