There’s this old rumor in the martial arts world: some grandmaster could literally walk across a river, barely getting his ankles wet. Jack Young never figured out if that was true, but just flexing your muscles to stay above water? That takes some serious core strength and superhuman leg power. Even the top martial arts grandmasters would have to go all out to pull off a stunt like that. Just keeping your balance is next-level hard—let alone actually walking on water, which, as the saying goes, is like trying to yank your leg out of a mountain.
And then you’ve got all those stories in the martial arts circles about ‘water gliding’—the gold standard for anyone who claims to have mastered lightness skills. Stuff like the Swallow Skims the Water or Wudang’s Cloud Ladder are basically expert-level party tricks. But let’s be real: most ‘water gliding’ is just clever footwork and a bit of showmanship, like skipping a stone. You’ve gotta hold your breath, focus your Qi, and zip across in a flash if you don’t want to end up soaked and humiliated. Standing still and floating with the current? Forget it—most Innate-level folks can’t even dream of that. Only someone like The Queen, who’s a top-tier lightness skill master, might pull it off.
Meanwhile, here’s Jack Young, just chilling on the water, with only his feet dipped below the surface. He’s kicked off his shoes, rolled up his pants, and—would you believe it?—not a drop of water on him. Waves push and swirl, but Jack just floats and drifts, bobbing along with the current. His whole vibe is as slippery and unpredictable as the water itself. Eyes half-closed, he raises a hand, looking totally unbothered as he stares at Jill Young.
"Alright, come at me again!" Jill Young had just lost by half a move, but you’d never know it from her sky-high fighting spirit. She doesn’t even bother with a stance—there’s just a crackling sound as shockwaves burst out under her feet, spiderwebbing cracks across the giant rock she’s standing on. Then, in a flash, The Queen rockets through the air like a heavenly blade, coming at Jack Young full force.
The Queen’s shadow flickers—next thing you know, she’s above Jack Young’s head, curling and spinning mid-air. She gathers every ounce of that breakneck speed and unleashes it in one massive, sweeping strike. Her long leg, full of wild, gutsy energy, comes crashing down at Jack’s head. This kick could shatter stone, and you can literally hear a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s snarl before it even lands. Sure, the move looks like it’s straight from the Flying Hawk Sect’s playbook, but Jill’s version is on a whole different level.
"That’s some Heavenly King Ghost Slash you’ve got there!" Jack shouts, genuinely impressed. There’s a thunderous crack as Jill’s kick slices a wild jet of water more than twenty meters across. Everywhere the water touches, it explodes in a shower of spray, like someone’s yanked a rope underwater at lightning speed. Jack just slides his foot, muscles and Qi perfectly in sync, dodging at the last second and letting the waves carry him safely away.
"Your Heavenly King Ghost Slash is even fiercer than the Golden Blade King’s—but too bad for you, now that I’ve busted through the forty-year wall, I can pull off some pretty fancy tricks myself."
That’s right—after two months of hardcore training, Jack Young has broken through the forty-year barrier in his Bright Jade Technique. To be precise, he’s at forty-two years now. Normally, that’d be impossible, but ever since he went full Cold Jade Demon God mode, that Heavenly Outer Extreme Cold energy has made his Bright Jade Technique run smoother than ever. It even boosted his ice-type foundation, and now, here he is, reaping the rewards.
Forty years of cultivation—that’s about where the average sect leader tops out. It’s a tough hurdle for anyone in the martial world. But now, if Jack Young hit the road, your run-of-the-mill Innate martial artists wouldn’t stand a chance. He can see right through their internal energy tricks and cultivation levels. Anyone who hasn’t mastered true control? Against his Flower Swap Jade Touch, they’re basically free lunch.
If that still sounds too abstract, here’s the bottom line: Jack can finally bust out some of those wild, over-the-top moves he’s been dreaming up for ages.