The Marvel of Application, Residing in the Heart

After Miejue's voice, full of disdain, pierced the ears of the three, Miejue circulated her True Qi. Her wide sleeves transformed into cloud ribbons descending from the nine heavens, gently brushing towards the closest of the three bandit leaders.

Though her sleeves appeared slow, they were actually as fast as lightning, leaving the three no time to react.

Almost the instant Miejue's sleeve swept out, the one-eyed third leader felt a strange, unparalleled spiral force erupt from his sword hilt.

The fierce, heavy force of his cleaving strike was skillfully guided, diffused, and deflected by that gentle brush, deviating from its intended trajectory like a raging wave crashing against submerged reefs and whirlpools.

The heavy ghost-head saber, along with his entire body, stumbled uncontrollably to the side, his saber stance completely losing control.

It nearly caused him to lose his balance. The tendons in his right arm felt as if they were being twisted and torn by a giant python, and the one-eyed third leader felt a sharp, piercing pain instantly.

In almost the same moment, the second leader roared and brought his twin hammers down from front to back with the force of splitting mountains.

The golden melon hammers appeared to be only about three adult fists in size, but each weighed over forty pounds.

Combined with the momentum of their swing, once they fell, they would surely crush a skull and kill a person.

Miejue didn't even look at the descending giant hammers. Her left palm, seemingly casually, lifted slightly upwards towards the hammer's shadow.

The skin of her palm's edge, under the firelight, shimmered with a layer of jade-green luster that seemed almost tangible.

The moment it touched the golden melon hammers, it caused them to spin and fly towards the first leader, who had just approached, on the side.

The latter was startled and quickly raised his palm to strike.

Palm met hammer, and both were forced back several steps, their internal Qi and blood churning.

In just one exchange, Miejue had effortlessly neutralized the three's combined attack.

Her ethereal and unhurried demeanor clearly showed she hadn't used her full strength yet.

Just as Gu Shaoan wondered why Miejue had a change of heart and was holding back against the three, Miejue's lips curved slightly, and her gentle voice, amplified by True Qi, clearly reached Gu Shaoan's ears.

"Shaoan."

Gu Shaoan quickly focused and replied, "Master."

"Watch closely."

As soon as the words reached Gu Shaoan's ears, Miejue's figure had already moved like a phantom into the center of the three who had regrouped.

Next, Miejue's form blurred into streaks of indistinct green afterimages. Each palm strike didn't aim for a thunderous instant kill but precisely blocked a vital escape route for one of them.

Her palms flew, and in Miejue's hands, the Golden Summit Cotton Palm sometimes flowed like gathering clouds, gently entwining, and sometimes surged like a tidal wave, powerful and peerless.

At this moment, Miejue suddenly raised her hand, using the third stance of Golden Summit Cotton Palm, "Pine Waves Sending the Moon," to spin and deflect the force of the golden melon hammer in front of her. She then flicked her palm backward like a whip, striking directly at the one-eyed third leader's ribs, forcing him to dodge awkwardly to the right.

Afterward, Miejue lightly raised her palm, her fingertips brushing over a crucial acupoint at the first leader's waist.

Startled, the first leader retreated sharply. The gust of his palm strike swept past the second leader's face, forcing him to raise his hammer to block, leaving himself wide open.

Though the three exerted immense force and were ferociously aggressive, they were now being pulled by the omnipresent, rhythmically shifting palm shadows. They were like puppets controlled by invisible threads, completely trapped in the "cage" Miejue was shaping at will.

While suppressing the struggles of the three bandit leaders, Miejue spoke to Gu Shaoan in a steady tone.

"Shaoan, you have extraordinary talent and exceptional comprehension. However, the path of martial arts, and the wonder of its application, lies within the heart."

Her figure weaved calmly through the flashing blades, hammer blows, and sharp eagle claws, her words perfectly clear.

"When a master fights, victory or defeat isn't solely based on the depth of their cultivation or the strangeness of their moves. True control lies in trapping the opponent in your pre-set net, thus anticipating their every move and seizing the initiative."

As she spoke, she pressed a palm seemingly gently onto the back of the third leader's saber. The opponent immediately felt an irresistible pulling force that threatened to drag his saber down onto the first leader. Startled, he desperately tried to pull back.

"See. I want his saber to veer left, and he cannot go straight."

Miejue's voice carried a hint of cold demonstration.

She suddenly changed her move, sinking her shoulder and charging into the second leader's center. With a slight expulsion of force, the second leader immediately grunted.

The heavy golden melon hammers were uncontrollably pulled by an immense force, flying out of his hands and smashing towards the third leader, who had just regained his balance.

"You can't move right, and avoiding left is also a trap. Like puppets on strings, every step you take falls into my snare. You lose your footing, and your life is mine to control."

The three bandits, who usually lorded over others, were now sweating profusely and struggling to breathe under Miejue's palm winds.

Every perceived breakthrough or counterattack only deepened their descent into the invisible rhythm of death.

In their eyes, only utter horror remained as they watched the green figure, who controlled everything like a god or demon, and felt for the first time the chasm-like difference in power.

If Miejue hadn't intended to use them as teaching material for Gu Shaoan, they would have been dead long ago.

Miejue would have killed them all with a single palm strike.

The firelight illuminated their faces, making them flicker. The one-eyed third leader no longer had his previous rage. Like the other two, only fear remained on their faces and in their hearts.

Watching Miejue's palms fly, her palm winds and shadows forming a cage that enveloped the three bandit leaders, Gu Shaoan's expression was incredibly focused, his mind constantly placing himself in Miejue's position.

The battle in the arena continued, and Miejue's voice occasionally reached Gu Shaoan's ears.

As time passed, Gu Shaoan's thoughts began to surge.

His ideas surged like a tide, one after another.

In this unique state, Gu Shaoan's thoughts clearly became more active.

Gradually, Gu Shaoan's thoughts also changed.

From initially pondering the deep meaning of each of Miejue's moves, to the variations in her techniques as she attacked.

By the end, Gu Shaoan even began to try and put himself in Miejue's shoes, imagining what moves the three bandit leaders would use next and how he should respond with Golden Summit Cotton Palm.

The process might have been similar to Miejue's subsequent moves, or it might have been different.

But after careful consideration and comparison, the moves Miejue used were more suitable and more effortless than Gu Shaoan's.

Noticing Gu Shaoan's expression, which shifted between frowning and relaxing, Miejue's eyes crinkled with a smile.

Miejue had seen this reaction from Gu Shaoan many times before on Emei Mountain.

It was precisely when he had gained some insight during his cultivation.

Seeing Gu Shaoan display that expression again, Miejue knew that he had gained some understanding of her current teachings.

She immediately continued to control the three bandit leaders in front of him with Golden Summit Cotton Palm, allowing Gu Shaoan to observe.

Gu Shaoan, too, watched Miejue's fight with the three bandit leaders with his full attention, occasionally showing a look of sudden realization.

After a long while, a prompt suddenly popped up before Gu Shaoan.

[Congratulations to the player for achieving Beginner Level in combat awareness, +200 Achievement Points.]