It didn't matter whom Liu Qing's opponent was. What Jiang Ning told her remained constant.
Jiang Ning would have said the same thing if Zhang Heng had stepped into the arena.
But of course, Liu Qing wouldn't stand a chance if Zhang Heng did decide to take her on personally. Jiang Ning was the one who was confident of winning, not Liu Qing. If Zhang Heng did step into the arena, Jiang Ning wasn't going to just sit there and do nothing about it.
Liu Qing took a deep breath. A look of determination gradually settled on her face.
She made her way slowly to the arena. Something about her had changed.
The atmosphere had transformed.
The entire crowd was watching her.
"I can't believe they allowed this to happen. Liu Qing isn't going to stand a chance."
"It's Senior Luo. Anyone who fights him is going to lose."
"Seems like Third Miss is going to be sent to the Outer Court. Hahaha!"
"Keep it down. You've got some nerve to be laughing out loud like this."
No one believed in Liu Qing. They had no reason to at all.
Liu Qing's opponent was Luo Heng.
He was the strongest disciple in the Inner Court.
This was Luo Heng, Zhang Heng's best student and the one who was going to enter the Portico and become the disciple of the Senior Elder.
"Hello, my dear junior," Luo Heng said with a faint smile. There was no hint of mockery in his smile because he didn't care at all. "You could yield now. It'll look better for you." How could yielding look good in any way?
How could surrendering in a fight while so many people were watching look better for her?
There was no hint of emotion on Liu Qing's face. She would rather roll off the arena before she yielded.
She lifted her arms gradually and got into position. Luo Heng burst out into laughter.
"I guess I'll play along since my dear junior doesn't wish to give up. I won't go too hard on you."
Luo Heng's words dripped with unconcealed belittlement. His brand of indifference was different from Jiang Ning's. He didn't respect Liu Qing at all.
SWOOSH!
Liu Qing didn't say anything. With a light tap of her foot, she charged forward at her top speed.
She swung a fist out in her usual style. Her attacks had become faster but they were still slow in Luo Heng's eyes.
PAK!This belongs to - ©.
Luo Heng blocked her attack effortlessly without budging a single inch. He simply raised his arm. His defensive move nearly sent Liu Qing stumbling backward. "You've shown some improvement," said Luo Heng with a smile. "But you should have aimed three inches lower. That would have been a better attack."
He pointed at the place where his
heart was and invited Liu Qing to hit him there. They both knew that she wasn't going to get any chance to land a blow on his weak spots.
A stormy look appeared on Liu Qing's face as she remained silent.
She would have flown into a rage if someone had mocked her like this in the past.
She might have even thrown a tantrum, exploited her privileged status and tyrannized the other person.
Now, she merely kept quiet, regained her footing and charged again.
Her fists kept flying. She was giving her all as she attacked Luo Heng in a frenzied manner. It didn't matter that her every attack was blocked by tuo Heng and that the impact from his defense sent her stumbling back every time.
"The difference between them is too big." Standing some distance away, Mr He sighed silently.
He could tell that Liu Qing had made great improvements. But she had started training too late.
It didn't matter if Jiang Ning was
some kind of prodigy. There was no
way he could turn trash into gold
and allow Liu Qing to surpass Luo
Heng in such a short period of time.
The gods themselves couldn't promise that.
They were leagues apart. Liu Qing was like a kid in front of Luo Heng. Her defeat was
guaranteed.
He glanced at Jiang Ning unintentionally to find that the man was sipping his tea leisurely. Mr He frowned.
How could he drink tea at a time like this?
That was some impressive composure he possessed.
Liu Chuandao couldn't help himself as he shook his head lightly.
He was consoled by how much Liu Qing had improved. He had witnessed with his own eyes the hard work that Liu Qing had poured into improving herself. She had given her all. But you couldn't count on talent alone. To develop your innate talent, you needed hard work and time.