Volume 2: Jade Promise Chapter 88: Sword Mark on the Cliff
Tang Zheng was speechless when he heard what Li Xiaoren said: "Do we still need to sign a life-and-death agreement? I am also confused by the fact that you can practice martial arts to the point of risking your life. What kind of perverted method is this, Instructor Li?"
Li Xiaoren shook his head: "If you sign a life and death agreement first, I will tell you. Why, you don't dare?"
Tang Zheng smiled and said, "Coach Li, your provocation is too low-level. Do you think I was scared? Let me tell you, if I, Tang Zheng, was a coward, I would have been the protagonist of a cool novel like "Rebirth of God-level So-and-so". I wouldn't have to risk my life here. There's an old saying that goes, if we don't go crazy now, we'll be old. People like me, even if we're old, will still be crazy!"
After saying that, Tang Zheng took out a pen and paper without saying anything, and quickly wrote a life and death statement: "To this day, even if I, Tang Zheng, die from practicing martial arts, it is all my own fault. I practiced because I wanted to, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. The smoothness of martial arts training has made me arrogant and conceited, which has led to the point where I have to use a precarious method to practice martial arts today. I am willing to bear all the consequences today. In fact, I am very grateful to Instructor Li for giving me a chance to die!"
After writing the death statement, Tang Zheng dried the ink, pressed a bright red handprint on it, and then handed it to Li Xiaoren and said, "Is this okay?"
Li Xiaoren frowned as he looked at this bizarre life-and-death situation, but at least his meaning was clear, so he nodded and said, "Follow me."
Tang Zheng followed Li Xiaoren with curiosity on his face. The two of them walked quickly all the way out of the martial arts training ground and headed towards the deepest part of the academy.
Walking to the end of the academy's wall, Li Xiaoren took out a key, opened a locked iron door, and walked out with Tang Zheng.
"This, is there some mystery hidden behind the academy? An ancient tomb, or a cave?" Tang Zheng followed Li Xiaoren closely, speculating in his heart.
But soon, Tang Zheng's question had an answer.
After passing through the locked iron gate and walking along a winding path, Li Xiaoren finally stopped.
"You, in the next few days, will practice martial arts here." Li Xiaoren pointed ahead and said.
Tang Zheng looked around and was suddenly shocked.
The place Li Xiaoren pointed to was a cliff hundreds of feet high, and he had never seen a cliff so smooth as a mirror.
On the cliff, except for a very neat fracture, there was no raised or sunken area at all. It did not look like a naturally formed place between heaven and earth, but rather like it was polished by humans.
"This place is called the Victory Cliff. It was created by the Leng family's ancestor, Senior Leng Xiangyuan, who cut a cliff with his sword when he fought against the demon clan here. The broken mark on the cliff was left by the sword energy emitted by the demon clan before his death. Later, in order to commemorate this great victory, the Leng family built the Yisu Academy in front of this Victory Cliff." Li Xiaoren looked at Tang Zheng and seemed to guess what he was thinking. He directly told him the story of the cliff.
Tang Zheng gently stroked the cliff and the crack left by the sword energy, and his heart was filled with a yearning for the earth-shaking battle that had taken place here .
"You stay here, constantly using the Cloud-Stepping Steps to cross the cliff, and keep crossing back and forth for ten days. Under the pressure of life and death, your martial arts should be able to improve by leaps and bounds." Li Xiaoren interrupted Tang Zheng's trance and said directly.
Tang Zheng looked in the direction of Li Xiaoren's finger. The only place where one could stand to cross the cliff as he said was the sword mark left by the powerful demon clan. The sword mark was indeed spectacular, but the depth of the depression into the cliff was very shallow. The deepest place was probably only about the width of a foot.
It is extremely difficult to cross the river relying on such a shallow fracture.
"The bottom of this cliff is a tributary of the Nulong River, the water is extremely fast, and there is a big waterfall ahead. If you are not careful and fall down, even if you are a three-star warrior, you will be in great danger. With your strength, you are in danger of death. That's why I want you to sign a life and death statement first. Practicing martial arts here can indeed bring out all your potential, but the price is that your life is in danger at any time. You have to think it over. It's not too late to regret it now." Li Xiaoren said coldly.
Tang Zheng did not answer, but walked directly to the edge of the cliff. Looking at the dizzy height and the few sparse pine trees growing firmly above the rushing river, he suddenly smiled: "Looking at the strong pines in the dusk, and the chaotic clouds flying by, it is still calm. This is indeed a good place!"
After saying that, without waiting for Li Xiaoren to speak, he immediately rose up into the star image, circulated the star power, and directly performed the Cloud-Stepping Step. With light footsteps, he landed directly at the entrance of the sword mark on the cliff.
The depth of the sword mark was too shallow. The entrance that Tang Zheng rushed towards was exactly the deepest part of the mark, which was only more than the width of a foot deep.
Tang Zheng had not yet mastered the Cloud-Stepping Step . Although he had performed the martial arts footwork very well, the momentum was still a little too much. His foot landed on the sword mark, and his center of gravity was unstable. He swayed dangerously for several times before he could barely steady himself.
A small stone was carried down by Tang Zheng's footsteps while he was trying to stabilize his center of gravity. It kept rolling down for a long time but had not yet reached the bottom. Finally, it fell into the turbulent current at the bottom of the cliff where the waves were crashing against the shore. It did not even splash a single water and was directly swallowed up by the waves, completely disappearing.
Li Xiaoren stood silently behind Tang Zheng, watching his thrilling performance, and couldn't help holding his breath. The stars behind him rose up silently, and the star power poured into his legs, ready to rush out at any time and anywhere.
Tang was unaware . He was now completely focused and didn't dare to have any extra thoughts.
"Huff - inhale - huff - inhale..." Tang Zheng pressed his whole body tightly against the cliff, steadying his breathing. He didn't even glance at the hundred-foot abyss beneath his feet. All his attention was focused on the only sword mark in front of him where he could stand.
"Cloud-stepping step, take off!" Tang Zheng chanted silently in his heart, and used the Cloud-stepping step again. He jumped several feet away and glided steadily in the air for a while. His other foot had just landed on the sword mark when he used the Cloud-stepping step again. He soared out again like a big bird.
One step, two steps, the foothold of the sword mark became smaller and smaller. Gradually, Tang Zheng had to use the Cloud-Stepping Step to cross over the moment his feet landed on the sword mark. He could not hesitate for even a second, otherwise he would surely end up falling off the cliff and dying.
Moreover, because the cliff is a slope, Tang Zheng has to constantly adjust the strength and angle of the Cloud-Stepping Step to ensure that he can always stick to the cliff so that he can successfully gain leverage at the next sword mark landing point. Once he misses a step, he will be completely finished.
Gradually, Tang Zheng's figure became smaller and smaller in Li Xiaoren's eyes. Under the tremendous pressure of life and death, Tang Zheng's Cloud-Stepping Steps had obviously become much more skillful. He had actually walked to one-third of the entire cliff in one breath.
Unfortunately, good luck did not always favor him. Just as Tang Zheng was about to step into the sword mark that was less than two-thirds of the depth of his foot, he suddenly found that the angle of his previous Cloud-Stepping Step was slightly off.
When he fell into the sword mark , his feet only stepped on the edge of the sword mark, and he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the outside of the cliff. He didn't even have a chance to adjust and slid down directly.
Seeing this, Li Xiaoren bent his right leg without saying a word, and rushed into the air like a spring that was suddenly compressed. The whole person flew towards Tang Zheng like a cannonball.
