Chapter 129 – Intrinsic Nature of Flames
Milami gawked as she heard this. She rarely saw Ma Dong being this serious. As she thought about Sharmie’s personality, she realized there was a chance she had completely underestimated Wang Zhong. This wasn’t good. Wang Zhong… was a fellow that seemed to take his studies seriously. Based on that alone…
It seemed she would have to remind Sharmie repeatedly.
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On the contrary, Wang Zhong and Sharmie didn’t give much thought to such matters. Sharmie admittedly had a carefree personality, but everyone else was belittling Wang Zhong a little too much.
Sharmie shot ten arrows, all of them hitting the bullseye.
“How’s that? My aim isn’t that bad, right? Those fellows keep jabbering about how I only completely rely on soul powered explosions, but my fundamentals are still exceptionally strong and solid,” Sharmie said in an extremely self-satisfied tone. Once she became familiar with someone, she no longer minced her words.
Wang Zhong rubbed his nose. He had shot ten arrows at his target rapidly, every one of them never missing the mark and always hitting the bullseye.
Sharmie smiled upon seeing Wang Zhong’s level of skill. “Interesting. Wanna compete for a bit? We won’t use any soul power, just our basic skills. Each person gets ten arrows. Whoever misses the bullseye first loses.”
Naturally, Wang Zhong wouldn’t reject such a competition. In fact, the results gained from such competitive training was usually much better as compared to training by one’s self.
Sharmie sent out ten successive arrows, with Wang Zhong followed closely with his own ten…
Even after five bouts, the victor still couldn’t be determined. It was needless to say that Wang Zhong had perfect accuracy. Coupled with Sharmie’s inability to accept defeat, both of them were constantly hitting the bullseye, each not willing to lose out to the other.
“If we keep taking turns, we won’t be able to determine a victor. Let’s go at the same time,” said Wang Zhong, taking the initiative to break the stalemate.
Sharmie nodded. Ignoring their earlier bout, she was now getting serious. Thought the bow was seen as the simplest and most basic weapon of ranged combat, the amount of concentration to use it effective is one of the highest among all available weapons. Both a steady hand and firm concentration was needed.
Furthermore, any interference would easily hinder the potency of the bow.
The two pulled back their bows at the same time. One’s own tempo and breathing could easily disturb the rhythm of the other.
Without further thought, both parties had released their nocked arrow.
Sharmie spontaneously used her soul power to increase the firing rate of her arrows. She wanted to see Wang Zhong’s skills when being disturbed. The bow’s accuracy was the hardest to attain and maintain, and the even the faintest slip would made the accuracy pummel.
Wang Zhong felt Sharmie’s increased speed, but contrary to her expectations there was no other change to his technique. He continued at his own rhythm, methodically shooting out arrow after arrow.
Sharmie could feel the stability being emitted from the person standing beside her. A sliver of a smile creased the corners of her mouth. Her firing speed began to undulate. One moment it was quick, and the next slowing down. She truly believed that Wang Zhong would get disturbed by her unstable firing rate.
One’s soul sea was the basis of everything. Only by possessing a strong and stable soul sea would one be able to possess overwhelming power. This kind of strength was comprehensive in nature. The strength of a person was typically based on the one’s soul power.
Sharmie used all kinds of disruptive techniques across three rounds, yet none of it had fazed Wang Zhong. Stunned at his level of concentration, her impression of him rose. In this era, respect between soldiers were oftentimes derived from one’s comabt prowess.
“Alright already. Let’s stop the competition. There won’t be a victor if we keep going on like this.” Sharmie comfortably stretched her body.
Wang Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Sharmie, it’s best that you don’t do such actions in front of others. I am still a man you know.”
The issue wasn’t whether or not he were a gentleman. If Sharmie paid no attention to such a matter, her actions could easily affect people around her.
Sharmie smiled and said, “I am, in fact, quite frustrated about them. If they were a bit smaller, my combat prowess could increase by quite a bit.”
Her physique had a negative impact on her nimbleness in combat and had limited her to the role of a ranged soldier. This tyrannical genetic inheritance brought forth such power, but it also magnified specific feminine traits suited to attract the opposite sex. This all boils down to the fact that the main goal of life was to give birth to future generations to ensure the continuity of the species.
“That frustration of yours may well be the eternal dream of many others.” Wang Zhong mentioned this point with confidence.
There weren’t many who had a personality similar to Sharmie’s. If his opponent were any other person, he or she would have continued competing without any thought about Wang Zhong. Being fully aware of his weak soul power, Sharmie had ended the competition as she knew that it would be disadvantageous to Wang Zhong in the long run. Though Sharmie appeared relatively carefree and unrestrained on the outside, she was sensitive to needs of others.
“If you want, I’ll give it to you.”
Upon hearing her words, Wang Zhong immediately lost his footing. When girls behave in such an unbridled manner, it comes to no surprise that the guys would lose their composure. Sharmie had a habit of teasing her friends. This led to Mario and the other male members to suffer quite abit.
“Cough, cough. Sharmie, I’ve seen videos of your fights. Your ranged attacks are quite formidable. Combined with that close ranged hammer attack, beating you would be a hard time to do,” said Wang Zhong.
“No need to flatter me. Aren’t you very good at theoretical analysis? I heard from my elder cousin that you entered the Tianjing Squadron due to your capabilities as a combat analyst. What weakness do you think I possess and what can I do to rectify it?” Sharmie asked with a smile. After reseating herself and taking a casual sip of water, she continued, “You should know about the rivalry between Laura and I. If we were to fight, what are my chances of victory?”
Wang Zhong pondered the matter for a while before replying, “It would be different based in the circumstances. If it were a group fight with the terrain favourable, you could have a 50% chance of winning. If it were a duel… can I speak my mind?”
“Of course!” Sharmie replied with a smile.
“You… seem to have no chance at victory,” he said.
Flames seemed to instantly ignite from within Sharmie’s large eyes, and the temperature around them increased by a few degrees.
However, after a few moments Sharmie sighed helplessly and the temperature returned back to normal. “I am well aware of that fact. That’s why I feel so helpless. The Potter Clan’s trump card is in its ancient martial arts. It’s hard for me to suppress her in a duel, and once I enter her killing zone, I would be instantly finished by her newly acquired combat technique. This is so damn frustrating. Even after all this time I’ve not figured out a way to break that move.”
Ever since Laura comprehended that absolute killing technique, her fame had shot up and exceeded Sharmie’s. Ranged soldiers always had the disadvantage in duels, yet accepting duels was expected of a soldier.
On her own, Laura was strong. She was also powerful as the core of her squadron. Not only was Laura individually strong, but once she was in a squadron battle, the combat prowess of the squadron was multiplied by many fold. With her powerful dimension beast added in, she became a nightmare for opposing squadrons. Furthermore, the duration she could control her dimension beast each summon increased as she matured, and the power of that dimension beast was steadily growing stronger and stronger.
One could say Laura would definitely become an influential figure in the future.
Laura also had access to the world of dimensions. This meant that she was already walking ahead of others.
“I feel as though your flame attribute isn’t any weaker than the power of a soul beast master. It might actually be a problem with your application… actually, I really want to see your techniques. Is it possible for you to demonstrate it for me?” Wang Zhong suddenly asked. It was usually impossible to inspect such a high tier special ability in close proximity. Even if he could, he would usually be beaten up by others for making such a request.
Sharmie immediately nodded her head and replied, “No problem!”
Due to that small mix-up with All-Mouthy King, she had come to know this strange and weird fellow. She felt completely comfortable and relaxed when interacting with him. He also gave off a feeling of confidence that made him seem easy to rely upon. An ability user like Sharmie was exceptionally sensitive to this.
Sharmie released her soul power and a fiery red energy gradually appeared. It was exceptionally warm and pure. Curious, Wang Zhong extended a finger to touch it. The flames burned his fingers. Inducing a rise in temperature was the most basic feature of the fire creation special ability.
Sharmie’s fire ability, however, actually contained an abundance of energy, brimming with life force amongst the numerous factors from within. This unique trait of her fire ability signified that there was room for growth, should there be sufficient comprehension. Sharmie’s growth capabilities were exceptionally high, something the average fire wielder couldn’t compare with.
