C49 I Limit Myself

As Lu Lixing spoke, even Wen Shanmei, who was on the podium, couldn't resist covering her face with her hand. Clearly, Lu Lixing was willing to sacrifice his dignity without a second thought for the sake of cultivation resources.

Ou Luhuan, facing Lu Lixing, was dumbfounded. His words had been offhand, and he hadn't expected Lu Lixing to take them to heart!

"This is infuriating!"

With a roar of anger, Ou Luhuan launched an attack. His fist ripped through the air, hurtling towards Lu Lixing's chest like a meteorite plummeting from the heavens!

In the face of Ou Luhuan's aggressive assault, the smile vanished from Lu Lixing's face. His expression turned grave as he raised his fist to meet the attack. The collision of their fists unleashed a thunderous boom!

After the impact, Lu Lixing remained unshaken, standing his ground, while Ou Luhuan stumbled back six or seven steps before regaining his balance. Staring at Lu Lixing in astonishment, his face was etched with disbelief; he had not anticipated losing to Lu Lixing in a test of strength!

The subtleties of the encounter might have eluded onlookers, but the instructors on the podium saw everything clearly. Ou Luhuan's loss wasn't a matter of physical strength, but rather a deficit in Brain Domain development.

Lu Lixing's Brain Domain was significantly more advanced than Ou Luhuan's, affording him a decisive advantage. He could predict Ou Luhuan's moves and counter them effectively, targeting weaknesses with precision and effortlessly repelling his opponent.

It may sound straightforward, but such a feat is incredibly challenging. They had Ou Luhuan's data, which indicated his Brain Domain was developed to 67%. This meant that Lu Lixing's Brain Domain would need to be at least 72% developed to exert such dominance. Judging by Lu Lixing's performance, his Brain Domain development was likely well above that figure.

"The records state Lu Lixing's Brain Domain is at 64% development. It seems we're dealing with some inaccuracies here."

Gai Xingguo glanced at Wen Shanmei's stoic face, sensing that she owed them some kind of explanation.

With a composed response, Wen Shanmei said, "Lu Lixing's test was conducted quite some time ago. I haven't checked his Brain Domain's specific data recently."

Despite her claim of it being an old test, it had barely been half a month!

This was Lu Lixing's secret, and naturally, Wen Shanmei wouldn't divulge it lightly.

Ou Luhuan, clearly not yielding to Lu Lixing's dominance, charged at him again, this time invoking the power of a Rune.

With a roar, a dark iron Rune materialized on his body, and simultaneously, Ou Luhuan's skin turned a steely gray-black, as if he had morphed into an ironclad figure.

"This Iron Body Rune, a legacy of the Ou family, transforms flesh to steel. Given Ou Luhuan's current power, he can maintain it for merely three breaths. Yet, that should suffice to defeat Lu Lixing."

Witnessing Ou Luhuan's decisive move, Qin Jia's face broke into a smug grin. The Iron Body Rune might be just a top-grade yellow level rune, but its potency was undeniable. With Lu Lixing fighting in his mere mortal form, he stood little chance of gaining the upper hand.

Zhongli Yilan heard Qin Jia's assured verdict and her brow creased. Something felt amiss to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

If Wen Shanmei were to hear Qin Jia's assessment, she'd scoff at their folly. After all, Lu Lixing had awakened his Talent Rune, which bore the Lightning attribute—perfectly suited to counter a steel body.

As Ou Luhuan advanced, a brilliant surge of lightning burst from Lu Lixing's palm. Flashing a mischievous smile, he swung his arm forcefully. The lightning transformed into a whip that spanned nearly ten meters, striking Ou Luhuan with precision.

Struck by the lightning, the steel-bodied Ou Luhuan was instantly paralyzed, twitching as he collapsed. Lu Lixing, seeing his opponent revert to his normal state, frothing at the mouth and covered in soot, scratched his head sheepishly and apologized, "I'm really sorry. I'm used to going all out against Vicious Beasts, so I guess I don't know my own strength."

Upon hearing Lu Lixing's words and witnessing Ou Luhuan's pitiful condition, everyone shuddered involuntarily. Their gazes towards Lu Lixing were now filled with awe.

It was at that moment they made the connection: he was the same man who had valiantly stood against a hundred foes at the Battle of the Hidden Dragon Platform!

Confronted with the crowd's admiring stares, Lu Lixing cleared his throat and announced, "There's no need for fear. To guarantee the fairness of this leadership selection, I've decided to refrain from using the power of the Talent Rune and I certainly won't be setting up any arrays. Feel free to come and challenge me."

Lu Lixing wasn't feigning magnanimity; he genuinely had no intention of invoking the Power of Thunder again. Most of the Power of Thunder he retained was reserved for meditative cultivation, not to be squandered in combat. His sole expertise was the Thunder Guiding Rune, which he had mastered from the Lightning Swallowing Rune.

Unexpectedly, his declaration was met with an eerie hush. The crowd's eyes were fixed on Lu Lixing with an odd intensity.

Lu Lixing was baffled. Weren't challengers supposed to be queuing up? Without them, where would he find the resources for cultivation?

Gai Xingguo expressed his surprise from the podium, "To think that Lu Lixing would voluntarily impose such restrictions on himself for the sake of more cultivation resources. He truly stops at nothing."

The crowd nodded in agreement with Gai Xingguo's remarks. Lu Lixing had the power to dominate them all, yet he deliberately held back. It was clear he was baiting them into challenging him to secure more resources for himself. His cunning knew no bounds.

Wen Shanmei, who thought she knew Lu Lixing quite well, realized she had still underestimated his audacity.

"If no one steps forward to challenge, then by default, Lu Lixing will become the leader of the Aristocratic Academy," Wen Shanmei stated, her voice carrying a light cough and a detached tone. "If anyone wishes to challenge Lu Lixing, now is the time to take your chance."

Despite her words, there was still no movement from the Aristocratic Academy. An impatient Lu Lixing couldn't help but push, "You seemed so eager to challenge me earlier. Come on then, I'm ready to oblige."