Arrogant (Please Keep Reading)

Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.

"Silly Qiang, come try my new move!" He stretched out a hand.

Silly Qiang moved expressionlessly, charging forward like a mountain and slamming a heavy palm toward him.

In the past, Li Xiuwen would have relied on footwork to evade, avoiding a head-on clash with someone born with immense strength like Silly Qiang.

This time, however, he neither dodged nor retreated. He fully activated Hard-Soft Palm and met the incoming hand head-on.

Boom! A visible ripple of air burst outward. Silly Qiang staggered back again and again, shattering floor tiles beneath his feet.

The bear-like muscles and flesh on his body seemed like a deflating tire, collapsing inward layer by layer.

"Burst!" Li Xiuwen withdrew his palm.

From the hand Silly Qiang had used to block came a series of crisp cracks, like firecrackers going off. Fine beads of blood seeped from the surface of his skin.

His bones had been shaken apart and his capillaries ruptured. Half his arm hung limply at his side, unable to straighten. It was practically crippled.

"That palm had some real force. The wonders of Sea-Sand Palm have finally revealed themselves."

Silly Qiang had been born with immense strength and had also trained in Iron Cloth Shirt.

His physical constitution surpassed those of the same realm by a considerable margin, nearing the level of the Black Membrane.

Yet Li Xiuwen had crippled him with one seemingly light palm strike.

"Silly Qiang won't be qualified to be my opponent from now on... Come on, Liu Chun!"

Li Xiuwen walked over to the proud youth in the corner and crooked a finger at him.

Whoosh! Liu Chun moved, unbelievably fast.

Li Xiuwen's eyes narrowed. Did Liu Chun secretly pay extra to learn footwork?

That was clearly [Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance].

In the blink of an eye, he had already exchanged several palm strikes with Liu Chun.

Both of them had learned Hard-Soft Palm. Every collision exploded, making the martial arts hall as lively as a string of firecrackers.

In terms of footwork, Liu Chun was inferior to him.

However, Liu Chun possessed the foundational physical qualities of the Black Membrane realm. His reflexes and bodily agility were no weaker than Li Xiuwen's.

Moreover, Liu Chun had achieved mastery in his palm technique two months ago, and his command of it ran deeper.

Even though they used the same Hard-Soft Palm, Li Xiuwen remained at a disadvantage throughout.

Not to mention, Liu Chun had entered the Black Membrane realm quite some time ago and had probably progressed fifty to sixty percent of the way.

His strength, endurance, and every other aspect completely suppressed Purple Membrane martial artists.

After more than a hundred exchanges, Liu Chun caught an opening and defeated Li Xiuwen.

"Not bad. A month ago, I could only last thirty moves. I've improved a lot."

[Sand-Turning Palm proficiency increased by 1%]

[Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance proficiency increased by 1%]

The incense burner's notification gave Li Xiuwen a rush of excitement.

He went to Night Heron Martial Arts Hall again to find the little blondie.

Seven moves later, the doors of Night Heron Martial Arts Hall were blasted off. Li Xiuwen was kicked outside and left hanging from the building wall, his tendons and veins severed.

Inside, Longlegs Seven's eyes narrowed into slits. He stood like a white crane spreading its wings, his presence overwhelming.

"I could only last three moves before. Now it's seven. Not bad."

"Right, I haven't wandered around near Night Heron Martial Arts Hall in a while. It's time to update the Grand Illusory Realm. That little blondie is still the one from a month ago."

Li Xiuwen then sought out Tian Er, Black Dog, and Wen Wu one by one to exchange blows. He defeated each of them within a few moves.

The three of them combined were no match for even one hand of Longlegs Seven. The gap was far too great.

If the Grand Illusory Realm were a game, then among the NPCs he could currently encounter, Huang Sihai was the final boss.

Longlegs Seven was a minor boss, while everyone else was, at most, elite monsters or random roadside mobs.

In the end, he still went to spar with Liu Chun.

Exchanging moves with an expert just slightly stronger than himself was the fastest way to raise his proficiency.

There was pressure, but he could still learn something.

Someone too strong would instantly defeat him, while someone too weak was no good either.

An hour later, Sand-Turning Palm's proficiency had risen by 2%.

Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance had risen by 1%.

"Going from mastery to perfection is harder than the previous three stages combined."

"The fourth level, [Giant Whale Swallows the Sea, Ever-Changing Overturning], is a killing move that only the Black Membrane realm can perform. I'm really looking forward to it."

Before long, word that Li Xiuwen's Sand-Turning Palm had broken through to mastery spread throughout Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.

"Awen? You quietly reached mastery without saying a word?" A Zhen leaned over while they were eating after hearing the news.

"Mastery?" Silly Qiang's eyes shifted, and his body trembled slightly. "I only just reached minor mastery, and you've already reached mastery? You... are you even human?"

Li Xiuwen rolled his eyes at A Zhen. "I just got lucky. I had an occasional flash of insight and somehow muddled my way to mastery."

"You're brushing me off... You must have gotten some amazing treasure. I want to muddle my way to mastery too." A Zhen looked envious.

"I could tell long ago that Awen is smart and has high comprehension. He gets twice the result with half the effort when practicing martial arts. A fool like me can't do that." Silly Qiang looked troubled.

Back then, Awen had learned theoretical knowledge very quickly. That was the difference between him and Awen.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Awen."

"Senior Brother Awen, look after us from now on!"

One newly arrived junior brother and sister after another gathered around Li Xiuwen, making the place bustling.

In the corner, Liu Chun ate alone. Lately, he had become increasingly withdrawn.

He knew this was wrong, but it was simply his nature and he could not change it. He was too competitive.

At dusk,

After leaving the martial arts hall, Li Xiuwen came to the entrance of Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. He ordered a serving of rice noodle rolls from a roadside stall, squatted there, and began eating.

"What are you doing here, Four Seas Martial Arts Hall guy?" Tian Er, on his way home, spotted the squatting Li Xiuwen and frowned.

"Can't you see? I'm eating rice noodle rolls." Li Xiuwen smiled.

"You only won last time because you got lucky. You won't be so lucky next time, so don't get cocky." Tian Er snorted and turned to leave.

Li Xiuwen ignored him and ordered another serving of rice noodle rolls.

Black Dog, Wen Wu, and the others also returned home one after another. The sight of Li Xiuwen annoyed them.

A member of Four Seas Martial Arts Hall eating rice noodle rolls outside Night Heron Martial Arts Hall was obviously showing off after winning before.

"You again, you old fart." Longlegs Seven had appeared in the doorway at some point. He sneered. "What, are you here to avenge Liu Chun and bring glory to Four Seas Martial Arts Hall?"

"I'm just having a meal. You people at Night Heron Martial Arts Hall are really nosy." Li Xiuwen packed up another serving and left.

If nothing unexpected happened, [Grand Illusory Realm] should have updated with Longlegs Seven's latest cultivation and martial arts.

Once he reached the Black Membrane realm, he would go train against Longlegs Seven.

Huang Sihai had said that Longlegs Seven was at the level where one had some hope of entering the Crossing River Association and earning a ranking.

Once he could defeat Longlegs Seven, he would not be far from the Crossing River Association.

That night.

Li Xiuwen entered the Grand Illusory Realm and headed straight for Night Heron Martial Arts Hall.

He found Longlegs Seven and began sparring with him.

Longlegs Seven moved. An utterly powerful aura rolled toward him like a vast river.

He heard the cry of waterfowl echoing between heaven and earth.

He saw boundless gray wings tear open the great marsh.

Then he flew out and ended up hanging from a utility pole.

"That little blondie really passed the second checkpoint. He instantly crushed me."

"Someone with the makings of a superior truly is terrifying. I'm improving, but he's improving at lightning speed too."

"It looks like I won't be pulling off a thirty-years-east-of-the-river, thirty-years-west-of-the-river comeback anytime soon."

Li Xiuwen continued sparring with Liu Chun.

Slowly. There was no rush.

This "old bag of bones" had only practiced martial arts for three months and had already achieved this much. He should be content.