Chapter 54 Lightness Skill Techniques

Wang Feiyin said, "I am telling you all this to make you understand that there are always people better than you, and heavens beyond the heavens. With your current level of cultivation, if you go out and stir up trouble, you will simply be serving yourselves up as meat to be chopped by others."

He said earnestly, "Therefore, you must remember that when you are out in the world and cannot gauge someone else's cultivation level, do not easily try to test them. Also, do not be overly arrogant or complacent in your daily life, lest you invite jealousy and hatred. If you do not test others, what if they decide to test you?"

Miaohe immediately grew anxious upon hearing this, and asked, "Then what should we do if we run into such people?"

Wang Feiyin replied, "Remember a single formula."

Miaozhen and Miaohe listened with utmost earnestness, and Wang Feiyin continued, "First, endure; second, concede; third, strike."

Miaozhen asked cautiously, "What if we encounter the kind of person Senior Uncle just mentioned—someone far superior—and we cannot defeat them?"

Wang Feiyin replied with a solemn expression, "Run!"

Pan Xiaohei, who was crouching near the door with its ears perked up, lowered its head back onto its paws and let out a disdainful "meow."

Wang Feiyin glanced back at the black cat before telling Miaozhen and Miaohe, "Don't listen to little Hei. This is your Senior Uncle's decades of life experience. Aside from your master and your junior uncle, I never impart this to anyone else."

Miaozhen and Miaohe exchanged glances: ……

Pan Yun chimed in, "Senior Brother is entirely right."

Miaozhen and Miaohe immediately turned around, only to realize that Pan Yun had somehow finished her meditation and was sitting cross-legged, listening with exceptional attentiveness.

Pan Yun said seriously to Miaozhen and Miaohe, "Therefore, aside from other martial arts, the first thing we must learn is footwork. As long as we run fast enough, we live long enough; and as long as we live long enough, anything is possible."

Wang Feiyin slapped his thigh as if he had found a kindred spirit, "Fifth Junior Sister, you are the only one who truly understands me! Back when I taught this formula to your three senior brothers and sisters, none of them took it to heart. It was only after suffering quite a few losses that they finally listened a little."

Pan Yun immediately asked, "Senior Brother, does our Sanqing Temple have any good footwork techniques?"

"There are certainly one or two," Wang Feiyin said. "The most formidable is the Seven-Star Footwork that Miaozhen is currently studying. It corresponds to the seven stars in the sky. When moving, it flows like starlight, making one impossible to grasp or strike. Then there is the Ethereal Step."

Pan Yun looked at him longingly, "And what else?"

Wang Feiyin scolded her playfully, "Do you think supreme lightness kung fu and footwork are vegetables at a market? There is nothing else. For our Mount Sanqing to possess these two formidable lightness footwork techniques is already quite remarkable."

Pan Yun then asked Wang Feiyin to demonstrate it right on the spot.

Wang Feiyin did not refuse. He stood up and said, "It is the dead of night, so you had better watch closely."

Not only Pan Yun, but Miaozhen and Miaohe also nodded excitedly, almost nodding their little heads off.

All three girls had exceptionally sharp eyesight. Although there were only a few twinkling stars and it was very dark, once their eyes adjusted to the gloom, they could still faintly make out shapes.

Wang Feiyin flashed and flew out, stepping on the leaves a moment later to vanish into the shadows of the trees. His posture was as ethereal as an immortal, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, his feet brushing against the leaves like a gentle breeze sweeping across the treetops...

The three girls' eyes lit up as they chased after Wang Feiyin. Wang Feiyin's voice came from afar, "This is the Ethereal Step."

As he skimmed across the tips of the leaves, the three girls instantly lost track of him. Pan Yun's ears twitched and she whipped her head around just as Wang Feiyin landed right behind them.

Miaozhen and Miaohe followed Pan Yun's lead and looked back, gasping in astonishment as they saw their Senior Uncle circle back to their side. They let out a synchronized, amazed "Wow."

Pan Yun clapped excitedly. It was brilliant, truly brilliant—an ordinary lightness footwork technique had actually managed to bypass her spiritual energy perception.

Miaozhen and Miaohe began clapping excitedly as well.

With glittering eyes, Pan Yun asked, "And what about the Seven-Star Footwork?"

Wang Feiyin replied, "The Seven-Star Footwork requires a sparring partner to truly comprehend its mysteries. Why doesn't Junior Sister come and attack me?"

Pan Yun answered, "Since Senior Brother has made such a request, I will not decline."

As her voice trailed off, Pan Yun launched a palm strike and attacked. She did not know many martial arts forms and excelled mainly in two sets of routines: one called Military Boxing, and the other called Basic Ancient Martial Arts Forms, both of which she had learned during her school days.

Among them, the basic ancient martial arts forms included foundational movements for palms, fists, sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and other basic weapons.

She had started learning them in the third grade of primary school and continued all the way until her university graduation.

However, with only two classes a week, she had truly learned nothing more than the basics.

When executing the moves, she channeled her spiritual energy directly.

Knowing that Wang Feiyin's cultivation was high, Pan Yun held nothing back. She directly unleashed her military boxing, every single strike aiming straight for his vital points.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Wang Feiyin leaned backward as she threw a punch, his feet firmly rooted to the ground. Tilting his head to dodge the force of the strike, he pivoted like a free-spirited compass: his feet anchored to the ground while his body leaned and swayed, spinning in mid-air to brush past the attacking Pan Yun. With a light tap and pivot of his foot, he landed right behind her.

Without pausing or turning around, Pan Yun launched her next attack. Wang Feiyin retreated a couple of steps, spun, and stepped forward once again, bypassing Pan Yun's side...

By the time Pan Yun finished her entire routine of fist forms, she was covered in sweat, yet she hadn't even managed to brush the hem of Wang Feiyin's robe. Clearly, she had used spiritual energy, making her movements fast and her attacks swift.

She could tell that Wang Feiyin hadn't even used his internal energy; he had relied purely on footwork to evade her attacks.

Pan Yun froze.

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard proudly and said, "Well? Qi within the body isn't almighty, is it?"

With a flick of her hand, Pan Yun formed a hand seal and asked, "Then what if I abandon martial arts moves and use spellcraft instead?"

Wang Feiyin smiled. "You may try."

Hearing this, Pan Yun cast a spell instantaneously. A beam of spiritual light shot swiftly toward Wang Feiyin.

Although surprised by the speed of her spell, Wang Feiyin gracefully dodged it with effortless ease.

He took two steps back, and the grass on the ground suddenly grew rapidly, twisting upward to bind his feet. Without even looking, the moment the grass shot up, he shifted to a different direction. Even though he was right in front of Pan Yun, he slipped away like a stream of light, impossible to catch.

Perhaps sensing that Pan Yun was trying to anticipate his next move based on his previous steps, the footwork he used this time was completely different from before.

Unable to figure out his pattern, Pan Yun could only attack based on the direction of his spins. Yet somehow, no matter how he moved, the person who had been right in front of her a split second ago was suddenly behind her the next; the person who had been directly to her left a moment ago was now offset by thirty degrees...

Unpredictable. Completely unpredictable.

Pan Yun attacked him for a quarter of an hour, growing so exhausted that she was panting heavily, leaning against her knees in disarray as she watched him. Yet he still stood there looking completely composed and unbothered.

Pan Yun panted, "...You didn't use spiritual energy."

Wang Feiyin smiled gently. "Even if an ordinary person stood before you, as long as they have mastered the Seven-Star Footwork, you still wouldn't be able to hit them—at least, not with your current abilities."

Pan Yun asked, "Aren't there only seven stars? Why are there so many variations?"

Wang Feiyin asked back, "Do you know how many variations there are for seven stars?"

Pan Yun paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Permutations and combinations? There are five thousand and forty."

Wang Feiyin, who was just about to reveal the answer, choked for a second before nodding, "Correct, five thousand and forty. Do you know which point I will step on next?"

Pan Yun eagerly stepped forward and grabbed Wang Feiyin's hand, "Senior Brother, I want to learn this!"

This was simply a lightness skill designed to drive people to distraction—allowing you to see him clearly yet leaving you unable to hit him. The Ethereal Step could be used for escaping with one's life, but this Seven-Star Footwork was purely meant for infuriating people.

Her eyes shone as she already brainstormed another application, "Senior Brother, we should make this footwork a mandatory technique for our sect! Trust me, even if we cannot defeat our opponents with the Seven-Star Footwork, we can certainly anger them to death.

"Look at me—I have such a pleasant temperament and such a broad mind, yet in these two short quarters of an hour, you've nearly driven me to fury. Those narrow-minded people out there will definitely be angered to death much faster than me."

Wang Feiyin: ……

Although Miaohe was also excited, she looked at Miaozhen, forced herself to raise her arm, and spoke up for herself, "Junior Uncle, I don't want to learn this."

Pan Yun turned her head and frowned, "Why? Such a wonderful technique!"

Miaohe replied, "Because I can't learn it."

She looked like she was about to cry, "The Seven-Star Footwork is too difficult. To master it, you first have to master the permutation of the seven stars."

Wang Feiyin chimed in, "Don't force Miaohe. Learn it if you wish to, and I'll teach you tomorrow. Miaohe can study the Ethereal Step instead."

With that, Wang Feiyin looked down at Miaohe's little belly and said ruthlessly, "Miaohe, you need to slim down. To practice the Ethereal Step, you first need to be able to float."

Miaohe patted her tummy and muttered, "Does one really have to be able to fly? My current footwork is already quite fast."

Pan Yun, who was quite fond of Miaohe's baby fat, glanced at her little belly with a twinge of sympathy. After a brief moment of thought, she said, "I also know a set of lightness footwork called the Afterimage Step, which might actually suit Miaohe better."

"Oh?" Wang Feiyin grew interested. "In what way does it suit her?"

"It's easy to learn, and doesn't require much floating. True to its name, it's as fast as an afterimage, making it equally impossible for others to pin down. Most importantly, even a chubby person can learn it."

The Afterimage Step was not part of the school curriculum; rather, it was a technique she had exchanged for using contribution points from the national museum's collection.

It was one of the most popular high-tier movement techniques precisely because it wasn't picky about its practitioners—chubby people could learn it, and even someone with a limp could learn it.

Because of its high inclusivity, its required exchange points were also quite high.

Upon hearing this, Wang Feiyin immediately made a gesture, "Let me try it."

Now it was Pan Yun's turn to run. She kicked backward with her foot, instantly leaping two or three zhang away. Without breaking her stride, her legs churned backward like a startled roe deer...

Then, she executed a smooth pivot and dashed toward the mountains, vanishing into the brush in a blur. Because she moved so fast, when Wang Feiyin chased after her and threw a palm strike, he only managed to hit an afterimage. With a swift *whoosh*, Pan Yun had already bolted far away. In the dim twilight, they could only catch fleeting glimpses of her lingering afterimages.

It truly lived up to the name of the Afterimage Step.

Everyone: ……

Pan Yun quickly dashed back in a *whoosh*, exhaled a breath, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said, "This technique has only one drawback: it consumes physical stamina and spiritual energy. Oh, you guys don't have spiritual energy yet, so for you, it consumes internal energy.

"But since Miaohe is so energetic, physical stamina is probably the last thing she lacks. As long as you practice diligently and build up more internal energy, it will definitely be enough."

Miaohe let out an excited "Wow" and repeatedly declared, "I want to practice this! I want to practice this!"