CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 29: DON’T BE SO VAIN

Hongyuan City!

In the desolate wilderness, Xu Baiyan tapped the ground with her foot, propelling her body tens of meters forward. Beneath her feet, the ground was filled with pits caused by the shockwave.

"Damn it, after getting double eyelids, my vision isn’t that clear."

She was wearing a large pair of sunglasses, complaining in her mouth.

"Evil disciple, you cannot escape."

About 500 meters ahead of Xu Baiyan, a robust middle-aged man was running for his life.

Unfortunately, he could only watch as Xu Baiyan got closer and closer, unable to shake her off.

Damn, how could I encounter a Beiwu student here?

They were members of the Yangxiang Sect, originally a team of three, but the other two had already been killed.

Whizz.

The robust man glanced back, scared out of his wits.

Xu Baiyan leaped high, tapping the treetop lightly with her toe, propelling herself forward another dozens of meters.

Snap!

Xu Baiyan had already leaped into the air, and only then did the treetop slowly ripple outward, producing a crisp sound, like a long whip cracking.

With no obstacles in the air, Xu Baiyan was even faster.

Thus, she tapped the treetop five times in succession. By the fifth crisp sound, she was already close behind the robust man.

"This is the Withered Step, damn it!

"Third-Grade Martial Artist, five sounds, this isn’t an ordinary student."

In a blink, Xu Baiyan, holding a short knife, was already in front of him.

Swish!

The next moment, the robust man saw a silver blade light descending from the sky, slashing diagonally toward him.

At this moment, his whole body turned cold, breath halted; in his entire world, there was only this silver streak slashing down at a 45° angle.

It’s over.

The robust man was also a Third-Grade Martial Artist, he reacted quickly, even managing to swing his longsword.

Unfortunately, it was ultimately too late.

Like a galaxy flashing by, it took away his life.

Under the blade light, the robust man’s neck was as fragile as tofu.

"You..."

The robust man knew he was doomed, so his last sword strike was a pinnacle counterattack.

Sadly, the final sword light only managed to smash Xu Baiyan’s large sunglasses.

Crunch.

The sunglasses shattered, falling to the ground.

"Ah... a ghost!"

A shrill scream rang through the forest.

The robust man had seen in his life the most horrifying face.

Those eyes, what kind of evil ghost were they!

The eye sockets resembled two small tomatoes, cut in half, with red tinged with purple, looking incredibly shocking.

No, they were actually more like two red-purple eggs, embedded in the sockets, but with two narrow slits carved open, you couldn’t even see the eyeballs.

Thud!

Maintaining a look of terror, the robust man fell straight to the ground.

"Never seen a beautiful woman with double eyelids, making such a fuss."

Xu Baiyan took out a bottle of potion from her backpack.

The potion dripped onto the robust man’s head, causing all his hair to fall off instantly. In the center of his scalp, there was a faint red sun tattoo.

The size of a thumb, intricately inked.

"Is this a sunflower or the sun? The Yangxiang Race of the humid realm has such an aesthetic."

Click.

She took out a phone, clicked a picture and uploaded it to her school’s server.

A few minutes later, the robust man’s body started melting, just like a candle.

Lately, there have been more and more evil disciples in Renqing Province, but it’s a good thing, just perfect for earning more credits.

...

"Crying, crying isn’t a sin, savor the long-missed taste of tears..."

...

"Eh, a call from my brother?"

The ringtone sounded, Xu Baiyan frowned.

Shouldn’t he be in class now?

"Sis, what are you busy with?"

Anyway, the new headteacher had already given everyone a holiday, so Su Yue wasn’t planning on going back to school.

He’s trying every way to first break through to 16-card.

However, he’s hit a bottleneck in cultivation and needs someone to guide him.

As a routine, Su Yue first exchanged pleasantries.

"Just killed someone. Dealing with the body now."

Xu Baiyan looked at the robust man, who was already half melted. As he melted, the grass around sprouted wildly, very eerie.

"What, sis, you’ve killed someone?

"Do you have enough money to run away with? I have some cash here.

"Should I accompany you to surrender? Honesty gets leniency."

Su Yue was so scared that even his hair stood on end.

Not seen for a day, weren’t you getting double eyelids, and now you’ve killed someone?

Did the doctor’s technique not go well?

"It was an evil disciple from the Yangxiang Sect. What are you freaking out about? This is how you earn credits in college, stay calm."

Xu Baiyan was on the verge of collapse.

How could their father, so wise and heroic, have given birth to such an idiot?

"An evil disciple? That’s good, eradicating evil for the people.

"Sis, I have something to ask you. I’m at a bottleneck in my cultivation and want to try martial arts techniques, preferably ones that require speed, as I’m fast."

Su Yue sighed in relief as he asked.

As long as it’s not a murder case, though this Yangxiang Sect is indeed terrifying, even reaching Hongyuan City.

"Martial arts techniques?

"With less than 9-card Qi Blood, why do you need martial arts techniques? To show off on social media? Don’t be so vain."

Xu Baiyan felt her stomach ache with anger.

This fool hasn’t even learned to walk yet but already wants to fly.

As she spoke, she took out another phone and uploaded the body’s picture to the school forum.

Added with some motivational caption: ’Instead of envying others, ask yourself, what have you been doing with the same time!’

Come on, hit the like button!

"Sis, do you have it or not?"

Su Yue continued to ask.

"Fine, I’ll send you the materials for ’Withered Step.’ Once you reach the grade, it might be useful. Understanding it in advance can serve as motivation for you."

"Not going to talk anymore!"

Xu Baiyan hung up the phone and then sent Su Yue the Withered Step technique materials, in txt format.

The Withered Step: Requires talent, comprehension, and opportunity.

Throughout the second year at Beiwu University, only Xu Baiyan could perform it.

This was also why the robust man was terrified.

"Time to apply ointment, hurry up and reduce the swelling. Looking like this, I resemble Ultraman, my head is swollen."

Xu Baiyan dared not look in the mirror.

...

The Withered Step!

Once proficiency increases, you can tread on fallen leaves and walk in the air.

Legend has it that the creator of the Withered Step liked walking on withered leaves in the air, hence the martial skill was named Withered Step.

Actually, stepping on other things works too.

Treetops, eaves, even kites will do.

The core principle of the Withered Step is using the Qi Blood pulse in your foot to create a flow of air that serves as solid ground, allowing you to step on it and leap once more into the air.

Fallen leaves are just the core of this airflow.

Without this core, the airflow cannot be concentrated.

Su Yue pondered over it.

This is practically a downgraded version of the double jump in online games.

Others might not need fallen leaves, but this technique requires an aerial medium.

As long as you can step on a leaf and make a jump, you’ve succeeded.

"First step, focus Qi Blood in the legs, jump 10 meters high."

"Second step, find a medium, then use your foot to concentrate Qi Blood on the medium, forming a vortex for stepping, allowing you to jump another 10 meters."

Su Yue studied the technique’s instructions.

It seems like only two steps, appearing simple.

Yet Qi Blood concentration is an enormous challenge.

Never mind Qi Blood concentration, just the first step left Su Yue scratching his head, at a complete loss.

meters.

What concept is that!

A regular person’s high jump limit should be 2.4 meters.

The typical height of a house is 2.8 meters.

With this jump, I’d have to reach the 4th floor.

Only by first reaching the 4th floor could you qualify to practice the second step.

4th floor, is it parkour time!