C11 My Name Is Wu Yan

Chapter Eleven: My Name is Wu Yan

"Could it be a drop of green dew?"

The eaves to Lin Xi's right burst into a brilliant purple light as he touched the booklet of the "Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Steps." The light swirled, growing more intense, as if it were about to coalesce into something tangible.

Lin Xi was brimming with expectation.

The eaves to his left had the ability to condense green dew, which could fortify the body and enhance one's strength.

What, then, would the eaves on his right bring forth?

He had just ingested the life force pill given to him by Lin Bufan, believing that the incomplete green dew on the left eaves would surely become whole in an instant.

Had that occurred, he would have shattered the mid-stage Warrior threshold in a heartbeat, awakening the power of the four pythons.

But as soon as he touched the "Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Steps" booklet, he sensed that the surging energy from the life force pill was entirely siphoned by the right eaves that had just been triggered.

He had assumed that upon his first consumption of the life force pill, he would break through the Warrior's mid-stage and exceed the power of the four pythons. Facing an early-stage peak Warrior like Lin Fan, he would have been able to vanquish him instantly.

Despite his impatience to retaliate the day after the lightning strike, he was not oblivious to the folly and peril of his actions.

He could foresee the onslaught of targeted schemes and conspiracies, perhaps even outright assassination attempts.

Yet, the obsession to gauge Lin Batian's stance drove him to rashly display his uniqueness.

Thus, he harbored an intense desire to rapidly grow stronger, to cultivate at a rate that defied his adversaries' expectations. This, he believed, was the only way to emerge triumphant from the looming crisis, to find a lifeline amidst the chaos.

So there he stood, filled with both regret and anticipation.

Regret that the life force pill's energy had not been captured by the green dew.

Anticipation for what the right eaves, now triggered, would conjure up.

But as his attention was wholly consumed by this new phenomenon, the substance that slowly materialized left him utterly astounded.

The swirling purple light above the eaves was not condensing into green dew, purple dew, or any dew at all.

The eave's purple light was steadily contracting and taking shape, ultimately forming a distorted human figure.

This purple figure slowly became more solid, yet it retained an ethereal quality, its facial features indistinct.

Furthermore, the figure was minuscule, no larger than a toothpick, resembling a stick man from another world.

Once the stick man had fully materialized, the purple glow on the eave vanished.

Perched atop the eave, the stick man struck a pose of deep grandeur and commanding presence, as if flexing its non-existent muscles.

Then, the purple stick man settled into stillness, motionless.

Lin Xi was puzzled, unsure of the stick man's purpose. What good could come from conjuring such a comically small entity?

"Hey! Who are you?" he inquired of the stick man through his thoughts.

The stick man appeared lifeless, devoid of any presence or movement.

"I say... can you hear me speak?" Lin Xi persisted.

Still, the stick man remained silent.

"Hey, hey! Can you fall down?" he tried again.

But the stick man did not stir.

Frustrated, Lin Xi felt that activating the second eave had not brought any magic into his life.

Despite repeated attempts to connect with the stick man, there was no response.

Disheartened, Lin Xi's focus shifted to the initial steps of the "Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Steps."

As he glanced at the first step's formula, he instinctively lifted his foot into an odd angle.

Boom!

Just then, the stick man in his mind caught his attention.

As he executed the starting position of the "Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Steps," he observed the stick man moving with agility on the eave, like a blossom twirling and unfurling in the breeze.

The movement mirrored the third level of the "Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Steps" performed by Lin Fan, but since it was only the first level, a single flower manifested. Thus, when the stick man reached the pinnacle of its spin, it transformed into a leaf, gracefully landing and standing motionless.

In that moment, Lin Xi was breathless with astonishment, unable to process his thoughts.

Lin Fan's "Three Flowers and Three Leaves" cultivation was impressive and pleasing to the eye.

Yet, when compared to the "One Flower and One Leaf Light Body Technique" demonstrated by the stick man, Lin Fan's technique paled in comparison.

With identical posture and movements, Lin Fan's execution seemed flawless.

Before witnessing the Stick Man execute the Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Step, Lin Xi claimed he didn't envy this Light Body Art or admire Lin Fan. That was clearly disingenuous.

Yet, upon observing the Stick Man's One Flower One Leaf Light Body Art, Lin Xi couldn't help but feel that Lin Fan's technique paled in comparison, lacking any semblance of elegance or charm.

The One Flower One Leaf, a fundamental Light Body Art, seemed effortless when performed by the Stick Man. It was as if he wasn't propelling himself into the air, but rather being carried aloft by a gentle breeze that guided his natural, fluid movements.

Lin Xi was struck by the notion that as long as this unseen breeze persisted, the floating flower would never touch the ground—an impossibility for any Warrior of the Realm of Might.

Even a Profound Martial Master, capable of releasing their Qi to achieve brief aerial maneuvers, couldn't hope to remain airborne indefinitely. Flight, after all, is contingent on one's Qi, and once depleted, how could one continue to soar?

Yet, Lin Xi felt that with the Stick Man's mastery, as long as the wind blew, endless flight was within reach.

This revelation sent shivers down Lin Xi's spine, overwhelming him with excitement.

Could such a Light Body Art truly stem from a mere yellow level technique? Lin Xi suspected that the world's most basic yellow level techniques, at least when utilized by the Stick Man, were far from simplistic.

But Lin Xi was merely a novice in the Martial Path, and whether his intuition was correct was of little consequence. Almost instantly, he dismissed these thoughts.

All he desired was to witness the Stick Man perform the technique once more, to observe more closely and grasp its essence more profoundly.

With this intent, Lin Xi waited, but the Stick Man remained still. Despite Lin Xi's persistent urging, the Stick Man paid him no heed.

Out of options, Lin Xi retracted his hand from his storage bag and, reflecting on the Stick Man's movements and their underlying meaning, he instinctively adopted the initial stance—a peculiar and intricate posture.

Boom!

No sooner had he struck the pose than the stick man sprang into action atop the eaves.

This time, his movements were deliberate and unhurried, as if he knew Lin Xi wanted to grasp every detail of the postures. The stick man's ascent was slow and clear, allowing Lin Xi to discern even the subtlest shift in his form, the flex of his muscles, and the precise application of force and angle.

Lin Xi could even sense the trajectory of the blood flow and the rhythm of breath in the stick man's meticulous slow-motion performance.

Unbeknownst to Lin Xi, the stick man's deliberate motions were bestowing upon him boundless benefits.

Each gesture encapsulated the core principles and vital elements of the Falling Leaves and Blossoming Flowers Technique.

By simply emulating the stick man's positions with precision, Lin Xi could bypass the arduous training of the technique.

It was nothing short of miraculous.

It was common knowledge that the initial step in a warrior's journey involved cultivating the meridians, circulating the lifeblood, and mastering one's strength.

Without a solid technique, even the mightiest of warriors, blessed with innate power, would struggle to fully harness their strength.

Consider Lin Xi's recent wager with Lin Fan; had Lin Xi not fiercely drained Lin Fan's blood, elevating his own power to that of the third python while diminishing Lin Fan's to the second, he would have stood no chance in the confrontation.

At that moment, Lin Xi lifted his foot, inadvertently prompting the stick man to slowly and repeatedly demonstrate the first tier of the Falling Leaves and Blossoming Flowers Step, "One Flower, One Leaf."

To the butler, Lin Xi's peculiar stance was unmistakable; it was clearly the initial form of the Falling Leaves and Blossoming Flowers Step.

Yet there stood Lin Xi, with a vacant gaze, seemingly stupefied before him.

"Lin Xi?"

Lin Biyun was astonished, sensing that something extraordinary had transpired within Lin Xi.

But the phenomenon eluded his comprehension.

He had intended for Lin Xi to stow away the technique he had provided and to impart some advice.

Instead, Lin Xi seemed oblivious to his presence, deaf to his words. Lin Biyun couldn't help but extend a hand and give him a gentle nudge.

"Lin Xi, what's the matter?"

Boom!

Lin Xi's lifted foot thudded back to the ground, and, after a brief stumble, his body involuntarily soared into the air. Under Lin Biyun's astonished gaze, Lin Xi effortlessly executed the "One Flower, One Leaf" level of the Falling Leaves and Blossoming Flowers Step.

In Lin Biyun's view, the move was executed flawlessly—effortless and seamless, with no hint of artifice. It was as if a flower had been plucked by the breeze itself, wafting and swirling in the wind's gentle embrace.

"How can this be?"

Lin Xi had never been exposed to any of the Lin family's cultivation techniques. Yet, merely by observing Lin Fan perform the Three Flowers, Three Leaves Light Body Technique, he had managed to master the Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Step to such an astonishing degree?

Lin Biyun himself was a late-stage Warrior, having cultivated the Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Step to the level of seven flowers and seven leaves.

Even so, when he first began practicing the Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Step, it had taken him at least five years to reach the level of mastery that Lin Xi was displaying now. And even now, his execution of the first level didn't possess the enigmatic charm that Lin Xi's did.

What could he have possibly gone through?

Or was he truly a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy?

However, only Lin Xi knew the truth—he was far from being a genius. Struck by lightning the day before, an image of a half-destroyed pagoda gate had appeared in his mind. As the green dew fell, his physical body was fortified, and his strength surged dramatically.

Now, simply going with the flow of Lin Biyun's push, he performed the Fallen Leaves Flying Flower Step. His success wasn't due to any innate talent, but rather because he had a stick man in his mind that continuously practiced and deciphered the technique in sync with his thoughts.

This stick man, now fading like a wisp of smoke, seemed to have exhausted its energy and could no longer sustain its form, on the verge of dissipating into nothingness.

And in the instant the stick man vanished, a deep, detached voice echoed:

"My name is Wu Yan!"