A New Understanding of Strength

Jax was finally satisfied and did not retaliate.

"This time it's not bad at all. Your moves are quite similar to Fiora's, but not as refined. Did she teach you?"

"That's right, I've sought her advice several times and learned a great deal from her."

"Was that fierce wind just now Elemental Power? It was very powerful, but like swordsmanship, it shows a lack of proper training."

"You're the first to say that, but I'm happy to accept it because you're right."

"Alright, one last move. If you don't come up with anything new, you're probably going to lose."

"Then you'd better be prepared!"

After the initial shock, I calmed down. Since even Elemental Power was ineffective, the only option was to rely on Spiritual Power to decide the outcome!

Miyue often warned me not to use Spiritual Power casually unless I encountered a strong opponent, because it is the power generated by the birth and death of all things, and it will burden the life around me.

However, using only one move shouldn't be a problem. I calmed myself down, sensing the flow of Spiritual Power around me, and slowly gathering it on my sword.

The Wind Force is not as strong as before; this is the result of the fusion of Elemental Power and Spiritual Power, but its power is several times greater!

This time, I didn't use Laurent Swordplay, but instead used the Wind Sword Sect's techniques to deliver the power.

The Gale Sword, imbued with the power of the wind spirit, instantly pierced towards Jax, who, just as he had dealt with Fiora, twirled the lamppost left and right.

The moment the weapons made contact, the street lamp slipped from his grasp again, but he didn't take my sword because I attacked his mind with Spiritual Power during our final exchange.

Jax yelled and leaned back, not falling over, but he did manage to take several steps backward!

"Divine Strength! You can actually use Divine Strength!"

"That's right, it was a mental attack. I'm glad you didn't defend against it."

"Amazing, amazing, I lost."

"Stop talking. I couldn't possibly beat you in a normal fight, but we had a prior agreement, so consider this a victory on my part."

"You're so eager to defeat me, is it because you want to learn something from me?"

"That's the question I was just asking. Since you're looking for someone who can fight against the Vastaya, why did you accept Fiora after just a swordsmanship contest?"

"Are you worried about her, afraid she'll be harmed by the Vastaya?"

"Of course, we're good friends. I don't want her to face the Vastaya like that. I've fought them before, and even with my strength, it would take several of them combined to defeat me."

"Your understanding of power is flawed. Don't assume that the Natural Power or Divine Strength is necessarily strong. You should have just realized that your fierce winds have no effect on me..."

Jax explained the battle to me, and listening to his description felt like entering a new world.

I didn't sense him using any special power to withstand my fierce wind; in fact, he didn't offer any resistance at all. He relied on "skill."

There are many forms of power, such as Martial Arts, magic, Natural Power, and Divine Strength, and none of these have a clear distinction between strong and weak!

Simply put, Martial Arts alone may not be enough to defeat the Natural Power, and simple sword techniques may not be unable to contend with Divine Strength. The key to all of this lies in the mastery of the techniques!

Jax is a warrior living in a city of mages. He is looked down upon, but few dare to challenge him because he can defeat powerful mages with his superb Martial Arts!

There is no room for opportunism or innate talent; as human beings, we must rely on human effort to survive!

When someone masters a power to perfection, they can defeat powerful opponents without the aid of other powers, even Ascended or Vastaya!

This is an awareness that Jax developed over countless years of fighting against powerful enemies.

Back then, he fought to the death with the Ascended using only his brute strength and a street lamp, which is absolutely impossible in the eyes of ordinary people.

Jax once thought the same thing, believing that the Mage King had given him the streetlight with its powerful sealing ability, which was why he was so powerful. But in the end, he was crushed and almost lost his life.

Later, Shurima experienced the Vastaya rebellion. He fought against the Vastaya several times and found that the less he relied on the power of the streetlights, the more at ease he became.

Having figured this out, he simply stopped using the sealing power of the street lamp and focused on fighting with his own Martial Arts. To his surprise, he found that the Vastaya had no way to deal with him and instead got beaten up quite badly!

At some point, the streetlight went out, turning it into an ordinary weapon, Jax wielded with even greater ease.

People rely too much on external things and are too fond of taking shortcuts; they have long forgotten that they themselves are the most powerful treasure trove of energy!

Of course, before one's Martial Arts are sufficiently refined, one will still be at a disadvantage when facing magic and the Natural Power; there's nothing that can be done about it.

That's why Jax goes to great lengths to find someone who is strong, confident enough in themselves, yet constantly strives for excellence, like Fiora.

Jax's words completely overturned my understanding of power; upon reflection, they are indeed true.

When I was fighting in the arena, I felt incredibly powerful. I didn't feel weak in the face of Man-eating Bear, and all I could think about was how to defeat it.

After coming into contact with new powers, I began to rely on them, and self-improvement became an improvement in power.

Just like the Wind Force, which seemed incredibly powerful when first mastered, and later even learned the power of Gale Force and Flame Wind Force, ultimately it was just that the Wind Force was strong, not that I was strong. The same applies to Spiritual Power.

Now, Jax wants me to use my strongest moves against him, and I don't even know what the best approach is.

However, this inevitably plunged me into confusion again. Does this mean that if I want to improve further, I have to abandon other powers and focus on just one?

Jax noticed my confusion, laughed, and explained it to me again:

"It seems you understand what I mean, but don't be misled. Although all powers are strong, there are still differences in their strengths and weaknesses..."

Based on years of research and understanding, Jax divided power into four levels: Martial Arts, magic, Natural Power, and Divine Strength.

At the same level, Divine Strength> Natural Power> magic > Martial Arts. Apart from Divine Strength, the difference between the other three is not particularly large.

People like to pursue higher levels of power, but they ignore the difficulty. Martial Arts are usually easy to master, magic is a little more difficult, and the Natural Power is even more rare and hard to come by.

Generally speaking, life is not long, especially in a place like Runeterra, where you never know when you might face death.

Instead of focusing your energy on unattainable high-level powers, it's better to concentrate on low-level powers, as this will lead to faster and more practical advancements.

However, if you are fortunate enough to have some opportunities, you should make the most of them. Jax also talked to me about the pinnacle of various powers.