Three people and a dog traversed through the dense forest of the Secret Realm.
Xiao Bai walked at the very back, his four legs shaking uncontrollably.
He took three steps and rested for two, his tongue hanging out as he struggled to pull it back in.
“Doggy can’t do it anymore… there really isn’t a single drop left…”
Luo Qingchen walked in the lead, using a tree branch to clear the path.
“You’re done for already? Weren’t you quite fierce when you were running away earlier?”
Xiao Bai rolled his eyes, lacking even the strength to curse.
His stomach was completely empty now; he felt as if his very intestines had been emptied out.
Ling Xiyue walked in the middle, the Green Scale Sword gripped in her hand as she remained alert to their surroundings.
After passing through a thicket of dense bushes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
A secluded little valley appeared before their eyes.
In the center of the valley sat a massive green stone.
A purple vine grew from a crack in the rock, bearing two fruits the size of longans that emitted a rich, exotic fragrance.
Luo Qingchen consulted the encyclopedia she had and studied it carefully.
The Purple Gold Vine was very useful even for those in the Core Formation Stage.
‘Good stuff!’
Luo Qingchen’s eyes lit up.
However, good things were usually guarded.
Next to the green stone lay a demonic beast the size of a small truck.
Its body was covered in black scales, with two thick ox horns on its head and heavy breaths snorting from its nostrils.
An Ironclad Bull.
Peak Foundation Establishment Stage.
Ling Xiyue gripped her sword hilt and was about to step forward.
Luo Qingchen suddenly reached out and pulled her sleeve.
“Wait.”
Ling Xiyue turned back to look at her.
“You just finished half your breakthrough; save your spiritual energy,” Luo Qingchen said as she pulled out the Five Elements Blade.
“Leave this bull to me so I can practice my moves. If I can’t handle it, then you finish it off instantly.”
Ling Xiyue looked at the dagger in her hand.
“Its hide is very thick. You won’t be able to break its defense.”
“Who said I was going to break its defense?” Luo Qingchen smirked.
“I’ll be responsible for disgusting it, and you’ll be responsible for killing it.”
Finished with her piece, Luo Qingchen charged forward with her dagger.
Xiao Bai hid behind a large tree at the edge of the valley, poking out half his head.
‘Is this woman crazy?’ he wondered.
‘An Early Foundation Establishment cultivator challenging a Peak Foundation Establishment Ironclad Bull?’
Ling Xiyue didn’t speak.
The Green Scale Sword was unsheathed, and sword qi swirled around the blade, ready to strike at any moment.
In the valley, the Ironclad Bull sensed someone approaching and suddenly stood up.
Its bell-sized eyes instantly became bloodshot as it glared at the charging Luo Qingchen.
*Moo—*
A deafening roar echoed through the valley.
The Ironclad Bull scraped the ground with its hooves and lowered its head, aiming its two thick horns at Luo Qingchen.
It charged like a heavy tank, its speed incredibly fast and its momentum terrifying.
Luo Qingchen did not retreat; instead, she pressed forward.
Her mind rapidly recalled the movement techniques from action games she had played in her past life, combining them with the footwork of Treading Snow Without Trace.
The two merged into one.
Just as the horns were about to hit her, Luo Qingchen suddenly lowered her body.
A sliding tackle!
The horns flew past her scalp, the resulting wind making her head feel numb.
The Ironclad Bull missed its mark, skidding for a dozen meters before coming to a halt due to inertia.
It turned around, even more furious than before, and charged again.
Luo Qingchen stood her ground, her feet slightly apart.
‘Here it comes!’
The moment the bull reached her, Luo Qingchen pushed off with her left foot, shifting half a step to the left with extreme agility.
The bull grazed past her right side.
Luo Qingchen rose and slashed the Five Elements Blade across the bull’s belly in one smooth motion.
*Screech!*
Sparks flew, but not even a white mark was left behind.
However, the insult was immense.
The Ironclad Bull went completely mad.
It no longer created distance for a charge but instead turned on the spot, launching a flurry of attacks with its horns, hooves, and tail.
The scene that followed left the person and dog at the edge of the valley stunned.
Luo Qingchen began an incredibly bizarre performance within the bull’s attack range.
Crouch.
Stand.
Strafe left.
Strafe right.
Crouch again.
Jump, grab the horns, mid-air roll, land with a sliding tackle, then continue dodging left and right.
Her movements lacked any sense of beauty; they were almost convulsive, like a marionette being jerked around. Y
et, she managed to dodge every lethal attack by a hair’s breadth.
If the horns thrust toward her, she crouched.
If the hooves stomped down, she strafed.
If the tail swiped at her, she crouched again.
While dodging, her hands weren’t idle either.
The Five Elements Blade was frantically chipping away at the bull.
A constant *clink, clink, clink* echoed through the air.
Xiao Bai stared with dead-fish eyes, his jaw nearly hitting the ground.
“Did she take the wrong medicine?” He turned to look at Ling Xiyue.
“Why is she wiggling around like a maggot?”
Ling Xiyue’s brow was slightly furrowed, her eyes full of confusion.
She had practiced the sword since childhood, focusing on elegant movement and calculated strikes.
But Luo Qingchen’s footwork was utterly chaotic and extremely ugly.
Yet, it was undeniably effective.
Every crouch and strafe was positioned perfectly in the bull’s blind spots.
There was no wasted movement and no extra spiritual energy consumed.
It was pure reaction and rhythm.
‘Just what kind of style is this…’
Ling Xiyue murmured to herself.
In the valley, Luo Qingchen was having the time of her life.
“Dodge, dodge!”
“Hands are doing work!”
She continued her frantic crouching and strafing while narrating her own moves.
The Ironclad Bull was dizzy from her movements; its meager intelligence could not fathom why this human moved in such abnormal postures.
The more it missed, the angrier it got.
The more it got angry, the messier its attacks became.
The bull’s rhythm completely collapsed.
Its eyes were red with fury, and it let out a frenzied roar, raising its front hooves high to initiate a desperate War Stomp.
‘An opening!’
Luo Qingchen’s eyes lit up.
“Now! Quick, quick, quick! I’m out of energy!” she shouted, rolling backward to create distance.
At almost the same time Luo Qingchen shouted, Ling Xiyue moved.
The purple figure turned into a streak of light, instantly crossing several dozen meters.
The Green Scale Sword let out a crisp cry.
Green Scale Art, Third Form: Armor Breaker.
The sword light slashed out like a bolt of silk, precisely cutting the bull’s weakest point at its throat, which had been exposed by its raised hooves.
*Pfft!*
Blood sprayed out.
The Ironclad Bull’s massive body froze in mid-air and then crashed down, sending up a cloud of dust.
It twitched twice and went still.
A perfect coordination.
Luo Qingchen hopped up and dusted off her bottom.
“Great job!”
She ran joyfully to the green stone and carefully dug out the Purple Gold Vine by its roots, placing it in a jade box before storing it in her bag.
This was a valuable find that could be sold for many spirit stones.
Even if she didn’t sell it, it was excellent for personal use.
Ling Xiyue sheathed her sword and walked over to the bull’s corpse, looking at the wound on its throat.
One hit, one kill.
This Peak Foundation Establishment beast focused on defense; if she had fought it head-on, she would have had to expend significant spiritual energy to break its armor.
But under Luo Qingchen’s bizarre distraction, it had lost all reason and revealed a fatal weakness.
Ling Xiyue turned her head toward Luo Qingchen.
The other woman was standing by the stone counting her loot, but her legs were still trembling uncontrollably.
Ling Xiyue blinked, then walked over and stared at Luo Qingchen’s legs.
“What… is wrong with your legs?”
Luo Qingchen stiffened.
‘Oh no. I pressed ADAD, Ctrl, and the spacebar too hard just now; the muscle memory won’t stop.’
‘This is what I get for movement aftershocks.’
In her past life, whenever she played high-pressure games, her hands would shake for a long time afterward.
Now that she was operating her own body, it made sense that her legs would shake too.
Luo Qingchen coughed and forced her twitching thighs to settle.
“It’s nothing. Too much activity just now, just some muscle spasms.”
She continued her serious-faced nonsense.
“This is called post-battle acid drainage, you know? I’m flushing out the lactic acid so my legs won’t hurt tomorrow.”
Ling Xiyue watched her quietly.
Her expression clearly said she didn’t believe a word of it.
“What is the name of that movement technique you used?” Ling Xiyue asked.
Hidden Sword Mountain possessed vast archives, and Ling Xiyue had read the techniques of many sects, yet she had never seen such a… peculiar style.
Luo Qingchen’s eyes darted around.
“It’s called: Movement Replaces Thinking, Blade Links to Brain.”
Ling Xiyue’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“Which sect created this?”
“No sect, it’s self-taught,” Luo Qingchen said, patting her chest.
“It’s specialized for treating those who aren’t convinced, especially demonic beasts with poor brains. I can shake them every time.”
Ling Xiyue fell silent.
She recalled the image of Luo Qingchen wiggling frantically in front of the bull.
It was indeed effective, but it was also undeniably unsightly.
“That footwork…” Ling Xiyue chose her words carefully.
“The practical effect is good, but the posture is far too… unrefined.”
“Who cares if it’s refined? If it keeps you alive and wins the fight, it’s a good technique,” Luo Qingchen said with a dismissive wave.
“Don’t just look at the ugly movements; there’s a lot of depth in there.
The core is: when the enemy advances, I crouch; when the enemy retreats, I rise; when the enemy attacks, I dodge; and when the enemy is tired, I scrape.”
Listening to this set of crooked theories, Ling Xiyue actually found that they made some sense.
Sword cultivators focused on charging forward, but this woman’s style took the concept of playing it safe to the absolute extreme.
In the corner of the valley, Xiao Bai finally recovered and limped over.
He circled the bull’s corpse and tutted.
“This bull is pathetic.”
Xiao Bai looked up at Luo Qingchen.
“Being disgusted to death like this… it’ll probably have psychological trauma in its next life.”
Luo Qingchen kicked Xiao Bai away.
“Go away, what do you know? This is called tactics.”