Chapter 1288
Chapter 1288 - 1274: Distance
1,342 words
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7 min read
Metallic boxing gloves clashing with blade edges rang out in quick succession, as the swift blade dancer perfectly showcased her poise.
The blades, dancing.
The woman’s attacks had no fixed shape, or rather, she was constantly flowing.
What was once Golden Sand, now as Liquid Gold, displayed an onslaught akin to mercury spilling over the ground—endless attacks.
Kicks, punches, shoulder charges... but always, the most dangerous was the hair that, unnoticed, had already extended to her feet.
If she was just a young rabbit back then, the woman now had become a fierce dragon.
Another collision, Lu Ping’an was once again provoked.
He realized that apart from "change", what made Hua Xueyi most unbeatable was her "speed" ... normal muscle contractions worked like a "spring", and even with multiple changes in direction, there was a clear trajectory, but Hua Xueyi truly needed none.
Her absolute speed was fast, but the speed of mid-move shifts and adjustments were even more outrageous,
Lu Ping’an even suspected she must have at least a dozen "eyes" on her body, otherwise, it was unreasonable to achieve such a level of perception and control over her physique.
"Roses are beautiful, but they have thorns..."
Lu Ping’an’s metallic boxing gloves had been penetrated, with tiny golden needles leaving their mark.
"...and poison."
Pulling out the thin spikes, Lu Ping’an could feel a significant corrosive effect on the other side of his skin, and a force eroding his flesh.
And for something to cause a distinct pain to Lu Ping’an, it likely wasn’t an ordinary ability.
Across from him, Hua Xueyi was somewhat dissatisfied... She had become serious, yet her opponent was still taking it lightly.
Looking at him, flames seemed to be burning fiercely in her beautiful eyes.
She had waited for this day for too long, it was time to prove her capabilities...
"...I’m not fighting anymore, my hand hurts."
Lu Ping’an simply raised both hands and surrendered.
"How about you just kill me once and be done with it, since I’m not fighting anymore?" Lu Ping’an straight up threw in the towel.
This was a gym designed for deadly combat, with a battlefield that had "Revival" capabilities, perfectly suited for Battle-professionals to fight to the death and temper themselves.
But for Lu, let alone a death match, even being dragged up for training fights was a hassle.
"I’m off to plant trees, Meow, you practice with her."
And poor Meow, left holding the bag atop the combat platform, instantly bristled.
But faced with a discontent and unfulfilled Hua senior sister, Meow still steeled itself for battle... Not surprisingly, it was defeated within three minutes, getting so thoroughly beaten that it rolled around meowing pitifully on the ground.
"Meow! That’s bullying, meow!" Meow felt wronged; senior sister was being too harsh, totally lacking the former camaraderie.
"...Sorry, I got carried away and didn’t pull my punches." Seeing Meow pouting and upset, Hua Xueyi quickly apologized.
Unlike the other core members of the team, Hua Xueyi, apart from occasionally acting as a Flying reconnaissance soldier, didn’t have many chaotic "functionalities"; she was a pure fighter and hired thug.
Upon returning to the team, she naturally underwent a series of extra training, and also exchanged some of her accumulated gains and resources for Life-points, which she then spent in the library and other areas.
Drinking various Magic Potions, studying Taboo knowledge, and digesting it through real "death matches", she felt herself improving every moment.
And what annoyed her was that now, despite exerting all her strength...
"I still have no assurance that I could kill him..."
Certainly, this was not the first time Lu Ping’an had been dragged into a battlefield.
And in such an environment, Lu Ping’an, who used neither Magic Plants nor Magic Pets nor Taboo items, truly could not defeat Hua Xueyi, who was also at the Quasi-rule level.
She was too fast, so fast that Lu Ping’an’s "curse words" could not lock onto her, so fast that most of what Lu Ping’an perceived were her Phantoms and feints.
Her talent was fully developed, endlessly versatile in real combat—when it was time to be tough, she was like titanium alloy steel, but just when you thought you could strike her hard and inflict serious damage, she would transform into a slippery liquid.
In some ways, she who could freely undergo a Metallic slime transformation, had neither vitals to target nor a concept of limbs; her offense and defense were just a thought away.
She was pure, a combination of pure Fighting traits and battle skills honed to perfection, along with various "Enchantments" on her hair, making her a true single-entity killing machine.
After being stripped of most of the combat platform, Lu indeed could not stand toe-to-toe against a pure Quasi-rule Battle-profession.
"Meow? Isn’t this a good thing, meow? You’re even better than him....."
"Ten years, and my progress has been fast, but I’m still about the same as him from ten years ago....."
Hua Xueyi sighed. She knew the gap was large back then, but only now, after so many years, was she truly sure about it.
".....Looking back now, I really was irrelevant back then, how can I not feel discouraged..."
"...No matter what, I have caught up."
Thinking of the past, and recalling the annoyed expression Lu Ping’an had when he fought and swiftly ran away, the woman clenched her fist and subconsciously smiled.
That touch of mature charm, coupled with the genuine joy in her smile, even stunned the Meow watching her.
"Is beating me up that delightful?"
"Of course....." Hua Xueyi hadn’t finished speaking when the attacking Meow had already pounced over.
A new round of sparring began, and the recently slacking Meow did indeed need some motivation.
Meanwhile, Lu Ping’an outside was rubbing his hands to dissipate the "Gold-poison" on them.
This active Metal Slime cellular toxin, when injected into the enemy, is a living deadly poison, easily bypassing various Pollution Resistances due to its physical properties, making it especially effective in real combat.
Lu Ping’an could even feel that the power in it was faintly surpassing the Decree...
"Really, it’s gotten much stronger...."
Even Lu Ping’an himself felt somewhat astonished.
If Hua senior sister was still obsessed with flying tactics back in the day, now she was like a fighter jet armed to the teeth.
The improvement in strength was one thing, but the maturity as a warrior and the excellent choice of tactics could probably only be tempered through constant dueling and life-and-death struggles.
During the last fragments incident, if she hadn’t encountered the worst kind of enemy, perhaps Lu Ping’an’s support wouldn’t have been necessary.
".....Now if I encountered her in an actual fight, I’d probably have to go all out."
Lu Ping’an rarely felt this pressure, not because his "juniors" had closed the gap, nor because of the ten years of accumulated strength from team members, but because.....
".....to obtain these powers, these ten years must have been quite tough....."
If even the members were pushing themselves so hard, as the team’s leader, Lu Ping’an must respond with actual results.
"Maybe give a little reward, what would she want....."
While thinking about various things, Lu Ping’an returned to his routine work.
The higher the High-Tier Professionals, the more apparent the "divergences". Lu Ping’an was always Life system, the only boost to combat ability could come from a fifth-tier Fighter.
If Lu Ping’an had not misjudged, Hua Xueyi probably had more than three fifth-tier or sixth-tier Battle-professions.
He looked up at the night sky, if Hua senior sister had undergone such changes, the other team members who remained probably had undergone even more drastic transformations.
"I need to become stronger, strong enough to uphold the vast canopy....." Seemly, Lu Ping’an had finally found some determination.
— End of Chapter 1288 —