Mysterious as the shadows, swift as thunder!
The green light shot from Gao Jin's sword scabbard, and Le Yu had no way to dodge!
What Yin Yinyin meant by danger was exactly this—it didn't matter that Le Yu was on his guard, an internal traitor could still use moves he couldn't avoid or withstand. Best case: Le Yu gets embarrassed and seriously wounded. Worst case… Le Yu had to get a new ride!
But real talk, Le Yu was actually pretty happy with his current Qian Yuliu supercar. It was still young, headlights bright, plenty of horsepower, handled like a dream. Unless a Lambo-level luxury car came to run him over, Le Yu was definitely fighting till the bitter end!
Just as Le Yu braced for a serious injury, the green light had already buried itself in his abdomen, tearing through his clothes, and then…
That was it. Nothing else happened.
He felt like his stomach got poked, but for someone with a Residual Blood Physique like him, that poke hurt less than stepping on a LEGO.
"That's it? That's it? That's seriously it?"
Le Yu swept out his left leg, kicking Gao Jin in the back of the knee, forcing him to kneel. He locked down Gao Jin's right wrist, pressing him to the ground, "Surrender, or get ready to say goodbye to your lovely wife."
'Lovely wife, what lovely wife…' Before Gao Jin could voice his confusion, a stab of excruciating pain exploded from his right wrist. The dislocated joint made him gasp and stifle a groan, sweat pouring down his face.
Le Yu took a second look at Gao Jin, "Damn, bro, your wrist's basically a pretzel and you didn't make a sound. I gotta hand it to you—solid dude."
"I give!"
Lin Xue decisively called off the duel. Le Yu snorted, kicked Gao Jin square in the butt, launching him back into the crowd, then lowered his head to check his own wounds.
His left abdomen's clothes were ripped open, and there was a visible purple mark, like someone had hit him with a hammer. It was an injury, but nothing major. According to Qian Yuliu dojo wisdom, all he needed was to visit the Medical Bureau, find an old master with good hands, and let him massage the bruise away.
Le Yu's expression turned grim, "Your last move… don't tell me it was…"
"That's right, it was the Seven Emotions Battle Arts." Propped up by others, Gao Jin glared at Le Yu, gritting his teeth as he gasped out, "Fueled by rage, I've made crazy progress in the Seven Emotions Battle Arts lately, but I still haven't practiced enough. Otherwise, that sword light from my scabbard would've sliced you in half! Damn it!"
"So it was the Seven Emotions Battle Arts," Le Yu said, suddenly enlightened.
The Seven Emotions Battle Arts was a super unique system, even among the Eighteen Shining Combat Techniques. It demanded a lot from its practitioners—not in terms of family background, physique, or smarts, but in emotion.
Unlike the other Combat Techniques, which required a 'calm heart' all the time, the Seven Emotions Battle Arts needed the user to be in a constant state of emotional upheaval. Extreme feelings—pure joy, rage, grief, terror, love, hate, lust—these turbocharged its strength.
Martial Artists trained in the Seven Emotions Battle Arts could contaminate their own Spirit with their emotions, which would affect their internal Light Construction, even drawing in the world's natural energy. It wasn't a technique you could just memorize from a textbook—the skill floor and ceiling were both sky-high.
Back in the war-torn past, there'd been rich kids who watched their world crumble, lost everything, then drowned themselves in the Seven Emotions Battle Arts. Overnight, their hair turned white. Training sword at dawn, by nightfall they'd stormed the enemy camp, one man, one sword, slaughtering a hundred thousand soldiers and beheading the enemy chief—only to die alone of heartbreak when they returned home to ruins.
To put it simply, this was a protagonist-level power-up, a "sacrifice-your-parents, unlimited-mana" type of technique. But only a handful became famous by mastering it—most people couldn't even get started.
"Makes sense, though. Tons of people think they're depressed, but they're mostly just being dramatic. Most so-called earth-shattering feelings really aren't that big a deal. The Seven Emotions Battle Arts? Only orphans who've truly tasted life's ups and downs actually get in the door."
From what Le Yu knew, Gao Jin really was an orphan. Lin Jinyao wasn't just his mentor, but basically a father figure.
So Le Yu wasn't surprised that Gao Jin picked the Seven Emotions Battle Arts—it was actually one of the techniques taught at the military academy!
For them at the academy, the Seven Emotions Battle Arts was pretty much a lottery ticket—or maybe an insurance policy.
After all, life's unpredictable. Who knows, maybe your family gets wiped out tomorrow, maybe you gray out overnight, maybe you plant the seeds of deep emotion and become a top-tier powerhouse?
Military academy Martial Artists either went to the battlefield or became Patrol Execution Guards—always dancing with death. That made it pretty easy to get started on the Seven Emotions path, and sudden explosive comebacks at the edge of death were nothing unusual!
After suffering a big tragedy, lots of people would try cultivating the Seven Emotions Battle Arts. If you didn't succeed, it meant your hate wasn't deep enough. If you did, your fighting power skyrocketed—nothing to lose!
Look at Gao Jin—dude used to be Le Yu's personal punching bag, now he could at least take off one hit point. The Seven Emotions Battle Arts was the real deal!
Seeing Le Yu's enlightened expression, Gao Jin couldn't help asking, "Didn't you already figure it out?"
"Your last move was so weak, I thought it was some garbage technique you made up yourself. Didn't even cross my mind it was the Seven Emotions Battle Arts," Le Yu replied honestly.
Earlier, Gao Jin had mostly exploded with anger and resentment, contaminating his Spirit to charge up light even after already shooting out a sword beam. But his technique just wasn't there yet—it was like a fat dude who can't do one pull-up: the green glow he managed to shoot, full of resentment as it was, couldn't even pierce Le Yu's abs.
Pfft—
Gao Jin coughed up a mouthful of old blood and passed out cold.
"Come on, big bro with the green light. Your hate for me isn't nearly strong enough."
The thought that his words might actually help Gao Jin make progress in the Seven Emotions Battle Arts made Le Yu feel oddly gratified. "The life of a good guy is just this plain—and this much fun."
"Who's next?"
"Me."
Xia Lingguo stepped forward, arms at his sides, right foot forward, silently locking eyes with Le Yu.
If he hadn't volunteered, Le Yu might not have even noticed him—he wore a plain outfit, his looks were bland, and he kept his eyes nearly shut like he was always squinting, blending right into the crowd.
Forget Gao Jin's over-the-top presence—even the Patrol Execution Guards watching from the sidelines had a bigger vibe.
Xia Lingguo wasn't much of a talker, either, and his face was completely blank. Le Yu had a tough time sensing any hostility from him. The guy felt like a robot on autopilot: nothing unusual at first glance, but the longer you stared, the creepier it got. "People you can't read are the scariest, since you never know what they'll do next."
"Could he be the traitor?"
Gao Jin had been a punching bag from start to finish, and even his supposedly desperate counterattack was as limp as a married man three years in. That meant he was off the suspect list.
Compared to Gao Jin, the quiet and unremarkable Xia Lingguo seemed way more suspicious. "After all, lying low is the traitor's best camouflage—it keeps everyone's guard down and gives you an escape route."
"A notorious, over-the-top traitor like someone from Qian Yuliu has no way out—if they don't clear their name, they're just going to get killed. No chance to fade away or retire."
"Please."
Smack!
No chit-chat—Le Yu started off straight with the Desolate Bite stance, Palm Force whistling through the air as a slanted light explosion flashed out. The follow-up was full of feints. If Xia Lingguo made even the slightest opening, Le Yu would hammer it home with his signature relentless beatdown!
Swoosh!
A streak of light flashed by, breaking up Le Yu's Desolate Bite from a distance!
Le Yu blocked with both arms and realized Xia Lingguo was sweeping in with a hook kick, immediately chaining it into a midair double kick!
'Using your legs? Do you think that little of me…'
Leg strikes had bigger range and hit harder than fist or palm, but they were riskier—if you couldn't retract your leg in time, or if the enemy grabbed your calf, you were just begging to get pounded!
Biting Battle Technique · Flood-Spitting Desolate Bite!
Smack! Smack!
Le Yu took two steps back, blocking twice in a row, then timed his move perfectly to grab Xia Lingguo's calf and yank him off-balance. Consider this a lesson: never stick your stinky foot in somebody's face in a fight!
But even as Le Yu grabbed his leg, Xia Lingguo didn't panic. Instead, he bent his knee, twisted his hips, and used Le Yu's force to launch himself closer in midair, swinging a punch right at Le Yu!
All Le Yu felt was a rush of force, a blinding explosion of light so intense it made his face sting. He ditched the idea of taking that punch head-on and used his left palm to block, letting go of Xia Lingguo's calf so he'd lose his perch and drop, waiting to counterattack!
But Xia Lingguo reversed it—he grabbed Le Yu's hand and landed a midair kick, then used the momentum to keep punching forward. His limbs hammered down like a meteor shower, fast as the wind, fiery as a blaze!
Smack smack smack smack!
The crackle of clashing strikes echoed nonstop, and under the bursts of light no one nearby could actually see what was happening. Even their eyes and chests ached from the intensity!
Suddenly, the two fighters broke apart. Le Yu staggered back three steps before stopping, blew out a heavy breath, spat out some residual blood, and asked, "Yadao Style?"
"Yadao Style," Xia Lingguo answered, arms at his sides and trembling slightly, "Pounce Technique."