It's past the second watch, and there's one more update tonight. Brothers passing by, don't forget to click 'Favorite' ^^... If you could spare a vote or two, that would be even better. Thanks ^^... …… "Nie Kong, come on, if you're a man, just nod!" Listening to the clamor, the dark-faced youth beckoned at Nie Kong, his face growing smug, looking around arrogantly. "What is your cultivation level?" Nie Kong suddenly broke into a smile. "Only Spirit Gathering Seventh Grade."

As he spoke, the dark-faced youth's massive fist slammed into the Red Bloodwood, and a dense crimson light burst forth from the spirit lines. After retracting his fist, the youth grinned cheekily, "Don't be afraid, big brother will hold back, I promise not to hurt you. If you still dare not, then just lie on the ground and meow like a cat three times, and I'll still let you have this Red Bloodwood." "Not bad, not bad! A Spirit Master should have some spine. If you don't even dare to accept a spar among clansmen, you might as well go home and marry a wife and have children." "Haha, well said!" "What's the point of meowing? In my opinion, he might as well change into women's clothing and say 'Husband, don't, not like this...' three times..." "..."

A burst of laughter erupted, and the surrounding crowd mocked and teased him unrestrainedly. "Owooo!"

That feeling of being the center of attention caused the dark-faced youth's male hormones to surge rapidly. He roared like a great ape, beating his chest until it thumped loudly, then glared down at Nie Kong with a look of utter contempt coloring his smile.

Nie Kong showed no trace of anger.

In his past life, Nie Kong had cured a patient with his "Nine Revolutions Golden Needle Technique" after several Western medicine experts had given up and sent him home to die. He even wrote a paper based on that case using Traditional Chinese Medicine theory. After its publication, he faced relentless attacks from dozens of so-called "experts" and "scholars" in the medical field, who ridiculed and mocked him across various media platforms. Back then, that overwhelming torrent of abuse only earned a dismissive smile from Nie Kong; this paltry mockery now was utterly childish by comparison.

When the surrounding noise quieted down slightly, Nie Kong calmly asked the dark-faced youth, who was flexing his arms, "Can you tell me your name?"

"Big brother's name is Nie Xiuge!"

The dark-faced youth tilted his head and chuckled, sticking a finger into his ear to clean it out. "Kid, are you about to lie down and meow?"

Nie Kong laughed, "So you're from the Xiu generation. By seniority, you should be calling me Uncle. Come, nephew, call me Uncle first, let's hear it."

"Huh?"

The surrounding laughter abruptly ceased, and everyone stared at each other in astonishment. In the Nie Clan, direct descendants had to name their children according to the generational table; there was no such requirement for collateral relatives. Although they had heard before coming that Nie Kong belonged to the Feng generation, they never imagined he would suddenly utter such a thing.

"What joke are you playing? You want me to call you Uncle?" Nie Xiuge's eyes widened like bronze bells, seemingly wanting to swallow Nie Kong whole.

Nie Kong's expression darkened slightly: "What? Did you give back everything the teacher taught you at the Spirit Child Academy when you were young? Don't you even know how to spell 'Respect your elders'?"

"You..."

Nie Xiuge was furious, and the surrounding crowd exchanged glances. Truth be told, whether direct or collateral, any male clansman from the Feng generation was considered their uncle or elder uncle.

Nie Kong secretly chuckled, shook his head, and sighed, "Honestly, I'm not interested in sparring with a child who doesn't understand respect and hierarchy."

Huh? There's a chance!

Hearing Nie Kong speak like that, it seemed he was about to agree to spar with Nie Xiuge. Heh, what does calling him 'Uncle' matter? I'll just beat him back during the spar later!

So, the crowd started frantically signaling Nie Xiuge with their eyes.

"Un... cle..."

Nie Xiuge’s dark complexion bloated to a bruised purple. After forcing out those two words following a long pause, his eyes were filled with deep humiliation.

"Poor kid," Nie Kong murmured inwardly with false pity, then burst out laughing, "That’s better, good nephew Xiuge. Come, come. Since your hands are itching for a fight, Uncle will give you some pointers..."

"Take this!"

Nie Kong hadn't finished speaking when Nie Xiuge, already filled with rage, gritted his teeth, glared, and roared, lunging at Nie Kong with his right fist like an enraged little lion, moving as fast as a bolt of lightning.

"Sss-sss!"

Nie Xiuge's fist face glowed bright red, and the intense heat radiating from it seemed to set the air ablaze. A shrill noise erupted in the void between the two figures.

This was the "Blazing Heart Flame Fist"!

Within the Nie Clan, this was considered a very decent low-grade Spirit Art. On the Heavenly Spirit Continent, Spirit Arts and Spirit Techniques were categorized as Low, Mid, High, and Heavenly grades. The better the technique, the higher the cultivation required. Spirit Masters below Spirit Gathering Ninth Grade could basically only cultivate low-grade Spirit Arts.

"Hoo!"

Nie Kong's gaze sharpened. Although Nie Xiuge was huge and imposing, his punching speed was by no means slow; it was much faster than Nie Kong's, who had only practiced Spirit Arts for two or three days. In the blink of an eye, Nie Kong felt the scorching air wave washing over him.

The countless sparring sessions with Xiangxiang yesterday had endowed Nie Kong with extremely sharp reaction capabilities. At the critical moment, Nie Kong had no conscious thought; it was almost a conditioned reflex. With a "crack," he thrust out his left arm, his five fingers forming cones, and struck Nie Xiuge’s fist surface.

Flower Burst!

The instant the two made contact, a flash of green light vanished in a blur. The flower condensed at his fingertip exploded violently before the eye could even capture it.

"Bang!"

The exceptionally intense impact stunned the crowd that had gathered around, who had been chatting and pointing moments before.

Immediately following, a sturdy figure flew backward, crashing heavily beneath a tree several meters away, causing the ground to tremble slightly upon impact.

"Xiuge lost instantly? How is that possible?"

The smiles on everyone's faces instantly froze. They stared blankly at Nie Xiuge, who sat up clutching his right arm, their eyes brimming with disbelief.

In their minds, Nie Kong was only at Spirit Gathering Sixth Grade, and his cultivation had been elevated for too short a time. Furthermore, he hadn't cultivated a Spirit Art suitable for a Wood Spirit Master, putting him at a significant disadvantage. Nie Xiuge, however, was strong and robust, possessed Spirit Gathering Seventh Grade cultivation, and wielded the "Blazing Heart Flame Fist."

With Nie Xiuge holding an absolute advantage against Nie Kong, who was at an absolute disadvantage, this "spar" should have clearly resulted in Nie Xiuge striking Nie Kong down with thunderous force, then pinning him to the ground and beating him soundly to teach this self-proclaimed 'genius among geniuses' a lesson about self-awareness, and to vent the frustration of being forced to call him 'Uncle' earlier. Moreover, the onlookers could join in afterward to deliver a few kicks and punches.

Everything should have been perfect, incredibly satisfying!

However, reality proved cruel, and the outcome was completely inverted. This massive contrast left the crowd stunned for a long moment before they snapped back to attention.

"You, you are definitely not just Spirit Gathering Sixth Grade..." Nie Xiuge struggled to stand up, his eyes bloodshot, pointing at Nie Kong and shouting hoarsely. His right arm looked as if it had ruptured, hanging uselessly at his side. Waves of intense pain caused his face to twitch, and sweat poured down his forehead.

Nie Kong felt a surge of pleasant surprise in his heart. Even though he had experienced the power of "Flower Burst" yesterday, he realized now that he had still underestimated this skill. The explosive force generated by "Flower Burst" during combat completely surpassed his expectations—it actually managed to blast away someone of comparable cultivation level.

Hearing Nie Xiuge’s hysterical shouting, Nie Kong let out a soft breath and said with a chuckle, "Good nephew, I'm truly sorry. I forgot to tell you, 'Spirit Gathering Sixth Grade' was yesterday’s news. Uncle is now 'Spirit Gathering Seventh Grade,' just like you."

……