On the arena.
Zhou Hao and Hu Yong, two young experts, stood at opposite ends of the arena.
Zhou Hao stood nearly six feet tall. After cultivating the Chiming Nine Heavens Map to the fourth level, the Xiantian Realm, his frame had grown far more muscular than the slender one he'd had when he first crossed over.
Hu Yong was about the same height as Zhou Hao, but leaner, with a pair of long legs that made him look even taller.
Both were Xiantian Lifeforms. From their appearances alone, there was no telling them apart in age; they both looked like young men around twenty.
However, True Person Muxuan knew from the military's records that Zhou Hao was only eighteen this year and had just entered the ranks of Xiantian Lifeforms.
Hu Yong, on the other hand, was thirty-three, and had been a Xiantian Lifeform for thirteen years.
"Now this is interesting!" True Person Muxuan said, his smile growing as he watched the two on the arena.
One cultivated the foremost technique of God-Devil Body Refining. Though he had only just entered the Xiantian Realm, his powerful soul could manifest divine consciousness, and he might even possess secret arts.
The other had been in the Xiantian Realm for a long time. His body refinement had reached the late Xiantian stage, and he had grasped a hint of the Dao's artistic conception in his movement technique.
Compared with ordinary Xiantian Lifeforms, both Zhou Hao and Hu Yong could be considered extraordinary geniuses.
Having two appear at once in the Xiantian Battalion left True Person Muxuan feeling truly pleased.
Besides guarding Jade Dragon City and protecting the passage into the heartland of the Great Xia Dynasty for his sect, he had another important duty: finding more elite geniuses and recruiting them into the sect.
"Which one will be stronger?" True Person Muxuan watched with interest.
Though Zhou Hao had destroyed the Vine Wood Puppet in just a few moves, making it look as if nothing could stand against him, Ren Baili couldn't understand how he'd found the puppet's core. True Person Muxuan knew it was because of his divine consciousness.
He simply hadn't expected a freak like Zhou Hao to appear, one who possessed divine consciousness as a Xiantian Lifeform. So he hadn't used a secret art to conceal it.
Otherwise, if his puppet's vital core had been that easy to discover, it would never have lasted until now.
Which of the two was stronger?
The entire Drill Ground fell silent as everyone watched the pair on the arena.
"Be careful, Brother Zhou Hao." Hu Yong drew his single-edged saber and regarded Zhou Hao confidently.
Of course he was confident.
When relying on movement speed against a huge, hard-to-penetrate Vine Wood Puppet, his strength had been greatly diminished. But against a person, it would be more than enough to kill.
For experts, movement speed was even more important than strength.
You could be as strong as you liked, but if you couldn't hit me, what good was it? I'd only need to cut you once, and you wouldn't be able to stop me. Which of us was stronger was obvious.
"Go ahead." Zhou Hao held the Red Gold Copper Rod and calmly watched his opponent.
You might be faster when running, but that didn't mean you'd have the advantage in a fight.
Whoosh!
Hu Yong shifted his feet and shot across more than ten zhang in an instant, his long saber coming down in a simple, direct slash!
Ssshh—
Even though it was only a simple slash, its speed made it astonishingly powerful.
Whoosh!
Zhou Hao stood his ground and raised his right hand, bringing the Red Gold Copper Rod up to meet Hu Yong's descending saber.
"I'm not a Vine Wood Puppet. I won't stand here and clash with you." Hu Yong swayed aside, appearing at Zhou Hao's flank. He kept moving, circling Zhou Hao and changing positions, his saber flashing in one strike after another, every blow aimed at Zhou Hao's chest and heart.
This was a sparring match, not a fight to the death. Both men practiced God-Devil Body Refining and were Xiantian Lifeforms; even a pierced heart wouldn't kill them. So victory came down to who could destroy the other's heart first.
The head, as a vital point, was deliberately avoided. Anyone judged to have intentionally attacked the head and killed their opponent would be executed on the spot.
"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!" ...
Hu Yong circled Zhou Hao and struck more than ten times in a row, but each time, before Zhou Hao's Red Gold Copper Rod could block or even touch his saber, he immediately changed his move.
Several breaths passed, and their weapons still hadn't even touched.
"What a bizarre movement technique!"
Zhou Hao could only feel that his opponent's body was always able to sense his attack ahead of time.
The moment Zhou Hao swung his Copper Staff, the wind it whipped up would blow Hu Yong aside, and a faster flash of saber light would immediately slash in from the flank, forcing him to change his move.
Hu Yong had only a single saber, yet Zhou Hao felt as if saber light filled the air around him.
That was the advantage of having superior movement speed.
"Want to wear me down? Then go ahead. It'll give me a chance to study your movement technique."
In truth, Zhou Hao had plenty of ways to break the deadlock. He could use the Taiji Grindstone or the Chaotic Cloak Staff Technique, or even control flying knives with his divine consciousness and true essence to seize an opening.
But Zhou Hao wasn't in a hurry. He had several trump cards. Did he really think he could turn the world upside down?
Among Xiantian Lifeforms at the same level, he truly feared no one!
A bizarre scene unfolded on the arena.
Hu Yong darted and wheeled about, desperately seeking an opening in Zhou Hao's defenses, while avoiding any clash with the weapon in Zhou Hao's hand.
Zhou Hao, meanwhile, appeared to swing his Copper Staff casually, blocking Hu Yong's saber as it came down, but his eyes were fixed on Hu Yong's footwork, studying his movement technique.
"Hu Yong may not say it, but Zhou Hao's staff strike that shattered the Vine Wood Puppet earlier scared him."
On the viewing platform, Ren Baili shook his head and laughed. "The boy's never been through much. Does having good footwork mean you're sure to find an opening? Afraid of this and that—pathetic."
Using your strengths to overcome your enemy's weaknesses was all well and good, but you still had to know what mattered most. Hu Yong had clearly fallen into a trap of his own making, taking things to an extreme.
"He's fought the Vine Wood Puppet himself, so he knows just how powerful Zhou Hao's Copper Staff is. It's normal that he hasn't quite thought it through yet." The silver-haired elder smiled as well.
"Let's keep watching. We'll see when he figures it out—or whether Zhou Hao really is forced into an opening by Hu Yong's movement technique. That'll be the moment the match is decided."
True Person Muxuan listened to his two subordinates and nodded slightly, his eyes following Hu Yong as he moved.
Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye.
"Jingzhi is here too?"
In front of the arena, a middle-aged man with graying hair and a long blue robe had appeared behind the gathered Xiantian Lifeforms at some point. He was watching the two fighters with great interest.
"Hm?" Ren Baili suddenly exclaimed in surprise. "General, Elder Ji—look at Zhou Hao's footwork. Is he imitating Hu Yong?"
The situation on the arena had suddenly changed. Zhou Hao, who had been standing still and using only his weapon to block, had begun moving around as well.
And judging by the steps he took, his footwork seemed exactly like Hu Yong's. But on closer inspection, Zhou Hao's technique even seemed a cut above.
"That monster..." Ren Baili stared blankly for a long moment before finally voicing his amazement. He no longer knew what to say.
Watching Zhou Hao's figure drift like the wind, True Person Muxuan's eyes filled with admiration.
"Truly worthy of being an immortal reborn."
In his heart, he was even more certain that Zhou Hao was an immortal reborn.
Zhou Hao was excited too.
Not because he'd learned Hu Yong's footwork. Though his movements now looked very much like Hu Yong's, they were something he'd practiced since childhood.
"So the 'Gang Step' my master taught me is actually a profound movement technique!"
The Gang Step, also called the Yu Step in Daoism, was said to have been created in ancient times by Xia Yu when he controlled the floods. By performing the steps while praying to the gods, one could summon spirits, drive away evil, and welcome the true. Daoists often used it when setting up altars and performing rituals.
Zhou Hao had grown up following his master, True Person Daoyi. To make ends meet, the master and disciple often set up altars for people, performing rituals to pray for blessings and drive away evil spirits, scamming—er, earning a little money to get by.
Before this, Zhou Hao had never thought much about the Gang Step. According to his master, it was only used during rituals to make them feel more impressive.
Otherwise, after the faithful had paid, would you really just recite a few incantations?
You had to consider how the patrons felt.
That was why Zhou Hao had never imagined that the Gang Step might have anything in common with cultivation or movement techniques.
But as he studied Hu Yong's footwork, he realized that its foundations bore a faint resemblance to the Bagua Sixty-Four Phases.
Zhou Hao's thoughts stirred, and he began using the Gang Step he had practiced since childhood.
As it happened, when he first learned the technique, he'd thought it was a secret art of Internal Martial Arts. Only later did he realize that wasn't the case.
If he hadn't read Jin Yong's novels in his previous life and been fascinated by Lingbo Micro-Steps, which was based on the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching, he might never have practiced it properly.
But once he'd mastered it enough to meet the demands of the job, he'd stopped paying it much attention.
Now, inspired by Hu Yong's footwork, Zhou Hao urged it on with true essence, and even blended in the hint of the True Meaning of Wind he'd just grasped, following Hu Yong's example.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, it was as if dozens of figures had appeared on the arena. Zhou Hao's speed surged, and as he moved, astral winds curled around him. He carried the imposing air of a true Daoist stepping through the stars and treading the Dipper as he performed a ritual.
"How is this possible!?" Hu Yong felt stifled.
He had been the one relying on his movement technique to win. How had his opponent suddenly become even more skilled?
Now Hu Yong had finally seen the light. By repeatedly avoiding a direct clash with Zhou Hao, he had been a step behind from the very beginning.
Now that Zhou Hao's movement technique was no weaker than his own, if he didn't attack at once, he'd be at Zhou Hao's mercy.
Thinking of the force behind the staff strike that had shattered the Vine Wood Puppet, Hu Yong changed his saber stance.
Whoosh!
A mighty, forceful slash came down toward Zhou Hao!
Judging by the desperate power behind it, Hu Yong was willing to meet Zhou Hao head-on after all.
But it wasn't that simple.
Swish—
Zhou Hao merely took a casual step and darted several zhang away. Hu Yong hadn't even seen how he'd done it.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
He slashed several more times in a row, but didn't even touch Zhou Hao's shadow.
"You can't play fair like this..."
Hu Yong felt even more miserable.
"I just wanted a proper match!"
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