Chapter 78: Double Staff Mastery

When the members on the second floor arrived one after another, they found.

The two people wearing protective gear were fighting vigorously.

One of them wielded a Wooden Sword, with a fierce onslaught, pressing step by step, while the other used a Double Staff, constantly blocking, as if having no chance to counter.

But after watching a bit longer, it was clear that the latter was clearly at ease; sometimes a single block could force the former back two steps.

"Junior Brother Jiang is so impressive, Senior Brother Lin is no match at all."

A member sighed.

"Exactly, I suspect Junior Brother Jiang could handle Senior Brother Lin with just one staff, but he deliberately used a Double Staff so as not to hurt Senior Brother Lin's pride."

"Need I say more? Junior Brother Jiang uses a Double Staff, yet can go fifty‑fifty with Senior Brother Zhao."

"Alright, let's not just watch. Quickly put on protective gear, and later we can also ask Junior Brother Jiang for instruction."

A few minutes later, Lin Quanliang stepped back two steps, extended his hand, "Junior Brother Jiang, shall we rest for a while? After fighting for over half an hour, I'm running out of strength."

"Alright."

Jiang Cheng nodded at the words.

"Thanks, Junior Brother Jiang, for the half‑hour of sparring. I know, if you went all out, I couldn't even last two or three minutes, let alone half an hour."

Lin Quanliang said gratefully.

Although he had greeted Jiang Cheng yesterday, he knew the other party might not think highly of him.

But today, as soon as Junior Brother Jiang arrived, he proactively suggested a duel, and kept yielding afterward.

"Senior Brother Lin, you're being modest; the sparring just now also helped me a bit."

"Really?"

Lin Quanliang widened his eyes, a bit pleased that Jiang Cheng said so, but also worried that Jiang Cheng might have said it just to comfort him.

"Of course it's true; if Senior Brother Lin feels rested, you can find me anytime to continue sparring," Jiang Cheng said with a smile.

"Alright, alright."

Upon hearing this, Lin Quanliang felt a little relieved.

Jiang Cheng glanced at the Panel; what he said earlier was certainly not just polite words.

The Experience Value gained in that half hour was more than three times what he achieved training alone; that Senior Brother Lin was a bit weak, but still better than those thugs.

"Junior Brother Jiang,"

A voice sounded, another member, walking up to Jiang Cheng, asked cheerfully, "Junior Brother Jiang, after you rest, could you spar with me and give me some pointers?"

From the corner of his eye, Jiang Cheng saw several other members also watching.

"Now is fine."

He said with a smile.

"Now? Really, really?" the person exclaimed, surprised and delighted, yet still uneasy, glancing at the exhausted Lin Quanliang nearby, and said, "Junior Brother Jiang, why don't you rest a bit? It's fine, I can wait."

Jiang Cheng shook his head and waved at the other.

He didn't need rest not because his stamina surpassed Lin Quanliang's—after all, in terms of stance power and Fist Technique, he was still inferior.

Mainly because in the earlier fight, Lin Quanliang kept attacking while he only needed to defend, and with some special power‑delivery techniques, his exertion was less than a tenth of the opponent's.

"Alright, I'm coming."

The person greeted and charged forward, also holding a Wooden Sword.

In the second floor, the clashing sounds of weapons echoed continuously.

Zhao Xiangyu and Zeng Zhiten, passing the second floor, were a bit surprised by the scene.

"Junior Brother Jiang is quite good."

Zhao Xiangyu laughed, "With his skill, ending the fight wouldn't need so much time; clearly he's giving them pointers, which is rare."

"Hmm."

Zeng Zhiten nodded, a hint of approval appearing in his eyes.

Soon after, Bai Wei arrived, paused to watch for a while, then went upstairs.

Later, Xiao Yuanqing arrived, his brows slightly furrowed at the sight.

"Senior Brother Xiao!" "Senior Brother Xiao!"

The second‑floor members greeted one another.

Sparring with Junior Brother Jiang was fine, but the opponent was ultimately just one person, limited in technique; with Senior Brother Xiao arriving, they could also train together.

"Senior Brother Xiao."

Jiang Cheng and the person he was sparring with both halted their movements and greeted.

"Are you sparring?" Xiao Yuanqing's gaze fell on Jiang Cheng as he asked.

"Yes, Senior Brother Xiao, but also not exactly."

The person sparring beside him smiled shyly and said, "Junior Brother Jiang's Staff Method is impressive; he's constantly yielding to me."

"Indeed, indeed."

The others also chimed in.

They even mentioned Jiang Cheng's record.

It was a kind gesture, hoping to familiarize the two and clear previous misunderstandings.

"Oh?"

Xiao Yuanqing, after listening, said with a half‑smile, "You can go fifty‑fifty with Junior Brother Zhao? Then I'd like to see for myself, Jiang Cheng, right? Come, I'll be your opponent."

The crowd was stunned.

Along with surprise, there was anticipation.

They also wanted to see how Jiang Cheng would perform against Senior Brother Xiao.

"Senior Brother Xiao misunderstood; at that time, Senior Brother Zhao was just letting me win, and besides, I've been sparring with people for so long that I'm also tired."

Jiang Cheng directly refused.

Others couldn't tell, but he knew clearly in his heart—this guy is absolutely no good.

If he really agreed, he wouldn't likely be hard on himself, but it's still quite possible for him to embarrass himself in public.

"Junior Brother Jiang, are you looking down on me?"

Xiao Yuanqing asked in a joking tone: "Do you think I'm not your match, so you're making up this excuse?"

"Senior Brother Xiao misunderstood; I'm just really tired."

Jiang Cheng shook his head, then after speaking went straight to rest aside—after all, he couldn't afford to provoke them, so couldn't he just avoid them?

"Senior Brother Xiao, Junior Brother Jiang started sparring with me as soon as he arrived this morning; I rested half an hour ago, but Junior Brother Jiang managed to last this long—he's impressive." Lin Quanliang quickly spoke up for Jiang Cheng.

"Yeah, yeah, Senior Brother Xiao, Junior Brother Jiang isn't that kind of person."

"Senior Brother Xiao, I happen to want to ask you for advice."

Others also realized the situation was a bit off, and quickly changed the subject.

Xiao Yuanqing let out a cold snort in his heart, thinking, This kid actually has a bit of cleverness, knowing I want to give him some color to see, he directly refused.

However, this doesn't really matter.

As long as he doesn't let me find out in the future that he's getting close to Bai Shimei, it'll be fine; otherwise, I'll settle all the scores together.

Time passed.

Seeing that the other party didn't come to pester him anymore, Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief inside and threw himself wholeheartedly into sparring with the other members.

Finally, when the time came to past eleven, approaching twelve, the Double Staff finally broke through.

Jiang Cheng froze on the spot, not even noticing when the opponent's weapon landed on him.

At that moment, a flood of memories appeared in his mind, to the extent that he felt as if he had been practicing the Double Staff for several years.

"Junior Brother Jiang, are you alright?"

The opponent, however, was startled, after all that move of his, Jiang Cheng should have been able to block it easily.

"It's fine."

Jiang Cheng came to his senses, gave a wry smile, and said, "Maybe I practiced too long; my arm is a bit stiff, let's stop here for today."

Saying that with his mouth, he secretly thought in his heart, It seems that from now on, skill breakthroughs like this must never happen in battle; otherwise, a moment's daze could be enough to die ten or eight times over.

(End of chapter)