Ancient Martial Art: Swimming Dragon Steps

Yu Xiaogang returned to his dormitory for a midday nap, restoring his energy in preparation for training the Elite Class that afternoon.

Time passed quickly. When he woke up, it was already past one in the afternoon. Yu Xiaogang felt that time had flown by. He got up, packed his weighted gear, lightly salted water, and towels, then stored them in his Storage Soul Tool.

"Let's go, Tuanzi! Let's give the people of Douluo Continent a little shock from ancient martial arts. Let them know that relying on talent alone will always leave them at the bottom."

"Meow?" The little snowball rose from the carpet, shrank down, and jumped into his arms. Tilting her head, she imitated a cat's meow in an adorable display. She really did not understand why her master cared so much about those weak two-legged creatures.

Seeing Tuanzi act cute, Yu Xiaogang could not help but smile. He was gradually changing the fates of people from the original story. Those supporting characters from the original work were becoming stronger—wasn't that quite an accomplishment?

Before long, Yu Xiaogang arrived at the Training Grounds. He saw Dean Kahn and a group of teachers already waiting there, while the Elite Class students rested in small groups beneath the trees.

"Good afternoon, Dean Kahn. The sun is scorching today, so fortunately, I came prepared."

After speaking to Dean Kahn and the others, Yu Xiaogang began taking out reclining chairs and sun umbrellas from his Storage Soul Tool, setting them up one by one. He then brought out a barrel of lightly salted water and a pile of towels.

Dean Kahn was left dumbfounded. Who would have thought Yu Xiaogang would do things so unconventionally? Several teachers who knew him could not help but laugh.

"Hey! Teacher Yu, you really came prepared. You even got seats ready for us in the viewing area! I'm looking forward more and more to your training methods now."

Yu Xiaogang smiled and had the idle teachers led by Dean Kahn take their seats, giving each of them a pot of tea. He sat down as well, chatting and laughing with the teachers while waiting for the Elite Class students to arrive.

The Elite Class students arrived one after another. Seeing the teachers drinking tea and chatting beneath the sun umbrellas while they themselves could only stand in the shade of the trees, they felt a little disgruntled. But what could they do? Those were the academy's teachers. The clever Si Si, however, had already guessed that this was meant to dampen the students' arrogance, so she quietly explained it to her close classmates. Gradually, nearly everyone in the Elite Class figured out the teachers' intentions—except Wang Dachui, who was still standing there with a foolish grin.

Once Yu Xiaogang saw that all the Elite Class students had arrived, he picked up the little snowball in his arms and asked Kahn to hold her. Tuanzi was initially reluctant, and the light in Dean Kahn's eyes seemed to fade.

But after Yu Xiaogang coaxed her for a while, Tuanzi finally agreed. Dean Kahn excitedly accepted her and gently stroked her back. Tuanzi closed her eyes and purred comfortably. Hmph! She would let this two-legged creature give her a massage, since he was her master's friend.

Yu Xiaogang walked to the track at the front of the Training Grounds. The Elite Class students had been watching the teachers all along, and when they saw their instructor standing by the track, they hurried over to assemble.

Yu Xiaogang nodded approvingly. There were not many geniuses in the academy, but their overall quality was quite good. Once the Elite Class students had lined up neatly, he said, "Hmm, it seems you rested well at noon. Your steps are steady, and you've absorbed the medicinal soup your teacher carefully prepared quite well. You should have experienced the improvements medicinal herbs can bring to your cultivation, right?"

"Reporting, Teacher Yu! After discussing it among ourselves, we all felt that our bodies had become much stronger. Teacher Yu, will there be more cultivation medicinal soups like this in the future?"

As class monitor, Xiao Zhan stepped forward to answer Yu Xiaogang on behalf of his classmates.

Yu Xiaogang was very satisfied to see how perceptive Xiao Zhan was. With a light tap of his toes, he drifted onto the Plum Blossom Poles and began demonstrating a set of Swimming Dragon Steps deduced by Deep Blue. He turned, shifted, and moved across the poles, leaving the Elite Class students below utterly confused.

Dean Kahn and the other teachers, however, were not ignorant students. They noticed that Yu Xiaogang's footing remained utterly steady and precise as he moved across the small wooden stakes of varying heights.

Yu Xiaogang sensed that the Elite Class students had many questions. With a leap and a turn, he lightly landed in front of them and began to explain.

"I'm sure you have many questions, but you'll soon learn just how powerful the Swimming Dragon Steps I demonstrated are. Come at me together. You may activate your Martial Souls if you wish. I won't fight back. If any of you can touch even the corner of my clothes, there will be a reward!"

After saying that, Yu Xiaogang placed his hands behind his back and stood casually. Watching the students whisper among themselves, he provoked them, "What's wrong? What are you hesitating for? Do you think you can hurt me? I'll only use my footwork and won't activate my Martial Soul. Soul Masters must be brave enough to take on challenges, but they must not be reckless!"

"I'll do it! Teacher Yu, be careful! I love fighting the most!" Wang Dachui said excitedly. He immediately summoned his Martial Soul, a Great Iron Hammer, then charged forward recklessly with a loud shout.

Xiao Zhan, Su Yuntao, and Si Si represented the nobility, Work-Study Students, and Soul Master families respectively. Watching Wang Dachui charge in headfirst right after Teacher Yu had said they must not be reckless gave them all a headache. But Wang Dachui had already rushed forward, and they could not afford to fall behind either, so they activated their Martial Souls and charged in as well.

Yu Xiaogang had a headache. Wang Dachui had charged at him recklessly, completely treating his earlier words as though he had never heard them. With a casual sidestep, Yu Xiaogang dodged Wang Dachui's iron hammer.

Then Xiao Zhan's wolf claws immediately followed, while Su Yuntao's wolf claws blocked Yu Xiaogang's path of retreat. It seemed that although Xiao Zhan and Su Yuntao appeared to be at odds, they coordinated very well when attacking him. Yu Xiaogang was quite pleased with that.

With his hands behind his back, Yu Xiaogang casually stepped backward and easily evaded them. Si Si's Ribbon Martial Soul quietly tried to coil around him, but with a shift of his feet, he dodged it directly. Si Si had thought she had succeeded, but when Teacher Yu effortlessly stepped past her sneak attack, she stamped her foot in frustration.

Then long staffs, spears, tigers, and all sorts of Beast Martial Souls charged at him together. Yu Xiaogang still kept his hands behind his back as he moved lightly through the crowd, dodging with the ease of someone sightseeing through mountains and rivers.

Yu Xiaogang even had the leisure to comment on which student was exerting force incorrectly, which student attacked without regard for consequences, and who had launched a wild indiscriminate attack that, after he dodged it, struck a classmate instead and sent them flying.

Yu Xiaogang truly could not bear to watch any longer. He used Mental Power to lift the fallen students and place them in the shade, multitasking as he used the students to train his Mental Power. Since obtaining this Mental Power, he had barely trained it at all, merely letting it grow alongside his spiritual power.

Dean Kahn and the other teachers were completely stunned. They believed that, when surrounded and attacked by students, merely dodging without striking back while preventing them from touching even a corner of one's clothing was impossible—let alone doing so with both hands behind one's back and relying only on one's legs.

Dean Kahn watched Yu Xiaogang dance gracefully through the crowd like a butterfly, like a breeze that no one could grasp. Yu Xiaogang! You had given people far too many surprises.

Once your new book combining theory and practice is published, how will your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan respond? I truly look forward to it for you! The reborn Master Yu Xiaogang! Dean Kahn thought sincerely.

My headaches and eye strain have been quite severe lately, so please forgive any typos. I'll revise them later. (_) I've recently been following the Swallowed Star anime, and I feel like I've gotten new ideas again.