章 20: A Man Doing Body Exercises
編集者: Geoffrey_, Lancent
“There’s a bit of meaning. His defensive and resistive strength are considered the best in the civilian martial arts. He’s ten times better than the weak chickens of your cultivator gym.” Peng Hai also stood up and slowly moved his joints. Every bundle of muscle fiber of his was like a myriad of vipers flowing and roaming underneath his pure white jade-like skin. Spiritual Energy stirred incomparably.
“Of course! This guy’s a professional! How about you first go to the sparring room to prepare. Don’t forget to use the ‘Pattern Mask Glyph’. Don’t let other people discover your true identity,” the bald tattooed man had said to the side. He pushed open the door and walked into the strength training room.
The ripped dude who was hitting the sandbag faced the bald tattooed man and said, “Gym leader Zhao, this mister has been looking for you.”
The tattooed bald man nodded his head. He gave a gaze over to the spideresque design on Li Yao’s face and laughed saying, “You’re here. We have discussed the price quite clearly. You don’t have any problems right?”
“Everything’s good, there are no problems. Let us directly make the transaction,” said Li Yao coldly as he donned the appearance of an old experienced actor.
“Then that's good. Come with me.” The bald tattooed man led the way in front. He went through a corridor and brought Li Yao to a hundred square meter sparring room.
The atmosphere of the sparring room was more crude. Placed all around on the walls were straw mats meant for cushioning against impacts. The flooring was just a straightforward rough cement floor that had seen use for quite a while since there were bumps everywhere. Cracks could also be found chaotically all around.
The tattooed bald man took out from the corner a set of protective sparring gear, sewn from nine layers of leather, and offered it to Li Yao, indicating that he should wear it.
“We are all part of the same circle, so I don’t need to keep blabbering on. Anyways, as long as you can endure past three minutes, you will receive 10,000 credits. But if you can’t withstand three minutes, then you won’t receive even half a penny. This senior is saying, you’ve worked at quite a few martial art schools as a gold medal sparring partner. What we have here is all standard. You don’t have any problems right?”
“Three minutes? Gold medal sparring partner?” Li Yao blinked his eyes and realized that the opposing party was had mistaken his identity.
The pattern mask glyph wasn’t necessary random in nature. There was a total of over 1,300 different styles. On occasion, it was possible that two different people may receive the same design allowing for mistaken identities. This was known as being “doppelgangers”.
This owner was probably waiting for someone else, a gold medal sparring partner with a spideresque design on his face. Li Yao actually mistakenly became this person.
“I am sorry — ” Li Yao’s next intention was to explain himself, but then his thoughts suddenly stirred.
What did this bald tattooed man just say? If I can withstand 3 minutes, I can get 10,000 credits? Being a sparring partner was surprisingly this profitable?
Li Yao was a bit envious.
He struggled through life and death in the Artifact Graveyard. With painstaking effort, he could only make around 10,000 a month. Even though this time he had painfully gutted Si Jiaxue a blade and earned 100,000 credits, this type of cash cow wasn’t something that Li Yao could happen on anytime he wanted. Right in front of him was the opportunity to earn 10,000 credits just by enduring for 3 minutes. It was enough to buy a dozen more of the strengthening drugs. What was he waiting for? Just do it!
His body had just undergone a change, becoming different. His defensive and resistive strength had increased by a large margin when compared to his previous self. His top layer of skin had become a thick coarse layer of flesh!
And the gym members who would come to Cultivation Gyms of this quality were mostly at the amateur level. Maybe they just got off of work and they might need to go get groceries in a bit. How much strength could they possibly have?
Li Yao line of thought went like this as he looked up and gazed forward to the opposite side. He almost let out a laugh.
A man with a tall thin stature stood in the corner of the sparring room. His upper body was bare, revealing a lack of muscle. His skin seemed to be somewhat deathly pale. On this gentleman's face was also a ‘Pattern Mask Glyph’. Red and black decorative lines interweaved into the appearance of a laughing clown.
The feeling this clown gave was that this was a completely normal person, a trivial commoner. This person lacked completely the air of an expert.
Li Yao could not help but smile as he entered. This gentleman was in the middle of warming up in completely serious manner. He was doing the Federation’s most fundamental exercise, The 5th Sequence of Body Exercises!
This sequence of body exercises was developed by expert cultivators of the Federation specifically for commoners to keep in shape and to loosen their bodies. Every citizen of the Federation had started learning this since kindergarten. This absolutely was not a type of military-grade technique. It was the most basic of limb movement exercises that did nothing more than to unfold bones, muscles, and tendons.
Nowadays, if one had increased their skill level, they would have displayed more complicated movements such as the 9th Sequence of Body Exercises, which needed slightly more martial skill. As for the completely basic 5th Sequence of Body Exercises, only an elementary school student would continue to use it as a warm-up exercise.
It was clearly the warm-up exercise an elementary school student would use. The smiling clown was actually executing it down to the letter. Not a single hair was out of place. Every movement stretched his body to the limit. It was like the clown was cultivating in some sort of earth-shattering unrivaled feat.
“This 10,000 credits is simply free money off the ground! If I don’t collect it, God will strike me down!” Li Yao shouted madly within his heart.
The bald tattooed man took the protective leather set and draped it on Li Yao’s body. He frowned and asked, “Is there a problem?”
“Uh...” Li Yao muttered to himself for a moment and asked, “I can only take blows? I can’t hit back?”
The bald tattooed man stared blankly for a moment. His expression was both of that of a smile and not a smile. It was like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. He took from an equipment chest in the corner, a big iron plate insert and strengthened ceramic sheets. He stuck them into specialized pockets on the surface of the protective leather gear.
In this way, Li Yao had three layers of protection on his body — a strengthened ceramic sheet, an iron plate insert, and nine layers of leather.
The bald tattooed man said, “If it makes you happy, go ahead and hit back~ Anyways, I strongly encourage you to first do the utmost to withstand his attack before thinking about this. Okay~ You guys play slowly. I’ll come back in in three minutes. I hope...”
He ended the subject and looked at Li Yao with eyes that conveyed meaning without words. He patted Li Yao once on the shoulder with a strength that was not light nor strong when he withdrew from the sparring room and closed the door.
“It really is a hobbyist level Cultivation Gym. Nevertheless, it's three minutes of sparring training and nothing more. Is there a need to wear this much safety gear?” Li Yao tried jumping two times and he also swung out a series of sluggish fists. He felt the effect of the protective gear on his body.
He found out that this set of protective gear was made in an utterly elaborate manner. Even though adding the iron plate and strengthened ceramic sheet caused his weight to increase by ten pounds, it did not affect the movement of his limbs. Other than reducing his speed faintly by a bit, it did not affect his offensive and defensive capabilities.
And his opponent was still leisurely warming up. He moved from the fourth movement, the Stretching Exercise, to the sixth movement, Chest Expansion Exercise. If Li Yao was not mistaken, there was still five small movements left!
“This senior, you have been warming up since I entered. Can it be you need to finish the entire sequence of body exercises? Is there a need to be this serious?” Li Yao could not help asking.
The smiling clown was in the middle of maintaining a striding open and arched stance, a state with his chest open. When he heard Li Yao’s words, he ceased his movements. He asked exasperatingly slow, “ You don’t need to warm up?”
“There’s no need. In a real battlefield, you won’t have this much time to warm up!” Li Yao replied somewhat impatiently. He had struggled for survival in the Artifact Grave. Anyways, if he said he would fight, he would fight. If he said he would run, he would run. Fatty Long, Ye Wolf... These bastards. Who would give him time to warm up?”
The smiling clown tilted his head and let out a soft “ah” in surprise. It seemed he did not expect Li Yao to be able to speak out words with this much reason. He pondered for a short moment and nodded saying, “What you said is correct. I am done preparing. Three minutes... starts now!”
“Whoosh!”
In practically the moment when the words “Starts Now” traveled into Li Yao’s ears, the ear piercing sound of the wind breaking bore into his eardrum. Just an instant ago, the smiling clown was still several dozen meters away engaging in his arched stance doing his chest expansion exercise. The next instant he had actually completely disappeared.
Li Yao absolutely was not capable of seeing through the movement trajectory of this smiling clown. All he felt was a stab of pincushion-esque pain coming from his sternum. It was like an incorporeal hand had pierced through his three layers of protection in an instant! It directly pierced into his chest and firmly gripped onto his heart!
“— What the devil is this!?”
章 21: Dividing Four By Zero
編集者: Geoffrey_, Lancent
The depths of his mind had only produced half a thought when his sternum felt like it was fiercely rammed by a high-speed crystal train. All of a sudden, he was flying seven to eight meters away. The wall went “Bang!” as he crashed into it and sent seven to eight straw mats flying. All of a sudden, straw reeds were flying in the air!
Li Yao fell heavily to the ground. His eyes, his nose, his mouth — all sorts of liquids squirted from his orifices. He lost feeling in his entire chest. The numbing sensation was like a lightning fast virus spreading within his body; he felt his entire body freezing up!
“Too, too fast. I couldn’t even see if it was his fist or his foot. What kind of person is this bastard? He has this much strength, yet he still cultivates in this hobbyist gym. So that’s why if I endure three minutes I can make 10,000 credits!” Li Yao’s brain was just a sheet of blankness. Only after gasping half a day’s worth of air was he able to barely support himself against the wall and stand up.
Li Yao’s pair of legs were completely shaking. When he looked at the clock that hung on the opposing side of the wall... he saw that only five seconds had passed. Why did it feel like five minutes had passed instead!?
The smiling clown stood lightly 10 meters away. He was a bit surprised and frowned when he asked, “Your defensive power doesn’t seem to be that strong. If you can’t keep going, it would be better to call it off. There’s no need to struggle.”
“Who says I can’t keep going!? I wasn’t ready just then. Again, come again!” Li Yao took a deep breath. He swallowed a ball of liquid pain back down his throat. His eyes gradually began to emit a red glow. His brain was filled completely with thoughts of “Three minutes, 10,000 credits”!
10,000 credits can buy a dozen or so strengthening drugs; or 3,500 cans of the Giant Creature of Starry Skies meat; or an entire set of Cultivator Glyphs with high scalability made from special materials; or 10 banquets at the Little Border of Hidden Lake restaurant!
In the Artifact Grave, he was called by others to be the “vulture who values money more than life”. When faced with this enormous sum of money, how could he abandon it so easily? That’s simply a joke!
“Come! Come then!” Li Yao stood firm and adopted a defensive stance. He stared unwaveringly at his opponent’s two feet. He beckoned at the smiling clown by curling his finger, and his opponent nodded his head in response without a hint of courtesy.
“Swoosh!” The smiling clown disappeared once again!
“How can this be!? It’s still not visible! I can’t see the trajectory of his movement!” Li Yao’s eyes were wide open. He strived to find the smiling clown’s trail, but he ended up with nothing. His eyeballs were fundamentally unable to keep up with his opponent’s speed. He could only rely on his instinctive reaction to danger to withstand the attack.
“Bang!” It was as if a giant python viciously rammed itself into Li Yao’s right side. Somehow, he managed to defend himself this time. He moved sideways with great difficulty. The strengthened ceramic sheet inserted on his right shoulder disintegrated with a shattering sound. Even the inner iron plate was hit into ringing echoes of “bang bang”.
“This strength is too terrifying!” Li Yao’s head was covered in sweat. In a single move, his opponent had smashed the armor on his shoulder into pieces. Yet, the smiling clown had not the least bit intention of stopping. The clown attacked in a tricky manner at unfathomable angles. It was like a shower of gales that enveloped him in a flash!
Suddenly, the sounds of “pow pow pow pow pow” came from his body as strengthened ceramic sheets ruptured. “Bang bang bang bang bang” could be heard as well as the iron plate warped.
“Can’t see him. Can’t see him. I completely can’t see him! If these attacks keep coming, it won’t even be a minute before my armor all explosively turns to mush. I won’t have any protective gear. This monster only needs half-a-minute to send me flat on the ground!” A scene of new 10,000 credit bills stuck on the wings of birds flying away with “quack quack” sounds emerged from the depths of his mind. A trace vicious malice gradually appeared on Li Yao’s face.
“I need to think of a method quickly. I must see through his attack pattern!”
Li Yao felt like his body was being crushed underfoot by a crystal rail train coming and going. He was in so much pain that he wished to be dead.
To his astonishment, he was surprised that he knew this type of painful feeling knew quite well and was quite familiar with it. Memory fragments like wisp of debris once again emerged from the depths of his mind.
From within the sea of his mind, memory fragments collided, smashed, conformed, and reorganized, ultimately forming a warped scene.
He suddenly was able to think back to the dream of grandeur, to when he was still a low-level worker at the Hundred Smelting Guild, to when he was being persecuted day and night by the titan with giant iron hammers. It was at this time when he was unable to see through any of the attacks, that an old companion who he had hung out with all around the world told him:
“Ou Yeming. Do you feel that the titan’s iron hammers come at you way too quickly, that you can’t see them clearly? Come, give your next month’s worth of fish fins to this uncle to eat. This uncle will teach you a unique skill! What unique skill you ask? It’s simple... If you can’t see clearly with your eyes facing directly, then tilt them as much as possible to the limit. Use your peripheral vision to see. Your peripheral vision can capture clearer scenes than your direct vision!”
Using one’s peripheral vision?
Li Yao’s thoughts coursed with electricity. He did not have time to think it over, so he squinted his eyes and consciously used his peripheral vision to gaze over his surroundings.
Li Yao saw him!
The smiling clown’s entire body was curled up into a ball. He looked like a lethargic house cat. Right now, he was ducked behind Li Yao’s right rear. All of a sudden, he let loose, and in a flash, the lethargic house cat turned into the embodiment of a malevolent python. A simple strike of a whipping leg swept across at Li Yao’s right tibia!
This strike was like an explosive jet taking off. Not only would the strengthened ceramic sheets on his right leg completely burst, even the bones of his right leg would receive serious effects. Li Yao’s speed would be reduced by at least half. It was possible that he would lose support in his leg entirely!
“That 10,000 credits is mine for sure!” Li Yao bit down on his mushy lips. He mustered nearly every single moving cell in his body. His right calf was like a folded blade. “Swoosh” it had folded up to the inner side of his thigh!
The smiling clown’s attack all of a sudden failed, causing his entire body to lose balance in a flash. The clown had to continue moving half a step forward. This was the first time the clown’s figure was forced into the open.
The offense that was like flowing quicksilver was broken forcibly. It was like the super-fast tempo of a song was forced to come to an end spontaneously.
Li Yao took a step and twisted. He originally wanted to take advantage of his bent leg and give his opponent a hidden kick.
The smiling clown seemed to be able to predict such matters. A strike could not be made since the clown had dodged seven to eight meters away in a flash. The clown looked at Li Yao with a smile that was not quite a smile. The clown’s eyes displayed a hint of astonishment and praise, “In a short 57 seconds, you were able to see through my attack trajectories? Like hidden dragons and crouching tigers, the Underground Ghost Market really does have concealed talent!”
“That... that goes without saying. Do you or do you not want to know which method I used in the end, to be able to see through your attack? It was spoken by my master. It was twenty years ago on a stormy rainy night...” Li Yao breathed heavily like an ox. He was trying with all his might to stall for time.
“Don’t want to!”
The smiling clown cut off the conversation in a completely straightforward manner. Once again he disappeared from where he was standing. This time Li Yao caught sight of the clown’s attack trajectory in the same way. What was weird was that the smiling clown seemed to transform into two separate people. They pounced at Li Yao from both left and right sides simultaneously!
…...
Within the tea room, the bald tattooed man leisurely drank sorghum liquor, gnawed on chicken wings, and hummed to military songs.
A man with a spideresque design on his face suddenly knocked on the door, entering in soon after.
His build was short and stocky with a form that greatly resembled a wall.
“And you are?” The bald tattooed man fixed his gaze onto the stocky man, as he held a chicken wing midair. The chicken bone shook and shook.
……
…...
In the sparring room, two minutes and thirty seconds had passed already!
Li Yao was like a small fishing boat that was being flipped up and down in the raging waves of a stormy seas. One after another, he was hit ruthlessly by an earth-shattering wave, smashing into the abyss. Yet somehow, he was able to once again float back up to the surface after a short moment each time!
Li Yao’s body. He had received Ou Yeming’s powerful spiritual purification and flood of training. Every single muscle fiber, every single cell was incomparably tough and durable. Even though every punch he received gave him a feeling of pain down to his marrow, he still did the utmost to persevere. It was a perseverance of complete insanity. It was only because...
“Dear god. I’ve already been hit by this bastard for a full two and a half minutes with six hundred and twenty fists! If I give up now, wouldn’t all this beating have been in vain?”
Two minutes thirty-one seconds, Two minutes thirty-two seconds...
When every second passed, Li Yao’s conviction to persevere increased firmly by a measure. What was even crazier was that he felt his opponent’s super high speed assault during this time had decreased in speed and strength by a negligible strand. Perhaps, the clown would soon expose some mistakes.
In this two and a half minute interval, he was not just taking a beating like a sandbag. He was paying complete attention, observing his opponent. Even though the smiling clown’s speed was strangely fast at incomparable speeds, he discovered that there was an utterly small habituary pattern in his movements. Every time the clown attacked from the right side, he left leg first would bend slightly once.
This unnecessary movement approximately caused the smiling clown’s speed to be slower by 0.1 seconds.
Li Yao was waiting exactly for this opening!
He was not a buddhist practitioner who would never raise a hand and only take beatings. The strength of his opponent clearly was much much higher, just landing a fist of air would be fine!
Nevertheless, now was not the time. At this time, the opponent still had strength. He was still vigilant, he was still smiling.
It’s fine. Li Yao could wait. He was like a vulture waiting for the most opportune moment to hunt. Living in the Artifact Graveyard for over a dozen years had taught him how to conceal his claws and the importance of patience.
While he was being knocked about, while he ducked his head scampering like a rat, while he wailed like a ghost and howled like a wolf, all this time, Li Yao’s brain still maintained a calloused tranquility. Memory fragments whirled at lightning speeds in the depths of his mind. The scene of the full potential of the Hundred-and-Eight-Hands Chaos Gale Hammer Technique as unleashed by the titan condensed once more in his mind. It had turned clear from fuzziness.
The first move... The second move...
He searched at lightning speed within the weapons storehouse of his memories for the most suitable of “weapons” for this situation.
…...
In the tea room.
The bald tattooed man suddenly stood up, spilling the sorghum liquor onto his body, “You are the ‘Iron Turtle’?”
“Of course I’m the Iron Turtle. Didn’t we get in touch just a while ago? It was you who told me to wear the spider-esque design and come. Is there a problem?” the short stocky man frowned his brows, feeling at a loss.
“If you are the Iron Turtle, then who the hell is the guy in the sparring room?” the bold tattooed man’s expression turned incomparably strange. He was distracted for a short time, then all of a sudden, he pushed the Iron Turtle aside. With two or three steps, he crossed over to the sparring room’s entrance and turned the handle to the big door.
“Hey Hai! Quickly stay your hand!”
“Three minutes are up!” At practically the same time, Li Yao, with blood all over his face, let out an ear-piercing shriek.
The two had not intended to yell at the same time. It caused the smiling clown’s offensive that was like the moving clouds and flowing water to abruptly stop. The clown subconsciously looked up gazing towards the wall. He discovered that actually only...
Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds had past!
“The time is now!”
Li Yao let out a low roar. He loosened his body, advancing. His right hand stabbed the void. His left fist was concealed behind his body. His fingers pinched causing his bones to produce a chaotic ringing of “ka ka” as his joints protruded, giving a mace-like appearance. Right after, he used his left heel as a pivot point and his entire body rotated 90 degrees at lightning speed. Borrowing an enormous amount of centrifugal force, he took his left fist and threw it out swinging furiously!
“Pow pow pow pow pow pow!” The fist’s spear-like tip had unexpectedly punctured the air, emitting a series of sonic booms! Li Yao’s clenched fist was like a whistling iron hammer as it directly pounded towards the smiling clown!
“Chaos Gale Hammer Technique, The 94th Hand, Murderous Hammering Tornado!”
“Please let him off easy!”
The howling of the bald tattooed man was somewhat mournful when it came from the entrance. However, Li Yao was unable to stay his hand. His clenched fist was at the tip of the smiling clown’s nose. There was approximately a hair-width of distance between his fist and the clown.
Then, the smiling clown changed.
He was still the same person. His eyelashes hadn’t even shook half a brow. 36,000 pores on his entire body seemed to spurt out in a flash a dense air. His aura seemed to contain actual substance. It was like he donned a layer of solid armour. His entire person swelled up a level. From a common martial arts practitioner, he transformed into an exceptional expert!
Li Yao realized at this time that the words “Please let him off easy” was not meant for him.
0.01 seconds later, he had no idea how but his clenched fist changed directions and fiercely smashed upon his own nose, sending him flying over a dozen meters. He was still in mid air without even the time to scream half a shriek, when he completely passed out!
The absolute air that curled around the smiling clown only persisted for half a second before fading without a trace. He changed completely back into the domesticated harmless commoner.
He walked leisurely to Li Yao’s side. Half squatting down, he checked out Li Yao’s breath.
“How is he? It’s nothing right?” the bald tattooed man had ran over without delay, asking somewhat nervously.
“He’s passed out. It appears to be serious, an overtaxing of his strength. It should be fine if we immediately replenish his strength with a strengthening drug.” Fiend Blade Peng Hai felt Li Yao’s nose. He said somewhat surprisingly, “This bastard is quite amazing. He actually made me break my baseline. I exploded out to 4% of my strength.”
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