Peng!
Division Head Chen crashed heavily into the wall, causing his body to be covered in dust and dirt. After a series of violent coughing, he got back to his feet and flew back. Even though his face had paled from the injury he had just suffered, there was an inconcealable excited gleam in his eyes.
As the head of the Fist Division, it went without saying that his specialty lay in fist arts. With the sheer prowess of his fist, he could easily crush opponents of higher cultivation realm than him.
Yet, despite the young age of the fellow before him, he found that the latter’s comprehension of fist art had reached a level far beyond his imagination.
“How can I further improve my fist art?” Division Head Chen clasped his fist and asked earnestly.
‘It is not the senior but the skilled that becomes the teacher’. He might have been the head of the Fist Division, and the other party might have been younger and possessed a lower cultivation than him, but it was indubitable that the other party was far beyond him in the field of fist arts. It was no shame for him to lower his head and ask for the other party’s guidance.
“Your fist art looks decent on the surface, but it lacks an indomitable spirit behind it… If I’m not mistaken, you must have cultivated quite a lot of battle techniques, right?” the young man asked.
“That’s right. Altogether, I have cultivated 42 fist arts…” Division Head Chen replied awkwardly.
In the past, whenever someone asked him how many fist arts he had learned, he would answer them with a proud look on his face. However, in this moment, he seemed to vaguely understand what the young man was driving at, and he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by it.
“When it comes to battle techniques, one’s strength is determined by the mastery of one’s technique, not the number of techniques one has learned. Learning too many battle techniques would just result in one’s mind, spirit, and psyche being divided. Ever since my teacher imparted to me my fist art, I have been spending the past year refining that one single move so as to ensure that I have grasped it perfectly. That’s also the reason why my fist is able to wield such might. You have learned a total of 42 fist arts, but how much time are you able to devote to each of them?” the young man asked.
“This… I spent roughly twenty years on each of them… I am nine hundred this year…” Division Head Chen scratched his head awkwardly.
“…” Realizing that he had misspoken, the young man’s face reddened, and he quickly changed the subject. “Time is not the only factor that matters in the cultivation of fist arts, devotion is very important as well. Alright, since you have joined our Xuanxuan Faction, I’ll impart to you a trick as to how you can align your mind, spirit, and psyche together in order to maximize the might of your fist!”
“Thank you!” Division Head Chen’s eyes lit up in agitation.
“That youth is actually offering pointers to Division Head Chen?”
“I can still hardly believe it at this point, but… that fist executed by the young man is truly too fearsome. I don’t think that we’ll be able to withstand it either!”
The division heads and elders in the air were shocked by what they had just seen.
Despite the young age of the person that was teaching Division Head Chen, they had to admit that his fist art was truly powerful. As martial arts fanatics themselves, they couldn’t help but feel interested in it.
“It should be out of his desire to learn that fist art that Division Head Chen decided to join the Xuanxuan Faction… But what about Division Head Lu?” After learning of the reason why Division Head Chen had jumped ship, the crowd couldn’t help but turn their gazes towards where Division Head Lu was at.
Standing in front of Division Head Lu was a young lady who seemed to be around sixteen or seventeen too. Despite her young age, she had a delicately-shaped face that was extremely beautiful.
The young lady seemed to be saying something to Division Head Lu. Focusing their senses at their conversation, the group could vaguely hear what was being said between the both of them.
“… Little Lu, your movement technique is not too bad, but it’s excessively flamboyant. Flamboyant movement techniques can overwhelm the weak, making them err in panic. However, such a trick wouldn’t work against experts. One will just appear as nothing more than a fool before their eyes!”
With her hand behind her back, the young lady spoke in a disappointed tone. “The main aim of a movement technique is to allow one to close in on an enemy swiftly so as to catch him off guard, thus creating an opportunity to subdue him. Squandering all of one’s zhenqi solely on producing illusions will only effectively make one’s attack weaker than it should be!
“Lower your cultivation to a realm higher than me, which is Saint 1-dan pinnacle. I’ll show you what a movement technique should be like!” the young lady said with a deep sigh.
“Alright!” Division Head Lu nodded before suppressing his aura. In the blink of an eye, his cultivation had been lowered to Saint 1-dan pinnacle.
“Alright, let’s begin!”
Right at the start of the battle, Division Head Lu’s figure suddenly blurred, and five illusory clones appeared around him. Each of them felt lifelike, and they emanated the very same aura as one another, making it nigh impossible to figure out which was real and which was fake.
“That’s Division Head Lu’s Nine Shadows Step!”
“Upon mastering the Nine Shadows Step, one is capable of producing nine illusory clones simultaneously, making it an extremely fearsome technique to guard against. Even though Division Head Lu is only able to produce five of them due to his suppressed cultivation, it still wouldn’t be easy to deal with that technique!”
“So far, there have been very few people who have managed to overcome the might of the Nine Shadows Step…”
“Even I would have to retreat and reconsider my moves before dealing with that movement technique…”
…
Hall Master Xing and the others watched the situation with grim expressions on their faces.
Saint 1-dan was the minimum cultivation required to execute the Saint low-tier Nine Shadows Step. The movement technique was greatly feared even within the Combat Master Hall itself, such that in a battle at the same cultivation realm, there was none among them who were capable of overcoming it.
“Prepare yourself, I am going to make a move…” While the combat masters were still awed by the sight before them, the young lady suddenly spoke with a solemn voice.
Following which, a figure blurred before everyone’s eyes, and it seemed as if a shadow had darted forth. In the next instant, however, the shadow seemed to have returned back to where it was.
Padah!
A resounding echo sounded, and the five illusory clones dissipated. Division Head Lu’s body was scrunched together reminiscent of a shrimp, and yellowish bile was spewing in large mouthfuls from him.
Judging from the looks of it, it seemed like the young lady had struck his abdomen.
“She… made a move?” Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, everyone felt their throats running dry.
Even with their eye of discernment, they were unable to see the young lady’s movements… Just how fast could she be?
They had never imagined that a day would come where the head of the Footwork Division would have his ultimate skill overcome by another movement technique…
Terrifying!
“Too fast… I am really no match for you. Young Miss, I beseech you to teach me…” After a long moment, Division Head Lu finally recovered from the blow. Struggling back to his feet, he looked at the young lady before him in admiration before clasping his fist earnestly.
When he first heard that the members of the Combat Master Hall would rather join the Xuanxuan Faction than return, he was extremely furious.
Thus, as soon as he arrived, together with Division Head Chen, they challenged a few of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy students and defeated them all. It was around that moment that Liu Yang, who was currently teaching Division Head Chen at the moment, and Young Miss Wang, who was standing before him at this very moment, came out.
The both of them suppressed their cultivation down to their levels, and yet, to their horror, they were unable to withstand even a single blow from them…
It was then that they realized how powerful the Xuanxuan Faction was, and they couldn’t resist the urge of wanting to learn from them as well.
“The aim of a movement technique is fast, faster, and fastest. As long as one’s speed is beyond a certain mark, the rest wouldn’t be a problem anymore…” the young lady explained.
After listening to her lecture, Division Head Lu couldn’t help but feel impressed.
The other party’s explanation delved straight into the essence of movement techniques, leaving him feeling deeply enlightened. The various notions which had become walls that limited his fighting prowess seemed to have shattered after hearing her words.
To think that despite studying movement techniques for several centuries, his comprehension of movement techniques would turn out to be beneath that of a young lady. It was truly a huge embarrassment.
Sighing deeply, Division Head Lu was just about to speak when he suddenly heard Division Head Chen’s exclamation not too far away.
“Hall Master Xing, you are here too! Come down, let’s join the Xuanxuan Faction together…”
Astonished, Division Head Lu quickly raised his gaze, and only then did he notice Hall Master Xing and the other elders’ and division heads’ presence.
As the group had been standing quite a distance away, and they had also used their Primordial Spirits to conceal their aura, not even Division Head Lu had noticed their arrival.
“Indeed, come down here and join us. The members of the Xuanxuan Faction truly have an insightful and refreshing perspective towards combat. At the very least, it’s far more profound than the knowledge that we impart within the Combat Master Hall! We should all join the Xuanxuan Faction and further our fighting prowess together!” Division Head Lu shouted with a bright smile.
“This…”
The lips of Hall Master Xing and the others twitched.
They were still planning to observe the situation a little longer and decide on a feasible course of action before heading down. Yet, those two fellows actually shouted for them like that, betraying their presence… It would be deeply impolite for them to remain hidden under such circumstances, so they could only all get down.
“I am the head of the Combat Master Hall’s Weapon Division. May I know who is skilled in weaponry? I can suppress my cultivation and have a fight with you!” Since they were already discovered, there was no need for them to hesitate any longer. The head of the Weapon Division flicked his wrist, and a spear appeared in his grasp. With a slight flick, a sound reminiscent of the call of a dragon echoed in the air.
Knowing that the entire Combat Master Hall might just end up joining the Xuanxuan Faction if they didn’t do anything at this point, they were left with no choice but to fight for the sake of their pride and honor!
“Allow me…” the young man who was teaching Division Head Chen stepped forward.
Liu Yang!
While he specialized in fist arts, he did learn some spear arts from Zheng Yang for a period of time.
As for the other members of the Xuanxuan Faction, while they would suffice to deal with ordinary combat masters, they were still a little lacking to deal with the division heads.
The previous battle that they had with Division Head Chen and Division Head Lu had already proven the point. It was due to their successive losses that they ended up inviting them, the direct disciples of Principal Zhang, over.
“Very well!”
Seeing that the other party’s cultivation was only at Half-Saint pinnacle, the head of the Weapon Division also suppressed his cultivation to the same level.
Hu la!
Once that was done, he flicked his wrist, and his spear burst forth with incredible momentum.
As expected of the head of the Weapon Division. Even before the spear could reach Liu Yang, the formidable wind pressure that it created as a result of its movement was already hard to withstand.
Even though the head of the Weapon Division had suppressed his cultivation to Half-Saint, the might that he wielded with a spear was still something which not even a Saint 1-dan expert would be able to withstand.
“Incredible…”
“Division Head Zhou’s Charge of the Roaring Dragon is indeed formidable. As expected of the battle technique which boasts the greatest fighting prowess within the Combat Master Hall! There’s probably no one in the same cultivation realm who could possibly face it head on!”
“I have fought against him once, and he had used that technique against me. Back then, I could only quickly beguile him with my soul art before quickly making my escape… In a straight encounter, there’s no way anyone would be able to withstand it!”
“The same goes for me as well. I could only flee from it for the time being and find a way to counterattack afterward…”
…
Hall Master Xing and the others nodded in approval.
As the pride and honor of the Combat Master Hall were at stake here, they couldn’t tolerate a loss here. Thus, it was relieving to see the head of the Weapon Division, Division Head Zhou, resorting to his strongest battle technique right from the start. Even if they were the ones facing that battle technique, they had no confidence to say that they would be able to escape intact from it.
Hu!
While they were still chatting with one another, the young man made a move.
The young man raised his spear and pushed it forward with incredible force. It wasn’t a particularly exquisite or sharp move, but it pierced through the air in an instant. As a result of its incredibly swift movement, it looked as if the spear had been lengthened in midair, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared right before Division Head Zhou.
Huala!
The might of Division Head Zhou’s Charge of the Roaring Dragon dissipated entirely, and the tip of Liu Yang’s spear stopped right before Division Head Zhou’s throat.
In a single move, Division Head Zhou had been defeated!
“Your spear art is much faster than mine. I have lost…” With a pale face, Division Head Zhou’s body froze.
Even though he was the head of the Weapon Division, that move which the young man had utilized previously had already far surpassed his current means. He realized that he was completely helpless before it.
“Your spear art is not too bad. I only defeated you by exploiting an opening in your spear art…” Liu Yang said with a smile.
“I have studied spearmanship for more than 842 years now, and I have always thought that I have already grasped the essence of the Way of Spear, and there is no peer who would be able to defeat me. Yet, who could have known that there was still a higher mountain…”
Shaking his head, Division Head Zhou looked at Liu Yang and asked, “May I know… how long have you been practicing spearmanship?”
“Roughly…” Liu Yang tried to calculate the duration which he had been learning spearmanship for. A moment later, he replied with a serious expression, “… Four hours!”
“…” Pavilion Head Zhou.
