Bamboo Grove and Mosquitoes

Three months later.

Nighttime.

Inside a bamboo grove roughly three hundred meters from the residence.

Because it was relatively close to the gang's central lake, the air around it was rather damp.

Thus, thick white fog was still endlessly spreading through the dense bamboo grove, reducing visibility throughout the entire forest to an extremely low level.

Among the thick bamboo stalks, each easily thirty or forty meters tall, Ling Wuyuan moved methodically within a certain area. Though each movement covered little ground—usually only two or three meters—his motions seemed somewhat strange, containing quite a few awkward poses that did not conform to the structure of the human body or normal human habits.

For example, the angle of his body would sometimes form an acute angle of twenty or thirty degrees with the ground.

As though he were evading something, or perhaps deducing something.

At the same time.

The longsword in his hand continued to swing as his footwork shifted.

There were no particular swordsmanship forms.

It simply danced erratically around his body.

Its sole distinguishing feature was its speed.

So fast that it seemed as though a layer of sword shadows surrounded him...

Whenever the pale moonlight shone upon the blade in his hand.

The gentle moonlight would often reflect streaks of chilling cold radiance from the smooth blade, randomly illuminating scenes that had once been hidden in the darkness within the murky white fog around him...

From nearly thirty meters away, a newcomer who had joined at the same time watched Ling Wuyuan's wanton sword dance for quite a while. Holding a lantern for illumination, he asked in confusion, "What's he doing?"

"Is he practicing Basic Swordsmanship?"

"How can it be so chaotic and disordered?"

Ling Wuyuan's sword speed was indeed extremely fast. With his visual tracking ability, he could only barely keep up.

If they truly fought, he probably would not be able to beat Ling Wuyuan.

But he truly could not understand why Ling Wuyuan's swordsmanship was so chaotic and disorderly.

There was not the slightest pattern to it.

Even after standing there and watching for several minutes, he could not make out the slightest trace of any swordsmanship profundity. At most, he felt that the other party's sword speed was indeed fast.

The person beside him.

After another newcomer from the same batch observed for a while as well, he gently shook his head. "I can't understand it either."

"Whether it's the movement technique Ling Wuyuan is using or the swordsmanship he's using, I can't quite make sense of either..."

"I simply can't glean any useful information from them..."

Though Ling Wuyuan's sword light looked quite fierce, it was ultimately somewhat chaotic and unstructured. It gave the impression of being merely fast, without much worth paying attention to.

Exquisite?

It was far from that.

As for his movement technique, that was even more incomprehensible.

Not only was it far from exquisite, it could not even be called pleasing to the eye.

After continuing to observe earnestly for a while.

Watching Ling Wuyuan seemingly dodge something again and again, the man could only make a half-understanding guess. "I heard that some people simulate opponents in their minds when practicing martial arts and fight them. Perhaps that's what he's doing?"

Hearing this.

After pondering for a moment.

His companion felt that this made some sense.

He nodded in agreement. "...That is indeed possible."

Then, he quickly asked in puzzlement, "But what would be the point of that?"

"An imagined opponent is still only imagined. It isn't real."

"It simply can't compare to a real opponent!"

"Wouldn't it be more effective for him to find someone to spar with directly?"

In response to that.

The other man nodded in strong agreement, then quickly thought of something and began to laugh.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"You know what that guy's personality is like. He always looks ice-cold, and he never interacts much with anyone else."

"Even during group training at the training grounds in the daytime, he is unquestionably a lone wolf."

"Where do you think he'd find a friend to spar with?"

Hearing that.

After blanking out for a moment, the one who had spoken earlier also burst into laughter.

"Hahaha..."

"That makes sense!"

"That really makes sense!"

"In an instant, it's like the clouds have parted and the sun has appeared!!"

Thinking back to Ling Wuyuan's attitude toward everyone else.

He did not provoke anyone, but neither did he make friends. It would not be wrong to say he kept people a thousand miles away.

The man could not find any words or reasons to refute the other party.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

"Reasonable!"

"Fucking reasonable!!"

However.

After laughing for a while.

He stopped laughing and muttered with some resentment, "Let's get going already."

"There are really too many poisonous mosquitoes in this bamboo grove. I've got at least twenty bites all over my body. They itch like hell..."

"Next time we come here to practice martial arts, we absolutely can't forget mosquito repellent..."

"You're right. This damn place is full of mosquitoes at this time of year. No wonder hardly anyone wants to come here for fun. It's practically feeding your own flesh to the mosquitoes..."

Not long afterward.

They slowly departed with their lanterns.

They chatted as they walked.

And the center of their conversation was Ling Wuyuan.

For someone who had taken first place in cultural studies and consistently remained in the top five—or even the top three—in cultivation classes, never once receiving the whip, they naturally felt a bit of envy, jealousy, and resentment. This was especially true since Ling Wuyuan did not socialize with anyone at all.

They all felt that Ling Wuyuan was excessively arrogant.

"...That guy's talent is indeed quite good, but he really doesn't know how to conduct himself. He doesn't understand the warmth and coldness of human relationships at all. He only knows how to bury his head in his own work. Sooner or later, he'll run into a wall in other areas and suffer badly..."

"Right, right, right... That's what I think too. That guy..."

Ling Wuyuan paid no attention to their words or thoughts.

Even though he heard their conversation, he felt little about it.

As for mosquitoes?

There truly were many.

Just like those two, in his eyes, they were merely two among the countless mosquitoes...

At this moment, Ling Wuyuan was still calmly wielding the sharp sword in his hand.

However, compared to before, both the speed of his sword and the speed of his shifting footwork had undoubtedly increased considerably.

His sword light was so fast.

It directly left layer upon layer of afterimages around him!

Like some kind of impenetrable curtain of light!

His footwork was much the same. Moving at roughly fifty meters per second, he appeared no different from a demon in the eyes of ordinary people, making it impossible for them to see what was happening...