Final Battle with Su Meiyi

Beneath the locust tree.

Shen Gangfu watched in silence, his gaze deep and steady.

Faced with the Rolling-Step Blade Interception's overwhelming, all-encompassing chain of killing moves, Lu Li remained unruffled.

Resting Step, sinking crouch!

His right foot withdrew and locked against the ground, taking root where he stood. His left leg bent at the knee to bear the pressure, and his body instantly lowered into a stable stance.

His waist drew in, and his single blade was completely hidden across his body. Blade edge, killing intent, force—all of it folded inward.

Hidden-Blade Intent spread out.

The resting stance seemed weak, the hidden blade seemed empty, and his intent was silent without a single leak.

Su Meiyi's first blade swept at Lu Li's ankles to lock down his movement. As the horizontal blade fiercely intercepted, Lu Li's Hidden-Blade Intent illuminated the attack, reading the blade's momentum as he used Shifting Steps, Changing Shadows.

The first blade swept through empty air.

The single blade skimmed past Lu Li's knee, its edge fierce enough to make his clothes flap loudly.

The second blade intercepted his knee and sealed his tendons—empty air!

The third blade chopped at his leg to sever his momentum—empty air!

The three interception strikes pressed down in a mad, direct barrage, their blade edges surging fiercely. Yet once they reached within three feet of Lu Li, it was as though they had plunged into a deep pool of emptiness, with nowhere to apply force!

All three blades discharged into nothingness!

Su Meiyi's eyes abruptly sharpened, and the pride in his heart suffered its first setback.

He had thought this chain of blade moves would surely break Lu Li's stance, seize his focus, and force him to reveal a flaw.

Yet he had not expected Lu Li's Resting Step to be so stable. His lower body was rooted like nails, his center of gravity locked tight. No matter how wildly Su Meiyi swept at his base, Lu Li merely swayed and shifted his feet lightly, never leaving the three-foot space beneath him.

The inner courtyard disciples' pupils contracted slightly.

"Something's wrong! How did Junior Brother Lu manage that?"

"Who knows? I didn't even know when he achieved Gate-Breaking, much less that he could now trade blows with Su Meiyi!"

"Who doesn't feel the same? He's only been at the martial school for two months, hasn't he? How did he suddenly rise like a strange army? How many times has he undergone Skin Tempering?"

Su Meiyi refused to accept it.

His lower body spun again, rolling-step afterimages layering over one another as his blade momentum suddenly accelerated.

The Rolling-Step Blade Interception spread out at full force. Chilly blade edges flowed across the ground, force locking down the field and sealing off every possible path for Lu Li's lower body.

Just then.

Instant Step!

Lu Li's body suddenly drifted! Slid! Flashed!

There was no leap, nor any explosion of wind.

Only an extremely short, extremely fast, incomparably precise shift of inches.

Lu Li was like a clear breeze skimming past a shadow. Amid the dense gaps between the cold interception blades, he shifted sideways by a hair's breadth, like a roaming dragon toying with a tiger.

Su Meiyi launched more than ten consecutive attacks. Every blade barely brushed Lu Li's hem, grazed his shoulder, or swept past his knee!

Yet he could never break Lu Li's defense, and irritation gradually rose in his heart.

Lu Li felt as though he had discovered a new continent. Hidden-Blade Intent paired with Instant Step was simply a match made in heaven.

If he faced Tiger Guard again, then no matter how flawless that barrage of fatal chained blades was, it would not be able to touch even a thread of Lu Li's clothing.

Instant Step was light and nimble to the utmost. Paired with the silent, still intent of Hidden-Blade Intent, it moved like a floating shadow and stood still like a boulder, motion and stillness merged into one.

The denser Su Meiyi's blade edges became, the stiller Lu Li's body was.

The wilder Su Meiyi's blade momentum became, the steadier Lu Li's footwork was.

The front courtyard disciples were completely dumbfounded, drawing sharp breaths again and again.

"He dodged them all! The retreat routes were clearly sealed off—how can he still shift position?"

"What kind of movement technique is that!?"

"That footwork is too fast! You can't see its trajectory at all!"

All nine great disciples of the inner courtyard were stirred, their expressions grave.

"This isn't dodging through cleverness. He's predicting the blade paths and moving in advance!"

"With such prediction combined with such footwork, he forcibly dissolved every bit of that crushing momentum!"

How could Shen Gangfu still be standing foolishly beneath the locust tree, waiting to save someone?

He had long since settled leisurely into a grandmaster's chair, sipping fine tea, patting his knee, and softly humming some inexplicable opera lyrics.

[With the imperial horse in hand, my spirits soar... Proud and pleased, I turn back toward the mountain ridge... Ah... ah...]

The disciples' expressions all fell into Shen Gangfu's eyes.

"Did you think I couldn't hear the things you said about me behind my back?"

Shen Gangfu's brows relaxed as thoughts surged through his mind.

"You say I play favorites? Well then, should I not favor such fine jade and rare timber as Hua Yuan?"

"I dote solely on Hua Yuan? If any of you had half of Hua Yuan's talent, what would it matter if I made an exception and took another personal disciple?"

"Look... just look..."

"Now you know how sharp your master's eye is, don't you?"

"Still, Hua Yuan's footwork resembles the Bagua Step, yet is even lighter than the Bagua Step. Did he comprehend this himself?"

"Just how many more surprises does Hua Yuan have waiting for me?"

As they neared thirty exchanges.

Su Meiyi had already grown restless. His father had piled resources upon him to elevate him, and among those of the same realm, he had never known defeat. If he failed to win this time and lost his chance at the Martial Lecture Hall, his standing at home would plummet like a thousand-foot waterfall.

More importantly, if he lost to this mud-legged peasant, how could he explain himself to his father?

Just as killing intent filled his heart and a chill rose in his eyes.

Lu Li seized the fleeting opening when Su Meiyi's rolling step landed, and the blade that had lain silent in his hand finally moved.

The Resting Step suddenly unfurled, and Primordial Unity Force exploded through his waist and spine!

The practice blade hidden beneath his ribs silently swept up in a cold, shadowy arc.

There was no sound of wind, nor any warning.

Lu Li's single blade precisely twisted into the gap along Su Meiyi's blade spine, and five layers of Primordial Unity Force erupted in an instant.

"Clang...!"

The thunderous ring of two blades colliding exploded across the field.

Su Meiyi only felt the web between his thumb and forefinger suddenly go numb. The force in his palm scattered at once, and the concentrated Divine Intent within his interception blades instantly collapsed.

Su Meiyi staggered back two steps, his brocade robe slightly disordered and jade pendant swaying, all his composure shattered.

Lu Li's practice blade rested against Su Meiyi's Tiantu acupoint at his throat, preventing him from entertaining any further untimely thoughts.

"I... lost!"

Su Meiyi clenched his teeth and forced out those three words. Otherwise, Lu Li's blade would remain at his neck.

He only wanted this humiliation to end as quickly as possible.

Victory and defeat had been decided.

Lu Li withdrew his blade and returned to the Resting Step observation stance. His breathing was as steady as before, the aura around him as deep as an abyss.

The entire crowd was stunned.

The front courtyard disciples whispered among themselves, letting out a low collective sigh.

The eight great disciples of the inner courtyard looked at Lu Li with reverence in their eyes.

Zhao Kuo's gaze was profound, and his view of this junior brother had changed completely. Unbidden, the image of Lu Li when he had first arrived at the martial school surfaced in his mind—that youth with a face dark and sallow with freckles, as frail as a rotten seedling. No matter what, Zhao Kuo could not reconcile him with the upright Lu Li before him, whose aura was condensed and clear.

"Dismissed."

Shen Gangfu spoke, clasping his hands behind his back as he strode toward the rear courtyard.

Night arrived without a sound.

Chessboard Street, Lantern Alley, Lu Residence.

"A-Li, I haven't seen you for many days. Have you been deliberately avoiding me because you didn't want to settle last month's wages?"

Old Li was delighted when he saw Lu Li.

He guarded the Lu Residence every day without taking a single step away. Yet this place was nothing like the bustling doorway of a martial master's home that he had imagined.

Forget visitors—he could not even catch sight of the master of the house.

"Old Li, here are five taels of silver. Spend them sparingly."

Old Li took the silver and was just about to offer a few flattering words.

"Just don't go wandering into those little alleys..."

By the time Old Li understood, his face had gone bright red. He had just been about to argue when Lu Li was already nowhere in sight.

Lu Li arrived in the rear courtyard.

Seeing Lu Li suddenly appear after many days away, the two hurriedly rose to greet him.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, you finally came back! I already know lots of characters now."

Little Chen Xuan was the first to run over. Tugging Lu Li's hand, his little mouth chattered without pause.

Lu Li picked Little Chen Xuan up and laughed heartily.

"Xiaoxuan, Big Brother learned a very powerful martial art today. You can start practicing it when you're six."

"You want to learn? I'll teach you."