Leopard Drilling the Forest

Li Chong watched Zhao Mu enter and had no choice but to suppress the displeasure in his heart, shooting Duan Rong beside him a vicious glare.

Zhao Mu walked in and swept his gaze over the eight Menial Disciples before him. Seemingly unconcerned by their number, he said in a deep voice, "Seven days from now, on April 8th, will be the assessment day. Today, I'll teach you the final move before the assessment: Leopard Drilling the Forest."

"This move differs from Antelope Offering Food, that offense-and-defense move from before. Leopard Drilling the Forest is a killing move."

"Watch carefully."

Zhao Mu sprang with both legs and suddenly thrust his saber out, swift as lightning.

"Watch closely. Jump with both feet, shift from left to right, and land in a left bow stance."

Zhao Mu demonstrated it once more in slow motion, explaining as he practiced and breaking down this killing move in considerable detail.

"As you land, twist the hilt with your right hand and thrust straight forward!"

"Extend your left palm behind you!"

The eight Menial Disciples all widened their eyes until they were as big as bronze bells, terrified of missing even the slightest detail.

In these times, learning Martial Arts was no easy matter, much less having someone break down moves for you so thoroughly.

Duan Rong's thoughts raced like lightning as he compared his own reflections with the experience in his mind. His understanding of the finer details of this Martial Skill seemed to deepen further.

"Come on. Perform it once each. Let me see."

After finishing his demonstration, Zhao Mu addressed the Menial Disciples.

Duan Rong pulled a battered saber from the weapon rack. He stood there blankly for a moment, as though pondering some vague thoughts from earlier.

Several breaths later, seemingly to test those hazy ideas, Duan Rong suddenly thrust out with his saber.

Zhao Mu walked among the Menial Disciples, watching each of them perform Leopard Drilling the Forest, and could not help shaking his head.

Kong Bin had managed to capture a bit of the feeling, but he was still trapped within the form.

Zhao Mu came before Duan Rong and was just about to walk around him when Duan Rong suddenly thrust out with his saber.

Zhao Mu's heart jolted. There was a subtle change in Duan Rong's thrust compared to what he had taught.

Moves were merely forms. Once someone became proficient in the form, they needed to stand upon it and step beyond it—in other words, digest the move until it became their own.

What Zhao Mu taught these Menial Disciples was naturally the most basic original form. Yet Duan Rong's thrust just now bore an astonishing resemblance to the Leopard Drilling the Forest Zhao Mu had gradually comprehended through actual combat.

Leopard Drilling the Forest was a killing move, defined by rapid advance and rapid thrust.

In the original form, one jumped with both feet, shifted from left to right, and only thrust after landing.

But Duan Rong's thrust just now had already shot out while both feet were still leaping.

Of all Martial Arts under heaven, only speed was unbreakable. Such a thrust naturally brought out the word "kill" all the more, but its weakness was that it could easily go off target. For a beginner, thrusting like this was reckless overreach.

Zhao Mu's face suddenly flushed red. He felt the fury of seeing a family heirloom kept at the bottom of a chest trampled underfoot as junk by someone who did not know its worth.

"Practice it the way I taught you!"

"You haven't even learned to crawl, and you want to run!"

Duan Rong had been immersed in his own world. Zhao Mu's roar startled him, but he immediately understood why.

He truly had not performed the form Zhao Mu had just taught. Instead, he had executed the move as he had digested it in his mind. He had just been considering the difference between the two when Zhao Mu's sudden shout sent his train of thought flying.

Almost instinctively, Duan Rong thrust out with his saber according to the form Zhao Mu had just taught.

It would have been better if he had not thrust. The moment he did, Zhao Mu was even more shocked!

With the earlier thrust, Zhao Mu had thought Duan Rong was merely a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, striking it by chance.

But this thrust was executed entirely according to the form!

Moreover, Duan Rong's thrust was the best among all the Menial Disciples.

Leopard Drilling the Forest was simple enough when put plainly: advance quickly, thrust quickly.

Yet when the other Menial Disciples performed it, they all paused slightly after jumping and shifting their stance before thrusting.

Even Kong Bin had merely kept that pause shorter than the rest.

But Duan Rong's thrust had shot out rapidly the instant his leap and shifting step were complete.

Zhao Mu's Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber had, after all, reached the beginner level, so he understood perfectly what it took to achieve this.

It required a thorough comprehension of that thrust. The purpose of the leap and shifting step was to deliver that thrust. At the instant you sprang up, before the saber in your hand had thrust out, the saber in your heart had already struck.

Only then could one thrust out in a flash of lightning and flint at the instant of landing.

Only then could this killing move unleash its lethal power!

The essence of Leopard Drilling the Forest lay in speed! If it was slow, a killing move became an empty feint.

While one's natural physique was important for progress in Martial Skills, what mattered even more was how one's mind understood the art of combat within them.

A hair's breadth of error could lead to a thousand miles of difference!

"Come here, Duan Rong. Practice here! Demonstrate it for everyone!" Zhao Mu suddenly beckoned Duan Rong over, saying excitedly.

Duan Rong was slightly taken aback. With a blank expression, he stepped before the others.

"Perform Leopard Drilling the Forest once more!" Zhao Mu ordered as he looked at Duan Rong.

Swift as a shooting star, Duan Rong performed Leopard Drilling the Forest once.

Zhao Mu said excitedly, "Did you all see that? You need killing intent! You need to strike with lethal force!"

The Menial Disciples were all utterly bewildered. He had just scolded Duan Rong for wanting to run before he could crawl, so why had he suddenly begun praising him instead?

Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng exchanged a glance.

Li Chong was the most resentful of all, gritting his teeth with fury written across his face.

"Alright, go practice properly. A master leads you through the door; cultivation depends on the individual." Zhao Mu patted Duan Rong on the shoulder and sent him back to the group.

What followed was naturally practicing the Perfectly Round Stance again.

When Zhao Mu saw Duan Rong's stance, he found it quite standard and intended to help adjust it. But his outstretched hand stopped in midair.

Because he discovered that Duan Rong's stance was already just as standard as his own.

"This..." Zhao Mu was greatly startled.

After thinking back, he realized that over the past month, aside from Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong, he had scarcely paid attention to the other Menial Disciples.

Looks like this kid has finally caught on... Zhao Mu silently thought.

Back when he himself had been a Menial Disciple, he had initially been inconspicuous as well. But after a little over a month, it had suddenly felt as if he had seized hold of his soul. In one stroke, he had pierced through that layer of window paper, and the sense of being separated from Martial Arts had seemed to vanish.

Many things he had been unable to understand before had suddenly become clear.

Looks like this kid, like me, is one who keeps his talent hidden and matures late. Zhao Mu watched Duan Rong holding the Perfectly Round Stance and made his assessment inwardly.

Zhao Mu walked past Duan Rong, stopped before Li Chong, and adjusted Li Chong's stance somewhat.

After Zhao Mu walked away, Li Chong looked at Duan Rong with a provocative gaze.

The meaning was clear: Don't think that demonstrating one move means you're promising material too. When it came to stance training, wasn't he still unwilling to correct your posture?

If he did not correct your posture, your stance training would be less effective than others'. That showed he still did not think much of you!

After adjusting the stances of Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong, Zhao Mu left the place, leaving only the eight Menial Disciples in the courtyard to hold their stances and train their strength.

If Li Chong knew that Zhao Mu had not personally adjusted Duan Rong's stance because Duan Rong's posture was already perfectly standard and could not be improved at all, who knew what he would think?