Following Yu Xiaogang's instructions, Tang San bent his knees slightly, kept his feet pressed against the ground, and tried channeling Soul Power into the meridians in his legs before suddenly driving off.
Thud!
After a dull stamp against the ground, Tang San merely stumbled forward two steps, still a long way from "teleporting."
"Not right."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head.
"Your force is too scattered. The power of each stamp disperses before you can gather it. Concentrate it, like this."
Yu Xiaogang demonstrated in slow motion. Tang San clearly saw an extremely subtle tremor in his foot the instant it touched the ground. Those were the afterimages of successive stamps.
"You already have a foundation in movement techniques. I can tell."
Yu Xiaogang glanced at Tang San.
"If I'm not mistaken, you already have an inherited movement technique. With that foundation, you should learn Shave much faster than most people."
Tang San's heart tightened. His teacher had actually seen through the existence of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track at a glance.
He nodded. "Yes, I previously... learned some footwork."
"Show me."
Tang San nodded, choosing not to conceal it. His figure flickered several times as he performed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, darting nimbly about like ghostly shadows swarming.
After watching, Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Shave follows a different approach from that footwork. Your footwork emphasizes nimble changes of direction, while Shave emphasizes explosive movement in a straight line. Combining the two should produce unexpected results."
Tang San looked thoughtful. In his mind, he repeatedly compared the rhythm of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track's footwork with Shave's method of exerting force, vaguely grasping a hint of it.
"That's enough for today."
Yu Xiaogang checked the sky.
"Once you get back, do extra leg-strength training every day: horse stances, high knees in place, and jumping exercises. Don't skip a single one. The legs are the core of Shave. Without enough leg strength, everything else is out of the question."
"Yes, Teacher."
For the next half month, Tang San's days were packed full.
He attended only half of the academy's regular daytime classes. Yu Xiaogang had already made arrangements with the academy, and upon hearing that Yu Xiaogang was personally teaching this student, the dean had approved without another word.
Tang San devoted all his remaining time to cultivating Soul Power and training his body.
Practicing Shave was the most tedious and painful part. He had to repeat the same movement hundreds, even thousands of times. Blisters formed on his soles and were worn into calluses, while his calves ached so badly that his legs trembled even when he walked.
Yet Tang San never complained, gritting his teeth and persevering. He had endured the hardships of training in the Tang Sect in his previous life; this little bit of tempering hardly amounted to anything.
Besides the Six Styles, Yu Xiaogang also assigned him tactical simulations every day.
After all, Tang San was being trained to become the core of a team in the future, so that aspect needed to be developed ahead of time as well.
One evening, Tang San finished a full day of training and returned to the dormitory. The instant he pushed open the door, he saw Xiao Wu lying on her bed, rolling back and forth in boredom, tugging at a lock of hair with an utterly listless look.
Seeing Tang San push the door open and enter, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She rolled over and jumped off the bed. "Xiao Sanzi, you're finally back! You haven't been going to afternoon classes lately. I'm bored to death!"
Tang San smiled. "Teacher has made other arrangements for my lessons."
Xiao Wu pursed her lips and planted both hands on her hips. "You train with that teacher of yours every day, but who knows how strong you've gotten? Come on, go outside and fight Sister Xiao Wu!"
Tang San sighed helplessly. "Xiao Wu, stop fooling around. I just finished training today. I'm a little tired."
"Oh, come on, just one fight!"
Xiao Wu bounded up to Tang San in a few steps and tilted her head up to look at him, blinking her big eyes as she drew out her words in a soft, lingering voice.
"I'm dying of boredom. Just help me stretch my muscles a little."
Tang San looked at the smiling face so close to his, and his little bit of resolve crumbled instantly.
He truly had no resistance to Xiao Wu when she acted like this.
"All right."
"But let's agree first-we stop short of hurting each other."
"Hehe! Come on, let's go outside!"
Xiao Wu immediately beamed, grabbed Tang San by the sleeve, and ran for the door.
The two left the dormitory building and came to a relatively open patch of grass behind the academy.
Seeing that the pair were going to spar, the other work-study students from Dorm Seven gathered around.
"Go, Sister Xiao Wu!"
"Boss is mighty!"
"Xiao San, look sharp! Don't embarrass yourself!"
Xiao Wu backed away a few steps, loosened her wrists and ankles, and lightly tapped her toes against the ground. Taking her stance, she eagerly crooked a finger at Tang San. "Come on, Xiao Sanzi. Let Sister Xiao Wu see how much you've improved after training for so long!"
Tang San smiled and adopted a defensive stance.
He did not intend to use Blue Silver Grass or his Soul Ring. He, too, wanted to test just how much he had improved after this period of Six Styles training.
"Here I come!"
Xiao Wu's figure flickered, and she swept toward him like a gust of wind.
She was extremely fast. A light push of her toes against the ground closed several yards of distance, and a whipping kick shot straight toward Tang San's flank.
Tang San stepped back slightly and turned sideways to evade it.
Xiao Wu's leg swept past the hem of his clothes, stirring up a sharp gust.
But Xiao Wu clearly had not expected to succeed in one strike. When her whipping kick missed, she used its momentum to turn, her other foot already following up. Her chained kicks came without pause, fast and fierce.
Tang San was slightly startled.
Xiao Wu's attacks were much fiercer than last time. It seemed she had not been idling either.
Relying on Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track's footwork, he dodged left and right, moving nimbly as he narrowly avoided three successive kicks.
"It's not that simple! First Soul Skill, Waist Bow!"
Xiao Wu's body instantly bent like a fully drawn slingshot. Her waist twisted backward into an astonishing arc, all her strength gathering in her right leg as she kicked viciously toward Tang San's chest.
The strike came fast and hard. At such close range, he could not dodge!
The watching work-study students all held their breath.
Yet in the next instant, under Xiao Wu's astonished gaze, a dull stamp suddenly rang out beneath Tang San's feet.
Thud!
His body abruptly shifted five feet to the right, so fast that he almost left an afterimage. Xiao Wu's whipping kick swept past his shoulder and struck empty air.
"Shave!"
Tang San steadied himself, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
This was not the complete form of Shave. The complete form allowed the user to stamp against the ground more than ten times within 0.36 seconds, achieving something close to teleportation.
His current simplified version could manage only three or four consecutive stamps at most, providing a limited increase in speed. But it was already enough to reposition himself at a crucial moment.
Her kick missing, Xiao Wu landed and whirled around. "Xiao San, you actually dodged that strike?"
"This is a move I learned from Teacher."
Tang San smiled and loosened his slightly aching calves.
"Shave, from the Six Styles. But mine is still only half-finished. I'm a long way from truly mastering it."
"Tch!"
Xiao Wu pursed her lips and gave a disgruntled snort.
"Again!"
Before her words had faded, she burst into motion once more. But Tang San did not meet her head-on. Combining Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track with his half-finished Shave, he shifted unpredictably left and right, always nimbly evading Xiao Wu's attacks just before they landed.
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