Thread Pulling, Success

Golden Wind Jade Dew Pavilion.

Strings of red lanterns spun and blurred in the surroundings, a brocade carpet stretched across the center, luxurious and eye-catching.

Qi Yu, clad in a scarlet cloak, leaned alone behind the elegant pavilion's curtain, his gaze fixed on the dancers on stage.

The data for those dancers was strange, all uniformly "0~6".

"0" represented them as ordinary people.

"6" represented them as being able to unleash the power of a Ninth Rank martial artist.

Such abnormal data wouldn't appear naturally, but it didn't seem like a Paper-Grade Yao or Mo either, as even Paper-Grade Yao or Mo weren't this weak.

"Umbrella Sect..."

Qi Yu vaguely reached a conclusion.

However, he was only here to watch the singing and dancing today.

A moment later...

On stage, numerous dancers fluttered like butterflies, their wide sleeves flying like swirling clouds; their slender waists turned, and with each step, a subtle charm emerged, like silk threads.

This level of dancing skill far surpassed the girls in his Fragrance Containing Pavilion, which was why he had come the long way around.

In Mount Wei City, when it came to singing and dancing, the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pavilion was second to none.

When the dance ended, the six dancers stood still behind the stage, like ladies from a painting.

The madam announced loudly: "Partner dance session, highest bidder wins... starting bid, one tael of silver."

The dancers came forward one by one.

Below the stage... bidding gradually rose.

The Golden Wind Jade Dew Pavilion was, after all, a brothel, and this "partner dance" was a fun segment.

The so-called "partner dance" was merely the duration of one incense stick, during which young masters from below the stage could get close, flirt, and touch.

However, they could only touch with their hands; any further... was not allowed.

Unless they waited for the next segment in the evening...

After the madam finished speaking.

The dissolute young men below the stage began bidding noisily.

Qi Yu, who had come with the intention of experiencing it, spent five taels of silver and chose a dancer who caught his eye from among the many dancing girls.

The dancer had eyebrows like distant mountains, sparkling eyes, and a good appearance, with particularly long legs.

As the curtain slowly drew up, a thin gauze curtain inside further separated the space, allowing each pair to exclusively enjoy this wonderful incense stick's worth of time, thus making it a great value.

Qi Yu, wearing his scarlet cloak, stepped into a partitioned area behind a gauze curtain.

The dancer looked up, her gaze falling on the cloak, a flicker of hidden surprise in her eyes, followed by a hint of strange joy that quietly emerged.

At this moment, the gentle music from the zither player began, like flowing water.

In the flowing water... Qi Yu raised his hand and hooked the slender waist of the dancer before him.

The dancer leaned forward in response, pressing her entire body against him, her movements exceptionally enthusiastic.

Qi Yu's palm moved slightly, pulling the dancer's tightly pressed body back a little, maintaining a just-right distance.

The dancer lightly parted her red lips and chuckled, "What does Young Master intend?"

Qi Yu said, "A partner dance."

The dancer was stunned, "A real partner dance?"

None of those who entered this gauze curtain were here to dance.

Qi Yu asked back, "Is that not allowed?"

The dancer's eyes and brows filled with a smile, and she softly said, "Then Young Master, please keep up with my steps..."

With that, she moved her lotus-like steps and began to dance gracefully.

This was a peculiar partner dance.

Qi Yu had never learned it before, but he had practiced many stances in the past and had already reached Eighth Rank cultivation, so imitating these smooth movements was not difficult for him. Soon, he was keeping up with the dancer's rhythm.

Yet, even so, he could still feel a strange sense of resistance.

The dim lamplight filtered through the gauze curtain, casting a hazy glow that enveloped the two dancing together. This should have been an atmosphere filled with ambiguity, but due to Qi Yu's seriousness, it took on a different kind of solemnity.

The dancer's face shifted in the shadows, but her gaze eventually settled on Qi Yu's scarlet cloak. Finally making a decision, she softly asked, "Young Master, is this your first time dancing this dance?"

Qi Yu nodded slightly.

Actually, it wasn't, but... the original owner had come here not to dance, but to touch the dancers.

So, strictly speaking, it was his first time.

Upon hearing this, the dancer slightly raised her eyes, a faint smile curving her lips, and softly said, "This humble one is Xiao Zhi, please don't forget, Young Master."

Qi Yu, with his sharp mind, quickly figured out the general reason behind it all.

The scarlet cloak he wore had been requested by Master Chen of the Umbrella Sect. It seemed this cloak was not just a "compliance test" but represented something more. Seeing him in this cloak, this young Umbrella Sect disciple likely saw a way to gain some benefit...

Between people, if there's closeness upon first meeting... it can only be about mutual benefit.

However, this Xiao Zhi didn't seem to be asking for extra compensation, only wishing for him to remember her name.

Then...

Qi Yu smiled, "Xiao Zhi, I'll remember."

The dancer smiled softly and said, "Young master, relax. Follow my strength and move, young master... you will experience unprecedented joy."

Qi Yu remained vigilant, but the opponent's combat power was clear. He... still retracted the strength attached to his body's surface.

Immediately after, he felt Xiao Zhi's hands move like nimble snakes around his waist, gently pulling deeper, her five fingers firmly pressing onto him.

The two began to dance again, and as the dance reached its peak, their bodies inevitably pressed against each other.

With every squeeze, a strange pulling force was generated at the point of contact.

Even without making any effort, as long as he didn't deliberately resist, Qi Yu would be pulled by this force to dance, sometimes close, sometimes apart, like a puppet on strings, dancing lightly with the owner's movements.

However, the movements he performed were not from his own will.

During this process, he not only felt no restraint but also an indescribable pleasure surged into his heart.

He felt as if his body and mind were merging with the dancer named Xiao Zhi, gaining immense joy. This joy continuously climbed like a tide, still rising, higher and higher, as if reaching the heavens...

Just then...

A chilling, eerie zither melody suddenly descended from above.

Clang!!

What was clearly a gentle sound like a light breeze brushing willow branches, suddenly transformed into a dark, heavy ice blade, fiercely slashing down from mid-air.

Upon hearing the zither music, Xiao Zhi's body stiffened abruptly.

With this stiffening, the joy Qi Yu was experiencing, which had been nearing the heavens, vanished without a trace.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing?"

Xiao Zhi was trembling.

Afterward, she forced herself to calm down and continued dancing with Qi Yu, but the feeling of merging body and mind from before was gone.

When the incense stick burned out, Xiao Zhi didn't dare to say another word and fled from Qi Yu as if escaping for her life.

Qi Yu slowly raised his eyes, looking towards the higher levels.

The zither music was coming from behind the gauze curtain above.

However, behind the gauze curtain at this moment was only a zither player with a combat power of "0~6".

Qi Yu's pupils constricted slightly.

Still, he didn't ask further.

Sometimes, excessive curiosity is not a good habit, unless you are prepared to step into a new environment and get caught up in a new storm.

Xiao Zhi's situation, rather than being an accident, was more like... the tip of an iceberg reflecting a certain rule, a certain power.

And, today's shared dance had already given him some vague insights; his purpose had been achieved.

Upon returning, he would naturally ponder it carefully.

As night fell...

Qi Yu danced alone in his room, simultaneously feeling the sensation of his body moving with the force in the dance.

Hardness, for the body to exert force.

Softness, for the force to guide the body.

In the candlelight, the young man's figure swayed gracefully at times, and stood still at others.

He continuously adjusted, continuously comprehending.

Adding this hint of softness into the nine stances of the "Nine Stances Merged into One" posture.

The next day...

In the evening, as Qi Yu was still trying, he suddenly had an epiphany.

He assumed the ninth posture of Hunyuan Contending Force.

Half an incense stick...

One incense stick...

Two incense sticks...

Half an hour...

He stood there.

He could feel a peculiar power surging, from his fingertips to his toes, not a single bit wasted, not a single bit stagnant. Because there was no stagnation, he didn't tire. Thus, his strength formed a perfect closed loop in this posture.

At this moment, "contention" was no longer a brute force collision, a forceful taking, but a profound understanding of oneself, the guidance and transformation of power...

He had already been on the verge of a breakthrough. Now, with the gentle push of "Dance's Softness," he had truly succeeded!

Suddenly, Qi Yu roared, his voice like a thunderous bell. He clenched his right fist again and punched forward. There was no exaggerated sonic boom, but a comfortable feeling of all his strength being concentrated there.

He swept across his status panel.

[Qi Yu]

[Realm: Eighth Rank Blood Burst]

[Combat Power: 23~34]

[Skill Points: 23]

[Cultivation Techniques]

[Hunyuan Contending Force (1/36)]

[Spirit Serpent Skill Mastery (6/16)]

He gazed at his combat power.

His combat power had changed from "22~32" to "23~34," not "23~33."

This meant... the strength added by Hunyuan Contending Force was a fundamental increase, added on top of the perfect "10" of Ninth Rank.

For others, at Ninth Rank, "9" was already the limit.

But he, because of his perfection, had reached "10."

Now, because of this Hunyuan Contending Force, he had reached "11."

This increase seemed small, but it would snowball as his realm increased.

Qi Yu no longer hesitated. He looked at the "+" after "[Hunyuan Contending Force (1/36)]" and began to allocate points.

In the end, he kept 6 skill points, and the progress of [Hunyuan Contending Force] was temporarily frozen at "[(18/36)]." His combat power also settled at "[Combat Power: 27~42]."

This meant... his combat power at Ninth Rank had already reached a terrifying "15."