Chapter 88: Growing (3)

Bang!

The front gate burst open with a rough and refreshing sound.

At the same time, a clear voice, tinged with madness, echoed.

"I am Colonel Wei Honglian! I'm here, Sir!"

Now, she enters as if it were her own home. If Ma Dongpi had seen her, he would have scolded her severely.

But Ma Dongpi had no spirit left to do so.

Pah!

Ma Dongpi, drenched in sweat, was swinging his sword across the training ground.

In contrast, his expression was solemn, and his sword techniques were heavy. It was truly astonishing that he could move so quickly while using such heavy martial arts.

Wei Honglian's eyes widened.

"Huh? What's that?"

Pah! Swoosh!

The sword slicing through the air, the steps sweeping in all directions.

"Why is he swinging his sword here? There's a perfectly good training ground for the law enforcers."

She walked up to the training ground.

Just as she was about to shout and tell him to stop and tell her where Sir was,

Wei Honglian's steps involuntarily slowed down.

Ma Dongpi's focused appearance was blinding. It seemed nothing could break his concentration, even if lightning struck in front of him.

"..."

Wei Honglian, who had been quietly watching him, smacked her lips.

"This is something I shouldn't interfere with."

Everyone knows the fiery temper of the Demon Lord.

But she was a martial artist and a disciple. She didn't want to break the concentration of a martial artist who was so devoted to practice.

Wei Honglian, trying to be as quiet as possible, circled the training ground and saw Yinghua.

"Hey!"

"Ah! You scared me."

"Why are you so surprised? Hey, where did Sir go this time?"

Is this your private room or something?

Yinghua pouted and said,

"He went to the Demon God Palace."

"Huh?! The Demon God Palace? Why?"

"I don't really know..."

Wei Honglian grumbled.

"Damn, did he go to see the Sect Leader? A person without a rank seems busier than me."

"..."

"Why?"

After hesitating for a moment, Yinghua closed her eyes tightly and said,

"No matter what... Sir... is being too disrespectful..."

"..."

"...Yes. Anyway, it's like that."

Wei Honglian opened her mouth wide and looked at Yinghua.

Yinghua tried to look as dignified as possible.

How could Yinghua not have heard of the Demon Lord's notorious reputation?

But the person she served was the Third Young Master, Xulang. Even though her status was low, she couldn't just let someone treat the Young Master rudely.

Seeing her dignified expression, Wei Honglian spat.

"Damn! Is this 'borrowing the tiger's might'?"

"That's not it..."

"Ah, forget it! I don't want to hear it!"

"Understood!"

"I can't even punch her tiny body. I have to endure, I have to."

Wei Honglian's face, which she was pounding, was flushed red.

Yinghua shrank back. She instinctively felt that she shouldn't provoke her now.

At that moment, Ma Dongpi walked over.

"When did you arrive?"

"What? Are you done practicing?"

"It's a break. I'll start again in half an hour."

"Damn. Hey! Why are you practicing here? Go to the law enforcer's training ground! Do you think this is your private room?"

Ma Dongpi said with a look of disbelief.

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know! I don't know anything! I'm so clueless! If you had come when I had time, I would have waited for a few days out of politeness.

But when I came, all I saw was a disrespectful little mouse and some strange sword moves..."

Suddenly, Wei Honglian's eyes widened.

"Huh? Huh?"

Her eyes were focused on the sword Ma Dongpi was holding. She realized it wasn't an ordinary sword at first glance.

"Hey, Ma."

"Ma Dongpi."

"What's that sword? Where did you get it?"

Ma Dongpi cleared his throat.

"Sir gave it to me."

"What? Sir gave you such a treasure as a gift? Just you?"

"..."

"What about me?"

Really, it's unbelievable.

Ma Dongpi shook his head and walked towards the training ground.

Wei Honglian shouted.

"Hey! Where's mine? Did you not prepare one for me? Hey! Hey, you! Are you even listening?!"

Hearing Wei Honglian's clear voice, Ma Dongpi smiled.

'...Please come quickly, Sir.'

I can't handle this woman.

* * *

As soon as Li Chongshang finished speaking, Liang instinctively drew his sword.

Or rather, he didn't know if it was instinct. It could be described as subconscious, intuition, or instinct, and all would fit.

In any case, Liang realized that the moment Li Chongshang finished speaking was the optimal moment to strike.

He recognized that it was the only gap in which he could bring down the giant Li Chongshang.

Recognition led to understanding, and understanding instantly triggered the attack instinct. The tiny gap between understanding, making a decision, and taking action was obliterated.

It was literally a flash. Liang's sword strike was so fast that it could split a moment.

And this attack, filled with his attack instinct, was more lethal than any sword strike he had ever used.

Boom!!

A tremendous explosion of sound and dust.

"Huff huff!"

Drip.

Cold sweat from his forehead trickled down his face and stopped at his chin. His vision wavered from the breath caught in his throat.

Liang, a master who could bring subconscious awareness into the realm of consciousness and recognize a fleeting moment, knew this strike was fundamentally different.

Exerting all his strength? No. Pouring all his inner energy? Not that either.

This strike, guided by instinct, contained his soul.

It couldn't be described any other way.

His muscles trembled from the explosive strike, but he wasn't completely drained. He had poured out a tremendous amount of inner energy, but his dantian was still intact.

Still, he was exhausted. Not physically, but mentally.

It was a strike that revealed everything about him.

'Did it succeed?'

The success of the strike meant Li Chongshang's death. Li Chongshang's death would cause a massive upheaval in the Heavenly Demon God Sect.

But such thoughts didn't even cross his mind. He was only curious whether his strike had cut Li Chongshang or not.

Swish.

Before the dust could clear, Liang's senses detected Li Chongshang's aura.

The same aura as before, unshaken and as strong as ever.

Liang's eyes widened.

'Failure!'

Crack!

He didn't know how he managed to step back and avoid it. It didn't matter.

Now, only the attack mattered.

Whoosh!

With a threatening sound, Liang's sword struck Li Chongshang's head again.

The dust scattered, revealing Li Chongshang's face.

His expression was as indifferent as ever.

Flash!

Liang's sword drew a smooth arc.

This was not a conscious movement.

Like a bolt of lightning that falls and twists randomly, his sword became a streak of lightning, slicing Li Chongshang diagonally.

His body had recognized that this was Li Chongshang's only weakness.

Whoosh!

The dust cloud was cut diagonally.

But Li Chongshang was not cut. He stood there, still and expressionless, looking at Liang.

Only his eyes had changed slightly, showing surprise at Liang.

Crack!

Liang, holding his sword with both hands, charged again.

At a distance too close for even a brief exchange of blows, this charge was essentially a body collision.

It was a dynamic rush that even a third-party observer would flinch at.

Liang raised his sword.

The sword, like a bolt of lightning rising from the ground, seemed about to split Li Chongshang in two.

Whoosh!!

But once again, Li Chongshang was unharmed.

The initial strike, the second strike targeting a gap, and the third consecutive strike all missed.

Each was as fast as lightning and carried more power than lightning, yet not a single thread of Li Chongshang's clothing was touched.

Swish.

Liang's left hand moved.

A quick and smooth movement, preparing to use the Heaven-Raising Technique.

At that moment.

Shudder!

A sensation that made his hair stand on end.

'No!'

Crack!

The hand that had been holding the sword's hilt retreated as quickly as the speed of a hand knife.

It was so quick that Liang's clothes were torn in various places.

But he didn't relax. Li Chongshang's eyes, fixed on him, still shone with a strong sense of purpose.

"Huff huff!"

The air in his lungs was insufficient. His muscles were flushed red, and his heart was pounding wildly.

And in front of him, Li Chongshang still stood with his hands behind his back.

Li Chongshang, who had been quietly watching Liang, casually waved his hand.

Whoosh!

With a heavy sound, all the dust around them was blown away.

"Quite impressive."

It was a hard-to-understand statement.

"I said I would teach you, not that you should try to kill me."

Liang blinked.

"Huff huff! What?"

"..."

"..."

Li Chongshang's eyes showed interest.

'An interesting kid.'

When the first strike came, he didn't show it, but he was quite surprised.

It wasn't just that the strike started immediately after he finished speaking. Of course, that action was also fresh, but the key was that Liang had accurately read the initial gap.

He hadn't just seen it.

'He was almost like a beast.'

Even an absolute being has gaps. But those gaps are not really gaps.

For an absolute being who has reached the pinnacle, the concepts of perfection and gaps no longer exist.

But for the opponent to read those gaps was a sufficiently surprising feat.

'Insight beyond skill? Intuition?'

No. It wasn't some cheap ability.

Liang's instinct to draw his sword the moment he recognized the gap was much more fundamental.

"Only rushing towards the concept of death like a moth."

"What?"

"I have a question."

Liang straightened his body.

The great Li Chongshang had a question. Today, he had seen many surprising things.

"You didn't plan to end it in three strikes. You were preparing a hand technique."

It was even more surprising that he could read that in a split second.

"Why did you stop?"

"Oh, that... I don't really know. I just felt I shouldn't."

Liang's face showed confusion.

In fact, he didn't know the reason. He just felt it was wrong.

"I don't really know either."

Li Chongshang's eyes deepened.

He didn't know why Liang had stopped his hand, but he knew what he had intended to do.

'Can you become so sensitive by focusing to the extreme?'

With just three sword strikes, Li Chongshang was also excited.

He wanted to see how Liang would react to the palm technique he was about to use.

Just as he was about to deploy his martial arts, Liang retreated.

'He didn't stop because he knew. If he did, is this also instinct?'

The corners of Li Chongshang's mouth twitched.

"An extraordinary kid."

"Ah, yes."

"Prepare for the next move."

"Huh?"

"I said I would teach you. You don't even know what you have. Therefore, I haven't given you proper instruction yet."

"!"

Li Chongshang extended his hand again.

One hand behind his back, the other extended forward. His relaxed posture exuded infinite freedom.

"Come for real this time."

Grip!

The veins on Liang's hand, holding the sword, bulged.

The lesson was not over yet.