An Zhengzheng, however, found it amusing and even asked him during the fight, "Oh? Is that so?"

Logically speaking, ice flowers should melt into water as soon as they get close to the Crimson Flame Sword, and even the sharpest and hardest ice would melt. Zhou Xu's statement is not wrong.

"But what if what I wanted from the beginning was for the ice flowers to melt into waves?"

As soon as An Zhengzheng finished speaking, the melted ice flowers formed a wave of water that swirled around the sword.

The next second, the water, using its softness to overcome its hardness, was thrown away by An Zhengzheng's internal force.

The onlookers in the distance stared wide-eyed, especially An Yirou, whose mind was filled with the scene of An Zhengzheng knocking Zhou Xu's sword away with a single palm strike.

Zhou Xu was stunned.

Having been raised in a family of cultivators, he had never seen such a battle.

So strange, so unexpected.

He instinctively reached for his magic tools and talismans, but quickly stopped.

At this time, the difference in cultivation level between him and An Zhengzheng was four levels. He also promised not to use magic tools or talismans, because a person should not break their word.

Moreover, An Zhengzheng didn't take it out either.

Thinking of this, he stopped taking the magic weapon and cast a spell to take the sword back into his hand.

An Zhengzheng was prepared; the moment he got his sword, she slammed him to the ground with a palm strike.

"Bang—"

Zhou Xu almost crashed into the boulder behind him without realizing it, but fortunately, his genius foundation was still intact, and he managed to steady himself.

However, he was still forced to stagger a few steps by An Zhengzheng's palm technique, and finally managed to avoid falling off the cliff by sticking the Crimson Flame Sword into the ground.

How could An Zhengzheng, a seemingly frail woman, possess such powerful palm strikes?!

Zhou Xu looked up in disbelief, only to see An Zhengzheng standing there indifferently, her sword pressed directly against Zhou Xu's Adam's apple.

A gentle breeze ruffled An Zhengzheng's hair. She lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze towards Zhou Xu carrying a hint of triumph.

"Zhou Xu, you've lost." An Zhengzheng stated the facts in a cold voice.

After the broken Xuan Tian Han Shi sword was melted, it had long since returned to its original state, but the coldness remained. When it was pressed against Zhou Xu's Adam's apple, he could even feel the sword's aura pressing down on him.

His heart suddenly stirred, and an unknown emotion arose within him.

He said somewhat awkwardly, "It's my fault... my strength is insufficient, I admit defeat."

Having heard the answer she wanted, An Zhengzheng sheathed her sword and turned around, not wanting to waste any more time.

She never turned around, unaware that Zhou Xu behind her had been stunned for a long time.

In the distance, none of the onlookers dared to utter a sound; who could believe that such a scene would happen?

An Zhengzheng, who broke her sword at the start, nearly made the Zhou family genius, who was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, fall off a cliff in just a few moves...

From a distance, An Zhengzheng glanced at them.

She never spent time explaining those rumors to anyone, because An Zhengzheng knew that rumors were useless.

When you want to slander someone, everything you say or do is wrong.

Instead of wasting words, rely on strength.

"Yi Rou, let's go." When An Zhengzheng landed on her sword, the crowd remained silent for a long time.

An Yirou, just recovering from her shock, exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, you won! You won! I told you you won based on your own merit. I don't know those gossipy people who said you were using the Ruthless Path to snag a rich husband!"

With her sister's abilities, why would she need to wait for her husband to become a god?

An Yirou's thoughts changed without her realizing it.

"You're not allowed to say things like 'female cultivators are inferior to male cultivators' anymore." An Zhengzheng's voice wasn't quiet because An Yirou was in the crowd.

She said it to An Yirou, but it wasn't just for An Yirou to hear.

Among the crowd, some of the female cultivators looked at An Zhengzheng with a different gaze.

An Yirou was a little confused, genuinely believing that her sister had only specifically instructed her, so she immediately nodded obediently: "I definitely won't say it again!"

As An Zhengzheng's younger sister, this was the first time An Yirou had ever seen her sister fight with someone, especially the genius from the Zhou family.

It worked!

Thinking of this, she glanced at Zhou Xu on the hilltop, only to see him still sitting there, his movements as he straightened his sword still somewhat awkward.

Her face was no longer hot, and her heart was no longer pounding.

An Zhengzheng saw her expression, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and even her voice softened: "Let's go."

On the way, An Yirou's excited voice lingered in his ears, but An Zhengzheng was recalling his sister's expression just now.

She knew that what she had done for An Yirou had been effective.

From a young age, she was curious about why women would subconsciously feel that a certain man was strong, powerful, and admirable, even though they had never had any contact with him.

Did they ever see that man fighting bravely? The vast majority probably didn't.

Just like An Yirou had never seen Zhou Xu fight, yet she already felt admiration for him.

Their worship likely stems from their own incompetence and powerlessness.

Physically, women are naturally inferior to men. Mentally, societal norms tell them that women are not as good as men. In reality, the resources skewed towards men leave them with no room for independence.

They need men, admire men, and rely on men.

This became a dogma in the process of a girl's upbringing.

The moment An Zhengzheng pressed the sword against Zhou Xu's throat, she was telling An Yirou, "Look, he's really nothing special."

That's not love, Yi Rou, that's not love. He never even said a word to you.

What you admire can be completely destroyed.

Don't be confined by gender, don't.

"Sister, what are you thinking about?" An Yirou waved her hand in front of An Zhengzheng.

An Zhengzheng smiled and shook her head: "It's nothing."

"Sister was really amazing just now, just one slap..." An Yirou imitated in the air, slapping the air.

Suddenly, she realized something was wrong and asked in confusion, "But sister, we haven't learned any of these things. And what about swords? Aren't those swords given to the brothers by the clan?"

"Do you remember when you were twelve years old, your mother took us to an auction in the city?" An Zhengzheng asked.

An Yirou thought for a moment and nodded: "I remember now, Mother also took a picture of me wearing a hairpin. It's so pretty, and it can even withstand two attacks. Mother said it can protect me."

That year, her older sister borrowed all of her monthly allowance spirit stones.

"Back then, I had my eye on a cultivation technique, so I scraped together and borrowed some money, using all the spirit stones I had accumulated over the years to buy it."

There was nothing she could do; the An family's martial arts were forbidden for girls in the clan to learn. She wanted to take lessons with her brothers, but the clan members said she was being improper.

She could only try to find a solution in private.

"The last slap I gave Zhou Xu was something I had my cousin teach me in private."

She was just better at it than her cousins.

An Zhengzheng casually explained the origin of the exercise she was using today.

An Yirou's mouth dropped open.

She knew that cultivation technique; her sister had once made her learn it, but she was too lazy to learn anything outside of the clan's school.

The clan says that it's useless for girls to learn those things, and the sisters think so too...

Seeing her sister like this now, An Yirou felt that the clan and her sisters were all wrong.

“Oh, right, and this sword…” An Zhengzheng told An Yirou about the successor.