Entering the training ground, the previously reasonable and kind old man vanished. In his place was the hot-tempered bro Calderon, who would throw punches for no reason!
Mike swung the Thunderclap Hammer, ready to strike.
A ruler appeared in Calderon’s hand, turning into a blur in the air and striking Mike’s hand.
Smack-
The damage wasn’t high, but the pain was intense!
A sharp pain shot through Mike’s hand, nearly causing him to drop the hammer!
Calderon coldly said,
“Your grip on the weapon is all wrong, and you dare attack me? Try again!”
Every time Mike tried to swing the hammer, the ruler would strike again…
This repeated until the fifth time when Mike finally managed to swing the Thunderclap Hammer!
A hint of approval and surprise flashed in Calderon’s eyes, “I underestimated this kid’s talent!”
It only took four attempts for Mike to swing the hammer under Calderon’s suppression.
Thor’s learning ability and combat talent were already exceptional among many! However, it still fell short of Calderon’s standards.
Moreover, even if Calderon was impressed, he wouldn’t show it on his face. Instead, he continued to mock, his words dripping with disdain, “Potential Supreme Being, is this all?”
Listening to Calderon’s taunts, Mike had to dodge his attacks while trying to strike back with the hammer.
But Mike wasn’t flustered at all; he even had the leisure to retort, “Why don’t you mention that you also taught my second bro how to use a sword?!”
Calderon was a bit surprised, “Who’s your second bro?”
Mike proudly puffed out his chest and replied, “Ares!”
“You’re right, I did teach Ares how to use a sword.”
When Ares rose to prominence, Calderon was already at his peak. Calderon remembered that Ares was also level 300 at that time.
Calderon suppressed his power to level 300 for a fair duel with Ares.
Then, Calderon was one-shotted by Ares.
Since then, Calderon had learned his lesson, reflecting and vowing never to fight a potential Supreme Being at the same level again!
Which led to today’s scene: 995-level Calderon vs. 300-level Thor!
As they clashed, Mike finally broke free from the ruler’s restraint! His hammer was about to smash Calderon’s head.
Then, Calderon conjured a sword and one-shotted Mike, avenging the humiliation of being one-shotted by Ares back in the day!
That strike carried a bit of personal emotion.
“Can’t handle losing, huh!”
Mike, instantly revived, didn’t even feel any pain, just the simple fact of being one-shotted.
This slaughter space belonged to the Tower of Truth, and being killed here carried no penalties.
Calderon had walked far on the path of slaughter, thus having the authority to manipulate the slaughter space.
“Kid, don’t think I’m just settling personal scores.”
Calderon said seriously, “You’ve had it too easy on your journey. Ask yourself, have you truly experienced life-and-death battles?”
“Every true powerhouse has faced countless setbacks, emerging from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, advancing through the brink of death.”
As Calderon spoke, he switched to another weapon, casually striking and easily pushing Mike back.
Though Calderon was level 995, he controlled his strength to match Mike’s current attributes. In other words, in terms of technique and power application, Calderon completely outclassed Mike, leading to the current suppression.
Calderon snorted, “If you’re going to kill demons, you must be prepared to be killed. There’s no such thing as only you killing demons and not them killing you.”
Only in the face of life and death can one’s true potential be unleashed.
Mike understood this principle, which was why he gritted his teeth and persevered.
From the start of the battle, Calderon had told Mike: If you don’t want to fight, you can leave anytime.
Calderon threw a punch, striking the Thunderclap Hammer, causing a thunderous sound.
As Mike was forced back, his right hand trembled uncontrollably.
In just two moves, he was already struggling!
Little did he know, Calderon was even more surprised.
In Calderon’s expectations, these two moves should have left Thor dead or severely injured.
But Thor still had strength left. In such a short time, Thor’s rapid improvement repeatedly astonished Calderon!
Among the countless geniuses Calderon had seen in the past three hundred years, Thor was already in the top twenty!
Calderon’s face turned cold, changing his initial plan, and he said, “You defend with your weapon first. I’ll test your skills with various weapons.”
With that, Calderon’s weapon changed again, attacking Mike once more.
Mike struggled to defend, constantly under pressure.
After switching through a few weapons, Mike’s health bar was depleted, and he revived again.
“Again!”
Mike, holding the Thunderclap Hammer, was now fired up.
Since he wouldn’t die, why retreat? What was there to fear?
Taking this opportunity, Mike practiced his proficiency with the Thunderclap Hammer!
Calderon might have a foul mouth, but his expertise and insight were undeniable. His critiques of Mike were often spot-on.
In fact, from the first exchange, Calderon had pointed out Mike’s two biggest flaws:
First, Mike lacked systematic close-combat training. According to Calderon, the Thunderclap Hammer was wasted on Thor.
Many of Mike’s habits with the hammer were full of flaws!
If he faced a nine-tier Lord from the demon race, it might be manageable.
But against a demon god, any flaw could be fatal!
Second, Thor had experienced too few life-and-death battles.
Or rather, none at all!
Full of vigor but too superficial, lacking solidity!
Addressing these points, Calderon had designed a targeted training regimen for Mike.
Under his guidance, many of Mike’s bad habits and flaws were gradually corrected.
Calderon discovered that Thor’s learning ability was astonishing.
Any flaw or mistake, once pointed out by Calderon, would never appear again!
In less than half an hour of sparring, Thor’s rapid improvement repeatedly refreshed
Calderon’s perception!
“Is it the talent at work?”
Calderon shook his head inwardly.
No.
There might be some influence from the talent, but it was mostly Thor’s own learning ability!
Calderon’s evaluation of Thor rose again, placing him in the top ten! freewebnvel.com
Now, Thor was only behind: Morpheus, Ares, Apollo, Calderon, Maxen, Shadow Nine, and
Cedric!
If the outside world knew of this evaluation, it would undoubtedly cause a huge stir!
The more they fought, the more Calderon saw Thor as a genius.
Maybe he wouldn’t need Thor to find another successor. Even if Thor was a mage, so what?
Couldn’t a mage master close-combat skills?
Thinking this, Calderon increased his strength, sending Mike flying with a punch, depleting
his health bar.
Revived, Mike swung the hammer, ready for revenge.
“Stop.”
Calderon beckoned, and a teacup from the earlier tea table floated over, half a cup of tea
suspended before Mike.
“Drink the tea, then continue.”
Mike looked at the green tea, hesitating slightly.
[Drinking this tea can boost your attributes!]
Mike picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp!
“Five basic attributes +100!”
Mike felt a refreshing sensation throughout his body, his perception enhanced, seeing the
world from a different perspective.
Clearly, this tea wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
Calderon snorted, not giving Mike a chance to gloat.
“With your current level, you only deserve half a cup of tea.”
Mike couldn’t help but roll his eyes, dismissing Calderon’s words.
Old fool, your eyes are practically bulging with surprise, and you’re still being stubborn!
Given that Calderon was teaching him and offering tea, Mike tolerated his foul mouth. Today, he wouldn’t stoop to his level. He’d wait until he reached level 1000 to get his revenge!
At level 995, Mike feared he might accidentally kill Calderon. Level 1000 seemed safer. Calderon raised his right hand, beckoning provocatively, “Come, you attack, I’ll defend. If you can hit me with your weapon, you get another half cup of tea.”
Though it sounded enticing, half a cup of tea only boosted all attributes by 100, not worth the
effort.
Mike snorted, “You think I care about that tea?”
“Star Pluck!”
Mike suddenly charged forward, combining it with Wind’s Reach.
Sneak attack!
A must-have skill for every fighter!
Mike’s attack was halted mid-air.
The next second, Mike blocked with his hammer, barely parrying Calderon’s strike!
The skill Calderon used was identical to Mike’s!
But in terms of speed and power, it far surpassed Mike’s!
This was the difference in strength. Calderon demonstrated Mike’s skills repeatedly, and Mike observed and learned frantically.
Another half hour passed, and Mike’s weapon grazed Calderon.
For the first time, Mike hit Calderon!
Half a cup of tea appeared before Mike.
“This is your reward, five basic attributes +200!”
After drinking the tea, Mike felt refreshed, ready to fight again.
But Calderon put away his weapon, tossing a short blade to Mike.
“Let me test your proficiency with other weapons. Relying solely on the hammer limits your
potential.”
Mike was about to retort, ‘Tell that to Ares!’
But Calderon preempted him, “Even Ares mastered many weapons besides the sword.”
Mike had nothing to say.
Switching to the short blade, they resumed their battle!
For the next hour, Mike tried various weapons, but most were just a taste.
After a few exchanges, Calderon could gauge Thor’s proficiency with each weapon. He found
that Thor was also skilled with blades.
With a top-tier blade master by Thor’s side, it was obvious. Shadow Nine couldn’t have
missed it!
As for why Shadow Nine didn’t mention it, Calderon couldn’t figure it out and didn’t care to.
“Stop!”
The third cup of tea appeared before Mike.
Mike calmly drank it all, not leaving a drop.
“Five basic attributes +400!”
Just by drinking tea, Mike had gained 700 attribute points!
“Enough playing around.”
Calderon stepped back, leaving a shadow in his place.
“I’ll create 98 shadows, each using a different weapon, with attributes ranging from weak to
strong.
You can attack or defend. The shadows will only engage for half a minute. Survive for half a minute, and you win that round.”
Full of fighting spirit, Mike nodded, “Bring it on!”
Twenty-five minutes later, Mike had fought 50 of Calderon’s shadows, gaining immense
benefits.
Current record:
Mike, 16 wins, 3 draws, 31 losses.
