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Chapter 47: Graceful Step of the Waves

"Draw," he said without hesitation.

A water-blue spatial vortex appeared in front of Li Xiaofei. He immediately reached in and felt around. After a moment of searching, his fingers closed around a scroll. He excitedly drew out a light blue scroll. There were five large words on it—

Graceful Step of the Waves.

Li Xiaofei was stunned, then he screamed, "Holy crap!"

It’s actually Graceful Step of the Waves.

"Woof, the host has randomly drawn Graceful Step of the Waves. This technique comes from the Jin Yong martial arts universe, specifically from the Xiaoyao Sect. It is a top-tier lightness skill, famously used by Duan Yu, the prince of Dali," the voice explained.

Jackpot!

Li Xiaofei was so excited that he wanted to do a split on the spot. As a super martial arts fan, one of the techniques he had always dreamed of mastering was the Graceful Step of the Waves. Back in the day, Duan Yu, a bookish character with no self-defense skills, had managed to charm women and escape death repeatedly all thanks to this technique.

In the Jin Yong martial arts universe, there were two peerless lightness skills that didn\'t require profound cultivation to master. One of them was Graceful Step of the Waves. The other, naturally, was Wei Xiaobao\'s Godly Transience.

If Li Xiaofei had to choose one of these top-tier lightness techniques, he would choose Graceful Step of the Waves without hesitation. Why? Because Graceful Step of the Waves had another miraculous feature, it could cultivate internal strength.

The original description went like this.

As Duan Yu stepped through the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi, his internal breath also naturally circulated once through his body. Thus, with each cycle, his internal strength increased.

Graceful Step of the Waves was a rare technique that cultivated internal strength through movement.

With this technique, I can remain undefeated even if I’m facing powerful enemies or have been surrounded. Even if I can\'t win, no one will be able to stop me from escaping.

Li Xiaofei was growing increasingly delighted. He immediately opened the scroll and began to cultivate. The name Graceful Step of the Waves was derived from the I Ching, based on the 64 hexagrams. Cultivators needed to follow a specific sequence, stepping through the hexagrams in order to advance.

This was not difficult at all for Li Xiaofei. One of the one hundred and nine masters he had apprenticed under 500 years ago was an elder of Eight Trigram Palm. Although the practical effects of the techniques taught by this master were lackluster, his theoretical knowledge was solid.

Li Xiaofei had a thorough understanding of the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams. He studied the scroll carefully, gradually gaining enlightenment. Then, he began his cultivation by stepping through the hexagrams and following the various routes described in the scroll. Cultivating brought him joy.

Three days passed in this manner. Finally, Li Xiaofei managed to master the entire set of steps, albeit with some stumbling. He clearly felt the starforce qi within him increase slightly every time he completed a cycle according to the hexagrams, leaving him feeling refreshed and his body in peak condition. The Graceful Step of the Waves truly lived up to its reputation for cultivating internal strength through movement.

Li Xiaofei was completely absorbed in it. He devoted all his time to cultivating Graceful Step of the Waves. The sixty-four hexagrams translated into sixty-four distinct steps, but the order of the steps was not fixed. When one cultivated to a highly proficient level, they could arrange and combine the steps as they wished to produce different effects.

One had to adapt to the situation, especially when facing an enemy. The skillful use of the technique relied entirely on the mind. Li Xiaofei didn’t even realize when the thirty-day limit in the Secret Time Pavilion passed and he was returned to his room. The clock on the wall showed 2:31 AM. He fell into a deep sleep as he flopped onto his bed.

The next day, the sun was shining brightly. Li Xiaofei woke up early and practiced the Graceful Step of the Waves several times in his room. An hour later, Little Jie called him into the living room, and they had breakfast together. Afterward, Li Xiaofei went to the headquarters of the Cloudy Sky Gang. It had changed a lot and was now extremely grand. The place was bustling with people coming and going.

Li Xiaofei gathered all the mid-level members and unleashed a tirade of insults. The scolding left hundreds of fierce men trembling, their legs cramping in fear. Everyone knew that if the president lost his temper, none of them would last more than ten minutes against him.

After venting his frustration, Li Xiaofei felt much better. He then began to lay out the defense plan for the slum. Roadblocks, permit checks, early warnings, traps, surveillance...

Everything was arranged. The entire Guang\'an neighborhood was fortified to be impenetrable. This way, the safety of Little Aunt and the others would be somewhat assured. Although the gang members in the slum had not reached any heights in cultivation, they were extremely ruthless and would use any underhanded tactics they could think of.

Even if they couldn\'t stop all the adventurers, they could at least send warnings and prepare in advance.

Plop.

Everyone was shocked when Li Xiaofei tossed a long, green metal card onto the table. Yang Cheng, Chu Yuntian, and the others stared at it with their hearts pounding wildly.

"A pass?"

"Is this... a group pass to hunt star beasts outside the city?"

"I must be seeing things."

The gang members trembled as they exclaimed in surprise. People from the slums were always discriminated against. The seven former presidents of the slums, despite their harsh treatment of their own people, couldn\'t get a pass even when they humbly tried to curry favor with the big shots from the rule-of-law district.

Yet, Li Xiaofei had managed to obtain one in this short period. And it was a special group pass that allowed fifty people to go outside. What did this mean? It meant a golden opportunity for making money.

In this world, much of the wealth one could earn was tied to star beasts. Star beasts forced humanity to retreat into base cities, but they also brought new strength and the seeds of a new civilization. Hunting star beasts was an incredibly lucrative industry.

There were many who dreamed of becoming star beast hunters in the slum. But unfortunately, they had never been able to leave the city. As a result, they resorted to drug trafficking and extortion, establishing a grim ecosystem where everyone got hurt but everyone could scrape by day after day.

This pass gave them renewed hope of becoming true martial artists, of becoming men who wouldn\'t be cursed behind their backs by their neighbors.

"The first batch can only have fifty people. How you select them is up to you," Li Xiaofei said calmly. "I have only three requirements for you all."

"First, all harvests must be brought back to the slum, sold, and distributed collectively. More work, more gain; less work, less gain. Second, significant contributions will be heavily rewarded. Third, those who try to cheat or slack off will be kicked out of the team."

He took a deep breath. "Fourth, those who hoard their hunting gains will be severely punished. Fifth, those who harm their teammates will be killed. Sixth, those who collude with outsiders and betray their teammates will be killed without mercy. Seventh..."

Everyone was stunned.

Didn\'t he say there were only three points? This was nearly ten already.

Only Yang Cheng, Chu Yuntian, and the other veterans were used to it. They had long noticed that the president\'s math wasn\'t very good, especially during meetings.

The meeting ended quickly. But the slum leaders took careful notes, trying to fully grasp the president\'s intentions out of fear of misunderstanding something. They began discussing among themselves.

Meanwhile, Li Xiaofei checked the time and headed to school. He planned to use Graceful Step of the Waves to challenge the Golden Scorpion King and test the results of his cultivation.