Blue sky, white clouds, bamboo forest.

A gentle breeze blew through the bamboo forest along the canyon, creating waves of green, with a faint scent of bamboo wafting through the air.

Within the bamboo forest, there was a man-made stone platform, seemingly used specifically for martial duels.

At the hour of Chen, just as the morning sun rose, sunlight filtered through the tall bamboo trees, scattering downwards.

"Bai Yutang has arrived."

The Outer Sect disciples, who had gathered early at the dueling ground, all turned to look behind them. In the Divine Sword Manor, cultivation was a daily constant, and deep in the mountains and forests, one naturally couldn't rely on the internet or various modern electronic devices to pass the time.

So here, watching martial duels was the best form of entertainment.

"So that's Bai Yutang."

"Tsk, he truly has a pretty face, no wonder he attracts women."

"This kid not only attracts women, but what's more infuriating is that he's always flanked by them. Who does he think he is? If he were a senior in the inner sect, that might be excusable, but in the outer gate, I've never even heard of him."

Sssh.

The crowd parted to create a path for Li Feng, but the Outer Sect disciples on both sides hissed collectively as Li Feng walked with a calm expression through the crowd to the dueling platform in the bamboo grove.

He looked up at the platform, where a man with a resolute face exuding masculinity was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Despite the noise all around, he remained calm.

Li Feng leaped onto the one-meter-high stone platform effortlessly. Sensing Li Feng's arrival, Lin Xiong slowly opened his eyes, a gleam of light cutting through like a knife.

Lin Xiong stood up with slow but agile movements, assessing Li Feng with his gaze.

"You are Bai Yutang."

Lin Xiong was ranked fourth in the Outer Sect, among the top of over two thousand disciples, so naturally, not everyone could catch his eye.

In fact, except for the three ahead of him, no one else in the Outer Sect was worth his attention.

Li Feng nodded slightly.

"I am."

"You are the one who beat my brother Lin Ao."

"I did. Does Brother Lin have an issue with that?"

Facing Lin Xiong's questioning, Li Feng retorted directly. It was at the point where they were going to solve the issue through combat, so there was no need for false humility.

Lin Xiong furrowed his brows slightly, looking at Li Feng: "I heard that your Divine Acupoint has awakened?"

"Yes."

Lin Xiong nodded slightly.

"I don't care about the grudge between you and my brother Lin Ao. I invited you here purely to have a match. Don't hold back; use every technique you have."

Lin Xiong had no interest in avenging his brother. In the Ancient Martial World, strength was revered. If you weren't strong enough and still provoked others, you brought it on yourself.

He challenged Bai Yutang more for mutual learning, as he was stuck at a bottleneck, and even after half a year in seclusion, there had been no progress.

Hearing that Bai Yutang had awakened his Divine Acupoint, Lin Xiong wanted to spar with him in hopes of finding a breakthrough.

After all, the senior brothers in the inner sect were much higher up, and he'd have to be out of his mind to challenge them.

Oh.

Li Feng looked at Lin Xiong in surprise, as if things weren't as he had imagined.

Lin Xiong continued, saying, "The technique I practice in the Outer Sect is the Qi Transformation Ten Stages. The Ten Stages focus on body refinement, opening muscles and stretching tendons, transforming qi into an invisible power, yielding extraordinary might."

The Ten Stages.

Of course, Li Feng had heard of the Ten Stages, a Kung Fu for health and qi cultivation, similar to Tai Chi—easy to learn, difficult to master.

When executed, the power is continuous and resilient like brocade, strong and unparalleled.

Finishing speaking, Lin Xiong took a deep breath, and his body's bones emitted a sound reminiscent of raindrops hitting banana leaves, making Li Feng realize that Lin Xiong was not someone with a mere undeserved reputation.

His muscles and bones must be trained to such an extent to produce such a sound with just a movement.

"Use your strongest move to attack."

Lin Xiong looked at Bai Yutang with dominating confidence; even though Bai Yutang had awakened his Divine Acupoint, he was still just a junior in Lin Xiong's eyes.

Li Feng squinted, eyeing the confident Lin Xiong, smirking inwardly. He liked such self-assured opponents.

Because confidence often hints at arrogance.

Li Feng immediately tapped his toes lightly, gliding forward like a dragonfly on water, closing the distance between them in a flash, and almost instantly approached Lin Xiong.

In a moment, he threw a punch.

The War God Power burst forth, and a Gang Wind sliced towards Lin Xiong like a knife.

Lin Xiong narrowed his eyes, oh ho.

In his brother Lin Ao's reports, Bai Yutang was described as a pretty boy who relied on women for protection just to barely survive in the Outer Sect.

But once the punch landed, Lin Xiong realized his brother had underestimated this man.

This Bai Yutang might be a master in disguise.

He had to admit that Bai Yutang's fist was fierce, but Bai Yutang faced him, Lin Xiong, the fourth-ranked Outer Sect master.

Lin Xiong raised his hand; a force like soft water diverted Li Feng's fierce punch. As his body moved with the force, it seemed like a leaf swaying in the wind, easily nullifying Li Feng's move.

Li Feng made a sound.

His punch, though not full force, wasn't easy to take. But when it landed, it felt like it had vanished into thin air.

Though the action of force is mutual, he couldn't feel any recoil, which was eerie.

It was even more exquisite than Tai Chi's Four Ounces Move a Thousand Pounds.

While Four Ounces Move a Thousand Pounds involves guiding and controlling force, not dissipating it, but guiding it into emptiness or for one's use,

the Ten Stages skill seemed like water cotton, absorbing all the strength.

Li Feng's wrist missed, but he didn't waste the opportunity. He immediately stepped forward, raising his elbow for another strike.

Lin Xiong raised his hand again,

catching the strike effortlessly.

"What did I say? Bai Yutang is not worthy to even carry Lin's shoes. If I were him, I'd have dug a hole to hide in by now."

"Lin's mastery of the Qi Transformation Ten Stages is superb. This move is clearly the 'Combining Water with Metal' stage of the Ten Stages."

"Bing represents Yang Fire, meeting Metal generates Water; Metal can give birth to Water, effective when refined by Fire."

"The Power of Water Transformation can neutralize any force, turning it into soft resilience, nullifying the opponent's strength entirely."

"Indeed, this Water Transformation is more exquisite than Tai Chi's Four Ounces Move a Thousand Pounds, and those who master it are as rare as phoenix feathers. Lin has not only mastered Water Power but has gathered the Five Elements Power."

"Hey, did Bai Yutang challenge without doing any homework at all?"

"Bai Yutang, having awakened his Divine Acupoint, naturally has reason to be arrogant."

"Ha, awakening the Divine Acupoint is impressive, but it doesn't guarantee superiority over the Outer Sect. It's just more suitable for mastering the Sword Control Technique."

"Just watch; Lin's Ten Stages is sure to leave Bai Yutang searching for his teeth on the ground."