In the abandoned factory, Su Ming and his five companions had completely finished the battle and held a self-reflection meeting on the spot.
Su Ming, Lei Hao, and Ye Bai conducted a post-battle evaluation of An Zijin, Yao Beibei, and Jiang Wanyu.
The results of the evaluation were definitely not going to be very good.
There was nothing they could do about it.
"Junior Jiang, you nearly lost your life just now, you know?" Lei Hao said to Jiang Wanyu while carrying his greatsword. "Your opponent was a savage, bloodthirsty creature like a Phantom Demon. How could you suddenly lose focus?"
Lei Hao's expression was extremely serious.
Jiang Wanyu's situation just now had been far too dangerous. If he had not intervened in time, she might already have died beneath the Blade Fiend's blades.
When someone's life was at stake, even Lei Hao, who was usually careless and carefree, could not help becoming serious.
"I'm sorry."
Jiang Wanyu knew she had made a mistake too, and lowered her head sadly.
Just now, she really had been frightened by the Blade Fiend's ferocity, causing her entire body to stiffen in place and nearly turning her into the Blade Fiend's prey.
Whenever she thought about the consequences, Jiang Wanyu could not help feeling terrified.
"Junior Yao, your performance just now wasn't quite appropriate either." Ye Bai also turned to face Yao Beibei and said seriously, "Although you knocked the Blade Fiend away, you also immediately fell into panic and lost your composure, standing there without moving. If something had gone wrong, someone could have died just the same."
Ye Bai's words left Yao Beibei's face full of shame.
If Jiang Wanyu had been frightened senseless on the spot, then Yao Beibei had been frightened only after the fact.
Her hammer strike had indeed possessed astonishing power, but rather than saying that she had performed exceptionally well, it would be more accurate to say that instinct had driven her response. If Yao Beibei had not possessed extraordinary senses, she might not even have managed to swing that hammer before the Blade Fiend pounced on her.
Thus, although Yao Beibei's performance looked good, in reality, her response had been no better than Jiang Wanyu's.
At least Jiang Wanyu had steeled herself and stabbed the Blade Fiend once. Yao Beibei, on the other hand, had been unable to take the initiative from beginning to end, relying entirely on unconscious instinct to attack.
The result was that after Yao Beibei came to her senses, she immediately lost her will to fight.
If that hammer strike had not truly possessed astonishing power, preventing the Blade Fiend from launching another attack for the time being, and if there had been any other enemies at the scene, Yao Beibei might have been in danger.
In view of this, neither Jiang Wanyu nor Yao Beibei had performed particularly well in this extermination battle.
"You must remember that our enemy is the Phantom Demon, an enemy of humanity that is savage, bloodthirsty, and regards us as delicious food and a source of evolution. The slightest carelessness or the tiniest opening will bring an extremely miserable end."
Lei Hao's expression was more solemn and serious than ever before as his gaze swept over Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu.
"Especially for Hunters like us who fight on the front lines. Unlike Warlocks, we don't possess Spiritual Arts that restrain Phantom Demons and can inflict lethal wounds on them. We also have to engage in close combat with such dangerous enemies of humanity. Even when we hold the greatest possible advantage, we cannot relax or let our guard down, much less when the enemy is still jumping around alive and well."
This was the principle every Hunter had to remember when fighting Phantom Demons.
"Hunters have a hard time gaining the advantage against Phantom Demons."
"Even if we hold the upper hand in strength, even if we suppress the Phantom Demon to the most miserable state, and even if victory seems almost certain, in reality, we may face the danger of death at any moment."
"Without an effective means of harming a Phantom Demon, even if we beat one until it is covered in wounds, its regenerative ability means that those injuries can recover in the blink of an eye."
"By contrast, as we continue fighting, our stamina and energy are depleted, and our wounds will not recover immediately. If we truly become careless, even a Seven-Star Hunter could die at the hands of a Lesser Phantasmal Demon."
"Therefore, the first principle of a Hunter fighting a Phantom Demon is to never reveal an opening under any circumstances. No matter how great your advantage is, you cannot stop attacking or assume that victory is assured."
Lei Hao stated the most important principles of combat.
"Under no circumstances can we reveal an opening."
"No matter how great our advantage is, we cannot stop attacking."
Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei immediately began murmuring those words under their breath.
"This is something every Hunter needs to understand." Ye Bai spoke from the side. "When no Warlock is present, for a Hunter to kill a Phantom Demon capable of constantly regenerating, they can only attack desperately and create damage desperately, making the Phantom Demon bleed as much as possible until it runs out of blood."
This was because blood was the Phantom Demon's source of power. Once it lost too much blood, its power would weaken at a visible rate. Only after its blood was completely depleted would it die.
Therefore, it was very troublesome for a Hunter to exterminate a Phantom Demon alone. Even Seven-Star Hunters, the highest-ranking Hunters, would not fight a Lesser Phantasmal Demon without any preparation.
"Many high-level Hunters can indeed inflict effective damage on Phantom Demons through special weapons, items, and the like. But you don't have those conditions yet. Since that's the case, you must remember the essential knowledge required when Hunters fight Phantom Demons."
Ye Bai's earnest advice made Yao Beibei glance at Jiang Wanyu.
"Special weapons?"
Jiang Wanyu also touched her chest for some reason, her expression complicated.
Lei Hao and Ye Bai continued imparting the key points and experience that Hunters needed to remember in battle to Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei, making the two girls' expressions turn serious as well.
Watching this scene, Su Ming gave an imperceptible nod.
Actually, the three of them had expected this.
After all, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei were both fighting Phantom Demons for the first time. Their understanding of Phantom Demons' brutality and traits was still limited to theoretical knowledge, and they lacked any real experience.
It was perfectly normal for them to make mistakes that Hunters should not make.
Take Lei Hao, for example. Although he currently looked like he could talk eloquently about the subject, when he had first gone on a mission to exterminate a Phantom Demon as a first-year student, his performance had been even worse than that of these two junior students.
At least, Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu had remarkable strengths and speed respectively, and both possessed extraordinary physical skills, clearly having undergone training and displaying outstanding qualities.
Lei Hao was different. Coming from a small family, he did not possess qualities as good as Yao Beibei's and Jiang Wanyu's. During his first extermination mission against a Phantom Demon, he had made mistake after mistake. If an upperclassman had not been covering him, he might already have been dead.
Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu had no idea that before setting out for Huaming District, Su Ming and the other two had already discussed how they should guide the girls during the mission.
In the end, the three of them had decided to let the junior students perform freely at first while watching over them from the side, and then educate them once they encountered a situation.
That way, the junior students would be able to engrave their experience exterminating Phantom Demons into their minds.
Otherwise, Su Ming and the others could have told them these key points and principles before entering the abandoned factory, instead of waiting until now.
Of course—
"Your abilities and qualities are both quite solid."
Only after Lei Hao and Ye Bai finished lecturing them did Su Ming speak.
"Junior Yao, your strength is astonishing. And if I'm not mistaken, your senses are also very sharp. As long as you steady your mindset, hesitate less when making a move, and act more decisively, you should soon become a qualified Hunter."
"Junior Jiang, you're the same. Your speed is outstanding, and you're very proficient with your weapon. As long as you remain a little calmer, it should be very difficult for a Phantom Demon like the Blade Fiend to get close to you."
"You aren't lacking in qualities or ability. You're only lacking a little in mentality and experience. Don't think that merely training your body without training your mind will let you deal with Phantom Demons easily."
Su Ming analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of both junior students.
"I—I understand now."
Only then did Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei show expressions of having been taught a lesson.
"What about me, Brother Su Ming?"
An Zijin, who had been listening from the side, asked uneasily.
"You?"
Su Ming glanced at An Zijin.
Actually, among the three, the one whose performance had surprised Su Ming the most was not Yao Beibei, who possessed unparalleled strength and sharp instincts, nor Jiang Wanyu, who was extraordinarily fast and skilled, but this seemingly adorable girl next door.
Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu were both born Hunters. Their families surely had elders who had guided them and trained them from childhood, so their qualities were not surprising.
But what about An Zijin?
Her Spiritual Constitution had only been detected recently, and she had been enrolled for less than a month. Yet she could use Spiritual Arts as smoothly and quickly as that, without the slightest hitch or hesitation. Neither her technique nor her skills resembled those of a novice Warlock.
Not to mention that the Spiritual Art she used was a Sequence Thirteen Spiritual Art.
For a novice Warlock like her, who had only been enrolled for less than a month, it was nothing strange to learn a few basic Spiritual Arts below Sequence Ten. But to begin with a Thirteen Art, which barely ranked in the middle among low-level Spiritual Arts, was truly a display of extraordinary talent.
One had to know that at the same age and during the same period, Ye Bai was still working hard to learn a single art. Only Su Ming, relying on the Spiritual Power he had raised by opening packages, could barely use several high-sequence Spiritual Arts.
If the influence of the packages was excluded, Su Ming felt that his abilities were definitely inferior to An Zijin's.
Yet Su Ming had a feeling.
Could it be that the Thirteen Art isn't the highest-sequence Spiritual Art this girl can use?
Still, An Zijin was not without shortcomings.
"Your control over Spiritual Arts is still too weak." Su Ming was extremely direct. "The Thirteen Art's power is already considerable, but you injected an excessive amount of Spiritual Power to increase its might. That caused the power of the shell to slip somewhat out of control. Not only did it blast the enemy away, it also scattered Ye Bai's Ash Bind. If I hadn't delivered the finishing blow, the heavily wounded Blade Fiend might have escaped after losing its restraints. If that had happened, the mission would have failed."
"This..." An Zijin was rendered speechless.
"When we Warlocks fight, we also need to constantly coordinate with the Hunters at the front, think according to the circumstances, and use the most suitable Spiritual Art at the most suitable moment. It isn't enough to keep releasing powerful Spiritual Arts to deal damage." Su Ming continued, "Hunters have the principle of attacking constantly and never letting down their guard. We Warlocks also have the principle of never stopping our thinking and never ignoring the influence of the environment or any other factor."
"Sometimes, a low-sequence Spiritual Art may be more useful than a high-sequence Spiritual Art."
"The power of a Spiritual Art cannot determine everything. How to use it and when to use it are questions every Warlock must consider."
Upon hearing this, An Zijin began pondering.
However, there was one thing Su Ming did not say.
That was that such principles were useless to someone who cultivated both Hunter and Warlock paths.
For a profession-holder proficient in both combat arts and Spiritual Arts, charging into close combat and then releasing a high-powered Spiritual Art could often solve everything.
Therefore, Su Ming wanted more than anything to become a profession-holder who cultivated both Hunter and Warlock paths.
He was already making preparations.
He believed that the arrival of that day was not far away.
Thanks for asking. I'm in Guangzhou and currently undergoing a prenatal checkup.
The baby is almost due. Ru Qing is both nervous and expectant as well. If the updates are a little irregular during this period, please be understanding, everyone.
Let's begin today's update now.
I hope everyone will continue to support me.
Before you continue