NOVEL WEB Chapter 59: Undefeated in Every Battle
In the year 2602 of the Soul Age, June had arrived.
Half a year had passed since Captain Jiang Yuan and Military Doctor Ling Yi first crossed paths in a friendly duel of marksmanship.
Over the past six months, they had faced each other in more than a hundred bouts. To everyone's astonishment, the seemingly delicate Military Doctor Ling Yi had remained undefeated, not losing a single match!
Of course, everyone involved, including the informed observers at the Hanfeng Camp, knew that Captain Jiang had deliberately restricted his soul power to below the Grand Soul Master's level, maintaining parity with Ling Yi's power level. The two only competed in their skills with various weapons like swords, spears, staffs, and axes.
Hence, it wasn't unexpected for Captain Jiang to lose... but to lose this badly is quite another matter!
Let alone his suppressed soul power, Captain Jiang, with the physique of a Soul Ancestor and at the peak condition of nearing thirty, was visibly more robust compared to Ling Yi's tender frame of a mere child in his early teens.
Furthermore, while it's understandable that Captain Jiang initially had to divert his focus to control his soul power to prevent exceeding the Grand Soul Master level, essentially tying his own hands, half a year of practice had brought him close to mastering the dual-focus technique. Yet, throughout their contests, Ling Yi continued to dominate the battlefield, leaving those in the know quite baffled.
What confused the onlookers at the Hanfeng Camp even more was this: How could Jiang Yuan, an impressive military captain commanding two thousand elite soldiers and a rising star in the whole of the Waterwood Principality, keep returning to challenge a young lad in his teens despite repeated defeats? And not only challenge but continually be defeated with such tenacity and enthusiasm?
"Clang—!!"
The familiar sound echoed as Ling Yi's battle axe struck against Jiang Yuan's steel spear. Without giving him a moment to react, Ling Yi swiftly dragged the axe to the left, slicing towards Jiang Yuan's right hand that gripped the spear.
Sparks flew as the axe blade danced across the steel spear shaft. Even though Jiang Yuan had already summoned his martial soul, the "Iron Hand Armor," to cover his right hand, he couldn't help but flinch at the sight.
He knew it wouldn't cause any real harm, but just like any ordinary person instinctively clenching at the sight of something sharp, it was a biological reflex.
Jiang Yuan, a captain in the Coldwind Camp, was not yet thirty and already a Soul Spirit King—a promising young talent. However, when it came to battle experience or surviving the harsh realities of life and death on the battlefield, unfortunately, his experience was rather lacking.
In the northeastern region of the Heavenly Dou Empire, within the Shimizu Principality, aside from keeping watch for wandering soul beasts, fallen soul masters, and bandits, the need for military engagement was minimal. Occasionally, troops would be mobilized to the southern frontlines of the Heavenly Dou and Star Luo Empire skirmishes, but these were rare occurrences.
In fact, across the entire Douluo Continent, large-scale military battles were not common. The high-level forces' duels were the true key to determining a war's outcome.
Of course, armies still held their significance. A truly elite force, sacrificing all for the encirclement, could wear down even a normal Titled Douluo on the battlefield, except those with special martial souls or attributes.
Nevertheless, it's indeed rare to see someone standing foolishly in place, battling tens of thousands of elite forces for three days and nights.
Speaking of Jiang Yuan, in the past six months, he has felt his combat experience and on-the-fly reactions have improved by leaps and bounds compared to half a year ago!
Initially, Jiang Yuan wasn't exactly an academic type. Back in the academy, he frequently sparred with teachers and classmates. During his soul ring hunts, he fought against fierce soul beasts under the watchful eyes of his mentors and elders. He participated in solo, duo, and team battles in the great soul arenas of 'Mu Zhi City' and 'Cold Wind City.' During his military career, he led his troops to encircle and kill soul beasts and bandits.
Everyone knows that under Captain Jiang Yuan's 'Iron Hand Gauntlets,' over a hundred skulls have been shattered, belonging to both soul beasts and soul masters.
However, it wasn’t until he set aside his martial spirit, the 'Iron Hand Gauntlet,' and switched to using a spear intended for legion and multi-person combat, that Captain Jiang Yuan realized his so-called decent spear skills were inferior to those of an eleven-year-old boy?!
Furthermore, this kind of combat unexpectedly trained his combat experience, which had already reached a certain bottleneck, bringing genuine surprise to Captain Jiang Yuan, whose soul power progression had begun to slow down.
Captain Jiang Yuan is self-aware of his rapidly advanced combat experience, yet simultaneously, he's developed a deep-seated admiration for the growth of Ling Yi.
Imitating Ling Yi's former strategies, Jiang Yuan twisted his steel spear to deflect the axe blade about to strike his hand, while clutching his left fist, he bent his arm to slam his elbow into the spear's end, striving to turn defense into offense.
“Still lost, huh?” Jiang Yuan stared blankly at the steel spear thrust obliquely into the ground several meters away. He then turned to Ling Yi, who was slightly out of breath, sighed, and with a faint smile, called out loudly, "Ah Yi, your skill with the axe is no weaker than with knives, spears, or staffs."
Looking at the energized state of Jiang Yuan, Ling Yi, who was quickly regaining his composure, grinned and replied cheerfully, "Brother Yuan, you went easy on me. Had you fully utilized your soul power, how could I have so easily deflected your spear?"
“Nonsense,” Jiang Yuan shook his head, raising his right hand to glance at the silver gauntlet, then retracted it into his body with a thought. He said to Ling Yi, "I was already gripping tightly, but you found the gap when I shifted my focus. Even if I had deployed my soul power, it might not have been in time..."
"Speaking of which," Jiang Yuan eyed the long-handled battle axe in Ling Yi's hand with an odd expression and asked, "First you used a spear, then you switched to a knife, earlier it was a staff, and now you’re wielding a battle axe. Are you planning to master all eighteen types of weapons, kid?"
After asking, Jiang Yuan felt a slight pang of exasperation. This question had been brewing for some time. Today's sight of Ling Yi's axe technique, as proficient as the other weapons he mastered, finally triggered him to voice his curiosity.
"Heh~" Ling Yi twirled the axe, letting the head rest by his foot, leaving a shallow dent in the firm black soil. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, smiling as he answered, "I just feel like I've hit a bottleneck with the others, so I thought I'd explore something new, see if I can pick up new insights..."
Jiang Yuan was left speechless (⊙o⊙)…: "Uhh—aren't you worried about biting off more than you can chew?"
"Not really~," Ling Yi shook his head with a gentle smile, "Just like you, Brother Yuan. No matter how masterful you get with spear techniques, when facing an enemy, you'd still rely on your Iron Gauntlets. I'm just a healing-type spirit master, learning these things only gives me a bit of combat ability for self-defense. It's not like I'm preparing to go into battle and kill—"
"Master Huang, who taught me weapon techniques, says that on the battlefield, once your weapon breaks or is damaged, you have to use whatever you can grab. The enemy won't give us a choice, so learning more is never a bad thing~"
Hearing Ling Yi's reasoning, Jiang Yuan recalled how his soldiers often dabbled in various weapons as well. However, as a spirit master focused on his own spirit, he hadn't paid much attention to these matters.
Even his pursuit of spear techniques had been influenced by Ling Yi, coupled with the actual experience gained in battles, which had kept him persistently seeking challenges for half a year now.
Yet...
Jiang Yuan looked at Ling Yi's bright, innocent smile, opened his mouth, but refrained from voicing his own inner critiques.
From Jiang Yuan's personal experience, although Ling Yi's spirit was the supposedly useless "Blue Silver Grass" with his first spirit ring being a healing type, in every sense a genuine healing-type spirit master, But thanks to the strength built from wielding the forging hammer over the years, whether holding a spear or any other sword, stick, or axe, even a newly advanced two-ring master, unless their spirit technique was exceptionally powerful, wouldn't be a match for this healing-type one-ring spirit master right before him.
Over years of rigorous physical training, Ling Yi's strength has not only kept up with but even far surpassed that of Soul Masters of the same rank!
(End of Chapter)
