Chapter 97 The True Meaning of Martial Arts, Revealed Through Transformation
[Heaven rewards diligence; success is inevitable.]
[Over the years, you've thrown countless punches, progressing from a beginner struggling to grasp the essentials, to gradually improving, and finally reaching the pinnacle where no one can surpass you.]
[Through arduous practice, I have grasped a glimpse of the true essence of martial arts.]
[Four Directions Fist]
[Proficiency: 1/50000, Pinnacle]
[Description: You are unmatched in this style of martial arts. However, the path to mastery is long and arduous. In the world of martial arts, who dares to claim they have reached the pinnacle?]
Li Xian felt a refreshing sensation rise from his dantian, first surging to the top of his head and then to the soles of his feet. Yesterday's fatigue vanished, leaving him feeling indescribably refreshed.
Internal energy grows rapidly…
Flesh, bones, and skin cheered.
After practicing "circulating Qi throughout the body," martial artists become highly sensitive to their bodies and can achieve "internal vision." While called internal vision, it is actually a form of self-awareness and perception.
The internal energy converges in the dantian.
Like a lake.
Before this, Li Xian's Qi Lake was about ten feet wide and ten feet long. Of course, this was just a perception, a quantification of the Qi Lake.
After reaching the pinnacle...
The Qi Lake surged two zhang forward, and a trace of true meaning appeared on its surface, causing waves to rise and ripple.
"The true meaning of martial arts?"
"What is this?"
Li Xian observed intently, but his knowledge was limited, so how could he figure out his origins? He also had nowhere to ask, since even someone like Pang Long didn't possess "peerless" martial arts skills.
Qi strengthens the spirit and replenishes qi and blood.
Li Xian had never felt so refreshed.
I just want to shout to the sky, to compete with the eagles in the sky and with the monkeys in the trees.
"It feels amazing!"
Li Xiansheng was startled.
Snow slid off the surrounding houses, startling a flock of birds.
"I finally managed to solidify my blood and close my orifices, accumulating this martial arts skill and storing up this vital energy."
“These mountains have ‘crab treasures’ resources, which are neither difficult to cook nor difficult to prepare. They are perfect for me. Now I’m determined to fight Shanfeng Village to the death.”
"If you want to enjoy the treasures of the mountains in peace, you must eliminate all the enemies in the mountains!"
"Instead of passively taking a beating, why not... take the initiative and cause him trouble this time!"
...
...
To avoid missing the mountain pass, Lu Xuefeng deliberately took a long detour, traveling for an extra day and night before returning to the mountain stronghold.
When we got back to the foot of the mountain, it was exactly noon.
He noticed the lax defenses in the stronghold, with no one on the watchtowers near or far, and the patrolmen were listless and perfunctory. He frowned and, channeling his inner energy, shouted:
"How dare you!"
The sound was like thunder, like the roar of a tiger or the cry of a dragon; the surrounding trees trembled, and the accumulated snow fell with a whooshing sound. In an instant, the loosely organized men in the village were so frightened that they lost their composure.
Ouch!
"Fifth Master, you're finally back!"
A crowd gathered around, though not many people, only about thirty or forty in total.
"What's going on? Why are there so few people?"
"Furthermore, are you all so lax? Are you courting death?!"
Having said that, Lu Xuefeng swept his sleeve, his inner energy surging, and the wind from his palm swept through, sending several people staggering to the side.
"Fifth Master, spare my life! Spare my life!"
The bandits all knelt down and kowtowed.
"Where are the other brothers?" Lu Xuefeng knew the situation was bad when he saw the scene in the stronghold.
"Fifth Master, we're telling you the truth, please don't be angry." The slightly bolder bandit said tremblingly, "He...they escaped."
“Run away?!”
Lu Xuefeng frowned.
The Mountain Wind Stronghold had a total of 340 people. Ordinary mountain bandits, nameless and unregistered, could indeed run away at any moment.
Yes...yes.
The bandit said, "Ever since the third leader died, everyone in the village has been in a state of panic. There are all sorts of rumors, some saying it's haunted, others saying we've offended some big shot."
"As a result, many brothers were afraid and ran away without saying a word."
"But Fifth Master, rest assured, all of us who stayed behind are loyal and devoted to the village, and we would never run away."
Mountain bandits are inherently faithless and ruthless, all bloodthirsty and cruel. Suddenly, they suffered a defeat at the hands of an external enemy, several times worse than before, with the fourth and third leaders being killed one after another.
I dared not linger any longer.
Before the tree fell, the monkeys had already scattered.
"You...you said Third Brother is dead?" Lu Xuefeng was stunned.
"Yes, he died a horrible death. His abdomen was ripped open, and his intestines were spilling out all over the ground," the bandit exclaimed in astonishment.
"In that case, wouldn't I get an extra bite of fine food?" Lu Xuefeng was overjoyed, but after a brief moment of happiness, he felt even more uneasy.
Third Brother Peng Fox is the village's strategist. With him around, the village is developing well and he is of great help to the village.
Deep in the mountain village.
Lu Xuefeng returned to the Hall of Brotherhood.
The corpse of the third leader, Peng Fox, was covered only with a straw mat. There wasn't even a coffin, and his expensive fox fur cloak had long been stolen.
Seeing his third brother's miserable state, Lu Xuefeng felt no sorrow, but suddenly thought:
"These traitors, they treat Third Brother like this, and they'll treat me the same way in the future. If something happens to me, won't they strip me naked and discard me too?"
Enraged, he suddenly swung his palm horizontally. With a "smack," he struck a bandit.
The bandit's head was severed, and he fell straight down, dead.
"How dare you!" Without saying a word, Lu Xuefeng unleashed several more palm strikes, each one ruthless, and in an instant, five more bandits died at his hands.
We bandits all fled.
"Keep a close eye on Third Brother's corpse." Lu Xuefeng snorted coldly and walked straight down the mountain.
He had intended to return to the mountain stronghold to discuss with his third brother how to avenge their defeat and gain fame. However, his third brother was also assassinated, and his plans were thwarted.
Then I thought about the contents of that letter.
Fourth-in-command Niu Liang led his men out of the stronghold seeking revenge, but their fate remains unknown. It seems they were defeated, indicating the opposing force also had troops.
Relying on the mediocre members of the stronghold to raise more troops for a fight would be tantamount to another defeat. It would be far better to act alone, scout out the enemy's movements, and break through from within, which would give us a greater advantage.
At worst...
With his own strength, escaping should never be a problem.
Therefore, Lu Xuefeng did not think much of it and, relying on his memory, headed towards Heihe Village.
"It would be best to arrest a villager, torture him to extract a confession, and make him explain the situation in the village."
"You lowly village of Muddy, with only a new guard, have the audacity to severely injure my Mountain Wind Stronghold?"
"I absolutely do not believe it."
After traveling several miles, Lu Xuefeng gradually came up with an idea. Although he was not as cunning as Peng Huli, he was not as stupid as Niu Liang.
They immediately abandoned the main road and secretly proceeded along the side path, observing all directions. If they saw any villagers, they were to immediately seize them.
However, in these extraordinary times, how could the villagers of Heihe Village travel far? He walked more than ten miles without finding anything, and was growing increasingly frustrated…
Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard.
"who!?"
Lu Xuefeng saw a dark figure dart out from the undergrowth of the forest at great speed; it was neither a tiger or leopard, nor a bear or deer.
Instead, it was a human figure.
"Excellent, delivered right to my doorstep!"
Lu Xuefeng channeled his internal energy into his feet, greatly increasing his speed. Each step left a deep footprint in the ground. He used the rebound of his internal energy to increase the distance of each step.
In contrast, Li Xian…
His footsteps were so light that they left no trace on the ground. He was incredibly fast, yet required very little effort.
Before long, Lu Xuefeng had caught up. He thought to himself, "I'll use three-tenths of my strength to test your strength." He unleashed the [Extreme Iron Palm], his palm emitting a dark light as he slashed down.
Li Xian suddenly accelerated, instantly widening the gap to several meters.
"Bang!"
His palm strike missed its mark, and Lu Xuefeng thought to himself that it was a pity, but he didn't stop. Li Xian's steps were light and quick, and he had clearly created a great distance, but suddenly he stopped again.
"Let's see how you escape this time!" Lu Xuefeng thought fiercely, and immediately leaped forward, his fingers curling into claws.
Suddenly, a large rock fell from above.
"Oops?!"
Suddenly, an unexpected turn of events occurred. But Lu Xuefeng's attack was already underway, so how could one dodge it immediately? The only option was to turn in mid-air and kick the boulder.
The boulder shifted slightly, barely grazing Lu Xuefeng's shoulder. Had it not been for his internal energy protecting him, this slight graze would have been enough to severely injure him.
Lu Xuefeng was filled with lingering fear.
Li Xian, hidden in the shadows, let out a cold laugh.
Knowing that the Fifth Leader was coming, he had already laid an ambush along the way. He anticipated that the Fifth Leader would not take the main road, so he set the trap in the dense forest.
Then use yourself as bait to lure them into the trap.
Li Xian came behind a tree, drew his sword, and cleaved it with force.
A sharp, ripping sound rang out as a tangled vine was severed, triggering a chain reaction. The pre-arranged trap had been activated.
All that could be heard was the whooshing sound of the wind.
High above the dense forest, several large wooden pillars came crashing down like giant pendulums.
Ignoring his injuries, Lu Xuefeng raised his palm and slapped the wooden pillar away. The pillar had come with a swift and agile motion, but he had managed to knock it away with a single palm strike, demonstrating the strength of his palm.
"Excellent palm technique!" Li Xian shouted in admiration. Each time Lu Xuefeng struck, a palm print several feet deep was left on the wooden pillar.
"Who are you, you scoundrel? Come out and face your death!"
Lu Xuefeng was exhausted from dealing with the wooden pillars that were being attacked, but when he heard Li Xian's voice, he managed to respond with his Qi amidst the chaos, unwilling to lose his momentum.
Li Xian said, "You are the one who will die!" He drew his bow and shot three arrows.
As for Lu Xuefeng, his martial arts skills were extremely formidable. Unfortunately, he was first imprisoned, his momentum was first dampened by a large rock, and then his composure was disturbed by a wooden pillar.
At that moment, three arrows were shot.
Frustrated and annoyed, Lu Xuefeng let out a loud shout and used his "hard qigong" to forcefully withstand the swinging hammer of the wooden pillar, which made his throat feel sweet.
At the same time, he reached out and grabbed at the three arrows.
They caught two, but missed one.
The third arrow pierced his right foot, and blood soaked his boot.
Li Xian was like a calm hunter. Seeing that the attack had succeeded, he withdrew his body and used the forest for cover, his whereabouts unpredictable.
Lu Xuefeng gasped, wincing in pain.
Since he became a bandit, he has always been more likely to win than lose in his fierce battles with others.
But what he experienced today made his scalp tingle and cold sweat pour down his back.
The other party's maneuvering and circling, their push and pull, clearly indicated that they had the upper hand.
Those three arrows just now...
Two arrows were shot toward his heart, and one arrow was shot toward his right foot.
Through careful planning, they made it difficult for him to move around, thus trapping him like a turtle in a jar.
With a clear objective, act decisively!
Although Lu Xuefeng's injuries appeared minor, his current situation was like a frog being slowly boiled in water.
In addition, the arrows were poisoned...
"If I get harassed a few more times, I'll be completely out of fighting strength. I'll fight him to the death!"
Lu Xuefeng's eyes turned red, and he suddenly pounded his chest forcefully.
A loud "boom" rang out.
Li Xian's blood congealed, and he felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around and stared at Lu Xuefeng.
It's the sound of thunderous chest drumming...
However, Lu Xuefeng's chest drumming thunderous sound was not yet complete, and its momentum was not strong enough.
But every thunderous sound reverberated in Li Xian's heart, making him very uncomfortable.
Lu Xuefeng continued to strike, creating a series of booming sounds. By the tenth strike, he no longer needed to strike, yet his entire body was still resounding with thunderous energy.
His skin glowed red. He dropped to the ground with both hands and feet on the ground, charging forward like a wild beast. This actually made up for the disadvantage of his injured right foot, and he was incredibly fast.
Martial artists consume the essence of heaven and earth...
It sheds its clay form and reveals its divine power.
Some are favored by heaven... or perhaps they possess a special constitution that gradually manifests after consuming precious treasures. Or perhaps it's something else entirely...
These kinds of abilities are all referred to as "rebirth."
Lu Xuefeng's true form had not yet been fully revealed. But Li Xian's speed, which he was so proud of, was already utterly vulnerable!
But the figure drew near, as fierce as thunder, as powerful as a tiger, as leopard, as cunning as a wolf.
Li Xian's breathing was deep and even. His only way to deal with enemies was the Four Directions Fist, which he had practiced millions of times and had reached its peak!
(End of this chapter)
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