High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Xu Wuyi pressed his spear down, the shaft colliding with the leg armor.

CLANG—!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the Starry Sky.

Chu Shanhe’s leg momentum was blocked, but he used the force to spin, his left elbow smashing toward Xu Wuyi’s face like a Heavy Hammer.

This chain of attacks was as fluid as flowing water, without a single gap—a testament to how he had integrated his diverse Martial Arts.

Xu Wuyi stopped blocking. Executing Instant Shadow Step, he drifted back three meters to create distance.

Chu Shanhe didn’t pursue. He stopped where he was, the blood-patterned armor around his body slowly shifting.

”Well?” he asked.

”Not bad,” Xu Wuyi answered honestly. ”Your defense, speed, and power have all clearly improved. More importantly, your control over the Blood Nerve is much more fluid, and the integration of your Martial Arts and armor is tighter.”

”But it’s still not enough,” Chu Shanhe said, shaking his head. ”I know an attack of that level poses no threat to you.”

He paused, his gaze turning serious. ”So, from now on, I’m going all out.”

The moment he finished speaking, the Qi and Blood throughout Chu Shanhe’s body suddenly began to seethe!

On the surface of the dark red armor, the blood patterns that had been slowly writhing suddenly accelerated their flow, like living blood vessels surging beneath the plates.

A heavy, savage momentum rose from him, as if a slumbering beast was slowly awakening.

Blood Nerve Secret Technique—Blood Burst!

This was one of the core Secret Techniques of the Blood Nerve, trading a cost of burning Qi and Blood for a short-term, explosive increase in all Attributes.

But Xu Wuyi could sense that Chu Shanhe’s execution of Blood Burst this time was more stable than in their last spar. The backlash was smaller, too. He had clearly reached a new level of mastery over this Secret Technique.

”Watch out.”

Chu Shanhe only said two words before his figure vanished again.

This time, his speed was pushed to the absolute limit. He left a dark red afterimage streaking through the Starry Sky, like a blood-colored meteor hurtling straight for Xu Wuyi!

Xu Wuyi’s expression remained unchanged as he raised his spear.

Atop the spear’s tip, the dark gold Undying Flame ignited without a sound.

Facing Chu Shanhe’s full-power burst, he held nothing back, unleashing a killing move from the start.

”Golden Crow Sky Splitting.”

He recited the name in his mind as his spear shot out like a dragon!

The dark red spear tip tore through the void. A speck of golden light condensed on the tip, transforming into a miniature ”sun” within which a Golden Crow Illusion could be faintly seen beating its wings.

This spear thrust was even more condensed, more heavy, than the one he had used against Zhai Zidu.

The spear tip and Chu Shanhe’s fist collided with a deafening boom in the Starry Sky!

BOOM—!!!

A violent blast wave erupted from the point of impact, its shockwave creating visible ripples in the void. In the distance, several virtual stars trembled slightly.

On Chu Shanhe’s fist, the blood-patterned armor flickered violently. The dark red Qi and Blood Energy clashed with the golden light on the spear tip, each frantically trying to corrode and consume the other.

The properties of the Undying Flame began to take effect. The speck of golden light seemed to have a life of its own, latching onto the armor’s surface like a vise and ferociously burning away the Qi and Blood Energy that composed it.

Chu Shanhe’s expression shifted slightly.

He could clearly feel his armor weakening rapidly.

Even with the buff from Blood Burst, and even though his armor had reached the ”Blood-Patterned Condensation” stage, it was still being suppressed by the Undying Flame.

But he did not retreat.

”Burst!”

Chu Shanhe let out a low roar, and the blood-patterned armor on his fist suddenly exploded!

It didn’t shatter; he had detonated it himself.

The dark red Qi and Blood Energy transformed into a violent shockwave that slammed viciously into the golden light on the spear tip.

This was a desperate technique recorded in the Blood Nerve, sacrificing a portion of his armor in exchange for a momentary burst of Explosive Power to break a stalemate or force back a powerful enemy.

RUMBLE—!

A second explosion rang out.

The golden light and the blood-red shockwave annihilated each other. Xu Wuyi’s Spear Momentum was halted, and Chu Shanhe used the force to fly backward, creating a dozen meters of distance between them.

He glanced down at his right fist. The blood-patterned armor there had completely disintegrated, revealing the skin of his virtual body. The skin itself was unharmed, but the flow of his Qi and Blood was slightly chaotic.

”What a Golden Crow Sky Splitting,” Chu Shanhe said, shaking out his hand as he looked at Xu Wuyi. ”It’s stronger than last time. It seems you haven’t been idle either.”

”Same to you,” Xu Wuyi said, retracting his spear. His gaze fell on Chu Shanhe’s fist. ”That explosion just now must have come at a steep price, right?”

”The localized armor disintegrated. It’ll take three to five seconds to re-form,” Chu Shanhe admitted freely. ”But that’s much better than last time, when your spear pierced the armor on both my arms.”

He paused, a flicker of determination in his eyes. ”But, this still isn’t enough.”

Xu Wuyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Chu Shanhe took a deep breath, and the Qi and Blood throughout his body began to seethe once more.

This time, it wasn’t a full-body enhancement like Blood Burst. Instead, he channeled all of his Qi and Blood frantically into his arms!

The blood-patterned armor on his arms began to thicken wildly, growing from about half an inch to one, then two, then three inches thick!

On the surface of the dark red armor, the blood patterns twisted and writhed, as if trying to break free from their constraints.

An incredibly heavy sense of pressure emanated from his arms.

Blood Nerve Secret Technique—Blood Condensation Soldier!

”This is a move I only recently managed to grasp,” Chu Shanhe said, his voice a bit hoarse, clearly under immense strain. ”It involves the ultimate Compression of Qi and Blood, condensing it into my arms to form a ’Blood Weapon’. My defense and attack power will reach the absolute peak of what I’m capable of right now, but it has a very short duration—ten seconds, at most.”

He looked at Xu Wuyi, his eyes burning with intensity. ”For the next ten seconds, I will attack you with everything I have. If you can withstand it all... I’ll admit defeat.”

Xu Wuyi looked at Chu Shanhe’s arms, which were now so completely covered in dark red armor that their original shape was unrecognizable—his ”Blood Weapon arms”—and slowly nodded.

”Fine.”

The moment he spoke, Chu Shanhe moved.

This time, he didn’t go for speed. Instead, he advanced on Xu Wuyi step by step with heavy footfalls.

With every step, the void trembled slightly. His ”Blood Weapon arms” hung at his sides, the blood patterns on the armor’s surface shifting, radiating a heart-pounding pressure.

Ten meters, five meters, three meters...

The instant he entered attack range, Chu Shanhe raised his right arm and threw a punch!

There was nothing fancy about this punch; it was the simplest, most direct straight punch.

But where his fist passed, the void was compressed, forming a visible indentation. Substantial-looking dark red Qi and Blood Energy coiled around his fist, as if ready to pulverize anything in its path!

Xu Wuyi didn’t meet it head-on.

With a light shift of his feet, his body swayed to the left as he simultaneously thrust his spear, aiming its tip directly at the joint of Chu Shanhe’s right arm.

Chu Shanhe neither dodged nor retreated. The trajectory of his right fist remained unchanged as he swung his left arm across like a heavy shield to block the spear tip.

CLANG—!!!

A deafening crash, heavier than any of their previous collisions, exploded outward.

Xu Wuyi felt a terrifying rebound force travel up the spear’s shaft, knocking the tip off course. Meanwhile, the armor on Chu Shanhe’s left arm had only dented slightly, and it recovered instantly as the blood patterns flowed over it.

’What incredible defense!’