Bean-Clamping Finger Technique

Ying Zhou climbed out of Yao Bilian's arms, rubbing the red bruise on his side. "I've been busy practicing my drumming skills for the past six months, with nothing but musical melodies on my mind. I had neither the inclination nor the time to practice martial arts."

Si Ming fell silent. If he had chosen to pursue music alongside martial arts, the advantage of his talent would have put him only a little ahead of Ying Zhou at best.

Of course, Ying Zhou himself had no particular attachment to the martial path. His dream had never been to become a martial arts grandmaster, but to escape his father's shadow as much as possible. Fighting people would only further stir the madness in his bloodline, the exact opposite of what he wanted. As such, falling behind in his martial arts cultivation was no great matter to him.

"Still, getting beaten so easily isn't pleasant. Looks like I'll have to set aside at least some time to practice martial arts every day from now on."

Ying Zhou circulated his internal cultivation and quickly healed the bruise on his waist. He looked at Si Ming and said, "I heard you'd been training under 'Startling Rainbow Beyond the Heavens,' but I didn't expect you to improve so quickly. I know a few classmates who paid martial arts school masters to tutor them privately, and they're only a little ahead of the rest of the class. Of course, ordinary school masters can't compare to a Spirit Transformation expert, but both should be equally out of reach for people like us."

Si Ming said, "It's a difference in attitude. Being forced to learn and choosing to learn are two different things. Besides, my master teaches me as a disciple, while those school masters teach your classmates as students."

Disciples and students were two different things. In ancient times, masters treated their disciples like their own sons, sometimes even closer than their own sons, and regarded them as inheritors of their lineage. If a disciple dared betray his master's school, everyone would spit curses at him, and he would have no place left in the martial world.

A student-teacher relationship, when all was said and done, was a temporary one formed through money. The student paid to learn skills, and the teacher took the money and did the job. Once the money's effect expired, the relationship vanished. Even if the student refused to acknowledge a former teacher later on, people would at most think him cold-hearted by nature and not someone worth befriending closely. There was little else they could criticize.

Yao Bilian suddenly said, "Watching you two has made my hands itch. How about exchanging a few moves with me too?"

Si Ming asked suspiciously, "Your martial arts aren't called Flirtatious Glances Sword, Endless Affection Saber, and Dry Wood and Blazing Fire Palm, are they?"

"Hehe, I haven't shown my might, and now people take me for a little girl."

Yao Bilian's right leg suddenly jerked, and a fierce kick force howled out like saber Qi. The snow on the ground parted to either side as it shot straight into the courtyard wall with a thud, shaking loose a shower of powdered earth. Si Ming hadn't seen when she kicked.

"At the very least, I graduated from a martial arts university. I'm at the eighth level of internal cultivation. Don't think all I can do is tell dirty jokes. Underestimating a hooligan can bring you terrible luck, especially a female hooligan who's been single for over twenty years."

Chapter 48: Bean-Clamping Finger Technique

In the courtyard, Si Ming watched Yao Bilian's loose, relaxed stance, not daring to act rashly. An expert needed only one move to show what they were made of. Though she had kicked only once, he understood that he probably had little chance of winning.

A martial artist's internal cultivation level did not determine victory or defeat. A student who never fought and cultivated internal power only to build up his health might be knocked down by a brick to the back of the head when faced with a hooligan experienced in street fights but possessing no internal power.

But that was relative. When the gap in internal cultivation was enormous, it would undoubtedly become a decisive factor. A martial artist with eighth-level internal cultivation, even if he truly knew no martial arts at all, would be far more resistant to blows than an ordinary person thanks to the automatic circulation of his True Qi. Even a brick to the head would hurt him at most, without robbing him of his ability to fight.

Many wealthy people who lacked the talent for cultivation and had no desire to fight were willing to spend huge sums on pills to forcibly raise their internal cultivation to the eighth level. That was because, upon reaching the eighth level, True Qi circulated through every corner of the body, making it possible to achieve the legendary "golden spear that never falls, battling through the eight wilds all night."

Aphrodisiacs like "Viagra" on Sea Continent worked on an entirely different principle from those on Earth. Rather than stimulating the body with drugs, they mobilized the body's True Qi and gathered it at the perineum acupoint or along the foot shaoyin kidney meridian.

According to acupuncture, the perineum, also called pingyi, lay between the two yin organs. It was a collateral of the conception vessel and the meeting point of the governing and penetrating vessels. A needle was inserted two inches and left for three breaths; moxibustion was applied for three cones.

None of that was what Si Ming was concerned with now, however. If he had a psionic gun in hand, he wouldn't have to worry about how to attack. He could meet her head-on and charge recklessly. Now, though, he had to look for an opening to strike.

As for the claim that "the opponent's whole body is full of openings, so there's nowhere to attack," that was naturally nonsense. But even when targeting an opening, he had to find the biggest one.

"If you won't make a move, I'm coming for you," Yao Bilian urged, thrusting out her full chest as she did, plainly intending to use seduction tactics to distract her opponent.

Si Ming's expression remained as calm as a cold pool. His right foot shifted half a step to the right, and his left foot followed with a movement of its own. But just as even Ying Zhou thought he was changing position, his right foot kicked sharply in a short, powerful hidden kick, sending the snow on the ground spraying toward Yao Bilian.

"A sneak attack? That won't work."

Yao Bilian's body stayed still, but her right leg kicked out slightly at a speed the eye couldn't follow. The movement was so small that she seemed not to have moved at all, yet a blast of kick force tore through the air with the force of wind and waves, splitting the oncoming snow down the middle and showing everyone that she had indeed kicked.

Once the snow blocking her view was gone, Si Ming was nowhere in front of her. Yao Bilian showed no sign of panic, however. Turning to the left, she said, "It's no use. I've competed in martial arts tournaments and won prizes too. I have a martial artist's intuition, unlike those fellows who have plenty of internal power but only know how to wield a pen."

Sure enough, Si Ming appeared on her left in the stance of Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain. He seemed to have intended to take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, only for Yao Bilian to see through it in advance.

Seeing his sneak attack come to nothing, Si Ming nevertheless smiled. His body suddenly dropped-

Ox Demon Trample!

Tiger Demon Fist was a feint; Ox Demon Fist was his real move. Its effect was similar to Thousand-Jin Drop. The thick snow and the soil beneath it were churned up together, forming a wave two meters high that surged toward Yao Bilian.

"Hey, I'm wearing new clothes here. Isn't that a bit ruthless?"

Snow alone would have been one thing, but dirt would stain her clothes. Moreover, a kick force sent through the air wasn't enough to deflect all the muddy snow. Yao Bilian had no choice but to retreat.

The moment she did, Si Ming pressed his advantage. Driving his Blazing Sun True Qi at full strength, he launched a relentless assault, displaying Ape Demon Fist to its fullest. He leaped high and low, crouched and gathered Qi, kicked repeatedly from a low stance, and tore and chopped with both hands. His attacks came so fast that, at first glance, three of him seemed to be besieging her at once.

Yao Bilian lost the initiative by retreating and fell behind in the contest of momentum. But her cultivation far surpassed Si Ming's, and she retreated without losing her composure. Using Cloud-Treading Suspended Step, she flickered repeatedly, now sticking close, now slipping away, now opening, now closing, now drawing back, now pressing forward. One moment she glided three or four meters away; the next she pulled herself back, as elusive as if she were truly walking among the clouds.

Yet for all the lightness of her steps, her footing was heavy, forceful, steady, and true. Every step left a clear shoeprint on the ground.

I only have one chance!

Si Ming knew that, given the gap between their cultivation levels, if he couldn't take her down in one sustained burst, he would have no chance of victory once his strength waned.

Seeing that Ape Demon Fist couldn't put pressure on her, Si Ming immediately changed his attack. He joined his fingers into swords, his body moving like a swimming dragon as he pressed forward again and again, his breath surging without pause. His arms became two long swords, lifting, snapping, chopping, pressing, thrusting, sweeping, stirring, and drawing back. His sword moves were swift as the wind and fierce as thunder, sweeping aside all who stood in their way.

Feng and Shan Sacrifice Sword Technique!

This was a supreme art of the Dinghu Sect, and the same sword technique Yan Jinghong had used against Fifth Uncle of the Yuezheng Lineage that day. It drew its meaning from the story of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan performing the feng and shan sacrifices over all under heaven. Though limited by his cultivation, Si Ming couldn't use its ultimate or extreme moves, the moves of Feng and Shan Sacrifice Sword Technique were themselves first-rate. Their force swept across and cleaved through the air with extraordinary sharpness.

Yao Bilian was caught off guard. Si Ming had used Five Demon Fists the whole time before this, including in his fight with Ying Zhou, giving her a fixed impression. Now he had suddenly changed his moves to a sword technique of a completely different style. Her reaction was a beat too slow, and she immediately fell into a losing position.

She leaned back to evade a sword finger, narrowly escaping as its force sliced off a lock of her hair. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the next wave of attacks descended.

"I'm out of options. Don't blame me for bullying someone younger."

Though she hadn't wanted to use her cultivation to overpower him, she would lose if she didn't use her full strength now. Yao Bilian couldn't worry about anything else. She immediately circulated her internal cultivation at full power, raising her speed by a notch. She seized the chance to fly backward out of Si Ming's attack range, then spun around to his left and sent a Leg That Follows Like a Shadow kick slicing through the air.

Yet Si Ming seemed to have anticipated it. His left hand formed a palm and slipped out past his ribs, drilling forward and scooping up to meet the sudden kick head-on. The gap between their cultivation levels put him at a disadvantage in strength. Fortunately, Leg That Follows Like a Shadow was a kicking technique that pursued speed rather than power. Though the impact made his palm ache, he could just barely endure it.

Si Ming immediately turned his palm into a claw and activated Mighty Eagle Claw Art. His five fingers closed like pincers around her leg, shaking it outward and flinging it away.

Unable to control herself, Yao Bilian flipped backward in a somersault. Knowing she was in trouble, she hurriedly used Thousand-Jin Drop, intending to steady her footing and resist the pursuit that would follow. Who would have thought that the courtyard ground had already become uneven in the melee? She failed to keep her balance and had to stumble back two steps after landing before she could stand firm, losing her opportunity.

"Sword Rises, Wind and Clouds Move!"

Si Ming's sword fingers stabbed straight out like lightning. Because he was using Blazing Sun True Qi, a dazzling light burst from his fingertips as they drove toward the spot between Yao Bilian's brows.