C279: The Mantis Stalks The Cicada, Unaware That It's A Disguised Oriole

The sect's bells rang in harmony, rousing the tired, the injured, the hardworking, and even the sleeping disciples. All were being summoned to the central plain, as usual. Han Xuhan, wide awake at that time, didn't waste a second and jogged his way down the mountain.

Instead of rushing straight to the central area of the floating island, he visited the Incorporeal Snow Mountain Peak, where the defense team of the Crimson Snow Sect resided. As a new addition to this team, he needed to make sure their cooperation went smoothly. Proper communication was a must.

Sister Su Chen and her teammates were about to head out to the plains when they saw him sitting beside the stone archway at the bottom of the mountain. Su Chen and Liu Yue ran over, their faces lit up in expectation, whereas the other seven teammates looked somewhat annoyed.

"Any progress?" Su Chen shouted as she ran.

"Yes! I am confident that I can teach the basics to everybody now. The technique has only two layers, and I've already reached the second layer. Reaching its peak is only a matter of time."

Han Xuhan's reply not only made Su Chen falter in her steps, it also stunned the rest of his new teammates. Such a reaction wasn't unwarranted, of course. He had met them just last evening and had practically admitted to having ignored the task altogether. The notion that he had learned and mastered the technique in the span of one night was absurd, to say the least.

Even Han Xuhan knew how exaggerated his claim was. An average disciple in the Crimson Snow Sect took around a week to make a breakthrough while cultivating a new technique. He had just told them that he, a famous trash, had done it ten times faster!

He could almost hear the jeers and snorts coming from his peers. And he was ready to prove them wrong and make them regret!

But the reality was harsh. Other than some doubtful looks, he received no opportunities to execute faceslaps.

"...That's very impressive!" Su Chen clapped her palms together, her smile rather forceful. It was clear that she was having a hard time believing him.

"In that case, you can use this assembly to impart the basics to the rest of the sect, Brother Xuhan! Last night, we lost the three treasure sets our teams snatched back during the day. We've been put in a passive position once again."

"Sister Su..." Liu Yue nudged her with an elbow from the back, not finishing his sentence. But Su Chen got the hint and added, "Also, can you demonstrate the technique to martial brother Yue, first? I reckon he'll be able to replicate the technique faster than everyone due to his constitution."

Han Xuhan's eyebrows jumped at that request.

"Constitution? Does brother Yue have a special physique as well?"

"That's right." Liu Yue nodded. "My physique is very sensitive to movements of qi around me. As long as someone practices a cultivation technique nearby, I can sense the exact changes inside his meridians, the cycle structures, the flow, and the absorption rate of the qi. Given enough time to observe, I can even emulate the technique in my body. That's why Sister Su wanted me to be the one to take on Abyss Guild's invasion team. But in the end, you were elected via their conditions..."

"So awesome?!"

Han Xuhan's envious gasp was definitely not an unfamiliar response to Liu Yue. He scratched the back of his head bashfully and tried to downplay it.

"It's not that amazing, brother Xuhan. Most cultivation techniques have their own specialty, especially the high-quality ones. I may manage to emulate these techniques, but in front of a genuine practitioner, I wouldn't stand a chance. And it's not like I can go around copying every technique in the world. Who has the time to cultivate so many techniques? My expertise in these miscellaneous things will forever be limited to the most basic level."

It was just a roundabout way of telling him not to show too much curiosity in his trump card. His plethora of experience in dealing with the evasive maneuvers of Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou made Xuhan catch the hint pretty quickly. So he immediately sat down and started running his qi, summoning both Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian in one go.

"Brothers and sisters, I am about to reveal to you my most secret trump card. I hope you won't leak the information to anyone. I'm entrusting my safety in your hands!"

His declaration stunned all nine disciples of the defense team. Before they could express their reactions, Han Xuhan shouted, "Temporary Conjugation Technique!"

Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian sat behind him and began the fusion procedure. Just like how he had instructed them, the minions took an unnecessarily long period of time to complete each glyph in their minds. Almost five minutes passed before Han Xuhan decided to complete the final stroke of the glyph and fuse with Zhanxian. With Tun Shi Tian, he took another five minutes.

The misconceptions he was spreading were his preliminary defenses. If he ever had to face these peers in a serious battle...hehehe.

Although he and his minions were bored while acting their part, his teammates were not. They watched with increasing curiosity and astonishment as the two fusions took place in front of them. One moment, Han Xuhan and his two minions were sitting separately. In the next moment, one minion's bones were decorating Xuhan's body. Ten minutes ago, there were three entities, but now, only one monstrosity.

Han Xuhan flicked his tail and adjusted his new body to get into a more comfortable posture.

"This conjugated form of ours will last for three minutes! Within that time, we will show you the activation of the first layer of the treasure tracing technique, twice. Watch attentively!"

With the next trap set in place, he closed his eyes and started a cycle of qi throughout his fused body. Qi began to leak out from his real meridians, only to be absorbed inside the artificial meridians under the minions' mental control. Complex movements, constantly shifting flow, and airtight control all around...his brief demonstration was greeted with shock and awe. Those who could understand the essence of the technique in the first look wore complicated expressions by the time three minutes were up.

They knew that most disciples of the sect would not even reach the peak of the first layer of the technique by next week when this round of the tournament would end... Unless their meridians were exceptionally wide and robust, mental dexterity was far above average, and perseverance could move a monk.

"Brother Xuhan, how exactly did you reach the second layer of this technique in one night?" Su Chen asked, unable to hide the disappointment and anxiety in her tone.

"I could manage this feat due to two reasons. Firstly, I can cultivate in this form repeatedly. Each session provides me with a better mastery of the basics, which boosts my ordinary cultivation sessions. And secondly, this technique was imparted to me through a spiritual medium. I have a perfect set of foreign memories integrated with mine, in which the Guildmaster of Abyss Guild explains the basics to me. So I don't need to resort to notes, extra texts, personal analysis, or any elder's guidance! For me, it's the same as cultivating a technique I'd mastered and discarded once. I know it by heart!"

"But we do not," Liu Yue said, sitting down suddenly. "By the merit of my physique, I have some understanding of how most techniques in general are given effect. This treasure tracing technique requires such high caliber of qualifications that even my physique may not be able to emulate it! No wonder those Abyss Guild bastards were willing to hand it over so easily! We thought we were profiting, but in their eyes, we were making an investment that would generate little to no profit! I can guarantee that even in their sect, ninety-five percent of the disciples can't cultivate this technique within the time period set for the tournament!"

"I know, right?" Han Xuhan almost shed tears of sympathy. "It's so hard to scam people these days! Even the profit we make through a scam ends up being a bait we never foresaw!"