After that fight Rex returned to the Underground Arena several more times in the following month, but every fight of his had ended in a loss. All his opponents had completely overwhelmed him with their attacks band he had only defended the entire time earning him the cute nickname ' Masked Turd '. When he had heard the nickname from one of his regular customers that went to see the fights he had found it funny at first, but after hearing him call him ' Masked Turd ' for the uptenth time he made sure he would trip on the way out.
During this past month Xie Jingfei who had been assigned as his bodyguard by 'himself' seemed to have taken his advice to heart and was using the turtle breathing technique almost at any time evident by the rare breathing she did. It almost reached 2 times in ten minutes, something that sounded amazing to Rex, but when he found out that she was still a beginner at that level of mastery , he wondered how long could a person keep his breath, using the turtle breathing technique.
He was interested to also learn the technique , but he had his hands full with completing the ' Golden Gong's' first stage. At the moment he had almost completed it and had shifted his focus on the movement technique of the ' Golden State ' manual called the ' Golden Leap ' and he finally fund something he could enjoy in cultivation besides getting stronger.
"Hahhtt..." yelled Rex with a big smile on his face as he extended his right leg forward, and with a strange half jump,half slide he managed to cut the distance between himself and the dummy he used for practice in an instant.
*Bam* *Bang*
His fist hit the dummy straight on the face, and for the first time it's head completely broke of, landing somewhere behind him with a thud.
'Heh....now that's what I'm talking about.1 This movement technique is awesome!' thought Rex as got up and felt the hand he had used to strike the dummy. He surprisingly felt only a slight ache from his knuckles compared the the piercing pain he would have felt and smiled even more.
' The ' Golden Gong ' and the ' Golden Leap ' of the ' Golden State ' manual are such compatible techniques that it's scary to even think about them. With the sturdy bones gained from the ' Golden Gong ' I can take many hits without much worry of broken bones , but by doing that I'm increasing my mass which makes me slower on all aspects, especially movement. But if I use the ' Golden Leap ' which is an instantaneous, forward oriented movement technique compared to the other techniques I have witnessed which depend on fancy footwork and twirling to evade and confuse the opponent, it's not a problem, but infact a plus. With my greater mass I can not only decelerate faster, but the power behind my strikes is at least 50% more than usual.' excitedly though Rex.
"Haaaaaa~
I didn't expect this level of fulfilment in learning only the fundamentals of this technique, but knowing that I'm still at the beginning it makes me excited."
Rex took one more glance at the decapitated dummy and continued to practice his ' Golden Leap ' with his left leg forward. He purposely did this as his left foot was not his best, either at precision or striking power which made him look very unstable when he used the technique.
*Bam Bam...Bam....
He continuesly used the technique with his left leg, but had to stop after a while as he had run out of Qi. He was of course disappointed he couldn't use his technique more, but when he took a normal step forward , he frowned as gears spun in his head.
'Wait, do I really have to use Qi? Can't I just normally train the movement?' thought Rex as he realized something important, and so he tried it. He did the same movements as he would do to activate the technique, but didn't circulate any Qi on his feet as he normally would.
*Bam*
".......
He completed the movement, but instead of happiness he was perturbed. The movement he had just done felt so stiff and slow that he felt embarrassed. He then tried again to use the same movements , alternating between the left and right legs, but the results were very disappointing.
"Fuck, why can't I get this right...*Bam*....fuck!" cussed Rex as he felt anger and he unconsciously used the small amount of Qi that he had recovered in the meantime to fully executed the technique.
*Bamm* *Swoooshh*
The movement technique was fully activated and Rex completed if without problem, but something strange happened this time, and Rex clearly felt it.
'This.... my movement technique, it advanced so quickly? How is that possible? Also, the sound made when my fist cut through the air...it was almost like a whip....or maybe something similar? '
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Rex found that he had more questions than before and now he couldn't sleep. He once again continued to use the same movements of the ' Golden Leap ' without using any Qi and once again he was stressing about it.
"No no...maybe this way? Or maybe should I lean my body forward a bit more? Let's try...
*Bam*
No, it's to slow. I accelerate faster, but decelerate slower and my balance is very bad... maybe if I do this instead?"
Rex's mind was completely filled with ideas on how to improve his movement and he fell into a spiraling staircase of repetitive and irritating practice. Some cultivators would call this an enlightenment, but the only one who was getting enlightenment was Xie Jingfei who was trying to sleep , but couldn't because of Rex's footsteps.
Because of that she decided to practice her turtle breathing technique and surprisingly found out it calmed her emotions.
............
The next day Rex went to the Underground Arena once again and booked a fight. He lazily ascended into the ring with heavy footsteps because of yesterday, acquiring himself some laughs and excited yelling.
"Haha, finally ' Masked Turd ' is back. I thought that after he discovered his nickname he wouldn't dare show his face here anymore, but I'm glad I'm wrong."
"Heh, I'm glad to. He didn't even throw a single punch during all his matches so far, getting effortless beat up every single time, but at least he is entertaining." said one of the spectators before turning to another spectators to his left " Hey, how much do you think he'll last this time? Maybe 3 minutes.....no I guess he should last less than that."
"Huh, why did you change your mind so quickly? I thought that you would at least bet for three minutes."
The other man didn't answer and just pointed at someone who was also entering the ring.
........
As Rex waited for his opponent he noticed a little commotion on the other side so he couldn't help but be somewhat intrigued, but when he saw the one who entered the stage he sighed in annoyance.
' Why, why did it have to be this prick?! '
On the other side of the stage there appeared a very handsome man about 20 years old. He was about 1,7m tall, had long grey hair reaching his waist, brown eyes, and a slightly crooked nose. He wore a green, lose robe made of fine silk and wore a delicately carve jade vambrace on each arm.
As soon as the young man saw Rex he couldn't held but point at him, and tried to speak on a serious tone."Heh, ' Masked Turd ....kgmmm.... I didn't expect for you to be my opponent....pfffttt....
The man tried to hold back his laughter, but he couldn't which made it even funnier.
"I know that you are a formidable opponent and it'll be a difficult battle, but I'll be sure to do my best, because that's who I am." said the young man as he seemed to bow in respect, but Rex knew him better.
"Oooooo... what a great young man, what a rightouss cultivator! "
"Indeed, indeed...
"Ah, if all cultivators were as virtuous as him, the world would be a better place."
On the other hand the spectators were praising him, but Rex was to tired to even care. As soon as the barrier was deployed the man rushed over and begun to attack him as wind rotated in his hands like a tornado.
*Bam Bam Bam....
He hit Rex time after time with a smile on his face , but after two minutes of constant attacking he was tired and panting, while Rex also struggled to stand up. Still, Rex kept his hands up irritating the young man.
"Hey, why are you still standing? Why don't you surrender? Isn't it about time?"
"Surrender..." murmured Rex as he was being attacked " What is that?"
"Hahht....
*Bam*
The young man hit Rex with a strong gust , slamming him against the barrier, but Rex still didn't fall.
" You turd, why aren't you going down! Do you really want to die?!" yelled the man out loud, but the crowd couldn't hear him because of the barrier.
"Hehe, it's simple, you are just to weak. It feels like I'm fighting an old grandma.....well I guess with that hair you could pass for one." laughingly said Rex, not expecting a wild response from the man. His eyes widened as a great amount of Qi gathered in his hand before he rushed Rex. Rex expecting a normal attack kept his arms raised to protect himself, but soon feel a cold and searing pain in his forearm.
"Aaaaaaggggg.....
"Diediediediediediedie......
The young man repeatedly slashed Rex making a bloody mess , making Rex attack for the first time.
"Ragh....
He punched towards the man, but he managed to retreat back using some kind of movement technique. Booth of them stared at each other, the man in anger , and Rex in confusion.
"No one...no one calls me that! So, for that you will pay dearly." said the young man as he raised his blood stained hand in front of him, and Rex noticed a translucent blade had formed on it.
"What.... because of that you...."Rex couldn't finish his words. It was like a switch turned up in Rex's head and a great anger coursed through him. He gritted his teeth in anger as he reveled in the stupidity of what he had heard.
' Because of that..... because of that....' thought Rex slightly lowering his bloody hands. The young man clearly saw this as an opportunity and decided to attack once again, but he didn't understand he had woken a sleeping beast.Rex immediately activated his ' Golden Leap ' without hesitation and at full power as he raised his fist for a punch directed at the young man's face.
*Baam*
The fist hit the young man square on the nose followed by a satisfying crunching sound, but that was only the beginning as because Rex had used all his strength on that punch the man crashed on the opposite side of the barrier , before unconsciously sliding down.
"Ahhhhh....
"What! What.... what....
"Masked Turd...beat Zen who is considered one of the top three on the Qi Gathering stage? How can this be?"
A huge commotion broke among the spectators who clearly couldn't believe their eyes, but the slumping unconscious body and the bloody battered face of the young man showed otherwise.
"Hah hah hah.....
Rex breathed hard as his vision blurred because of the numerous cuts on his arms. He should be immediately treating his wounds, but he was still to angry. He wanted to punch the hell out of the young man again and again , but he felt someone powerful giving him a glance, so he could only gritt his teeth and leave the stage , this time accompanied by the silence of all the spectators around.