Exotic Battlefield: I Can Activate Dual Talents
Chapter 66 - 64, Ten Steps Kill, Seize the Gap

Chapter 66: 64, Ten Steps Kill, Seize the Gap

「Lishui Bay Community.」

Lu Lin went downstairs.

Da Xiang didn’t have any real issues; he was simply making a fuss out of boredom. In Lu Lin’s view, Da Xiang was merely trying to get Wang Juan’s attention. Not bothering to deal with him, Lu Lin leisurely returned home.

Recently, he had been guiding others in Comprehending Star Skills. After staying at home for a few more days, Lu Lin planned to head to Alien and prepare for his challenges. Of course, he also needed to take advantage of this time to practice Ten Steps Kill a lot more. During his battle with Zhang Haibo, Lu Lin had gained quite a bit of experience, so he could use these free days to improve himself.

However, finding a place to practice Ten Steps Kill was a problem. The walls at home hadn’t been fixed yet. If he made another hole or a crack in them, his mom would tear him apart.

Lost in these thoughts, Lu Lin walked all the way home but still hadn’t come up with a solution.

His parents hadn’t returned yet. When he was at Da Xiang’s house earlier, his mom had called to say they might be home late as they had some errands to run. Lu Lin didn’t mind.

After returning to his room and sorting his luggage, he found a bag of North Capital Roast Duck.

Hmm... I seem to be a bit hungry.

Lu Lin resisted for a moment but eventually placed it on the coffee table in the living room. He had only been back for a day, but it felt like a very long time had passed.

He’d promised to show his mom and dad pictures and videos of North Capital University.

He’d promised to let them taste the local specialty, North Capital Roast Duck.

He’d promised to give his mom the wooden comb he’d bought on Wealth Street.

But he hadn’t done any of those things.

Lu Lin decided not to stay in his room anymore. Holding ’Ten Steps to Chop,’ he sat on the living room sofa, waiting for his mom and dad to return.

Summer days were long and nights short. It wasn’t until after seven, when the sky was almost dark, that his mom and dad came home.

"Mom, I’m starving."

"Where have you guys been?"

"What else could we have been doing!" His mom, Meng Yu, changed into her slippers and tossed her small backpack next to Lu Lin. "We’ve been preparing for your Promotion Banquet, of course."

"We went to Junsheng Hotel today and booked a large private room that can comfortably accommodate forty or fifty people—plenty of space. The food is decent, but the price is a bit steep. Your dad and I then went to Star Martial Hotel. It’s cheaper there, but they don’t have such a large private room; we’d have to sit in the main hall."

"Son, which one do you think we should choose?" Meng Yu said, tying on her apron as she prepared to make dinner in the kitchen.

Lu Lin had never liked cooking, nor could he cook; otherwise, he wouldn’t have relied on nutritional meals every day on Blue Star for so long.

"Let’s go to Junsheng. How much is it?"

"You couldn’t afford it even if you knew the price. Anyway, notify your classmates in the group chat later and see how many people will come. Your dad and I will also ask our relatives if any of them want to join."

"Who says I can’t afford it?" Lu Lin stood up, walked over to Meng Yu, and gently massaged her shoulders.

"Mom, I still have tens of thousands of dollars here. You can use it for now."

"I went to Green City’s Guide Association today, and I’ll be going out to guide others in their Star Skills tomorrow morning. I should be able to make some money then."

"You don’t need to worry about making money. Just focus on your cultivation, and I’ll be grateful."

"Lu Lin, do you really think your mom is stupid?" Meng Yu said, shrugging off Lu Lin’s hands and turning around. "You didn’t actually receive that many subsidies on Blue Star. Did you think I wouldn’t know?"

"Ah, how did you know?"

Meng Yu smirked proudly. "Silly son, you probably don’t know that there’s something called a parent group chat, do you?"

"I was confused by what you said yesterday. But today I asked Teacher Li and found out the school only awarded you 100,000 dollars. You told me that Tongyuan City also awarded you 100,000 dollars. Where’s that money?"

Oh. Lu Lin relaxed upon hearing his mom’s explanation. It seems Mom isn’t as omniscient as I thought.

"Didn’t I tell you? The money was used for the boat tickets."

"I even have the payment record."

"That’s right. Let me show you my balance; I still have over 40,000."

As the two were talking, his dad, Lu Ping, interjected, "Honey, I’m hungry."

"Alright, alright. Lu Lin, you brat, get out of here. Lu Ping, come and help me with the vegetables."

Meng Yu glanced at Lu Lin’s account balance, saw it, but said nothing more.

After the meal, Lu Lin gave the wooden comb to his mom and then went out with his broken knife. During the meal, he’d asked and learned that the basketball court behind Lishui Bay Community had been abandoned for a long time. It was just suitable for him to practice Ten Steps Kill.

Amidst his mother’s admonishments, Lu Lin hastily fled.

The basketball court behind Lishui Bay Community was where Lu Lin often played basketball with Da Xiang and others when he was a child. However, even back then, the basketball hoop was already rusty and hadn’t been maintained for years. When Lu Lin went to check now, the area was deserted, filled with nothing but weeds and trash. There wasn’t even a single working street lamp.

「Let’s begin.」

Ten Steps Kill focused on accumulating Star Power within a weapon and then releasing it all at once in a sudden attack. Each accumulation didn’t require a large amount of Star Power. After practicing for half an hour, Lu Lin found that the Star Power he consumed was almost equal to the amount his body naturally recovered.

After practicing for so long, Lu Lin felt somewhat tired, so he sat on the dilapidated basketball hoop to rest.

SQUEAK, SQUEAK.

A warm breeze rustled by. The basketball hoop Lu Lin was sitting on swayed, emitting an unpleasant scraping sound.

It won’t be blown down by a gust of wind, will it?

Just as this thought surfaced, Lu Lin heard a CRACK. An iron pipe on the basketball hoop snapped. The entire basketball hoop started to topple towards the ground.

What a perfect chance!

Lu Lin’s eyes lit up. He raised his broken knife and slashed.

SNAP!

Lu Lin easily sliced the basketball hoop in two, and the pieces crashed to the ground.

Success!

This was a cultivation realm mentioned in ’Ten Steps to Chop’—Seize the Gap. It referred to the principle of exploiting any opening, like slipping a needle into the narrowest crack. When practicing Ten Steps Kill, the most important aspect wasn’t building Star Power circulation or forming muscle memory; rather, achieving Seize the Gap signified true mastery at the minor success realm.

Seize the Gap meant striking at the critical moment without hesitation. This could not only achieve an element of surprise but also allow for an instant counterattack in a desperate situation.

Beyond the Seize the Gap realm was the Han Yue realm. Currently, Lu Lin only knew of this realm by name; he couldn’t yet comprehend the true meaning of the Han Yue realm.

Not bad. Today’s cultivation can end here.

"Regarding the Han Yue realm, even the creator of ’Ten Steps to Chop’ stated it was incredibly difficult to master. It required persistent effort and a moment of sudden enlightenment to comprehend."

That sounds so mysterious. I wonder if it’s true.

Lu Lin patted the dust off his clothes and started heading home.

Just as he walked through the main gate of the community, he felt several gazes fixated on him. There were middle-aged people coming home from work, children playing, housewives returning from grocery shopping, and a young man painting.

Hmm? A young man painting?

No, that’s not right! There’s no such person in Lishui Bay Community!

Having grown up here, Lu Lin couldn’t say he knew every resident, but he had at least seen them all and was familiar with most faces. Moreover, Lishui Bay Community wasn’t near the city center, nor was it adjacent to the suburbs. Its residents were stable and long-term; people rarely rented houses here.

Most crucially, the way this person looked at Lu Lin... it was like staring at a dead man. Devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Lu Lin averted his gaze and continued walking. Who that painter was, what he wanted, why his gaze was so indifferent—none of it concerned Lu Lin. Right now, he just wanted to go home, sleep, and get up early to report to the Guide Association tomorrow.

However, just as Lu Lin walked past the young man who was painting, a flash of sword light struck out at him.