Step by Step

It can only be said that one is influenced by one's surroundings.

My secretary is just like me; she speaks without thinking.

Jiang Qiu looked at her secretary, who was speaking so frankly, and was somewhat speechless.

Much later.

She sighed and patted her secretary's head, "No, but your president did get a good scolding from the Architect."

"They're so arrogant!"

"I'll be entering the dungeon again soon. If you need anything, go talk to the vice president. Also, the Strategy Group is not allowed to stop, and they're not allowed to complain about the difficulty of Sifu's dungeon anymore—oh well, I'll go and tell them myself later."

"?"

The secretary's eyes widened. "Is the president still going? Didn't you say before you left—"

"That was my mistake."

Jiang Qiu shook her head, offering no further explanation, and walked straight back to her office, closing the door behind her.

The secretary stared wide-eyed, speechless for a long time.

The president is so fickle!

And they even admitted to being lectured.

Even though he was bruised and battered after fighting that silver-haired beauty last time, he keeps making excuses for himself, refusing to admit he was inferior to her.

Inside the office.

Jiang Qiu was unaware of her secretary's thoughts at that moment. She first sent a few messages to the head of the Strategy Group, and then prepared to enter the instance.

But before clicking the "Enter" button.

She hesitated for a moment, then, as if remembering something, she moved her finger away and opened the forum instead.

On the forum, discussions about the Sifu are still numerous.

But one thing immediately caught her attention—[I cleared the level! Lu Xiu is really amazing!]

Someone beat the game?!

Jiang Qiu was taken aback.

really----

What am I even doing?

Looking at the highly popular post, Jiang Qiu couldn't help but recall Lu Xiu's words. After a long silence, she finally clicked on the post to check the details.

The poster's ID was quite unique: "Du Shu of Tingqiao".

The post details are very long.

[Cleared the dungeon----The dungeon was indeed very difficult. The attribute-removing system meant I couldn't even pretend from the first level. From the drug factory onwards, I was constantly being ganged up on and beaten to a pulp! And the elite monsters and bosses in the dungeon were even more formidable!]

Especially the final boss, he was completely insane, I almost knelt down and begged my senior brother for mercy.

On the other hand, the dungeons are truly amazing! I don't know if you've noticed, but setting aside all the random superpowers, every enemy's attack method is incredibly practical? It feels like it could be used in real life too!

Especially the bosses and those elite monsters! Their moves are extremely focused on close-quarters combat, powerful and swift! Wow! I really didn't expect that Lu Xiu could do this! He actually managed to cram a complete martial arts style into the dungeon!

I don't know how you feel about seeing this sentence right now, but as an enthusiast, when I see those combat skills in the dungeon, brought back to life before my eyes by a Architect with such incredible precision through brutal real combat, I'm truly terrified! I'm utterly awestruck!

I never knew dungeons could be done like this!

Lu Xiu actually knows about such niche things, and even seems to know more about them than some people do.

I don't know how she did it, but I strongly recommend that interested players check out the attack methods of the dungeon enemies and look at the martial arts characterized by practical and ruthless moves. You can really learn something! I, for one, benefited greatly!

in addition.

If any players are interested in this, feel free to contact me. Because of the ethereal mechanic, I can't remember all the enemy moves, so we can discuss and summarize them! I'm really curious about what kind of fist technique Lu Xiu put into the dungeon!

The original poster wrote a long and eloquent piece, filled with shock and fervor.

Jiang Qiu sat in her office chair, staring blankly at the text, the words Lu Xiu had spoken in the underground Training Ground of the Coordination Bureau flashing through her mind again.

I stood there stunned for a long while.

She finally snapped out of her daze, took a deep breath, and looked at the player comments that were popping up like crazy below.

[Holy crap? Are you serious? You actually beat the game?!]

[Martial arts style? Really? Is Lu Xiu that exaggerated? She even knows this?]

[Is this fake? Are you trying to bait people again? If you're going to make up a story, at least make it believable. It just doesn't seem plausible.]

[Trying to lure people into the dungeon and slaughter them again?]

[Are you there, OP? I'll trust you once the reward is posted.]

At the beginning.

Many people simply don't believe it.

They just kept asking the poster to give them rewards to prove they had actually completed the game.

And the original poster actually made a fortune.

After seeing the rewards.

Whether they believed the original poster or thought the poster was trolling, they all remained silent.

I don't know what to say.

The rewards from this dungeon are simply amazing.

[Special Skill: Hard Skill]

[Rating: S]

[Type: Passive/Damage Reduction]

[Ability Description: When the user is unarmed, if the timing of the block is within an "absolute window" (an attack is about to strike),

Theoretically, at the exact moment it can be blocked, most of the incoming physical kinetic energy will be forcibly cut off and removed, greatly reducing the damage from this unarmed strike, and the reduced force will be reflected back to the attacker's limbs, causing physical damage equivalent to the force being removed.

However, this skill cannot ignore the difference in strength attributes between the two sides; if the enemy's strength attribute is too great, the skill will be ineffective.

If the attack carries elemental energy, and the attack trajectory is not completely deflected, the elemental effect will penetrate the defense and act fully on the user, and the elemental energy cannot be countered.

If the parry is not timed perfectly, the unarmed damage will only be slightly reduced, and the counter-attack effect will not be triggered.

(This skill cannot coexist with a Neutralize skill)

[Trigger condition: Must be unarmed.]

[Cooldown: None]

[Consumable: None.]

[Note: An ordinary person who hasn't yet reached mastery, responding to each move with a back-and-forth exchange—but that's normal. No one can become a master overnight, at least not you.]

Besides that.

There's another prop.

----A prop that everyone covets.

[Item Name: Fake Copper Coin]

[Rating: None]

[Type: Consumable]

[Effect Description: After use, select one skill held by the user with a rating below S, evolve it once, and raise its rating by one tier.]

[Restrictions: This item cannot be used to evolve talent skills; each player can only use this item once.]

[Note: If my skills were honed just a little more, just a little more—would I be able to beat the game? Would I be able to catch up with that twenty-year-old master?]

When I saw the two rewards posted by the original poster...

The reward is below.

Immediately, a dense barrage of ellipses appeared—hundreds of replies consisting entirely of ellipses, like a waterfall.

Through a screen.

Jiang Qiu could almost hear the players collectively gasp in shock at that moment.

She didn't even know how many replies the players had posted—she flipped through more than a dozen pages but couldn't find any proper responses, only ellipses.

Jiang Qiu clicked directly to the last page before she saw the normal reply.

"I knew it—I knew it! This is Lu Xiu's dungeon, how could the difficulty not correspond to the rewards! I'll risk it all!"

"Holy crap! How can I ignore this reward?! My useful A-rank skill can evolve once! And that new skill, wow, a real-life version of Neutralize??? No, it feels different from Neutralize, but it's still so powerful! But looking at the later parts, will there be a superior replacement? How powerful is that?!"

"SS-rank unofficial dungeon—damn it, I'm going to run the system dungeon."

"The system dungeons don't have anything like that! Although the system does have fighting-type dungeons, they're completely different—clearing them is pointless."

"That's better than blindly rushing into the ' Lu Xiu Embroidery' dungeon and giving away Survival Points, right? It's good to improve my reaction speed and get more familiar with the rhythm of melee combat in a low-level dungeon! I can't just sit there drooling over the rewards! I want the rewards from this dungeon!"

"Yeah, I'll just have to practice more! I refuse to believe it!"

As expected.

The wind has changed direction.

Hu Jiang Qiu looked at the players' replies, let out a deep breath, and closed the forum.

There was no trace of confusion or restlessness on that bright and dignified face.

A martial arts style?

She murmured something, then opened the dungeon library, found the corresponding dungeon, and pressed the enter button.

It turned into Bai Guang and disappeared.

After the prologue.

Jiang Qiu stood at the entrance to the Squats once again and saw the man in the vest who had once punched her and sent her flying.

But this time, her state of mind was completely different.

The disbelief I felt when faced with such low values was gone, as was my resentment towards the Architect for being inhuman.

"Get out of here, you won't find what you're looking for----"

The henchman in the vest also saw Jiang Qiu and immediately came forward cursing and swearing, striking a pose.

Jiang Qiu didn't try to Neutralize directly, nor did she panic and try to create distance to kite the other person. Instead, she stared at the other person's body.

Begin observation.

Both the forum posts and Lu Xiu's final words to him to pay attention to the enemy proved one thing.

She overlooked too many things.

Boom!

A blazing crimson flame suddenly erupted from the man in the vest's fist without warning!

Then, the man in the vest unleashed a powerful punch, its force blazing, directly at Jiang Qiu.

Jiang Qiu dodged to the side, deliberately avoiding attention to the terrifying flames, and instead focusing all her gaze on the other person's torso.

But by focusing her attention, she suddenly saw a completely different scene.

Just before he unleashed his fiery fist.

The man in the vest made a very slight tug on the ground with his right heel.

Next comes hunching the chest, straightening the back, relaxing the shoulders, and dropping the elbows.

Even the movements of a henchman have extremely clear trajectories and signs of force exertion.

So that's how it is—no wonder Lu Xiu said to observe.

Knowing something is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another.

The enemy's attack methods—they're not just random, chaotic punches!

Jiang Qiu dodged away.

The first strike missed.

The henchman in the vest didn't freeze; instead, he used the momentum from his missed swing to spin halfway around.

The man in the vest drew a semi-circle on the ground with his left foot, then suddenly exerted force with his waist, delivering a low sweeping kick that was accompanied by flames, straight for Jiang Qiu's lower body.

Jiang Qiu leaped back half a step again.

With a whooshing sound, a sweeping kick grazed Jiang Qiu's knee, nearly knocking her over.

But Jiang Qiu's eyes lit up.

She saw it clearly.

Just before the opponent's leg strikes, there is a subtle shift in the center of gravity, with the left shoulder slightly drooping. This is to make the lower body more stable and to concentrate all the body's power into this whip kick.

"Again!"

Jiang Qiu didn't rush to retaliate. Instead, she observed her enemy, whom she had once regarded as a lowly nobody, in the narrow alley.

The man in the vest became somewhat agitated after his attacks repeatedly missed.

He roared, the flames on his fists burning even brighter, and he pounced like a mad dog.

Straight left punch!

Right hook!

A powerful, heavy slam!

A combo attack poured down like a storm.

Jiang Qiu forced herself to ignore the raging flames and not think about how terrifying the enemy's strength was. Instead, she focused all her attention on the enemy's shoulders, hips, and feet.

Pull your left shoulder back and push off with your right foot – that's a right straight punch!

Jiang Qiu tilted her head.

Whoosh! A flame grazed her cheek.

Lower your right shoulder, tighten your waist muscles suddenly, and throw a left hook!

Jiang Qiu ducked down.

Whoosh! A punch carrying intense heat whistled past her head.

Raise your center of gravity and raise both arms high.

Jiang Qiu suddenly retreated.

They had just created some distance.

The spot where she had just stood was scorched into a shallow, blackened crater by the explosion, created by the man in the vest.

Jiang Qiu stood there somewhat awkwardly.

But it was just a sorry state of affairs.

Just like Lu Xiu, who had faced her not long ago.

Jiang Qiu, slightly out of breath, looked at the man in the vest who was once again assuming an offensive stance, her bright face showing shock and understanding.

It turns out, everything was traceable!

Those seemingly illogical superpowers are actually just special effects attached to these martial arts moves!

A flash of insight struck Jiang Qiu like lightning, and everything became clear.

No wonder.

No wonder Lu Xiu made her take a close look at the enemy's attack methods in the dungeon during the Training Ground.

No wonder the poster of that previous post was so impressed—this is the true core of the Sifu instance!

It stripped the player of all Transcendent Skill and high attributes.

Let players get used to the enemy, observe the enemy, and even—learn about the enemy!

"Sifu —could this instance be Sifu yourself?"

Jiang Qiu muttered something, then finally began to deal with the man in the vest.

And then...

Perhaps they've come to some realization.

Although Jiang Qiu's progress through the dungeon was still slow, the process itself underwent a qualitative transformation.

She no longer passively took hits in the alley like a headless fly, but instead learned to absorb the movements of every enemy.

Not long ago, when Lu Xiu was fighting with me.

Is it the same?

As Jiang Qiu pondered this, she continued to advance the process.

As the process progressed, she discovered an even more ingenious detail in the design of the copy.

When we were on the outermost edge of the Squats, the gatekeepers we encountered had very long pre-movement swings and extremely obvious signs of exertion.

Pull your left shoulder back, push off with your right foot, and twist your waist and hips dramatically.

It's like a tutorial puppet whose movements have been deliberately slowed down, as if afraid that players won't be able to see how they make their moves.

But as Jiang Qiu ventured deeper into the Squats, arriving at the drug manufacturing plant, and then into the corridor that led her to despair and age prematurely...

Things are different now.

The enemy's increased strength is not only reflected in the more exaggerated superpower effects.

This is further reflected in the refinement of their martial arts skills and the stealthiness of their movements!

If we're talking about the small fry on the periphery, before they throw a punch, they'll definitely have a noticeable shoulder-sinking and power-gathering movement.

The enemies behind them wouldn't make as many unnecessary movements, or rather—they would—but they would be more concealed.

Not only that.

Jiang Qiu also keenly observed that Lu Xiu could even clearly distinguish between the logic of group attacks and one-on-one combat.

When she was surrounded by more than three thugs.

Although the enemy's attacks are like a storm, their movements also become more expansive and dynamic, making them easier to predict and Neutralize, and their wind-up animations become correspondingly longer.

But once it becomes a one-on-one fight, those elite monsters immediately abandon their wide-ranging attacks and switch to using more compact and stealthy moves.

Their movements will also become more ruthless and cunning.

"Progressing from simple to complex, step by step, from the expansive and dynamic street Striker to the concealed and deadly internal martial arts—"

Jiang Qiu leaned against the wall, panting, watching the enemies fall at the back of the corridor.

Although she was left with only a sliver of blood, her bright eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance.

I see----

I see!

She even considered this! Lu Xiu isn't just torturing players; on the contrary, she seems to genuinely want top players to break free from pure numerical dependence and achieve growth.

But myself----

Thinking back to his arrogant thoughts, and recalling Lu Xiu's outburst not long ago.

Jiang Qiu felt a burning sensation on her cheeks.

After a while.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her shame, then stepped away from the wall and straightened her back.

I'll talk about my shame later.

Now that the Architect has already laid out the steps to advancement, if she still can't reach the end, she'll truly have no face to show her face.

Thinking of this...

Without further hesitation, Jiang Qiu, dragging her remaining blood, resolutely strode towards the end of the corridor with a composed demeanor as if she had undergone a complete transformation.