514 He was merely a sparring partner
"Not participating in the battle? Who do you think you're looking down on?"
William is protective, but after the Cosmic Entity's explanation, he was actually a bit provoked.
There are other universes, and it sounds like more than just two or three, which slightly piqued William's interest.
Regardless of how much truth or falsehood was in what the Cosmic Entity said, having Alice compete with guardians of the Cosmic Entity from other universes sounded like a great idea.
"Hmm?" The Cosmic Entity was stunned.
Why doesn't this person play by the rules?
"Alright! If there's nothing else, I'll come back to beat you up when I'm free," William said, and then disappeared.
He had noticed that within this black hole, there was actually a trace of his own aura.
Without a doubt, that entity he expelled from his body was also inside.
Probably, it had some agreement with the Cosmic Entity or had already become one of the Cosmic Entity's guardians.
But none of that mattered, as that being was still too weak.
Gone with one punch, truly uninteresting.
After William left.
Messages intertwined within the black hole.
"Do you think he's found me?"
"Definitely!"
"Well, yes! But he didn't take action!"
"He just disdains to act."
"I know that, you don't need to tell me! He's waiting for me to get stronger, maybe even hoping I could kill him!"
...
William returned to the front of the Emerald Lion Guild.
Just now, Alice, who lost the protection of the Cosmic Entity, was nearly killed by Garen. In desperation, Alice summoned the alchemy furnace and hid inside, unwilling to come out like a turtle tucking its head in.
Even under such circumstances, Alice did not use the Sword of Soulbreaker or Eternal Starfire.
She absolutely trusted William.
They had agreed to a sword fight, and even if it meant dying under Garen's sword, she would stick to the agreement.
If William truly intended to harm her, then so be it if she died...
Upon William's return, Alice was still hiding inside the alchemy furnace.
Garen, despite all his efforts, ultimately couldn't inflict any damage on the alchemy furnace.
Even his full-powered strike couldn't harm Alice inside the furnace.
The materials of the alchemy furnace were simply too good; with Garen's power, it was impossible to harm Alice inside.
William was actually impressed,fighting and then hiding.
He didn't rush her, just sat beside and watched to see how long Alice would stay inside.
Time passed, and Alice showed no intention of coming out.
Garen looked helplessly at William and awkwardly said, "Mr. Johnson, look at this... If Alice doesn't come out, we can't really continue the fight."
William had no choice but to call out, "Alice, are you going to fight or not?"
The response to William was a voice tinged with tears: "I can't win, I just can't win..."
The difference in strength levels was too great, and with William not allowing this or that, Alice really didn't know how to fight.
William was also helpless. Under all these restrictions, it was perhaps a bit unfair to Alice.
"Come out, I'll teach you!" William could only take matters into his own hands.
Given the current situation, Alice might really stay inside indefinitely.
If she came out, she might very well get killed.
"Don't lie to me, if you want to teach me, just control my body directly," Alice blurted out in desperation, and after saying it, she realized something seemed off...
Well, her intention was simply for William to control her body!
Cough!
Just spirit possession to teach her swordsmanship, that's all.
"Alright! I'm coming in, pay attention."
After William spoke, his spirit once again took control of Alice's body.
As the alchemy furnace was withdrawn, Garen could clearly feel the energy emanating from Alice undergoing a drastic change.
And this energy felt so familiar...
William had previously used Alice's body to spar with him in swordsmanship.
It was the same old formula, truly unchanged.
Garen was speechless.
Is this how super-strong beings spar in swordsmanship?
What happened to the fair fight that was agreed upon?
Hiding in the furnace when outmatched was one thing, but now calling in a substitute was another matter entirely.
It was already unfair with various advantages, and now it was even more unreasonable.
"Draw your sword!" William decided to properly teach Alice this time.
Garen felt a chill run down his spine but quickly regained his composure.
Even knowing his opponent was William, he couldn't be so frightened as to not even dare to draw his sword.
The moment Garen drew his sword, William began to analyze through his consciousness with Alice.
"When facing an enemy, you need to learn to conceal your energy. Otherwise, it's easy for your opponent to detect and then seal off your energy supply. What will you do then?"
"With your current strength, it's impossible not to show any flaws."
"In that case, show your opponent a false flaw!"
"Besides, you need to learn to sense your opponent's energy flow, like with his sword strike now. When he lifts his hand, you can sense that he's aiming for your throat."
"Just need to lightly lift your sword and lean to the left side..."
William explained the sword move, and Alice was somewhat lost.
Yet, her body easily parried Garen's attack, and in the next moment, the sword was already positioned at Garen's neck.
It sounded so simple, indeed.
"Wouldn't that be a win then?"
William spoke in a tone suggesting it was all very simple, "You try."
And then Alice got thrashed again.
Only this time, Garen no longer went for the kill.
He had realized by now that William did not wish for Alice to die.
He was merely a sparring partner.
What about the reward for killing Alice?
Given the sudden lightning from the sky earlier, winning just wasn't going to happen!
What kind of lightning magic would it take to disrupt his secret sword technique?
Once he understood this, Garen, the sparring partner, became more compliant.
He definitely needed to fight earnestly.
But Alice, she couldn't be harmed.
He had to win, yet allow Alice room to perform.
Perhaps this is the highest realm of being a sparring partner.
For half a month, William and Alice would arrive at the Emerald Lion Guild early in the morning.
Garen, the president of the Emerald Lion Guild, did nothing else but serve as a sparring partner.
Although Alice's level of strength wasn't as high as his, he also gleaned quite a bit from their exchanges, and his strength improved dramatically.
By comparison, Alice's aptitude seemed much poorer,despite being personally taught by William, by the end, Garen had mastered the techniques, but she hadn't.
One day, a flash of purple light gleamed in Alice's eyes, and she said to William, "I think my 'cheat' has been activated."
William raised his hand and thumped her on the head, "Don't use it!"
The so-called 'cheat' she mentioned was the power given by the Cosmic Entity, wasn't it?
William had noticed that during this time, the halo of holy light had fully integrated with Alice's body and soul, and the Cosmic Entity must have indeed granted some benefits to Alice.
But competitions value fairness, and using cheats at every turn,isn't that against the spirit of martial ethics?
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