Lin Xiuyan: He's Got a Cheat!

Time passed, and another two months went by. Qin Yu's cultivation steadily rose from a Two-Star Battle Master to a Four-Star Battle Master.

He cultivated day after day, accumulating bit by bit, and his ranking on the points leaderboard rose accordingly.

After defeating Bai Cheng, he went on to challenge quite a few senior students ranked above him, winning every match cleanly and decisively.

Before long, students ranked between one hundredth and fiftieth would feel their scalps tingle whenever they saw him step onto the stage.

"That Qin guy is here again."

"Who's the unlucky bastard he picked today?"

"Looks like you."

"...Fuck."

This exchange was said to have occurred repeatedly at the arena registration desk. Its authenticity remained unverified, but it was widely spread.

Today's match was Qin Yu's final battle before entering the top fifty of the points leaderboard.

If he won this match, he would officially break into the top fifty and complete the goal Hu Gan had given him—several months ahead of Hu Gan's estimate.

At the arena registration desk, Qin Yu had just handed over his points booklet when a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Student Qin Yu?"

He turned around. The speaker was a tall, slender young man.

The young man was handsome and well-built, dressed in the uniform of an upper-year Outer Academy student, yet his bearing was completely different from that of the senior students around him.

"And you are?"

"Lin Xiuyan."

After giving his name, the young man added,

"I want to fight you."

Qin Yu raised his brows slightly. After all his matches during this period, he had already crossed paths with the experts from the original plot's Inner Academy.

Only Lin Xiuyan and Liu Qing had yet to appear before him. He had not expected one of them to come looking for him today.

Lin Xiuyan...

Didn't this guy have a close-combat battle skill?

"No problem."

Qin Yu agreed without hesitation, and the two promptly stepped onto the arena.

On the stage, Lin Xiuyan did not draw a weapon. He merely rolled his wrists, his fingers long and his knuckles distinct.

Standing opposite him, Qin Yu took a deep breath, his gaze settling on Lin Xiuyan's hands.

The referee lowered his hand. Rather than standing still and waiting for his opponent to strike, Qin Yu sprang lightly forward, crossing several yards in an instant and lunging straight at Lin Xiuyan's face.

"You don't know my battle skill?"

A hint of surprise flashed through Lin Xiuyan's eyes. His Coiling Serpent Hand was famous throughout the Outer Academy, and close-quarters combat was precisely his specialty.

Yet Qin Yu had chosen to meet him head-on...

Lin Xiuyan did not retreat. His fingers curled slightly, and as Qin Yu's fist came crashing toward him, his right hand slipped out at an exceptionally tricky angle. The edge of his palm traced Qin Yu's wrist, winding around it, coiling, then pulling.

Coiling Serpent Hand.

Qin Yu felt the force in his punch unravel layer by layer beneath a twisting force, while the trajectory of his fist was pulled away from its original path.

After entangling Qin Yu's arm, Lin Xiuyan borrowed Qin Yu's own force to neutralize several more attacks in succession. Then he suddenly exerted strength, intending to drag Qin Yu into his rhythm.

Interesting.

Qin Yu thought to himself. Lin Xiuyan's Coiling Serpent Hand truly was exquisite. That twisting force clung like a disease in the bone; once caught in it, one found it difficult to break free.

He intended to use that coiling force to throw Qin Yu's center of gravity off balance, then completely seize control of the battle's flow.

However, Lin Xiuyan froze the very next second.

Qin Yu's feet seemed rooted to the ground. No matter how Lin Xiuyan coiled or pulled, he stood firmly in place, utterly unmoving.

Seeing Lin Xiuyan at a loss, Qin Yu chuckled.

With his own strength linked to the Earth Vein, no matter how ingenious Lin Xiuyan's force was, could a Battle Master possibly shake the entire Earth Vein?

"No wonder you dared to attack this way. You came prepared."

The composure on Lin Xiuyan's face finally wavered.

The core of Coiling Serpent Hand was using finesse to overcome force—using precise control of strength to move a thousand pounds with four ounces, making one's opponent lose balance within one's rhythm.

But...

It was supposed to be four ounces against a thousand pounds. Did you really have a thousand pounds on you?!

Lin Xiuyan had intended to widen the distance and continue competing with Qin Yu through swordsmanship, but Qin Yu clearly gave him no such chance.

The explosive power of Mountain Qilin Leap was enough for Qin Yu to cling relentlessly to Lin Xiuyan.

His attacks rolled in like the tide, wave after wave. Lin Xiuyan was forced back step by step, able only to use Coiling Serpent Hand to dissolve Qin Yu's attacks while thinking of a way to break the deadlock.

But after more than a dozen exchanges, the shift in Qin Yu's attacks made Lin Xiuyan's heart jolt.

He was imitating Coiling Serpent Hand.

Lin Xiuyan's pupils contracted sharply, and he could scarcely believe his own eyes.

Although Qin Yu's hands were not as nimble and unpredictable as his Coiling Serpent Hand, the sheer force behind them was even harder to escape.

It was as though...

Two mountains had been pressed onto his hands. No matter how much subtle force he possessed, the absolute crushing weight made it difficult for him to use it.

As the fight continued, the arcs of Qin Yu's hands became increasingly refined, and his use of force increasingly skillful.

From the stiff imitation at the beginning, to gradually grasping the essence of that "coiling," until finally, when Lin Xiuyan tried to pull back his right hand, he could no longer do so.

Qin Yu had caught his wrist in reverse. That force was not as soft and elusive as Coiling Serpent Hand, but it carried immense pressure, leaving him unable even to find a point where he could exert strength.

He had been trapped by his own move.

Looking at Lin Xiuyan's delicate expression—a mixture of confusion, astonishment, and helpless amusement—Qin Yu read only three words from it:

He's got a cheat!

Lin Xiuyan took a deep breath. Battle Qi surged around him, and with a fierce tremor, his wrist finally slipped free from Qin Yu's hold. At the same time, he leaped backward, opening several yards of distance.

Just as Qin Yu was about to pursue, Lin Xiuyan lowered his stance.

"No more. I concede."

He rubbed the wrist Qin Yu had gripped until it was slightly numb. His gaze lingered on Qin Yu for a moment, and his tone was candid, carrying deep emotion.

"In such a short time, you managed to imitate my Coiling Serpent Hand. If we keep fighting, I'm afraid you'll learn my swordsmanship too."

The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly at the same time.

By this point, Lin Xiuyan understood as well.

Qin Yu had chosen to entangle with him at close range just to force him into using Coiling Serpent Hand, so he could learn the move, hadn't he?

How ridiculous. At first, he had thought Qin Yu was just a reckless brute.

"Thank you for letting me win."

Lin Xiuyan nodded slightly. When he reached the edge of the arena, he suddenly stopped, turned back, and extended a hand toward Qin Yu.

"Friends?"

Qin Yu paused briefly, then shook Lin Xiuyan's hand.

They exchanged a smile. Lin Xiuyan leaped down from the arena, and his figure soon vanished into the crowd.

The spectators had truly enjoyed a feast for the eyes today. After all, many of them had heard of the formidable power of Lin Xiuyan's Coiling Serpent Hand.

They had never expected to witness two completely different versions of "Coiling Serpent Hand" competing against each other today.

Qin Yu passed through the crowd and headed out of the arena. As he walked, he recalled the essential principles of Coiling Serpent Hand he had comprehended during the battle, and many new ideas surfaced in his mind.

But compared to another matter, those ideas could clearly wait.

Vice Principal, I'm here!