I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 159: Perceiving All Phenomena

Xiao Zongting walked to his desk, his gaze cold as he looked at Liang Wu who had stepped onto the stage, and said in a deep voice, "Intern Escort Master Duan Rong, Realm Inner Breath Realm Second Level. Liang Wu, you don’t need to suppress your realm, you can fight directly."

As soon as Xiao Zongting’s words came out, among the nine candidate escort masters below the stage, a few glanced at Duan Rong with strange looks...

On the stage, Liang Wu, standing opposite Duan Rong, was momentarily stunned.

After all, when the Fourth Escort Team returned to the Escort Agency, the commotion surrounding Ruan Jing had already passed, even the leader Wang Zhuoyong only knew about Duan Rong’s realm at this time, let alone Liang Wu.

An intern escort master achieving the Inner Breath Second Level mastery was not unheard of in the past, but it hadn’t happened for many years.

The last time it occurred seemed to be when Sun Huang, now the leader of the Second Escort Team, achieved it.

Back then, during his transition examination, he had reached Inner Breath Second Level, and the incident had caused quite a stir within the Escort Agency, which was presided over by the old shopkeeper at the time...

Liang Wu couldn’t help but re-evaluate Duan Rong.

He hadn’t expected that the person before him had also achieved Inner Breath Second Level during the internship period...

The Fourth Escort Team had been escorting outside and only returned the day before yesterday. Being a lustful ghost, Liang Wu had been holding back for over a month. Despite knowing that he was selected into the ten candidate escort masters for the transition examination, he couldn’t resist slipping into the brothel in Scarf Hat Lane, indulging there for an entire night...

Unluckily, today he was the first one chosen by Xiao Zongting, and the opponent turned out to be a tough nut who had achieved Inner Breath Second Level.

Liang Wu couldn’t help but curse his bad luck.

But regardless, he was already on stage, and he couldn’t bear to disgrace their Fourth Escort Team while on stage.

Although Wang Zhuoyong was protective, he was also a person who greatly valued face. If he lost to an intern escort master from the Second Escort Team in front of a large audience, Wang Zhuoyong definitely wouldn’t let him off.

Liang Wu pulled himself together, drew the Cow Tail Saber from his waist, his flushed face now showing a few traces of seriousness.

Duan Rong looked at Liang Wu opposite him, and a thought struck him. He recalled last night when his Divine Sense projected out, penetrating the night guard, although at the time, he had to withdraw his Divine Sense because it suddenly hurt after cultivating the Fetal Concealment Scripture for two hours, weighing heavily on his Divine Soul.

The ideas that surged in his mind earlier hadn’t yet been tried, and now facing Liang Wu, Duan Rong felt it was a perfect opportunity to test and verify those ideas.

Standing on the stage, Duan Rong remained stationary, yet his heart moved, and his Divine Sense suddenly expanded...

The moment his Divine Sense extended, Duan Rong focused his attention on Liang Wu...

Liang Wu’s body was instantly penetrated by the Divine Sense, unfolding before Duan Rong...

For a moment, his body became even more transparent and detailed than an X-ray image in Duan Rong’s eyes...

Bone, fascia, meridians, dantian, inner breath, even each and every pore... all became vivid and intricate in Duan Rong’s vision as if right before his eyes...

At this moment, Liang Wu had already seized the initiative, wielding his saber to attack Duan Rong, but just as his body moved, Duan Rong had already seen through his move from the vibration of his bones and muscles and the operation of his inner breath.

"A move from the ’Fierce Tiger Entering Cave’ in the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber." Duan Rong thought quietly in his heart.

As Liang Wu’s saber thrust forward, Duan Rong casually retreated half a step to the right and rear, causing Liang Wu’s strike to miss. Duan Rong took advantage of the shift, twisted his waist, pivoted around, and before anyone realized it, had positioned himself behind Liang Wu.

Liang Wu was shocked, flipped around to attack again, yet Duan Rong continued to evade with ease, as if leisurely strolling, moving precisely. It appeared as if Liang Wu deliberately avoided striking Duan Rong.

Laughter erupted all around the stage.

To those escort masters watching the excitement, it seemed evident that Liang Wu hadn’t sobered up from his drunken state, with unsteady steps, while Duan Rong moved so slowly, almost standing still allowing Liang Wu to strike, yet Liang Wu did not even brush the hem of Duan Rong’s clothes.

Amidst the bursts of laughter, Wang Zhuoyong’s face grew ever more grim, and he stood up shouting angrily at the stage, "Liang Wu, if you continue to stagger around up there, get down!"

Not only did those watching the excitement think Liang Wu was not yet sober, recklessly causing a ruckus on stage, but even a few leaders present shared that sentiment.

However, from Xiao Zongting’s murky, fish-like eyes shot a deep and profound light; he discerned something amiss, though not entirely sure.

Because Duan Rong had moved only twice, and his movements were extremely concise, in the eyes of those enjoying the spectacle, Duan Rong seemed to hardly move at all.

What puzzled Xiao Zongting even more was how Duan Rong managed to do it, or rather, he didn’t believe Duan Rong could achieve such a realm.

Even in his prime, when his martial arts were not crippled, suppressing his inner breath to the second level, engaging Liang Wu in combat, he couldn’t achieve what Duan Rong did.

It was a kind of precision and confidence!

Moreover, it was absolute precision and absolute confidence!

Like a ruler controlling the entire scene, precise to the point of not expending an ounce of extra effort, or moving an extra inch.

As if seeing Liang Wu opposite him as a marionette puppet, Duan Rong could completely manipulate his moves and intentions.

Liang Wu heard Wang Zhuoyong’s angry shout from below the stage, and his heart grew anxious. Being in the midst of it, he was most aware, though he was somewhat hungover, at the moment when he raised his spirit and drew his saber, his mind was clear, free from any disorientated haze.

However, as soon as he made a move, the opponent almost simultaneously stepped into the gap of his move. As he changed his move, the opponent again lightly paced, once more stepping into the gap of his move.

"Damn it!" Liang Wu cursed, looking at Duan Rong with a hint of fear. "Am I truly not sober?"

Liang Wu clenched his fist, hammering it against his temple a few times.

Upon hearing Wang Zhuoyong’s angry shout and seeing Liang Wu’s puzzled expression, Duan Rong’s heart was also stirred. His gaze swept over the stage, toward Wang Zhuoyong seated beside Xiao Zongting, and thought: It can’t go on. Using the opponent’s hangover as a cover, he could cover for two trials, but if the whole scene continued to toy with Liang Wu, even a fool could see something was off.

Duan Rong withdrew his Divine Sense, and with a whiz, pulled out the Cow Tail Saber from his waist and directly attacked Liang Wu.

Having devoured more than ten minor success realm saber techniques, practicing the three incomplete moves taught by Xiao Zongting and gaining insights recently from sparring with Ximen Kankan, today’s saber technique of Duan Rong was beyond what Liang Wu could withstand.

With only two moves, Liang Wu was defeated, kicked in the abdomen by Duan Rong, rolling off the edge of the stage...

Liang Wu rolled on the ground and quickly got up, half of his face covered in dust. As soon as he jumped up, he felt a tumult in his stomach, and with a loud \"wah\", vomited, instantly splattering the ground with a mixture of vomit and alcohol...

Wang Zhuoyong sat there, looking at Liang Wu, his face twisted into the color of pork liver, and he began to regret that Xiao Zongting’s initial slap to Liang Wu was indeed too light.

Moreover, now there’s an awkward problem, does this battle examination even count?

Liang Wu’s hangover was such that he seemed to lack combat power, with Duan Rong defeating him upon first contact and knocking him off the stage. They didn’t even get to see each of their strengths clearly, so how are they supposed to judge?