Douluo: Starting Out by Rebuking the Grandmaster

Tang San frowned tightly.

He had to admit that he had indeed been somewhat careless.

He had been suppressed by Lu Fei right from the start, and his opponent's footwork was also extremely agile. He could only rely on Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to evade the relentless barrage.

But Tang San was not in a hurry.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was his greatest reliance. With it, he could say that he had stood undefeated from the very beginning.

No matter how fierce Lu Fei's attacks were, they were useless if they could not hurt him.

On the contrary, prolonged attacks would inevitably exhaust him.

Tang San only needed to wait quietly for his opponent to reveal an opening, then settle the match in a single move.

Lu Fei gradually discovered the problem. No matter how hard he tried, he could not catch up to Tang San. His opponent's footwork was even better than his own.

That made him somewhat anxious.

He had already lost one match today. If he lost this one too, where would he put his dignity?

Meanwhile, Wang Sheng and the others watching from the sidelines had long since been dumbfounded. They had originally thought Lu Fei was weak, but only when he picked up a sword did they realize just how strong he was.

The most terrifying one was still Tang San.

Faced with such a thunderous offensive, he was actually able to evade it with ease.

And he looked completely relaxed while doing so.

Although they greatly despised this tactic of avoiding battle, they had to admit that Tang San was also very strong.

What in the world was going on with this world?

Why were all the work-study students so freakishly powerful now?

First there was Xiao Wu, then Lu Yu, and now Tang San had appeared.

Even Lu Fei, whom they had never taken seriously, was actually this strong.

After all,

he was just a support-type Soul Master.

Lu Yu did not think there was any problem with Lu Fei's match. If there was, it was only that the gap in strength between the two sides was a little too great.

Tang San had only used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track so far.

If he used Purple Demon Eye as well, Lu Fei's flaw-ridden sword techniques could be broken in an instant. They simply could not pose any threat to Tang San.

So the outcome of this battle had been decided from the very beginning.

"Fatty is actually this strong?"

Xiao Wu stared at Lu Fei in surprise. This was far beyond her expectations.

She had originally thought Lu Fei was no different from Wang Sheng and the others, but the Lu Fei holding a sword now seemed like a completely different person.

The difference was simply too great.

"Are you only capable of running away?"

In the arena, Lu Fei grew anxious. If this continued, he would undoubtedly lose.

"Since that is the case, as you wish."

As Tang San's calm voice rang out, a flash of purple light passed through his pupils, and the world before him suddenly seemed to slow down.

When Lu Fei's sword techniques entered Tang San's sight again, they were already riddled with flaws. In an instant, he thought of no fewer than ten ways to defeat him.

Suddenly, Tang San's feet moved in rapid succession. His figure advanced close like a ghost, dodging Lu Fei's three strikes at just the right moments before arriving before him.

Then his right hand shot out and grabbed Lu Fei's right wrist. With a twist and a press, Lu Fei's body was abruptly forced downward.

Immediately afterward, Tang San raised his knee and leaped up, kicking Lu Fei three times in succession and sending him stumbling back. Before Lu Fei could steady himself, Tang San closed in again.

Two fingers extended and stopped before Lu Fei's eyes.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The sword in Lu Fei's hand instantly fell to the ground, and his entire body slumped.

He had lost again.

"What? Giving up already?" Lu Yu stood up.

Lu Fei lowered his head in shame.

Lu Yu said calmly, "Losing is not frightening. What is frightening is losing your fighting spirit because of it. Who can guarantee that they will never lose in their lifetime? You only lost a sparring match. Train hard, then win it back."

What he wanted was to temper Lu Fei. Giving him some pressure and motivation to move forward was enough. Naturally, he would not simply watch Lu Fei sink into despair.

Gasp! Too Brutal.

Lu Fei suddenly raised his head. The dejection in his eyes was gone, replaced only by boundless fighting spirit.

That was right. So what if he had lost two matches?

As long as he trained properly, he could win them back.

Since Brother Yu could win, that meant the sword technique and footwork Brother Yu had taught him were not the problem. As long as he trained hard, he would sooner or later win back his losses.

Tang San looked at Lu Yu in considerable surprise.

Those words did not sound like something a child could say.

Coupled with their sword technique and footwork,

Tang San became even more suspicious. Only, the object of his suspicion shifted from Lu Fei to Lu Yu.

Seeing Lu Fei's fighting spirit return, Lu Yu said nothing more. He turned to Tang San and said, "Come on. Fight me."

Although he knew it would not be easy to beat Tang San up right now, he could still test his strength.

Tang San said, "Tang San, martial soul Blue Silver Grass."

"Lu Yu, martial soul Eight-Faced Han Sword." As he spoke, Lu Yu summoned his martial soul, and a trace of seriousness appeared between his brows.

So this was his martial soul.

Tang San suddenly understood.

He had known it. How could something like this possibly be such a coincidence?

"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"

As Lu Yu's voice fell, Tang San launched the first attack. He held nothing back from the outset, directly using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to close in.

Lu Yu's reaction was not slow either. Three sword strikes in one second forcibly drove Tang San back.

Basic Sword Technique might not possess the devastating power of soul skills, but it allowed one to wield a sword with far greater ease.

Its most direct manifestation was speed.

At the Minor Accomplishment stage, one could strike once per second. At the Major Accomplishment stage, twice per second. At Perfection, three times per second.

Those three strikes were not illusions. They were three genuine sword strikes unleashed in a single second at the very limit of speed. Even with Tang San's heaven-defying footwork, he did not dare meet their edge.

After forcing Tang San back, Lu Yu immediately used Lingbo Microsteps and pressed forward.

"So fast!"

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted.

Lu Yu appeared to still be standing in place, but Tang San knew that was merely a visual illusion caused by his opponent's excessive speed. He had enough discernment to see that much.

"Purple Demon Eye!"

A flash of purple light appeared, and Tang San finally saw Lu Yu's movements clearly.

"Whoosh!"

Tang San was shocked. In the blink of an eye, Lu Yu had actually reached his side and already drawn his sword.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

Although Tang San had reacted at the very first moment, he was still half a beat too slow. The sharp blade sliced off a strand of his hair.

It fluttered through the air.

But Lu Yu did not stop because of that. Instead, his offensive only grew faster.

"How is this footwork possible?"

Faced with Lu Yu's attacks, Tang San could only dodge miserably, every evasion perilously close. Although he could observe Lu Yu's flaws through Purple Demon Eye, his opponent was too fast—so fast that he had no way to counterattack at all.

In all martial arts under heaven, only speed was unbreakable.

Whether it was his footwork or swordsmanship, Lu Yu's speed had reached an extreme. Even if the flaws were laid bare before Tang San's eyes, he could do nothing to Lu Yu.

One slight mistake might even lead to defeat.

Tang San was truly frightened by Lu Yu.

This world actually had martial arts as well, and they were even more exquisite than those of the Tang Sect.

All this time, Tang San had firmly believed that even in this unfamiliar world, he could carve out a place for himself.

Because he possessed the Tang Sect's ultimate arts.

But now, in the field he excelled at most, he was being mercilessly crushed by someone else. It immediately shook his confidence.

Even a child from a neighboring village possessed such exquisite martial arts. What about the sects and kingdoms of this world? What did he still have to be proud of?

Tang San was completely dazed from the beating.

Wang Sheng and the others were even more bewildered, because they could not see the two figures clearly at all.

As the two fought, all they could see were afterimages flashing one after another, appearing here one moment and there the next.

They could not tell who was winning or losing, nor who held the advantage.

They could only wait foolishly for the outcome.

The gap was far too great, wasn't it?

Forget them—even Lu Fei could not see clearly. He could only rely on instinct to sense the battle and roughly grasp the course of their exchange.

It was precisely because of this that Lu Fei was deeply shocked by Lu Yu's strength.

He had always known Lu Yu was strong, but he had never known exactly how strong. Now, that feeling was gradually becoming clear.

At the same time, he grew excited.

Because as long as he worked hard, one day he could become as strong as Lu Yu.

Lu Fei secretly swore to himself that he would train hard in footwork and swordsmanship from now on, striving to catch up to Lu Yu as soon as possible.

Xiao Wu was likewise stunned by the strength of the two.

Especially Lu Yu.

So he was actually this strong.

Thinking back to Lu Yu's earlier fight with her, she realized that from beginning to end, he had never used his full strength.

Lu Yu's offensive became increasingly fierce. The entire dormitory was filled with his afterimages and sword shadows.

He wanted to provoke Tang San.

Only when Tang San was provoked would he make mistakes. As long as he made a mistake, Lu Yu would have an opportunity. Given the current situation, it was not impossible for him to beat Tang San up.

Tang San was too confident.

Confidence was a good thing, but too much confidence became arrogance.

The more arrogant a person was, the less they could accept their own failure. Once Tang San became anxious and lost his composure, he would be nothing worth mentioning.

And that was indeed what happened.

At this moment, Tang San was no different from Lu Fei just now. He was even worse off than Lu Fei, because he absolutely could not accept defeat.

Especially not at the hands of a little brat.

When experts fought, victory and defeat were decided in a single instant.

After noticing the change in Tang San's state of mind, Lu Yu increased the pressure once more. He pushed both his swordsmanship and footwork to their limits.