A Clash!

"Oh? In just over a month, you've already brought your palm technique to Minor Accomplishment?"

Hearing Xu Chang's words, Li Xing looked surprised.

It was true that palm techniques were easier to improve than Stance Skill, but bringing an advanced technique like Cloud Palm to Minor Accomplishment in such a short time was no ordinary feat.

"Can someone with below-average bone structure really reach this level?" Li Xing furrowed his brow, mulling it over. He, too, felt something was off.

"Junior Brother, you've always been cautious when judging people.

"Junior Brother Lin Yin is humble and values loyalty and friendship. If we help him reach Bright Strength, we'll surely be able to bring him fully over to our side."

"Having Junior Brother Lin Yin join us would also offset the blow from Senior Brother Shi Yan's failed breakthrough."

Xu Chang patiently tried to persuade him.

He had put a great deal of effort into making this decision. He trusted Lin Yin's character, and his grasp of palm techniques and cultivation methods was truly unique.

At this stage, Xu Chang felt Lin Yin was the best candidate they had a chance of winning over completely.

"His grasp of palm techniques is certainly impressive, but... he hasn't mastered Stance Skill. In the end, he still hasn't crossed that threshold..."

Though Li Xing had said little, Xu Chang could still make out what he meant. A trace of helplessness crossed his face.

Senior Brother Li Xing was good in every way, except that he was too mild-mannered. So mild that, when it came to certain matters and choices, he became overly indecisive!

"Junior Brother Xu, actually, more than anyone else, I'd like to place my hopes in you. You've brought Cloud Palm to Great Accomplishment, and you've been honing your Stance Skill for well over a year.

"If we're talking about which of the younger disciples is most likely to break through to Hidden Strength, I think you... have a better chance than that Wan Li!"

As he spoke, Li Xing's voice turned especially solemn.

"If you reach Hidden Strength, then with your Cloud Palm at Great Accomplishment, even Yun Hai will have to look at you in a new light!"

"I... I understand, Senior Brother!"

Seeing Li Xing speak so earnestly, Xu Chang could only clasp his hands and reply. The two chatted briefly about recent events, then went their separate ways.

As soon as he left the courtyard, Xu Chang, still weighed down with thoughts, spotted Lin Yin in a corner of the Training Ground. Lin Yin's stance shifted as palms flashed through the air. He seemed to have a little more power behind his movements than before, which piqued Xu Chang's curiosity.

He walked over. But as Xu Chang drew nearer to that figure, his eyes widened more and more.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Up close, the flurry of palm shadows dazzled the eye. Xu Chang unconsciously held his breath.

The figure, moving like a thunderclap, suddenly came to a halt, then thrust out a palm. With a bang, it struck the wooden post before him.

The post groaned under the blow. Lin Yin gathered his breath and lowered his hands, as if calming his breathing.

"Cloud Palm at Minor Accomplishment... Junior Brother, have you mastered Cloud Palm?"

Xu Chang could hardly believe his own words. He had just spoken with Li Xing and said Lin Yin was only a finger's breadth from Minor Accomplishment—but crossing that last finger's breadth was no easy matter.

Cloud Palm linked one move to the next and layered strength upon strength. Controlling one's own blood and energy, along with the technique, to that degree was no easy feat for an ordinary person.

And yet, here he was...

Looking at the surprised Xu Chang before him, Lin Yin offered a modest smile.

"I've done my best not to disappoint."

"Good! Good, good! Junior Brother, let's spar!"

Before Lin Yin could even say anything, the excited Xu Chang sprang forward and was suddenly right in front of him.

Xu Chang's green, close-fitting robes snapped in the wind. He held both palms out before him, palms slightly cupped as if to catch the clouds. It was the opening stance of Cloud Palm: Treading Cloud Falling Goose.

This opening move seized the initiative. The twist of the body served to close the distance; the palm seemed soft, yet concealed the force of Mountain Collapse.

Lin Yin felt a gale roar toward him. Though its momentum was fearsome, he sensed no force behind it!

A thought stirred in his mind. He didn't use Stance Skill, only pivoted like an arrow loosed from a bow. His left palm slashed diagonally to block the strike, while his right palm followed in its wake, shooting toward Xu Chang's chest.

This move, Startled Swan Reflection, was a follow-up strike in Cloud Palm. In Lin Yin's hands, it was so fast it left only a blur. His palm wind carried a sharp whistle as it tore through the air, and Xu Chang's eyes flashed with surprise at its speed.

He sprang sideways to evade, at the same time twisting away and kicking straight out, pressing his attack.

Lin Yin's toes tapped the ground as he retreated half a step. Both palms swept up from below, catching the kick and using its force to slip away.

"Good!"

Approval flashed in Xu Chang's eyes, and delight stirred in his heart, but he didn't let up.

He drew his left palm back to guard, while his right shot out like a striking snake. He lunged again, then, as he closed in, swept a low palm toward Lin Yin's legs. It was a move aimed at breaking his stance.

Lin Yin flicked up his toes and shifted sideways like willow fluff caught in the wind, dodging once more.

Bang!

The palm struck a wooden post. Even without putting any force behind it, Xu Chang sent splinters flying.

His strike had missed, and Xu Chang was about to press forward when Lin Yin charged first. His figure wheeled back like a swallow returning to its nest, both palms striking together: Cloud Palm's killing move, Flowing Cloud!

"Good!"

Seeing Lin Yin take the initiative with such a fierce attack, Xu Chang shouted his approval and slammed out a palm of his own.

The strike looked plain and unremarkable, but when Lin Yin's palm met it, he felt the force stack layer upon layer, like a thousand waves rushing toward him.

Lin Yin didn't dare be careless. The instant their palms touched, he broke contact and crossed his arms to block, taking the blow head-on.

Bang! Lin Yin stumbled back three steps, his boots carving two pale streaks across the stone paving.

"Good reaction, Junior Brother."

Xu Chang's fighting spirit burned brighter. He stopped holding back and let Cloud Palm flow freely. In the next instant, palm shadows filled the air, at times pouring down like a torrential rain, strike following strike, at times crashing like storm waves against the shore.

His moves were swift and ruthless, bringing out the very essence of Cloud Palm. He drove Lin Yin back again and again, leaving him to rely on Cloud Palm's flowing, circular movements just to hold his ground.

Yet though Lin Yin seemed to be in a sorry state, Xu Chang grew more and more shocked as they fought.

His Cloud Palm had reached Great Accomplishment!

Lin Yin's palm technique was only at Minor Accomplishment, yet Xu Chang felt it was far more fluid and "perfect" than he'd imagined.

Unable to break through Lin Yin's defense, Xu Chang's eyes flickered. Suddenly, he changed from a palm strike to a kick, planting one foot against a nearby post and launching himself into the air. He brought his palm crashing down toward Lin Yuan's head.

The angle of Falling Cloud Treading Goose was treacherous, and the move was blindingly fast. Yet Lin Yin didn't panic in the slightest. He stepped back, and countless palm shadows seemed to crash toward the figure flying at him.

The instant their palms met, both bodies shuddered. Lin Yin staggered backward again and again, while Xu Chang swayed before landing steadily.

"Junior Brother, your understanding of Cloud Palm is remarkably profound."

Xu Chang praised him, then his expression turned solemn.

"Take one more palm strike from me."

He suddenly changed his moves and thrust out both palms. They moved so fast that even their afterimages blurred.

Lin Yin's pupils contracted slightly. His left shoulder sank, and his strength shifted downward.

During their half-quarter-hour struggle, he hadn't simply defended himself. He'd also been quietly watching Xu Chang's stance patterns: which moves were real and which were feints, where his strength was spent, and where an opening might appear.

"Since that's the case, forgive me for the offense."

With a low shout, Lin Yin planted his legs firmly on the ground, while his palms turned like living things, shifting from Flowing Cloud to Accumulating Cloud. This was the second stance of Cloud Palm. It required gathering all the force of the previous strikes into the palms, then releasing it in an instant.

Xu Chang's vision blurred. The countless palm shadows that had been clashing with his vanished, replaced by a palm strike so fast and so viciously angled that it hit him beneath the elbow.

The surging force seemed to scatter under that blow, and his fierce momentum was cut short. His face registered shock, but he immediately turned his palm into a fist and punched straight at the young man in front of him.

Bang—

Lin Yin drew his palm back to block. His palm went numb, and his stance faltered. As the terrifying force burst against him, he used its momentum to retreat.

"You..."

Though his punch had forced Lin Yin back, Xu Chang's expression turned grave.

Lin Yin withdrew his palm. The wrinkles in his green robes had yet to smooth out. "Thank you for your guidance today, Senior Brother. It helped me see the flaws in my Cloud Palm."

The sun sank behind the mountains. Only a few lanterns still glowed across the Staking Ground, and the air had fallen quiet.

Xu Chang stared at Lin Yin in silence, then suddenly clapped his hands and burst out laughing. "Good! You reached Minor Accomplishment in a month, and you've sparred with me, a Great Accomplishment expert, like this. Junior Brother Lin, you're destined for greatness!"

Lin Yin hurried to flatter him. "It was because you held back, Senior Brother. If you'd used your strength, I doubt I could have withstood more than a few strikes!"

"Ah, stop being modest. That move just now nearly caught even me off guard. Your understanding of Cloud Palm puts me to shame!"

Xu Chang spoke from the heart. His hands, clasped behind his back, trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of astonishment.

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