Chapter 5

He knew his chance had come.

So today, he would defeat Xu Jintang fair and square in front of the whole class and regain the pride he had lost!

"You want to challenge Xu Jintang?" Huang Binhan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Their practical combat class did have such a rule, primarily to encourage healthy competition among students, so he did not mind his students being competitive.

Xu Bohan immediately nodded, straightened his back, and stepped forward. "That's right."

Interest flickered in Huang Binhan's eyes. He turned to Xu Jintang. "What do you think?"

Xu Jintang glanced at Xu Bohan.

As an adult, she naturally did not take Xu Bohan too seriously.

Fifteen-year-old boys were all this cocky.

Still, she did want someone to spar with right now.

Brother Long had said she had undergone a complete transformation, but she would have to experience actual combat to find out exactly where she had improved.

Xu Jintang raised her hands and rolled her wrists, looking eagerly at Xu Bohan. "Sure. Let's spar."

This was the perfect chance to test just how much the dragon bone and dragon blood had transformed her body.

Chapter 5

Seeing how excitedly she accepted, Xu Bohan frowned, a bad feeling rising within him.

But since he had already issued the challenge, he would at least give it a try.

Huang Binhan was happy to see his students compete with one another.

He nodded his approval. "All right. As always, this is a spar, so stop when the outcome is clear. You're classmates. Don't hit too hard."

As he spoke, Huang Binhan gave Xu Jintang a pointed look.

The sight of Xu Jintang pinning Xu Bohan to the ground and beating him during the last selection for class representative remained vivid in his mind. Naturally, this reminder was mainly meant for her.

Xu Jintang cleared her throat. "Understood!"

Xu Bohan's face darkened. He shot Xu Jintang a defiant glance. "Understood!"

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the academy's arena area.

Private fights between students were forbidden on academy grounds, so personal disputes were generally settled through arena duels.

As Xu Jintang and Xu Bohan stepped onto the platform, the students watching below began to chatter.

"Now that's a rare sight. Class Monitor Xu's position is finally being challenged."

"Today it's her position as practical combat class representative. Tomorrow, he might challenge her for class monitor."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Hard to say. Didn't the class monitor only awaken a support ability? Compared to Xu Bohan's ability, hers must fall a little short."

On the platform, Xu Jintang and Xu Bohan stood facing each other.

Huang Binhan stood in the center as the referee.

"The rules of the arena duel: the first person to fall out of the arena or lose the ability to fight loses."

"Begin!"

As his words fell, a transparent protective barrier slowly rose around the edges of the arena.

The barrier kept the energy from the battle inside from spilling out and injuring the spectators.

However, it would not stop anyone on the platform from falling out.

As the barrier rose, Xu Jintang clearly sensed a faint energy enveloping the surroundings.

She looked up at her opponent and quietly activated the ability within her.

The arena had a radius of ten meters, and the range of Xu Jintang's ability could cover exactly half its area.

Xu Bohan's expression darkened, and with

revenge

as his resolve, he clenched both fists. Hard steel instantly coated their surfaces, reflecting a cold glint.

-Hardened Iron Fist.

"That's amazing! His fists really can turn into iron!" a student watching below exclaimed.

Xu Jintang also examined Xu Bohan's iron fists.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Bohan was charging at her.

Xu Jintang remained calm. She merely smiled, raised both hands, and pressed them down.

The slowing effect that came with her domain ability descended instantly.

Xu Bohan had just charged into the range of Xu Jintang's domain, and his forward momentum immediately stalled and slowed.

Alarm jolted through him as he felt his body slowing beyond his control.

Was this Xu Jintang's support ability?

As Xu Bohan's movements slowed, Xu Jintang moved as well.

She realized that the most powerful aspect of her ability was not its slowing effect.

Rather, it was her ability to observe every change within her domain.

Like a satellite map, every movement Xu Bohan made within the area she controlled appeared clearly in Xu Jintang's mind.

And under the slowing effect, Xu Bohan's movements lagged half a beat behind.

To Xu Jintang, he was completely riddled with openings.

"Class Monitor Xu's support ability seems pretty powerful."

"This is so

hilarious.

Xu Bohan looks like he has dementia. Every move freezes up and lags half a beat behind."

"Then how are you supposed to break through Class Monitor Xu's slowing ability?"

Xu Bohan was wondering the same thing.

He narrowed his eyes, his body trembling as he resisted the control effect of Domain Slow.

This slowing effect was indeed powerful.

But it could not possibly be invincible.

If it really were that powerful, the guidance teacher could not have remained so calm yesterday.

Xu Bohan quickly realized something. Narrowing his eyes, he immediately gathered a large amount of mental power, intending to break through the restrictions of the Slowing Domain by brute force.

On the platform, the strength of Xu Bohan's muscles erupted all at once. A vast amount of mental power gathered in his hands, unleashing energy that seemed capable of destroying everything.

Sensing danger, Xu Jintang hurriedly retreated.

Half a second later, the sheer amount of mental power allowed Xu Bohan to force his way through the Slowing Domain.

The corners of his mouth lifted. His speed returned to normal, and with a shout, he continued charging toward Xu Jintang.

Xu Jintang was briefly surprised.

So her domain was not invincible. As long as an enemy used mental power or an ability stronger than hers, they could forcibly break through its control.

And if she wanted to keep restricting their movements, she would need to use mental power even stronger than theirs.

"Hardened Iron Fist!" Having already charged up to her, Xu Bohan leaped into the air and raised his fist to attack Xu Jintang.

He was about to hit her, yet she showed no panic at all. Instead, she smiled at him.

-Domain Slow.

Powerful domain control descended once more.

This time, the slowing effect was stronger than before. Moreover, within this domain, Xu Bohan inexplicably felt a chill. Cold wind slipped into his collar, making him shudder.

A vast amount of mental power rapidly gathered within Xu Jintang, making the entire domain more stable.

Activating her ability this time consumed twice as much mental power as before, and its effect was twice as strong.

To break through again, Xu Bohan would have to expend even more mental power.

Xu Jintang waited no longer.

Her gaze darkened slightly, a faint gleam flashing through her calm eyes. Then she lightly leaped upward.

The cleansing from the dragon bone and flesh-and-blood essence had strengthened the muscles throughout Xu Jintang's body. When she unleashed them, her speed and strength were several times what they had been.

With just a light push off the ground, her body sprang nimbly into the air.

The next second, Xu Jintang tensed her body and swept her leg in an arc through the air, abruptly changing direction to dart behind Xu Bohan and hook her arm around his vulnerable neck.

With just one more gentle twist, Xu Bohan's neck would snap in an instant.

She had already won this duel.

Xu Jintang's lips curved slightly as she regarded Xu Bohan with a teasing look. "That's all? And you dared to challenge me?"

"Xu Jintang wins! The duel is over," Huang Binhan announced as referee.

The students watching below had not even processed what had just happened before Xu Jintang had already won.

"Holy shit! The class monitor's still a beast."

"The class monitor can even use a support ability that smoothly. Xu Bohan's kicked a steel plate again."

"That's crazy. An ability with that much offensive power couldn't even beat the class monitor's support ability."

On the platform, Huang Binhan's gaze toward Xu Jintang held a little more appreciation.

"Not bad. Today's battle has shown everyone that even a support ability can unleash astonishing combat power if used flexibly."

"That is also the purpose of our practical combat class. In the days ahead, I'll teach you what I know about applying abilities in actual combat. Remember, only by truly understanding and controlling your own ability can you bring out its full potential."

Xu Bohan gritted his teeth, clearly refusing to accept it.

"Teacher, this isn't fair! Xu Jintang has a domain-type ability, but mine is a close-combat ability. I can't even get near her. How am I supposed to beat her?"

Xu Jintang did not even look at him directly, merely casting him a sidelong glance. "What do you call fair? You using a close-combat ability against a support like me-is that fair?"

This time, Huang Binhan sided with Xu Jintang as well. "Exactly. Everyone knows that Xu Jintang has a support-type ability. She won this match through her combat skills."

Huang Binhan looked at Xu Bohan. "During the fight, you actually figured out how to break through Xu Jintang's slowing control. But after breaking through her domain control, you had no defenses up and focused entirely on taking her down. That's why you fell under her slowing control a second time. Had you been more cautious just now, this match wouldn't have ended so quickly."

Xu Bohan was left speechless.

Once his emotions settled, he too realized that Huang Binhan was right.

He had indeed fallen under Xu Jintang's slowing effect a second time because he had been unprepared.

"All right, that's enough of this."

For the second half of the class, Huang Binhan used his own ability as an example to teach the students some techniques for applying their abilities in actual combat.

"After class today, go back and think carefully about what role your own ability can play in battle. Next class, we'll continue discussing the practical application of abilities."