Yan Qing's Sharpness Revealed VS Old Fox Dan Lei

Dan Lei saw that Yan Qing was his examiner, so he knew he wouldn't be able to pass today without even using magic.

A normal examiner would test Dan Lei's combat strength and declare him passed once the fight was mostly over.

But Yan Qing at this time was in his prime, sharp and full of youthful vigor. Before he had experienced being repeatedly defeated by veteran seniors and Stellar Core Spirits, his eyes only saw victory, not the assessment.

The proof was that after noticing Dan Lei's gaze become complicated, Yan Qing, thinking Dan Lei might be questioning his age, took a step forward, puffed out his chest, and said, "Mr. Dan Lei, please don't look down on me just because I'm young.

Although I'm just a mere Cloud Knight soldier, I've also severed the head of the Beast of Artifact, Fang Feng."

Upon hearing this, Dan Lei smiled wryly and looked at Jing Yuan, who was sitting in the audience of the training grounds.

Jing Yuan wasn't alone today; beside him was a small, pink-haired individual, the Divination Department's Chief Diviner, Fu Xuan.

It was clear that Jing Yuan wanted to understand Dan Lei's methods through this battle.

Dan Lei sighed inwardly and said to Yan Qing, "Yan Qing, I don't look down on you. I just didn't expect my combat assessment would require a direct disciple of the General to examine me."

Yan Qing, being naturally gregarious, heard Dan Lei's confusion and immediately explained, "Normally, I shouldn't be responsible for this assessment.

But this month, I bought two more Flying Swords and I'm really short on cash. I had no choice but to take on extra tasks assigned by the General, which I couldn't refuse.

And the General said that if I win this match, I'll get a bonus next month, which will allow me to buy another Flying Sword.

So, I apologize in advance, Mr. Dan Lei. Although this is an assessment, I will go all out."

Dan Lei was speechless at Jing Yuan's scheme. He could only summon his fully upgraded Nichirin Greatsword, which had transformed into a Flying Sword, and bowed with the sword in hand.

"No sect, no school. Dan Lei, I request your guidance."

Seeing this, Yan Qing's expression instantly turned serious. He also bowed with his sword in hand.

"Cloud Knights, Yan Qing, I request your guidance."

After politely bowing, the two immediately took their starting stances. Yan Qing's was a sideways stance, sword held at shoulder level, ready for a straight thrust.

Dan Lei's was a standard two-handed greatsword stance, held forward, similar to the Saber Class's starting pose from Type-Moon.

At this point, the intentions of both sides were clear: Yan Qing was in a standard offensive mode, while Dan Lei was preparing for a defensive counterattack.

Therefore, the next second, Yan Qing transformed into a streak of blue light, his long sword thrusting directly at Dan Lei.

Dan Lei took a deep breath, channeling Magic to strengthen his entire body, and then slashed, deflecting Yan Qing's incoming sword.

However, Yan Qing directly used the force of the deflection to spin his long sword and slash down again.

But seeing this, Dan Lei sidestepped, dodged the downward slash, and simultaneously swung his greatsword horizontally.

With a "clang," Dan Lei remained in place, but Yan Qing blocked with his sword and then leaped back to dissipate the force.

After this exchange, the advantages and disadvantages of both sides were clear.

Neither side had used the Power of the Path in this exchange; it was a probing attack. Dan Lei clearly had the advantage in strength, while Yan Qing was faster.

In terms of swordsmanship, one move couldn't reveal much, but Yan Qing now knew that his opponent today was not easy to deal with.

So, Yan Qing was the first to activate the Power of the Path. As the Power of the Path of the Hunt surrounded him, a chilling aura emanated. Simultaneously, he pointed forward with his left hand, and six Flying Swords emerged from the void, stabbing towards Dan Lei.

Facing the six Flying Swords, Dan Lei didn't confront them directly. Instead, he flicked out Magic threads from his hand, connecting them in pairs.

The Flying Swords controlled by Yan Qing could pierce through the armor of the Wolf Iron Array. Simply using Magic threads wouldn't be enough to restrain them.

But by connecting them in pairs, Yan Qing's control was suddenly interfered with by his own force, and the six Flying Swords lost control in an instant.

Dan Lei seized the opportunity, stomped on a whirlwind, raised his sword, and charged directly at Yan Qing. While exhaling Imaginary Energy, he empowered himself with the Power of the Path of the Hunt. Lightning coiled around the blade of his Nichirin Greatsword, and he instantly slashed down.

Yan Qing had no time to control his Flying Swords to reinforce him. The elemental energy contained within Dan Lei's sword also indicated that this was no simple downward slash. Taking it head-on would be foolish, and dodging might still expose him to the elemental attack's splash damage.

So, Yan Qing leaped sideways, dodging Dan Lei's downward slash. At the same time, his long sword flew to his feet, dragging him upwards, allowing him to evade the area-of-effect lightning attack from the greatsword's impact.

Yan Qing, now airborne, recalled his six Flying Swords and circled them around himself. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mr. Dan Lei, what technique did you just use? Absorbing ambient Imaginary Energy to increase the power of your sword strike? I've never heard of such a thing."

Dan Lei didn't hide anything when Yan Qing asked. The boy was quite pure-hearted, and a sparring match didn't need to be treated as a life-or-death duel.

So, Dan Lei took another deep breath. Dragon-shaped markings appeared under his clothes, and he said, "This is a cultivation method from a remote planet, retrieved from the archives. It's called a Breathing Technique.

The people on that planet used Breathing Techniques to absorb atmospheric energy and fight against elemental beings and monsters.

I modified it to absorb Imaginary Energy, and I call it [Dragon's Breath]."

After speaking, Dan Lei swung his sword and unleashed several large wind blades towards Yan Qing in the sky, forcing him to constantly dodge while blocking with the Flying Swords circling him.

Seeing this, Dan Lei sped up his actions, changing from single wind blades to a mixture of lightning and wind.

After all, Dan Lei remembered that in the game, Yan Qing's weakness as a BOSS was wind, lightning, and imaginary elements.

Now it seemed this elemental distribution made some sense.

Yan Qing preferred hit-and-run tactics in the air, but he couldn't fly himself. Relying on the mobility of his Flying Swords, he became somewhat flustered when facing faster elements like wind and lightning.

However, Yan Qing was clearly a martial arts fanatic. Upon seeing a move he hadn't encountered before, even while being chased, he burst into laughter.

"Dragon's Breath? Interesting, but Yan Qing can't be too disgraced! Watch my [Swallow Returns]!"

As he spoke, the cold air around Yan Qing suddenly condensed into four Flying Swords, forming a sword array centered on him. Dan Lei's elemental attacks were all blocked by these four Ice Swords.

However, this sword array was clearly consuming the lifespan of the swords themselves. After blocking the attacks, cracks appeared on the ice bodies of the four Ice Swords. Let alone powerful attacks, even a few weaker ones would shatter them.

Furthermore, these swords were formed from Yan Qing's Power of the Path. Once they were all shattered, he would lose the enhancement of his Destiny energy, leaving a huge opening for the enemy.

But the same applied in reverse.

As long as the Flying Swords formed from his surrounding Power of the Path weren't completely shattered, Yan Qing could attack with full force without restraint.

Therefore, Yan Qing stepped onto a Flying Sword and controlled six Flying Swords to charge straight at Dan Lei again, clearly intending to defeat Dan Lei and win before his sword array was broken.

The Stellar Core Spirit was defeated by Yan Qing in Kafka's companion mission.