Fighting Angers

Noticing the three young people's embarrassment, Angers remarked casually:

"Cao Ya dares to blaze a trail. He's not petty."

He made no mention of Professor Goodman's remarks, however.

Angers agreed with Professor Goodman. Cao Ya might possess tremendous strength, but his attitude toward the Dragon Kings was far too cavalier.

If this went on, sooner or later he would suffer a crushing setback.

Angers was delighted to have such a powerful figure among the dragon slayers, and he did not want to see Cao Ya destroy himself through his own arrogance.

"Words alone prove nothing. Let's have a fight. Once we've fought, you'll understand why I said that," Cao Ya said.

He took Angers, Professor Goodman, Nono, Sake Tokiko, and Ye Sheng to the outskirts. The authorities had allocated this site to him, and there was no surveillance of any kind.

The others remained quite unruffled. Compared with Cassell College, this place still fell short.

Cassell College was an unconventional military organization. It had numerous experts, including Angers, and trained Mixed-Bloods from all over the world. If Cao Ya could bring Cassell College on board, his vision for future dragon slaying would be halfway realized.

At least he would have students and teachers.

The state would allocate resources, and Cassell College itself possessed vast resources as well.

He had decided to recruit exceptional individuals like Lu Mingfei into the school he would establish, and Cassell College was another of Cao Ya's targets.

He had no inclination to spend his time patiently teaching students. At most, he would write a few books and let them read for themselves.

That meant he needed to find good teachers. And when it came to Mixed-Bloods, it was no exaggeration to say that Cassell College had the most badass student intake in the world!

Spreading martial arts far and wide later would not interfere with his taking in Mixed-Bloods.

After all, their dragon blood did give Mixed-Bloods better physiques than ordinary humans.

It just might not be particularly useful in cultivating martial arts.

Still, an advantage was an advantage.

Inside the training ground.

Cao Ya and Angers stepped onto it.

"Go, headmaster!" Nono and Sake Tokiko cheered their headmaster on.

The two beautiful young women stood at the edge of the ground, their bearing ethereal and their figures graceful, drawing quite a few people's eyes.

Cao Ya gave a light cough. His subordinates jolted and hurried back to their work.

Angers laughed heartily:

"You're quite strict. I think you could loosen up a little and give the students room to express themselves."

"Mm." Cao Ya looked at Angers and said calmly, "You go first. Let me experience Word Spirit: Time Zero."

Angers raised an eyebrow, then suddenly smiled.

No one in this world had ever dared let him strike first.

Since Cao Ya had said so, he would oblige. One had to be sufficiently understanding toward young people.

At the edge of the ground, Ye Sheng wore an odd expression:

"Letting the headmaster strike first... won't Cao Ya lose in a single move?"

Professor Goodman shook his head:

"No. This is his territory. The headmaster should let Cao Ya save a little face. Hmm, what do you call it... yes, returning courtesy with courtesy."

Professor Goodman was very pleased with his use of that idiom.

Nono and Ye Sheng, however, felt helpless.

Professor Goodman, could you stop throwing idioms around? Your Chinese isn't even as good as the headmaster's.

Sake Tokiko's expression changed.

"It's begun."

The others hurriedly fixed their eyes on the ground.

Angers casually drew a weapon rather than using his customary Damascus alchemical folding knife. Opposite him, Cao Ya had not even taken a weapon.

Noticing Angers's gaze, Cao Ya grinned:

"Don't worry. I hardly ever use weapons. I also want to test my defenses."

He tacked on that last sentence.

Angers smiled, but said nothing about an unfair victory. When fighting dragons, there was no such thing as an unfair victory.

Besides, whether to use a weapon was a personal choice.

He respected Cao Ya's choice.

Likewise, Cao Ya respected his.

He had only refrained from using his folding knife because this was a sparring match. Combined with his Word Spirit, a weapon would still give him greater killing power.

He would avoid Cao Ya's vital points.

After all, this was only a sparring match.

He also believed Cao Ya would not fall easily. On this point, Angers actually disagreed with the spectators.

Whoosh~~~

Angers crouched like a leopard, gathering almost all his strength into his legs with the poise of a young man. A chant in the dragon tongue swept across the base.

Everyone could feel the old man's "spirit" expand in an instant.

Word Spirit: Time Zero!

Also known as Word Spirit: Eternity!

Observing calmly, Cao Ya noticed something unbelievable. Time throughout the training ground seemed to have suddenly slowed. The spectators outside the ground and several passing people in white coats had all slowed down.

It was as though they had fallen into a trap laid by time, its flow slowing around them.

He felt an intensely powerful restraint. The air seemed to have solidified, and every movement required a hundred, a thousand times more strength than before. Even then, he could only move his fingers.

"Word Spirits..."

Wonder welled up within Cao Ya. Golden light shone over his skin, and in an instant, he became a man of gold.

He seemed wrought from imperishable gold. Though he lacked its properties, he carried something of its essence.

Then he moved his hands and feet.

Crack~~~

Faintly, a series of sounds like shattering glass rang through the air.

Angers was horrified.

Cao Ya had actually broken free of Word Spirit: Time Zero through brute force!

Impossible!

There was only one normal way to counter Word Spirit: Time Zero: possess blood of a sufficiently high grade to ignore its suppression.

Breaking it through brute force... that lay somewhat beyond the bounds of Angers's thinking.

What kind of strength could break free of Word Spirit: Time Zero's restraints?!

Or had Cao Ya used some highly unusual, unrecorded Word Spirit?

Angers closed in on Cao Ya, holding only that long blade.

He swung it.

Cao Ya clenched his fist. Golden light glimmered faintly around it, dazzling whenever it flashed into view.

Though Word Spirit: Time Zero restrained him at every moment, Cao Ya still possessed unrivaled might and hammered straight at Angers.

With a bang, the long blade shattered. Angers dodged the fist with incredible speed, only to find brilliant golden light sweeping out with a whoosh, enveloping every possible route forward or back.

He could neither advance nor retreat.

Angers froze for a moment, then relaxed.

"I've lost this fight."

He dispelled the effects of Word Spirit: Time Zero.

The spectators had seen almost nothing. They had only heard that final sentence.

They were instantly stunned.

Headmaster Angers had actually... said he lost??

Whoosh~~~

The golden light receded. Cao Ya released his fist seal, and that ancient aura vanished.

Defeat had brought Angers no negative feelings. Quite the opposite: he was happy.

An even more formidable figure had emerged among the younger generation.

The cause of dragon slaying could never have enough powerful figures like him.

Still, he could not quite understand Cao Ya's methods.

That power seemed familiar yet different. It did not resemble a Word Spirit. It seemed like... pure strength?

Angers asked curiously:

"What Word Spirit was that? It actually ignored my Word Spirit: Time Zero, and I could tell you weren't relying on your bloodline to break my Word Spirit."