Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Heaven Dao disciples in front of him and cracked a little smile.
Indeed, the nonsense in the Book of Past Life blabbering about how he could trick these powerhouses with mere words was all false. Against these opponents, they would not give you any time for trash talk, even for a considerably refined place like the Heaven Dao Pavilion.
However, he still had to verify who was the true powerhouse over here.
"Kneel?" In the instant that the Heaven Dao disciple launched his foot out, Fang Zhengzhi also acted.
If the Heaven Dao disciple was quick, then Fang Zhengzhi was even faster, immediately spinning behind his opponent when he only seemed to have moved his shadow.
"Ka-cha!" A rattle. The Heaven Dao disciple's body had been immobilized.
A hand was grasping his neck, and the force of the grip suffocated him so much that he ceased all movement. It was so difficult to breathe that he couldn't straighten his neck, and could only let his head lean to one side. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Indeed, an attack to his heart would result in instant death, but having his neck broken or having his brain suffocated from oxygen alive was not exactly an ideal situation either.
"He's so fast!"
"He's brutal!"
The various Heaven Dao disciples stared at Fang Zhengzhi in awe, marvelling at the strength that he just revealed. After all, very few people possessed such incredible speed even among the prodigies of the Heaven Academic Altar.
However, this sense of awe did not instill any sort of hesitation.
"Slash! Slash slash slash!"
"...."
Countless swords and daggers left their sheaths and in an instant, all the Heaven Dao disciples had drawn their weapons, pointing the razor-sharp edges of all their swords straight at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Release my junior!"
"If you dare harm my junior, I won't let you off!"
Angry bellows sounded from the crowd, but Third Elder waved his hand and gestured for the disciples to stop their hollering.
"Do you think that we can't do anything to do when you have a hostage?" Third Elder stared at Fang Zhengzhi holding the disciple hostage, his eyes turning cold.
"But I don't want a hostage." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
"You don't?" Third Elder was slightly confounded. In fact, he sensed that something ominous was about to happen the moment he noticed his disciple lunge at Fang Zhengzhi, but it was too late.
However, he did not believe Fang Zhengzhi's claim that he did not want a hostage. After all, it was completely different from what Fang Zhengzhi was doing now.
"Um, I don't." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
Following that, he kicked the Heaven Dao disciple behind the knee.
"Plop!" The disciple immediately buckled to the ground on his knees.
This made the disciple humiliated beyond words. He certainly never expected that he would be so easily suppressed. His opponent was too quick, and didn't seem to even use the Dao of All Creation for this move, instead relying solely on his own speed to take him down.
How was this possible? Yet, it was the truth.
And even worse, his head was seemingly bashed with something the moment he kneeled down. The tremendous force caused his vision to black out instantly and lose his consciousness.
"Dong!" The Heaven Dao disciple's head fell to the ground.
Fang Zhengzhi smirked as he retracted the black metal bar which had morphed its appearance but reverted to its form. Then, he gave the Heaven Dao disciple sprawled unconscious on the ground a good kick, sending him flying.
The other disciples evidently did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi would simply release his hostage like this, but they fetched their unconscious comrade in a hurry.
Third Elder and Fifth Elder exchanged glances, both their eyes brimming with suspicion. After all, Fang Zhengzhi's move was certainly not the smartest.
"You want to exchange his life for yours?" Fifth Elder glanced at the unconscious Heaven Dao disciple, then looked back at Fang Zhengzhi and asked.
"No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
"Then what is the meaning of this?"
"Nothing much. I just want to say, if the Heaven Dao Pavilion really wanted to retaliate, shouldn't you send a more respectable opponent for me?" Fang Zhengzhi raised the corners of his mouth to reveal a smirk.
"Wah!"
Almost all the Heaven Dao disciples were astounded, but exploded in anger in the next moment.
"Let me teach this brat a lesson!"
"How dare he provoke the Heaven Dao Pavilion?! Does he really think we're worthless?"
"Move out of the way, let me educate this brat!"
In an instant, eight Heaven Dao disciples emerged from the crowd, each of their faces seething with sinister fury and an intimidating aura.
"Are they taking turns to attack me? Or do they intend to come at me all at once? It seems like the Heaven Dao Pavilion can only rely on their strength in numbers." Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips and curled his finger at his assailants without a care in the world.
"How insolent!"
"Does this brat actually think that he can trample all over the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"
"Who the heck is this scoundrel?"
The Heaven Dao disciples at the forefront gazed at Fang Zhengzhi, not noticing a single trace of fear on this face. They were slightly astonished. After all, in all the years of the Heaven Dao Pavilion's existence, no one has ever dared to challenge them so recklessly.
Yet, the eight disciples who stepped out halted their advance. Because, they were disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and they were once recognized as brilliant prodigies. They could not bring themselves to practice these arguably insulting tactics of attacking as a group.
"You've give up? Alright, let's continue with our discussion on manners." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the eight Heaven Dao disciples who have stopped in their tracks in disdain.
Strength in numbers? Is that really all that impressive?
A war of words would be futile against these Heaven Dao disciples, but things like morals, justice, manners and humility would be immensely effective.
Taking turns to attack? Attacking in a group? Fang Zhengzhi wasn't stupid, and would never give them such an opportunity.
Third Elder and Fifth Elder naturally saw through Fang Zhengzhi's intentions. Seeing Fang Zhengzhi display such composure in times of crisis certainly impressed them.
From the looks of it … Fang Zhengzhi's previous behavior was unbelievably audacious and maniacal, arguably inciting a mass frenzy. This seemed like an extremely unwise decision but in fact, he took a step back. And most importantly, not only was his presence equally imposing, he managed to suppress the crowd.
Of course, this success could be attributed to his decision to release his hostage. If Fang Zhengzhi had refused to give up his hostage, the conflict would have escalated and caused the other disciples to resort to reckless underhand means.
But Fang Zhengzhi chose to release his hostage voluntarily …
At first, this seemed like a foolish call, but on a whole, it was the smartest thing to do. It was equivalent to positioning himself on the side of moral justice. That way, the Heaven Dao disciples would not attack him with such an unfair advantage in numbers.
"This brat is indeed a genius!" Fifth Elder shot a look at Third Elder and muffled, but the admiration in his eyes was extremely obvious.
Being able to be so calm in such a predicament, not only with his arrogance, but also his ability to avoid certain death, was indeed a miracle in itself. Naturally, Third Elder understood what Fifth Elder was implying.
However, as much as he admired Fang Zhengzhi for his actions, he had to abide by the Heaven Dao Pavilion's rules, especially in front of the sages of the four lands.
"How can you speak of manners when you disguise yourself as a Heaven Dao disciple and disrupt my Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test?"
"May I ask how exactly did I disrupt your selection test?" Fang Zhengzhi answered casually.
"You eliminated the candidates unreasonably during the first round. How is that not disrupting my selection test?"
"Unreasonably? Well, did you not approve of the decisions that I made? In that case, why didn't Third Elder and Fifth Elder stop me back then?" Fang Zhengzhi retorted.
"Well …" Third Elder was speechless.
"Or perhaps, does Third Elder and Fifth Elder feel that the people I eliminated would think that they were treated unfairly, and would spread malicious rumors of the Heaven Dao Pavilion across the four lands? Should we call them back? Should we ask each of them whether they harbor gratitude or hatred?" Fang Zhengzhi probed.
"Do we even need to call them back? Of course the eliminated candidates would harbor hatred. They couldn't possibly be grateful to you, could they?"
Upon hearing this, the Heaven Dao disciples understood this extremely blatant logic.
Third Elder's face sank. No one would believe his words, but he knew for certain that the eliminated candidates would still be immensely grateful.
Fang Zhengzhi did it, and he did it in a virtually unfathomable way. If the Sages of the four lands were not attending the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, Third Elder could have even continued eliminating the participants to Fang Zhengzhi's whims and fancy.
"That's right, I forgot something. Kong Qing also eliminated someone - the Sixth Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire. Why don't we call him back and ask him whether he bears gratitude or hatred? When a true disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion eliminates a candidate to his liking, it's not considered as messing with the system. I'm helping you sieve out the truly remarkable talent out of my own good will, yet you say I'm disrupting the test. What's the meaning of this?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.
"Alright you brat. I'll admit that you have a way with words, and I'll also admit that those who were eliminated did in fact leave graciously with gratitude! However, surely you have to admit that you disguised yourself as a Heaven Dao disciple!" Third Elder nodded.
"Did they really leave with gratitude?"
"What's going on?"
Upon hearing Third Elder admit this, the Heaven Dao disciples were baffled but no one dared to probe the matter further.
"Why should I admit to this? I didn't do anything of that sort. Do you have proof that I disguised myself as a Heaven Dao disciple?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored the commotion behind him and asked calmly.
"Proof? Do you still need proof? You brat, you already admitted that the real Kong Qing eliminated the Radiant Moon Empire's Sixth Prince. Do you still want to distort the truth?" Third Elder didn't know whether to laugh or cry under his rage.
The facts have already been laid on the table, and he still wants proof? What is this scoundrel's skin even made of? It's even thicker than a wall!
"I'm admitting that Kong Qing eliminated the Sixth Prince of the Radiant Moon Empire, but I didn't admit that I disguised myself as a Heaven Dao disciple." Fang Zhengzhi snorted and pursed his lips at Third Elder.
"What's the meaning of this? Are you saying that you're a true Heaven Dao disciple?" Third Elder was astounded.
"That's right!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
"You shameless brat, lying through your teeth. Aren't you afraid of divine judgement?" Third Elder finally replied after staring at Fang Zhengzhi with great certainty for a full ten seconds.
"Not at all. Heaven is fair, I'm a Heaven Dao disciple and that's the fact. My conscience is clear." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
"...." Third Elder was speechless, and so was Fifth Elder.
"This brat actually claimed to be a Heaven Dao disciple? How is that possible?!"
"Utterly shameless!"
"I've never seen such a shameless person before!"
Upon hearing this, the Heaven Dao disciples around them hurled their insults at Fang Zhengzhi. What's more shameless than lying through one's teeth with all the facts blatantly laid out in front of them?"
"You brat, I don't care what you're thinking. It's a fact that you posed as Kong Qing. That's irrefutable!" Third Elder exclaimed after a prolonged silence.
"Actually, my name is Kong Qing," said Fang Zhengzhi with a very sincere expression.
"...." Third Elder's jaw dropped, as though he had a mouthful of warm blood clogged in his throat, completely dumbfounded. He could not understand how someone could be so utterly shameless.
Your name is Kong Qing?
Who's going to believe that?
"You're definitely not Kong Qing, I am!" Just as everyone stared at Fang Zhengzhi in astonishment, a furious voice erupted in the distance.