Sudden Change

Seeing the prompt information before him, Gu Shaoan's heart rejoiced.

The strength of a martial artist was never determined solely by their Internal Energy cultivation or the power of the martial arts they used.

It also depended on the martial artist's own application of Internal Energy, the level of mastery over their martial arts, their weapons, and their Combat Experience, Combat Awareness, and so on.

Even if two individuals had the same Internal Energy cultivation and mastery level of martial arts, there would still be a difference in their fighting prowess when they clashed.

What determined that difference was this Combat Awareness.

A lack of awareness meant that when facing an enemy, although one knew how to execute moves, one didn't know which move was most suitable at any given time.

At what moment should the moves employed land on the enemy for the best effect.

This was also why, even after Gu Shaoan's several martial arts had reached the "Initial Glimpse" level, Miejue still said Gu Shaoan lacked Combat Experience.

"I didn't expect to unlock Combat Awareness at the Beginner Level so early."

Gu Shaoan naturally knew the importance of Combat Awareness to a martial artist.

It was just that he had joined Emei for too short a time. In the more than a month he had spent on the mountain, he had been almost entirely engrossed in the cultivation of Internal Energy and Martial Skills, and had barely sparred with Zhou Zhiruo and Zhao Jingxuan, his senior sisters.

His Combat Experience was practically zero, let alone accumulating enough Combat Experience to unlock Combat Awareness.

At this moment, one could see how beneficial a dedicated and responsible Master was.

If not for Miejue catching the three bandit leaders tonight and providing on-the-spot teaching and personal demonstration, even Gu Shaoan would have needed a considerable amount of time to unlock Combat Awareness.

Now, with Combat Awareness at the Beginner Level, although it didn't directly increase Gu Shaoan's Internal Energy or Martial Skills, it greatly boosted his combat strength when facing enemies.

A few breaths later, Gu Shaoan, having calmed his emotions, looked up and shouted loudly to Miejue, who was still subduing the three bandit leaders in the distance, "Master, your disciple is ready."

"Good."

Hearing Gu Shaoan's words, Miejue's eyes lit up, and she immediately spread her arms.

After her arms were raised above her ears, she brought them down with her palms fiercely, striking the heads of the First Boss and Second Boss respectively.

Terrifying force entered through their Heavenly Gates, immediately causing the two bandit leaders to vomit blood and collapse, unable to rise.

Blood quickly seeped out from their seven orifices, and they lost their lives.

Seeing his two brothers killed, the One-Eyed Third Boss's eyes widened with rage.

But in the next second, Miejue, who had just killed the two bandit leaders, flicked her long sleeves. The One-Eyed Third Boss was immediately sent flying two zhang towards Gu Shaoan as if struck by a speeding carriage, before crashing heavily to the ground.

Understanding Miejue's intention, Gu Shaoan took a deep breath. As his Internal Energy circulated, he tapped his toes and shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring.

For the past half an hour, Miejue had been toying with the three brothers like puppets, injuring them but not killing them. The One-Eyed Third Boss was already seething with rage.

Now that his two brothers were dead, he was being thrown at a little brat by Miejue. One-Eyed Third Boss understood Miejue's intentions perfectly.

She was clearly making him a practice dummy for this little brat.

"Old Nun, if I can't kill you, I'll kill your disciple."

His ferocity erupted. One-Eyed Third Boss quickly got to his feet, raising his great saber with a vicious look on his face.

Just as One-Eyed Third Boss raised his great saber, Gu Shaoan's eyes were like an Ancient Well Cold Pond.

The moment One-Eyed Third Boss's shoulders dipped slightly, Gu Shaoan moved. He leaped up abruptly, his five fingers gripping the sword hilt tightly.

Zheng--.

A clear, resonant sword cry rang out.

Gu Shaoan moved like a swimming dragon, his long sword spitting cold light.

But this sword strike was no longer about pursuing the perfection or sharpness of the moves, as Gu Shaoan had done before.

Instead, he struck the instant he saw the opponent raise his saber overhead, before the force had arrived and the saber's momentum was formed.

The sword shadow was like lightning. It transformed into a tricky, cold glint, piercing precisely three inches above the opponent's saber-wielding wrist.

This was the critical juncture for his saber momentum.

This thrust was perfect in timing, location, and force.

Struck by this sword, One-Eyed Third Boss was startled. His arm instinctively retracted, his wrist pressed down, and the saber's edge hastily changed direction, shifting from a direct chop to a diagonal one.

Facing the diagonally chopping saber, Gu Shaoan neither dodged nor blocked. He lightly raised his long sword, turned his wrist slightly, and the sword body curved smoothly like an arc. Instead of a direct clash, it slid diagonally along the thickest part of the saber's spine.

A tenacious and lingering stickiness spread out like Sunset Afterglow, instantly entangling the saber.

"Huh?." One-Eyed Third Boss felt his saber momentum sink into a quagmire, its forward motion suddenly sluggish.

A warning bell rang wildly in his heart. Just as he was about to roar and pull his saber back for a counter-sweep, Gu Shaoan seemed to have anticipated this. The sword tip trembled with exquisite precision, and with a pull.

That sticky force actually guided the heavy saber in a strange, small arc, like the lingering charm of a Setting Sun.

One-Eyed Third Boss resisted this pull with all his might, his burly body involuntarily pulled towards Gu Shaoan's left, his center of gravity lost.

It was precisely in this moment of lost balance.

A flash of sword light, like a Rushing River, a stream of light formed by Molten Gold Sunset, suddenly erupted.

No longer sticky, it precisely stabbed towards the tendons on the side of his right shoulder's Jianyu Acupoint, which he couldn't defend in time due to his body's rotation.

Stabbing an acupoint. Not fatal, but enough to cripple his saber-wielding hand.

One-Eyed Third Boss's single eye widened in horror. It was too late to block the sword now; the only thing he could do was twist his body and try to evade Gu Shaoan's thrust.

But as fast as One-Eyed Third Boss reacted, Gu Shaoan was faster.

As his Internal Energy circulated, Gu Shaoan moved as if treading on sand. His swordplay flowed smoothly with his twisting body.

The sword tip turned with incredible precision, exposing the gap beneath his ribs.

The feeling was as if One-Eyed Third Boss had actively sought death, throwing his body towards Gu Shaoan's sword tip.

"H-how is this possible?"

As the blade entered his body, pain surged through him. One-Eyed Third Boss stared with wide, astonished eyes at the little doll in front of him, who only reached his chest.

"Pfft."

"Chii."

But before he could think further, the blade left his body, drawing a spray of blood before flashing like lightning across his neck.

[Ding, Congratulations to the player for killing the Bandit Leader, Achievement Points +50]

"Good."

At the same time, Professor Mie Jue, who had taken in Gu Shaoan's every move, couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

His voice contained a rare trace of excitement.

Just Gu Shaoan's application of Sunset Swordplay had already gained a degree of structure and flexibility.

It was no longer stiff and rigid like when he faced the mountain bandits at first.

And this was only after Professor Mie Jue had taught him once.

How could Professor Mie Jue not be excited and delighted by his Personal Disciple's excellence?

After killing One-Eyed Third Boss, Gu Shaoan let out a long breath. While feeling joy, he bowed deeply towards Professor Mie Jue from afar, "Thank you, Master, for your guidance."

Professor Mie Jue nodded with a smile. Then, his gaze swept over Ding Minjun, his expression freezing for a moment before he spoke, "Minjun."

Hearing Professor Mie Jue's voice, Ding Minjun immediately darted to a fire source and took out a bamboo tube from his embrace.

After lighting the fuse that ran down the bamboo tube, he held it high.

The next moment, a stream of sparks shot out from the bamboo tube and into the sky, transforming into a brilliant firework.

"Whoosh~ Bang~"

However, just as the firework in the sky dissipated and the sky had just returned to darkness, another brilliant firework exploded in the air.

Seeing this, Professor Mie Jue's expression changed.