Breeze Technique

He imagined a tiny vortex forming at the core of his mind, like a miniature projection of the magic formation on the canvas.

His will guided the starlight to dance naturally within his mental world, tracing...

Very soon, a stable cyan symbol with a dynamic rhythm took shape in his mental world.

It worked. He had not expected his very first attempt at tracing it to succeed.

Li Ang suppressed the wild joy in his heart and fixed his mind on a patch of stale, mold-smelling air in the corner of the room.

"Dispel."

An invisible, exceedingly faint ripple of airflow spread outward from his fingertips.

Like a stone dropped into still water, that patch of stale air was gently pushed away and diluted, swiftly blending into the surrounding current continuously purified by the [Gale-Sailing Canvas].

The process was utterly silent, yet the results were obvious. The moldy smell in the corner vanished.

"Gather."

This time, he chose to guide the relatively fresh air drifting in through the crack beneath the door toward himself.

A faint new breeze carrying the salty, fishy tang of the sea swirled across his face, bringing a burst of freshness.

"Just as I thought!"

Li Ang was overjoyed.

After understanding that the [Breeze Technique] and the canvas manipulation shared the same underlying nature, casting it became exceptionally easy and fluid, almost without the usual sluggishness of a beginner.

His playful side rose, and he began trying more delicate control, gathering a tiny spinning vortex in his palm.

He sent a wisp of breeze skimming swiftly along the floor, rolling up several stalks of dry grass.

He even tried to imitate the canvas's effect, forming a small circulating airflow within the cramped room...

Just as he focused on controlling a somewhat stronger current, attempting to compress it into a more concentrated gust to strike a fly on the opposite wall.

"Whoosh!"

The airflow slammed into the rotten wooden boards, making a far louder sound than his earlier attempts as wood chips and the fly's corpse came pattering down.

"It worked! The power seems..."

Li Ang had no time to savor the success of that strike.

Outside, the sound of brutal kicks against the door rang out, followed by a familiar roar that leaked air through missing teeth.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Li Ang! You bastard, what the hell are you doing in there? You're making a racket!"

It was Matthew's voice, filled with irritation and fury at being disturbed. His lisping pronunciation made even his threats sound somewhat ridiculous, yet only made the malice in them all the more apparent.

"My squad leader, this brat must be messing around with something he shouldn't be. Making such a commotion and disturbing your meditation..."

Kavi's rough voice chimed in immediately.

Li Ang could not help but snort.

"Hmph, just in time!"

He swiftly gathered his focus. Within his mental world, the starlight flickered faintly as his mental power readied itself.

"Creak—bang!" The rotten door bolt could not withstand Kavi's brute strength at all. The wooden door was kicked open violently, slamming hard into the bulkhead behind it and shaking down even more dust.

Matthew's face was swollen, and the gap where his front tooth had been was especially glaring in the dim light. He clutched his still-aching jaw, his gloomy eyes fixed on Li Ang inside the room.

Kavi blocked the doorway like a wall, his fleshy face twisted as he clenched his fists, making his knuckles crack. He was clearly ready to strike at any moment.

"You sickly bastard, did you make that noise just now? Are you looking to die?"

Matthew cursed indistinctly, spittle spraying everywhere.

"I think your skin's itching again. I still haven't settled the score with you over the ship rocking yesterday. Kavi, teach him the rules properly."

"Yes, Squad Leader."

Kavi gave a vicious grin. His massive body surged forward like a charging bull, carrying a fierce gust of wind as he pounced at Li Ang, who sat curled atop the straw pile.

A palm as broad as a cattail fan swept toward Li Ang's cheek with a howling rush of air.

If that blow landed solidly, with Li Ang's current frail body, he would probably leave half his life here.

A vicious glint flashed through Li Ang's eyes. Instead of dodging, he raised his right hand toward Kavi's charge.

There was no incantation, no complicated gesture.

Within his mental world, the cyan star suddenly blazed brightly. Wind-element magic power gathered and compressed in his palm, then erupted in an instant.

"Get lost!"

Li Ang shouted low.

An invisible wave of air far stronger than anything from his practice surged wildly from his palm.

It was no longer the gentle breeze from before, but a shockwave that howled through the air, smashing fiercely into Kavi's broad chest.

"Ugh?!"

The vicious grin on Kavi's face froze instantly, replaced by utter shock.

He only felt an immense force slam into his chest, as though he had been struck head-on by an invisible battering ram!

"Bang—"

A dull boom, more than ten times louder than when he had struck the fly, erupted like a heavy object hitting the ground.

Kavi's burly body was instantly lifted off the ground, flung away by the violent blast like a tattered sack.

His huge body traced a brief arc through the air before crashing heavily into the bulkhead across the narrow passage.

"Boom!" The rotten wooden bulkhead caved inward over a wide area, while dust and wood chips rained down.

Kavi collapsed on the floor like a heap of mud, curling up and making hoarse, throat-clutched gasps.

He clutched his chest tightly with both hands. His face turned from red to blue, his eyes bulging. Clearly, a breath had caught in his chest so completely that he could not even scream, only convulse violently.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Matthew, standing in the doorway, was completely stunned.

The rage and gloom on his face were instantly replaced by extreme horror and bewilderment. His mouth fell open unconsciously, revealing that ridiculous yet ferocious tooth gap, while his eyes widened round as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable sight in the world.

What... had just happened?

His burly attendant Kavi, who could tear tigers and leopards apart with his bare hands... had been sent flying with a single raised hand by that consumptive wretch he had thought he could crush whenever he pleased?

A bone-piercing chill shot from the soles of Matthew's feet to the crown of his head, draining even the color from his swollen cheeks.

He stiffly turned his neck and looked into the room.

In the dim light, Li Ang slowly lowered his right hand. His face was still pale, and he was even gasping heavily from the outburst just now, with the occasional suppressed cough mixed in.

But those eyes were now like ice awls, coldly pinning Matthew's face without the slightest emotion.

There was no fear in that gaze, nor was there the joy that should have followed victory. There was only a kind of indifference that made Matthew's very soul tremble...

Matthew unconsciously backed away several steps, crashing into the doorframe. Kavi lay on the ground, making wheezing gasps from his throat like a broken bellows.

In that instant, fear coiled around his heart like a venomous snake. This consumptive wretch... what... what had he done?!