Anticipating the Enemy

The male Daoist priest was startled and could no longer maintain his composed demeanor. He exclaimed in a panic, "How did you know? This is a secret of our sect!"

"I accidentally came across this book while I was reading in the Daoist Library. What was it called again? 'The Sect Leader's Personally Revealed Record of the Mysteries of the Nine Continents'?"

"Since it's written that it's for the sect leader's personal attention, how dare you read it carelessly?"

"It's like a button that says 'Do Not Press'—it makes you really want to press it. If I don't even glance at this book, how can I do justice to those four words?"

The girl's matter-of-fact tone left the male Daoist speechless. He finally sighed and said, "Never mind, it has nothing to do with our Sea Continent anyway. Just remember not to tell anyone."

Upon hearing this, the girl perked up slightly and looked up, saying, "So everything written in this book is true, not just a dream? ' The Desolate Sage appears, the Heavenly Dao is destroyed, Jade Continent suffers calamity, the Void falls, the Dao Realm breaks, ten thousand Buddhas perish, Heavenly Demons vanish, all traces of demons disappear...' This annotation is also true?"

The male Daoist priest initially didn't want to answer, but feeling somewhat uncomfortable under the girl's intense gaze, he could only say, "More or less. We Daoist School emphasize tranquility and non-action, rarely interacting with each other, mostly working alone. So the destruction of the thirty-six heavens of the Dao Realm didn't have much of an impact. But Buddhist School loves to play tricks like 'ten thousand Buddhas paying homage' and 'Buddhist kingdoms on earth.' Therefore, after the Pure Land World was destroyed, the Dharma in all the heavens regressed. The reason our Buddhism in the Sea Continent is so weak is because all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhat were wiped out in one fell swoop."

The girl murmured, "It's actually true! This is even more exciting than a novel..."

Seeing that she seemed quite interested, the male Daoist priest quickly said, "Just treat the contents as fiction, don't take it too seriously. Our Sea Continent is a world unto itself; outsiders can't get in, and we don't go out. Even if things get chaotic outside, it has nothing to do with us. Let's focus on the competition in front of us."

The girl became listless again when the topic of the competition came up. "What's so interesting about it? The other contestant can't come, so my opponent will only be this guy from the Divine Leg Sect. Although his skills are not bad, I can easily defeat him. I can beat him in the next match with my eyes closed."

The male Daoist priest shook his head, then paused when his gaze fell upon the entrance, before smiling and saying, "Indeed, my divination is not so simple. The future is full of uncertainties, so it's best not to jump to conclusions."

The girl slightly raised her head and saw a boy quickly leap from the audience seats, his toes touching the back of the chair, his arms outstretched, soaring onto the ring like a swallow in flight.

"Excuse me, am I not late?"

Panting, Si Ming didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead before hurriedly asking the referee.

"There's one minute left until the deadline. According to the rules, you can participate," the referee said kindly, noticing Si Ming's rapid breathing and slightly pale face. "Do you need to rest a bit before starting the match?"

Han Lin, watching from the sidelines, immediately protested, "How can we delay any longer? According to the rules, fifteen minutes is the final deadline, and the match should start immediately when the time is up."

The referee glanced at him and said, "I am not a disciple of the Legalist School, so there's no need for me to rigidly adhere to dogma. As a referee, one should know how to adapt to changing circumstances."

Han Lin was speechless with anger, so angry that his nose almost twisted.

At this moment, Si Ming, "No need to rest, let's start the competition now."

The referee nodded and asked both sides, "Does anyone intend to use weapons?"

Dai Zhuiguang said arrogantly, "I don't need it."

Si Ming, "I need to use weapons."

Given his current condition, he is not suited to engage in hand-to-hand combat with his opponent; using a weapon would conserve a lot of his energy.

The referee asked Dai Zhuiguang, "Please select the field type."

"Let's choose the Stone Forest," Dai Zhuiguang said to Si Ming with an air of ease. "Your last match was on the Stone Forest terrain, right? You should be able to perform better in a familiar environment. Consider this my way of showing sympathy for an injured player."

Si Ming was not annoyed. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your understanding. As a martial artist, I will use all my strength to defeat you to express my gratitude."

"Hmph, you can only be smug now." Dai Zhuiguang and headed towards the arena.

Si Ming followed the referee to the armory. The weapon he wanted was relatively common, not some unusual weapon, and he found it quickly. Then he arrived at the stone forest area that had already been set up.

Dai Zhuiguang looked at Si Ming's hands and asked suspiciously, "Your weapon is this pair of daggers?"

An inch longer, an inch stronger. Daggers are simply too short to effectively extend the distance. Assassins typically use extremely sharp daggers to achieve a one-hit kill. However, under normal circumstances, assassins would never engage in direct combat with their opponents.

"Besides these two, I also have six daggers hidden on me, so you'd better be careful."

Si Ming actually told the other party about the hidden weapon that could have been used for a sneak attack.

Chapter Sixty-One: Anticipating the Enemy's Moves

Dai Zhuiguang wasn't pleased at all by Si Ming's reminder; instead, he looked annoyed and angry. "Are you underestimating me?"

Si Ming flatly denied it. "Of course not, quite the opposite. It's my way of showing respect to you, just like how I spent ten minutes learning the 'Twin Yang Robbery and Killing Art' to prepare for this match, and almost made me late."

He was telling the truth; the "Twin Yang Robbery and Killing Art" is a martial art recorded in the "Blazing Yang Battle Art".

Although Si Ming was also very puzzled, "Blazing Yang Battle Art" uses the sun as its theme, and its martial style is grand, majestic and righteous. Logically speaking, the most suitable weapons for this kind of theme should be large weapons such as knife techniques, staff techniques, or heavy swords. However, it is mainly composed of daggers and throwing knives. It feels like stuffing a giant's heart into the body of a dwarf, which is puzzling.

According to the reasoning of the Mohist Academy of Science, it is very likely that "Blazing Yang Battle Art" had two creators. One created the Internal Cultivation method, and the other created the martial arts. Since the latter was a disciple of the Liu School, the martial arts tended to be in the style of thieves and assassins.

Previously, Si Ming did not cultivate the "Twin Yang Robbery and Killing Art" because he believed that this martial art was completely incompatible with the Blazing Sun True Qi, and that learning it would only make things awkward. However, his current physical condition meant that he could not engage in head-on confrontations with his opponents, so the thief's skills, which focused on dodging and evasion, became the best choice.

Si Ming wasn't lying, so he spoke sincerely, but this sincerity completely enraged Dai Zhuiguang.

"Ten minutes! Is this what you call respect? If you're deliberately trying to provoke me, then I can only say you've succeeded. I'm extremely angry now, so I've changed my mind. Originally, I just wanted to defeat you quickly and be done with it, but now, I've decided to break both your legs!"

If Dai Zhuiguang were ten years older and had ten more years of experience, the twenty-six-year-old would never have fallen for such a simple and crude provocation. But right now, he is just a sixteen-year-old boy, and a rising star of the sect who is surrounded by the halo of genius and has always been sought after.

The high-spirited Dai Zhuiguang was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment. He couldn't withstand any stimulation, and his Qi and Blood surged, his hair stood on end in anger, and his body trembled, producing a series of crackling sounds.

His legs suddenly bent and sprang back, like a bent iron spear straightening instantly, emitting a metallic buzzing sound, almost giving the illusion that his legs were made of pure steel.

The next moment, Dai Zhuiguang moved like a charging iron cavalryman, rushing out with fierce killing intent. His lower body was faster than his upper body, and his legs stretched out to wade towards Si Ming's calves, like a pair of Big Scissors. With just a gentle twist, even a pillar would be cut off.

Si Ming used the Dunjia Heavenly Movement Steps, his body slightly retreating, his feet stepping on the Kan position as if treading on waves, barely avoiding his opponent's Big Scissors. Then, he used his two daggers to slash downwards in a stealthy manner, like a hidden dragon swimming in the sea.

Dai Zhuiguang suddenly felt a chill in his lower body, and every hair on his body stood on end because of the sense of crisis. He cursed inwardly that this kid spoke so brightly, but his moves were so insidious. He was indeed a smiling tiger. He lightly grabbed his foot, raised his knee, and lashed out with his right leg like a whip, like an assassin suddenly drawing a sharp sword, kicking towards Si Ming's ankle. If this kick landed, even if Si Ming's leg was made of steel, it would be broken.

Dai Zhuiguang criticized Si Ming's moves as insidious, but in reality, his moves weren't much better. The Divine Leg Sect primarily focused on leg techniques, and unless one's Internal Cultivation and lightness skills were extremely advanced, they would never dare to use their legs openly and skillfully. Moves like those that involve jumping into the air and making a flashy downward strike were practically suicide. Therefore, offensive leg techniques were all covert, and the feet would not be raised above the knee. Only after Internal Cultivation and lightness skills had reached a high level could one move and shift in the air like a bird and leave the ground.

Seeing this, Si Ming remained calm, as if he had expected it. He shifted his feet slightly, moving from the Kan position to the Dui position, turning the waves into a swamp. He squeezed his feet inward, forming an inverted V-shape. In this way, it became Dai Zhuiguang who actively stretched his legs into the trap.

Damn it!