The Most Incompetent Disciple?

"Ugh...!"

Wu Xiaohui finally let out a muffled groan.

The impact from behind, although almost completely disintegrated because Wu Xiaohui converted her Star Pulse Energy into defensive power, Fang Li Li's tightly gripping hand on her neck, which was also imbued with Star Pulse Energy and kept tightening, making it almost impossible for Wu Xiaohui to breathe.

Fang Li pinned Wu Xiaohui to the ground, smiled slightly at her distressed Wu Xiaohui, and spoke softly.

"You've lost, Senior Brother."

After saying that, Fang Li released his hand, allowing air to finally enter Wu Xiaohui's trachea.

But Wu Xiaohui didn't get up for a long time, staring blankly at the ceiling, her face full of confusion.

We lost.

I lost.

And the defeat was so decisive and so ugly.

Without realizing it, Wu Xiaohui recalled Fan Xinglu's words.

"Xiaohui, do your best, I'm really looking forward to it."

As a result, Wu Xiaohui failed to meet these expectations and suffered a complete defeat.

"Why..."

A trace of emotion finally appeared in Wu Xiaohui's voice.

With Wu Xiaohui's keen eye, she could naturally see that Fang Li hadn't shown much strength in the sparring session; he had only surpassed her in speed.

As Fan Xinglu commented, this junior brother's strength should be no weaker than Cecily and Zhao Hufeng, but compared to herself, there should be quite a gap.

Even so, Fang Li easily defeated Wu Xiaohui.

This situation left Wu Xiaohui completely bewildered.

"Our senior brother actually lost just like that?"

"How... how could this be?"

Not far away, Cecily and Zhao Hufeng's voices also showed an uncontrollable wavering.

Only Fan Xinglu, her smile undiminished, looked at Wu Xiaohui lying on the ground, looking completely bewildered, and actually laughed, saying with great pleasure, "I didn't expect you to make such an expression, Xiaohui."

"Master." The confusion in Wu Xiaohui's eyes finally faded a little. She stood up, knelt on one knee in the direction of Fan Xinglu, and spoke in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, Master, I've let you down."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xinglu's smile vanished.

"Are you mistaken somewhere?" Fan Xinglu said. "I didn't say I expected you to win, but rather that I hoped you could use this sparring session as an opportunity to realize your mistakes."

"A mistake?" Wu Xiaohui murmured.

Looking at Wu Xiaohui like this, Fan Xinglu sighed slightly, and then a terrifying aura suddenly swelled up from her body.

"You are indeed my most prized disciple. You have been exceptionally talented since childhood and have made rapid progress, but I can't find any enjoyment in you at all!"

The terrifying aura and icy words made Wu Xiaohui's breath catch in her throat, and Cecily and Zhao Hufeng's faces stiffened.

However, this was the true feeling in Fan Xinglu's heart.

Only Fang Li understands.

"Senior Brother, you are far too straightforward. You are single-mindedly devoted to fulfilling Master's wishes, which is why you practice martial arts. As a result, you have followed Master's shadow to such an extreme degree that you have completely become Master's shadow."

Fang Li gave Wu Xiaohui a merciless evaluation.

"Your moves are a complete imitation of your master's moves."

"Your movements are a perfect imitation of your master's."

"It's like studying a book by rote, copying every move your master taught you. To others, that might seem really strong, but to me, who is familiar with my master's moves, it's just easy to deal with. And if even I'm like that, then my master is even more so."

"After all, no matter how much you like fighting and enjoy fighting, fighting yourself is the most boring thing."

Wu Xiaohui fell silent immediately.

Indeed, Wu Xiaohui herself did not want to climb to the next level; she was just blindly pursuing Fan Xinglu.

In this way, no matter how strong Wu Xiaohui is, she can never surpass Fan Xinglu; she will only become Fan Xinglu's puppet and shadow.

"Actually, Senior Brother is definitely much stronger than me in terms of pure strength, but I am too familiar with Master's moves. If you completely imitate them, you will naturally not be able to hit me," Fang Li said. "Moreover, those moves are Master's moves, not your moves. Even if you completely copy them, you will not be able to use them better than Master."

To put it simply, imagine an adult and a child hitting a wall at the same time. If the adult's hand can just reach the wall, the child's hand will definitely not be able to reach it.

In such a situation, the child would inevitably have to close the distance until he could reach the target before launching an attack.

Wu Xiaohui's situation is like constantly trying to attack from the same spot as the adults, but no matter how hard she trains her fists, she can't hit the wall.

Therefore, combat skills, like anything else, need to be adjusted to some extent according to one's own situation during the learning process. Even if the moves are the same, the techniques for exerting force, the trajectory of the attack, and the fluidity of the movements must all be suitable for oneself in order to make the moves one's own.

Complete replication sounds impressive, but it is ultimately a huge weakness.

Therefore, Fan Xinglu's evaluation of Wu Xiaohui was. "If the so-called apprentice refers to inheriting the skills of the master, then that kid is definitely the best in this regard."

And there's more to that statement than meets the eye.

"If the so-called disciple means surpassing the master, then Xiaohui is the most incompetent disciple."

Blindly imitating without knowing how to adapt will only lead to this result.

"I have told each and every one of you that the purpose of teaching you martial arts is only to satisfy me. If you cannot satisfy me, then what use is it if you are exceptionally talented or make rapid progress?"

Fan Xinglu shook her head and said to Wu Xiaohui, "I am very grateful for your loyalty, but don't forget that you are you and I am me. Don't become my puppet, otherwise you will not be able to call yourself my disciple."

"..."

Wu Xiaohui lowered her head and could no longer speak.

Looking at Wu Xiaohui like this, Fan Xinglu's eyes softened for the first time, and she said, "Think carefully about what I said. Until then, your cultivation will be temporarily suspended."

"...Yes." Wu Xiaohui finally responded.

Fan Xinglu smiled with satisfaction.

There are two aspects that are satisfactory.

One is the awakening of the eldest disciple.

One is the performance of the junior disciples.

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you, kid. You are indeed more capable than I imagined." Fan Xinglu said to Fang Li, "From now on, you will replace Xiaohui and become my sparring partner."

Cecily and Zhao Hufeng immediately cast envious glances at Fang Li.

Fang Li gave a wry smile, but also seemed somewhat satisfied.

Should we use Fan Xinglu as our sparring partner?

That should make things progress even faster, right?

In that respect, it's quite something to look forward to.