Stepping on the Big Dipper! (Seeking Collection!)

On the arena.

Zhou Hao and Hu Yong, a pair of young experts, stood at opposite ends of the stage.

Zhou Hao, nearly 1.8 meters tall, had cultivated the Chiming Nine Heavens Map to the fourth level of the Xiantian realm. Compared to the lean figure he had when he first transmigrated, he was now far more robust and muscular.

Hu Yong was similar in height to Zhou Hao, but his build was leaner, with a pair of long legs that made him appear even taller.

Both were Xiantian Lifeforms, and judging by their appearances alone, there was no discernible difference in their ages; both looked like young men in their twenties.

However, True Person Muxuan knew from the military records that Zhou Hao was only eighteen this year and had just stepped into the Xiantian Lifeform realm.

Hu Yong, on the other hand, was thirty-three and had been a Xiantian Lifeform for thirteen years.

"This is getting interesting!" True Person Muxuan watched the two on the arena, the smile on his face deepening.

One practiced the premier God-Devil Body Refining technique; though he had only just entered the Xiantian realm, his soul was powerful enough to manifest divine sense, and he might even possess secret arts.

The other had stepped into the Xiantian realm long ago, his body refining reaching the late Xiantian stage, and he had even grasped a trace of the Dao's intent in his movement techniques.

Compared to ordinary Xiantian Lifeforms, both Zhou Hao and Hu Yong could be considered monstrous geniuses.

Having two such talents appear in the Xiantian Battalion at once made True Person Muxuan feel truly gratified.

Beyond guarding Jade Dragon City and securing the sect's passage into the core hinterlands of the Great Xia Dynasty, he had another important duty: to discover more elite geniuses and recruit them into the sect.

"Who will be stronger?" True Person Muxuan watched with keen interest.

Don't let the fact that Zhou Hao destroyed the Vine Wood Puppet in a few strikes earlier make him seem peerlessly fierce; while Ren Baili couldn't fathom how he found the puppet's seed, True Person Muxuan knew it was because of his divine sense.

It was simply that he hadn't expected a monster like Zhou Hao to appear—a Xiantian Lifeform possessing divine sense—and thus he hadn't employed any secret arts to conceal it.

Otherwise, if his puppets' core vitals were truly so easily discovered, they wouldn't have lasted until today.

Between the two, who was stronger?

The entire training ground was silent, everyone watching the two on the arena.

"Be careful, Brother Zhou Hao." Hu Yong drew his saber, looking at Zhou Hao with confidence.

He certainly had reason to be confident.

Relying on movement speed to deal with a massive, heavily armored Vine Wood Puppet might have significantly weakened his power, but it was absolutely perfect for killing people.

To an expert, movement speed was often even more important than raw strength.

No matter how strong your power is, if you can't hit me, what does it matter? And if I land a strike on you that you can't block, who is stronger and who is weaker? That goes without saying.

"Make your move." Zhou Hao held his Red Gold Copper Rod, looking calmly at his opponent.

I may not be as fast as you, but when it comes to a fight, that remains to be seen.

Whoosh!

Hu Yong moved his feet, darting across a distance of over ten zhang in a flash, his long saber delivering a simple, direct hack!

Sshhh!

Even if it was just a simple hack, the speed made it terrifyingly powerful.

Whoosh!

Zhou Hao stood his ground, raising his right hand as the Red Gold Copper Rod met Hu Yong's incoming saber.

"I'm not a Vine Wood Puppet; I won't trade blows with you." Hu Yong's body flickered, flashing to Zhou Hao's side. He didn't stop, circling Zhou Hao while constantly changing positions, his saber raining down strike after strike, every one aimed at his heart.

This was an arena, not a life-or-death struggle. Both were Xiantian God-Devil Body Refiners, so even a pierced heart wouldn't mean death; thus, victory was decided by who could destroy the opponent's heart first.

As for the head, it was a vital point that was strictly avoided. If one were judged to have intentionally attacked the head to kill an opponent, they would be executed immediately.

Sshhh! Sshhh! Sshhh!...

Hu Yong circled Zhou Hao, hacking out over a dozen strikes, but every time, he would change his move before Zhou Hao's Red Gold Copper Rod could block or even touch his blade.

Several breaths passed, and the two hadn't even let their weapons clash once.

"What a bizarre movement technique!"

Zhou Hao only felt that his opponent's body could always sense his attacks in advance.

The moment he swung his copper rod, the wind generated by the weapon would blow Hu Yong to the side, followed by an even faster flash of the blade from another angle, forcing him to change his stance.

Even though the opponent only had one long saber, it gave Zhou Hao the illusion that he was surrounded by blades.

This was the advantage brought by a disparity in movement speed.

"Want to wear me down? Fine, come on then. It's the perfect chance to study your footwork."

In truth, Zhou Hao had many ways to break the deadlock, whether it was the Taiji Grindstone, the Chaotic Cloak Staff Technique, or even using his divine sense and true essence to control flying daggers to seize an opening.

However, Zhou Hao was in no rush. With several trump cards up his sleeve, was he really afraid of being overwhelmed?

Among Xiantian Lifeforms of the same level, there was truly no one he feared!

At this moment, a very strange scene unfolded on the arena.

Hu Yong was desperately twisting and turning, trying to find a flaw in Zhou Hao's defense while avoiding any contact with his weapon.

Meanwhile, Zhou Hao appeared to be swinging his copper rod casually to block Hu Yong's saber, but his eyes were fixed on Hu Yong's footwork, studying his movement technique.

"Although Hu Yong doesn't say it aloud, that kid has been spooked by the sheer power Zhou Hao displayed when he shattered the Vine Wood Puppet with a single strike of his Copper Staff."

On the viewing platform, Ren Baili shook his head and chuckled: "An inexperienced lad. Does he really think having good footwork guarantees he can exploit an opponent's opening? Fearing this and that—truly useless."

Using one's strengths to overcome an enemy's weaknesses requires a sense of proportion; someone like Hu Yong has clearly fallen into a misconception and is heading toward an extreme.

"He has sparred with the Vine Wood Puppet himself, so he naturally understands the magnitude of force behind Zhou Hao's Copper Staff. It is only natural that he hasn't quite wrapped his head around it yet," the silver-haired elder also laughed.

"Let's keep watching. See when he realizes it, or if Zhou Hao forces a flaw out of him with his footwork. That will be the moment the outcome is decided."

True Person Muxuan listened to the exchange between his two deputies and nodded slightly, his gaze tracking Hu Yong.

Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye.

"Jingzhi is here too?"

Before the arena, a middle-aged man in a green cloth robe with graying hair had appeared behind the watching Xiantian Lifeforms, watching the duel on stage with great interest.

"Hmm?" Ren Baili suddenly exclaimed, "General, Elder Ji. Look at that kid Zhou Hao's footwork—is he imitating Hu Yong?"

At this moment, the situation on the arena shifted abruptly. Zhou Hao, who had been standing his ground and using only his weapon to parry, began to move and weave.

Moreover, the footwork beneath his feet seemed identical to Hu Yong's, yet upon closer inspection, it appeared even a cut above.

"This monster..." Ren Baili stared in a daze for a long while before letting out a sigh, at a loss for how to evaluate him.

Watching Zhou Hao's figure, as graceful as the wind, True Person Muxuan's eyes were filled with admiration.

"Worthy of being a reincarnated immortal."

In his heart, he became even more certain that Zhou Hao was indeed a reincarnated immortal.

At this moment, Zhou Hao was also feeling excited.

It wasn't because he had learned Hu Yong's footwork; although what he was displaying now looked remarkably similar, it was something he had practiced since childhood.

So the 'Gang Step' my master taught me is actually a profound movement technique.

The Gang Step, also known as the Yu Step in Taoism, was said to have been created by the ancient Great Yu of Xia while controlling the floods. By performing these steps to pray to the gods, one could summon spirits, drive away evil, and welcome the truth; it was mostly used by Taoist priests when setting up altars for rituals.

Zhou Hao had grown up following his master, True Person Daoyi. To make ends meet, the master and apprentice would often set up altars and perform rituals to pray for blessings or ward off evil—to swindle, er, to collect some money for their daily needs.

Previously, Zhou Hao had never thought of the Gang Step—a technique used only for rituals—as anything more than what his master called a way to "add a sense of ceremony" to the proceedings.

Otherwise, if a believer spent money, would you just stand there and chant a few spells?

You have to consider the feelings of the benefactor, after all.

Therefore, Zhou Hao had never imagined that the Gang Step could have anything in common with martial arts or movement techniques.

But when he studied Hu Yong's footwork, he realized that its foundation was vaguely similar to the 'Bagua Sixty-Four Phases'.

A thought stirred in Zhou Hao's mind, and he began to employ the Gang Step he had mastered since he was small.

Come to think of it, when he first learned this footwork, he had thought it was a secret technique of Internal Martial Arts, only to realize later that wasn't the case.

If it hadn't been for reading Jin Yong's novels in his past life and yearning for the 'Lingbo Micro-Steps'—which was based on the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching—he wouldn't have practiced it so diligently.

However, once he had mastered it enough to handle his "business" needs, he hadn't paid it much mind.

But now, inspired by Hu Yong's footwork, Zhou Hao channeled his True Essence to execute it, even blending in that trace of the 'True Meaning of Wind' he had just grasped, just as Hu Yong had done.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of figures seemed to suddenly appear on the arena. Zhou Hao's speed surged violently, and as he moved, he was surrounded by gale winds, possessing the imposing aura of a Taoist master performing ritual steps.

"How is this possible!?" Hu Yong felt stifled.

He had clearly intended to win through footwork, so how, in the blink of an eye, had his opponent's footwork become superior to his own?

Hu Yong finally realized that by blindly refusing to clash head-on with Zhou Hao, he had been at a disadvantage from the start.

Now that his opponent's footwork was no weaker than his own, if he didn't launch an attack, he would be at Zhou Hao's mercy.

Thinking of the power Zhou Hao had used to shatter the Vine Wood Puppet, Hu Yong changed his blade style.

Clang!

With a heavy, powerful strike, he slashed toward the Zhou Hao in front of him!

Judging by the desperate intensity of the blow, he was prepared to clash head-on with Zhou Hao regardless of the cost.

But it wasn't that simple.

Swish~~~~

Zhou Hao took a casual step, flashing several yards away; Hu Yong didn't even see how he had moved.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several more slashes followed, but he didn't even touch Zhou Hao's shadow.

"You can't play like this..."

Hu Yong felt even more miserable.

"I just wanted a proper match!"

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