Chapter 68 – Circling Blade Waltz
Wang Zhong immediately raised his hands to block the attack, causing his body to sink down further. Using the force of his attack, Lei Bing pushed high into the air before smashing his elbow down directly onto Wang Zhong’s head like a clap of thunder. His body sank once more as his center of gravity was forced to its lowest critical point. Meanwhile, Lei Bing had already landed on the ground. He distanced himself slightly, then took advantage of Wang Zhong’s shifted center of gravity.
Bang…
His roundhouse kick landed directly on Wang Zhong’s chest.
Wang Zhong flew over ten meters with that resounding impact. This ice and snow landscape obviously didn’t have enough friction as it caused him to stagger as he fell over.
The entire exchange had only lasted a few seconds. Everyone watched dumbfounded as they thought, This close-combat technique…
Those of the cannon fodder division that originally held a sliver of hope finally understood the meaning of ‘disparity’. This was the power of someone of the elite division.
Not even relying on soul power, this was a simple and unadorned oppression through techniques.
Lei Bing didn’t give chase. A hint of an oddness unexpectedly appeared on his usually calm face. On the other side, All-Mouthy King had already climbed back to his feet. A weird smile tugged slightly at the corner of his mouth.
Bang…
He suddenly rapidly charged toward Lei Bing. A firm and ferocious fist rumbled out and was blocked by Lei Bing with a single hand. Yet, the force had already pushed its way through his body, causing him to sink down. Wang Zhong then launched a flying drop kick that came hurtling down.
BANG.
Lei Bing had no choice but to use both hands to block the strike. Right after that drop kick, Wang Zhong smashed his elbow downward, and just as his feet touched the ground, his right leg whipped up.
High, middle, low, he launched three explosive attacks in one breath.
Lei Bing managed to block the high and middle blows, but was struck by the low attack. His entire body skidded backward a few meters.
Wang Zhong slowly withdrew his leg. The elite division really was the elite division. This feeling really was the best!
This was the kind of battle he thirsted for!
These were Wang Zhong’s inner thoughts and feelings, but Lei Bing’s expression grew more dignified. He had assumed that his opponent was mimicking him as Wang Zhong also added three blows after his original strike.
All-Mouthy King’s use of techniques really wasn’t bad.
In that previously flurry of strikes, Lei Bing hadn’t used his soul power to oppress his opponent. During his past matches, he’d always used the minimum amount of soul power to beat stronger opponents during the match. This was the first time he met someone using a weaker amount of soul power than himself.
To be able to unleash the same kind of attack after one exchange, it showed that his opponent really did have good comprehension toward close combat. That final kick demonstrated that he had more to show of his true capabilities.
What an interesting opponent, Lei Bing thought. He secretly felt satisfied. Stretching out his right hand, a visible ice sword began to take shape.
At that moment, the entire viewing gallery turned quiet. Not a single sound was heard. For Anlor, he was already unable to control the elation in his heart. No wonder this brat was so flamboyant. His special ability is already at the level of materialization. This means that he has infinite potential. Given enough time, he could perhaps stand as one of the peak existences within the ranks of heroic soul soldiers. The Aurora Battle Squadron this year is gonna be a sight to behold.
Soul power materialized weapons were better at conducting soul power than regular rune weapons. The most important point was that it suited the user completely.
Lei Bing revealed his sword.
Once he revealed his true ability, Lei Bing turned serious. Soul power at a stable level of over a hundred Grassos slowly enveloped his entire body. The faint traces of azure soul power that could be seen wasn’t only pretty to look at, but was similar to a fire ability user’s flames. It’s glacial coldness brought with it a freezing effect, which had great use during all-out battles as one could unwittingly get frozen stiff.
Although the strength of those in the cannon fodder division could be considered bad, they still possessed adequate eyesight. If All-Mouthy King was a genius, then Lei Bing could be considered a genius who specialized at destroying other geniuses.
Whoosh…
He suddenly advanced, sword following. Most of those watching were still immersed in the mysteries of the special ability technique, materialization. This was also the superiority of ice ability users, but those few experts of the heroic division and elite division had already sensed that Lei Bing had changed into a completely different person.
If his probes had initially been done with a relaxed and lively feel, then the steady and calm atmosphere he had now was inconsistent with his age.
Wang Zhong quickly slid back and opened up distance between them. He couldn’t meet such an attack. Lei Bing followed closely, his ice sword repeatedly slashing down. Those attacks were filled with over a hundred grassos, but Wang Zhong felt something was wrong. These chain of attacks were different from the gaudy and conspicuous unarmed blows from earlier. Although they looked ordinary, they were still able to completely suppress Wang Zhong.
After being chased down with just five moves, Wang Zhong no longer had any angle of retreat. Lei Bing’s movements seemed beautiful to the eyes of Laura and Sharmie, like a display of art. Who could’ve imagined that such a young person would avoid the showy sword techniques in favour of a technique that focused mainly on returning to the basics.
BANG.
Wang Zhong had no other choice but to focus all his soul power into his palms so that he could firmly receive those sword strikes.
Yet, after he received the strikes, he immediately regretted his decision. Although he’d successfully blocked one sword attack, Lei Bing’s sword technique was akin to a dam opening its gates. He slashed forward crazily, like a flood of mad beasts rampaging.
That ice sword brought a chilling glint with hit as it slashed and chopped crazily at Wang Zhong, surrounding him with attacks. The attacks continuously slashed at him. After that first strike forced him into a melee, he simply hadn’t had any escape routes left.
The most frightening aspect was the pace. Most people would try to launch a heavy blow with their sword. Experts, however, mostly focused on their footwork. Lei Bing had completely closed off all of All-Mouthy King’s escape paths.
This was Lei Bing’s killer move — Circling Blade Waltz!
Yes, any youngster would love to use a style that looked graceful, and Lei Bing was the same. Ever since he was taken in by his teacher, however, and since he first touched a sword when he was three years-old, he had only been taught the most basic techniques. Such fancy-looking techniques weren’t taught to him.
When he reached fourteen years of age, his teacher had left, while he entered the accelerated class of the academy. Over a year had passed since then. Relying on his solid foundations and the various types of fancy combat techniques he had learned, he created a combat technique that had allowed him to kill his way into the elite division. It accommodated the most basic of attacks and positions!
Lei Bing was like an ice tornado as he continued to surround and crazily slash at All-Mouthy King. Within this maelstrom of attacks, All-Mouthy King could only defend as he had no strength left to launch any sort of counter. His weak and frail soul power, which was, at most, sixty-plus grassos, shook and creaked beneath the onslaught. He was seemingly about to be chopped up by that sword at anytime.
While the laymen watched for fun, the experts were examining the ‘concept’. What people of the cannon fodder division saw was a sword technique that moved beautifully, exuding a chillingly cold and raw air.
What the experts saw, however, was a technique that was made completely of basic strikes. This meant that the entire set of moves required no preparations before initiating, was consistent, and also had an ice ability user’s best move of being able to freeze their opponents.
All-Mouthy King… he would grow from this. There was no leeway for him to launch a counter, but everyone could see that All-Mouthy King’s movements were gradually becoming more refined.
Lei Bing, however, didn’t possess the audience’s optimism. According to a normal comparison of soul power, he should have been able to thoroughly destroy his opponent’s defense within ten moves. Yet, he’d already sent fifty-six sword strikes already. Other than All-Mouthy King’s speed being influenced by his ice ability, his defense was still watertight.