That Last One Didn't Count

"Miao! What nonsense are you up to? Stop looking for trouble!"

He was worried sick, thinking that his disciple had come from a small place after all and hadn't seen much of the world. Ordinary praise had gone to his head, and he didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

Qing He Miao, however, merely waved a hand gently, signaling for his master to stay calm.

Seeing him like this, Master Chai became even more convinced that the boy had no idea what he was doing.

He was a newborn calf who feared no tiger, ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.

Guan Shihua watched the scene with interest. She rubbed her chin and mused:

"Youcai is six or seven years older than you, at least, and his cultivation is solid. Your proposal is a bit like picking on someone, isn't it?"

"Just a demonstration."

Qing He Miao snorted and said in a clear voice:

"If I actually won, now that would be picking on someone. Just don't hold a petty grudge afterward and make it impossible for my master and me to get down the mountain."

He only dared to do this because he had seen the original story and knew what she was like.

"Hahaha!"

Guan Shihua burst out laughing and waved a hand expansively:

"Good! What's a little rough-and-tumble between grown men? Youcai, since this young brother wants to trade a few moves with you, give him a little practice! Remember, fight without holding back, but don't actually try to kill him. Stop before anyone gets seriously hurt, and let me see what this little fellow is made of!"

"Oh, now you've got my temper up!"

Deng Youcai had already felt looked down on, and his grandmother's words immediately roused the competitive spirit of a man from beyond the Great Wall.

He rolled his neck with a soft crack and grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth:

"Don't worry, Grandma. I'll be sure to give this young brother a 'good' practice, and I definitely won't 'go easy on him'!"

He put special emphasis on the last few words, staring intently at Qing He Miao.

Qing He Miao cupped his hands, and without another word, the two went one after the other to an open space they had passed earlier.

The ground there was level, with enough room to move freely.

Master Chai and Guan Shihua followed them out and stood in the shade beneath the eaves to watch.

Faintly, they also seemed to feel several curious or appraising gazes coming from behind the doors and windows of the other houses around the courtyard. Clearly, the commotion had attracted some attention.

Deng Youcai walked to the center of the courtyard and assumed an opening stance. Though his tone was heated, he was reasonably sensible in his actions and spoke up first:

"Let's get one thing straight: I won't pick on you. For this match, neither of us gets to invite an immortal to possess us and help us fight. We'll rely on the basics. How about it?"

"Sure. That's fair."

Qing He Miao walked over to face him, rolling his wrists and ankles in a simple warm-up as he smiled cheerfully:

"Brother Deng, win or lose, no holding grudges after we're done."

He had rarely had the chance to spar with anyone.

"Sure! And another thing..."

Deng Youcai squeezed the words out through his teeth. His gaze sharpened, and the qi around him surged, all trace of contempt vanishing.

He pushed off, kicking up a faint cloud of dust as he charged like a hunting cheetah:

"I'm the second brother."

He was so fast that he left an afterimage before the words had even died away.

The five fingers of his right hand curled slightly, not into a fist but a claw. The qi gathered at his fingertips flickered with a faint black sheen as he struck straight for Qing He Miao's chest and abdomen!

The claw strike looked simple, but it contained the Horse-Riding Immortal lineage's basic techniques for strengthening sinews and bones and directing qi and blood. Its force was restrained, but if it landed solidly, it could shatter monuments and split stone. It also concealed follow-up moves.

According to the sparring and exchanges common between practitioners of the same lineage in the world of The Outcast.

What the two should have been testing now was their most basic cultivation: their total reserves of qi, the precision of their control over it, their physical condition, and their combat experience.

Chapter 18: That Last One Didn't Count

However one looked at it, Deng Youcai, who was more than ten years older, had received Guan Shihua's personal guidance since childhood, and had solid cultivation, held an overwhelming advantage.

Qing He Miao was clearly at a disadvantage, whether in his total qi reserves or his familiarity with basic punches and kicks.

Facing that swift, fierce claw, his pupils contracted slightly, and he didn't dare take it head-on.

He dodged hastily, sliding sideways and back in an attempt to avoid its edge.

But Deng Youcai was experienced and seemed to have anticipated the direction of his dodge. Before the claw strike had run its course, he flicked his wrist, changed claw to palm, and swept it toward Qing He Miao's ribs. The change was as swift and fluid as flowing clouds and running water.

"Smack!"

A muffled impact rang out.

[Attacked by LV25 Horse-Riding Immortal Deng Youcai's unarmed combat (mastery). A minor abnormal status has appeared. A destructive power check will be performed. Check failed. Knockback and other statuses will follow.]

Qing He Miao did his utmost to block, but when his arm collided with the other man's palm, a powerful force still left it numb and sent him staggering.

He retreated two or three steps before regaining his balance, a dull ache spreading through his entire arm.

"Tch, that's it?"

Having landed a hit, Deng Youcai didn't press the attack. Instead, he stopped, a hint of contempt on his face:

"Kid, being good with your mouth won't cut it. If you want to trade moves with me, you need a few more years of practice!"

He could see that Qing He Miao's foundation was indeed shallow. He had held back on that last strike; otherwise, his opponent would probably already be on the ground.

Qing He Miao rubbed the spot where he had been hit, took a deep breath, and suppressed his churning qi and blood. He shook out his hand and said in admiration:

"Impressive."

He had sparred with his master too.

In the system's assessment, his master had cultivated all his life and was only [LV29].

He had originally thought his master was just too weak and hadn't paid it much mind.

But thinking about it now, Guan Shihua, one of the Ten Elders, was only [LV51]. His master at least had his own hall and a lineage behind him, a proper Horse-Riding Immortal, so that level was about right.

Still, considering the sophistication of their cultivation techniques, their physical condition, and the level of the immortals backing them.

He figured that if they really fought, even his master might not be able to get the better of Deng Youcai.

Considering the difference in age, people really were different.

"Heh heh, impressive, right?"

Deng Youcai chuckled slyly, planted his left foot for support, and immediately twisted into a kick:

"The really impressive stuff is still to come!"

Qing He Miao did his best to dodge left and right, but it was like an old man playing with a mischievous child. He took two more kicks, leaving several footprints on his clothes.

Master Chai watched from the side, his heart aching.

But Qing He Miao wasn't discouraged. After seeing what he had come to see, he even found time to brush the footprints off his clothes while Deng Youcai was going easy on him.

Then, when his opponent seemed to think the fight was nearly over and attacked again, a flash of lightning lit up his eyes, and the corners of his mouth even curved slightly.

"Second Brother Deng, watch out."

At the same time, he opened the system and completed the operation with a thought.

He replaced [Cream] in his Stand slot with [Red Hot Chili Pepper]!

Then, with another thought, he activated one of [Red Hot Chili Pepper]'s core abilities: electrical enhancement!

[Red Hot Chili Pepper] itself actually couldn't release lightning directly for ranged attacks.

Most of its attacks used absorbed and stored electricity to directly enhance its strength and speed, allowing it to attack head-on with greater ferocity.

"Crackle—!"

The almost illusory sound of electricity came faintly from within Qing He Miao. The air around him seemed to warp slightly, and the tips of his hair stirred without wind.

A powerful energy instantly filled every limb and bone in his body!

It was the electricity he had spent an entire semester "fleecing" from the school's wires. Now he burned through it without hesitation, using up more than half in the blink of an eye!

The next moment, Qing He Miao's bearing abruptly changed. His somewhat slender frame seemed to swell, and his gaze was sharp as lightning.

He kicked off the ground!

"Boom!"

His foot left a shallow pit in the hard-packed earth, sending dust flying!

Qing He Miao's figure became a blurred afterimage, several times faster than Deng Youcai's earlier charge!

Almost in the instant Deng Youcai froze at the sound of electricity and the sudden change in his opponent's aura, Qing He Miao had already rushed in front of him with an irresistible force!

Deng Youcai turned pale with shock. In his haste, he only had time to cross his arms over his chest and muster all his qi to defend himself.

"Bang!!!"

A tremendously heavy impact rang out, like a great hammer pounding a drum!

A piercing pain shot through Deng Youcai's arms, as though a speeding truck had hit him head-on. His gathered qi defense was torn apart by brute force in an instant!

He flew backward out of control and slammed into the solid courtyard wall!

"Cough!"

Deng Youcai grunted as his back struck the wall hard, leaving his qi and blood churning and his vision going black.

He slid down the wall a little and barely managed to steady himself. His arms were still trembling as he stared in shock at Qing He Miao, who had appeared before him in an instant and even had one hand resting effortlessly against the wall beside him.

Qing He Miao held his position after rushing forward and restraining his opponent, his breathing slightly hurried. That was because his sudden burst of tremendous power was somewhat out of sync with the qi in his body.

After all, they were powers from two different systems. It wasn't impossible to use them together, but without practice, they were bound to affect each other.

But with electricity so expensive these days, how could Qing He Miao bear to practice often?

"Second Brother Deng, sorry about that. Thank you for not going all out at the start. Otherwise, I might not have lasted until now."

He looked at Deng Youcai, who was close at hand, his face full of disbelief, and didn't press him any further.

Instead, he took half a step back, released the hand he had on the other man's arm, and said gently:

"That last move was a trick on my part, a sneak attack with no martial virtue."

According to the etiquette of the JoJo anime, perhaps he should have followed up with a storm of "Ora ora ora ora."

But for one thing, although Deng Youcai had treated it somewhat like playing with a child, he really had held back and avoided heavy blows.

For another, Qing He Miao wasn't the sort of person single-mindedly bent on maximizing his gains.

That lightning strike just now had relied entirely on an instantaneous burst of the electricity stored in [Red Hot Chili Pepper], catching his opponent off guard.

In terms of actual cultivation and the ability to fight a prolonged battle, he was still no match for Deng Youcai.