Asuna Starts to Doubt Life

Asuna accepted Li Yu's invitation, and without another word, the two returned to the classroom to grab their weapons before heading to the playground.

Yukino Yukinoshita watched this scene in silence. A good show was about to begin; soon, Asuna would likely experience that same sense of frustration she had once felt.

"Please, advise me!" Asuna held her rapier upright before her, eyes locked on Li Yu.

Hearing Asuna's words, Li Yu nodded and said in a deep voice, "Let's begin!"

As Li Yu's voice fell, the Lightness Technique lit up beneath both their feet. The next moment, they both lunged forward and collided.

The sound of Li Yu's Tang dao clashing against Asuna's rapier rang out across the playground. Both were in tacit agreement, using the Lightness Technique to adapt to the high-speed combat.

Every attack Li Yu launched, Asuna managed to parry, and even when she couldn't, she would deflect them with an eerily fast sword strike.

This was interesting. Her attack speed would suddenly spike at certain moments. Li Yu realized in an instant that this was likely Asuna's innate talent.

It was no wonder she used a rapier; only then could she maximize her swinging speed. Thinking this, Li Yu didn't hesitate. Kenkeiko... activate!

Li Yu's eyes turned purple at that moment. As they entered a new round of clashes, Asuna noticed the flash of violet and couldn't help but freeze for a split second.

A magic circle appeared beneath her feet, and she retreated rapidly, but Li Yu surged forward with a sudden burst of speed, intensifying his assault.

Seeing this, Asuna could only counter with her rapier while moving. The two chased each other across the playground, the ding-ding-ding of clashing steel ringing out incessantly.

Yukino Yukinoshita, who had been observing from the sidelines, fell into deep thought. Asuna was in two completely different states when using her sword versus her martial arts.

With this kind of sword speed, if it were her, she would probably be finished in a single exchange. Wasn't it just too fast?

The battle between Li Yu and Asuna quickly drew attention, and even students in the middle of class couldn't help but glance outside.

However, all they could see were two rapidly moving figures; the speed was already beyond the perception of these students, most of whom hadn't even reached the third rank.

"Truly impressive!" Kato Megumi had arrived beside Yukino Yukinoshita at some point. They had already started fighting by the time she came out, having only learned the Lightness Technique.

To think that a simple buff could change things so much; no wonder the teacher said this was a highly practical spell. One only had to look at their battle to see why.

"That guy Li Yu is starting now..." Yukino Yukinoshita's lips curled slightly. Watching Li Yu fight Asuna, she felt a sudden sense of amusement.

At this moment, Li Yu's style was becoming increasingly like Asuna's, and Asuna was clearly struggling to keep up. Perhaps she was feeling incredibly frustrated right now?

This was the frustration of fighting Li Yu: what was yours became his, and what was his remained his. The longer you fought, the more it felt like fighting yourself, only the opponent was stronger than you.

Who could you even complain to about such a situation? She just wondered how long Asuna could hold out; she'd probably be calling for a stop soon, right?

Yukino Yukinoshita's intuition was spot on. Asuna had realized it too: Li Yu's attack speed was becoming dense, as if she were fighting herself.

Moreover, his sword techniques were exactly the same as her own. Was this even logical? With her talent pushed to the limit, Asuna had shifted from offense to defense in just a few short minutes.

The situation had reversed in an instant. She was now certain that her sword moves had been completely copied by her opponent, and she didn't know if it was just her imagination, but his strike speed was gradually matching hers as well.

This wasn't scientific. She was only able to achieve this through her talent, but what about Li Yu? What was he relying on? Could it be that he learned it from her?

Something was wrong, very wrong. Asuna's mind wavered for a moment, and in that split second of distraction, Li Yu's attack accelerated sharply, and his blade came to rest against Asuna's shoulder.

Only then did Asuna react, realizing she had lost. Feeling deeply frustrated, she blurted out, "I finally understand why Yukino doesn't want to fight you! I don't want to fight you either!!"

Fighting Li Yu was too infuriating. What kind of sense did it make for her own moves to become his? Everything she had worked so hard to learn had been copied by Li Yu in a single exchange!

"Hey, you can't say it like that. Don't you think you can only become stronger by overcoming yourself?" Li Yu was in a great mood. As far as he was concerned, this was his way of comforting her.

He had already copied her talent, along with some of her small habits and sword techniques. Although it was a bit troublesome to execute them with a Tang dao, it wasn't a big issue—it worked just as well!

Asuna's talent was focused on her weapon: increasing attack speed, precision, and dynamic vision.

It was precisely because of this that Asuna used a rapier. Once her strength grew, her strike speed would likely be as fast and lethal as a flash of light.

"I don't understand. Even if you copied my sword techniques, how could your attack speed keep up?" Logically speaking, Li Yu shouldn't be able to match this speed with a Tang dao.

"Ever heard of brute force solving everything? As long as my strength is great enough, I can be fast enough!" Li Yu grinned. He naturally couldn't reveal that he could copy talents, so this was "brute force creating miracles!"

Asuna looked at him suspiciously. She felt it wasn't that simple. After all, she knew her own situation best, and she felt that Li Yu's subsequent attack speed was very similar to her talent!

"You don't believe me? Actually, I can go even faster!" Seeing Asuna's skeptical look, Li Yu's lips curled upward. He stepped back a few paces, and the next moment, he began to swing his blade right in front of her.

He demonstrated a terrifying speed to Asuna, and every strike produced a sonic boom. At this moment, Li Yu displayed his raw power.

Seeing Li Yu's performance, Asuna was stunned. Brute force creates miracles? Was that right? Why did it feel like something was wrong? If brute force could create miracles, then what was the point of her talent?

Asuna couldn't help but start doubting her life. It seemed her talent was useless after all!

In reality, Li Yu had simply applied Yukino Yukinoshita's talent as well—the ability to exert absolute control over his body's strength—which was why his current strike speed was even more terrifying than Asuna's!

After the demonstration, Li Yu stopped, but Asuna remained trapped in deep self-doubt, while simultaneously validating Yukino Yukinoshita's words: she would absolutely never fight Li Yu again!