By the time the morning sun emerged from beyond the horizon, Cha was already gone from Zhao Yunxiao’s room.


    Halfway through the night, their discussion had moved from the topic of the sea serpent’s past to the archaic characters that could be used as array runes.


    After Cha instructed Zhao Yunxiao further on the topic, the latter tried to practise a little and eventually grew too tired to continue.


    For those who were new to it, simply drawing the characters correctly would take a heavy toll on them.


    Because of that, Zhao Yunxiao had to enter a state of meditation to recover and properly digest everything they had discussed.


    When Zhao Yunxiao opened his eyes after ending his meditation in the morning, Cha was no longer anywhere to be found.


    It would appear that while Cha had been a nuisance all along, it still knew where to draw the line and had chosen to leave in silence instead of interrupting Zhao Yunxiao’s rest.


    Huu-!


    Zhao Yunxiao slowly let out a deep breath to regulate his breathing.


    It had been an eventful stay, but the day had finally come for them to return to Purple Plum Mountain.


    He freshened up a little before stepping out into the courtyard.


    There was no one around, understandably so too considering the early hour.


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    “Please,” Zheng Biru gestured for Zhao Yunxiao to make his move while getting into his battle stance.


    “I shall not stand on ceremony then,” Zhao Yunxiao focused. “Here I come, Senior Martial Brother Zheng!”


    [Xuanwu Movement Art – Snapping Burst]


    This move that provided a sudden burst of speed was the initiation of choice for most Black Tortoise Sect disciples, and Zhao Yunxiao was no exception.


    He appeared in front of Zheng Biru in an instant.


    [Xuanwu Movement Art – Shifting Sands]


    Once again, this was a standard follow up to Snapping Burst.


    The idea was to shock the opponent into a forced reaction by suddenly closing the gap, only to quickly change directions and sidestep any of the opponent’s moves, before finally executing the true offense – the fastest move in the Xuanwu Fist Art.


    [Xuanwu Fist Art – Invisible Snap]


    In his head, he had already thought of various ways that Zheng Biru could react, and came up with the corresponding countermeasures.


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    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


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    “I saw your fight with Senior Martial Brother Sun the other day,” Zheng Biru said. “I know you managed to land a hit on him in the end, but that was out of sheer luck – possible only because you lost your footing and ended up throwing off his rhythm. In fact, even with that luck, do you think you would have hit him at all if he had been serious from the start?”


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    Watch the environment.


    Watch their posture.


    Watch their eyes.


    Watch the flow of energy.