A few days later, things had changed noticeably during their sparring sessions.
Lin Qin still kept his strength at the eighth rank, but he had become increasingly proficient at using the vibrational force in his greatsword. It no longer appeared only intermittently as it had at first; now, almost every swing carried that hard-to-defend-against, high-frequency oscillation.
The pressure on Aileen increased sharply. Her Water Element defensive spells, whether Water Shield or the more advanced Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor, were far less effective against the vibrations. The magic structures were disrupted from within, demanding much more concentration and mana to maintain.
"Bang!"
Once again, their weapons clashed. The curtain of water before Aileen shuddered violently, and the center of its ripples even showed faint signs of coming apart. She seized the moment to leap backward and planted her staff on the ground. An Ice Wall instantly surged up, in an attempt to block Lin Qin's pursuit.
Lin Qin didn't try to go around it. He charged straight ahead and brought his greatsword down on the center of the wall, seemingly with all its weight.
There was no deafening explosion, only a muffled rumble, like a boulder rolling across the ground. Cracks spread across the surface of the ice wall like a spiderweb, radiating from the point where the blade struck. Then the entire wall seemed to be struck from within by an invisible hammer. With a crash, it shattered into countless chunks of ice that flew in every direction.
Amid the flying ice shards, Lin Qin's greatsword kept going, carrying that distinctive vibrational force straight toward Aileen. Before the blade even reached her, the strange vibrations made the air around her seem thick and oppressive.
Aileen's expression changed. In her haste, she could only hold her staff across her body and