Li Chong saw Zhao Mu come in and had to suppress his displeasure, giving Duan Rong next to him a sideways glance.
Zhao Mu walked in, his eyes scanning the eight servant disciples in front of him. He seemed indifferent to their numbers and said in a deep voice, "In seven days, on April 8th, it will be the assessment day. Today, I will teach you the last move before the assessment, Leopard Drilling Forest."
"This move is different from the previous one, Offering by the Antelope, which is both offensive and defensive. This move, Leopard Drilling Forest, is a killing strike."
"Watch carefully."
Zhao Mu leaped with both legs, and suddenly thrust his saber, swift as lightning.
"Watch closely, jump with both feet, switch steps left and right, and land in a left bow stance."
Zhao Mu then demonstrated in slow motion, explaining as he practiced, breaking down this killer move in great detail.
"As you land, twist the handle with your right hand and thrust forward!"
"Extend your left palm behind you!"
The eight servant disciples widened their eyes like copper bells, fearing they might miss any detail.
In these times, learning martial arts wasn't easy, especially not with someone breaking down moves so extensively for you.
Duan Rong's thoughts flashed like lightning as he cross-referenced some thoughts in front of him with the experiences in his mind, as if his understanding of the subtleties of this martial art was deepening further.
"Come, all of you practice it once, let me see."
After Zhao Mu finished his demonstration, he addressed the servant disciples.
Duan Rong took out a practice saber from the weapon rack. He stood there in a daze for a moment, seemingly pondering some vague ideas he had earlier.
After a few breaths, as if to verify those vague ideas, Duan Rong suddenly thrust his saber forward.
As Zhao Mu walked around watching these servant disciples using the Leopard Drilling Forest move, he couldn't help but shake his head.
Although Kong Bin executed it with some flair, he was still stuck in the routine.
When Zhao Mu reached Duan Rong, just about to bypass him, Duan Rong suddenly thrust his saber.
Zhao Mu's heart skipped a beat. Duan Rong's strike had a slight variation from what he taught.
The moves were merely a routine. Once anyone masters the routine, they must base themselves on it and step beyond it, which means digesting the moves and making them their own.
What Zhao Mu taught these servant disciples was naturally the original routine moves, but the strike Duan Rong just made astonishingly resembled the Leopard Drilling Forest that Zhao Mu personally understood through combat.
This move, Leopard Drilling Forest, is a killing technique characterized by fast advance and fast thrust.
The original routine involves both feet jumping, switching steps left and right, and then thrusting the saber after landing.
However, the strike Duan Rong just made, he thrust the saber as he was jumping with two feet.
All martial arts, nothing can defeat speed. A strike like this naturally highlights the "kill" aspect more, but the drawback is a tendency to miss, which is rash for beginners.
Zhao Mu's face suddenly turned red, feeling like a treasure he kept at the bottom of the box was stomped on by an ignorant person.
"Practice as I taught!"
"You haven't even learned to crawl and already want to run!"
Duan Rong, absorbed in his own world, was startled by Zhao Mu's shout and immediately understood the reason.
He indeed didn't use the routine move Zhao Mu just taught but rather used the move he had digested in his mind. He had been pondering the differences between them, but Zhao Mu's shout suddenly broke his train of thought.
Almost instinctively, Duan Rong thrust out a strike according to Zhao Mu's previously taught routine.
No sooner did he thrust out the saber than Zhao Mu was even more shocked!
The previous strike had Zhao Mu thinking that Duan Rong was like a blind cat running into a dead mouse, just messing around.
But this time, the strike was entirely by the book!
Moreover, Duan Rong's strike was the best executed among all the servant disciples.
This move, Leopard Drilling Forest, is simple in concept—fast advance and fast thrust.
But when the other servant disciples executed it, there was a slight pause between jumping, switching steps, and thrusting the saber.
Even Kong Bin just had the shortest pause.
But Duan Rong's strike during the jump and switch was immediate, quickly thrusting out.
Zhao Mu's Five Tigers and Sheep Saber, having reached the entry realm, clearly knew what was needed to achieve this.
That is the deep comprehension of the saber strike, knowing that the purpose of the jump and switch is the thrust. The moment you jump, though the saber in your hand hasn't thrust out, your mind has.
Only this way can you achieve a lightning-fast saber thrust at the moment of landing.
This is the only way to unleash the killing power of this strike!
The key to Leopard Drilling Forest is speed! If you're slow, the killer move becomes an empty gesture.
Improvement in martial arts, while roots are important, it's more critical how your mind understands the martial arts technique.
As the saying goes, "A miss is as good as a mile!"
"Come over, Duan Rong, practice here! Demonstrate for everyone!" Zhao Mu suddenly beckoned Duan Rong with excitement.
Duan Rong was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, standing expressionless in front of everyone.
"Execute the Leopard Drilling Forest move again!" Zhao Mu instructed Duan Rong.
Duan Rong executed the Leopard Drilling Forest as swiftly as a shooting star.
Zhao Mu said excitedly, "Did you all see? You've got to have the intent to kill; you have to bring out the lethality!"
All the servant disciples were perplexed, puzzled by the sudden praise for Duan Rong after Zhao Mu's earlier reprimand.
Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng exchanged glances.
The most indignant was Li Chong, gritting his teeth in anger.
"Alright, go practice well. A master leads you to the door, but cultivation relies on the individual." Zhao Mu patted Duan Rong's shoulder, signifying him to rejoin the group.
What followed was naturally the standing practice of the full-round stance.
Zhao Mu noticed that Duan Rong's standing posture was quite standard and thought of helping him adjust, but his outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.
Because he found that Duan Rong's standing posture was already as standard as his own.
"This..." Zhao Mu was quite surprised inwardly.
Thinking back briefly, he realized that in the past month besides Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong, he hadn't paid much attention to the other servant disciples.
"Seems like this kid has gotten enlightened..." Zhao Mu thought silently to himself.
Back when he was among the servant disciples, he was not noticeable at first, but a little over a month later, it was as if he had grasped something fundamental, suddenly breaking through the metaphorical paper barrier between himself and martial arts.
A lot of things he previously couldn't understand, he suddenly could.
"It seems this kid is like me, a late bloomer with hidden potential." Zhao Mu evaluated as he watched Duan Rong standing in the full-round stance.
Zhao Mu walked past Duan Rong and stood in front of Li Chong, adjusting Li Chong's standing posture slightly.
After Zhao Mu walked away, Li Chong gave Duan Rong a provoking look.
The implication was, don't think just because you executed one move well, that you're something special. When it comes to the standing stance, adjustments were not made on yours. This indicates there's still no regard for you!
After adjusting the standing postures of Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong, Zhao Mu left the place, leaving the eight servant disciples in the courtyard to practice.
If Li Chong knew that Zhao Mu didn't adjust Duan Rong's standing posture because it was already very standard and he couldn't make any adjustments, one wonders what he would think?