It was too late for him to regret underestimating Zhang Ergou.
His physical injuries severely affected his mobility.
Zhang Ergou's peculiar punch had completely scrambled his internal organs. If not for his powerful cultivation supporting him, he would likely have already fainted.
"Senior brother, I apologize. I haven't named this move yet, so I can only offer my apologies."
Zhang Ergou cupped his hands in a salute.
He harbored no great animosity towards Li Xu. At best, Li Xu had merely been a stumbling block on his path forward.
Now that the stumbling block had been removed, Zhang Ergou's attitude softened considerably.
"You say this move hasn't been named? Did you discover it yourself?"
Li Xu's eyes widened as if he had heard something extraordinary. His voice, when he spoke to Zhang Ergou, also grew louder.
Clearly, compared to Zhang Ergou knocking him down with a single punch, Li Xu was more shocked that the move was Zhang Ergou's own creation.
Heavens, what kind of monstrous talent was he facing? A punch with such immense power was self-created.
Li Xu suddenly realized how foolish and laughable it was to have underestimated Zhang Ergou before.
He had the audacity to call himself a genius. If he was a genius, then Zhang Ergou was an absolute prodigy.
He let out two bitter laughs and struggled to get to his feet, but the pain in his body made him wince.
"Senior brother, here!" Zhang Ergou extended a hand, pulling up Li Xu, who was struggling to stand, and handed him a jade bottle.
"What is this?" Li Xu asked, confused.
"This is a medicinal pill I refined. It's quite effective for internal injuries. If senior brother doesn't mind, please accept it!"
Zhang Ergou smiled innocently, showing no excessive joy.
"You're also an alchemist?" Li Xu's voice became somewhat sharp.
Good heavens, what kind of prodigy was this? So young, and though his cultivation was slightly lower, his combat strength was definitely not inferior to his own.
And an alchemist too. Li Xu now felt that losing to Zhang Ergou was not such a shameful thing after all.
Perhaps the only thing they could compare was their cultivation levels, but Zhang Ergou's strength was wildly disproportionate to his cultivation. In other aspects, the gap between them was enormous.
The more Li Xu understood Zhang Ergou, the more his mood lightened, no longer feeling as heavy as before.
Zhang Ergou nodded, acknowledging Li Xu's question.
Giving Zhang Ergou a deep look, Li Xu poured out a pill from the jade bottle and swallowed it directly.
He wasn't worried that Zhang Ergou would harm him. Firstly, there was no significant enmity between them. Secondly, Zhang Ergou's decision not to press his advantage after knocking him down indicated he was a man of principle.
As the pill entered his body, a cool sensation spread throughout him. Li Xu felt that his injuries had greatly improved.
"Junior brother, well done. Senior brother was blind before. The hundredth spot on the Inner Disciple Ranking belongs to you."
Saying this, Li Xu removed a jade token from his person and handed it to Zhang Ergou. The name on it then changed.
"Inner Disciple Ranking, Hundredth Place, Zhang Ergou." The words were neatly arranged on the jade token.
At this moment, the stone pillar inscribed with the names of the top one hundred inner disciples also changed.
Li Xu's name disappeared, and Zhang Ergou's name replaced him in the hundredth position.
...
In just half a day, the news of Zhang Ergou knocking Li Xu unconscious with a single punch spread throughout the inner sect.
"Did you hear? The new inner disciple who vowed to challenge the Inner Disciple Ranking challenged Li Xu, the hundredth-ranked disciple, this morning."
"Of course I heard. But surely Li Xu won, right? The challenger was reportedly only at the late Foundation Establishment stage."
"You idiot, your news is too slow!"
"What, you mean the new disciple won?"
This scene was not unique; the inner sect was buzzing with excitement today.
Upon hearing the result of the match between Zhang Ergou and Li Xu, many inner disciples lamented that they had not witnessed that rare spectacle themselves.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator defeating a cultivator at the early Golden Core stage with just one move.
This was the first time such an event had occurred since the founding of the Misty Sect.
Therefore, many expressed regret for not witnessing it firsthand.
Zhang Ergou's name became truly renowned in the inner sect.
It was also extremely rare for him to enter the Inner Disciple Ranking within half a year of joining the sect.
Even more unbelievable was that Zhang Ergou was the only cultivator on the Inner Disciple Ranking with a cultivation level below the Golden Core stage.
"You brat, well done! You didn't even tell us what that move was called, the one that made Li Xu spit blood?"
As the popular figure, Zhang Ergou was now surrounded by Lin Yichen and his companions.
They were naturally very interested in the move Zhang Ergou used to send Li Xu flying and spitting blood.
Judging by Li Xu's subsequent state, he had suffered severe internal injuries, otherwise, he wouldn't have surrendered so easily.
Lin Yichen and the others were no ordinary individuals and had noticed something unusual. Thus, as soon as the match ended, they started questioning Zhang Ergou.
However, Zhang Ergou's repeated answer of "I haven't decided on a name yet" made them feel as though they were punching cotton.
Lin Yueru and Lu Xiaoyu also accompanied them. Watching Lin Yichen, Wang Teng, Xiao Qingyu, and Zhang Ergou playfully bicker, they couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
Alas, as daughters, the memory of their master attempting to arrange a match between her and Zhang Ergou before they entered the inner sect made her face flush.
"Yueru, what's wrong? Why is your face so red?"
Lu Xiaoyu, ever observant, noticed Lin Yueru's discomfort and asked.
Hearing this, Zhang Ergou and the others also turned their gazes towards Lin Yueru, their faces etched with curiosity.
Seeing them look, Lin Yueru's shyness intensified, her complexion becoming even more flushed.
Zhang Ergou, Lin Yichen, Xiao Qingyu, and Wang Teng watched Lin Yueru's blushing face with bewilderment, not even considering other possibilities.
However, Lu Xiaoyu, being a woman herself, was different. When she first saw Lin Yueru blush, she thought something was wrong.
Now, seeing Lin Yueru's face become even redder, she understood. A mischievous smile played on her lips as she looked at Lin Yueru.
Lin Yueru, seeing Lu Xiaoyu teasing her, felt even more bashful. The two girls ran off, chasing each other.
Zhang Ergou and the others, naturally, did not understand the thoughts of young girls. Lin Yichen and the others were still preoccupied with Zhang Ergou's move and paid little attention to Lin Yueru and Lu Xiaoyu running off.
"Ergou, are you really going to challenge the experts on the Inner Disciple Ranking one by one?"
Xiao Qingyu asked, looking at Zhang Ergou with some concern.
The experts on the Inner Disciple Ranking all possessed formidable strength. Although Zhang Ergou had defeated Li Xu, his prospects were not optimistic.
The ninety-ninth ranked disciple on the Inner Disciple Ranking was Zuo Tian, with whom he had a deep-seated hatred...