Cheat Device

The blood-and-breath energy of a Black Membrane was triple that of an ordinary person. Inside the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void, Li Xiuwen felt Liu Chun's full strength firsthand for the first time. No wonder Old Huang had said that even with fish balls, Li Xiuwen would almost certainly fail to beat Liu Chun and should wait until next year to enter the second floor. After sparring with Liu Chun, Li Xiuwen left the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall within the Illusionary Realm and headed straight for Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. With the challenge visit looming, he wanted to seize this opportunity to spar against Gaojiao Qi, Tian Er, Hei Gou, and Wen Wu. Know yourself and know your enemy, and in a hundred battles you will never be defeated. *** At Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. Pushing the doors open, Li Xiuwen chose Gaojiao Qi as his first opponent. With an arrow-like lunge, Gaojiao Qi leaped over ten feet. His fist whipped up a gale, hurtling straight for Li Xiuwen's face. For a fleeting second, Li Xiuwen saw a sky-blotting gray waterbird swooping down in a savage strike, while he was merely a stranded fish floundering on a shallow sandbank. He barely dodged the first fist when Gaojiao Qi's second punch morphed into a slender beak, pecking cleanly through his chest from a vicious angle. A blast of white shockwaves swirled with a mist of blood, and Li Xiuwen flew backward. Steady, accurate, fierce, and ruthless! In just two moves, he was completely routed! On the wall across from Night Heron Martial Arts Hall, green moss grew thick. Li Xiuwen was "hung" there, sliding limply to the ground like a flattened pancake. Agony tore through his sinews and bones, and he could not muster a shred of strength. Most of his skeleton seemed shattered. Moments later, Li Xiuwen dissolved into green smoke, reassembling his body amid the mist. Surprise flickered across Li Xiuwen's face. "That yellow-haired kid really does have something to boast about... He's several levels above Liu Chun." In truth, given the properties of the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void, Gaojiao Qi's strength was frozen at the moment they had first met. With his innate gift as one with the makings of a superior, he would only be stronger now. As someone who had just stepped into the Purple Membrane stage, Li Xiuwen truly could not compare to him. He gave up on Gaojiao Qi and devoted himself entirely to sparring with Tian Er, Hei Gou, and Wen Wu. The pressure lightened instantly. Those three were also only at the Purple Membrane realm, marginally stronger than him at best. Clashing with them ahead of time in the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void to learn their routines was like obtaining the exam questions before the big test. It was nothing short of a cheat. And so, Li Xiuwen fought tirelessly against the Three Talents of Pine Hall. At first, they were split fifty-fifty. Later, as he grew familiar with their fighting techniques and routines, the odds shifted to sixty-forty in his favor. An hour later, as the sky-piercing stick of incense burned out, the illusionary world shattered. His win rate had climbed to seventy-thirty. Li Xiuwen had firmly gained the upper hand over the three. "This is the benefit of real combat! "Who else gets the luxury of constantly sparring against their opponents before a match?" Li Xiuwen looked toward the incense burner, yearning for more. [Flipping Sand Palm: Minor Success (10%)] "This Illusionary Realm of the Great Void can not only hone fighting techniques, but also scout other martial artists' strengths and data. Used properly, it works wonders. "When I have time later, I can wander around the Kowloon Grand Arena. If I can unlock a map of the gambling rings, it might even open up another path to wealth." Closing the incense burner interface, Li Xiuwen sank into a deep slumber. *** The next morning, five o'clock. Upon waking, Li Xiuwen rubbed his weary eyes. His eyelids fought to stay closed, heavy and leaden, leaving him feeling as oppressed as if suffering sleep paralysis. "Could intense exertion in a dream exhaust my mental focus as well?" Li Xiuwen fell back onto the bedding and slept a bit longer, not getting up until seven. When he woke again, he felt vigorous and refreshed, just like any other day. A spark of realization hit him. "Spending an hour in the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void doesn't drain physical stamina, but it drains mental focus—or rather, the brain's computing power, just like crypto mining on a computer in my past life." In essence, the incense burner consumed a portion of his mental energy to simulate a phantom battleground in his dreams. Human limits existed; once drained, he had to find ways to replenish it. Otherwise, prolonged depletion would take a physical toll and harm his martial potential. "No other way around it—I'll have to catch up on sleep during the day and push my wake-up time to seven from now on." Up until now, Li Xiuwen had always risen at five to practice martial arts, perhaps being overly diligent. "Tomorrow I'll head to the pharmacy to pick up some traditional herbal formulas for restoring mental vitality." After finishing his meal, Li Xiuwen hurried off to Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. Today, Night Heron Martial Arts Hall was arriving for their challenge visit. Whether he could win more favor from Old Huang and learn a movement technique hinged entirely on this. *** Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. The cramped training yard was packed with people today. Li Xiuwen arrived early, standing behind the other disciples and watching the main entrance. "Ye Xiangtian of Night Heron Martial Arts Hall comes to pay a formal hall visit!" A tall, elderly man approached gracefully, like an old crane skimming over water. He halted right outside the entrance of Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, never crossing the threshold. When paying a formal visit, a challenger could not simply barge in—that was the rule of the jianghu. Entering without the host's permission was called raiding the hall! A sultry blonde foreign girl swayed her hips, wearing white silk gloves, a dress hat, and high heels as she followed Master Ye. Behind them came eight disciples from Night Heron Martial Arts Hall arriving for the challenge visit—four from Pine Hall and four from Heron Hall. Other Night Heron disciples, along with neighborhood locals who had caught wind of the event, crowded the street in a dense mob, waiting for the show to begin. Huang Sihai stood in the yard and laughed. "All men across the five lakes and four seas are brothers. Welcome to our hall!" Having received permission, Master Ye offered a faint smile and waved for the eight visiting disciples to follow him inside, while the rest waited outdoors. He picked up three sticks of incense, bowed reverently three times, and finally planted them into the incense burner before the Patriarch's spirit tablet. "Junior Ye Xiangtian pays respects to the Patriarch!" Gaojiao Qi, the eldest senior brother of Pine Hall, called out loudly, "Everyone, kowtow to Patriarch Jiulong!" The eight Night Heron style disciples immediately dropped to their knees to pay homage to the Sea Sand style Patriarch. Before conducting a challenge visit, one had to pay respects to the host's Patriarch—this, too, was proper etiquette. In a corner, three neatly dressed young men and women carrying video cameras documented the entire proceeding. They were reporters from *Ming Pao*. Once the intricate, formal ceremonial process concluded, Master Ye and Huang Sihai sat down at the central Eight Immortals table. Huang Sihai smiled. "Master Ye, would you prefer a civil contest or a martial contest this time?" A civil contest meant verbally breaking down maneuvers without trading actual blows. To Huang Sihai, if a civil contest was an option, he naturally preferred to avoid a physical fight. Master Ye laughed. "How could a civil contest showcase the true kung fu of the Sea Sand style? A martial contest, naturally!" Huang Sihai asked, "And how shall we match them? Drawing lots to pair off, or will you, our guest, designate the pairings?" Master Ye chuckled. "You are the host. You decide." His words carried immense confidence. Drawing lots held great uncertainty; if Night Heron Martial Arts Hall's strongest fighter drew Four Seas Martial Arts Hall's weakest, they might fall victim to Tian Ji's horse race strategy. If Master Ye designated the matchups, he would naturally pit Gaojiao Qi against their strongest, Liu Chun, so Gaojiao Qi wouldn't waste his match on a nobody. Evidently, Master Ye was completely sure of victory today. The method did not matter to him; he was confident the Four Talents of Pine Hall would crush Huang Sihai's ragtag bunch. Huang Sihai chuckled. "Then let us draw lots to pair off. It adds a bit of fun." He claimed it added fun, but in truth, it was to prevent himself from losing too humiliatingly. Seeing the aura displayed by the Four Talents of Pine Hall today, he knew that apart from Liu Chun, none of his other disciples stood a chance. Especially that Gaojiao Qi—long-armed and tall-legged, yet with a lower basin as solid as Mount Tai. The skin and membranes on his forearms gave off a faint, eerie red glow inside the dim hall. When a Black Membrane reached its peak, it took on a reddish sheen through the black. One step further, and he could pass the second checkpoint to enter Flood Dragon Muscle. The moment he saw Gaojiao Qi, Old Huang abandoned any lingering hopes of winning. There was no helping it; this was what it meant to have the makings of a superior. A youth like that stood a fair chance of earning a slot at next year's crossing-river meet. On the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall's side, whoever drew him was doomed to lose.