Bai Fangfang left him with a fierce parting remark and hurried away on light steps, her skirt swaying.
She actually slipped into the inner courtyard without even looking back.
"Junior Sister Bai really can't take a teasing."
Lu Sui shook his head with a chuckle, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled after her into the inner courtyard.
Only a wall and a doorway separated the two, yet the atmosphere changed immediately.
When the outer courtyard apprentices saw him, they all saluted from a distance but dared not approach, their eyes filled with awe and a desire to please.
But in the inner courtyard, Liang Bao hurried over to greet him.
"Senior Brother Lu is here! Hurry over and pay your respects to Senior Brother Lu!"
The inner courtyard disciples gathered from the sandpit and plum blossom stakes in twos and threes, lining up to salute with cupped fists.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Lu!"
Was this the intimidating power of coming from a local family with blades, guns, and cannons?
At the sight, the corner of Lu Sui's mouth twitched. He waved a hand.
"We're all fellow disciples. There's no need to be so formal. Just carry on practicing as usual."
Deng Yun stood some distance away with his arms folded and sneered.
"Young Master Lu certainly has the bearing of a senior brother. He's been here less than two days, and already he has an entourage."
Then he turned to Liang Bao, disdain on his face.
"Since when did our inner courtyard have so many senior brothers? I only recognize Senior Brother Zheng! He inherited Master Tan's Seven-Transformation Shadowless Legs through his own ability and talent, accepted challenges and fought arena matches for the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School, and won victory after victory. Who wouldn't admire him?"
Liang Bao's face darkened as he thought:
Junior Brother Deng must have taken the wrong medicine. Does he really have to fight Young Master Lu over a woman? Why doesn't he piss a puddle and look at his reflection? Is he worthy?
The man's father was Lu Yulin, chairman of the Yongning Prefecture Merchant Guild!
What was a lousy blacksmith like you joining the fuss for?
Besides, Junior Sister Bai had never shown you a pleasant face either. Why were you still like a barber's carrying pole, hot at only one end?
Lu Sui's expression remained unchanged, a smile on his face.
He did not even glance in Deng Yun's direction, speaking only to Liang Bao.
"Junior Brother Liang, let's exchange a few moves in a moment. I only learned Cicada-Chasing Steps yesterday, and there's a lot I don't quite understand. I'll need your guidance."
Never pay attention to a stray dog barking by the roadside. That would only lower your own standing!
Lu Sui understood that principle.
This young master had formally joined to learn skills and grind levels, so he could deal with those formidable elite monsters.
Why would he waste time on small fry?
Liang Bao froze briefly before catching on and laughing.
"Of course, Senior Brother Lu."
He truly was a young master from a great household. So young, yet already so skilled at maintaining his composure!
Liang Bao glanced at Deng Yun out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, the latter had flown into a humiliated rage, clenching his fists but powerless to do anything.
What a feeling! Someone's finally putting this fellow in his place!
Liang Bao rejoiced inwardly, feeling as refreshed as if he had drunk chilled sour plum soup in the dog days of summer.
Deng Yun usually wore a sour expression, as though everyone owed him several hundred taels of silver. He only smiled when he saw Eldest Senior Brother Zheng Rong or Bai Fangfang.
He could be considered the most unpopular person in the inner courtyard!
The two reached the sandpit, chatting and laughing. Liang Bao cupped his fists first.
"Senior Brother Lu, as the old martial arts saying goes, the hands are two gates; striking relies entirely on the legs. Legs are longer than arms, and faster too, so when we spar, it's inevitable..."
Liang Bao was cautious indeed. He even knew to give a disclaimer before they started.
Lu Sui smiled.
"Junior Brother Liang, sparring is meant to hone our skills. Use whatever moves you have!"
Liang Bao nodded.
"Then, Senior Brother Lu, please!"
The instant he finished speaking, Liang Bao lowered his shoulders slightly, suddenly swayed, and closed in.
His charge was extraordinarily fast, bringing him right in front of Lu Sui almost in the blink of an eye.
Then!
His leg arrived with his body. His waist sank, and a low sweep skimmed the ground toward Lu Sui's lower body, aimed straight at his ankle!
Senior Brother Liang was still holding back. Normally, he should have kicked at the face or temple.
Thoughts flashed through Lu Sui's mind. He had practiced the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art. Though he had focused on the Earthly Hearing Chapter, his eyesight was sharper than an ordinary person's.
Liang Bao's movements were crisp, but not so fast that he could not follow them.
The first move of Cicada-Chasing Steps is Wind Chasing. Advance or retreat, the body moves like the wind!
Lu Sui's mind sharpened. His body shifted, retreating half a step.
His legs moved as though wading through mud, giving him a slippery quality as he glided away.
"What quick reactions, Senior Brother Lu!"
Liang Bao was astonished.
Adapting in combat usually required many fights before it sank into the bones and became habitual.
He grew a little more serious. Having joined earlier, he could hardly lose to someone who had only just formally entered.
The outer courtyard apprentices would laugh if word got out!
And so.
Liang Bao pressed the attack, unleashing three consecutive kicks in one breath, targeting the chin, ribs, and backs of the knees!
These three kicks were faster, fiercer, and harder to evade than the last!
[Seeing you hold your own in your first fight, Cicada-Chasing Steps was most approving!] [Seeing your nimble movements and mud-wading steps, Cicada-Chasing Steps was greatly satisfied!] [It therefore circulated your Qi and Blood, flushing the soles of your feet...] [It therefore explained the key principles of the martial art and elaborated on responding to opponents...]
Lines of tiny, tadpole-like writing flickered into view, and the various essentials of Cicada-Chasing Steps flashed through his mind like a slideshow.
Its legs lie in the feet, it issues from the legs, is governed by the waist, and takes form in the fingers. All must be whole and flow as one...
"Understanding" shone in Lu Sui's eyes.
He had said all along that his martial aptitude was extraordinarily high!
He could even experience a breakthrough in battle, a privilege reserved for geniuses!
Following each word of Cicada-Chasing Steps' "instruction," Lu Sui retreated repeatedly, dodging several kicks by a hair's breadth as their gusts brushed past him. It looked perilously close!
"What fine movement skills, Senior Brother Lu. He's memorized Cicada-Chasing Steps after just one day."
Wei Erhe, watching nearby, spoke with admiration.
"Hah! What would a blockhead understand? Lu Sui can't even fight back, and that's worth praising? Liang Bao is sparing his pride. That's the only reason he isn't overwhelming him! If it were me, I'd have kicked him out of the sandpit long ago!"
Deng Yun sneered again.
With such mediocre skills, he still wanted Junior Sister Bai to see him differently?
Senior Brother Lu and Senior Sister Bai were a talented man and a beautiful woman. Why did Senior Brother Deng keep butting in to give himself a part?
As he recalled, before Senior Brother Lu came, Senior Sister Bai had barely smiled at Deng Yun either...
Wei Erhe thought about the extra bowl of bone-strengthening soup he had drunk yesterday and forced himself to remain silent.
Within the human body, the legs are the root segment, the waist the middle segment, and the head the tip segment. Thus, when circulating power, the waist first works the root segment, then the middle segment, before driving the tip segment, advancing layer by layer, connecting segment by segment, all in one continuous flow...
Lu Sui's eyes lit up. As though finding his stride, he no longer merely retreated.
Suddenly, he twisted his waist and hips, pivoting on his toes in the sandpit and kicking up dust!
His entire body drifted aside like a fallen leaf, following the shadows of Liang Bao's kicks.
"Huh!"
Liang Bao froze.
Why had Senior Brother Lu suddenly become so light and nimble?
Before he could withdraw his leg and attack again, Lu Sui darted to his side first. His knee rose sharply, launching a vicious high whip kick!
The foot leads the knee, the knee leads the hip! Had Senior Brother Lu reached the entry level?
Liang Bao's expression shifted slightly. He barely managed to gather his breath and ducked awkwardly out of the way.
Combat training really was more satisfying than nourishing practice! Actual fighting increased Qi and Blood even more!
A sharp gleam flashed through Lu Sui's eyes. He too drove his scorching Qi and Blood, which surged like a rushing river, and lunged forward, closing in beside Liang Bao once more.
Before Liang Bao could adjust his stance, Lu Sui channeled his Qi and Blood through both arms and into his palms, clamping down on Liang Bao's shoulder like an iron hook before turning it into a palm strike that seemed capable of pushing a mountain!
Smack!
Liang Bao's face twitched. Half his body felt as though it had fallen apart, and his Qi and Blood had been shaken into disorder. He staggered back seven or eight steps before regaining his footing.
Looking down, he saw that both feet had left the sandpit. He cupped his fists with a rueful smile.
"Senior Brother Lu, I've lost."
At the sight, the inner courtyard fell silent!
Then an uproar erupted!
Apart from veterans such as Wei Erhe and Deng Yun, all the newer disciples looked astonished.
"Don't I remember Senior Brother Lu only formally joining yesterday? How's he so fierce?"
"From what I saw of Senior Brother Lu's footwork, he didn't look like a beginner. His lower body was steady, and his kicks were vicious!"
"Could Senior Brother Liang have let his guard down...?"
As everyone whispered among themselves, Lu Sui also cupped his fists in salute.
"Thank you for going easy on me! Junior Brother Liang's kicks were fierce. Every step had my heart pounding. I was lucky to win by half a move."
Liang Bao sighed, not taking those words at face value.
Toward the end, he had already used everything he had, yet Lu Sui seemed to know Cicada-Chasing Steps like the back of his hand, anticipating every move.
It truly left him feeling as helpless as if he were punching cotton!
Just then, Bai Fangfang emerged from a side room.
She had changed into a narrow-sleeved training outfit, her black hair pinned high with a wooden hairpin. Seeing the lively scene in the inner courtyard, puzzlement appeared in her eyes.
"Senior Brother Lu, I've changed... Huh? Why is everyone gathered together? Is someone going to spar?"
The forthright Wei Erhe blurted out:
"Senior Brother Liang just exchanged moves with Senior Brother Lu. Senior Brother Lu won."
Disbelief covered Bai Fangfang's face. Liang Bao had already infused his hands and feet with Qi and Blood and was only one step away from Unifying the Six Harmonies.
How long had Senior Brother Lu been practicing martial arts?
How could he have won?
"Junior Brother Liang was simply going easy on me."
Lu Sui smiled, then turned to Bai Fangfang.
"Junior Sister, are you ready to let me experience your fine leg~work?"
Teasing her again!
Bai Fangfang's legs tensed slightly and instinctively pressed together. Her voice held three parts embarrassed annoyance and seven parts competitiveness.
"Hmph! I won't go easy on you with my kicks like Senior Brother Liang!"
Bai Fangfang strode over, eager to try, secretly vowing to show Lu Sui a thing or two!
"Wait!"
Suddenly, a voice and a figure cut in, taking a place in the sandpit first.
He faced Lu Sui, his eyes seeming ready to spit fire.
"Young Master Lu! Do you dare test your skills against mine?!"