Chapter 49

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Ouch… That was fast. It really hurt this time. Fortunately, I’m wearing armor. Otherwise, I’d definitely have vomited blood.”

Having armor as protection was one of the advantages of training at school. This was also why Zhang Heng and Lin Yao could practice fearlessly.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, let’s do it again.”

Zhang Heng refused to admit defeat and wanted to duel with Lin Yao again. However, he went on a losing streak in the subsequent fights.

After he unleashed his vital energy, Lin Yao’s strength, speed, and explosive power exceeded their normal state by 30%. The Sword-Drawing Technique was already fast, ruthless, and accurate swordsmanship by itself. Even a 1% increase could result in a life-and-death difference, let alone a 30% increase.

Zhang Heng’s punch was always a step slower than Lin Yao’s move during each of their duels. Therefore, it would be useless even if his hit was accurate.

With speed and explosive power that exceeded the norm by 30%, Lin Yao’s basic attributes could completely subdue Zhang Heng. As their fist and sword clashed, Zhang Heng usually ended up leaving himself wide open to Lin Yao’s attacks. Then, Zhang Heng would lose his footing and Lin Yao would easily defeat him with a casual punch without using his sword any further.

Although Lin Yao had achieved successive victories, he was not that happy. He was well aware that he was relying solely on his basic attributes to defeat the other party. When facing a martial artist who was also unleashing vital energy at the same time, Lin Yao’s Sword-Drawing Technique would not be able to break the opponent’s defense.

“I only have the Sword-Drawing Technique and I’m still a weakling.”

While Lin Yao was sighing, Zhang Heng was left completely speechless.

“You’ve only learned one skill and you wish to defeat others instantly. What the hell are you thinking? You have a combat skill, but others have a gold combat skill. In order to defeat others instantly, you’ll have to reach at least the profound level.”

During the break between their duels, Zhang Heng asked Lin Yao about his plan.

“Are you planning to Fathom or Slay Steel with your Sword-Drawing Technique?”

Fathom and Slay Steel—these were the two profound meanings of the Sword-Drawing Technique. They also applied to many other moves.

Fathom was easy to understand. The strategy was to observe the opponent, see through their move the moment they struck, and then block or dodge the attack. Then, one would counterattack as soon as the opponent’s move occurred. With the Sword-Drawing Technique, this was more aggressive. Instead of blocking the opponent’s move after fathoming it, he would exploit the flaw and defeat them with one blow, finishing the fight with a strong move.

Being able to see through the enemy’s attack as they moved was called Fathom.

This had also been the core attack strategy of masters of the Sword-Drawing Technique in Japan in the eras without spirit energy. During the battles between experts at Iaidō [1. laidō is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.], they would seldom take the initiative to attack. Instead, they would circle the opponent and attempt to decipher their flaws.

The profound meaning of Slay Steel was even more straightforward, as it was to cleave steel. The essence of the Sword-Drawing Technique was to disregard the opponent’s moves and focus on strengthening oneself to master the ability to cleave anything with one sword move.

If Lin Yao had comprehended the profound meaning of Slay Steel, Zhang Heng might have been able to block the sword gleam, but the fight would not have ended there. The sharp sword gleam would have severed his fisted hand and his body in passing.

“Fathom and Slay Steel? They’re not something I’m aiming to achieve but they’re something I can comprehend.”

“Uh…”

These words broke Zhang Heng’s heart. Non-geniuses like him could not make a choice that effortlessly. Feeling emotional, Zhang Heng looked up and drained the cup of water Lin Yan had given him. He then patted the dirt off his body and said, “Forget it. I’m not going to dwell on this anymore. I’ll continue to practice.”

…

It was not until Zhang Heng went to class that Lin Yao returned to the school training ground to train alone again.

Just as Lin Yao thought that his training progress today would end this way, something unexpected happened. He saw Yan Yan, also known as the Ice Snow Princess at school, walking toward him.

“I saw you practicing with your training partner today. Do you need my help?”

“Sure!”

Lin Yao was taken aback by Yan Yan’s arrival. He hadn’t expected the Ice Snow Princess to pay attention to him outside the orphanage.

Lin Yao’s first reaction was to frown when Yan Yan approached him, as he felt troubled. When she saw Lin Yao’s expression, Yan Yan’s face turned slightly cold.

“I knew it…”

“Thank you for your help. I hope I’m not holding you back from your training.”

Lin Yao believed she was a femme fatale and would not go looking for a pretty girl, let alone one who was always cold and aloof.

However, this did not mean that he was afraid. Although he possessed both talent and a sharp blade, Lin Yao also had a heroic fighting spirit.

‘Being a martial artist is a fighting profession. If I don’t even dare speak to a pretty girl who approaches me, how the hell am I going to practice martial arts with such a mindset?’

Lin Yao had made up his mind, but he didn’t want to delay Yan Yan’s cultivation progress.

Nevertheless, Yan Yan was not bothered by this.

“I can’t train for too long anyway. I have to rest after two or three hours of training. But your training time is much longer than mine.”

“It’s due to talent and good luck.”

While speaking, Yan Yan had already distanced herself from Lin Yao and gotten into an attacking position. Glancing at Lin Yao’s somewhat grateful expression, Yan Yan finally said, “Don’t feel grateful. I need a target too.”

“Uh…”

Advanced martial artists would have at least 60 vital energy seeds. With their numerous vital energy seeds, they did not need to conserve seeds for the most critical point of a battle. They could unleash their vital energy seeds like normal moves.

Furthermore, Yan Yan, who had a frost talent, was even more astounding. Her talent enabled her to create blasts of water at the edge of the lake with a casual wave of her hand. The waters surrounded her and then transformed into pieces of ice fragments.

Lin Yao was all geared up for the attack. As she was facing Lin Yao, who was in the distance, Yan Yan’s palm moved again and those ice fragments shot toward Lin Yao like arrows.

‘The speed of a martial artist after unleashing a vital energy seed is indeed not something that my younger siblings can hold a candle to.’

Clang.

As the ice fragments reached him, a sword gleam rose from Lin Yao’s hand. The sword gleam flickered, and Lin Yao severed the first ice fragment.

However, as he cleaved and came into contact with the ice fragments, he could sense a surge of icy, chilling sensation being transmitted to his body.

“Ss… It’s so cold.”

This chilling sensation made Lin Yao’s fingers stiffen, and his movements became clumsy.

Because of this, Lin Yao didn’t manage to block the next ice fragment that shot toward him, and the ice fragment exploded directly in front of Lin Yao’s chest, making his body tremble again.

”You’re very powerful.”

“You’re too weak. Let’s continue.”

Then, Lin Yao was ravaged by Yan Yan. One by one, the ice fragments shot toward Lin Yao. He had to smash the ice and endure the erosion of the coldness simultaneously…

Fortunately, it was daytime and the sun was quite strong. The warm sun had a natural way of dispelling the cold. As a result, Lin Yao gradually adapted to the cold and was able to train for a long time.

Yan Yan was taken aback by this. She knew how cold her ice was. She had originally wanted to reduce her frost talent.

‘This is just nice. I wouldn’t be able to practice if he was too weak.’

Upon seeing that Lin Yao was able to withstand her direct attacks, she also made some adjustments. With a wave of her arm, the ice fragments surrounding her took the shape of swallows.

With another wave of her hand, the swallow-shaped ice streaked across the air and flew toward Lin Yao. The shape of the birds enabled them to travel faster. However, there was still a fair bit of flight distance to cover, which gave Lin Yao some reaction time.

When Lin Yao found the right chance to smash an ice bird, the bird suddenly changed direction and moved under Lin Yao’s sword, evading Lin Yao’s attack like a real swallow.

“This… is a long-range attack that can be controlled.”

“Do your best to smash the ice bird I’m controlling.”

After that, Lin Yao’s training was no longer about cleaving things that traveled to and fro in a straight line but about attacking ice birds flying in arbitrary directions. Yan Yan’s training had also begun. She was practicing how to manipulate ice birds.

To Lin Yao’s surprise, she could not only manipulate one but three ice birds. The birds flew around Lin Yao.

Clang, clang, clang.

The sound of a sword being drawn echoed around the training ground repeatedly. Keeping a tight watch on the flying birds in the air, Lin Yao unsheathed the long sword in his hand from time to time. The unsheathed sword might get something or come back empty-handed. Nevertheless, as the exchange of moves built up, Lin Yao was also gradually becoming proficient in sword drawing.

‘Years ago, Sasaki Kojiro1 slashed flying swallows. I think this is a similar practice and hope that this will help me comprehend Fathom.’