Chapter 163: Probing
The noonday sun shone straight down, the maple leaves on the ground were bright red like fire, Lu Yun and Xie Bo stood facing each other, and according to etiquette, they clasped their fists toward each other.
Then Xie Bo placed one hand behind his back and extended the other forward flat, signaling Lu Yun to attack first.
“Thank you.” Lu Yun politely said, then turned into a white shadow, stirring up fallen red leaves all over the ground, and pounced toward Xie Bo!
“It’s started!” The young masters and young ladies excitedly shouted. The latter even clutched their hearts with both hands, their faces full of tension.
Before the words had finished echoing, Lu Yun was already in front of Xie Bo and threw a punch!
“So fast!” Several knowledgeable young masters couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise. That Xiahou Yanran’s eyes also lit up.
Xie Bo raised his arm to block Lu Yun’s fist, his brows slightly furrowing as he thought to himself: ‘This kid has such great strength.’
Lu Yun’s punch was blocked, and he immediately followed with a palm strike toward Xie Bo’s neck. Xie Bo hurriedly dodged his head to the side. Then Lu Yun’s knee viciously thrust upward, forcing Xie Bo to use his left hand that had been behind his back to press against Lu Yun’s knee. Lu Yun instantly changed moves, pulling back his leg into a horizontal sweep, sending red leaves flying everywhere!
Xie Bo could only dodge backward two steps to evade Lu Yun’s attack.
All this happened in the blink of an eye. The crowd hadn’t even reacted yet, and Lu Yun had already unleashed several moves, forcing Xie Bo not only to block with both hands but also to retreat a few steps.
“Great!” The young ladies excitedly clapped desperately and cheered. “Young Master Lu is too amazing!”
“This is just warm-up, is it really necessary?” The group of young masters naturally felt sour and grumbled unhappily.
“Young Master Lu is just amazing, just amazing!” But what reason could you reason with fangirls? In the young ladies’ eyes, every move and stance of Lu Yun was extremely dashing and extremely powerful! Naturally, the pitiful Xie Bo became the big villain in the young ladies’ eyes. While praising Lu Yun, they didn’t forget to mock Xie Bo all at once. “That Xie guy clearly has no real ability and is still an arrogant maniac! Didn’t he say he would let Young Master Lu use one hand? Why does he need both feet right from the start!”
“Exactly, pretending to be a big bad wolf!”
Xie Tian was so furious listening to this. These damn women spoke without restraint, and with one mouth they insulted their entire Xie Family. ‘Just wait until later, you’ll get yours!’
Hearing the young ladies’ mocking voices, Xie Bo slightly furrowed his brows, changed his body into an offensive stance, and said to Lu Yun: “My turn.”
Lu Yun smiled and nodded, also placing one hand behind his back like him, making a “please” gesture.
The young ladies saw the white-shirted young master standing amid a field of fiery red, one hand behind his back, endlessly elegant in demeanor, with a smile on his face, indescribably charming. Now they were even more excited, clutching their flushed little faces and fangirling: “So handsome! Young Master Lu is too handsome!” They looked as if they wanted to swallow him whole.
The young masters were completely helpless. The same pose, when Xie Bo did it was pretending to be a big bad wolf, but when it was Lu Yun’s turn it became too handsome. This double standard was too much.
Xie Tian’s face was even more flushed as he shouted hoarsely: “Beat him hard!”
Before the words had finished echoing, Xie Bo rushed to Lu Yun like a hungry tiger pouncing on prey. A black tiger fist thrust straight at the heart, carrying a sharp breaking wind sound, fiercely attacking toward Lu Yun’s chest. Lu Yun casually brushed it away, effortlessly diverting Xie Bo’s punch away from his body. Xie Bo was greatly startled, unsure if Lu Yun had seen through that this punch was a feint or if he was simply arrogant!
Fortunately, he was battle-hardened and tempered through a thousand battles. Though shocked in his heart, his moves were unaffected. He let Lu Yun deflect his left fist, while his right hand lightly floated with a palm strike that followed like a shadow, pressing toward Lu Yun’s chest. This was the real killing move!
Lu Yun’s right hand hadn’t used full force just now, so he could naturally retract it quickly. He curled three fingers, extending two like knives, pecking toward Xie Bo’s right wrist like an immortal crane foraging. The movement was dashing and sharp; it was a move he had comprehended while watching Heavenly Rank Grandmasters fight in Bai Liu Village.
Though this move didn’t have great power, its intent followed The Way Follows Nature. It struck later but arrived first, accurately hitting Xie Bo’s wrist without deviation.
Xie Bo’s palm, which seemed soft and powerless but actually contained boundless True Qi, immediately lost all its strength like a python struck at its vital point.
Xie Bo’s heart surged with shockwaves. Clearly, the opponent wasn’t arrogant but had seen through his move. This seasoned insight wasn’t something a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth could have!
Seeing his move broken and his defenses wide open, Xie Bo hurriedly attacked to defend, unleashing a flurry of sharp fist and foot strikes, all of which Lu Yun calmly resolved without budging. Xie Bo took the chance to retreat, opening up distance from Lu Yun.
In this probing exchange where offense and defense switched, Lu Yun similarly blocked all of Xie Bo’s attacks, with his left hand always behind his back and without retreating a single step.
To the watching young ladies, this was clear proof that Lu Yun was stronger than Xie Bo. They couldn’t help jumping up and down in excitement, cheering as if Lu Yun had already won.
“It’s not time to see the real chapter yet…” The young masters naturally grumbled, growing even more jealous of Lu Yun. Someone whispered to Xie Tian: “I say, how long do we let that kid show off?”
“It’s over!” Xie Bo gnashed his teeth and roared toward the field: “Xie Bo, hurry up and show your real skills!”
“…” Being ordered around like a slave multiple times by Xie Tian, Xie Bo felt he was losing face. He cursed Xie Tian inwardly for being too rude, then said seriously to Lu Yun: “Alright, warm-up’s done. You do have the qualification to be my opponent.”
“You’re too kind.” Lu Yun smiled humbly and said: “You are indeed very strong.”
The previous two exchanges were for mutual probing. Though neither had used their real skills, they could still get a general sense of each other. Lu Yun now understood that although Xie Bo ranked far below Xie Tian back then, he was stronger than that second-generation ancestor by more than a little.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lu Yun could only seal most of his Vital Energy in his Ancupoint, fighting purely with Black Rank strength. This was a huge challenge for him, like a tycoon used to spending money like water suddenly having to live a frugal life—he would feel uncomfortable and awkward everywhere, much harder than for someone accustomed to it.
So back then in Cuihe Garden, he had fought Xie Tian so strenuously. If it had been this Xie Bo he fought at that time, he would likely have lost eight or nine times out of ten—so many knowledgeable people were watching; how could he dare expose his Earth Rank strength?
But now, Lu Yun’s control over his Vital Energy was worlds apart from before. Previously, he was like a prodigal son squandering his family fortune at will, relying on Vital Energy that far exceeded his opponent’s in both quality and quantity to crush them. So he had always neglected how to effectively use every bit of True Qi to maximize its effect.
To be honest, though he could easily defeat ordinary Earth Rank Grandmasters before, in terms of True Qi control, Lu Yun wasn’t even as good as a Black Rank Expert. But Lu Wei’s special training had forced him to improve his True Qi control, plus Lu Xian’s guidance, so Lu Yun’s weakness in this area was completely gone.
Now he could live both poor and rich days. No matter how much or little True Qi was in his body, Lu Yun could allocate it reasonably and use it effectively, maximizing its efficacy.
Even so, facing Xie Bo who had been at Black Rank Peak for years, Lu Yun didn’t dare be the slightest bit careless. With their True Qi at the same level, the key to victory or defeat lay in move experience and depth of insight into the Martial Arts Path!
“Then show your real skills, let me see what level your Heaven and Earth Righteous Law has reached!” Xie Bo low-roared, planting his feet firmly like roots in the ground, clashing his fists heavily. Instantly, his clothes fluttered, forceful energy surged! As his momentum continued to rise, pieces of maple leaves were swept up by the forceful energy, swirling around him, adding even more to his presence!
Lu Yun’s expression also grew solemn. He stood with feet neither too close nor too far, upper body rounded chest and straight back, hands virtually hugging in front of his chest, assuming the starting stance of Heaven and Earth Righteous Law!
