Baby with Daoist Monarch System

Xu Ran, who was in the middle of defending, suddenly realized that the monkey’s Staff Technique had changed, becoming far more intricate.

Staff swing.

Staff block.

Staff lift.

Staff chop.

Staff sweep.

Staff thrust.

...

Several Staff Techniques fused together, like a storm of bullets and arrows, all crashing toward Xu Ran’s face.

Seeing this, the aura on Xu Ran’s body roiled, and at the same time the wooden staff in his hand sped up, dismantling every Staff Technique the monkey unleashed.

The monkey’s sudden change in speed almost forced a flaw out of Xu Ran’s defense. Fortunately, he was focused enough that the monkey didn’t find a chance to exploit.

”Its new Technique looks complicated, but it’s actually just a transformation of its original attacks.”

With that brief moment to catch his breath, Xu Ran carefully observed each of the monkey’s staff swings, constantly running deductions in his mind.

”Compared to its previous Staff Techniques, this is much more complex, but as long as I find the weak point, I can break it!”

At this moment.

Xu Ran’s mind began to race, the monkey’s figure in his inner vision breaking down frame by frame, every detail of every motion clearly recorded in his mind.

And Xu Ran, like a magnifying glass, scrutinized every single Staff Technique the monkey used, intent on finding its weakness within.

Even though.

The process of decomposing the Staff Technique in his mind kept running nonstop.

His staff-work, however, grew faster and faster, his use of Power growing more and more effortless. Every swing of the staff carried a mighty aura, a momentum as if it could split mountains and shatter stone, leaving onlookers in awe!

”This Xu Ran really is a genius of one-mind-two-use!”

The Second Senior Brother stared at Xu Ran in the midst of the trial, and couldn’t help sighing in admiration.

”Too monstrous. Xu Ran’s potential in Spiritual Power is way too great. One-mind-two-use—without any cultivation of Spiritual Power at all, he can reach this level? Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!!”

Little Junior Sister, a cultivator who specialized in Spiritual Power, knew very well that to achieve one-mind-two-use required extraordinarily powerful Spiritual Power potential.

This isn’t something you can do just by having high Spiritual Power; it demands exceptional talent.

This meant that Xu Ran’s talent in Spiritual Power was probably not inferior to hers!!

Geniuses who can truly use one mind for two purposes are rare to begin with, yet Xu Ran was an outstanding one among that tiny group.

To be able to do this in the middle of battle, and not just any battle, but a life-and-death clash with a monkey that only appears in ancient records—yet still pull off one-mind-two-use to such a degree... Who knows whether that says Xu Ran trusts his own talent, or that he’s simply fearless?!

”Xu Ran’s Staff Technique is growing more and more refined. The clearance is probably not far off!”

The Second Senior Brother couldn’t help but sigh again.

He himself was a genius specialized in tempering the flesh. In that harsh environment at the end of the Ancient Times, he considered himself ruthless enough toward his own body.

He used every possible method to squeeze out his physical talent, to reach his current cultivation, enduring who knows how much pain.

The result.

Was that his own experience, when placed in front of Xu Ran, seemed like nothing at all.

Just take this one point.

He wouldn’t dare, at such a perilous moment, to still split his mind in two—confronting the monkey on one side, while analyzing the monkey’s Staff Technique in his head on the other!

While the three were still in shock!

The monkey, whose speed and Power were growing ever more intense, launched another ferocious assault.

Seizing the moment, it leapt high, the wooden staff in its hand cutting through the air with a tearing gale, howling around it.

The bluestone under its feet was crushed to powder the instant it sprang up. The tremendous propulsion hurled its body into midair in an instant, then it hammered down toward Xu Ran’s head, the compressed air shrieking with sharp detonations.

”Good timing!” Xu Ran, operating with one mind and two uses, saw the monkey switch Techniques and felt a surge of joy. ”This is exactly its weak point. When it leaps, its center of gravity becomes unstable—after attacking, there must be a flaw!”

In his mind, Xu Ran kept analyzing every attack trajectory of the monkey, every minute deviation in each strike. These deviations were measured down to the tiniest fraction.

Through this frame-by-frame analysis in his mind, Xu Ran discovered that the monkey seemed almost perfect in every way.

But in truth, its legs had a weakness.

Whenever both its feet left the ground, its center of gravity would shift in that instant.

He didn’t know why this happened, but it was indeed where its weakness lay.

When he first noticed it, Xu Ran didn’t dare believe it.

After all, something that people outside called a Great Power—even if it might not be a living Great Power anymore—was still a being of extremely high cultivation.

How could such an existence possibly have such a low-level flaw?

While he was thinking.

The monkey’s figure had already closed over Xu Ran’s body. A quick glance up showed the monkey’s wooden staff already in position, the dreadful Power above his head distorting space itself.

”Hoo!” Xu Ran exhaled a long breath, and in that instant a hint of grim resolve flashed in his eyes.

Then he suddenly twisted his body to the side, while his own staff lifted upward.

In the blink between lightning and flint, Xu Ran’s staff collided with the monkey’s. The Power exploding from the impact formed a wave of force, blowing the surrounding mist apart.

In that moment, Xu Ran precisely flicked aside the monkey’s attack. Immediately after, he stepped in, his staff sweeping out horizontally, its target locked straight onto the monkey’s waist.​

The waist, for any living creature, is an extremely crucial part, linking the upper and lower body.

The monkey’s weak point was its unstable lower body. Though he didn’t know the reason, attacking its waist would interrupt its offensive and might even seriously injure it.

Though Xu Ran’s tactics were excellent, the enemy before him was no simple opponent.

The monkey’s reaction was swift. Its body twisted nimbly in midair, spinning like a top to evade that strike.

But Xu Ran didn’t stop there. He immediately followed with a flurry of attacks.​

”Staff Technique is all about continuity, never giving the opponent a chance to breathe!” Xu Ran silently recited in his heart. His wooden staff surged out like a Flood Dragon breaking the sea, his assault seamless and relentless, every single strike aimed at the monkey’s lower body.

The afterimages from the lightning-fast staff swings wove together in midair into a giant net, enveloping the monkey and leaving it nowhere to run!

Under this fierce barrage, the monkey began to struggle to cope, taking several hits to its body.

Every hit landed with a dull thud and drew a howl of pain from the monkey.

Moreover, every one of these blows landed precisely on its weak point—its waist!

These successive strikes made its already washed-out fur grow even sparser.

At this point, the monkey looked completely like a hairless cat, comically bare.

”Xu Ran has completely seized the rhythm!”

Outside the field, the Second Senior Brother saw Xu Ran’s Staff Technique and grew somewhat excited!

”At this pace, he’s already very close to victory!”

The Eldest Senior Brother also gave his judgment.

At Xu Ran’s current tempo, as long as no accidents occurred, victory was only a matter of time!

As Xu Ran hammered out strike after strike, his confidence grew ever more solid!

”I’ve already grasped the rhythm of the Staff Technique. Next, it’s time to end this battle.” Xu Ran tightened his grip on the staff. ”Every swing has to gather all the Power and will in my body.”

Although.

Xu Ran had already analyzed the flaws in the monkey’s Staff Technique in his mind, his understanding of the staff itself was still deepening.

Right now, he felt he’d formed a subtle connection with the wooden staff, as if it were part of his own body. He could feel every tremor of the staff, every burst of Power, syncing perfectly with his heartbeat.

Every move he made was full of strength and technique, every attack carried an unstoppable momentum. His entire person radiated a powerful presence and a determination to win that shocked everyone present.

”Ah!”

”Ah!”

”Ah!”

”Ah!”

”...”

Though the monkey was still putting up a last-ditch struggle, every one of Xu Ran’s strikes slammed into its waist. Its movements were growing sluggish, even each swing of its staff slowing down, its Power flagging and its breath ragged.

And not just that.

The red light in its eyes was also gradually dimming.

Everything was signaling that in the next moment, the monkey would be completely defeated!