Chapter 11: Breaking Force with Skill

However, the person Li Chong was facing happened to be Duan Rong.

His strength was indeed better cultivated than Duan Rong's.

After all, Duan Rong had only been devouring the Artifact Spirit and gaining the Entry Level experience of the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber for three days.

Before devouring the Artifact Spirit, Duan Rong had not grasped the knack of practicing at all; he had been practicing blindly, without any effect.

But Duan Rong's practice of his strength over these three days had not been in vain; he had pushed himself to the limit every single day.

His method of practice was worth ten days of Kong Bin and the others' practice in just one day.

More importantly, Duan Rong had already digested the Entry Level experience of the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber, which included not only the experience of practicing but even the experience of actual combat.

Otherwise, he would not have been scolded by Zhao Mu earlier for subconsciously executing that improved Leopard Drills the Forest.

Therefore, although Li Chong's horizontal slash, that move of Fierce Tiger Leaps the Ravine, was executed with all his might and left no room for error, in Duan Rong's eyes, it was full of flaws.

Although one force can overcome ten techniques, what about a hundred or a thousand?

Force and skill are like the two wings of a bird or the two wheels of a cart; neither can be neglected!

When Kong Bin saw Li Chong use Fierce Tiger Leaps the Ravine the moment they met, his eyes lit up, and a look of excitement appeared on his cold, hard face.

Even if he were to encounter this move from Li Chong, he would have to stand in a bow stance, hold his saber up with his arm, and resist the slash head-on, provided that his strength was greater than Li Chong's and his physique was stronger, but Duan Rong possessed neither.

Seeing Li Chong's saber blade slashing horizontally, Duan Rong's expression remained calm and ripple-free; he took a half-step diagonally with his right foot, held his saber in his right hand, and tapped casually into the void.

With a "ding" sound, Duan Rong actually tapped the tip of his saber onto the face of Li Chong's blade!

"This..." As soon as Duan Rong made his move, Kong Bin was startled.

That seemingly casual tap was undoubtedly a high-level fusion of speed and technique!

Li Chong's body was rotating at high speed, his right foot lifted, standing on one leg; with Duan Rong's casual tap, Li Chong's balance was immediately destroyed.

Li Chong's body instantly lost its balance and fell backward!

In the moment Li Chong lost his balance, Duan Rong took a stride, crossed to Li Chong's side, used his saber like a palm, and with a "slap" in mid-air, struck Li Chong across the face.

Li Chong crashed to the ground, three teeth spat out along with a mouthful of blood; his left cheek swelled up high, and a triangular red saber mark, like a birthmark, was imprinted across half his face.

These two strikes from Duan Rong seemed ordinary, but they were concise and precise, with almost no wasted movement; the timing of the strikes and the mastery of the force left Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng, who were watching from the side, greatly shocked!

Compared to Duan Rong, they felt as if their own last three months had been spent in vain.

Duan Rong stepped on Li Chong's chest, pointed the tip of the broken saber in his hand at Li Chong's face, and said angrily, "Don't wail in front of me again! If there is a next time, I will cripple you directly!"

Li Chong only felt the taste of blood in his mouth, and Duan Rong's icy gaze was even more terrifying; panic and shame instantly overwhelmed him.

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he glanced at the panicked Li Chong again, threw the broken saber away, and the saber clattered into the weapon rack.

Duan Rong then walked out of the courtyard without looking back. "I just want to practice in peace; can't you people just be quiet for a while?"

Kong Bin looked at Duan Rong's back, unable to speak for a long time.

Li Chong struggled to stand up; his face was swollen high, but the physical pain was far less agonizing than the blow to his spirit.

Li Chong walked in front of Kong Bin, spat out some blood, and said incoherently, "Brother Bin, this brat is too arrogant. We..."

"Shut up!" Kong Bin suddenly glared at Li Chong and said, "Don't you think you deserved it? Also, you are you, and I am I; there is no 'we'!"

After Kong Bin finished speaking, he left the courtyard with Zhang Zheng.

In fact, Kong Bin had never liked Li Chong; a man actually wearing an earring, neither man nor woman.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Chong had some insights into the move sets that could stimulate his thinking and give him some inspiration, he would have stopped hanging out with him long ago.

Now that all six sets of moves had been learned, Li Chong's value was gone.

Kong Bin was a refined egoist; he would inevitably abandon anyone who had no practical value and only provided negative emotional value.

Li Chong stood there like a fool for a long time; even after Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng had been out of the courtyard for a while, he did not move an inch, his eyes hollow and lifeless, and he could not feel the pain in his highly swollen face at all.

Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng walked out of the courtyard, walking neither fast nor slow, the expression on Kong Bin's cold, hard face shifting between light and shadow.

"Did you see which move set he used?" Kong Bin suddenly asked.

"It didn't seem like a move set?" Zhang Zheng was also not very sure, his tone somewhat uncertain.

"It was indeed not a move set!" Kong Bin suddenly stopped in his tracks, his pupils shrinking.

Kong Bin knew all too well what it meant not to be a move set. Recalling the pause Zhao Mu had made him learn from Duan Rong's practice of the move sets, he still hadn't figured out what that sense of pause really was.

All of this indicated that Duan Rong's understanding of this saber technique was far superior to his own.

This was something Kong Bin absolutely could not tolerate!

Usually, in a batch of Miscellaneous Disciples, at most one or two could be selected as Apprentices.

Originally, Kong Bin had assumed he would definitely be selected, and it would be best if Zhang Zheng could be selected too. But now, Duan Rong had suddenly emerged, even threatening to surpass him.

He did not know the specific details and standards of the selection mechanism, but Duan Rong's existence was clearly some kind of potential threat to him.

Kong Bin never liked things like probability and luck; what he liked was means!

Since there was a crisis, he had to find a way to nip it in the bud.

Kong Bin turned his head to look at Zhang Zheng and said, "You go and cozy up to him."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zheng's eyes flashed, and he nodded.

Zhang Zheng was clever and flexible; this kind of thing was just right for him to do.

Both of their fathers were small-time thugs in the gang; Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng had hung out together since they were ten or so, and after a long time together, many things were already tacitly understood.

Duan Rong left the courtyard and found a quiet place to continue Standing Stake.

He stood until it was time for dinner before ending his practice, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked toward the cafeteria.

Duan Rong collected two steamed buns and a bowl of cabbage soup, then squatted on the stone steps, slurping the soup with the buns.

Just as Duan Rong had taken two bites, Zhang Zheng suddenly squatted down next to him, holding a black pottery jar the size of a handful, and said with a smile, "Brother Rong, I have some chili here; do you want some?"

Duan Rong looked at Zhang Zheng's face, which was smiling as brightly as a chrysanthemum, and was stunned for a moment; by this time, Zhang Zheng had already opened the jar, picked out a clump of chili with his chopsticks, put it into his own bowl, and stirred up a layer of bright red oil...

Zhang Zheng then slurped a mouthful of soup...

Looking at the clump of black-red chili flakes that had clearly been through a hot pan, Duan Rong immediately felt his appetite whetted, so he also picked out a clump of chili with his chopsticks and put it into his cabbage soup.

Seeing that Duan Rong wanted chili, Zhang Zheng rolled his eyes and took the opportunity to say, "Brother Rong, how have you suddenly become so good at performing routines? Even Escort Zhao Mu is praising you!"

Duan Rong nodded with an "mm-hmm," but he was only focused on burying his head in his meal.

Watching Duan Rong play dumb, Zhang Zheng was left speechless.

No matter how cunning a fox is, when it encounters a hedgehog curled into a ball, it has no way to sink its teeth in!

Duan Rong poured the last mouthful of soup down his throat and let out a comfortable breath; the cabbage soup with added chili was truly flavorful.

Holding his empty bowl, he looked at Zhang Zheng, who was staring at him longingly from the side, and feeling a bit awkward about ignoring him completely, he said, "I'm not sure either; I suppose I just suddenly had a breakthrough."

"Is that so?" Zhang Zheng looked at Duan Rong suspiciously and immediately chimed in, "Then, Brother Rong, if you have time, would you be willing to give me some pointers? My understanding of some moves and routines is far less profound than yours, Brother Rong!"

Zhang Zheng smiled and flattered him, waiting for Duan Rong's reply.

After all, they were both fifteen or sixteen-year-old youths; in Zhang Zheng's estimation, who wouldn't love to hear flattery? If he threw in a few small favors, he would surely fall for it obediently.

(End of chapter)