"Senior, it seems you insist on making a move? Then this junior dares to ask for a couple of pointers!" Hai Chenfeng’s pride flared within him. If you claim to be a senior master, yet resort to bullying with superior strength? Where is the demeanor of a true elder? Better to be beaten to death than frightened to death! After all, I, Hai Chenfeng, am the apprentice of one of the Eight Supremes! When have I ever feared anyone?

The Azure Supreme, Meng Hongchen, was known for his eccentric nature, never discussing outside affairs with his disciples. As for Ying Bokong, having long resided beyond the frontier, Hai Chenfeng had never encountered him. Rumors about Ying Bokong within the passes were scarce. Thus, for a brief moment, Hai Chenfeng failed to recognize the man before him—one of the Eight Supremes, famed equally with his own master: the Prairie Eagle God, Ying Bokong!

"Heh heh, just a couple of pointers might lack flavor; meeting is fate. Today, you shall help this old man loosen his joints," Ying Bokong boomed with laughter. Suddenly, he moved forward with fluid grace, bringing down a palm strike aimed at the crown of Hai Chenfeng’s head.

Hai Chenfeng snorted in anger, his long sword clanging as it left its sheath, a streak of azure light shooting straight out.

Bang! Ying Bokong's right hand met the sword's edge head-on, without any trickery. Flesh meeting cold steel actually produced the sound of clashing metal.

Hai Chenfeng’s heart settled. Though the old man's Qinggong was astonishing—truly the finest he had ever witnessed—this initial clash had resulted in a draw. While his opponent used a palm against a sword, implying superior strength, that strength couldn't be overwhelming. Youth often conquers age; he might still have a chance. Letting out a long cry, rolling blue light erupted from within him, surging outward like the high tide of the sea—turbulent and immense.

Little did he know that Ying Bokong’s perception was extraordinarily keen; he was intentionally using only strength equivalent to Hai Chenfeng's to prolong this desperate struggle.

Ying Bokong had a specific reason for seeking out fights everywhere. Having spent many years dwelling in the snow-capped mountains, sparring with the majestic eagles, he had gradually gained insights. From the eagles' flight, combat, hunting, attacks, and evasions, he had abstracted a set of profoundly powerful techniques from his original Nine Forms of the Eagle God: the Seventeen Forms of the Eagle Transformation!

This set of techniques was immensely powerful. However, being newly created, it was far from fully integrated. The transitions between moves caused Ying Bokong extreme headaches. He constantly sought a worthy sparring partner to properly drill these forms, identify the shortcomings of the "Seventeen Forms of the Eagle Transformation," and find ways to improve them, yet he always failed.

One must remember, the other Supremes of his standing were hardly idle. Some practiced reclusiveness, others remained elusive like dragons hidden in mist, and some simply refused outright.

Who among them had the time to indulge his playful sparring?

Moreover, these other masters were only slightly inferior to Ying Bokong in Qinggong; in raw, genuine strength, any one of them surpassed him. Even if Ying Bokong provoked them, it would be meaningless, leaving him truly helpless.

His arch-rival, Feng Juanyun, was an option. But whenever they clashed, it was invariably a fight to the death! Under such circumstances, employing the not-yet-perfected Seventeen Forms of the Eagle Transformation would be pure self-torture, if not outright suicide.

Even if he could survive the encounter, he would still be leaking his ultimate, hidden techniques to Feng Juanyun. Ying Bokong absolutely could not allow that. This skill was reserved as the ultimate move for the day he finally suppressed Feng Juanyun; revealing it now was unthinkable!

But apart from that, though the world was vast, how many others could truly match Ying Bokong?

Ying Bokong had considered venturing into the Sky Punishment Forest, but the thought of the Heaven-Shaking, Ghost-Wailing power of the Forest Master made him hesitate again and again. In the end, he dared not go: walking in there voluntarily would simply be asking to be turned into a Xuan Beast’s excrement…

With no other viable options, Ying Bokong devised an alternative, pragmatic solution: fight anyone! Regardless of who it was, as long as they were an established expert, even if their techniques were inherited from ancient masters, they would inevitably possess their own unique thought processes. And that was precisely what Ying Bokong needed.

Thus, this esteemed elder among the Eight Supremes traveled from south to north, and then back from north to south. But recently, he had been depressed by a discovery: after battling hundreds of so-called "masters," his strength had not improved but had actually declined!

This was, in fact, not difficult to understand…

It was akin to playing chess with a perpetual novice; play too much, and you too become a poor player…

While brooding, he unexpectedly received news about the Mystic Elixir. He traveled tirelessly, day and night, arriving precisely in time for this farce, finally anticipating a good bout. Just as he was feeling immensely satisfied, two Beast Kings suddenly materialized.

They brazenly snatched the Mystic Elixir right before the eyes of all onlookers.

Needless to say, both Ying Bokong and Shi Changxiao, the two Supremes, felt their prestige severely damaged!

Shi Changxiao had at least only wasted a trip, but Ying Bokong’s journey of thousands of miles had also proven futile. The next day, feeling unbalanced, Ying Bokong went to confront Shi Changxiao, only to be told that Shi Changxiao had left overnight…

Utterly dejected, Ying Bokong was about to depart. As for his original plan to subdue the Golden Sun Gang, he completely forgot about it. What use was subduing a gang when the real experts were gone? That wretched organization was only useful for tracking the Mystic Elixir. Now that the Elixir was lost, why keep it!

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, he received a challenge letter from the Golden Sun Gang!

This was truly a pillow arriving exactly when he needed to sleep!

The utterly depressed Ying Bokong finally found an outlet for his frustration! He rushed over eagerly to vent, and upon seeing the challenger, his joy multiplied. With his discerning eye, he instantly recognized this young man as the disciple of the Azure Supreme! Moreover, the youth had already reached the peak of the Middle Heaven Profound realm!

He was truly a gift sent by heaven!

Ying Bokong suddenly understood a saying: what is lost in the east, is gained in the west.

Great satisfaction had arrived amidst his disappointment!

Therefore, Ying Bokong naturally refused to reveal his identity rashly: if he exposed himself, the worst outcome—this kid immediately dropping to his knees and calling him Martial Uncle—was secondary; the fight would absolutely be called off!

One must understand, stones from other mountains can be used to polish one's own jade.

This man was the disciple of the Azure Supreme, already at the peak of the Middle Heaven Profound realm. He must be the Azure Supreme’s favored inner disciple. If he could engage in a thorough, satisfying fight with him, Ying Bokong believed it would offer significant enlightenment.

And so, while intentionally suppressing his true strength, the other fought at full capacity. The two spun and tumbled, exchanging dozens of moves in an instant.

While one fought with exhilarating abandon, the other found the exchange perfectly comfortable and enjoyable. One wonders if this could be called both sides getting what they desired?!

At this moment, an uninvited guest arrived!

This uninvited guest was naturally Young Master Jun!

Though Young Master Jun was an expert tracker, that skill depended on the opponent. Ying Bokong’s Qinggong was second to none among the Eight Supremes. Even Jun Dasha’s superb tracking methods found it hard to follow. It was only thanks to being drawn in by the abundance of red leaves covering the ground that he didn't miss the encounter entirely.

Young Master Jun cautiously crept nearby, witnessing Ying Bokong behaving like a bully, an adult picking on a child. He couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration: As expected of one of the Eight Supremes, his bullying and roguish tactics are truly masterful.

Staring intently at the battle between Ying Bokong and the blue-clad man, Jun Moye suddenly noticed a very peculiar phenomenon.

Although Ying Bokong was desperately trying to project an image of strenuous effort and being overwhelmed, Jun Moye could see clearly that the moves Ying Bokong employed repeatedly were fundamentally the same few, merely varied slightly in execution.

Meanwhile, the blue-clad man opposite was clearly giving his absolute all.

The entire battle was under Ying Bokong’s control. This situation looked more like Ying Bokong was using the blue-clad man to practice his forms!

Ying Bokong’s upper body remained still, his stance unwavering, his hands alternately opening and closing, curving and straightening, palms, claws, and fingers shifting rapidly, emitting sharp chi sounds.

Jun Moye watched closely for a long time, and the more he looked, the more something felt wrong.

Suddenly, a light dawned in his mind: Ying Bokong has clearly created a set of self-invented martial arts! And this set seems derived from the movements of the eagles, that much is obvious; but what’s even clearer is that although he created these moves, they are far from forming a relatively complete system!

This point was evident from the lack of smooth transitions between the moves. Clearly, this art required a dedicated sequence of energy flow support; every stance and every movement appeared quite bizarre, suggesting that if unleashed with full power, the destructive force would be immense.

Jun Moye silently counted three times before finally confirming that this set of maneuvers should total seventeen moves! The gaps in Ying Bokong’s execution made the count quite clear.

Although Ying Bokong’s current moves could easily be identified as potentially devastating killing blows, because he held no murderous intent and was deliberately suppressing his true strength, the power unleashed was mediocre. If fighting an expert of his own level, he would surely be struggling to defend himself and parry blows, but handling a junior whose cultivation was significantly lower than his own was easy work; any occasional flaw could be corrected immediately.

Furthermore, based on the experience and precise analysis of the Great Assassin Jun, if several of these moves could be fused and executed simultaneously, the resulting power would increase severalfold! But clearly, Ying Bokong couldn't achieve that yet. Though flashes of inspiration led him to create these moves, he was still far from being able to unleash their true potential!

Jun Moye suddenly understood everything. Why Ying Bokong’s focus wasn't on the Mystic Elixir but required traveling thousands of miles to Tianxiang City; why Ying Bokong had been so eager for a fight recently; why Ying Bokong was engaging an opponent so far beneath his level.

The reason lay here.

Ha, if that’s the case, why don't I try this and that?…

As he watched, Jun Moye’s mind raced with intense contemplation. Observing Ying Bokong’s movements, Jun Moye felt a vague sense of familiarity with almost every stance and move.

"Rough"... Too rough! It could be said that these powerful maneuvers, in Ying Bokong’s hands right now, were at best just seventeen loose strikes! They lacked the refinement of a thousand hammerings and a hundred polishings, failing to qualify as a systematic martial art. But as the embryonic form of a supreme skill, it was already quite substantial.

Ying Bokong’s moves largely resembled the Eagle-Snake Life-or-Death Struggle! Wing Spread Stance, Soaring Stance, Sky-Piercing Stance, Rabbit Pounce Style—and I know all of these! Moreover, I have systematically studied them; they are all meticulously honed techniques. Ying Bokong is still far from achieving that state of seamless integration! Heh heh…