Book 13: Chapter 94

The attack wasnt premeditated; it was purely spurred on in the moment after hearing Su Xiaos whistle. As an elite a.s.sa.s.sin, he determined Su Xiao was quite an accomplished martial artist based on the whistle. Bronze Mask neither expected Su Xiao to be such a shabby fighter nor for his internal energy to be so potent. In a logical world, somebody who could unleash that loud of a whistle shouldnt have performed worse than an amateur fighter, yet there was irrefutable proof before his eyes now that somebody could.

While Bronze Mask didnt expect to kill Su Xiao with the punch, since he didnt even intend for it to kill, considering the amount of internal energy he put into it, it shouldve broken every bone in a colossal bear, yet Su Xiao only groaned. Given Su Xiaos shoulder didnt even suffer any damage, it was conclusive that the whistle only displayed a fraction of Su Xiaos internal energy potency.

It went without saying that Su Xiao only whistled as a means of easing his excited true qi. There was a difference between a clear whistle versus a whistle to a.s.sert dominance and one to enhance performance, but Bronze Mask wouldnt have known that without the context.

Suddenly, a violent gust blew, prompting Bronze Mask to get into a stance. Unfortunately, the pressure was so immense that he couldnt get into his stance. Since defence wasnt going to cut it, he switched to try to grab his opponent. He caught the small and slippery foot with just one hand and then grabbed Su Xiaos small calf with his other hand. Su Xiao couldnt break the hold on his leg, but it didnt hurt. The exchange came to an abrupt halt when Bronze Mask tried sealing Su Xiaos leg.

Not only had Su Xiao been learning martial arts from Ming Feizhen, but he also learnt fight IQ. When he saw Bronze Masks hesitating to attack, Su Xiao whipped a kick at Bronze Mask. Regrettably, Su Xiao learnt to attack, but he hadnt inherited Mount Daluos teachings in their entirety yet, so he didnt hide his sneak attack. Had he graduated from Mount Daluos curriculum, his kick wouldve found its target instead of getting caught and his leg sealed.

Bronze Mask was stunned that his opponent would try catching him off guard when his opponent looked terrified. On the other hand, Su Xiao was stumped for a solution as Ming Feizhen never taught him what to do if his sneak attack was caught.

Bronze Mask released his hold on Su Xiaos leg because Su Xiao undid the seal with a single breath. After that, he just stood in place.

Su Xiao was happy to be liberated until he felt the atmosphere wasnt so positive. Ar-are you unhappy?

Bronze Mask didnt say a word and fought in a very reserved manner, so one could argue that silence was his trademark. Su Xiao, howbeit, sensed something else aside from the silence, although it wasnt a strong signal.

You seem angry?

Bronze Mask got back into his fighting stance.

Why do you want to keep fighting?!

Maybe Su Xiao pointing out a pain point triggered Bronze Mask. Whatever the case, it seemed as though Bronze Mask was insistent on measuring Su Xiaos capacity, attacking at a tempo slower than a teacher teaching his disciple how to defend.

As long as his opponent wasnt trying to fight to win, Su Xiaos sparring experience at Liu Shan Men was sufficient for him to get by. Though his opponent didnt go all out, the technical proficiency gap was plain to see. Even though Su Xiao dismantled dozens of attacks and got into a rhythm, he was still getting caught all over, albeit in less and less pathetic ways. He couldnt a.s.sociate his opponents technique with a discipline, but his opponent certainly wasnt swinging wildly and praying for a lucky shot. His opponent clearly understood fundamental principles enough to apply them to any discipline and create variations where needed be.

As Su Xiao continued absorbing blows whilst feeling confused, he gradually comprehended the art of defence and attack. As a result, he gradually learnt to defend and counter more efficiently, though his execution didnt exactly look clean. Maybe the hostile aura in the atmosphere grew because Bronze Mask recognised that.

Another hundred exchanges later, Su Xiao cheered as he intercepted a punch he saw coming, making it the first time he cleanly blocked an attack in their sc.r.a.p. Immediately after, he heard a crisp and condescending scoff from his lanky opponent. Next thing he knew, he saw a strike thrown without any reserve.

Bronze Mask didnt up the speed; he simply changed his execution. As a consequence, he confused Su Xiao again just as he did before Su Xiaos upgrade.

The bizarre thing about the fight was how Bronze Mask kept pulling back before the shots could land, but he kept making each consecutive strike harder to read than the last. While he might not have been able to end Su Xiao in one strike, he most certainly couldve taken an arm and a leg in the first exchange if he didnt hold back, and every other blow wouldve just been a bonus. Instead of taking that easy option, however, Bonze Mask fought as if to prove that Su Xiao had no answer for any of his attack before switching to the next one to prove the same point again. Su Xiao didnt hear anything said, but he got the vibe that Bronze Mask was screaming, See? Look at this punch. Look at this kick. I can kill you whenever I please!

You could kill me in one attack. You only live once. Do you have to kill me a dozen more times before youre satisfied?

Su Xiao didnt expect his complaint to be oil on a fire. Though Bronze Mask didnt speed up, he made his attacks even more complex. Su Xiao couldnt recognise what was incoming, let alone deal with the attacks. In saying that, he thought they resembled the techniques Tang Ye used against Kunluns patriarch, Yi w.a.n.gyou. The name was a distant memory he couldnt recall, but he remembered how Yi w.a.n.gyou countered Tang Ye, so he did the same thing.

Su Xiao hardly understood anything about creating variations of techniques or mental cultivation, nor had he learnt Kunluns internal discipline. All he did was push the same way Yi w.a.n.gyou did when he countered Tang Yes complex attack pattern with a single thrust from Desolate Sword Dance. Combined with his photographic memory, Su Xiaos internal energy was more than enough to deliver the power needed for the simple strike to be effective.

Despite not being able to counter the finger attacks from Bronze Mask, Su Xiao landed his attack precisely on Bronze Masks palm, preventing the latter from using any further variations. Because being denied twice was the equivalent of losing, Bronze Mask grew furious enough to start lighting up Su Xiao to send Su Xiao rolling across the ground and bleeding from his mouth. Even at that point, Bronze Mask continued advancing whilst keeping his right hand in the back for defence and left hand in front to splatter Su Xiaos head.

Suddenly, Su Xiao had a flashback, prompting him to swing upwards with his hand as if it was a blade. In spite of his speed, the wind didnt howl. If Bronze Masks attacks were a dark shrine, then Su Xiaos were the silent night. On one hand, his swing looked as though it offered defence and offence simultaneously. On the other hand, it looked completely useless. Yet, there was no doubt the swing was the equivalent of an unbreakable net.

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