Chapter 82: Shangshan Jun, Want A Reward?
The fierce battle in the dojo lasted a full hour before slowly coming to a stop.
Neither wore a face mask, but Lili Zi was surprisingly unscathed on her head aside from being drenched in sweat, and apart from some faint pain in the skin under her chest and arm guards, she was fine.
Only Shangshan Che got beaten up fiercely again.
【Your skill, Corona Breathing Technique proficiency +178!】
【Your skill, Natural Reason School proficiency +112!】
But looking at the two lines of surging proficiency, Shangshan Che only felt that what Lili Zi said earlier was true, and it benefited him greatly.
To suppress his own power to her level, Shangshan Che not only needed to finely control his own power, but also needed to carefully observe the extent of power she could currently exert.
Lili Zi’s moves were extremely exquisite, often able to produce the effect of two or even more power from one part of force; normal Shangshan Che would surely be helpless.
But it was different after using Soul Incense Ash.
With his physique attribute far higher than his opponent’s, Shangshan Che could clearly observe Lili Zi’s power trajectories and techniques.
After many times, he could roughly estimate that her physique attribute was around 10 points, and thus steadily maintain his own power at the same level as hers.
—Then get beaten up to gain experience again.
“What I want is for you to maintain your power output at a consistent level no matter how you’re beaten.”
After tossing him a clean towel, Lili Zi said: “Shangshan Jun, this isn’t something you can do just by relying on willpower; you have to let your body remember this feeling.”
“This way, even if you lose control of your emotions in a life-or-death fierce battle, you can still maintain the strongest combat power.”
As she spoke, Lili Zi shuddered all over again and bit her lip with her canine tooth.
Shangshan Che knew—this was her being killed once again by the visualization object in her mind.
During the hour-long sparring, the two talked about everything, so these little things were no longer secrets to him.
He wiped off his sweat and curled his lips: “But sparring with me while fighting others in your mind is a bit too dismissive.”
“—Then Shangshan Jun, just improve your sword technique quickly to the point where I can’t afford to divide my attention, otherwise my training efficiency won’t be maximized.”
Lili Zi shrugged indifferently and said in a tsundere tone.
This woman…
Without bickering with Lili Zi, Shangshan Che leaned back on a bench nearby, lowered his eyes pretending to rest, and browsed the prompt from the Natural Reason School breakthrough just now—
【Your skill, Sword Technique·Natural Reason School has been upgraded to Proficient Level!】
【Natural Reason School（Proficiency 100/1000）】
【Effect: Solid foundation, flexible and varied, naturally harmonious.】
【Due to your Natural Reason School upgrading to Proficient Level, your physique +2!】
【Due to your Natural Reason School upgrading to Proficient Level, you have learned the new stance·Three-stage Thrust!】
【Due to your Natural Reason School upgrading to Proficient Level, you have learned Iaijutsu-related knowledge!】
No wonder he felt his mind swelling right after the fight.
Shangshan Che rubbed his temples; he hadn’t fully figured out the techniques of the Corona Breathing Technique yet, and now a bunch of Iaijutsu-related knowledge came.
The Three-stage Thrust stance wasn’t hard; it was basically an upgraded version of Flat Eye, and he should master it after using it a few times.
As for Iaijutsu… who should he find to practice with?
Definitely not Lili Zi; Iaijutsu emphasizes surprise and speed, accuracy, ruthlessness, and if he slashed her full force, Shangshan Che didn’t even dare to imagine the scene.
“Guess I have to trouble Chi.”
Speaking of sparring partners, Chi in Kisaragi Station was really quite good.
Poor perception, doesn’t move around randomly, low aggression but not none—simply the best target for early Iaijutsu practice!
Taking advantage of Lili Zi changing clothes, Shangshan Che glanced at his increasingly luxurious attribute panel—
【Shangshan Che】
【Physique: 20】
【Willpower: 9】
【Charm: 9】
【Spiritual Arts: 1】
Although the “1” in Spiritual Arts was still a bit glaring, the situation should improve after pulling the Three-tailed Fox incarnation…
Speaking of gacha pulls, Shangshan Che realized his Soul Ash was approaching five hundred points, enough for another ten-pull.
“I’ll head into Kisaragi Station later.”
—Lili Zi, having changed clothes, stood in the doorway, silently sizing up the boy leaning on the bench, who looked like a Greek god of beauty.
Those blocks of fair muscle rising and falling with his breathing, sculpted like marble statues, really made Lili Zi envious.
You ask why Lili Zi could see so much muscle through clothes?
—Of course, by building a mathematical model in her mind!
“Shangshan Jun has grown much stronger after training with me, not just in sword technique, but also in body.”
In contrast, she only had her kendo somewhat passable after wasting a long time on it, and even her Clear Sword Heart was a lucky breakthrough, completely incomparable to Shangshan Che who advanced step by step.
She needed to work harder…
No, desperately.
Lili Zi sighed out hot white breath wearily and wordlessly added in her mind a version of herself training harshly in various extreme environments and another fighting enemies in real combat as complements.
“Tired?”
Lili Zi looked up in a daze and saw a delicate white amulet with “Calming” engraved on the front being handed to her by the handsome boy.
“It has a spirit-nourishing effect, and it will probably heat up to warn if demons are nearby.” Shangshan Che smiled at her, “I think this is the most suitable for you.”
She dazedly took the Calming Amulet, and almost instantly, Lili Zi felt her thoughts lighten, and the world before her eyes brightened.
Thoughts flowed without pause, and breathing became smooth!
—The same faint spirit-nourishing effect was negligible for Shangshan Che, but for Lili Zi, it was a timely help, a great assistance!
Lili Zi gripped the lightweight amulet in her hand, feeling tears almost surging from her eyes.
But she instantly suppressed this flutter and just showed a gentle smile: “This is really useful for me, thanks.”
“I can’t just not show some appreciation.” She beckoned Shangshan Che with her finger: “So, how about a little… reward?”
“What reward?”
Shangshan Che was stunned; did she mean to thank him by picking up a bamboo sword and beating him to gain experience again?
Better to have less of that kind of thanks.
Lili Zi winked playfully at him: “Do I need to spell it out? Just the literal kind of benefit…”
Shangshan Che wasn’t a blockhead, so he immediately reacted.
But he still stepped back half a step: “No, no need.”
—Joking! Who would have those kinds of thoughts about a bro!
Lili Zi showed a cat mouth: “Shangshan Jun, not being honest.”
“No, I’m very honest, saying what’s truly in my heart; on the contrary, why is Lili Zi learning that classic character trope to speak?”
Lili Zi put the amulet in her pocket and zipped it up, humming twice.
She stepped forward, backing him against the wall with a smile: “Shangshan Jun… how do you know I’m learning it?”
