Outdoor Training, Assassination (Part 2)

"Instructor Ruo Lin, name your terms!" Xiao Yang sighed helplessly. "Don't worry! I won't gamble with my own life."

"Name my terms? Hehe, little fellow, aren't you full of yourself." Instructor Ruo Lin laughed angrily. "Fine. As long as you can defeat me, I'll agree to let you leave for training."

Xiao Yang nodded. "Then let's go. We'll head to the Martial Arts Arena outside."

Xiao Yang turned and walked out. Instructor Ruo Lin followed after him with a cold expression.

The commotion between the two also alerted Xue Ni and several other students living in the small building.

This quiet, elegant little building was indeed Instructor Ruo Lin's residence, but she was not its only occupant. In the original story, Xun Er and Xiao Yu had lived with Instructor Ruo Lin as well, considered a privilege for outstanding students.

Thus, aside from Xiao Yang and Instructor Ruo Lin, the building currently housed Xue Ni and several other female students. Their commotion had alerted them all.

When they learned that Xiao Yang intended to apply to leave the academy and train in the Black-Corner Region—and that he was even going to spar with Instructor Ruo Lin—Xue Ni and the others were all dumbfounded. They hurried after them, spreading the news from one person to ten, then ten to a hundred, until nearly the entire Martial Arts Arena was surrounded by spectators.

Xiao Yang was cute, talented, and young, making him immensely popular among the girls of this class. Almost every girl in the grade treated Xiao Yang like a younger brother, and the news that he was going to train in the Black-Corner Region immediately caused an uproar among them.

The Black-Corner Region was a place that devoured people whole. Over the years, those academy students who entered it and returned alive had indeed experienced earthshaking growth in strength, but quite a number had either died or been crippled. Those bloody examples still haunted them, and they truly did not wish to see Xiao Yang meet such a miserable end.

On the plaza, Xiao Yang and Instructor Ruo Lin stood on opposite sides. Instructor Ruo Lin slowly raised her delicate hand. A green Ring of Acceptance on her slender finger flashed faintly, and a blue whip radiating an unusual glow abruptly appeared.

The whip was entirely azure, with dense energy fluctuations rippling across it. Its handle had been carefully carved into the shape of an open snake's mouth.

Within that mouth was deeply embedded a blue Magic Core as large as a baby's fist. Strange Dou Qi inscriptions were carved along the whip, and a faint gleam shone from their patterns.

Just from its appearance, one could tell that the whip in Instructor Ruo Lin's hand was a Magic Core weapon forged with great care. Its attribute also matched Instructor Ruo Lin's, allowing it to amplify her strength by ten to twenty percent.

Unfortunately, the Zangetsu Xiao Yang possessed was a permanently released Shikai-type weapon.

And Shikai could amplify its owner's strength by one to two times!

The more advanced Bankai could further raise that power by five to ten times on top of the original basis.

The two were simply incomparable.

"Make your move, Instructor Ruo Lin," Xiao Yang said calmly.

Hearing Xiao Yang's indifferent tone, Instructor Ruo Lin immediately grew furious. With a flick of her slender hand, the whip in her grasp shot out like a venomous snake leaving its den, streaking through the air as a faint blue afterimage and lashing toward Xiao Yang.

The long whip tore through the air with a piercing whistle, yet Xiao Yang still had both hands in his pockets. With a soft whoosh, his figure had already vanished from where he stood.

Flash Step!

"Show me some real skill, Instructor. At this level, you can't even touch the corner of my clothes. Don't underestimate me so much."

Seeing Xiao Yang standing there with his hands in his pockets, wearing an arrogant yet relaxed expression, Instructor Ruo Lin's chest rose and fell with anger. She formed a hand seal, and vast amounts of pale-blue Dou Qi surged forth, eventually condensing into an oval blue water mirror before her.

Force-Dissipating Water Mirror, a Yellow Rank Advanced Fighting Skill. Though its grade was not high, it was quite practical. Many water-attribute Dou Qi experts across the Douqi Continent possessed similar Fighting Skills.

The water mirror was more than half a meter thick, yet Xiao Yang paid it no mind. He brought the five fingers of his right hand together, shaping his palm like a blade, and casually sliced the water mirror open with a single chop.

Xiao Yang's right hand had absorbed the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear Right Palm Bone, while his right arm had absorbed the right arm bone of the hundred-thousand-year Golden Dragon King. The Golden Radiance skill attached to it could transform the power of light into blades of light and launch them outward!

Although the power of a hundred-thousand-year soul skill did not reach the level of an Earth-Rank Fighting Skill, it was already comparable to a Profound Rank Advanced Fighting Skill.

Moreover, the most overpowered aspect of a hundred-thousand-year soul skill was that while its power was immense, its Dou Qi consumption was extremely low.

That was right—when it came to consumption, hundred-thousand-year soul skills used even less energy than ten-thousand-year soul skills. This was precisely why they were known as divine skills in the Douluo world.

However, because Xiao Yang had concentrated the blade of light along the edge of his palm, it looked as though he had simply sliced the mirror apart with a casual chop.

"Good! Good!! Good!!! So your wings have grown hard, have they!" Instructor Ruo Lin was truly enraged this time, and the blue whip immediately coiled around her slender jade arm.

Gripping the huge snake-mouth handle of the blue whip tightly, Instructor Ruo Lin slightly parted her red lips. Powerful deep-blue Dou Qi surged into the whip before erupting outward.

The enormous blue energy churned in midair like a fountain. Moments later, it condensed into a gigantic water snake seven or eight meters long.

The water snake raised its head and let out a silent roar toward the sky. Countless droplets crashed down from its body, soaking the ground.

After roaring, the water snake, under Instructor Ruo Lin's control, carried a somewhat terrifying presence as it descended from all directions toward Xiao Yang, whose body had become unable to move.

As they watched the enormous pale-blue water snake coil through the air, the crowd of onlookers immediately cried out in shock.

"Profound Middle-Rank Fighting Skill: Water Mandala?"

"My god, Instructor actually used this move. It looks like that little Xiao Yang has really angered her badly this time."

Xue Ni shook her head in amazement, then cast a sympathetic look at Xiao Yang in the arena.

"So you're finally using your full strength." Xiao Yang's lips curved slightly upward as he reached out and gripped the hilt of Zangetsu on his back. The white bandages automatically unraveled and fell away.

Xiao Yang raised Zangetsu and brought it down in a single slash toward the enormous water snake diving at him!

"Crescent Sky Impact!"

A crescent-shaped blade flash streaked out, and the gigantic pale-blue water snake instantly collapsed and dispersed!

Only the puddle of water on the plaza proved that it had ever existed.

A blade mark nearly a hundred meters long swept past Instructor Ruo Lin's side, almost cutting across the entire Martial Arts Arena. Yet not a trace of blade energy leaked out, and Instructor Ruo Lin herself was completely unharmed.

Xiao Yang was not someone who failed to appreciate kindness. He had reasons he absolutely had to leave, but he would never hurt Instructor Ruo Lin.