Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King

Chapter 666: Chapter 355: Liuli’s Provocation, Arrogance Subdued, Facing the Cauldron Alone, Calculated Planning (2)

Nangong Liuli, seeing that her swipe missed, felt exposed in a moment of distraction. She angrily glared at Li Xian, raised her hand to hold her skirt, and simultaneously pointed her left toe towards Li Xian’s Tan Zhong acupoint.

This acupoint is a vital and deadly point on the human body. Although Nangong Liuli put power in her leg, she knew it wouldn’t harm Li Xian; she only sought to force him back. She thought, "Why should it always be you showing off your might? I just want to make you admit defeat, and then I can leisurely tease you."

All this relies on basic martial arts, exchanging moves with adaptability... In the duel, there is both danger and joy. While it may not involve a massive clash of forces, it still requires skillful counteraction. Li Xian raised his palm towards the sole of Nangong Liuli’s foot, also reserving power in his palm. As palm and foot met, Nangong Liuli borrowed the force for a leap, her figure flipping and retreating several meters away. Her figure gracefully descended, her toe lightly tapping a petal of a red flower in the courtyard. She was standing on a flower branch.

The flower branch bent under her weight but was still three inches off the ground. Her lightweight skill was extraordinary, allowing her to stand entirely upon a single flower.

Li Xian laughed, "Nice move!" Exhaling a breath of clear air, he dispelled the filth from his palm. Nangong Liuli chuckled, "Sneaky thief, watch your step." Scanning her surroundings, she noticed the lush flowers and plants. With a flick of her toe, several tender leaves shot forth.

Li Xian sidestepped the attack, the leaves missing their mark and embedding themselves in the stone bricks, red walls, and porch pillars. At this time, neither of them used their full strength, but both required combat abilities. Nangong Liuli’s lightweight skill allowed her to step swiftly through the flower cluster. Wherever her toe brushed, several blades of grass would shoot out, yet the red and yellow flowers swayed delicate and vibrant. Her footwork was exceedingly strong, yet her demeanor was dashing; her movements elegant and natural.

Suddenly, Li Xian raised his finger to catch and stop a shooting leaf. Nangong Liuli frowned and said, "You’ve got some skills." By this time, she had already reached the stream. With a spark of inspiration, she swept her right foot across the water, splashing droplets towards Li Xian, while her left foot kicked leaves at him.

Then, water droplets and flying leaves complemented each other. The water droplets, like mirrored surfaces, at first glance seemed to make the countless flying leaves appear as if they were shooting forth — extremely fast, embodying the way of attack and defense, hiding a transformation of reality and illusion. If Li Xian focused on dodging the leaves, he would certainly be splashed by the water, becoming thoroughly soaked. Nangong Liuli was determined to quell Li Xian’s fiery spirit.

Li Xian accurately caught the real leaf, neither dodging nor avoiding, and used it to catch the attacking water droplets. His technique was naturally flawless, and by the end, the leaf was full of water without spilling over, forming a water ball. Nangong Liuli was secretly astonished: "This technique hides the change between reality and illusion, it seems normal but is hard to see through. His eyes are indeed sharp, seeing through it in an instant."

Li Xian smiled and said, "It’s impolite not to return the favor, Sister Liuli, here is your leaf and water back." Nangong Liuli snorted, saying, "Am I afraid of you!" She saw the water wrapping the flying leaf shot toward her together.

Yet the water ball was only the size of a fist, moving slowly, and could be easily avoided. The water encased the flying leaf, nullifying its agile, swift sharpness, turning it into an awkward move cobbled together.

Nangong Liuli laughed, "Little rascal brother, such a clumsy move, it’s clumsily exposed." Just as she was about to sidestep and dodge, she saw the grass leaf inside the water ball suddenly ignite, causing the water ball to boil and sizzle into steam. Nangong Liuli thought to herself, not good, as the water ball turned into a ring of mist enveloping her.

Furthermore, she heard a "shushing" sound arise. Nangong Liuli knew Li Xian had used the opportunity to draw near, lifting her palm towards the sound, yet she was afraid of truly hurting Li Xian. In martial arts bout exchanges, suddenly changing one’s mind is the most taboo. Thus, her palm was full of openings, hitting nothing, just as she was about to retract it, she saw from another direction, a hand extending out, catching hold of her wrist.

Nangong Liuli gritted her teeth in a silver gnash, silently lamenting, knowing she was at a disadvantage. Yet she still stubbornly resisted, immediately performing the "Swallow Returns to Nest" technique again. Li Xian anticipated this long ago, closely following, performing "Cuckoo Occupies Nest", pre-emptively taking her retreat path, sticking closely behind her, allowing her steps to change and churn, always staying right on her heels.

He simultaneously twisted her wrist toward her back. Nangong Liuli felt the pain, striking back with her left hand. However, she couldn’t see Li Xian, and with the palm technique heading backward, the power naturally lacked, and as it was not a life-and-death duel, devoid of a decisive mentality to fight to death, reversing the predicament was even harder.

Both her hands were seized, reversed to her back. Nangong Liuli twisted her shoulder in struggle but found it hard to break free, the sense of frustration constantly nagging her within, clenching her teeth, silently cursing Li Xian for his cunning: "If not for the sudden thick mist blinding my sight, how could I let you easily get close!" Li Xian laughed, saying, "The tides have turned, are you not going to obediently admit defeat and yield?"

Nangong Liuli declared, "Who says you’ve won?" Suddenly, she leaned forward, kicking her right foot upwards towards Li Xian’s chin. This move was like a venomous scorpion, elegant but cunning. Named "Scorpion Tail Life-taking", it could unpredictably be used during close combat.

If engaged in close combat with an opponent’s palms met in collision, making detachment difficult. During this time, both legs remain free, if one directly kicks forward, the opponent will undoubtedly defend, likely leading to a stalemate, wasting energy. However, by executing "Scorpion Tail Life-taking", the body suddenly leans forward, a foot hooks upward from below, then over the head, fiercely attacking vital areas like the face, occiput, and eyes.

It could catch the opponent off guard, achieving victory in a single move. The technique resembles a "Scorpion Hook Tail" upon execution, extremely insidious, and directly aiming for critical points, hence named "Scorpion Tail Life-taking". This technique is often practiced by women, requiring exceedingly long leg bones, with a quality of flexibility. Nangong Liuli understood the essence deeply. Though evidently an uncommon move, at the moment it missed, she inwardly voiced an "ouch", regretful but hard to restrain, executing is easy, retracting becomes a luxury.

Li Xian had long observed, thinking: "With my heavy pupils, observing meticulously, even as you haven’t executed the move yet, it was already detected. Thus, let’s see how you move. In this duel, shouldn’t you obediently surrender." He said, "Sister Liuli, how about it?"