Can't See Clearly

Yet in the next instant, the shadow before him abruptly split in two.

Dazzling blade light burst from within the shadows, swift to the extreme, striking at both his arms with the force of thunder.

Yu Changlu was instantly horrified. True qi erupted within him as he tried to dodge aside.

But at that moment, another streak of blade light slashed in at an angle with a shrill whistle, locking onto his throat.

The intense sense of mortal danger told him that if he dared dodge, this strike would sever head from body!

Yu Changlu froze in terror. In the instant he hesitated, two sprays of blood had already shot from his arms.

The sudden loss of strength made his arms drop sharply, and the huge hammer in his hands crashed to the ground like a tree without roots.

Yu Changlu lowered his head. A cold, slender blade rested beside his neck, while he could no longer feel the slightest sensation in his hanging arms.

"True qi released beyond the body? Are you a martial arts master?"

Yu Changlu abruptly looked up in terror at Cang Yinyue, who stood quietly before him.

At that moment, a mountain wind swept past Cang Yinyue's slender figure, and beneath her gently fluttering veil came a cool voice:

"Not quite. I can only be considered Half-Step Master."

In martial cultivation, the acquired realm was divided into three minor levels according to the number of meridians a practitioner had opened and connected.

The innate realm was likewise divided into three levels.

Once one opened the Ren and Du meridians and drew the qi of heaven and earth into the body, one could be called an innate expert. This was the first innate realm.

With internally circulating martial true qi as the foundation, once true qi could be released beyond the body and condensed until it resembled something tangible, one had reached the second innate realm. In the martial world, this realm was also called the martial arts master realm.

Any martial arts master held no low standing in the martial world. Even within the Bloodbath Alliance, they were figures on par with elders.

The two shadows Cang Yinyue had just split into were the combination of the puppet shadow bodies from the Lingcang Shadow Art and martial true qi condensed into form.

She had yet to truly release her qi beyond her body completely. This move was merely borrowing momentum and relying on a clever trick; it could not be sustained for long.

Even so, with this technique, she would not be greatly inferior even when facing a true martial arts master.

"How does Miss Cang intend to deal with them?"

At that moment, Li Musheng's voice sounded from behind Cang Yinyue.

He sat astride the mule, studying Yu Changlu, whose arm tendons had already been severed, with a thoughtful expression.

Hearing this, Yu Changlu instinctively raised his eyes and glanced at him, then shifted his gaze toward his subordinates.

Yet all he saw were his men standing on the mountain path one by one, motionless as statues.

A strange feeling rose in Yu Changlu's heart.

When he had fought Cang Yinyue just now, he had actually spared a hurried glance at the situation of his men.

Yet from beginning to end, he had not seen this young man make a move.

The other party seemed merely to have ridden over on that rather unimpressive mule, and then his subordinates had become like this without any warning.

Cang Yinyue felt the same way as Yu Changlu.

She had never regarded Yu Changlu, who had blocked their path, as a threat. Thus, while attacking him, she had more than enough leeway to observe Li Musheng.

Cang Yinyue had wanted to see with her own eyes, from an observer's perspective, just what sort of acupoint-striking technique it was that even she had found impossible to resist.

She had even hoped to find some way to break it.

Yet to her immense surprise, this time, she had not seen the slightest sign of Li Musheng making a move.

But the Bloodbath Alliance men had still had their acupoints sealed.

"How did you do it?"

Rather than answer, Cang Yinyue asked a question, her sharp gaze fixed on that handsome face with its faintly roguish air.

"How did I do what?"

Li Musheng was briefly stunned, then understood. He turned to glance behind him.

"You mean them."

Then he turned back and said lazily:

"Of course, it was the Sunflower Acupoint Hand. Didn't I tell you last time? It's a martial art I created myself."

Cang Yinyue furrowed her delicate brows and shook her head.

"But I didn't see you make a move."

Li Musheng smiled lightly.

"That only means your martial arts are still lacking. You'll need to train harder from now on. Honestly, I was already moving slowly just now."

Cang Yinyue gave a cold laugh and said bluntly:

"You really know how to put on airs!"

She had learned the implied meaning of the word "put on airs" from Li Musheng. Used on him now, it could not have been more fitting.

Li Musheng spread his hands helplessly.

"Then I'll demonstrate it for you once more. I hope you'll watch carefully this time."

As soon as he said this, Yu Changlu, who had already lost all ability to resist, stirred. His eyes immediately fixed tightly on Li Musheng.

He had not seen Li Musheng make a move earlier either, so he was very curious what method this young man had used to subdue his subordinates.

Yet what he saw next struck him as extremely strange. After finishing his words, Li Musheng showed no intention of acting at all as he sat on horseback. Instead, he abruptly asked:

"Miss Cang, did you see clearly this time?"

Before Yu Changlu could figure out what was happening, he suddenly heard the woman before him cry out in shock.

"How did you do that?"

Cang Yinyue's eyes were filled with astonishment.

Because she discovered that the instant Li Musheng finished speaking, her body had suddenly become unable to move. The acupoints throughout her body had been sealed, and even the true qi in her dantian could no longer circulate.

All of it had happened in the blink of an eye. She had not seen Li Musheng make a move at all. He remained seated on the mule's back as though he had never moved.

"Practice makes perfect, that's all."

Li Musheng modestly waved his hand and said with a cheerful smile:

"Miss Cang, don't lose heart. As long as you train diligently, one day you'll surely be able to see clearly."

With that, he flicked a finger, and Cang Yinyue discovered that she could move freely again.

Her expression shifted for a moment. She gave Li Musheng a deep look, then withdrew the slender, sharp blade resting at Yu Changlu's neck into her sleeve.

"I underestimated you."

Cang Yinyue slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Martial arts capable of sealing acupoints from afar are exceedingly rare in the martial world, and you have clearly mastered this technique to the point of consummate perfection. It is only natural that I could not see your movements."

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Yu Changlu before her, her eyes turning sharp.

"With a defensive method like yours, even master-level experts in the martial world would likely find it difficult to harm you. For the rest of this journey, our chances of breaking through are very high."

Yu Changlu still had not come back to his senses. He had no idea whether the exchange between this young man and woman had been real or fake.

In any case, from his perspective, Li Musheng had not moved so much as a hand.

As for whether he had truly sealed Cang Yinyue's acupoints from afar and subdued a Half-Step Master in an instant, Yu Changlu had no way of knowing, nor did he dare ask.

Still, he could guess why Cang Yinyue had not killed him.