It was entirely possible that the Scripture of the Heavenly Way had been leaked.
Su Tianqing and Su He both harbored such a suspicion in their hearts: that Leo Young had learned the Scripture of the Heavenly Way somewhere else—not by practicing it directly, of course, but by studying the manual until he knew it inside and out, until the pages were worn thin.
Then, after arriving at Zhenwu Mountain, he discovered that they also had the Scripture of the Heavenly Way, which gave him the idea for this plan to disguise himself as a prodigy with an astonishing memory and comprehension.
Only this could explain how he was able to learn the Scripture of the Heavenly Way in three minutes. As for his motive, it was obviously to attract Zhenwu Mountain's attention, to gain more notice and receive better training.
In Su Tianqing's view, this was an entirely tolerable bit of scheming. After all, with Leo Young's entire family massacred, it was normal for him to be desperate to make some waves.
Or rather, he actually hoped that Leo Young had some schemes like a normal person.
...And yet, Su Tianqing also had a faint feeling of another possibility. Leo Young gave him a certain feeling, the same feeling Jiang Qiu had once given him.
Whether to verify the suspicion in his heart or to expose Leo Young's scheme and tell him there was no need for such opportunistic, petty tricks, Su Tianqing had summoned him over to teach him this Verdant Pine Fist Technique.
How difficult was this fist technique to practice?
Let's put it this way: Perfected Master Zhou had failed to learn it back in his day. It wasn't until he was old and his understanding of Daoist arts had deepened that he finally grasped its mysteries, but by then he was unable to practice it. He could only toss the manual to Su Tianqing and his other disciples to learn on their own...
Among Su Tianqing's generation, only he alone knew it, and because of the fist technique's ridiculous formula, he had remained at the introductory level, unable to make any decent progress for many years.
It wasn't until Su He's generation that a few decent practitioners emerged. Fang Ying and Jiang Qiu both had high Comprehension. The former watched it five times, then went back and pored over the manual for three or four days, asked Su Tianqing a few questions, and managed to stumble her way into learning it. Her progress was a bit better than Su Tianqing's, but only by a little.
The latter was far more exaggerated. He learned it after Su Tianqing demonstrated it just three times, and his progress thereafter was swift.
In addition, there was a certain noble guest recuperating on Zhenwu Mountain who became interested after watching Fang Ying's morning practice. He later asked for the manual, and in two or three days, he had actually learned it as well... Considering this noble guest's physical condition, he might have been even more monstrous than Jiang Qiu.
After finishing one run-through, Su Tianqing inquired, "Have you memorized it all?"
Normally, he should have performed it a few more times, but since Leo Young could memorize the four-thousand-word Scripture of the Heavenly Way in a few minutes, memorizing this should be no problem at all.
Leo Young smiled faintly. "Of course."
"Is there anything you don't understand?"
"No."
In an instant, the same thought arose in the minds of the master and his two disciples.
["...He actually said no?!"]
One who could never learn it and two who had barely managed to grasp the basics through sheer brainpower—hearing this statement now, their reactions were quite spectacular. However, thanks to the powerful body control of martial artists, no one let their inner thoughts show on their faces.
"Hehe, Little Junior Brother is as interesting as ever," Fang Ying said, fanning herself with a folding fan and chuckling lightly. "I rarely repeat myself, but this fist technique is truly not simple. If you speak too confidently, you'll end up deeply embarrassed."
"Eh?" Leo Young laughed casually. "Has no one ever learned it like this before?"
This was a rather inappropriate and impolite question. Su Tianqing didn't even answer. Instead, Fang Ying shook her head and chuckled, "No, not a single one."
Leo Young said casually, "Then I'll be the first."
"...Fine. In that case, Little Junior Brother, perform a set for me to see."
When it comes to martial techniques, you can tell if someone knows it or not the moment they perform it. Even if the movements and the flow of Internal Breath are correct, it's a wasted effort if the mental mantra doesn't align. As the saying goes, 'empty posturing is obvious at a glance.'
Leo Young didn't waste any words and immediately did a simple warm-up—he had no choice. This body's flexibility was too poor; its score on a sit-and-reach test would be abysmal. Without warming up, Leo Young figured he would probably make a mistake on the simplest of moves...
At the same time, Fang Ying and Su He began to communicate with their eyes.
["Do you believe him?"]
["Hehe, I do not."]
["Ah, I was going to say, if you said you believed him, I would've suggested we make a bet."]
["Hmm... No bets, no matter what. There is nothing about you that interests me, and the act of defeating you has become so frequent that it bores me. It's pointless."]
—Heaven only knew how Fang Ying managed to convey such a long string of information with just her eyes.
On the other side, Su Tianqing's gaze remained fixed on Leo Young, ignoring the other two.
Before long, Leo Young finished his warm-up, circulated his Internal Breath, and began to perform the Verdant Pine Fist Technique. Fang Ying and Su He also focused their attention... Although they said they didn't believe it, only they knew what they truly thought in their hearts.
The feeling was like being asked by a friend if ghosts exist after watching a top-tier horror movie. As a staunch materialist, the answer is a definite no, but...
Right now, Leo Young was like that 'ghost.' So, was he real or fake?
Unlike internal arts, there are no restrictions on gaining experience for external arts. Leo Young's movements were serene, his body following his mind. As the shadow of his robes fluttered, he looked like a verdant pine tree rooted in the earth.
By the time he finished the set, Su Tianqing was momentarily dazed... He had felt it. Leo Young's Internal Breath, spurred by the fist technique, permeated his entire body, flowing smoothly and naturally. It completely lacked the awkward stiffness Su Tianqing himself experienced when practicing it. Instead, it nourished the physical body in a perfectly integrated manner, with such high efficiency... If Leo Young hadn't run out of Internal Breath, the nourishment would likely have continued, and the speed at which it strengthened his physique would be simply immeasurable.
["He really... learned it in one go?!"]
Su Tianqing saw it clearly, and the other two were also somewhat stunned. But after their stupor, their first reaction wasn't to marvel at Leo Young's talent.
"...You lost. You just said you didn't believe it."
"You didn't believe it either..."
"In my heart, I believed."
"Ha! Then I believed in my heart too."
".....Second Senior Sister, did you really believe?"
"Hehe..." Fang Ying fanned herself, forcing a smile. "Just now, I did not believe."
This conversation felt like a battle between the left and right sides of the brain, but they understood each other's meaning perfectly. Su He composed himself and asked, "And now?"
"...Now, my heart is even more unwilling to believe."
"'That you're an idiot'?"
Fang Ying did not reply. Sometimes, silence is the best answer.
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 40 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Ms_Medusa