Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Helping

Guo Wei was also a bit stunned.

Chu Lingguang had always been steady and calm. Who would have thought he’d try to replicate Xiao Wang’s Continuous Slash Saber Technique in the middle of a fight? If his power wasn’t sufficient, it would be an embarrassing joke.

Moreover, the Continuous Slash Saber Technique was all about each strike being stronger than the last. Even if he managed to execute all five slashes, he would still be a laughingstock if the power didn’t increase with each blow.

However, Leader Ma, who was watching from the side, stared with wide eyes.

Last night, after Chu Lingguang discovered the technique for Borrowing Strength, he had returned to his room to rest. Although he trained day and night, he understood the importance of balancing work and rest.

Leader Ma wasn’t sure if Chu Lingguang had truly learned the Continuous Slash Saber Technique.

Was he overthinking it, or had Chu Lingguang really had a Flash of Inspiration? The answer would be clear in a moment.

CLANG!

Chu Lingguang unleashed his first slash. Xiao Wang blocked it easily, a smile appearing on his face.

Chu Lingguang smoothly followed up with a second slash. Xiao Wang’s smile froze; he could feel his arm trembling.

SWOOSH!

When the third slash came, Xiao Wang couldn’t help but use both hands to defend. Still, he was forced back a step.

Guo Wei was startled.

A chill ran through Leader Ma’s heart.

CLANG!

Chu Lingguang struck with his fourth slash. Xiao Wang wanted to dodge but found he couldn’t escape. He blocked with all his might and was driven back three steps.

A smile spread across Guo Wei’s face.

Leader Ma’s fingers dug into his chair, his knuckles turning white.

“HAAAH!”

With a great roar, Chu Lingguang delivered the fifth slash. He felt as if his long saber carried the force of a raging flood. The secret to Borrowing Strength was finally becoming something he could grasp in his mind.

CLANG!

Xiao Wang was in a panic. With a ferocious expression, he struggled to resist this final slash.

BANG!

Xiao Wang’s body slid backward and crashed into the Soldier Landing Platform on the other side, knocking several weapons to the ground. His chest felt tight and stuffy, as if he had taken a punch. His face flushed red as he gasped for breath.

CREAK!

Leader Ma’s fingers left claw marks on his chair.

Guo Wei, on the other hand, stood up in excitement. He looked at Leader Ma with a gaze full of gratitude. ’Leader Ma must be incredibly selfless and must have taught Chu Lingguang with all his heart,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, how could someone with Chu Lingguang’s aptitude have learned the Continuous Slash Saber Technique?’

“You… You’re good.”

Xiao Wang’s face was flushed red. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t been able to block Chu Lingguang’s Five Blades Continuous Slash. He felt like he’d been tricked.

Chu Lingguang didn’t know how to explain. He just felt everyone’s gazes on him had changed. Guo Wei was grinning from ear to ear, while Leader Ma’s expression was grim.

Hei Hu looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. ’The only reason Chu Lingguang could master the Continuous Slash Saber Technique,’ he thought, ’is because I’ve been fending off Da Wang and Xiao Wang for him all this time. If I could have focused completely on my training, I could have done it too.’

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

Leader Ma saw the master and his two disciples off. Guo Wei had wanted to share a few drinks with him, but Leader Ma refused, saying he had no appetite.

After returning to the Martial Arts Hall, Guo Wei eagerly asked Chu Lingguang to share his insights, hoping it might help Hei Hu.

Chu Lingguang demonstrated as he spoke. “First you go like this, then like this, and then like this. After that, like this, and finally, like this.”

Guo Wei was speechless.

Hei Hu’s face was as dark as thunder.

Guo Wei sighed. “You two, practice against each other. Lin Guang, you can only use the Continuous Slash Saber Technique.”

“Yes.”

This was exactly what Chu Lingguang wanted. He needed to firmly grasp that feeling, that technique.

“Junior Brother, watch out!”

“Agh!”

“Wait!”

“Don’t!”

“Ahhh!”

Hei Hu attacked first, but Chu Lingguang quickly gave him a taste of the Continuous Slash Saber Technique’s power. While Xiao Wang had merely crashed into the Soldier Landing Platform and knocked some weapons off, Hei Hu was sent flying onto it, shattering the weapon rack completely.

For a period of time after that, Chu Lingguang repeatedly practiced the Continuous Slash Saber Technique. The method for Borrowing Strength became clearer and clearer in his mind, until he finally grasped it firmly.

But the Five Blades Continuous Slash wasn’t just about each strike being stronger than the last. The true killing blow was the fifth slash, which was supposed to fuse the power of the first four. Chu Lingguang could make each individual slash progressively stronger, but he couldn’t get the fifth slash to merge the force of the preceding four.

He felt that while Da Wu’s fifth slash couldn’t gather the force of all four previous strikes either, it could at least combine the power of two of them. As for himself, he could only make his fifth slash a little stronger than the fourth; he was still unable to make it stronger than the sum of any previous two.

It seemed he would have to wait until his Continuous Slash Saber Technique value reached Perfection to achieve that.

With less than three months until the Daoist Examination, it was obviously impossible to completely master the Continuous Slash Saber Technique in just over two months.

Fortunately, Chu Lingguang had a steady temperament. He knew that strength was built step by step, so he wasn’t anxious about being unable to achieve a breakthrough in a short time.

The countdown to the Daoist Examination began. Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu immersed themselves in daily training, and in the blink of an eye, only two months remained.

For nearly a month, Chu Lingguang focused on awakening the three layers of Skillful Force and enhancing the power of his Continuous Slash Saber Technique. Regrettably, of the three layers of Skillful Force, he could only utilize the first. The other two layers remained in a hazy, inaccessible state.

Although he grew more and more proficient with the Continuous Slash Saber Technique, the power gap between each consecutive slash didn’t change much.

Chu Lingguang had approached Guo Wei privately several times. To address his situation, Guo Wei devised a series of plans. Besides helping him “optimize his brain” to improve his comprehension, he also acted as Chu Lingguang’s sparring partner for a while. After nearly a month of this, Guo Wei felt like he was developing a heart condition.

「Evening.」

“Master Guo, I need to see Chu.”

Butcher Hu called out to Guo Wei from the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall.

“Boss Hu, come on in!”

Guo Wei knew that Butcher Hu and Chu Lingguang had been in contact ever since Chu Lingguang saved Chun Ju.

“Hu, you were looking for me?”

Chu Lingguang came out to greet him. The last time Butcher Hu had come to the Martial Arts Hall was for help dealing with the Big Saber Gang’s demand for a monthly stipend. Now that the gang had disbanded and Wine Street was peaceful, Chu Lingguang wondered what could be so urgent that Hu had to come find him at the hall.

“Chu, my older sister was kidnapped by Li Yishan on the road to the county seat. The price he’s asking is a bit high… I was hoping you could step in and put in a good word for me.”

Butcher Hu said, his face filled with anxiety.

After the Big Saber Gang disbanded, Li Yishan had one of his arms broken. Relying on the little Kung Fu he still had and his former status as an underling of Big Saber Hong, he gathered a group of men and became a highway bandit. Many shop owners from Wine Street had been robbed by them on their way to the county seat to restock goods.

Chu Lingguang had heard about this. He just hadn’t expected it to happen to Butcher Hu. He remembered the last time Li Yishan had come looking for him, asking him to teach Liu Quan a lesson. After being rejected, Li Yishan had gone to manipulate Hei Hu. ’Now that he’s back to his old trade,’ Chu Lingguang thought, ’he probably won’t give me any face.’

Thus, his expression became troubled.

“Chu, you’re the only one who can help me with this. Otherwise, there’s no way I can afford the price Li Yishan is demanding.”

Butcher Hu pleaded, his face a mask of desperation.

Chu Lingguang looked toward Guo Wei. His master was lounging on a recliner, eating grapes without a word. Chu Lingguang understood. Guo Wei was letting him make the decision himself.

Chu Lingguang thought it over seriously. ’Times have changed. My strength now far surpasses Li Yishan’s, and he no longer has the Big Saber Gang to back him up. I can help Hu with this.’

He had been training so hard and was planning to take the Martial Arts Examination precisely to improve his status and earn more Favor Points. He wouldn’t refuse a chance to earn Favor Points, especially when the danger was within a manageable range.

So he said, “Alright, Hu. I’ll help you.”

Lying on the recliner, Guo Wei’s expression flickered. As he chewed on a grape, it was as if he was also savoring the meaning behind Chu Lingguang’s words. A slow smile spread across his face.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep