Horse Bones (in the Chinese sense)
"Here we go again." Feng Xue sighed, while Chen Xiyao covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Who told you to set this trend? Now you're number one on the Dongguo livestreaming leaderboard. Challenging you, even if you lose, will still get you views!"
"Alright, alright." Feng Xue looked at the neon-speaking audience who had already voluntarily surrounded the arena, then at the challenger who had already adjusted the camera, handed the remote control of the Live Broadcast Drone to Chen Xiyao, and casually stretched her body, saying:
"Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up and losing your self-confidence?"
Upon hearing Feng Xue's words, the young man adopted a serious expression and nodded, saying:
"I've watched the live streams of your battles, but I still hope to experience what it's like to fight a master in person. I want to know how far I am from reaching a higher level."
"Commendable courage, then come on, oh, right, this is a live broadcast, so wait three minutes." Feng Xue stood still, seven meters away from the other person, but her figure was like a mountain, exuding a strong sense of pressure even through the camera.
The standoff slowly passed, and even though they were just standing opposite each other, beads of sweat were streaming down the young man's forehead, while viewers kept pouring into the Live Broadcast Room.
Silence has power. These three minutes are not just about waiting for the audience, but also a test. If you can't even stand face to face, then the competition is meaningless.
Feeling his breathing quicken, the young man's Internal Force circulation became even more stable. His body unconsciously adopted a posture that was even more perfect than when he was diligently practicing.
"Qin Fen from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, please enlighten me."
As the name was announced, signifying the start of the battle, Qin Fen suddenly leaned forward. In a strangely intertwined visual way, he had already crossed seven meters and arrived in front of Feng Xue.
"Not bad." Feng Xue didn't just casually crush Qin Fen as she had when Weird Tale before. Instead, she raised her hand to block Qin Fen's fist, lightly tapping her wrist with her knuckles to deflect the powerful jab. She then stepped forward with her left foot, placing it between Qin Fen's feet, and pushed her palm towards his chest.
The momentum of a close-quarters fight that could decide the outcome in the blink of an eye was building. Qin Fen turned his body to the side, trying his best to avoid the palm strike, but the step he took between his feet completely cut off his ability to use his lightness skill.
With his brain racing, Qin Fen gathered his inner True Qi, pushed off with his right foot, and tried to step on Feng Xue's knee with his left foot. However, before he could land, Feng Xue's palm had already grazed his chest. A deep and resonant sound, like the vibration of an ancient bell, echoed in the collision. The front of Qin Fen's training clothes was torn open with a tear as if cleaved by an axe by this seemingly casual push.
Having withstood the attack with his Hardening Kung Fu, Qin Fen finally managed to step on Feng Xue's knee and his entire body suddenly flew backward. However, Feng Xue followed closely behind like a shadow, and his previous kick did not bring him any pause at all.
"His external training has reached a certain level."
A calm voice rang in his ears, and Qin Fen felt a gust of wind rush past his ears. He didn't even have time to think about what he should do; the routine he had developed through practicing his stances automatically responded.
His elbow suddenly shot up to block his ear, followed by a powerful collision.
A strong impact, accompanied by the vibration of Internal Force, swept over Qin Fen. He felt a deafening roar in his ears, and his body spun in the air like a top.
"They're here!"
The high-speed spinning did not cause Qin Fen to lose his balance. Although everything was spinning around him, his mind was clearer than ever before.
With a sudden downward thrust of his palm, the ground shattered, and his spinning body was violently ejected. Seeing this, Feng Xue stopped her elbow strike and watched with great interest as the young man bounced twice on the ground before regaining his footing.
He waved with a smile, his eyes showing approval, and said:
"The response is good, but the approach is a bit predictable. You haven't been in Dongguo for very long, have you?"
"Yes, this is the third round," Qin Fen said somewhat embarrassedly, but Feng Xue gave him a reassuring smile.
"You've reached a decent level. Just need to accumulate more practical experience. I Think you brought a weapon; show it to them."
"Hmm." Qin Fen nodded seriously, knowing very well that Feng Xue hadn't used her full strength. He didn't say anything like "Senior, please use your full strength," but simply walked to the backpack under the selfie stick and pulled out his weapon.
It was a one- Single-handed sword that wasn't too long.
Judging by appearance, the blade is about 55 centimeters long and two fingers wide. Upon seeing this weapon, many knowledgeable viewers began to sigh.
As the saying goes, "The shorter the weapon, the more dangerous it is." With weapons like sticks, spears, or knives, even if you still can't win, you can still put on a show by pulling back and fighting. But a short sword...
This is essentially a weapon used in a life-or-death struggle.
When facing a clearly stronger opponent, there's practically no second chance to make a move. Using this thing is less interesting than hand-to-hand combat.
But Feng Xue, looking at this weapon that was neither quite a short sword nor quite a long sword, narrowed her eyes and murmured:
"You just said you're from the National Science and Technology University... Hmm, you practice the Twelve-path Fish-Gut Sword?"
"Exactly." Qin Fen nodded, but Feng Xue became interested. She turned around, broke off a branch from a roadside tree, adjusted its length slightly, waved it a couple of times, and then said—
"Let I Think how well you use it."
"Please enlighten me!" Qin Fen took a deep breath, circulated his Internal Force, and used the movement technique that Feng Xue had praised him for before.
However, this time, his movements were subtly different from before. Although the short sword was used in a relentless assassination technique, it was as agile and unpredictable as a swimming fish, seemingly with endless variations. With every inch forward, a new move was available.
Feng Xue pointed the branch forward, aiming it two inches from the spine of the short sword. However, Qin Fen's short sword was not hindered. Instead, it used the momentum to First Turn, like a fish swimming around an obstacle, avoiding the force, and then thrust at Feng Xue again.
Feng Xue repeatedly thrust out the branch in her hand, each time striking a point where it was difficult to exert force. However, Qin Fen's steps kept turning with the direction of the sword tip, and each time he was able to use this force to generate a new burst of power.
However, Qin Fen, focused on the changes in his Sword Technique, failed to notice that in his constant changes, he was like a fish on a hook, only able to dart left and right under the constant pull of the fishing line, but in the end, he was nothing more than a fisherman at the mercy of the fisherman.
Finally, the burden of continuous high-intensity changes in position finally burst forth, and in that instant of recovery, Qin Fen's sword momentum suddenly broke.
But this sudden break actually snapped him out of his predicament, and with a burst of inner True Qi, he leaped out like a carp out of the water, using the pressure from Feng Xue's tree branch to his advantage.
Click!
The sword tip pierced the ground, Feng Xue's branch pressed against Qin Fen's wrist, a smile playing on her lips as she said:
"To be able to comprehend this thirteenth move, 'Flowing Stream,' one's talent is quite good."
Before Qin Fen could even thank her, a small booklet was shoved into his hand. When he looked up, he only saw Feng Xue waving goodbye as she walked away.
"Go back and practice hard, I Think you!"
Although Feng Xue led Chen Xiyao and the drone away, Qin Fen's dazed expression was still clearly captured by his camera.
Looking at the booklet in his hand, almost every staff member from the Public Martial Bureau (Note ①) watching the live broadcast felt a headache coming on. They knew they would probably have to work overtime again...
Note ①: Abbreviation. For the full name, please refer to the department that issues driver's licenses.
P. S.: In Japanese, "horse bone" means "ordinary bone," while in Chinese, it comes from the idiom "to spend a thousand pieces of gold to buy a horse bone."