There's no way around it; battles between thieves can sometimes be that simple. If one of them gets the first strike, they're basically done for. All the opponent has to do is lightly slash your neck with a dagger, and you're good to go to the Shadowlands for another life-altering adventure!
Miles jumped up, not even noticing his beloved pipe being bumped by the corner of the table. His old eyes narrowed into slits as he stared intently at Jiang Jie, especially Jiang Jie's left hand.
He knew that Jiang Jie's perception was extremely strong when he was purging the members of the Cult of the Damned more than ten days ago. It was like a rare talent, and few people could escape his perception. Even thieves in Stealth mode had a hard time getting past him.
He used to think that Jiang Jie's perception was just a little stronger than that of ordinary people, but now he realized that Jiang Jie's perception was actually this strong. In the blink of an eye, he found Roand and then used " Sap " to knock him out of Stealth!
This is practically challenging the impossible!
Of course, talent is something given by one's parents; one can only admire it, not demand it.
But seeing Jiang Jie's skill in wielding the dagger, the afterimage of his left hand and the dagger, Miles was truly astonished!
This is true strength, an ability that can only be acquired through countless hours of training. Even Roand, a mid-level thief who has trained for over a decade, cannot reach the level that Jiang Jie has demonstrated!
Miles even doubted whether he himself could do a better job than Jiang Jie.
This can't be explained by talent alone. Without knowing how much effort this 15-year-old boy put in, how much hard work must he have put in over the past ten days to achieve such astonishing control over a dagger?
"Good! Good! Good!" Miles said "good" three times in a row, unable to contain his excitement.
He felt that perhaps in a few years... no! Perhaps in less than a year, he would witness the birth of a great thief! And then, in a few years, he would witness the birth of a Legendary thief!
" Nicholas, I'll teach you advanced thief skills right now!" Miles couldn't hold back any longer. He threw his pipe on the table, not caring if it was broken, and dragged Jiang Jie toward the training ground.
Well, poor Roand, he hasn't recovered from his paralysis and dizziness yet. Most importantly, nobody paid him any attention, and Ivan followed him out immediately.
One hour later.
" Nicholas, I've demonstrated all the advanced thief skills I've mastered. Advanced skills are different from mid-level skills; they're extremely difficult. It took me a full month to master my first advanced skill. Now I'll demonstrate them to you one by one..." Miles patiently explained, intending to put aside other matters and let another advanced member, Caroline Ward, who had returned a couple of days ago, handle them, so he could focus on training Jiang Jie.
To be able to mentor a future Legendary thief—his life has been worthwhile!
However, the next moment...
"Lord Miles, please wait a moment..." Jiang Jie smiled gently and arrived at the game pod.
"Host, all skills have been scanned and recorded. We are now starting analysis and simulation, which is expected to take three hours. Host, would you like to go to Shaolin Temple first? Luping misses you." Xiao Feng smiled mysteriously. Even someone who doesn't understand psychology could guess what he was thinking!
In the past few days, Jiang Jie has challenged Luping over a hundred times, but he hasn't won a single time!
In Xiao Feng's words, Luping joined the Shaolin Temple at the age of three, started practicing horse stance at the age of four, and formally began learning martial arts at the age of five. Now, ten years later, although his internal strength cultivation is only at the Houtian Fourth Layer, his external skills are not weak. He has mastered two fist techniques, Shaolin Arhat Fist and Shaolin Long Fist, and has reached the level of "proficiency" in both. In addition, there is the second secret of Shaolin Child Art, " White Cloud Art ". You, Jiang Jie, are really no match for him!
Cultivation time
It's a fatal flaw, hard to fix. "You want to see me make a fool of myself, huh? No problem, one more medicinal bath and I'll be entering the Houtian Fifth Layer. I can't possibly bully Luping's only at the Houtian Fifth Layer I'm at the Houtian Fourth Layer, can I? I'll go and defeat him right now!" Jiang Jie was full of confidence.
That's right. Although he learned martial arts better than Luping, his level of understanding was far inferior, and he couldn't compare in terms of martial arts skills.
But besides Chinese martial arts, he also possesses thieving skills. Now that he has mastered advanced thieving skills, he feels he should be able to fight Luping!
Three minutes later...
"Benefactor, this humble monk has been defeated." Luping's expression was calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
"No, I lost." Jiang Jie shook his head, his expression grim.
He won, but ultimately it was through his thieving skills, not Chinese martial arts. His level of martial arts was far inferior to Luping's, by a considerable margin. As a Huaxia person, he felt very uncomfortable and distressed.
"Host, you need real combat, not this kind of martial arts contest." Xiao Feng looked at Jiang Jie seriously, then waved his hand and arrived at the foot of a mountain.
"This is ' Earthly Fiend Mountain,' with a total of 72 peaks, the main peak reaching 3600 meters. Besides wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards, there are also 20,000 bandits entrenched here. Among them, the strongest bandit Xiantian Ninth Layer Realm, and the weakest is at the Houtian First Layer."
Xiao Feng pointed at Earthly Fiend Mountain and said, " Earthly Fiend Mountain isn't Shaolin Temple. No one will fight you one-on-one. Hundreds of experts might gang up on you, or a powerful cultivator at the Xiantian Realm might just kill you! Here, there's no fairness; unfairness is the ultimate fairness! Remember, don't use thief skills. Now, let's conquer the mountain!"
What is a real battle like?
Jiang Jie looked up at the mountain range and then began to climb it.
This is Earthly Dog Peak, the last peak of the Earthly Fiend Mountain. There are a thousand bandits on the mountain, among whom the strongest is the Great King Earthly Dog, who Xiantian First Layer.
In other words, if Jiang Jie is unlucky, he might be slapped to death by Xiantian First Layer innate expert in the very first moment!
Without taking shortcuts or venturing into the woods, Jiang Jie went straight up the main road where the most bandits were!
He came here to hone his skills; he wouldn't take any shortcuts, and he would face any opponent head-on!
He immediately encountered a small group of seven bandits.
"Hey! Where did this petty thief come from, daring to trespass in the mountains? Doesn't he know this is the territory of the Great King Earthly Dog... Bang!"
Jiang Jie charged forward and unleashed Pegasus Meteor Finger!
With a single finger, an invisible sword aura pierced the throat of the bandit at the Houtian Third Layer. Then, he continued his attack with the Thirty-Six Dragon-Subduing Palms, the final move, "The Proud Dragon Repents!"
With a dragon's roar, a dragon-shaped aura swept away all the enemies in front of him. Then Jiang Jie charged forward, his body like a bow and his fists like hammers.
Taijiquan!
Jiang Jie used three different martial arts techniques in turn.
No idle talk, no reservations, no pauses, and no inner turmoil.
Jiang Jie was fully in control, and within a dozen seconds he had taken down six bandits, but the strongest bandit still managed to sever his head with a single blow!