Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Unbreakable Defense Array _1
Xu Xincheng struggled to his feet, his face filled with anger as he glared at Ye Ming. He had intended to hurl a few insults, but then he noticed Lik Jian standing motionless at his original spot.
After the fierce collision with Ye Ming, Lik Jian did not feel any pain in his body.
A confident smile appeared on his face; he hadn’t expected to improve so rapidly. In just a few days, he had managed to fight Ye Ming to a draw.
Everyone was very well aware of Ye Ming’s strength.
Seeing Lik Jian standing unharmed, the members of Falcon Squad couldn’t help but express their admiration.
"It looks like it has to be Lik Jian. Among us, he’s the one progressing the fastest. I didn’t expect him to be able to withstand a punch from Instructor Ye."
"In this upcoming international competition, our Falcon Squad has gained another capable fighter!"
Lik Jian didn’t say anything in response to these words, but he felt extremely pleased inside.
While he was proud of his physical strength, he suddenly heard a loud bang; a tree not far behind him had fallen to the ground.
On the trunk, there was faintly visible the imprint of a fist, clearly belonging to Ye Ming.
Lik Jian instantly lost his composure, his legs went weak, and his face showed an expression of shame.
He had thought his strength was enough to spar with Ye Ming, only to realize Ye Ming had been holding back, and the punch hadn’t landed on him at all.
The other team members also widened their eyes in shock, struck dumb and rooted to the spot.
Ye Ming smiled indifferently and praised, "I haven’t seen you for a few days, and the progress you’ve made is quite impressive. It’s evident you have been training diligently."
"However, you haven’t yet grasped the true essence of the Xuanyuan Body Refinement Art. You’re probably at the fifth level, but it’s not until the tenth level that you truly begin."
"Only at that point can the Sky-shattering Stone Technique I taught you really come in handy."
Hearing Ye Ming’s words, Lik Jian’s face showed a look of shock.
He had assumed that reaching the fifth level made him stand out from the crowd. That’s why he had blindly challenged Ye Ming with such confidence.
It turned out, he was still someone who hadn’t even started.
According to the hierarchy of martial artists, at this moment, Lik Jian was at most a grandmaster at the entry-level. In front of Ye Ming, he was almost as weak as a common person who couldn’t even truss a chicken.
"Instructor Ye, I was blindly arrogant. Thank you for your guidance. I will surely work even harder in the future," Lik Jian bowed and said to Ye Ming.
Ye Ming nodded and said, "It’s alright. The first step to becoming a talent is to challenge me. Since you have this mindset, it shows great progress!"
"If other team members have the same idea, feel free to bring it up with me, and I will definitely fulfill everyone’s wishes."
Hearing this, everyone shrank their necks and showed timid expressions. Ye Ming’s recent fight with Lik Jian had already terrified them; if that punch had hit them, they might have died on the spot. Seeing this, who would dare to challenge him? Wasn’t that courting death?
Of course, there was one person in the crowd who was still very discontent, and that was Xu Xincheng.
At present, his strength wasn’t enough; any reckless action would only earn him a lesson. He secretly made a resolution that once his strength improved, he would find an opportunity to give Ye Ming a harsh lesson.
Tap tap tap...
At that moment, the sound of shoes hitting the floor was heard.
All eyes turned toward the direction of the sound.
Ye Ming’s gaze also shifted over and he was immediately struck by a brilliant sight.
Not far away, Wang Yating was slowly walking towards them.
She was wearing a pair of black leather boots and a black leather jacket, looking incredibly smart and dashing.
A high ponytail swayed behind her further accentuating the allure of a woman, demanding people’s attention with her striking presence.
However, her dark ensemble was rather unusual, matched with her stern complexion and an imposing aura, it was reflective of her mood.
Upon arriving in front of everyone, Wang Yating simply exchanged a look with Ye Ming and did not react further; her indifference made Ye Ming feel a surge of unfamiliarity.
That feeling filled Ye Ming with a sense of guilt and a tinge of loss.
Could it be that he had done something wrong?
Standing before everyone, Wang Yating said coldly, "Alright, enough fooling around. Since Instructor Ye is here, I might as well brief everyone on the competition."
"The competition consists of individual strength contests, team quality assessments, and squad matches, with the sum of our rankings from each event determining our overall placement."
"This time, we have some formidable opponents. We need to pay special attention to America’s Marines Special Combat Team, Iceland’s Lion Team, and the Tiger Team with whom we have previously clashed."
Everyone was quite familiar with the Tiger Team. They had arrived early in Dragon Country and already competed against Falcon Squad once.
The strength they displayed was beyond everyone’s expectations, and had Ye Ming not intervened, Falcon Squad would have been utterly disgraced in that encounter.
Now with the chance to encounter them again, the members of Falcon Squad were invigorated and ready to deliver a crushing response.
Although not much time had passed, Falcon Squad was vastly different from before, emboldened with the Xuanyuan Body Refinement Art and the Sky-shattering Stone Technique taught by Ye Ming, they feared nothing.
Having explained the competition rules, Wang Yating turned her icy gaze toward Ye Ming and asked, "Instructor Ye, I have said all I wanted to, do you have anything to add?"
Wang Yating’s attitude was something Ye Ming was not accustomed to.
The transition from past warmth to present coldness was stark, but soon, Ye Ming had adjusted his mindset.
Perhaps, for him, this was a good thing.
His prior hesitance to reject her outright had led Wang Yating to harbor hopes, resulting in such a turn of events; Ye Ming thought it might be best to use this opportunity to extinguish her expectations.
In this way, as their relationship gradually distanced, the matter of their engagement could naturally be resolved.
Having realized this, Ye Ming’s state of mind began to stabilize.
He stood up and slowly said, "Everyone has improved rapidly, and we needn’t fear the Tiger Team in a rematch."
"However, as for team combat, we lack experience!"
Only then did Ye Ming realize that he had only taught them techniques for physical refinement and had not practiced coordinated actions with the Falcon Squad members.
In team battles, they would certainly be at a disadvantage.
Therefore, Ye Ming said, "I will teach you a Formation, named Unbreakable Defense Array!"
"Lik Jian, you will be the heart of this Formation!"
