Chapter 9: Martial Arts Specialization

Thud.

The sound of Tao Baibai landing from high in the air was as light as a cat landing on the ground.

This ultimate transition of speed and power gave one an inexplicable sense of dread.

This was a human Martial Artist who had mastered his own body to the absolute limit.

"Tang Baduan said my trials were all completed, so why is it just you?"

Tao Baibai spoke with his eyes closed, his braided hair wrapped around his neck, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Bai Cangshu took out the several boxes of money he had prepared in advance from the house one by one and said with a smile,

"Those tasks have all been completed; this is the reward for the tasks."

Bai Cangshu avoided the important points and dwelled on the trivial; he knew that Tao Baibai's so-called trial actually had only two real purposes.

First, to obtain the reward.

Tao Baibai was a powerhouse obsessed with money; as the world's number one assassin, the reward for executing a single mission was one hundred million, and he also had the habit of saving money—this could be seen from the fact that he took out all his savings to transform himself into a cyborg when he was blasted to the brink of death by that grenade used by Sun Wukong; second, to ensure that only "one person" remained who had ultimately completed the trial.

This point was revealed when he deliberately proposed that he would only teach the one person who obtained the most bounty rewards; if he only taught one person, then in the end, only one person could emerge victorious, and no matter how many tasks the others completed, it would be useless.

Tao Baibai liked worldly things like money and fame, yet at the same time, he followed the rules to a certain extent and was not a completely chaotic evil character.

Therefore, there were many forms in which his trial could essentially be completed.

It might even be that if the eight people who remained at the beginning had directly fought each other on the spot, leaving one behind, and then given Tao Baibai a sum of money, they might have been able to receive Tao Baibai's instruction.

It was because Bai Cangshu and that dual-blade wielder had understood this point that one chose to directly kill the employer to seize the money, while the other directly killed the driver and returned to the mountain to wait for the rabbit.

Both were convinced that as long as only one person ultimately returned to the mountain, then they would definitely be able to satisfy Tao Baibai's requirements.

Tao Baibai opened his eyes and took another look at this man with thick eyebrows and big eyes; the other party had not scrambled for those tasks that day, so he had probably already prepared himself to kill the others.

"Hmph, a good seedling indeed."

【Your actions have gained Tao Baibai's appreciation; Tao Baibai's impression of you has improved】

【Current: Friendly (15/100)】

Far from being dissatisfied with this behavior of Bai Cangshu's, Tao Baibai felt that this was what a truly talented young person should be like.

He walked across the large plaza on the mountaintop with his hands behind his back; this place could, to a certain extent, be considered his dojo. He conducted similar selection activities every year, but the purpose was not to take on disciples, but to increase his own reputation.

Tao Baibai paced back and forth, sizing up Bai Cangshu from time to time.

Bai Cangshu still wore a smile, but the corner of his eye was watching the task time limit.

【Time remaining for Team 64323 to enter the world: 81 hours and 30 minutes】

With more than three days left, that reincarnation team capable of executing the mission to kill Tao Baibai would descend; Bai Cangshu's time was actually quite tight.

"Do you know what kung fu is?"

Tao Baibai spoke.

Bai Cangshu answered naturally.

"It is a technique for killing."

Tao Baibai nodded in satisfaction; he most despised those hypocritical styles of people who claimed to be martial arts masters. Even his own brother, Heshanren, was in his eyes just posturing—clearly wanting to act by relying on force, yet pretending to be virtuous and respected.

"Not bad, kung fu is meant for killing!"

"Conversely, whatever can kill is naturally kung fu."

Tao Baibai likewise had his own understanding of the martial way, and he could be considered to have walked his own path. "Humans, how fragile they are!"

"This hand of mine can kill."

Tao Baibai casually threw a punch into the air; a dull sound of breaking air immediately appeared, and the air rippled outward like a shockwave. Bai Cangshu's breath hitched, and his hair blew back.

"This foot of mine can also kill."

Tao Baibai stomped down again.

Boom! Amidst the ground shaking violently, the ground beneath Bai Cangshu suddenly bulged, launching him into the air.

In his haste, Bai Cangshu adjusted his center of gravity in mid-air, his muscles tensed, but his knees bent softly to absorb the force as he landed on the ground.

Thud—the sound was light, and the movement was quite similar to the posture Tao Baibai had used when landing earlier.

Tao Baibai glared with cold eyes, taking this scene in, and continued, "This breath of mine can naturally... kill as well!"

Tao Baibai suddenly inhaled briefly, then exhaled and shouted at Bai Cangshu.

"Ha!"

At this moment, Bai Cangshu suddenly felt his whole body stiffen; a terrifying Qi erupted from Tao Baibai's mouth. Although this move was definitely not as fearsome as his 【Dodonpa】, Bai Cangshu still felt as if he were being targeted by a modern firearm.

His muscles stiffened, his heart sank into the Infinite, and the hairs on his back stood on end. A stinging, burning pain made Bai Cangshu feel with unprecedented clarity—this was the feeling of death approaching.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! His heart began to beat rapidly and violently, a large amount of adrenaline began to be secreted, and fresh blood was pumped by the heart to every corner of his body.

Bai Cangshu's skin surface swelled slightly and turned red due to the congestion, and his eyes began to roll back involuntarily.

At the same time, in Bai Cangshu's brain, he did not ponder pointless questions such as what Tao Baibai was trying to do or why the other party would want to kill him when he had clearly completed the trial.

In Bai Cangshu's field of vision at this moment, everything seemed to have come to a standstill; even the scene of Tao Baibai opening his mouth and a large amount of golden Qi beginning to erupt from it became as slow as bullet time.

Bai Cangshu's white-rolling pupils trembled continuously, and the images of Tao Baibai's previous movements appeared in his mind—that seemingly casual punch and the scene of that foot stomp.

Without a doubt, from a primitive perspective, the martial way was originally a killing technique.

And this kind of killing technique was essentially bringing the various inherent abilities of the human body to the extreme.

Once speed and power were brought to the extreme, simple movements also possessed the most terrifying lethality.

And the various stances practiced by Martial Artists were just to better unleash the body's energy.

Facing the immense pressure, the scene of Tao Baibai lifting his foot to stomp in Bai Cangshu's mind was played in slow motion. At the same time, his own right foot was also raised high, and then he slammed it down.

Boom! With this stomp from Bai Cangshu, the high-bulging ground shattered violently, and gravel flew in all directions.

At the same time, the Qi in Tao Baibai's mouth also exploded simultaneously.

Pop! With a crisp sound, a streak of golden Qi instantly pierced through the ground.

Hoo—hoo—Bai Cangshu panted heavily, his entire body's muscles still twitching as if in spasm.

【You have completed the Special Trial · Task One: Tao Baibai's Trial】

【You have obtained the special Specialty, Martial Arts Mastery Lv1】

【Martial Arts Mastery Lv1: Your control over your muscles is greatly enhanced, allowing you to exert force with incredible movements and sense the traces of Qi】

Tao Baibai stood where he was and slowly dispersed his stance; he had originally only intended to demonstrate the use of Qi, but he had not expected this fellow to actually possess a bit of talent, not only having a special ability to burst forth with physical potential, but also being able to imitate a move he had only seen once to exert force.

"Hmph, you do have a bit of natural talent; no matter, I shall take you under my tutelage and pass on some skills to you!"

(End of chapter)