However, Ye Xiaoke was no pushover either.
Although she was a bit flustered under this new set of moves, she quickly regained her composure.
Relying on her astonishing strength and the still elusive "Ghost Shadow Step", she continued to engage in a fierce confrontation with Jiang Li.
The fight between the two became even more intense. Jiang Li kept refining the newly comprehended moves, constantly improving them in terms of power and flexibility.
And Ye Xiaoke also gradually adapted to his new fighting style during this contest with Jiang Li, and the two sides once again reached a state of being evenly matched.
After a fierce battle, Jiang Li couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how astonishingly powerful Ye Xiaoke was.
Every time his fist collided with hers, it felt as if he had hit a hard boulder, making his arm ache from the shock.
Moreover, her tireless attacking style made Jiang Li a bit overwhelmed.
"This girl, how can she be so strong? Such a fighting style is really a headache!" Jiang Li thought to himself.
After a few more moves, Jiang Li seized an opportunity. After Ye Xiaoke threw a punch, his figure flashed and he instantly closed in on Ye Xiaoke's side.
After that, he executed a move called "Returning Geese of Mount Heng" from the "True Form Fist of the Five Sacred Mountains". His fist was like a wild goose circling back, skillfully bypassing Ye Xiaoke's defense and striking towards her shoulder.
Ye Xiaoke couldn't dodge in time and was hit by this punch. Her whole body flew to one side and fell heavily onto the grassland.
In fact, Jiang Li had held back his strength, and it just looked intimidating.
Ye Xiaoke did a carp-like flip and quickly stood up from the ground.
She patted the grass scraps off her body, still with that unyielding spirit on her face.
"Brother Jiang, your fist is so powerful! But I haven't lost yet!" Ye Xiaoke shouted loudly and was about to charge at Jiang Li again.
Jiang Li quickly waved his hand and said with a smile,"Alright, alright, Xiaoke. Let's stop here for today. You're really strong. I'm almost exhausted from fighting with you!"
Only then did Ye Xiaoke stop. She ran to Jiang Li's side and said with a grin,"Young Master, then we'll continue fighting next time. I'll become even stronger!"
Jiang Li touched her head and nodded, saying,"Okay, we'll continue next time. I'm also looking forward to seeing you become stronger."
During the sparring with Ye Xiaoke, Jiang Li gained a lot of inspiration. Not only did he strengthen his physique, but he also drew new martial arts inspiration from her.
Especially from her elusive "Ghost Shadow Step" and the boxing style that concentrated and burst out power, Jiang Li discovered many mysteries that he hadn't grasped before.
He felt that the bottleneck in his martial arts was precisely due to the lack of such efficient techniques that combined flexibility and strength.
The essence of the "Ghost Shadow Step" was not just about increasing speed. More importantly, when performing the footwork, it was about how to integrate the spiritual power within the body with the energy of heaven and earth around, and use external forces to enhance one's own movement.
Each step taken was not just to dodge attacks, but to skillfully use the opponent's force to counterattack, making every movement of the body generate a huge acceleration.
And Ye Xiaoke's seemingly simple boxing style actually concentrated the power of the whole body in each strike, instantaneously bursting out astonishing attacking power. It could be regarded as a perfect combination of strength and skill.
Jiang Li began to repeatedly think about how to integrate these elements into his own moves.
He knew that although his strength and skills were formidable, there were still some deficiencies. There was a lack of flexibility and variety, especially when facing opponents with extremely fast speed, he often seemed rather passive.
And Ye Xiaoke's "Ghost Shadow Step" just made up for this shortcoming. Her footwork was not just for dodging but also a technique for attacking. It could lead the enemy's power to uselessness and quickly break through the enemy's defense.
In the following few days, relying on his powerful comprehension ability and physical strength, Jiang Li began to repeatedly try to integrate these techniques into his own moves.
He combined Ye Xiaoke's "Ghost Shadow Step" with the agile footwork in the "True Form Fist of the Five Sacred Mountains", and added the technique of gathering spiritual power in the "Xuan Tian True Qi Palm". Gradually, he created a new boxing style -"Thunder Piercing the Sky Fist".
This new move combined the characteristics of rapid movement and powerful attacks. When practicing, Jiang Li found that every time he threw a punch, it was a perfect blend of strength, speed and spiritual power.
As the move continued to mature, every time he punched out, waves of air would be stirred up in the air, as if a clap of thunder pierced through heaven and earth.
Wherever the force passed, the trees swayed slightly and a cloud of dust rose on the grassland.
One day, when Jiang Li sparred with Ye Xiaoke again, he decided to put this new move into practice.
"Come on, Xiaoke. You need to be careful today!" Jiang Li said with a smile, a glimmer of confidence shining in his eyes.
"I'm not afraid at all, Brother Jiang!" Ye Xiaoke replied with a grin. Obviously, she was looking forward to Jiang Li's progress very much.
The two of them stood still again. After a brief confrontation, Jiang Li's figure flashed and he instantly executed the "Thunder Piercing the Sky Fist".
This punch seemed ordinary, but in fact, it held hidden mysteries.
His steps were lightly taken, as fast as a ghost's shadow, and every movement of his body took advantage of the fluctuations of the surrounding spiritual energy.
Then, his fist condensed a huge amount of spiritual power, which burst out like thunder, and with a powerful momentum, it blasted towards Ye Xiaoke's face.
A hint of alertness flashed in Ye Xiaoke's eyes. She quickly performed the "Ghost Shadow Step". Her figure became illusory and she swiftly dodged Jiang Li's attack.
But just as she was dodging, Jiang Li's fist quickly changed direction and struck towards her side waist.
This strike was unpredictable, like a thunderbolt splitting the sky, with almost no prior warning.
Ye Xiaoke was surprised to find that her dodging steps hadn't completely avoided Jiang Li's fist.
She could only adjust her posture within an extremely short period of time and perform an even swifter "Ghost Shadow Step" to narrowly avoid the fatal blow.
"Wow! Brother Jiang, your move is so powerful!" Ye Xiaoke's eyes were full of amazement."I almost didn't react in time!"
Seeing this, Jiang Li smiled and said,"There are some new changes in this move, and it still needs continuous practice. However, I think borrowing the footwork and the way of exerting force of your 'Ghost Shadow Step' makes it more effective."
He then stopped his movements and took a short break."Although there has been some progress in this move, it's still not perfect and requires a lot of actual combat to be refined. I've now roughly grasped the essence of the 'True Form Fist of the Five Sacred Mountains', integrated the explosive power of the 'Xuan Tian True Qi Palm', and also incorporated the dodging and attacking techniques of your 'Ghost Shadow Step'. I think this should be my current limit."
Jiang Li stood still and took a deep breath.
A determined look gradually appeared in his eyes."Although these moves are not yet fully mature, I've already broken through the original bottleneck and reached the intermediate level of a Martial Master."
Ye Xiaoke exclaimed in surprise,"The intermediate level of a Martial Master? Then aren't you stronger than me?"
Jiang Li smiled and said,"Not exactly. Your extraordinary strength and the skills of the 'Ghost Shadow Step' make me feel a bit tricky. Although I'm powerful now, I still need to learn from you in terms of speed and flexibility."
These words made Ye Xiaoke quite happy. She jumped up and said,"Then let's continue to spar next time. I must become even stronger!"
Jiang Li nodded, but in his heart, he knew that although he had made rapid progress in the martial arts, there was still a long way to go before he could become a truly powerful expert.
He still needed more tempering and more insights. And the inspiration brought by Ye Xiaoke just made him realize his own potential.