Chapter 80 Sparring with Huo Ming, Astonishing Talent

At dawn, the sky was still only faintly bright.

As the deputy head coach, Huo Ming arrived at the Gangrou Sword Hall very early. After giving a warm greeting to the night-shift security guard, he entered the stairwell and made his way up to the fifth floor.

By then, the lights on the fifth floor had already been turned on. Seeing the light shining through and hearing the continuous whistling of a blade cutting through the air, Huo Ming couldn’t help but smile.

He thought, “Master has truly taken in a good disciple…”

With this thought in mind, he opened the door, bypassed the privacy screen, and entered the main hall. Inside, a tall and well-proportioned figure gripped a sword with both hands, practicing a concise set of Swordsmanship with fierce and exaggerated movements. The dark training uniform he wore had turned an even darker shade, clearly soaked in sweat.

It was obvious that this person had been practicing his swordplay here for quite some time. It was none other than Feng Yin.

Huo Ming didn’t disturb Feng Yin, who was entirely focused on his practice. He merely stood silently to the side, watching and continuously nodding in approval.

The movements were crisp and concise, fierce and powerful. Even as he swung the sword and dodged around, his breathing rhythm remained extremely steady, indicating that the Dragon Transformation Breathing Technique had never ceased its operation. Furthermore, judging from the momentum of Feng Yin’s sword swings, his physical strength was quite astonishing. It vaguely approached the “Fierce Upper” standard of the strength of four grown men.

According to their Master, Feng Yin had been a Martial Artist for less than a month? Such talent was simply unheard of! The future of the Gangrou Sect would likely truly be revitalized by this little junior brother.

As time passed, Feng Yin finally finished practicing this sword routine. He sheathed his sword and looked at Huo Ming. “Senior Brother Huo, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Feng Yin had noticed Huo Ming the moment he arrived. Since Huo Ming hadn’t taken the initiative to interrupt, he naturally took the opportunity to finish his workout.

Huo Ming looked at Feng Yin and nodded gently. “Your routine is proficient, your force generation is standard, and your movement precision is extremely high. Compared to other Fierce Level fighters, the only thing you truly lack is actual combat experience.”

Having been praised far too much recently, Feng Yin had grown somewhat numb to it. He didn’t offer any polite self-deprecation and simply smiled shyly.

“I heard from Master that you’re going to the Flower of Battle for an exchange today?” Huo Ming asked with a smile.

Feng Yin nodded. “Yes, we scheduled it for ten o’clock. Xiao Yu is taking me there.”

Huo Ming checked the time. It was only approaching five in the morning. He looked back at Feng Yin with a smile on his face. “The Long Swordsmanship of the Battle Flower Sect shares similarities with our Jiao Swordsmanship. I’ve also studied it for a while. Are you afraid of draining your stamina?”

Hearing this, Feng Yin took a deep breath and smiled back. “Senior Brother, I could fight all day.”

“Haha, then go put on your Protective Gear. Let’s have a spar!”

***

A little after seven o’clock, Xiao Yu arrived on the fifth floor of the Gangrou Sword Hall. What she saw were two tall figures, fully clad in sword combat Protective Gear, raising their weapons in a standoff.

The taller of the two was currently holding the familiar Forehead Level Stance of the Jiao Swordsmanship. The other, who looked slightly shorter but possessed a stockier build, held a stance similar to the mid-level stance of the Jiao Swordsmanship, yet with distinct differences in the details.

“This is the short-point stance of the Battle Flower Sect. Compared to our mid-level ‘Human Stance,’ it is much more restrained. Not only is this stance safer on the defensive side, but it also provides a greater distance for generating force when executing attacks like a thrust,” Huo Ming said slowly. “The Long Swordsmanship of the Battle Flower Sect isn’t like ours, which only has five simple stances. They have twelve basic stances, and each stance serves a corresponding function.”

Feng Yin nodded slightly. “Senior Brother Huo, shall I attack then?”

Huo Ming slightly raised the tip of his sword. “Come.”

In the next second, their figures rapidly closed in on each other. Using the Forehead Level Stance as his opening, Feng Yin stepped forward and simultaneously rotated his sword into a horizontal Slashing strike. Huo Ming easily raised his sword for a simple vertical Block, catching the front section of Feng Yin’s blade with the portion of his own edge nearest the hilt.

CLANG!

Amidst the clash of metal, the moment Huo Ming Blocked Feng Yin’s movement, he immediately extended his sword for a Counterattack thrust. The tip of his blade aimed straight for Feng Yin’s head.

Feng Yin calmly raised his sword horizontally to Block, instantly deflecting Huo Ming’s attack upwards. Taking advantage of the momentum, he stepped in close. Their blades crossed and spun, and he used the false edge to strike towards Huo Ming’s other arm.

Huo Ming also rapidly lowered his sword to Block in return, simultaneously launching a Counterattack with a forward-rotating horizontal Slashing strike. The two blades collided, sparking faintly.

And this exchange was far from over.

Amidst the fierce whistling of the wind, their blades swung back and forth, crossing and weaving like the colliding rotors of two helicopters.

CLASH CLASH CLASH CLASH!

The dense sound of clashing swords instantly echoed throughout the entire fifth-floor training hall, causing the newly arrived Xiao Yu to widen her eyes.

The next moment, the two men, who had exchanged over ten consecutive blows, simultaneously changed their moves. Feng Yin suddenly shifted from a horizontal Slashing strike to a vertical cleave. Huo Ming instantly raised his sword, using his wide and long crossguard to catch the Slashing strike. He followed up with an ingenious maneuver, twisting his blade.

Coiling Sword!

In a flash, the tip of his sword entangled the other weapon and hooked back in a reverse Slashing strike towards Feng Yin’s shoulder. Feng Yin saw it clearly and immediately tried to angle his blade for a Skew Block. However, his sword had already been quietly locked in place by his opponent’s blade and crossguard.

Due to this lock, his movement was slowed by half a beat. And Huo Ming’s sword tip had already thrust forward to tap him!

Reacting incredibly quickly, Feng Yin let go of his grip and turned his body sideways. He watched as the tip of the sword grazed past his shoulder and struck his shoulder Protective Gear with a crisp CLACK.

The two stepped back in mutual understanding. Feng Yin took off his Helmet and let out a long sigh. “Senior Brother Huo, I still lost.”

Huo Ming also removed his Helmet, an odd expression on his face. He sighed softly, “Feng Yin, this talent of yours is truly a bit too terrifying…”

Feng Yin was somewhat speechless. He thought, “Wait, Senior Brother, you’ve been beating me all morning, and now you’re praising my talent as terrifying? Praising your opponent as fearsome after winning, just to show how much stronger you are? Not bad. I’ve definitely learned this method of showing off…”

Huo Ming, however, continued seriously, “Feng Yin, I can tell. You haven’t actually developed to the level of ‘instinctive reaction’ yet. You’re forcefully fighting through ‘subjective reaction,’ right?”

Feng Yin wasn’t entirely sure what Huo Ming meant, so he could only look at him with a puzzled expression.

With a peculiar expression, Huo Ming explained, “The majority of the offense and defense that we normal Martial Artists execute in actual combat originates partially from the basic movements ingrained through daily Cultivation. The other part stems from the habits nurtured through countless sparring sessions.

“For example, when facing an upward cleave, the moment I see your movement, I don’t even need to think. I will automatically execute an appropriate horizontal Block or Skew response.

“With the help of these habits, a portion of reaction time can be saved, allowing for a faster response to various situations.”

His gaze burned brightly as he stared intently at Feng Yin. “You are different. You need to ‘think’ about how to respond, and only then do you react.

“You have one more step in the process than I do, yet you can still keep up with my offensive and defensive rhythm… Feng Yin, your eyesight and reaction Speed are truly far too terrifying.”

So that was it…

Feng Yin took a deep breath. He felt that Huo Ming was right; he was indeed fighting in this manner right now. This included his previous battles against the Instant Level fighters Ya Lie and Ghost, where he had forcefully held his own purely relying on the astonishing physique and reaction speed granted by his Manifestation Armor.

Amidst their conversation, Xiao Yu quickly ran over from the side and grabbed Feng Yin. “Well look at you, my eldest junior brother! You can clearly spar with Senior Brother Huo, yet you were pretending to be a rookie when sparring with me earlier, huh!”

Feng Yin smiled at her. “I wouldn’t exactly call it holding back. When I was practicing with you, Xiao Yu, I was mainly trying to train the ‘instinctive reaction’ that Senior Brother Huo just mentioned. The fighting style was different.”

Xiao Yu stood on her tiptoes and knocked him on the head. “See! You completely admit it. You were totally playing me. Plus, I’ve reminded you countless times, you need to call me Senior Sister.”

Unable to do anything about the girl, Feng Yin simply ignored her. He looked back at Huo Ming, still wanting more, and asked, “Senior Brother Huo, want to go a few more rounds?”

Huo Ming just chuckled and waved his hand. “Forget it. Hurry up and drink a nutritional supplement to rest for a bit. You have a dojo to challenge at ten o’clock. Don’t end up getting beaten black and blue by them.”

“Right, right, right,” Xiao Yu said, noticing the sweat on Feng Yin’s forehead. “Take a shower while you’re at it, so you can look handsome while you fight. You’re going to be the face of the Gangrou Sect in the future, so you need to start paying attention to your image now.”

As she spoke, she pushed Feng Yin towards the shower room.

Feng Yin was left speechless. “You don’t have to push me, though?”