Chapter 613: Chapter 374: How to Win Two Battles
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Seeing this, Yan Xiaobao remained calm. His gentle nod and curious expression encouraged the next expert to step onto the stage. This expert wasn’t sure if the cat had deliberately faltered, but for him, it didn’t matter. What mattered was experiencing the new extreme attack, understanding how others fought, and learning from their insights. He was a skilled expert, one of the many specialists among this group of guards.
As the One-Horned Eagle approached the arena, everyone focused intently, hoping to witness another network attack. They wished to grasp its essence, to understand what it truly was.
Yan Xiaobao knew that simply relying on threads of Qi wouldn’t be enough to completely block the beast core. When the eagle stepped onto the stage, Yan Xiaobao once again summoned wave after wave of Qi, merging it with the blue cloud. As it left his fingertips, he skillfully wove them together until the blue net once again appeared in his grasp.
The eagle stood before him with a trace of respect. Bowing deeply to the Great Marshall, he acknowledged Yan Xiaobao. Observing the eagle, Yan Xiaobao instantly understood: this guard wasn’t here to prove he was better than the cat or Yan Xiaobao; he was here because he wanted to experience the attack Yan Xiaobao had demonstrated. It was very likely he had never seen anything like it and hoped to seize this opportunity to personally witness and learn. Yan Xiaobao merged himself with calmness, embodying a serene disposition. Seeing an expert so eager to encounter such an extreme attack filled Yan Xiaobao with pride toward those beneath him.
"Please, attack me," the eagle said as he stood before Yan Xiaobao. "I won’t move. I want to experience this attack for myself."
With that said, Yan Xiaobao nodded. Moments later, a brilliant blue light flashed instantly before disappearing just as quickly. A loud thud echoed as the eagle collapsed to the ground. His eyes were filled with astonishment, his mouth trembling.
"This is incredible!" he exclaimed in a shocked voice. His gaze was overflowing with disbelief as he quickly accepted Yan Xiaobao’s hand. The elderly youth had withdrawn the threads of blue Qi from the eagle’s beast core.
The Emperor was once again unable to comprehend what had just transpired, but they could see that the eagle was clearly overwhelmed by the inexplicable attack. Observing the cat and the eagle, both seemed unharmed. Yet, the moment the brilliant blue light appeared, they both immediately conceded defeat. As they collapsed, neither displayed the strength to resist. What kind of astonishing attack was this? None seemed to truly understand.
"Thank you for allowing me to experience this attack," the eagle said humbly, bowing his head as he slowly exited the arena. Yan Xiaobao followed behind him. The eagle no longer felt the need to experience other attacks; he had already encountered the one that intrigued him most, alongside others he might explore in the future.
As he departed, he nodded toward the Emperor and slowly returned to the city gates. He went back to his quarters to prepare for the next day.
After leaving the arena, the guards gradually returned to their tents. Some began cultivating their Inner Energy, while others headed to the arena to train and refine their techniques.
News soon spread about how Yan Xiaobao had won two matches with a single attack, both producing the same result. The Great Marshall remained a figure shrouded in mystery, one whom no one truly understood. His strength became the topic of much discussion. His attacks turned into legendary tales. Though only those who had personally experienced the blue cloud power truly understood what had occurred, everyone believed it was an attack that could overcome anyone subjected to it. Only Yan Xiaobao knew that this technique was only effective against opponents of comparable or lower ability. Just as he understood its limitations, he also recognized that successfully executing the attack was far from easy.
The cat was astonished by Yan Xiaobao’s refined speed, which allowed the young man to skillfully employ the blue net. The second opponent stood motionless, permitting Yan Xiaobao to strike him directly.
While the guards were motivated to train, Yan Xiaobao remained in his room, busy preparing the training regimen for the guards the following day. After several hours of work, his eyes roamed over the paper before him, a satisfied smile on his face.
Yan Xiaobao moved to the floor and sat by the window. In the remaining time, he prepared exercises for the next day. As the sunlight streaming through the window gradually gave way to moonlight, Yan Xiaobao began absorbing the essence of heaven and earth once more. He filtered out Yin Energy from the essence and directed it into his Upper Dantian, merging it with the already-present Yang Energy.
As all the energy entered his body, a sly smile crept across Yan Xiaobao’s face. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of energy flowing through his meridians, gradually refining itself before settling into his Lower Dantian. Yan Xiaobao decided he wanted to accelerate the refinement process instead of merely relying on cultivation techniques to handle everything. Thus, he forced a significant portion of the essence of heaven and earth to continually circulate through his body via his meridians. As the Qi entered each meridian, its color became a pristine white. This technique persisted until the Qi turned a pearly white, glimmering with brilliance.
Though Yan Xiaobao focused on refining his Qi, his cultivation techniques also worked tirelessly, whether in the upper, middle, or lower Dantian. Surprisingly, Yan Xiaobao’s duplicate did not appear within his Upper Dantian. It seemed that refining Yin Yang Energy was a task that had to be manually performed.