Drawing a Knife to Cut Water, A Huge Gap

Qi and Blood surged. Li Changqing, carrying a massive stone, sped through the mountain forest. As his physique continued to strengthen, breaking through his limits became increasingly difficult, but conversely, the rewards gained from successfully breaking through were also doubling.

His Qi and Blood Concentration, at the Embracing Core and Returning Strength level, was on an entirely different scale compared to his previously meager Qi and Blood.

He ran along the stream, and gradually the riverbed narrowed. The familiar roar of a waterfall reached him from afar.

Following Sun Sheng, Li Changqing circled back with the giant stone, returning to the place where he had previously trained.

"Your physique is even more outstanding than I imagined. I originally thought you might need to rest midway, but I didn't expect you to be able to run the entire course in one go."

Sun Sheng's voice suddenly sounded in Li Changqing's ear. He turned sharply.

Five meters behind him, Sun Sheng was casually following, carrying a stone even heavier than the one Li Changqing had. It rested on Sun Sheng's back as if it were weightless.

On the muddy ground, only faint outlines of Sun Sheng's footprints could be seen.

In contrast, Li Changqing...

Even though he had been continuously circulating his Tai Chi Soft Strength, the marks he left on the ground were far from mere footprints. If someone told them this land had just been bombarded by artillery, many would likely believe it.

Sun Sheng took a step, effortlessly surpassing Li Changqing, and gently placed the stone he carried in front of the waterfall.

Thump!

Dust billowed. Li Changqing loosened his grip, and the massive stone sank into the mud.

His current Tai Chi Soft Strength was still far from enough to dissipate the force of a half-ton object.

So, he simply didn't bother dissipating the force.

"How does it feel?"

Li Changqing didn't rush to answer. He slowly adjusted his breathing, forcing his rhythm to slow down and re-enter the normal pace of the Spirit Turtle Breathing Technique.

A full minute passed before Li Changqing finally managed to control his breathing and heart rate.

He looked inward at his body. As expected, the proficiency of the Spirit Turtle Breathing Technique had improved once again.

Training methods that pushed the body's limits were indeed the most suitable for his cultivation pace.

[Spirit Turtle Breathing Technique, Proficiency: 32%]

"I'm starting to reach my limit," Li Changqing said, looking at Sun Sheng, who appeared completely unfazed.

"Is this training intensity just a warm-up for you?" Seeing that the other man didn't immediately reply, Li Changqing asked again:

"Or does it not even count as a warm-up, just a little something?"

Sun Sheng lowered his head in thought, then raised his chin, carefully choosing his words.

"It's not a 'little something,' it's a 'medium something'."

Sun Sheng's load was far more terrifying than Li Changqing's. Even if Li Changqing's stone was 500 kilograms, Sun Sheng's was nearly a ton.

Running three kilometers on rugged mountain roads with a ton of weight, without even breaking a sweat.

The gap in their strength was even greater than Li Changqing had estimated.

"Do you know about the Youth Cup?"

"I do," Li Changqing replied, leaning against the giant stone.

"It's starting in a month. I'm training for the Youth Cup."

"You need to seize this opportunity and strive to reach the quarterfinals. Only then can you gain enough attention."

"How old are you?"

"22."

"22? Just graduated from university?"

"Yes, just graduated."

Sun Sheng paused. "You're stronger than Jiang He. He's only just reached the Transformation Stage; he's not as good as you."

"However, I've never heard of you before. There's never been any news about you spreading in Rong City."

On Earth, martial arts cultivation only began to be systematically developed for students after they entered university. Those who could cultivate Old Techniques were at least university graduates.

A Lower-Rank Martial Artist at 22 years old was an absolute prodigy, without a doubt.

"You'll know after the Youth Cup."

"That's true."

Sun Sheng nodded, agreeing with Li Changqing's statement.

"I'm looking forward to your performance at the Youth Cup. If I have the chance, I'll come to watch your matches."

He walked towards the waterfall and retrieved his belongings from a poplar tree.

"I have to go. I have classes at the city's Youth Palace this afternoon, and I need to get back to teach my students."

"Youth Palace?"

Li Changqing blinked in surprise.

The Youth Palace was a general term for welfare-based Martial Arts Halls across the country, catering to young students with average talent and families who couldn't afford the fees of formal Martial Arts Halls.

However, because it was a free institution, the teachers at the Youth Palace were basically not official Martial Artists; they were all older Martial Arts Apprentices.

He asked in confusion, "With your strength, any Martial Arts Hall would want you. Why would you go to the Youth Palace?"

Sun Sheng shook his head. "Official Martial Arts Halls have good coaches, but the Youth Palace doesn't."

He didn't continue on that topic and instead asked, "Do you have any other questions about cultivation?"

"I don't have any problems. You taught me a lot today," Li Changqing shook his head.

"But, can you show me your true strength?"

Li Changqing looked directly into Sun Sheng's eyes.

"The path of martial arts is long. If there's a benchmark, it will be more motivating to walk it."

"Aren't you afraid of being discouraged?"

"I'm not afraid," Li Changqing's eyes were calm.

"I believe in myself more than I believe the sun will rise tomorrow."

Sun Sheng's pupils were serene, and the corners of his mouth curved into a subtle, imperceptible arc.

He turned and walked to the riverbank, gazing at the gently flowing stream before him.

"Have you heard of Li Bai's poetry?"

"There's a poem I really like: 'Drawing a knife to cut water, but the water flows more; raising a cup to dispel sorrow, but sorrow deepens.'"

Sun Sheng raised his right arm and, for the first time in front of Li Changqing, unleashed his Qi and Blood with full force.

The pressure, almost tangible, made Li Changqing's muscles stiffen. Biological instinct seemed to tell him that the being before him was not human, but some legendary ancient ferocious beast.

"But that was a sigh of helplessness from many years ago, for me."

Boom!

Sun Sheng's right arm transformed into a knife-hand, and with his condensed Qi and Blood, it actually formed a phantom blade energy. The sharp aura directly split the stream.

Water has no constant form, nor constant shape.

But today, the unseverable flowing water, along with the slash Sun Sheng made, was divided into two distinct, separate streams.

The powerful Qi and Blood, even when projected through the body, could linger on the riverbed for a moment.

And during this time, the water could not encroach even slightly.

It could not close.

"For me, I can dispel sorrow by raising a cup, and I can cut water by drawing a knife."

With the most ordinary tone, he spoke the most arrogant words.

Sun Sheng slowly turned around, looking at Li Changqing, whose pupils had shrunk.

"I hope that the next time I see you, you can bring me new surprises."

As his voice fell, the stream closed.

Sun Sheng leaped onto the treetops and disappeared into the depths of the jungle in a few bounds.

Staring at the flowing stream before him, Li Changqing's mouth split into a grin.

"This guy..."

He finally understood. Sun Sheng, without any extra expressions or unnecessary words, was not some gentle gentleman as elegant as a chrysanthemum.

He was an arrogant madman to the extreme.

He didn't want to talk much, and he didn't have rich expressions, simply because he didn't want to waste his time on irrelevant matters.

And the reason the other party taught him cultivation techniques was purely because Li Changqing had been recognized by Sun Sheng.

However, it wasn't recognition as an opponent.

It was recognition as a "student."

That guy just felt Li Changqing was worthy of him spending a tiny bit of his time to play the teacher.

That was all.

"Drawing a knife to cut water?" He took a deep breath, the immense pressure finally falling on his shoulders.

"This year's Youth Cup is truly a case of hidden dragons and crouching tigers," Li Changqing had originally thought that with a month's time and his cultivation speed, coupled with mastering an Artistic Conception, winning the championship wouldn't be a pipe dream.

But after witnessing Sun Sheng's strength today, Li Changqing realized that his current goal should be to surpass Sun Sheng first.

Judging by the latter's words just now, it was possible that all the opponents in the Youth Cup's subsequent rounds would be at Sun Sheng's level.

"If I can't even beat Sun Sheng, how can I contend for the championship? I might not even qualify for the next round."

"And then there's that Jixing Martial Hall, which has branches all over the country. They will definitely compete for the championship with its Seedling Plan slots, and they might even transfer strong individuals from their branches in other cities."

"There are definitely many who are stronger than Sun Sheng among them. As a lone individual, he is bound to be inferior to the foundation of such large Martial Arts Halls."

In Li Changqing's opinion, since Sun Sheng was teaching at the Youth Palace, he must not have joined any large Martial Arts Halls in Rong City.

"One month!"

Gazing at the waterfall flowing before him, Li Changqing set a small goal for himself.

Before the Youth Cup, he must at least possess the ability to clash head-on with Sun Sheng.

Instead of being in a situation like today, where he couldn't even get the other party to make a move to spar.