Practicing Martial Arts in Dreams

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!"

Si Ming said with distress, "Don't let outsiders laugh at us. They might think that you two have made up after that fight at the ancestral worship ceremony. It seems like your relationship is even worse than before."

Si Huaruo said angrily, "It's all because of her! She forced me to become the acting clan leader by shirking my responsibilities, and then she came back and found all sorts of ways to evade them, refusing to take them back."

"Then how did you, as the acting clan leader, manage to go abroad?" Si Ming asked curiously.

"I left the job to my mother. She's always been obsessed with the position of clan leader, so this is a good opportunity to fulfill her wish. However, judging from her recent letters, her enthusiasm has waned quite a bit. Indeed, some things are best when you can't have them; once you have them, they're not all that great."

Chapter 536 Learning Martial Arts in a Dream

"Don't forget, besides our ancestor, the person who knew the truth back then was also that Mohist Knight Guard who handled it. As long as I can find him, I can find out the truth too," Si Huaruo threatened.

Si Jingyu calmly poured herself a cup of tea and said slowly, "Oh, then I wish you a speedy discovery of the truth. Goodbye."

"Hmph, fine, I'll leave... Who said I was leaving! It's lunchtime, and I'm hungry. Go ahead and kick me out if you dare."

Then Si Huaruo put on a pitiful face and said to Si Ming, "You're not going to kick me out, are you?"

What could Si Ming say at this point? He could only maintain the resolve of a gunpowder depot guard and say, "Of course not, the more people there are, the more delicious the meal."

"Hehe, I knew Kongming wouldn't be so cruel to me."

"Kongming?" The question was directed at Murong Qing, who had somehow taken a seat and moved so naturally that she attracted no attention, almost as if she were possessed by Liu Qingqing.

"It was an alias I used when I was with the Si Clan," Si Ming explained briefly, then said to Si Huaruo, "My real name doesn't have the character 'Kong' in it. Having 'Kong' makes it easy for people to mistakenly think it's the compound surname Si Kong. Of course, that was one of the reasons I chose this alias."

"I know, but for me, the person I know is named Sikong Ming, so I wanted to call you that."

"Whatever, a name is just a label. Call me whatever you like."

This meal was an absolute ordeal for Si Ming. Despite being accompanied by four beautiful women, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, carefully avoiding all sensitive topics. Whenever he sensed any sign of conflict, he would immediately bring up a new topic to divert attention. This meal was more exhausting than fighting a Nascent Spirit Transformation.

The situation on the scene was that Murong Qing had clearly formed an alliance with Si Huaruo to fight against the Great Devil King Si Jingyu. The Great Devil King also had a capable henchman, Si Shuiyun, who, although she did not speak, could enhance the aura simply by standing behind Si Jingyu.

Si Huaruo is Si Jingyu's long-time defeated foe. Her temperament and personality are well understood by Si Hua Ruo, and she can be easily provoked into losing her mind and falling into verbal traps. However, she has allies to help her with this.

Murong Qing may not be good at scheming, but she has keen observation skills and a calm and rational mind. She can always pull Si Huaruo back at the critical moment to avoid falling into a trap, and then launch a counterattack. When the two of them join forces, they are enough to rival Si Jingyu.

The day when he could enjoy the blessings of having multiple wives seemed a long way off. Perhaps he should be thankful that all the beauties present knew how to restrain themselves and that none of them were wild or crazy, otherwise a full-blown fight might have been possible—although Si Ming was confident that he wouldn't provoke a wild or crazy woman.

If this were on Earth, at most people would engage in palace intrigue, and even when women fought to the extreme, it would just be a matter of wild punches against meows. But in this world with extraordinary martial arts, it's normal to resort to violence when you can't win an argument. With the martial arts prowess of the four people present, it wouldn't be impossible for them to raze Linked Mountains University to the ground.

After the meal, Si Ming felt severely exhausted. He secretly reflected on his experience: having one beautiful woman to eat with was a pleasure, having two beautiful women to eat with was like having two women on either side of you, and having three beautiful women to eat with meant that he was the one who was just keeping company.

As the saying goes, three women make a drama, and that's really true. Instead of being scared and anxious here, it's better to find a few buddies to go to a street food stall, chat and brag.

Si Ming suddenly remembered a joke he had read in his past life. It was about a wife who was about to go on a company trip. She saw her husband text someone saying, "See you at the usual place tomorrow night." She became suspicious and didn't go on the trip. Instead, she spent the day shopping at the mall. In the evening, she secretly sneaked back to her house to see which vixen her husband would meet. Instead, she saw her husband walking arm in arm with another man toward an internet cafe. The smile on her husband's face was one she had never seen before.

Of course, despite his complaints, Si Ming would absolutely not give up his hopes of having multiple wives. Others might not even have the chance to complain like that, so he wouldn't be so hypocritical as to complain after getting something for nothing.

Fortunately, everyone went their separate ways after lunch, and no one suggested going shopping together like a typical girls' gathering, otherwise Si Ming would have really gone crazy.

"It's been almost half a year since I've been back. Let's see how everyone else is doing."

Thinking of this, Si Ming set off for the Second Martial Arts Club, only to find it empty. After asking around, he learned that due to their outstanding performance last semester, the Second Martial Arts Club had successfully upgraded its facilities. The higher-ups had approved a large classroom in the gymnasium for the Second Martial Arts Club as its daily activity room, and also provided a training ground. So Si Ming had no choice but to change his destination.

Upon arriving at their destination, Si Ming saw people sparring in the martial arts arena; it was Liu Qingqing and Nie Wanzhi.

After practicing the Higher Vehicle Buddhist School Cultivation Method, Nie Wanzhi's strength improved by leaps and bounds. In just half a year, her Golden Bell Cover had been mastered to a certain extent, with golden light faintly visible flowing around her body to resist the attack of qi. In addition to the Swift Thunder Palm, which she was already good at, she had also learned a Lightning Tribulation Finger, and when she made a move, lightning flashed continuously.

Liu Qingqing was unsurprisingly at a disadvantage. After obtaining the Holy Maiden's cultivation Secret Method, her Internal Cultivation reached the peak of level eight, which was not much different from Nie Wanzhi's. However, she practiced archery and Divine Arts, both of which are ranged combat methods. Arena battles are inherently disadvantageous for her, and once she was in close combat, she was even more at a disadvantage.

Of course, there are also close-quarters archery techniques, as well as arrow-throwing techniques that are equivalent to hidden weapons. There are also low-level Divine Arts that can be cast instantly, but these are all "expedient measures" and not the ultimate solution. They are adequate against ordinary martial arts, but they inevitably pale in comparison when they encounter Higher Vehicle martial arts from the Buddhist School of the Barbarian Continent.

Under a series of fierce attacks, Nie Wanzhi quickly gained the upper hand. Suddenly, she changed her move, transforming the fierce and violent Swift Thunder Palm into the Great Mercy and Great Compassion Thousand-Leaf Hand. With a wave of her hand, she struck Liu Qingqing's wrist, causing her hand to go numb. Then, she pressed forward and took the opportunity to knock away the arm bow. She then changed her move again, transforming it into the Flower-Pinching Grappling Hand, grabbing at the neck, intending to take her down in one fell swoop.

Just as the outcome was about to be decided, Liu Qingqing suddenly lowered her body, dodging the Flower-Pinching Grappling Hand, and at the same time, her feet spun rapidly, her body turning like a top.

"Don't even think about it!"

How could Nie Wanzhi sit idly by and watch the victory slip away? She joined two fingers together and flicked her ten fingers in a circular motion, unleashing a domineering finger energy that shot out like a blooming pine flower. Its power was enough to shatter gold and break stone; it was the Tala Leaf Finger. Considering that this was just a friendly spar, not a life-or-death battle, she mostly targeted empty spaces and did not aim at people.

At this moment, Liu Qingqing rolled up her sleeve, and a dagger fell into her palm. She wielded the dagger swiftly, and with perfect precision, she blocked all the scattered finger energy. Then, her figure suddenly swayed, her Internal Cultivation surged, and she activated her Divine Arts, creating a clone.

"Dark Flying Shadow!"

In an instant, three clones attacked Nie Wanzhi from three directions, leaving long black shadows in their wake.

Startled, Nie Wanzhi quickly switched back to her usual Swift Thunder Palm, striking forward and to the left. Unfortunately, she was unlucky, hitting only illusions; Liu Qingqing's real body was precisely on her right.

"I lost."

Nie Wanzhi glanced at the dagger in front of her neck, sighed helplessly, and had no choice but to admit defeat.

Si Ming, sitting below the stage, asked in confusion, "What kind of move is this? I've never seen her use it before. Speaking of which, isn't Qingqing studying as a candidate for Saintess Candidate? Does the Holy Maiden of the Mohist Religion have to learn assassination techniques similar to assassin martial arts?"

Just then, Nie Wanzhi saw Si Ming and, with an excited expression, raised her hand and waved vigorously, shouting, "Instructor, you're back!"

Then his momentum faltered, and he scratched his face, hesitatingly saying, "What a terrible timing! They just happened to see me defeated. This is so embarrassing."

Liu Qingqing didn't have many concerns and slowly walked over, saying, "You're back."

"Yeah, I just got back... By the way, what was that fight all about? Although 'unorthodox' fighting styles are quite popular these days, it's not surprising that you, as an archer and priest, won in close combat. But where did you learn all that? It couldn't have been taught at school, could it?"

"It wasn't in school, it was in my dreams that I learned it."

"What? You can practice martial arts in your dreams? Did you cultivate the Sleeping Dream Arhat Fist or the Great Dream Heart Sutra?"