Chapter 808
Chapter 808 - 794 Handcuff
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8 min read
"In the world of high-order professionals, there is a saying that only those above the Decree are truly in the profession...."
Kun Ba’s concepts might be uncomfortable for many newcomers, but in the cognition of high-level professionals, this is reality.
"Low-level professionals who use their abilities with caution will hardly ever gain an advantage facing mid-tier opponents, for in a contest between ’one’ ability and ’ten’, the outcome is decided in a single round."
Right before Lu Ping’an’s eyes, Kun Ba executed a set of Fast Fists.
They were covered in thunder, as swift as a dragon’s movement, too fast for the naked eye, like a lightning nine-section whip... Er, after that barrage, a real "Boundary" appeared.
This was not even his main practice, but merely an "emergency" product for a high-level combat professional in certain special situations.
Lu Ping’an recalled the "college entrance examination" period when facing Tier 1-2 Element Manipulators; casting fire or lightning was extremely hard for them, often requiring the use of mediums like "painting" or "chess pieces", and they could hardly use their powers consecutively.
A fuse gun against a rocket launcher, the firepower between the two was completely incomparable; what’s more frustrating, the one with the rocket launcher couldn’t be taken down by a single shot from a fuse gun.
Element Manipulators show it very directly, and so do other professionals. However, when deciding which Abnormal Ability to use for "Binding", the main consideration is not power.
"The most important consideration, actually, is your own resistance..."
Fire can burn oneself, Elemental Binding Hand is strong but dangerous, high temperatures are unfriendly to most life forms.
Most "Binding" abilities in use are offensive, and before hitting the opponent, you yourself are constantly taking damage.
If you use poison, you’ll poison yourself, if you use electricity, you’ll electrocute yourself, and if you decrease the power, it won’t threaten the opponent, and is essentially useless...
"So, at this time, those with ’Binding/Protection system’ abilities naturally have an advantage. Just wrap yourself in a ’shield’; it not only increases resistance but also allows one to withstand higher-level ’Handcuffs’. This is one of the reasons why Xia Qin is viewed favorably..."
Watching Xia Qin still putting on the face of a good student, Kun Ba nodded with satisfaction.
As a warrior, mastering the Four Techniques is mandatory, and the technique-oriented inheritance of the Sword Saint is mostly dominated by experts in this area, which is also why Lu Ping’an came to seek guidance.
He had to let Xia Qin (his named disciple) run free before because for low-level professionals, cultivating the Four Techniques was of little significance (some might never reach fourth-tier), so he could only wait for Xia Qin to reach fourth-tier before he could truly teach them the core combat skills and abilities of their inheritance.
The Talent Ability "Sun Pattern" has an almost limitless hardening capacity and can be layered and stacked repeatedly. So the level of "Handcuff" Xia Qin can withstand is almost limitless; all other techniques can also receive a significant boost, especially their heritage’s "Body Sword" series.
Moreover, in their school, there exist higher-level "Hand/Binding" techniques that can apply their properties to weapons.
"Keep these two weapons; consider them a little gift for officially entering the door. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask me directly."
Kun Ba checked Xia Qin’s condition, confirmed that she was fully sprinting towards the fourth-tier threshold of Six Paths Sword Saint, and had already collected four weapons. He then laughed, generously handing over two quite precious Taboo weapons.
With this, Xia Qin, who has gathered six Taboo weapons, can directly advance, and is considered to have truly entered Kun Ba’s tutelage.
"...Your progress is much faster than I anticipated. I thought you would need another two years, but now it seems, you may only need about two months."
Kun Ba stroked his thin beard, his smile full of gratification.
Xia Qin also let out an awkward chuckle, too embarrassed to admit that her progress came from "cheating".
She glanced at Lu Ping’an subconsciously, just as he looked back at her... Both knew that once the conditions were met, what two months of grinding, using the Courtyard and the Great Library, two weeks would be the maximum.
With another proud disciple under his wing, Kun Ba was naturally in a good mood, and it made asking questions for Lu Ping’an much easier.
"Three options, huh... Uh, these don’t seem like very good options; can you handle them?"
The three abilities Lu Ping’an selected were actually not on the "common list".
"Physical Exhaustion... Are you a ’Healer’?"
"No, I am a Black Knight."
"No wonder..."
The first option was rather exaggerated.
Physical Exhaustion is an ability rare to those in the Death system and Healers; its effect is quite poor, it seeks to "drain life force" to specifically reduce the opponent’s physical strength.
This ability is quite niche because it’s basically useless... if you’ve hit your opponent with an Abnormal Ability, why not just kill them?
"I won’t even mention the issue with its power since you should have some strategies for that, but ’Physical Exhaustion’ is a double-edged sword. Once you cloak yourself in it, you’re the first one to suffer the damage. Without physical strength, you won’t be able to do anything."
"...I’ve tested it, I can resist it completely."
Hearing this, Kun Ba was surprised for a moment, then looked at Lu Ping’an for a while and nodded.
"A high-specification Life system ability, huh? It seems I misjudged... Alright, that indeed is a solid choice. Do you want my help perfecting it?"
"Elemental Binding Hand" is a common choice for many Law Professionals, usually placing a lower burden on the user themselves and also, since there are so many who choose it, there’s already a well-developed system of improvements in place.
If a professional chooses an "off-list" Abnormal Ability, they would need someone to polish and optimize it individually.
One could certainly explore on their own, but having the guidance of a predecessor would make the process much quicker.
In this aspect, Big Cat, who lacked a "body," couldn’t help, and Lu Ping’an was keener on receiving guidance and insights from a combat expert.
"No hurry, I have two more options..."
The second option, though subtle, is naturally conceivable.
"Do you have something like fireproof boxing gloves?"
The second option, naturally, was "Binding Flame".
But this isn’t actually something typical professionals would try to master because the kind of fire they usually play with isn’t ordinary—you don’t want the fire burning directly on your skin... It is best to tone it down a bit, using gloves or similar devices for some fireproofing.
Lu Ping’an spread his hands, and four-colored blazes quietly burned on his fingers, each one far from ordinary.
Kun Ba was even more astonished; these flames were not highly intense, but each one had a surprisingly high level, vaguely possessing even higher capabilities.
"This level of control... a master of Flame Skill?"
"It’s really strange, a master of Flame Skill who doesn’t know the Four Techniques. How did you train... "
Kun Ba felt today was truly marvelous, encountering all sorts of people. It was as preposterous as a highly skilled piano master who doesn’t know the teaching pieces from piano classes.
A master who manipulates flames/Elements also needs to be a master of controlling Elements with their Spirit, and naturally, they must also cultivate the Four Techniques.
And the Professional Abilities that Lu Ping’an presented was "Holy Fire Summon," which was also the "Flame Summon" Abnormal Ability he had acquired in the Silent Mountain Range.
This was not just a mere option. Even if he eventually decided to prioritize other Abilities, Lu Ping’an still had to sort this one out... His armed internal combustion engine (Divine Bone skeleton) required a controllable internal heat source, and the properties of "Blazing Handcuffs" would greatly assist him in precise control.
Seeing these two options, Kun Ba pondered for a moment, then firmly nodded. Although unconventional, they were actually good choices.
But he really didn’t understand the last option...
"Misfortune Skill? This Abnormal Ability can also be used for handcuffs?"
"Yes, my team has an expert in that area, and their family has always done it this way," Lu Ping’an said.
Although it seemed bizarre, Kun Ba thought for a moment and then realized a possibility.
"Your teammate wouldn’t happen to have the surname Xue, would they... " he asked.
Now it was Lu Ping’an’s turn to fall silent. Were the Xue Family that notorious? Even this Big Boss knew of them.
The next moment, he could hold back no longer.
Kun Ba sighed resignedly and turned to Xia Qin to speak,
"Apprentice, while there’s still time before something bad happens... it’s not too late, how about changing to a new team?"
— End of Chapter 808 —