A purplish-black miasma instantly spread across the Monk’s entire palm.

He pushed up his sleeve, only to see tendrils of poisonous gas, like vines, coiling up his arm.

He immediately circulated his Inner Strength. The poisonous gas halted its advance, but it didn’t recede in the slightest.

The Monk’s expression turned extremely grim.

The masked man on the rafters flew down, landing on the Monk’s shoulder, his eyes filled with fury.

"How insidious!

"The poison’s scent is incredibly faint. If not for my keen nose, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have smelled a thing.

"How are you?"

As he spoke, he reached into his robes, pulled out several bottles, and began shaking out pills to stuff into the Monk’s mouth.

But even after trying several kinds of Antitoxic Pills, the black miasma still wouldn’t recede.

At this moment, the Monk’s face was flushed crimson, and a white mist was rising from his forehead. He was pushing his Inner Energy to its absolute limit.

Yet he was completely helpless against the potent poison in his palm.

His expression darkened.

"Stop trying... It’s useless. This poison is powerful!"

"Damn it! If that old bastard were here..."

The masked man started to say something more, but the Monk suddenly kicked out. The Crescent Shovel, which had been propped against the ground, shot into the air. It tumbled several times before falling straight down.

The Monk extended his arm, and there was a sharp SCHLICK.

In a flash of blood, half of his arm flew through the air.

The Crescent Shovel plunged into the ground with a CLANG, standing perfectly upright.

The Monk let out a muffled grunt. His already ferocious face now looked just like an Evil Ghost.

A black shadow flashed. The masked man moved with lightning speed, striking several points on the Monk’s arm to stanch the bleeding.

The Monk, for his part, tore off the hem of his robes and wrapped it around the wound.

He gritted his teeth and said:

"Which way did they go?"

"Their scent leads north!"

"We’ll give chase. Using such petty tricks to scheme against me... they must have exhausted their options. They’re nothing special.

"They took my arm. I’ll make them pay with their lives!!"

...

...

Two figures sped north through a forest on a rainy night.

They were none other than Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang.

The two of them ran on, their pace not exceptionally fast, but by no means slow.

However, Ye Jingshuang’s steps were light and graceful. The way she regulated her breath and leaped followed a clear discipline, like a leaf in the forest moving with the wind.

Jiang Ran, in contrast, ran with clenched fists and long strides. Every footfall made a SPLASHING sound on the ground, sending rainwater flying.

From the looks of it, he didn’t know a lick of any Lightweight Technique; he was just running like an ordinary person.

And yet, his breathing was long and steady, without a single break.

Ye Jingshuang watched, dumbfounded.

She was no ordinary person. Although at first, her preconceptions had led her to subconsciously assume Jiang Ran was using some wondrous Lightweight Technique...

...after they had run for nearly ten li without stopping, the more she watched, the more she felt something was off.

Unable to hold back any longer, she finally spoke up:

"Young Master Jiang... what kind of Lightweight Technique are you using?"

"What Lightweight Technique?"

Jiang Ran glanced back at her.

"I don’t know any Lightweight Technique."

And it was true, he didn’t know any Lightweight Technique.

Because the old drunkard didn’t know any...

Everything he had learned—medicine, saber techniques, and Inner Energy—had come from the old drunkard.

’How could he learn something the old drunkard didn’t know?’

In fact, besides medicine and saber techniques, even his Inner Energy method was rather crude.

’After all, could you really expect an old drunkard well-versed in swindling, cheating, drinking, and debauchery to know any profound Inner Energy arts?’

"..."

Ye Jingshuang felt that Jiang Ran had done nothing but shock her today.

’His Inner Energy is profound and unfathomable. How could he possibly not know a Lightweight Technique?’

She wanted to disbelieve it, but he didn’t seem to be faking, and the truth was right before her eyes. She had no choice but to accept it.

After a moment of contemplation, she said:

"Young Master Jiang, even without a Lightweight Technique, your deep Inner Strength allows you to keep pace with me.

"However, moving like this consumes too much True Qi.

"We will be relying heavily on you for this journey. If all your True Qi is spent on travel, I fear it will be disastrous if we’re overtaken."

Jiang Ran nodded.

"Miss Ye, you have a point, but I really don’t know any Lightweight Technique..."

"..."

"In that case, I have a Lightweight Technique here. I wonder if it might be worthy of your consideration, Young Master?"

"Oh? You’ll teach me? That would be great, of course."

Jiang Ran’s eyes lit up.

’A Lightweight Technique is a wonderful thing to have.’

’When roaming the martial world, you can go without a horse, but you can’t go without a Lightweight Technique.’

’Things like "treading on snow without a trace" or "flying over grass"... back in my previous life, when I read wuxia novels, my favorite part was the ability to leap up high and travel far.’

’It’s just that in the past, I thought I didn’t have long to live, so I couldn’t be bothered to make the effort.’

’The old drunkard didn’t know any, so I gave up on the idea.’

’But now, with the system’s help, not only do I have a body full of Inner Strength, but the threat to my life has also been lifted.’

’I was already thinking about how to get my hands on a superior Inner Energy art and a Lightweight Technique.’

’I never expected that while the Inner Energy art is still nowhere in sight, a Lightweight Technique would just fall into my lap.’

But thinking of this, he added:

"Can this Lightweight Technique of yours be taught so casually?

"If the elders of your sect find out, they won’t send people to hunt me down, will they?

"I’ve heard that secretly learning another’s martial arts is a great taboo in the martial world."

"Rest assured, Young Master... The Lightweight Technique I am teaching you is not a martial art of my Liuyun Sword Sect.

"It is one of my Ye family’s unique ancestral arts.

"My Ye family is in peril, and if not for your rescue, Young Master, I would have certainly died.

"Teaching you a few of the Ye family’s unique arts is hardly enough to repay you."

"I see."

Jiang Ran nodded. "Then I’ll have to trouble you, Miss Ye."

"It is my honor."

Seeing him agree without any displeasure, Ye Jingshuang relaxed and said softly:

"This Lightweight Technique is called the Celestial Nine Steps.

"I will first recite the mnemonic chant for circulating energy. Please commit it to memory, Young Master..."

She then began to recite it, explaining the energy circulation chant in full detail.

Jiang Ran also listened intently, committing it to memory.

The mnemonic chant wasn’t long, just sixteen lines in total. In a few moments, Ye Jingshuang had reached the end.

"Void-walk and shift the five to pace the three origins; tread the abyss and descend the four to part the two sides.

"Celestial mountain’s wind and fire turn to the Marrying Maiden; vast and alone, I enter the Celestial!

"Young Master, how much do you remember?"

"I remember all of it."

Jiang Ran reviewed it in his mind and, without waiting for Ye Jingshuang to express any doubt, recited it back to her from memory.

After listening, Ye Jingshuang was a little surprised. The mnemonic was obscure, and although not lengthy, memorizing it after hearing it just once was no easy feat.

But considering how profound and unfathomable he was, she didn’t find it too strange. She nodded and began to explain the meaning behind the words.

For example, what was meant by ’void-walking,’ how to ’tread the abyss,’ how the word ’descend’ referred to the hexagram ’Earth over Lake’ from the sixty-four positions, and how one should place their steps accordingly...

It took the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to explain the sixteen lines of the chant.

Fortunately, the two of them learned as they walked, so no time was wasted.

After she had explained everything, Ye Jingshuang began to teach him, starting with the footwork.

How to take a step, how to regulate his breath, and how to circulate his Inner Strength with each corresponding step.

If someone had been passing by at that moment...

...they would have seen a man and a woman in the rainy night, walking side-by-side, their movements identical.

They didn’t walk in a straight line. At times they would pause, then take a step, then turn, then dash forward in a leap.

Slow at first, they gradually picked up speed. In the blink of an eye, the two figures cut through the wind and vanished, leaving a trail of afterimages...