Chapter Seven: The Perfect Flowing Dragon Step

Once Qin Lang was struck by that palm, even if he didn’t die, he would be severely injured!

“Damn it!”

Qin Lang immediately activated his Black Eye Wheel Martial Soul, but found no way to dodge Qin Jian’s palm strike. Gritting his teeth, just as he was about to unleash his Eightfold Wave to clash head-on with Qin Jian again, a graceful figure suddenly flashed out from the side and swung a palm to intercept Qin Jian’s attack!

“Bang!”

The two palms collided with a thunderous sound. Both Qin Jian and the figure staggered back three steps before regaining their stances.

“Greetings, Sister Yue!”

Qin Jian slightly bowed upon seeing the striking face of the figure.

The one who had just intervened was none other than Qin Yue, whom Qin Lang had met earlier at the Martial Arts Pavilion.

Qin Yue’s gaze settled on Qin Jian. “You, a proud Eighth-Level Martial Disciple, couldn’t defeat Qin Lang, who’s only Fourth-Level, with one palm, yet you dared to strike again? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Qin Jian’s face flushed red and then pale, thoroughly embarrassed at Qin Yue’s words.

“Ahem! Since Sister Yue has stepped in, I’ll spare Qin Lang this time, but don’t let it happen again!”

With a wave of his hand, Qin Jian led the clan’s guards to withdraw, while Qin Jiang helped Qin Lie escape in a sorry state.

“Qin Lang, are you alright?”

Qin Yue turned back, her eyes full of concern as she looked at Qin Lang.

“Thank you, Sister Yue. I’m fine!”

Qin Lang smiled gratefully. Had she not intervened earlier, he would surely have been gravely injured by Qin Jian today.

“I didn’t expect your true strength to be so hidden—you’ve already broken through to Fourth-Level Martial Disciple!”

Qin Yue chuckled. She clearly remembered that six months ago at the clan meeting, Qin Lang was still just First-Level. To have advanced to Fourth-Level in half a year was a speed comparable to the prodigies of the great families in the Zongheng Empire!

Had she known that Qin Lang actually took less than two months to break through to Fourth-Level, she wouldn’t have been so calm now.

“My past ignorance wasted valuable time. Now I’ve finally had an epiphany.”

Qin Lang smiled, his words carrying deeper meaning.

“But you’re still quite a distance behind Qin Jian and the others. Avoid them whenever possible in the future.”

Qin Yue advised.

“Mm.”

Qin Lang nodded. He was not one to pretend or show off, but sometimes, some things cannot be avoided by merely dodging. After all, this was a world where martial prowess was supreme!

Sometimes, a fist is the ultimate truth!

“All right. I’m going back to cultivate my martial skills to prepare for the Tianfeng Mountain Youth Trial. You should work hard too!”

Clenching her fist, Qin Yue gave Qin Lang a faint smile before turning away.

After bidding farewell to Qin Yue, Qin Lang returned to his small courtyard and immediately opened the martial skill he had selected from the Martial Arts Pavilion—the Dragon Swimming Steps!

His battle with Qin Jian made him realize the importance of a body movement martial skill!

Had he mastered such a skill earlier, even if he couldn’t defeat Qin Jian, he would at least have been able to evade his attacks.

“Black Eye Wheel Martial Soul, activate!”

As his martial soul awakened, the Dragon Swimming Steps revealed over a hundred errors and flaws clearly before Qin Lang’s eyes...

Suppressing his excitement, Qin Lang began to refine and practice the Dragon Swimming Steps.

Meanwhile, news of Qin Lang’s victory over Qin Lie quickly spread throughout the Qin family.

“Did you hear? Qin Lang defeated Qin Lie!”

“No way! Qin Lie is a Fifth-Level Martial Disciple. How could Qin Lang beat him?”

“Heh, Qin Lang is close with the Ye family. He must have gotten some miraculous elixirs from them to boost his strength!”

“So what if he beat Qin Lie? Qin Lang has already missed the prime age for cultivation—he’s doomed to be a failure!”

“True, but who would’ve thought this failure has such good fortune with women? The most beautiful girl in Qingfeng Town, Ye Keqing, never leaves his side. I just don’t understand what she sees in him!”

…

The next day, inside Qin Lang’s small courtyard.

“Dragon Swimming Steps!”

With a single movement, Qin Lang’s body flowed like a swimming dragon, darting and twisting within the mountain pass so swiftly that afterimages appeared behind him!

If the Grand Elder Taishang were here, he would be astonished! The incomplete Dragon Swimming Steps in the Qin family’s records could never be performed at such speed, let alone produce afterimages!

What Qin Lang was performing was the Dragon Swimming Steps perfected by his Black Eye Wheel Martial Soul!

“Master is so handsome!”

Nearby, Yun’er’s beautiful eyes sparkled with admiration.

Not only was the posture of the martial skill elegant, but the movements were swift and fluid, making Qin Lang seem like a dragon soaring through the nine heavens—absolutely stunning!

“Master, what body movement skill are you cultivating? It seems so powerful. I’ve never seen such a fast skill in the entire Qin family!”

After finishing his practice, Qin Lang wiped the sweat from his brow as Yun’er hurriedly handed him a prepared towel, her face filled with adoration.

“The perfect Dragon Swimming Steps, a low-level Profound Grade martial skill.”

Qin Lang smiled and answered.

After correcting and supplementing hundreds of mistakes in the incomplete Dragon Swimming Steps, the grade had jumped from Intermediate Yellow Grade directly to Low Profound Grade!

“Low Profound Grade martial skill!”

Yun’er’s small cherry-like mouth opened wide in surprise. Although she couldn’t cultivate, she knew that the strongest martial skills among the four great families of Qingfeng Town were only High Yellow Grade. She hadn’t expected Master to be cultivating a martial skill stronger than any of theirs!

Now, Qin Lang had mastery over two martial skills!

One was the offensive skill Eightfold Wave, which, after refinement, could unleash eight streams of inner strength—hence the name “Eightfold Wave.”

The other was the body movement skill Dragon Swimming Steps.

Both had been perfected to Low Profound Grade by Qin Lang’s Black Eye Wheel Martial Soul!

Profound Grade martial skills vastly outclass Yellow Grade ones and were extremely rare—priceless and nearly impossible to obtain even with money.

None of the four great families in Qingfeng Town possessed a single Profound Grade martial skill!

If the people of Qingfeng Town knew Qin Lang had independently cultivated two Profound Grade martial skills, many would surely turn red-eyed and rush to snatch his martial arts away!

After freshening up and eating the meal Yun’er prepared, Qin Lang said, “Yun’er, bring me ink, brush, paper, and inkstone!”

“Yes, Master!”

Obediently nodding, Yun’er handed Qin Lang a brush and spread the paper on the table, then helped grind the ink at his side.

Qin Lang dipped the brush, and soon a martial skill appeared on the paper before him, with five large characters emblazoned across the top: “Mighty Vajra Palm.”

This was the Vajra Palm skill Qin Lang had refined, its grade having risen from Intermediate Yellow to Advanced Yellow.

Now, only five Soul Condensing Pills remained. Buying enough to sustain his cultivation would be a considerable expense, so Qin Lang planned to sell one of his martial skills.

Carefully tucking the martial skill away, Qin Lang rose and left the Qin estate.

He bought a black cloak from a clothing store and deliberately headed toward a secluded street with fewer passersby. After circling a few times and confirming no one was around, he quickly donned the cloak.

Hidden beneath the black cloak, Qin Lang then slowly made his way toward his destination—the Moon Embrace Pavilion.