Chapter 194 Sparring
A flat fireball the size of a soccer ball flapped its two wings and trailed a bright tail, tracing graceful curves in the air, embodying the meaning of elegance.
"boom!"
The fireball exploded upon impact with Du Huaiyuan, shattering the purple protective aura. He was sent flying seven or eight zhang away, like a baseball hit by a ball.
When the fireball exploded, bright yellow flames burst forth, like blooming flowers, illustrating the fusion of beauty and violence.
With a "thud," Du Huaiyuan crashed cleanly onto the rock, rolling on the ground like a gourd.
Li Lingyu secretly glanced at Senior Brother Liu and thought to herself, "No wonder he wanted to find a gentle mountainside when we sparred."
If this place were full of jagged rocks, Senior Brother Du would be in real trouble.
Mu Qingwan covered her eyes with her hands, unable to see. Senior Brother Du's talent in combat was even worse than hers and Lingyu's.
Du Huaiyuan walked over, covering his left cheek, and grinned, saying:
"I'm not fighting anymore. Senior Brother Liu is only at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. This is not fair. He's just bullying me."
Liu Yu gently shook her head, her brows furrowed, and said:
"If you encounter a demon beast or a demon cultivator, do you think the enemy will fight you fairly?"
Besides, in battle, you need to be aware of everything around you; how can you expect spells to hit you completely?
Can't you move?!
Even if you can't completely avoid it, you can't absorb all the magic's power.
He sparred with each of the three for a while, and found that the opponent lasted the shortest time, finishing the battle in a single breath.
He hadn't even used his magical artifacts in the previous battle. If it had been a life-or-death struggle, his opponent would have died countless times over.
If someone in this state encounters a high-level demon beast, they're practically easy prey.
One can only use one's power to intimidate others and fight against enemies in the Qi Refining stage, but once the war begins, no cultivator has the right to choose their enemy.
"Senior brother, you are a cultivator from the Enforcement Hall, a veteran of countless battles."
"I'm just a lowly alchemist; it's normal that I can't react quickly enough."
"If you can't do it, just practice more."
Du Huaiyuan felt increasingly embarrassed and retorted:
"Junior Brother Ji is a spirit farmer. I'll spar with him when he arrives, and I certainly won't be in such a sorry state!"
“Hey,” Liu Yu said with a strange smile:
"Alright, let me see how long you and Junior Brother Ji can last in this fight."
"Fifteen minutes shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Liu Yu ignored Du Huaiyuan and turned to shout:
"Qingwan, Lingyu, have you two figured out any combat techniques? Shall we continue?"
Mu Qingwan stepped forward:
"I'll come; at least I can learn some movement techniques."
"Alright, junior sister, be careful. Although my spell attacks are arc-shaped, their trajectory can still be roughly determined."
Ji An controlled the shuttle to land on the hillside, just in time to see Senior Sister Mu being hit by the exploding fireball.
Fortunately, it was only grazed, and the protective aura on his body did not dissipate.
Liu Yu shouted:
"Okay, let's take a break."
"Junior Brother Du, begin your performance! Junior Brother Ji is here."
Ji An, puzzled, asked:
"What's the matter?"
Li Lingyu coughed and explained the reason for the matter.
Du Huaiyuan laughed:
“Junior Brother Ji is a spirit farmer, and he usually takes care of the spirit fields. Our combat skills should be at the same level, so it would be meaningful for us to spar.”
Liu Yu transmitted his voice:
"Junior Brother Du's fighting ability is too poor; he can't last more than a few breaths against me."
You should teach him a lesson; you can't let him continue to be so lazy.
As his fellow disciple, he was secretly anxious.
Ji An nodded slightly, strode forward, and smiled:
"Is Senior Brother Du ready?"
As he walked, he had already cast a hand seal to release the Wind Control Technique, and then took out the Earth Spirit Orb, infusing it with magical power, and a yellow spiritual light covered his body.
Du Huaiyuan waved a purple flag-shaped magical artifact, and a cloud-like spiritual light protected his entire body:
"bring it on."
Ji An leaned forward and casually activated the Explosive Flame Technique, sending a ball of orange-red flames hurtling toward the target.
When Du Huaiyuan saw the Exploding Flame Technique coming, he released a Water Curtain Technique to block it. He didn't think about dodging; standing still and fighting was the fighting style of a newbie.
At this moment, Ji An had moved to a favorable position. He used his body to block the opponent's view and released an explosive fireball by making a hand seal.
Mu Qingwan, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly opened her eyes wide. She saw the fireball, which was spitting out blue flames, instantly condense in Ji Shidi's palm.
Judging from the speed and color of the fireball's condensation, the spell has reached a perfect level.
Is this level of magic something a cultivator who tends to the spirit field every day could possess?
She had reached the Foundation Establishment stage of her fire-based cultivation technique earlier than Junior Brother Ji, but she had only mastered the explosive fireball technique to the advanced level, still some distance from perfection.
Mu Qingwan sighed inwardly; she already knew what was to come for Senior Brother Du.
Du Huaiyuan was blocked from seeing the fireball and was unaware of its formation. He thought to himself:
"This is the proper way to spar; it's much better to be straightforward."
The Water Curtain spell was hit by the Exploding Flame spell, causing ripples to spread across the water.
His gaze was drawn to a bright color, and the next moment he was hit head-on by an exploding fireball, his body was sent flying four or five zhang away.
What's going on?
Du Huaiyuan fell to the ground, his mind buzzing. His first thought was that Senior Brother Liu had launched an attack.
He later realized that this was not the case; judging from the location where the fireball was launched, it could not have been Senior Brother Liu.
After a while, Ji An saw that the other person had come to their senses and said:
"Senior Brother Du, you must move during battle!"
The most intense battles are on the brink of life and death; when facing stronger enemies, one must constantly move to dodge attacks and create distance.
Mu Qingwan said:
"Junior Brother Ji's explosive fireball has reached the perfect level, Junior Brother Du's loss is not unjust."
Li Lingyu was surprised and whispered:
“Junior Brother Ji’s explosive fireballs can also launch arc attacks. If I were to fight him, I wouldn’t be able to last long.”
"I'll go back down the mountain and think it over carefully."
Du Huaiyuan looked somewhat dejected. Among his many fellow disciples, his cultivation level was the lowest, and his combat ability was also the weakest.
He piloted the flying shuttle away, rushing towards the icy pool.
"I hope he can come to his senses. In an era of demonic calamity, cultivators are not allowed to be weak."
Liu Yu said slowly, "This is the trend of the times; weakness means destruction."
Junior Brother Du has top-grade aptitude. If he drinks less spiritual wine every day and focuses more on improving his cultivation and practicing combat, he might be able to succeed if he doesn't seek merit but only self-preservation after the demon calamity breaks out.
As a monk of the Enforcement Hall, he was well aware of the cruelty of war.
Liu Yu turned his head and said in a deep voice:
"Junior brother, shall we have a sparring match?"
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Ji An responded by putting away the Earth Spirit Pearl and taking out the Apricot Yellow Flag.
Liu Yu's eyes showed caution as he took out the Fiery Golden Wheel.
The two began to fight, and Ji An demonstrated his combat skills, moving quickly, turning freely in the air, and using water curtain or cold wind techniques to block attacks.
The battle ended in a draw, a result that surprised not only Li Lingyu and the other woman, but also Liu Yu, who had already used eight-tenths of his strength in the latter half of the battle.
Now, Junior Brother Ji's combat skills are no different from those of experienced cultivators from the Enforcement Hall.
“Junior brother, your abilities are among the top tier of cultivators in the Enforcement Hall.”
Liu Yu said admiringly, "The opponent's defense is impeccable, and their attacks are swift and cunning."
"My senior brother is being lenient with me."
Ji An responded that through the battle just now, he had a more accurate grasp of his own combat capabilities.
He still has a lot of trump cards up his sleeve, and Senior Brother Liu certainly hasn't used his full strength either, but if the two of them fight with all their might, he is confident that he can win.
As dusk fell, Liu Yu and the others left one after another.
Ji An took out the account book and handed it over, saying:
"Senior Brother Du, you still have about a thousand catties of that premium pine nut wine left. Should you take it or sell it?"
"Sell it. We can't live such a decadent life anymore."
Du Huaiyuan forced an awkward smile. In the years since he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he had become quite lax in his cultivation, and the gap between him and his fellow disciples had widened.
Among his master's many disciples, he is the only one still in the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
As the gap in cultivation levels widens, he may become unable to integrate into the group.
After carefully reviewing the account books, Du Huaiyuan returned them.
"The accounts are fine. I plan to sell 90% of the profits from brewing to purchase spiritual artifacts and pills. Junior brother, you must supervise me."
He would keep the second-tier spirit wine to exchange for various spirit items.
Senior Brother Liu is right. Once the war begins, there is no such thing as a fair fight, and he must arm himself as much as possible.
Otherwise, if he becomes a liability to the team during a mission, it will be difficult for him to stay in the team in the future.
Ji An nodded solemnly:
"I will remind my senior brother."
It seems that today's battle has hurt the opponent and also served as a wake-up call.
"Tomorrow I will go to Ningcui Cliff to ask Master what kind of spiritual weapon a cultivator practicing water-based techniques should choose."
"It is indeed necessary to plan ahead when refining spiritual weapons. Collecting materials is a very troublesome matter and will consume a lot of time and energy."
Du Huaiyuan nodded slightly and said:
“Junior Brother Wei has a wide network of contacts in this field. I plan to ask him for help when I am collecting materials. I will ask him to mediate between us.”
Wei Songnian would shamelessly strike up a conversation with anyone he met, and casually boast about himself to get acquainted with them.
And you know what? These kinds of people are really good at being business people; they're the first people people think of when they need something.
"Don't worry, senior brother, junior brother Wei will do his best to help."
Ji An opened the account book and said:
"During this period, the top-grade spirit wine sold for a total of 7,200 spirit stones. According to the agreement, Senior Brother can get 40%, which is 2,880 spirit stones."
He took out 29 mid-grade spirit stones and handed them to the other party.
Du Huaiyuan accepted the spirit stones and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Junior brother, farewell."
In half a month, I will be heading to Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City. I will be back in about six months, so it won't delay my brewing.
Under the bright moonlight, Ji An buried the tea tree seeds in the black soil in the center of the open space.
He cast the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra, and as the yellow spiritual light shone upon the spiritual field, it was filled with a nourishing and profound spiritual power.
With his hand seals shifting, he released the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique, and a cloud of mist, about ten feet in diameter, swirled in the center of the open space, while spiritual rain, containing a refreshing and moistening aura, silently fell into the soil.
Under the moonlight, the raindrops shimmered like sparkling pearls.
Nourished by the dual power of the "Returning to the Origin Mantra" and the "Spring Breeze and Rain Technique," the tea trees take root and sprout.
When the clouds disperse and the rain stops, the new saplings grow to a foot tall, and their five white leaves stretch out gracefully in the soft sunlight.
The veins of the leaves are pale gold, and the seeds are undoubtedly from the Youyue Cangyu Stone Tree.
(End of this chapter)
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