Chapter 34 Concealing Strength and Building Up Momentum, Cleansing Up the Technique

Five o'clock in the morning, Longnan No. 1 High School.

Before dawn, a light mist permeated the campus.

Li Ang carried two portions of piping hot breakfast and skillfully placed them in the incubator on Wu Changhe's office desk.

This was his extra service as a "gold medal teaching assistant."

Afterward, he turned and walked into the adjacent super-grade combat room.

At this time, the combat room was empty.

Li Ang closed the door and was in no hurry to swing his blade. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the mat in the center, closing his eyes to concentrate.

At this moment, the "Blade Dao Genius (Blue)" talent was operating frantically.

That long-lost pleasure of having thoughts move as fast as lightning surged into his heart once again.

Under the enhancement of the talent, the originally obscure and difficult Hiding the Edge Secret Manual...

...seemed to transform into a clearly visible chart of Qi and Blood circulation in his mind.

"Hiding the Edge is not just about restraint; it is for the sake of that moment of blooming."

"Overlapping Waves requires swinging the blade to build momentum, while Hiding the Edge is about 'nurturing' this momentum in the Meridians in advance."

Li Ang took a deep breath.

He controlled the Qi and Blood within his body, which, though compressed, remained majestic.

He ran it in reverse according to the Hiding the Edge route, finally gathering it in several specific Meridians in his right arm.

"Buzz—"

The muscles in his right arm trembled slightly, emitting a low hum like a fully drawn bowstring.

Immediately after, he suddenly drew his blade!

“Clang—!”

The moment the long blade left its sheath, the blade body rubbed against the mouth of the scabbard.

At the very instant the blade was drawn, a sharp sonic boom exploded in the air!

A visible wave of air followed the blade's edge as it slashed out, striking the alloy post and leaving a deep blade mark directly on it.

Peak performance from the very first move!

The first layer of waves, instantaneous!

"It's done."

A flash of joy crossed Li Ang's eyes.

But this is not enough."

Li Ang did not stop for a moment. With a flick of his wrist, the long blade returned to its sheath with a "clack."

Immediately after, his Qi and Blood flowed in reverse and compressed again, and his right arm once more filled with blood and trembled.

“Clang!” — Draw.

“Clack.” — Sheathe.

“Clang!”... “Clack.”

In the empty combat room, a continuous, monotonous sound like blacksmithing began to echo.

If during the first simulation, his "swinging the blade ten thousand times a day" relied on a sort of death-defying brute force...

...using the overextension of his body to exchange for muscle memory, that was "dead practice," a stupid method.

But now, the same "ten thousand times" had a completely different meaning.

Every time the blade was sheathed, it was the ultimate compression of Hiding the Edge.

Every time it was drawn, it was the instantaneous explosion of Overlapping Waves.

The "Blade Dao Genius" talent allowed him to precisely correct the angle of every draw, controlling the error within an extremely low range.

And "Hardworking and Enduring" allowed him to maintain absolute focus throughout this repetition, which was tedious enough to drive one mad.

One hundred times... five hundred times... one thousand times...

As the number of repetitions increased, Li Ang's movements became faster and more concise.

At first, one could still see the violent heaving of his arm muscles and the bulging of his veins.

But later on, his movements became as smooth as flowing water.

Drawing the blade was no longer about relying on brute force, but rather on that "momentum" compressed to the extreme.

The blade light merged into a single sheet, as if weaving a silver waterfall in front of him.

The efficiency was worlds apart!

The previous ten thousand slashes were to learn how to hold the blade.

The current ten thousand slashes were to make the blade an extension of his arm, making the explosion as natural as breathing.

"Buzz—"

Finally, at the three-thousandth draw.

As Li Ang's blade edge sliced through the air, it actually didn't make that ear-piercing sound of breaking the air.

Instead, it produced a strange, low hum.

Li Ang slowly sheathed his blade. His forehead was covered in sweat, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

Just one morning of cultivation was worth a month of hard work in the past.

Although he was still far from the highest Realm of "starting with nine layers of waves."

But being able to explode with the power that usually required three built-up slashes in the instant of drawing the blade was already a huge advantage in actual combat.

This was the terrifying aspect of the "Blade Dao Genius (Blue)" talent.

A trick that ordinary people would take months to figure out took him less than ten hours.

Li Ang sheathed his blade and began the tedious cultivation once again.

"Continue!"

He did not rest and gripped the hilt of the blade again.

...

Seven o'clock in the morning, morning practice time.

The door to the combat room was pushed open, and students began to walk in one after another.

At first, no one paid attention to Li Ang in the corner.

But soon, some students who specifically came looking for Assistant Instructor Li...

...were very sharp-eyed and noticed something was wrong.

"Hey, isn't that Assistant Instructor Li?"

"Why is he spacing out over there? Wait... what's with the blade marks on that alloy post?"

Several students who had tasted the benefits last night—such as Zhang Li and Liao Lanqian—immediately gathered around.

"Good morning, Assistant Instructor Li!" Zhang Li greeted him with a fawning expression.

"What kind of blade technique are you practicing?"

"It looks ordinary, so why is there such a big commotion?"

Li Ang slowly finished his exercise, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gave a faint smile.

"It's nothing, just the most basic drawing technique."

"As long as you solidify your Foundation, you can do it too."

"For real?"

"Assistant Instructor Li, that exertion technique you taught me last night was amazing! I feel like my Qi and Blood are flowing especially smoothly now!"

"Assistant Instructor Li, can you help me look at this move?"

In an instant, Li Ang was surrounded by people.

Those students who had originally scoffed at the "theory emperor"...

...couldn't help but waver now as they watched the admiring looks from Zhang Li and the others.

"Is this Li Ang really that amazing?"

"I heard that he gave a few casual pointers last night, and Zhang Li broke through his Bottleneck?"

"Pfft, I think it's just a blind cat running into a dead rat."

Voices of doubt still existed, but they had clearly decreased significantly.

What was more interesting was that as the "big brother" of Grade 11 Class 3, Liao Fan was rarely absent today.

It was said that he had a sudden realization after going home last night and had hired a private tutor for secluded cultivation at home.

This subtle coincidence caused many students who were originally on the fence to start considering things.

"It seems this Li Ang has real ability."

"How about... we give it a try too?"

"But Group Leader Wu said this is a paid service."

We have to buy that 'Wu's Ratio Golden Qi and Blood Potion Package' or something..."

"Then buy it! We're not short on this little bit of money. What if we really can break through?"

Unknowingly, Li Ang's status in the class had undergone a change.

He had transformed from a marginalized "freak" into a somewhat mysterious and authoritative existence.

...

Evening, after school.

Having finished his day's classes and teaching assistant work, Li Ang was in no hurry to leave.

He came to Wu Changhe's office.

"Yo, is our great Assistant Instructor Li done with his work?"

Wu Changhe was happily counting today's potion orders. Seeing Li Ang come in, the smile on his face grew even wider.

"Five more students ordered the Golden Package today."

"You kid, your advertising is better than mine!"

"That's because Teacher's potions were effective to begin with; I just helped them poke through that layer of window paper."

Li Ang said modestly.

"Alright, stop flattering me. Tell me, what do you need?" Wu Changhe was in a great mood.

Li Ang's expression turned serious as he spoke the excuse he had prepared long ago:

"Teacher, I feel that my Qi and Blood accumulation has reached a Bottleneck."

"Simply practicing the blade and Body Tempering doesn't have much effect anymore."

"I want to learn some real stuff."

"I want to learn post stances and fist techniques."

Wu Changhe was stunned for a moment, then frowned. "Post stances? Fist techniques? What are you learning those for now?"

"Those are matters of long-term grinding; you won't see results for eight or ten years."

"It's not long until the end of the term now. You should focus your energy on actual combat..."

"Teacher," Li Ang interrupted him, his gaze firm.

"My theory tells me that a ten-thousand-foot building starts from the ground up.

Without post stances to lock in Qi and Blood, and without internal force to clear the Meridians, no matter how much Qi and Blood I have, it's all hollow.

I want to go further, not just for the end-of-term joint exam, but also for... the College Entrance Examination."

Looking at Li Ang's eyes full of ambition, Wu Changhe fell silent.

He thought of the hidden injuries he had left behind in his youth because he was greedy for speed.

He thought of those colleagues who had remained stuck in the Qi and Blood Realm for their entire lives because their Foundations were unstable.

"Good!"

Wu Changhe slammed the table.

"What insight! Young people nowadays all think about quick success; very few are willing to settle down and lay the Foundation."

"Since you want to learn, I will teach you!"

"This Coiled Dragon Post Stance and Eight Extremes Fist were my famous ultimate skills back in the day.

I originally planned to teach them to you after you got into university, but since you want to learn them now, then take them!"

Saying this, Wu Changhe took out two already yellowed Secret Manuals from the safe and solemnly handed them to Li Ang.

"Remember, post stances are tedious, and fist techniques are fierce. Those without great perseverance cannot master them."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Li Ang took the Secret Manuals with both hands, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.

With these two Secret Manuals as cover, the post stances and internal force techniques he had learned in the simulator...

...could finally be used openly.

But Nine Layers of Overlapping Waves would still have to wait; the time was not yet right.

...

In the following days, Li Ang's life became even more regular and fulfilling.

During the day, he attended classes and practiced martial arts; in the evening, he worked as a teaching assistant to earn money and build his reputation.

Late at night, he would Cultivate Hiding the Edge, polish his Eight Extremes Fist, and stand in the Coiled Dragon Post Stance in his rented room.

With the dual enhancement of [Hardworking and Enduring] and [Blade Dao Genius]...

...plus the two years of memory from the simulator as a base, his progress speed was startlingly fast.

Although his Qi and Blood in reality was still disguised at the seventh stage, his Foundation was becoming deep and solid at a terrifying speed.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

Late Sunday night, in the rented room.

Li Ang closed that copy of Hiding the Edge, which had already been thumbed through until it was worn out.

He glanced at the [Start Simulation] button on the System panel that had finally lit up.

The cooldown time was over.

"The fourth simulation..."

Li Ang stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the pitch-black night outside.

"Wuyue City, Liu Qing, the Heart-Eroding Cult, the Liu Family's secrets, and the mystery of the disappearances in Sunset Canyon..."

"This time, I will peel back these mists, layer by layer!"

"System, start the fourth simulation!"