I Can Copy the Talents of All Creatures

Chapter 242: Chapter 177: The Battle for Second and Third (Part 2)

Li Jueyin wielded a great spear, her martial techniques powerful and heavy, her figure agile. Gao Shou was almost completely suppressed, but at every critical moment, he would invariably flick out a silent flying knife aimed straight for Li Jueyin’s vitals.

Li Jueyin’s fighting style was extremely fierce. Her long spear moved like a dancing black dragon. Hers was the way of the heavy spear, not a path of agility; every move was packed with brutal killing intent.

Gao Shou usually appeared bright and cheerful, but his attacks were exceptionally insidious. The three-inch flying knives he periodically launched were especially so, catching her off guard and aiming for her vitals. Every time Li Jueyin was about to link her spear forms together, she was interrupted, preventing her from ever entering the Realm of Endless Tides.

The Green Wave Mountain Shattering Spear she cultivated focused on accumulating momentum. By building up a continuous, ever-heavier spear momentum, she could form an attack that her opponent could not possibly shake. At that point, every thrust would be a killing blow. But Gao Shou refused to give her the chance, always interrupting her at the critical moment.

In truth, Gao Shou was also in a tight spot and couldn’t complain. Li Jueyin’s Body Technique was swift and her attacks were aggressive. His Miao saber was rendered ineffective against her, and he could never create enough distance to unleash his Nine Dark Thunder Stars. Seeing his own Inner Qi reserves dwindling to a dangerous level, he felt overwhelmed and was constantly on the verge of disaster.

’To be honest,’ Gao Shou thought, ’I’ve never met such a ferocious woman. Her aura is like that of a fierce general in the army. She’s just too violent.’

Below the stage, the crowd of prodigies from the Yulin Army felt their scalps tingle as they watched. In fact, many A-rank prodigies had achieved varying degrees of growth during the holiday after earning merit points. Deep down, many of them felt that the so-called S-rank prodigies weren’t all that special. They believed they were only temporarily behind and could surely catch up, or even surpass them, in the future.

This was also why some held ill will toward Yu Fei. Even though he had defeated numerous Inner Qi Martial Artists in the placement matches, his own realm was relatively low, so he was still looked down upon. This was just human nature.

Now, as the A-rank and B-rank prodigies watched the two brutal fighters on stage, they imagined themselves in their place and despaired, realizing they probably wouldn’t last ten moves before being defeated. Their gazes involuntarily shifted to Yu Fei.

One thing was undeniable: in the future three-class confrontations, resource allocation would be a key issue. Li Jueyin was the strongest, and Zhang Xunyi was not weak. Gao Shou and Lin Zihao were close in strength. No matter how you looked at it, the S-rank prodigies in Yu Fei’s group were the weakest.

Jiang Nianwei had ranked at the bottom in terms of raw power during the placement matches, and Yu Fei had only barely managed to place 12th. This couldn’t help but make people worry.

Qin Hao glanced at the self-proclaimed "Big Sis" Jiang Nianwei but saw no trace of worry on her face. He had no idea that in Jiang Nianwei’s eyes, Yu Fei was the strongest of the 42 prodigies this year, because back then, he had only been in the second realm.

If everyone had been at the second realm, Yu Fei would have been a bug-level existence. Even if everyone attacked him at once, they probably wouldn’t have been his match.

For prodigies, the pace of advancement in the realms before Grandmaster wasn’t very meaningful. For instance, Yu Fei was already in the third realm now, while the others were in the Inner Qi Realm. She estimated that by the time Yu Fei entered the Inner Qi Realm, the others would still be in the Inner Qi Realm.

Mentor Tang Lihui had said that upon reaching this realm, one must proceed with extremely steady steps, one foot at a time. They had to constantly temper themselves, master more martial techniques and Secret Techniques, and broaden their versatility as a Martial Artist. Only then could they advance faster in the long run.

For prodigy Martial Artists, blindly pursuing higher realms was actually the inferior path. The Martial Saint realm was their ultimate goal.

’Yu Fei is in the third realm now. With the school’s resources, he’ll probably enter the Inner Qi Realm very soon. When that happens, faced with his bizarre Sword Qi and Sword Intent, any prodigy would feel their scalp tingle in fear.’

Back on the stage, after a period of high-intensity fighting, it was clear that Gao Shou was starting to falter. His Inner Qi and strength were weaker than his opponent’s. Combined with spending most of his time defending and the heavy consumption from using his flying knives, fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead—a sign of stamina depletion.

「In the Gui Zhen Dojo」

Tang Lihui was watching the duel on an ancient mirror. The mirror had a green, bronze-like patina and a simple, archaic design.

Ye Shuping’s holographic projection spoke as if he had a toothache. "I’m telling you, Xiaohuihui, isn’t this ancient mirror of yours just pointlessly over-complicated? It’s obviously a product of modern technology, yet you insist on making it look like an antique. It’s so awkward to look at."

Tang Lihui chuckled. "Teacher, you know how much I like ancient things. Having it made in this style brings me great joy!"

"Fine, do as you please. Anyway, what do you think of these two kids?"

Tang Lihui answered without hesitation. "The arena environment favors Li Jueyin. Her fighting style is geared toward direct confrontation, which puts Gao Shou at a great disadvantage. In a more complex environment, Li Jueyin wouldn’t have such an easy time gaining the upper hand. She might even get taken out by one of Gao Shou’s dirty tricks."

"But then again, both of their abilities have shortcomings. Gao Shou relies too much on his flying knife ultimate technique and has poor direct combat skills. Li Jueyin, on the other hand, has too much faith in head-on battles. Her set of martial techniques would be difficult to use on a real battlefield. And besides, she seems to be imitating someone. She’s fierce, but she hasn’t captured the spirit!"

"Ahem..." Ye Shuping said leisurely, his hands behind his back, "Let’s just say Li Jueyin is of the same generation as one of classmate Xiaoming’s great-grandnieces. Get it now?"

Tang Lihui was astonished. "When did Senior Sister Ming get married? How come I didn’t know!"

Ye Shuping’s projection froze for a second before he burst out cursing, "You idiot! When did I say Xiaoming got married? Can’t Xiaoming have siblings? Does a side branch of the family not count as relatives anymore?"

Tang Lihui let out a long sigh of relief. ’That’s what I thought. So it seems Li Jueyin is unconsciously modeling herself after Senior Sister Ming. That’s a huge taboo!’

"Then it will be up to you to guide her slowly. Li Jueyin’s path has clearly gone astray. Water is inherently soft, and fire is inherently fierce. It’s not impossible to wield water as if it were fire, but she’s trying to fly before she’s even learned to walk. Her foundation is unstable!"

On the stage, the proctor, Tan Zhiyu, stood ready. Gao Shou and Li Jueyin had been entangled for a long time, and it was obvious that both were planning to settle the match with a single, decisive move.

Gao Shou suddenly threw six knives in quick succession. Fine white arcs, some heavy and some light, streaked through the air. Li Jueyin’s long spear flicked away three of them, but she saw the other three suddenly accelerate toward her. She had no choice but to retreat explosively, barely managing to dodge. The three flying knives plunged in unison into the stone slab, leaving only three tiny holes.

The long spear in Li Jueyin’s hand spun rapidly. Her steps were heavy, as if the spearhead carried ten thousand tons. A dragon-shaped, ink-green Qi Jin seemed to cling to the spear. Her ponytail flew up as she charged toward the distant Gao Shou, her movements appearing slow but being deceptively fast.

Ultimate Technique! [Covering Sea]

Gao Shou’s figure danced, then abruptly shot nine zhang into the air. Despite only being in the Inner Qi Realm, his body hung suspended in the sky. His hands moved like fluttering butterflies, pulling countless sharp Willow Leaf Flying Knives from his shoes, leg wraps, arms, belt, and other places. Glimmering with a faint green light, they rained down on Li Jueyin like a shower of arrows.

Secret Technique! [Net]

As the ultimate moves clashed, Jiang Nianwei’s brow furrowed, and she gripped her twin blades tightly. She realized she was still no match for them. She was confident she could handle a conventional exchange like the one earlier, but compared to this, the trump cards she had prepared were a joke.

Beneath his bronze mask, Zhang Xunyi’s expression was grave. ’[Void Wind Shadow Sword] at perfection, one body becomes nine, Sword Derivation Infinite.’

He could guarantee that he wouldn’t die, but that seemed to be all he could do. Beneath his wide sleeves, his fists were clenched.

Involuntarily, both of them turned their gaze to Yu Fei.

"What are you looking at me for? I’m only in the third realm. You guys are in the Inner Qi Realm; a graze from you would injure me, a direct hit would kill me. What? You think I can just tank a move like that?"

Yu Fei shot them a glance. Hearing him say this, Zhang Xunyi’s fists unclenched, his mind inexplicably relaxing. Jiang Nianwei, however, sank into deep thought. ’If Yu Fei can’t handle it, then our Yulin Army will be in danger later on.’

In reality, Yu Fei was observing the effects of their attacks. ’If this is the extent of their ultimate moves,’ he thought, ’I can win.’

’A Martial Artist’s offensive power has its limits. Every technique has an upper limit to the energy it can carry.’

’Simply put, if a Martial Artist’s total Inner Qi can inflict 100 points of damage, being able to deal 10 points in a single strike is already quite impressive. A so-called ultimate move might raise that to 20 or 30. Don’t be fooled by moves that seem to vaporize the Qi Sea; most of that Inner Qi is wasted.’

’The so-called "intent" is what raises a technique’s damage cap. That’s the real reason it’s so powerful.’

But Yu Fei was different!