Playing the Pig to Devour the Tiger

Chu Xisheng's eyes lit up as he watched the changes on the system screen.

Afraid those Martial Dao Points would drop, he quickly opened the Martial Dao Treasury and slammed his will down on the icon for the Body of Light-Speed Shadow.

A piece of information immediately appeared in Chu Xisheng's mind.

-Exchange 35 Martial Dao Points for stage one of the Body of Light-Speed Shadow?

Chu Xisheng chose yes without hesitation.

As the number in the Martial Dao Points field changed to 2, the icon in the Martial Dao Treasury burst apart, turning into motes of spiritual light that flowed into Chu Xisheng's limbs, bones, and internal organs.

Chu Xisheng felt warm currents coursing through his body. Something seemed to be awakening in his marrow and blood, bringing a distinct prickling itch.

The sensation was exactly like what he had felt when taking the secret medicine for the second level of the Origin-Nourishing Art, though the itching was much milder.

Nor did Chu Xisheng feel any obvious discomfort. The changes in his body did not interfere with combat.

He glanced at the Divine Strength Pill again, but after a little hesitation, he still decided not to exchange for it.

Using a Divine Strength Pill during an examination felt like cheating. More importantly, his body's condition made taking another pill unsuitable.

Chu Xisheng feared his body would burst apart.

By now, a few bamboo leaves had drifted to within eight feet of the ground.

The four people on the platform moved simultaneously, cutting the bamboo leaves around them into specks of spiritual light.

At first, the leaves were few and slow, and they easily cleared them all away.

But as time passed, not only did the leaves grow more numerous, they also fell faster and faster.

Initially, the four on the platform had an excellent unspoken understanding. Each occupied one side, dividing the arena evenly into four sections, and rarely crossed the boundaries.

But as the number of bamboo leaves surged and they plummeted across the entire platform, the other three, led by Liu Xingruo, all began trying to expand their range, seeking to seize a greater share of the leaves.

Chu Xisheng, however, was extremely conservative. He made no attempt to cross the boundaries, holding fast to his "territory" and cutting down the bamboo leaves on the eastern side of the stone platform one by one.

He also moved far more slowly than the other three. Compared with Liu Xingruo and Xiang Kui, he practically seemed to be moving in slow motion.

By the time Liu Xingruo had run across the platform and back, Chu Xisheng often had not even made it halfway. Fortunately, his blade was fast, allowing him to barely keep pace with the other three's scores.

Part of this was because his Light-Cloud Movement was very unpracticed, and he could not yet use it freely in combat.

Another reason was that Chu Xisheng was gradually adapting to his newly acquired talent.

The Body of Light-Speed Shadow allowed one to step like a fleeting shadow and chase time itself, doubling movement speed, jumping ability, and bodily flexibility and coordination.

There was no question how powerful this talent was.

Back when Chu Xisheng first acquired the Wind-Chasing, Lightning-Pursuing Hands, he had been unable to control his saber and had nearly cut off Long Sheng's hand.

Now, he felt as though the slightest exertion would send him shooting a great distance.

If he had to describe it, it was like someone accustomed to driving a minivan suddenly switching to a sports car worth millions. The response of the accelerator was completely different.

Chu Xisheng had to adapt slowly, doing everything he could to control where his feet landed.

Only then could he coordinate his movements with his Wind-Chasing Blade.

That was why he had not even exchanged for a Divine Strength Pill. Right now, it would only make controlling his body harder and get in his way.

By now, Chu Xisheng's score had gradually fallen to the bottom, becoming the worst of the four.

More troubling still, the Martial Dao Points on the illusory screen before his eyes had actually fallen into the negatives, displaying the glaring scarlet number "−6."

Clearly, this was because his poor performance had disappointed the four thousand-plus people on the training grounds.

Yet Chu Xisheng was not anxious at all. He continued jogging calmly in small steps, steadily cutting the nearby bamboo leaves into azure spiritual light.

He knew he absolutely could not rush now. If he rushed, he would make mistakes.

Once he adapted to this talent, his score would catch up sooner or later-and that moment was already close.

Chu Xisheng had clearly experienced what it meant to have twice the bodily flexibility and coordination!

His body was incredibly flexible, his limbs exceptionally coordinated, bringing his control over his body to an unparalleled level.

This made his footwork increasingly precise, and his grasp of distance and speed increasingly accurate.

There were still two hidden dangers, however. First, his stamina was draining rapidly, and he might not last until the end. The other came from his fellow disciples-

As Chu Xisheng swung his saber, he spared a little attention to glance aside.

His gaze met the look Liu Xingruo cast toward him.

The short, stocky youth wore a vicious expression, a chilling coldness hidden in his eyes, as though waiting for a chance to single him out and devour him.

Chu Xisheng's heart chilled slightly. He tightened his grip on the Hundred-Forged Light Steel Saber and focused on guarding himself.

Meanwhile, on the raised platform to the north, Ye Zhiqiu bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, her expression exceedingly grim.

She had not expected the Four Symbols Duel Disk's first test to assess the combination of combat techniques and movement!

Chu Xisheng's strength was already a notch below the others', and movement happened to be his greatest weakness at present.

Shao Lingshan's lips curled slightly, and he nearly failed to hold back a laugh.

One look at Chu Xisheng's clumsy movements told him that this fellow had not even reached the beginner level in Light-Cloud Movement.

Jian Zangfeng and Lei Yuan, however, stared fixedly at Chu Xisheng's footwork, both looking thoughtful.

Jian Zangfeng had initially been very flustered. As soon as the test began, he had noticed Chu Xisheng's extremely shallow attainment in Light-Cloud Movement. The movement skills he displayed were simply painful to watch.

For a time, he thought false rumors had misled him-that he had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait.

But now, that did not necessarily seem to be the case-

"Interesting." Lei Yuan's eyes flickered with a hint of surprise. "No wonder the Long Household of the inner city fell at his hands."

The sickly youth on the platform had actually given him another tremendous surprise.

Jian Zangfeng smiled at those words and glanced over. "You noticed it too, Junior Brother Lei?"

"This boy seems to have awakened some sort of movement talent."

Lei Yuan continued observing intently. "His steps are very slow now, but his stride is enormous. Look-he covers ten feet in a single stride, far more than the others, and his foot placement is extremely precise. So although his steps are slow and his use of Light-Cloud Movement is very unpracticed, he is much more efficient than the others. And his stepping speed is gradually increasing."

"Your eyes are as keen as torches, Junior Brother. This boy's talent is exceptional." Jian Zangfeng nodded in agreement. "If I'm not mistaken, that should be the first stage of the Body of Light-Speed Shadow."

Just then, Lei Yuan suddenly gave a low "Hmm?" and focused on the arena again.

During that brief moment when he had diverted his attention to speak, a sudden change had occurred on Chu Xisheng's stone platform.

Liu Xingruo, a Three-Leaf Inner Disciple of the West Court, suddenly accelerated like a leopard.

His speed reached its limit in an instant as he charged toward the eastern side of the stone platform.

Already on guard, Chu Xisheng held his saber across his chest. But Liu Xingruo changed direction midway. He pretended to cut at a leaf to the south, only to slam into another inner disciple from the North Court.

Caught completely unprepared, the disciple was forcibly knocked off the stone platform by Liu Xingruo's tremendous momentum.

Utterly taken aback, he then flew into a rage. "Liu Xingruo! You despicable bastard!"

Xiang Kui and Chu Xisheng exchanged a look on the platform, equally astonished.

Liu Xingruo looked like a brute, yet he was actually this insidious-

But in the next instant, they composed themselves and resumed concentrating on cutting the bamboo leaves.

With one fewer person, the competition on the platform grew even fiercer.

Liu Xingruo turned his attention to Xiang Kui, whose score was second only to his, and the two clashed fiercely.

Although they did not openly swing their sabers at each other, they used every means possible to interfere with one another.

Chu Xisheng thus experienced how the fisherman profited when the snipe and clam fought. He had hardly exerted himself, yet the number of bamboo leaves he cut down gradually reached four hundred.

Just as his score officially overtook Xiang Kui's, Chu Xisheng felt a fierce gust rushing toward him.

-it was Liu Xingruo!

From less than twenty feet away, he suddenly exerted himself and lunged over with savage force.

He truly deserved his standing as the West Court's foremost inner disciple. The explosive speed of his movement far surpassed what he had shown earlier.

Chu Xisheng blinked, seemingly failing to react. His eyes innocent and his expression blank, he watched Liu Xingruo hurtle toward him.

But just as the distance between them shrank to a single foot and triumph appeared on Liu Xingruo's face, Chu Xisheng's figure suddenly flickered.

With the Body of Light-Speed Shadow, he moved two steps sideways like a fleeting shadow, slipping just past Liu Xingruo.

Carried forward by his momentum, Liu Xingruo looked bewildered, unable for a moment to understand what had happened.

Hadn't Chu Xisheng yet to reach even the beginner level in Light-Cloud Movement?

With movement skills that clumsy, how exactly had this fellow dodged his charge? How had he suddenly become so fast?

But Liu Xingruo no longer had time to consider these questions. He was only two feet from the edge of the stone platform!

This is bad!

Certain he could knock Chu Xisheng off the platform, he had committed all his strength to that charge, holding nothing back.

Now that his attack had missed, he had placed himself in an extremely perilous position.

Just as Liu Xingruo desperately tried to halt his momentum and plant his feet-

A tremendous force suddenly struck him from behind.

"Oh dear, Senior Brother, you really are careless."

It was Chu Xisheng. He seemed to be swinging his saber at a bamboo leaf, yet his elbow struck Liu Xingruo in the back.

Liu Xingruo instantly lost all control of his body and shot off the stone platform like a meteor.

At that instant, a roar erupted from the four thousand-plus people across the training grounds. Everyone watched in utter astonishment as Chu Xisheng knocked Liu Xingruo, the West Court's chief inner disciple, off the stone platform with an elbow.

Among the crowd, Chu Yunyun raised her willow-leaf brows and looked at Chu Xisheng in amazement.

Even though they lived together, she had actually underestimated this fellow.

Lu Luanli also put away her gloating smile, her eyes alight with admiration.

On the platform, Xiang Kui met Chu Xisheng's eyes with a solemn expression.

This fellow had moved so fast just now! Fast enough to keep pace with both him and Liu Xingruo!

-This Junior Brother Chu had been playing the pig to devour the tiger all along!