msmithbooks Chapter 279: First Exchange!
Chapter 279: First Exchange!
Her eyes immediately brightened.
"Thank you, Sister Qingxi."
The gratitude in her voice was completely genuine.
However, the joy only lasted a second. As she remembered something. Her expression wilted again.
"But Su Mo..."
She glanced nervously toward him.
After all, he had practically made an oath to kill her mother earlier.
Yang Qingxi followed her gaze before casually waving her hand.
"Don’t worry about him."
Her tone carried absolute confidence.
"He’ll listen to me."
The certainty in her voice left everyone momentarily speechless.
Even Su Mo raised an eyebrow.
[What a joke. I also want to see how you’ll convince me.]
Shen Kai looked between the two young people in silence.
***
The four of them arrived at the training ground behind the courtyard. This place belonged to the Great Elder and was reserved for his personal use.
Under normal circumstances, Shen Kai rarely came here. Most of his days were occupied with the affairs of the sect, leaving little time for personal training. Instead, the place was usually used by Shen Xing.
Today, however, it had a different purpose.
Shen Kai looked at Su Mo and decided that this was the perfect place to teach this arrogant brat a lesson.
"Come," he said calmly. "Let me show you that even cultivators in the same realm can have very different levels of strength."
As his words fell, his foot tapped lightly against the ground. His figure rose into the air and landed steadily on one side of the training field.
Su Mo could clearly hear the provocation in his voice, but he had no interest in arguing. Activating Body Flicker, his figure blurred and instantly appeared on the opposite side.
Shen Kai’s eyebrows rose slightly.
’Great movement technique. It has high applicability in combat.’
The evaluation flashed through his mind before disappearing.
Su Mo stared at him calmly and said, "Since you’re so old, I’ll let you have the first move."
The veins on Shen Kai’s forehead immediately twitched.
"Are you provoking me, brat?" he asked with a cold smile. "Good. Better not regret it later."
This time he showed no intention of holding back.
Taking a fighting stance, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Su Mo’s pupils contracted.
Fast.
Far faster than he expected.
Without hesitation, he activated Devil’s Eyes. The crimson pupils observed every movement through the Insight ability, carefully tracking Shen Kai’s actions.
The old man raised his fist while charging forward.
Then he punched.
There was no complicated technique.
No fancy movement.
Just a straightforward punch aimed directly at Su Mo’s face.
Su Mo’s lips twitched.
This old man was serious.
Seeing the incoming attack, he immediately reacted and chose to meet it head-on.
Shen Kai’s fist was nearly twice the size of his own. Combined with the momentum generated by his speed, the punch carried tremendous force.
Still, Su Mo didn’t retreat.
His spiritual energy surged as he threw his own punch forward.
The two fists collided.
For the briefest moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Then a faint cracking sound echoed through the training ground.
The stalemate lasted less than a fraction of a second.
Su Mo’s expression changed.
The next moment, he was blasted backward.
His feet left the ground as the force travelled through his arm and into his body. After flying several meters, he finally stabilized himself and landed heavily on the ground.
A dull pain spread from his fist.
Shen Kai looked at him with surprise.
Then that surprise slowly turned into a mocking sneer.
"I only said that you lack experience."
He folded his arms behind his back and shook his head.
"Now it seems I was heavily mistaken."
His gaze swept across Su Mo from head to toe.
"You don’t just lack experience."
The sarcasm in his voice became even more obvious.
"You don’t have any combat experience at all."
Song Meilin rubbed her forehead.
Even Shen Xing, who had been worried moments ago, looked slightly speechless.
Shen Kai continued mercilessly.
"I really underestimated you, kid."
He pointed toward Su Mo’s injured fist.
"You saw me rushing straight at you. You saw me building momentum. Yet instead of using your movement technique to evade, disrupt my footing, or attack from an angle, you chose the dumbest option possible."
The old man clicked his tongue.
"You actually decided to compete with me in a direct clash of strength."
His eyes narrowed.
"Tell me honestly. Have all your previous opponents been standing still waiting for you to hit them?"
Su Mo: "..."
The training ground became strangely quiet.
For the first time, even Yang Qingxi found it difficult to argue.
Because after watching that exchange, she had to admit that Shen Kai’s words were painfully reasonable.
***
Song Meilin was stunned by their first exchange and turned to look at Yang Qingxi in confusion.
"Why did Su Mo meet that attack head-on? Shouldn’t he have dodged or blocked it?"
Even if someone wanted to test an opponent’s strength, there were many better methods than breaking their own bones.
Yang Qingxi looked at the training field thoughtfully.
"He might be trying to personally gauge Grand Uncle’s strength."
Song Meilin’s lips twitched.
"By injuring his hand?"
Yang Qingxi shrugged.
"It does sound stupid when you put it that way."
At that moment, Shen Xing suddenly revealed an enlightened expression.
"Aha, no wonder."
Song Meilin and Yang Qingxi both looked toward her.
"What did you understand?" Song Meilin asked.
Shen Xing crossed her arms and nodded seriously.
"I was wondering why someone like Su Mo would make such a rookie mistake."
"Someone like Su Mo?" Song Meilin repeated curiously.
Shen Xing nodded.
"Yesterday he told me about many of his adventures. He said he had experienced countless life-and-death battles, fought powerful enemies, investigated conspiracies, and traveled through all kinds of dangerous places."
As she spoke, a trace of admiration appeared in her eyes.
"Someone with that much experience wouldn’t make such an obvious mistake."
Yang Qingxi immediately felt a headache coming over.