In the distance, there was the Sword-Wielding Technique ruling the world; up close, there was the Eight Rice Flow pacifying all beings.
This well-known rhyme had two meanings. Over two thousand years ago, during the founding of the Radiance Empire, the Sword-Wielding Combat Technique had already achieved outstanding military merits for the Imperial Court. The original Sword-Wielding Annihilation Squad, established at the nation's founding, had earned a fearsome reputation, with achievements in crushing cities and destroying sects too numerous to count.
The Eight Rice Flow, on the other hand, was a new system of Combat Techniques developed in recent times. Though only a few hundred years old, it swept many old-school techniques into history's dustbin and shined brilliantly during clashes with the Western Bloodthorn Crusaders, thus winning the title, "Sword-Wielding in the old days, Eight Rice today."
Besides that, the rhyme had another literal meaning: the Sword-Wielding Technique dominated long-range killing, while the Eight Rice was unstoppable in close combat!
But the Eight Rice Combat Technique, having integrated all sorts of skills, gradually formed into a major school. The average person could only master a branch of it in a lifetime, so the Eight Rice Flow split into several Combat Techniques collectively called the Eight Rice Flow.
The Biting Battle Technique of Qian Yuliu and the Pouncing Battle Technique of Xia Lingguo were two of the main Combat Techniques within the Eight Rice Flow!
If the true meaning of the Biting Battle Technique was "bite to the death," then the Pouncing Battle Technique was "pounce relentlessly"—the core idea was to attack the enemy every second with both hands and feet, hitting them in a storm so fierce that the opponent felt smothered, swatting them like a relentless flyswatter!
The greatest feature of the Pouncing Technique was that it was an aerial Combat Technique. Practitioners chained kicks to keep themselves aloft while their hands continuously targeted the enemy's head. The opponent usually couldn't use just their fists to fend off four limbs at once and would quickly find themselves overwhelmed, ultimately losing to this insane flurry of blows.
Luckily, the fight took place in a big plaza. If it'd been inside a narrow room with walls for support, Xia Lingguo could literally move like Spider-Man, attacking Le Yuxin from every angle, 360 degrees with no blind spots, making Le Yuxin feel like he was being ganged up on by a mob.
"This person's strength is not below mine!"
Staring at the silent Xia Lingguo in front of him, Le Yuxin could not help but curse at Yin Yinyin in his heart—"Wasn't this supposed to be a King versus Bronze stomp? Why's there a Grandmaster-level boss hiding among the newbies?"
If he put this in game terms, Xia Lingguo's Eight Rice Flow Pouncing Battle Technique—and Le Yuxin's—were both at Beginner level, even if the system thought they were so badass, they were classified as beginner, too. There wasn't much difference in combat strength; Le Yuxin could not guarantee he would win against Xia Lingguo!
"Could Xia Lingguo actually be the real traitor?"
"His trump card was just his hidden strength. No tricks, and he could take me out head-to-head to grab White Night's victory spoils?"
"A thousand thoughts swirled in Le Yuxin's mind, but by now, light flowed beneath Xia Lingguo's feet, a powerful whip kick split the air, and it was already eager to kiss Le Yuxin's face!"
"If he blocked or grabbed Xia Lingguo's leg, the guy would immediately use the leverage to acrobatically strike back. If he didn't go for the leg, his own punches and palms would never reach the guy; he'd just have to keep defending!"
Le Yuxin suddenly dropped his body low, dodged the Flowing Light Kick, and swept at Xia Lingguo's other leg with a ground kick! There was no such move in the Biting Battle Technique, but as a kid, Le Yuxin loved sweeping the legs out from under those wannabe taekwondo brats whenever they tried to kick, usually flooring them instantly!
But it turned out what was easy as a kid wasn't always doable as an adult. For example, sneaking into the women's bathhouse, or sweeping at Xia Lingguo's legs—his foot didn't budge at all, felt like kicking a steel plate!
"What kind of Martial Artist would use kicks and still be afraid of attacks to the lower body?"
But Le Yuxin had a backup plan—Desolate Bite!
But since Le Yuxin was crouched down now, his punches and palms naturally aimed lower, and with an upward motion, the attack looked suspiciously like the classic "Monkey Steals the Peach" aimed squarely below the belt.
"But during their fight, light exploded all around, and from the outside all anyone could see was the two locked together—no one could spot the details, so Le Yuxin wasn't worried about sullying his reputation with such a dirty move."
Danger right in his weak spot, Xia Lingguo's face didn't change at all. His kicking foot suddenly stomped down on Le Yuxin's shoulder, and with the momentum, he sprang upward, dodging this shameless attempt at a Desolate Bite, and took up the airborne advantage.
Damn!
Le Yuxin quickly darted forward and spun to face the enemy, but with hundreds of years of evolution in these Combat Techniques, every possible counter had already been calculated. Xia Lingguo's toe just gently brushed Le Yuxin's shoulder and, floating through the air, his body shifted horizontally, limbs erupting in light. He pounced on Le Yuxin like a wild beast!
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
The pounding of glowing blows rang out non-stop. The onlookers saw the two fighting from one end of the plaza to the other, from top to bottom and back to front; the battle was fierce and deadlocked!
"You've changed."
Amid a barrage of strikes, Le Yuxin suddenly heard Xia Lingguo's voice and couldn't help but laugh, "Were we ever that close?"
"In Qian Yuliu's memories, there was almost no info about Xia Lingguo—maybe saw him a couple times, hadn't even exchanged words before today, complete strangers."
"You don't know me, but I know you." Xia Lingguo spoke as he viciously kicked at Le Yuxin's face, "I've always been watching you. Even after you joined the Statistical Department, I kept watching."
Boom!
Retreating and breaking Xia Lingguo's offensive, Le Yuxin pulled a disgusted face, "Ugh, so gross. Could you at least put on a girl's outfit before talking to me like that?"
Le Yuxin kept up his trash talk, but honestly, he was panicking inside. "Could Xia Lingguo be more than just a traitor, and even know that Qian Yuliu was the inside man White Night sent to the Statistical Department?"
Xia Lingguo shrugged off Le Yuxin's insults, double fists hammering at Le Yuxin's head, "Qian Yuliu, you and I are the same kind of person."
He admitted it!
Qian Yuliu was a traitor, Xia Lingguo equals Qian Yuliu, so Xia Lingguo was a traitor too!
"But you aren't anymore."
Huh? Le Yuxin blinked, pushed his palms forward, unleashing a wave of glowing force to drive Xia Lingguo back, and quietly asked, "Why not?"
"Your gaze isn't terrifying anymore. Your fists don't hurt. Even your light blasts are gentle." Xia Lingguo capitalized on the edge of the energy burst, moving behind Le Yuxin again, whispering calmly, "If you were your old self, I would've lost already."
"You're saying I've lost my killing intent?" Le Yuxin spun around, claws whistling through the air, palm force and bursts of light erupting like cannon fire!
Biting Battle Technique, Desolate Bite Wave!
"We don't need killing intent." Xia Lingguo double kicked, clashing with Le Yuxin's attack, double fists twin hammers aimed at Le Yuxin's temples, "Killing is as easy as breathing to us."
"You saying I'm not as psychotic as you, huh?" Le Yuxin dodged backward, both hands circling to ensnare Xia Lingguo's fists.
Biting Battle Technique, Cosmic Chant!
"No, you've gotten weird." Xia Lingguo countered by gripping Le Yuxin's hands, using the momentum to flip upward, and hovered directly above, facing Le Yuxin eye to eye in midair, a ripple stirring in his usually emotionless eyes,
"We were destined to be broken swords—so why do you now hide in a scabbard?"
Cold-Blooded Constitution.
Getting a close look at Xia Lingguo's massively poker-faced expression, Le Yuxin immediately recognized Xia's real nature—he was just like Qian Yuliu; they both had Cold-Blooded Constitution and no real personalities!
"People like them, born cold-blooded, never felt negative emotions—so they couldn't truly savor happiness either. Only through pain could you know joy, being forced to work made gaming fun, suffering through constipation made smooth digestion something precious."
"A lot of good things can only be felt through contrast. If you've never been hungry, you'll never know how great it is to be full."
Cold-blooded people reacted to all positive emotions as if they were nothing—which made it nearly impossible to find joy in living, rendered them uninterested and left them with dead-fish expressions. The only reason Le Yuxin saw through Xia Lingguo's secret was because his expression was just like Qian Yuliu's—growing up, Qian couldn't look in a mirror without seeing this orphan face!
Xia Lingguo said Qian Yuliu was no longer like him, even referenced the sword scabbard and all. What he really sensed was that Qian Yuliu's inner spirit had changed. Compared to a poker-faced smart robot, Le Yuxin, as the "driver," made Qian Yuliu far more lively and vivid.
"It made sense now, but it didn't help him win the fight, so Le Yuxin rolled with it and said, 'You think the sword scabbard made me weaker?'"
"Of course. The you from before could've beaten up ten of the current you."
Was the gap really that big!?
"Besides..."
Xia Lingguo suddenly flipped behind Le Yuxin, gripped his shoulder with savage force, shifting midair using nothing but that hold. His right hand and right knee simultaneously drove for Le Yuxin's occiput and spine, smashing down like twin meteors!
"A sword in a scabbard—what can it possibly cut?"
Bam, bam!
Le Yuxin grunted.
He managed to block Xia Lingguo's strike in time, arms together, but not without cost. Even with his Residual Blood Physique, his arms now felt like he'd slapped on heat patches—probably black and blue underneath.
"In fact, his entire body started to feel hot. Xia Lingguo's storm of attacks wasn't meaningless. Le Yuxin figured his HP bar was already two-thirds gone, and if not for pain-numbing effects, he'd be rolling on the floor in agony."
"He might not fear pain, but his stamina had limits. Le Yuxin could feel his strength flagging. At this rate, he'd lose for sure!"
But Le Yuxin wasn't just here for trash talk with Xia Lingguo!
Le Yuxin shoved with both hands, knocking Xia Lingguo away and laughed, "A sword without a scabbard will break eventually."
Xia Lingguo shook his head gently, "Swords are made to break. You're just letting yourself rust away in idleness."
As he retreated, Xia Lingguo suddenly realized he had his back to the wall. Instinctively, he stomped on it to rebound into the air.
But at that very instant, Xia Lingguo realized he had screwed up!
He saw that after blocking his elbow and knee strike, Qian Yuliu hadn't moved a muscle, even as Xia Lingguo rebounded off the wall. Instead, Qian was rooted to the spot, feet pressed heavily to the ground. The morning sunlight seemed to weave almost solid golden flames around him—absolutely dazzling!
"The Eight Rice Flow techniques all borrowed from each other. Though the Pouncing Technique was leg-centric, the Biting Technique had leg-based moves, too!"
"Every Pouncing move was based on exploiting the enemy's flaws to borrow force. But this particular move from the Biting Technique, once launched, gave no chance to react!"
"A sword hides its edge, waiting for the moment to strike. Xia Lingguo, I bet you don't get it!"
Eight Rice Flow, Biting Battle Technique: Cosmic Belt!
The only Biting move that demanded a power-up stance. Once charged, it unleashed shocking speed, almost like teleportation, along with colossal impact in a charging assault!
But it had a short range, and the power-up was super obvious. Le Yuxin had to guarantee Xia Lingguo couldn't get far before the charge was over!
So he coaxed Xia Lingguo right up against the street-side wall. Any Pouncing Technique Warrior, on hitting a wall, would naturally kick off it—never escaping, always charging back in!
Le Yuxin stomped both feet, golden energy exploding beneath him, and in a blink he rocketed through the air, slamming into Xia Lingguo's chest!
Boom!
Xia Lingguo felt like he'd taken a cannonball to the gut. He spat a mouthful of blood, crashed into the wall, then slid to the floor, trying to push himself up, but just couldn't make it.
Le Yuxin dusted himself off. Xia Lingguo's shoes must've stepped in something nasty this morning; Le Yuxin's clothes were smeared all over. Warriors who loved kicking were just plain unsanitary—the Imperial Court should make it law that Pouncing Battle Technique guys have to fight barefoot.
Glancing at the defeated Xia Lingguo, Le Yuxin turned to the crowd of onlookers.
"Next."