Arrogance

Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. "Cheng Kuiqiang, come test my new move!" Li Xiuwen beckoned with a hand. Cheng Kuiqiang moved expressionlessly, barreling forward like a mountain and driving a heavy, crushing palm strike straight toward him. In the past, Li Xiuwen would have shifted his footwork to dodge, avoiding a head-on collision with someone of Cheng Kuiqiang's innate divine strength whenever possible. This time, however, he neither dodged nor retreated. Channeling the Rigid-Gentle Palm with all his might, he met the incoming hand head-on. *Boom!* A visible shockwave rippled outward. Cheng Kuiqiang staggered backward step after step, shattering one floor tile after another beneath his feet. The bear-like brawn across his frame deflated like a punctured tire, collapsing in rippling folds. "Burst!" Li Xiuwen pulled his palm back. From the hand Cheng Kuiqiang had used to meet the blow came a series of crisp crackles, like a string of lit firecrackers snapping inside his skeletal frame, and fine beads of blood oozed through his skin. With fractured bones and ruptured capillaries, that half of his arm hung limp, unable to straighten—effectively ruined. "Now that's power. The miraculous power of the Sea Sand Palm has finally begun to show." Cheng Kuiqiang possessed innate divine strength and had practiced the Iron Cloth Shirt. His physical conditioning was a clear cut above others in the same realm, bordering on the level of the Black Membrane stage. Yet a seemingly effortless palm strike had crippled him completely. "Cheng Kuiqiang won't be qualified to be my sparring partner from now on... Come on, Liu Chun!" Li Xiuwen strode over to the youth standing chest out and head high in the corner, and crooked a finger. *Whoosh!* Liu Chun sprang into motion with startling speed. Li Xiuwen's eyes narrowed. *Did Liu Chun secretly pay extra to learn a movement technique?* This footwork was unmistakably Thousand Waves Drifting Light. In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged several palm strikes. Both had mastered the Rigid-Gentle Palm; every collision detonated on impact, filling the hall with a racket as lively as firecrackers during a festival. In terms of movement techniques, Liu Chun was not his equal. However, the foundational physical traits of the Black Membrane stage were an undeniable advantage: Liu Chun's neural reflexes and muscular agility were no worse than his. Moreover, Liu Chun had achieved major success in the palm technique two months earlier, possessing a deeper mastery. Even with both using the Rigid-Gentle Palm, Li Xiuwen remained on the back foot the entire time. Not to mention, Liu Chun had reached the Black Membrane stage quite a while ago, having completed fifty to sixty percent of the progression. His strength, endurance, and overall physical attributes comprehensively outmatched any Purple Membrane martial artist. After a full hundred exchanges, Liu Chun seized upon a flaw in his defense, and Li Xiuwen went down in defeat. "Good enough. A month ago, I could only hold out for thirty moves. That's massive progress." [Flipping Sand Palm proficiency increased by 1%] [Thousand Waves Drifting Light proficiency increased by 1%] The prompts from the incense burner gave Li Xiuwen an adrenaline rush. Next, he headed over to Night Heron Martial Arts Hall to look for the blondie. Seven moves later, the front doors of Night Heron Martial Arts Hall were blown off their hinges, and Li Xiuwen was sent flying out, plastered against the exterior wall with his meridians thoroughly severed. Inside, Gaojiao Qi narrowed his eyes to slits, poised in an imposing stance like a white crane spreading its wings. "Before, I could only last three moves. Now it's seven. Not bad." "Right, it's been a while since I hung around near Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. It's time to update the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void—this blondie is still the one from a month ago." Li Xiuwen then sought out Tian Er, Hei Gou, and Wen Wu one by one to test his fists, defeating them within a few moves. Even combined, the three of them wouldn't last against Gaojiao Qi's single hand; the gap was simply too vast. If the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void were a video game, then among the NPCs he currently had access to, Old Huang was the ultimate boss, Gaojiao Qi was a mini-boss, and the rest were at best elite mobs or generic trash on the roadside. In the end, he returned to Liu Chun. Sparring against an expert slightly stronger than himself yielded the fastest proficiency gains: it provided pressure while still offering lessons to absorb. Someone too strong would wipe him out in an instant, and someone too weak wouldn't do either. Two hours later, Flipping Sand Palm's proficiency had risen by 2%, and Thousand Waves Drifting Light by 1%. "Going from major success to perfection is harder than all three preceding levels combined." "The fourth tier, 'Giant Whale Swallowing the Sea, Boundless Upheaval,' is a lethal finishing move that only someone at the Black Membrane stage can unleash. I truly can't wait." *** Before long, news that Li Xiuwen had broken through to major success in Flipping Sand Palm spread across Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. "Ah Wen? You quietly reached major success without making a peep?" Ah Zhen came over during mealtime when she heard the news. "Major success?" Cheng Kuiqiang's eyes shifted, his massive frame trembling slightly. "I only just achieved minor success, and you're already at major success? Are... are you even human?" Li Xiuwen rolled his eyes at Ah Zhen and said, "I was just lucky. Had a sudden epiphany and reached major success somehow." "Brushing me off, are you? You definitely found some kind of treasure. I wish I could reach major success out of nowhere too," Ah Zhen said enviously. "I could tell long ago. Ah Wen is smart and has high comprehension. He gets twice the results with half the effort when practicing fighting techniques. A dull guy like me could never match that," Cheng Kuiqiang said glumly. Back when they started, Ah Wen had picked up the theory rapidly; that had always been the gap between them. "Congratulations, Senior Brother Wen!" "Senior Brother Wen, look out for me in the future!" One after another, new junior brothers and sisters crowded around Li Xiuwen, making quite a lively scene. In the corner, Liu Chun ate alone. Lately, he had grown increasingly withdrawn. He knew there was something wrong with acting this way, but his temperament was stubborn and unchangeable. He was simply too competitive. *** In the evening, after leaving the martial arts hall, Li Xiuwen walked over to the entrance of Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. He ordered a plate of rice noodle rolls from a roadside stall and squatted there to eat. "Hey, Four Seas guy, what are you doing here?" Tian Er spotted him squatting there on his way home and frowned. "Can't you see? Eating rice noodle rolls," Li Xiuwen replied with a chuckle. "You got lucky last time and won, but you won't next time. Don't get cocky," Tian Er sneered, turning on his heel and walking off. Li Xiuwen ignored him and ordered another plate of rice noodle rolls. Hei Gou, Wen Wu, and the others also passed by on their way home, irritated at the sight of Li Xiuwen. A guy from Four Seas Martial Arts Hall coming to eat rice noodle rolls right outside Night Heron's doorstep—he had to be strutting his past victory and showing off. "You again, you old codger," Gaojiao Qi sneered from the entrance, having appeared there without anyone noticing. "What, looking to avenge Liu Chun and win some glory for Four Seas?" "I'm just eating a meal. You folks from Night Heron sure stick your noses into everything." Li Xiuwen packed up one more order to go and left. Barring any surprises, the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void should have updated Gaojiao Qi's latest cultivation and martial arts. Once he reached the Black Membrane stage, he would use Gaojiao Qi for sparring practice. Huang Sihai had mentioned that Gaojiao Qi was at the level where he stood a real chance of entering the crossing-river meet and placing. Whenever Li Xiuwen could beat Gaojiao Qi, participating in the crossing-river meet wouldn't be far off. *** That night. Li Xiuwen entered the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void and headed straight for Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. Finding Gaojiao Qi, he began to spar. Gaojiao Qi moved. An overwhelming presence rolled forward like a surging river. Li Xiuwen heard the piercing cry of a waterbird echoing between heaven and earth. He saw vast gray wings tearing through the marshlands. Then he was sent flying, ending up hooked over a utility pole. "That blondie really did pass the second gate. Took me down in an instant." "The makings of a superior truly are terrifying. While I'm making progress, he's advancing at blinding speed too." "Looks like I won't be staging any 'thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river' turnaround anytime soon." Li Xiuwen went back to sparring with Liu Chun. Step by step; no rush. An "old-timer" like him, achieving so much after only three months of martial arts practice, ought to be satisfied.