Thank You for Yielding

The next moment, the long saber in Song Que's hand changed its form again, and a skyful of saber shadows completely enveloped Deng Qing.

Deng Qing's figure blurred, and he passed through the saber shadows once more.

The two crossed paths. Song Que stamped heavily on the ground and abruptly halted, while Deng Qing also stopped several yards away.

The alley fell silent again.

Suddenly, several bits of gravel rolled down from the wall, clinking as they fell.

Song Que turned with his saber in hand, but Deng Qing had already sheathed the Blacksteel Soft Sword at his waist. "Thank you for yielding."

After saying that, he ignored Song Que and strode toward the mouth of the alley.

Song Que stood where he was, his brows tightly furrowed.

He instinctively lowered his head and looked himself over. There were no wounds on his body, and his clothes were completely intact.

He looked up at Deng Qing again. Deng Qing was already striding away, likewise showing no signs of injury.

If not for the scratches on the wall, there would not even have been proof that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

Song Que's eyes were full of confusion. You didn't win either, so what the hell are you thanking me for yielding about?

Just as Deng Qing disappeared at the end of the alley, hurried footsteps came from the alley entrance ahead. Several Golden Saber Sect disciples were quickly approaching.

The man at the front was Chen Kong, who had also been the leader on the Golden Saber Sect's side when he presided over the battle at Blackwind Ravine.

Seeing that Song Que was unharmed, Chen Kong breathed a sigh of relief. "What did you run off here for? Master was frantic with worry."

Song Que sheathed his saber. "I came to settle accounts with Deng Qing."

Chen Kong and the others were all startled.

"Did you fight?"

"We did."

Everyone's spirits lifted.

"Who won?"

Song Que hesitated for several breaths. "I don't know."

Everyone looked at one another.

Chen Kong frowned. "Since you fought, there should at least be a victor. Could it be that you drew?"

Song Que's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. "It's strange. I feel like I won, but I also feel like he won."

Chen Kong and the others were utterly bewildered.

Song Que snorted coldly. "That brat even shamelessly said 'Thank you for yielding' to me before he left, making it seem as if he had won."

A Golden Saber Sect disciple asked blankly, "Did he injure you?"

"No."

"Then did you injure him?"

Song Que recalled the exchange just now. "I can't say for sure.

"I felt that every one of my saber strikes hit him. There was no mistaking the sensation that came through the blade, yet he was completely unharmed—not even his clothes were torn. As for his sword..."

Song Que lowered his head and glanced at himself. "It shouldn't have touched me."

The more Chen Kong listened, the more confused he became. "What are we supposed to make of this? How can two people finish a fight without even knowing who won or lost?"

Song Que was irritated. "That's why I said it was strange."

Chen Kong looked around. The alley walls were covered in saber and sword marks, clearly proving that the two had indeed fought a fierce battle.

He could not figure out the reason either, so he waved his hand. "All right, forget it. As long as nobody's hurt."

Song Que nodded and followed everyone toward the alley's exit.

The moment they stepped out of the alley, a gust of lake wind blew straight at them, gently billowing Song Que's robes.

Suddenly, a fine crack too faint to notice slowly appeared at his collar.

Then a second, a third...

Dense cracks instantly spread across his robes.

Before Song Que could react, his entire outer robe soundlessly came apart, transforming into countless strips of cloth that the night wind swept into the air.

Before anyone could cry out, the fitted garments beneath split apart inch by inch as well.

His sleeves, his trousers... It was as though they had simultaneously lost all support.

Strands of cloth shot skyward and scattered through the lake wind.

In the blink of an eye, Song Que was standing stark naked at the alley entrance, not a scrap left to cover him.

His skin was perfectly intact, without even the slightest trace of blood.

Everyone from the Golden Saber Sect was left staring foolishly.

Chen Kong's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open, but no sound came out.

Song Que looked even more as if his soul had been stripped away, standing there in a daze.

Song Que's face instantly went pale, then reddened at a visible speed, the flush spreading from his neck all the way to the roots of his ears.

"Deng Qing!"

A miserable howl rang across the long street.

Coming back to his senses, Song Que was overcome with shame and fury. He hurriedly covered himself with both hands, wishing he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it on the spot.

Chen Kong finally recovered as well. He hurriedly removed his outer robe and, in a fluster, draped it over Song Que.

Even though no one was passing by at that moment, Song Que was so ashamed and furious that he nearly fainted.

He ground his teeth and shouted, "Whoever dares to reveal what happened today will become my sworn enemy, and I, Song Que, will fight them to the death!"

At dawn, the mist in the courtyard had yet to disperse.

Deng Qing stood between several wooden stakes, feet apart and knees slightly bent, settling into the stance of the Tiger-Subduing Fist.

The next moment, his sole slammed into the ground.

His waist and hips twisted, his shoulders and back tensed along with them, and he drove a fist out with a thunderous boom, striking the wooden stake dead center.

The wooden stake shook violently, a shallow fistprint appearing on its surface. Then another fist followed close behind.

Once Deng Qing began his punches, he was like a fierce tiger descending the mountain. Dull impacts rang out endlessly through the courtyard.

Deng Qing advanced and retreated in turns, his steps remaining steady while the force of his punches grew stronger and stronger.

A moment later, he abruptly withdrew his fist and stepped back with his right foot. Bending his body as he gathered strength, he twisted the qi and blood throughout his body into a single current in an instant.

"Ha!"

Deng Qing slammed a heavy punch into the center of the wooden stake.

Bang! The entire stake shook violently. A spray of wood chips burst from the back, and cracking sounds came from within.

Deng Qing withdrew his fist. With a thought, Clear Radiance appeared.

[Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves, No Effort Is Wasted]

[Realm: Skin Tempering Third Layer]

[Tiger-Subduing Fist: 78% (Grand Mastery)]

[Seven Forms of Settling Solitude: 69% (Grand Mastery)]

Looking at the progress of the Tiger-Subduing Fist, a trace of a smile appeared on Deng Qing's face.

Over the past dozen or so days, he had practiced the fist once every morning and evening. In between, he also circulated the Violet Palace Method and dismantled the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude.

After the Tiger-Subduing Fist entered Grand Mastery, its progress had slowed more and more. Fortunately, it continued to inch forward.

Deng Qing withdrew his thoughts and walked beneath the eaves. A large bowl of braised pork sat on the table, its color glossy red, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat.

Deng Qing snatched up his chopsticks and began eating in great gulps.

After practicing his fists, the qi and blood throughout his body were active, and his stomach was terribly empty.

A pound of braised pork looked like quite a lot, but once it entered his belly, it was like falling into a bottomless pit.

Before long, only a layer of glistening broth remained in the bowl.

To be precise, more than ten days had passed since he returned from Dongting County.

Deng Qing's life had long since returned to normal.

Every morning, he practiced in the courtyard first, then went to Celebration Hall for breakfast.

At noon and in the evening, besides eating the meals provided by Celebration Hall, he also supplemented his diet at home.

The money came from the sixty taels remaining out of the one hundred taels Li Cheng had given him last time.

Aside from that, every few days, Li Cheng would send someone to invite him over to practice swordsmanship. Deng Qing would then stay at the Li Family for a day and eat a full day's worth of meat along with them.

Such days were plain but peaceful, and Deng Qing liked them very much.

Every day, he only needed to practice, eat, practice again, and then watch the numbers in Clear Radiance steadily rise.

This visible accumulation gave him an indescribable sense of security.

He no longer even dwelled on the matter of being accepted by Li Dashan as an Initiation disciple.

Becoming an Initiation disciple would naturally be a good thing.

But if that did not happen, then by relying on painstaking practice to slowly polish the Tiger-Subduing Fist, Violet Palace Method, and Seven Forms of Settling Solitude to perfection, he might still be able to forge another path.