Chiyang Technique

The next moment, Zhuang Xun suddenly vanished from where he stood.

In Protector Song's eyes, a long spear rapidly enlarged. Completely fearless, he reached out, intending to grab the shaft.

But another hand was faster than his. Zhuang Xun gripped the butt of the spear with one hand and deftly spun the tip, bypassing Protector Song's hand to thrust straight at his heart.

The spear tip sank three inches deep. Protector Song's calm and leisurely composure instantly vanished. He hurriedly grabbed the spear shaft and retreated in a frenzy.

The long spear pushed him all the way from the center of the room to the wall. His back slammed into the wall, and after a brief pause, a sharp cracking sound rang out as a dense web of fractures spread across the surface.

By now, Protector Song was already feeling a hint of regret. Seeing that Bai Yujing's blood qi was only at the level of the Fifth Rank and that there were no other Wanxing Martial Academy experts nearby, he had originally planned to quickly capture him and leave. He had not expected that despite being only at the Fifth Rank, the youth's physical strength was not a bit weaker than his own as a Fourth Rank martial artist. If they kept fighting like this, it would definitely alert the other experts of the Wanxing Martial Academy nearby.

Protector Song let out a low growl, his face flushing deep crimson. The cracking sound of the fracturing wall ceased as he wrenched the long spear out of his body, lifted both the weapon and Zhuang Xun into the air, and flung them away.

At the same time, he raised both hands. From the barely visible holes in his palms, several lines of blood shot out.

Still in midair, Zhuang Xun simply spun his spear. Without even making direct contact, the streams of blood were swept aside by the air current of the weapon.

He swept his spear tip across the side counter, shattering a row of wine jars with a loud clatter, drawing the fragments along with the movement of his spear.

With the murky wine as its body, the jar shards as its scales, and the blood lines as its eyes and whiskers, the shape pulled by the long spear resembled a dragon as it surged violently toward Protector Song.

However, Protector Song simply aimed with one hand, and the water dragon instantly exploded, sending a downpour of rain cascading inside the tavern.

Protector Song then aimed his hand at Bai Yujing not far away, and the holes in his palms erupted with an immense suction force.

Having just landed, Zhuang Xun had not yet stabilized his footing. His waist bent forward involuntarily, and he flew toward Protector Song.

His expression remained completely calm as he quietly watched Protector Song draw closer.

Just as they were about to collide, he moved a step faster than Protector Song, drawing Shiliu, the soft sword wrapped around his waist. With a swirl of his robes and a sharp metallic ring, a cold gleam flashed, and a severed arm flew into the air.

“Ah!” Protector Song shrieked in pain. He instantly changed his technique, and the hole on his severed stump shifted from suction to repulsion, spraying a torrent of blood toward Bai Yujing, who held a sword in one hand and a spear in the other.

Zhuang Xun simply spun his spear in a circle, instantly sweeping the sky-blocking blood aside, though it briefly obscured his vision.

Seizing this opportunity, Protector Song crashed sideways through the wall. As he fled, he cast a backward glance at Bai Yujing.

To his horror, he saw that the youth had not pursued him. Instead, Bai Yujing raised a hand, adopting the exact same posture he had used earlier.

“Not a bad martial art. Yujing shall accept it with thanks.”

Feeling his body uncontrollably pulling backward, Protector Song's pupils contracted in disbelief. Yet the reality was right before him. He was being sucked back, unable to break free, and a hand clamped firmly over his face.

Zhuang Xun slammed Protector Song violently into the ground.

The tavern shook as the wooden floorboards cracked extensively. Protector Song's limbs flailed upward uncontrollably.

But it was not over. A crimson glow emerged from Zhuang Xun's palm as two blood lines pierced into Protector Song's eyes, driving straight into his brain. With precise control over his strength, he knocked Protector Song unconscious.

Afterward, Zhuang Xun calmly released his grip and looked at the Principal, who was walking over.

“Master.”

“Not bad. You are far stronger than I was back in the day.” The Principal nodded with a smile, though his heart was secretly shaken.

He had never expected that Bai Yujing could actually apply the mimicking ability of the Formless Phaseless Sublime Method directly in combat.

One had to know that the profound mystery of the Formless Phaseless martial physique was mimicry, not replication.

Mimicry required learning. In the past, any cultivator of the Formless Phaseless Sublime Method who wanted to mimic a martial art had to obtain the manual for that technique and study it thoroughly.

How could anyone mimic a technique just by looking at it once?

Well, that's just how the Uchiha clan rolls... Zhuang Xun could already guess that the Principal must be incredibly shocked.

“The Young Master is truly exceptionally talented.” A raspy, grating voice rang out as Guan Ren'ai walked through the entrance with a smile.

“Elder Guan praises me too highly. I will have to trouble Elder Guan to handle this man.”

“Rest assured, Young Master. Within a single day, I will extract all the information from his mouth and deliver it to you.”

“Then Yujing shall quietly await Elder Guan's good news.”

...

The next day.

Elder Guan arrived at the side cliff where Bai Yujing resided, but he stood quietly by the entrance, waiting. It was only when Zhuang Xun finished his martial arts practice and went out for a breath of fresh air that he noticed him.

“Elder Guan... how long have you been standing here?”

“I did not dare to disturb the Young Master.”

“There is no need for such formality. Next time, Elder Guan can just knock on the door directly. Standing outside like this truly embarrasses me.” Zhuang Xun shook his head. “Furthermore, the title of 'Young Master' is too heavy. Yujing cannot accept it. In the future, Elder Guan should just address me by my name.”

Guan Ren'ai shook his head. “The Young Master is the Master's disciple. I once swore to the Master that I would follow him to the death in this lifetime, so I dare not behave impolitely.”

He did not dwell on the subject, humbly offering a booklet with both hands. “Young Master, this is the high-tier martial art of the Shengxue Cult, the Chiyang Technique. Please have a look.”

Zhuang Xun took it and flipped through it briefly.

It was identical to what he had analyzed through his Spiritual Sight when peering through Elder Song's body.

Its martial physique shaping was primarily focused on the meridians, acupoints, and internal organs. Aside from the mysteries of suction, repulsion, and blood-spraying, it also allowed one to absorb others' blood qi to heal injuries.

However, Zhuang Xun could not mimic the final mystery of this martial physique for the time being. In truth, he shouldn't have been able to mimic the other mysteries either.

After all, his martial physique had not yet reached great accomplishment, so he could not mimic high-tier martial arts.

However, relying on his shocking wisdom, Zhuang Xun had modified the Chiyang Technique mid-battle, bypassing the internal organs portion. With only a minor accomplishment in his Formless Phaseless martial physique, he had forcibly managed to mimic the Chiyang Technique.

At the time, the Principal was so shocked that Bai Yujing could mimic another's martial arts without even reading the secret manual that he had failed to realize this. Otherwise, he would have been even more astounded.

Guan Ren'ai continued, “Young Master, I have also extracted the Shengxue Cult's motive for capturing you. They want to use you...”

He hesitated for a moment before saying, “...as a vessel for the descent of the evil deity they worship, the Ancestor of Primordial Blood Creation, into our world.”

“Yes, Yujing understands.”

Zhuang Xun was not too surprised. After all, he had long guessed it. The Shengxue Cult's motives for capturing Bai Yujing could only be one of a few possibilities. If they simply found him too big of a threat, they would have used the word "kill" instead.

Still, has my Charm grown so high that even a deity covets it? (Melancholy)

Huh? What if I just dissolve my clone right when the evil deity descends... A sudden thought popped into Zhuang Xun's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.