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Chapter 202: An Unexpected Gain

"If it's not an illusion, then it truly distorted the real world..." Seeing his attack fail, Hua Taishan used his mobility advantage to continue his probing.

Of course, Bai Mo wouldn't simply stand there and let Hua Taishan probe him as he did with Li Luo before. Li Luo's fundamental physical attributes couldn't compare to his, so even with a countermeasure, Bai Mo could easily deal with him.

But the current Hua Taishan surpassed him in both raw strength and speed, and possessed incredibly rich combat experience. Underestimating him again could easily lead to a capsizing.

Using psychokinetic levitation, he lifted himself into the air, intending to transform into a floating gun platform and suppress his opponent with aerial bombardment.

"Don't think you're the only one who can float! Air Stride!" Using this general Spirit Art developed by Liang Zhen Dao based on his own Spirit Hub, Hua Taishan also moved steadily in the air, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

"Without the counterforce of the ground, your movement speed in the air won't match mine." Bai Mo harassed his opponent with Spirit Energy projectiles.

"Is that so?" Hua Taishan flickered, instantly appearing beside Bai Mo, delivering a fierce slap to his face.

Then he closed his eyes and, relying purely on instinct, swept a kick to his right, feeling as though he had successfully brushed against something tangible.

"Too bad, just a bit off." Seeing Hua Taishan's response, Bai Mo knew that he had more or less guessed his ability; he was merely testing the specific data now.

...

"Five meters, huh?" After several more proactive attacks, Hua Taishan finally measured the distortion range of his opponent's ability, and his attack landed on Bai Mo's body for the first time.

"Figured it out?" He smiled in mid-air.

"Overcoming one's instincts to calculate an additional five meters for the killing blow of each attack truly isn't easy." Hua Taishan now had to close his eyes every time he attacked, forcing himself to strike purely by feel.

"Since you've figured it out, no more feigning." Rarely, Bai Mo deactivated his "A Thousand Miles in a Foot" ability, foregoing a long-range kiting strategy and instead, unexpectedly, engaged Hua Taishan in a head-on battle.

"Aren't you just asking for a beating?" But facing an old man whose physical attributes were significantly superior to his, and whose combat experience outstripped his by nine whole streets, he quickly fell into a state of passive defense.

Yet even so, Hua Taishan, despite holding every advantage, found himself unable to deal with Bai Mo. A portion of his attacks' kinetic energy was absorbed, making his punches feel like striking a sponge.

Though none of the endless defensive Spirit Arts could entirely block his fists and kicks, they could, layer by layer, blunt the sharp edge of his attacks, not to mention the terrifyingly tough final defense—his Life Field.

Hua Taishan, who had founded the path of Xingyi, imbued every punch and kick with the impact of his own will. Blocking these attacks was by no means without cost for Bai Mo.

"Is that kid crazy? He actually dares to fight Old Hua in close quarters?"

"Exactly, he's completely suppressed now. For every ten punches Old Hua throws, he can barely return one."

The onlookers below only witnessed Hua Taishan's heroic bearing, yet failed to grasp his frustration.

"You're a turtle, aren't you? Layers upon layers of defense! My foolish disciple truly didn't lose unjustly." As they fought, Hua Taishan also grew a little exasperated. It wasn't that he genuinely couldn't break through these defenses, but rather that using such devastating, mutually harmful killing moves in a friendly spar was simply unnecessary.

"Almost there," Bai Mo said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hmm?"

"An unexpected gain."

"Speak plain English!" Hua Taishan, already somewhat irate, was further provoked by Bai Mo's cryptic words and immediately unleashed a small killing move.

"Boom!" For the first time in their extended spar, blood was drawn. The attacking Hua Taishan's right hand suffered a slight injury from his burst of power, while Bai Mo, who was struck, had a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Are there any medicinal ingredients for breaking through acupoints in the office right now?" He used his right hand to block Hua Taishan's attacking left hand, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his left as he asked.

"You're using me to sharpen your blade?!" Upon hearing this, Hua Taishan immediately guessed Bai Mo's intention for engaging in close-quarters combat with him, but he didn't dwell on it too much. He simply led him to where his medicinal ingredients were kept.

"Those medicinal ingredients were originally prepared for myself, but now you get them cheaply. When you come out, you'd better explain the whole story to me properly!"

Bai Mo nodded and stepped into Hua Taishan's purification chamber used for breakthroughs.

The moment he was first lightly grazed by his opponent's kick, he noticed a slight abnormality in the acupoints across his body, which were constantly moving at high speed.

Thus, with a "let's try it" mindset, he intentionally took a few more punches. He then discovered that within the will-impact contained in Hua Taishan's fists and kicks, a tiny fraction didn't transform into a spiritual impact to directly contend with his own will. Instead, it converted into a peculiar mental force, capable of temporarily reducing the movement speed of a small number of acupoints.

It was precisely for this reason that Bai Mo abandoned his strengths, cast aside some of his defenses, and engaged Hua Taishan in the close-quarters combat where he was at his greatest disadvantage.

"In about half an hour, these peculiar energies will be completely consumed, and the acupoints will resume moving at a speed I cannot track.

Having estimated the time he had left, he began to calm his mind and, following the methods from his previous research, systematically arranged the internal and external medicines, preparing himself for the breakthrough.

With their speed reduced, breaking through the first acupoint was simply effortless. What had always limited him was merely the elusive nature of the acupoints, not a lack of method or resources.

"Rumble!" The moment the acupoint was breached, Bai Mo felt as if energy ceaselessly surged from an indescribable place within his body. Guided by his internal Spirit Energy, this energy began to transform every part of his physical form, even causing a slight proliferation of the Primal Matter hidden within his body, which governed his life activities.

Feeling his continuous strengthening, he suddenly felt as though he were floating on air.

Alas, this was merely the breakthrough of the first acupoint. Just a few seconds later, the source of energy vanished, leaving Bai Mo feeling unfulfilled.

When he emerged from the purification chamber, he found a crowd of curious onlookers, drawn by the commotion, already gathered outside.

"How was it?" Hua Taishan knew he must have gained something.

"Those of you who cultivate the path of Xingyi and integrate mental will into the Martial Path can try engaging in more battles. The attacking will left behind in others' bodies can reduce the difficulty of breaking through acupoints, but the specific details and the degree to master still need to be explored." After leaving this message, Bai Mo vanished from the surrounding crowd.

Originally, he had believed there was no need for him to cultivate both Dao and Martial Paths simultaneously, thinking that specializing in the Spirit Hub and Spirit Art development path was more suitable. However, the benefits that acupoint cultivation brought to Primal Matter made him change this view.

Bai Mo hadn't forgotten that he was essentially a mass of Primal Matter; this was the true "him."