Chapter 277: Chapter 275: The Gap

"Huh?"

Zhu Ge, who had been brimming with fighting spirit just a moment ago, froze. He then scratched his head. "That’s... that’s not necessary, is it?"

He wiped away a trickle of blood from his nose and stared wide-eyed at Lin Fu, making sure he hadn’t misheard.

Lin Fu stood across from him, her bare feet planted on the overturned earth. Grayish-white, rock-like patterns spread from her neck to her cheeks. Her arms were as thick as tree roots, and the lines of her muscles were as hard and sharp as if carved by a blade.

Her hair stood on end, making her look just like a humanoid mountain peak. But her eyes were still the same—bright and pure, like a clear mountain spring.

"No. We mate," Lin Fu repeated, her tone as calm as if she were commenting on the weather. "It’s a tradition in my tribe. Defeat the strongest person of your generation, then mate with them to produce the strongest offspring."

Zhu Ge fell silent.

He turned to look up at Liu Jianjian in the sky.

Liu Jianjian was riding on Mazhu’s back, her hands covering her face, but her eyes, peeking through her fingers, were wide and round.

Liu Jianjian used to be like this, talking about mating all the time. It had scared Zhu Ge back then.

But the Liu Jianjian of today naturally understood etiquette and wouldn’t act like that anymore.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH... Zhu Sisi was perched on her shoulder, and a mulberry leaf fell from her mouth.

But she didn’t bother to pick it up. She stared intently at Lin Fu, a look of trans-species shock on her silkworm face.

True Monarch Minmian poked his head out of the carriage, glanced at Zhu Ge, then at Lin Fu, and promptly pulled it back in.

A stifled laugh came from under the blanket, sounding like an old hen clucking as it lays an egg. Hearing it made Zhu Ge’s fists clench.

"Miss Lin Fu," Zhu Ge said, taking a deep breath and trying his best to keep his voice steady. "I refuse."

"Why?" Lin Fu tilted her head, the rock-like patterns on her face making a faint cracking sound with the movement. "You are strong, and I am strong. Our offspring will surely be even stronger! Don’t you want powerful offspring?"

"I do," Zhu Ge said, shaking his head. "But not like this."

Lin Fu tilted her head again. "Not like this?"

A moment later, she looked down at her own thick arms. The grayish-white rock patterns slowly faded, her bulging muscles softened, and her thick bones grew slender.

Her hair, once like steel wires, turned back into silken black strands, falling from its upright position to hang loosely.

In the span of a few breaths, she transformed back into the young woman in the purple dress, with dark lips and healthy, wheat-colored skin.

She looked up at Zhu Ge, her eyes still the same—bright and pure, like a clear mountain spring.

"You refuse me," Lin Fu said. Her tone wasn’t a question, nor was it one of dejection. It was simply a statement of fact.

"I refuse," Zhu Ge confirmed with a solemn nod.

"Then we won’t mate." Lin Fu smiled. "You’re the strongest Second Realm cultivator I’ve ever seen. When you can defeat me, we’ll mate then."

"That’s not the issue..." Zhu Ge felt a little helpless.

"Then it must be because you think I’m not pretty," Lin Fu said, tilting her head.

"No."

"Then you must think I’m too muscular."

"That’s not it either."

"Then why won’t you mate with me?" Confusion had crept back into Lin Fu’s voice.

Zhu Ge took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Miss Lin Fu, mating isn’t a fight. It’s not about the winner getting to be with the loser. It requires feelings, affection, and mutual willingness between two people."

’This Lin Fu is as hard to deal with as the little hedgehog was back in the day,’ he thought.

Just as he was thinking this, the "little hedgehog" landed.

"Come, come, you’re Lin Fu, right? Let me talk to you." Liu Jianjian was a natural at making friends, immediately pulling Lin Fu aside to chat.

Seeing this, Zhu Ge couldn’t help but smile.

’This Lin Fu seems pretty easy to get along with, after all.’

However... Zhu Ge gazed into the distance.

’Lin Fu, ranked thirteenth on the Sheji Chart, has already appeared. Can the others be far behind?’

’It’s obvious she only showed up because she’s one of the Yunjiang People, and we’re in Yunjiang.’

’And since I only recently entered Shujiang, it’s only normal that she was drawn to me.’

But what about next?

Yunjiang was remote. The places Zhu Ge would pass through next were dotted with all sorts of cities and Sects.

He had no idea how many setbacks and troubles he would encounter.

And then there was Body Refinement... Zhu Ge couldn’t help but glance at Lin Fu’s slender, delicate-looking arms.

When she activated the Power of the Mountain Witch, this Lin Fu was even more of a "hedgehog" than Liu Jianjian.

Still, this battle had also shown Zhu Ge a true prodigy of the Body Refining Lineage.

The previous opponent, Lei Zhen, was actually not as good as Lin Fu.

Zhu Ge knew that Lin Fu’s greatest strength was supposed to be her Gu Witch abilities, though in his opinion, her Power of the Mountain Witch alone was enough to rank her in the top thirty.

With both combined, it was no surprise she had the strength to be ranked thirteenth.

If Lin Fu was already like this, he couldn’t imagine how powerful the top ten could be.

And so, the group continued on their journey.

Zhu Ge’s main goals on this journey were to cultivate, befriend the geniuses of the world, and... beat them all into submission!

However, Zhu Ge realized that if both he and an opponent like Lin Fu used all their trump cards, he wasn’t guaranteed to win.

’My Body Refinement training can’t stop.’

Zhu Ge’s resolve hardened.

Although he was only in the Second Realm and couldn’t compare to the Third Realm Lin Fu...

...in the past, his body had never lost to anyone in terms of sheer toughness.

It seemed his decision to raise the Hurricane Centipede was the right one.

"Oh, right, Zhu Ge! Zigong City is just ahead. I heard Lin Zhi is waiting for you there!"

’Zigong City in Shujiang?’

’Lin Zhi?’

Hearing this, Zhu Ge’s expression turned serious.

Lin Zhi, number one on the Sheji Chart!

He had heard before that the biggest gaps in power on the Sheji Chart were among the top twenty prodigies.

The number one, Lin Zhi, was said to be as powerful as the second through twentieth-ranked prodigies combined.

As for the number two prodigy, they were stronger than the third through twentieth places added together.

And so on down the list.

This was enough to show just how terrifying Lin Zhi was.

And from his campaign in Red River Prefecture, Zhu Ge had a vague idea of where Lin Zhi’s strength lay.

At that time, Zhu Ge had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, and among them were several thousand elite troops with whom he could feel a mental connection.

If he had to describe it, the feeling was like "man and sword as one," or rather, man and army as one.

This was the powerful Military Dao!

He had felt his strength increase with just a few thousand elite soldiers.

What about a Military Dao prodigy like Lin Zhi, who commanded an army of hundreds of thousands, or even millions?

Every move she made would carry the might of a vast army!

That was what was truly terrifying.

And this was just Lin Zhi’s individual strength. If you added her army, her mastery of Soldier Arrays, and so on...

With all that combined, it was no wonder Lin Zhi could crush everyone else on the Sheji Chart.

"Have you ever fought Lin Zhi?" Zhu Ge asked curiously.

"Of course not." Lin Fu shook her head. "I fought the person ranked twelfth. I was suppressed in a single breath."

A single breath?!

Zhu Ge sucked in a sharp breath, then slowly let it out.

The top twenty prodigies were truly extraordinary.

Nevertheless, Zhu Ge’s fighting spirit still soared.

His journey had just begun. He was confident that if he stepped into the Third Realm, he would not be weaker than any other prodigy.

Lin Fu added, "Oh, right. I heard that Mingxing can last ten breaths against Lin Zhi, and Yuan Shentong can last twenty breaths against Mingxing."

Hearing this, Zhu Ge was silent for a moment. Then he opened his Self Realm and stepped inside.

"I’m going to cultivate. Come get me if you need anything."

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