Sparring Match

Chen Gui also changed into a leather armor, holding a saber in each hand, practicing saber techniques for dual sabers.

"Come, come, let's try. I'll let you have the first three moves."

After putting on the leather armor and picking up his dual sabers, Chen Gui came to a spacious area and called out to Wu Ming. Although Wu Ming used a spear, he appeared relaxed. After all, he came from a wealthy family and had practiced the saber since childhood. Although he had only condensed blood once, he had already reached the Proficient level in dual saber techniques.

Seeing Chen Gui's "enthusiastic invitation," Wu Ming also stepped forward with his spear, assuming a stance.

On the side, several young martial artists gathered.

"How long do you think Brother Wu can last?"

"A spear against dual sabers has a slight advantage. I guess he can block ten moves."

"Brother Chen is letting you have the first three moves, so after those three, I estimate another three moves is about it."

They watched the situation in the arena, chatting amongst themselves.

Some of them also came from decent backgrounds and had practiced martial arts since childhood, but none were as skilled as Chen Gui. They also knew that Wu Ming came from a common background and only started practicing martial arts after condensing his blood energy. Now, he had probably just learned to exert force. Facing Chen Gui, who was already at the Proficient level, there was naturally no chance of winning. For Scattered Hand against Proficient, it was all about how many moves one could endure.

Generally, after two or three moves, it would be difficult for Scattered Hand to parry.

In the arena, Wu Ming did not stand on ceremony. He knew that Chen Gui's physique was similar to his, but his skill level was far superior. After assuming his stance and concentrating, he suddenly took a step forward, flicked his spear, and thrust it straight ahead.

He remembered the general outline of the sixteen forms of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, but in a real combat situation, let alone just remembering the outline, even if one had practiced it, if it wasn't skillful enough, its effect might not even be as good as the most ordinary and simple thrust.

"Good!"

Chen Gui's eyes lit up as he saw Wu Ming's spear thrust.

He knew Wu Ming hadn't been practicing the spear for long and thought Wu Ming might not even have reached the stable Scattered Hand level. But this thrust, though a simple poke, was executed with Four Levels and Eight Stabilities, and the spear flicked like a dragon emerging from the sea, with powerful force.

Swish.

Chen Gui sidestepped, parried Wu Ming's spear thrust with his left saber, and deflected its momentum.

"Two more moves."

After deflecting the spear thrust, Chen Gui did not pursue. Instead, he smiled at Wu Ming, waiting for Wu Ming to make his next move.

Wu Ming said nothing further. After his spear was deflected, he immediately retracted his force with his left hand. As he pulled the spear back, he swept it horizontally towards Chen Gui's waist.

Chen Gui crossed his dual sabers, blocking Wu Ming's sweeping spear.

Wu Ming retracted his spear and attacked again. This spear thrust was from top to bottom, executing a downward chop, but it was still blocked by Chen Gui's dual sabers crossing in a block, stopping it above his head.

"Haha, here I come!"

After blocking Wu Ming's three moves in succession, Chen Gui burst into laughter. He charged forward abruptly, his dual sabers moving in tandem, executing a "butterfly threading flowers" move, swaying nimbly, circling around, and slashing at Wu Ming.

When an expert makes a move, you know their skill. This was Wu Ming's first time facing a technique at the Proficient level. Although he had mastered the exertion of Quivering Spear Force and reached the Scattered Hand level, he was far inferior in the subtlety of his moves. His three offensive moves had barely posed any threat to Chen Gui, but Chen Gui's first counterattack put him under considerable pressure.

However, with Wu Ming's full concentration, his Perceptive Insight at the subtle level was fully utilized. Despite the gap in skill level, he reacted quite agilely to Chen Gui's counterattack. He took a backward step, evading Chen Gui's counterattack, and simultaneously retracted and flicked his spear, thrusting straight ahead again, forcing Chen Gui to dodge sideways and widening the distance once more.

"Quite a quick reaction."

Chen Gui chuckled and advanced with his saber again.

His previous surprise attack had failed. Noticing Wu Ming's agility and quick reactions, he abandoned the element of surprise and unleashed the thirty-six forms of an Eight Trigram Saber technique. With a "white ape offering fruit" upward slash, he batted away Wu Ming's spear, then followed up with continuous saber moves, relying on the suppression of his technique and skill to attack directly from the center.

Facing Chen Gui's rapid-fire assault, which was as swift as thunder, Wu Ming remained calm. Although he hadn't reached the Proficient level and didn't fully understand the breakdown of techniques, his keen Perceptive Insight allowed him to vaguely detect some weak points in Chen Gui's saber movements. He continuously thrust his spear towards those weak points, while step by step retreating, always maintaining distance and giving Chen Gui no chance to get close.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten moves had passed.

This time, not only were the surrounding young martial artists astonished, but Chen Gui himself was also surprised. He could see that Wu Ming's moves were crude and lacked proper technique, but each spear thrust always subtly aimed at troublesome spots, forcing him to divide his attention to dodge or parry.

During this process, Wu Ming continued to retreat, maintaining distance. Although he appeared to be constantly pushed back and completely suppressed by Chen Gui, he was actually able to block every move without his stance collapsing.

Normally, in a fight between Scattered Hand and Proficient, after two or three moves, the difference in techniques would leave the Scattered Hand fighter struggling to cope, and once their movements and footwork became disorganized, they would usually be defeated immediately.

But Wu Ming, relying on the slight advantage of the spear, his keen reactions, and his judgment of the situation, had managed to hold on under a huge disadvantage. Although he was constantly retreating, he showed no signs of collapsing.

However, after another ten or so moves, Wu Ming finally stopped resisting.

"I can't anymore."

He shook his head and stopped moving.

By this time, he had retreated to the edge of the courtyard. Less than ten feet behind him was the bluestone courtyard wall. If he retreated any further, he would have nowhere else to go, and once Chen Gui got close, he would be defeated instantly.

Although he wanted to change this disadvantageous situation, Chen Gui's continuous saber techniques put immense pressure on him, leaving him no time to change his position. He could only retreat step by step. He had to admit that the difference in skill level was indeed very significant.

Of course, this was also due to his first real combat experience, and his unfamiliarity with the techniques in actual combat meant he couldn't fully utilize the sharpness and reaction time provided by his Perceptive Insight at the subtle level.

Wu Ming felt that if he could gain more experience in actual combat and understand both saber and spear techniques, then even if he hadn't reached the Proficient level, with his Perceptive Insight at the subtle level, he could contend with a Proficient martial artist like Chen Gui!

"The effects of a strengthened soul are indeed extraordinary."

Wu Ming inwardly mused that he could benefit not only from condensing his Qi and Blood and practicing his moves, but it seemed the greatest potential for Perceptive Insight lay in its application during actual combat.

Unfortunately, the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram in his mind had fallen silent after that incident where he suppressed a Malevolent Spirit. He tried to study it every night before resting, but it never responded.

Meanwhile, Wu Ming was still replaying the recent confrontation in his mind, reflecting on his mistakes.

On the other side, Chen Gui put down his saber and looked at Wu Ming with surprise, saying, "We're both honest folk, no need to lie. Your fighting style, have you not practiced it in actual combat before?"

"Why would I lie to you? While I haven't practiced in actual combat, I've envisioned many scenarios during my training. For the spear, distance is key. Against swords, fists, or kicks, as long as I can maintain distance, I'll be invincible," Wu Ming said with a smile, looking at Chen Gui.

"Thinking about it and actually practicing it are completely different things," Chen Gui shook his head, giving Wu Ming a thumbs-up. "Even though I only used seventy percent of my strength, you were able to block it. Among Scattered Hand martial artists, you can be considered strong."

Speaking of which, he took a step forward, patted Wu Ming with the back of his hand, winked at him, and lowered his voice, "With this level of skill, you can already leave the hospital. How about it? Want to come work for me?"

"If you come, I'll give you a Crimson Serpent Spear and pay you ten taels of silver a month."