In the afternoon, Yu Tianlin arrived at the Cultivation Chamber half an hour early, only to find it deserted.
Yu Tianlin had thought Yu Jian might be pulling a cliche test, checking whether he would arrive early or just on time. Yet, he arrived early, and Yu Jian was nowhere to be found.
It seems I overthought it.
Yu Tianlin shook his head. Feeling that he had rested sufficiently, he sat cross-legged on the cushion, entered a state of shallow meditation, and cultivated his Soul Power, considering it a warm-up for the afternoon's combat training.
About half an hour later, Yu Tianlin heard the door open, knew Yu Jian had arrived, exited his shallow meditation, and opened his eyes.
"You came early?" Yu Jian said, looking at Yu Tianlin sitting cross-legged in front of the stone pillar. "You don't actually need to come here early; just arriving on time is fine. Hard training is important, but adequate rest is also necessary."
"It's fine, I'm well-rested," Yu Tianlin stood up and asked Yu Jian directly, "How will we conduct the combat training this afternoon?"
"Don't rush, I'll explain it slowly."
Yu Jian smiled and asked, "What is the goal of our training over these four months?"
Yu Tianlin answered readily, "To defeat Xiao Qing four months from now and obtain the Dragon Origin Fruit, of course."
"Correct, the goal is precisely to defeat Tianqing." Yu Jian nodded in agreement and continued, "Since the objective is set, the next step is targeted training."
"Unless an accident happens, like yours... ahem." When mentioning the accident with Yu Tianlin's first Soul Ring, Yu Jian coughed guiltily and glanced at Yu Tianlin. Seeing that his expression hadn't changed, he continued, "Otherwise, according to the tradition of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Tianqing's first Soul Ring skill will undoubtedly be the Thunder Dragon Claw, and it will definitely be stronger than your first Soul Skill."
"Fortunately, although your first Soul Ring skill certainly can't compete with the Thunder Dragon Claw in power, its advantage lies in secrecy. Since no one knows what your first Soul Skill is, you can achieve victory with a surprise attack in combat."
"Therefore, your most pressing task is to thoroughly understand the Thunder Dragon Claw skill, then formulate corresponding countermeasures during battle, and finally, win by surprise using your own first Soul Skill."
Yu Tianlin felt that Yu Jian's analysis was very reasonable and nodded repeatedly.
"The so-called Thunder Dragon Claw is like this!"
Yu Jian explained and demonstrated simultaneously.
Instantly, a blue light flashed at the center of Yu Jian's brow, forming a lightning pattern. Blue electric light immediately spread throughout his body, and five Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—rose up.
However, no other changes occurred on Yu Jian's body this time, indicating he hadn't activated his Dragon Transformation ability.
The first Soul Ring on Yu Jian suddenly flashed. Blue-violet lightning quickly condensed around his right hand, instantly forming a Lightning Claw about a foot long, enveloping his palm.
"This is the Thunder Dragon Claw. Attaching it to the palm for melee combat can increase attack power by 50 percent."
With that, Yu Jian took a short sword out of his spatial Spirit Tool with his other hand, and with a casual squeeze of the Lightning Claw, the short sword immediately shattered into several pieces.
Yu Tianlin quickly crouched down to examine the fragments of the short sword on the ground, checking what material it was forged from.
Given his background, Yu Tianlin had seen many good items and was quite knowledgeable. Seeing the short sword fragments, he quickly recognized the material and exclaimed, "This is... Hundred-Refined Fine Iron?"
Yu Jian nodded: "That's right. I didn't use scrap metal to fool you. This short sword is made of Hundred-Refined fine iron, and its quality is quite good."
Yu Tianlin stood up, looking at Yu Jian with disbelief, and asked, "Fine iron's hardness is already considered relatively high, yet you shattered it into several pieces with a casual squeeze. The Thunder Dragon Claw is only a first Soul Skill. I wouldn't doubt it if it only crushed stone, but achieving this level of damage on fine iron is too exaggerated."
"It's actually alright," Yu Jian smiled. "After all, my level is quite high, so even when using the first Soul Skill, its power is significantly enhanced. If it were an ordinary One-ringed Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master, they could still destroy this short sword, but certainly not as casually as I did."
"That's good."
Hearing Yu Jian say this, Yu Tianlin felt considerably relieved.
"Don't be careless," Yu Jian warned. "Even if a one-ring soul master's Thunder Dragon Claw isn't as powerful as mine, it's still irresistible for you."
"We definitely won't be allowed to use weapons in the battle four months from now. You will be bare-handed, while Tianqing's palm will be enveloped by the Thunder Dragon Claw. You absolutely cannot win against him in close combat."
Yu Jian extended his right hand toward Yu Tianlin, making his point.
Looking at the Lightning Claw flashing with blue-violet lightning in front of him, Yu Tianlin was silent for a moment before saying, "Since close combat won't work, what about relying on long-range attacks?"
"It seems your first Soul Skill is a long-range attack, Tianlin," Yu Jian nodded knowingly, but then hit back, "But did you forget? The Thunder Dragon Claw is also capable of long-range attacks. As for its power, see for yourself."
With that, Yu Jian placed his normal hand on the nearby stone pillar, twisted it slightly, and a steel plate slowly rose from the ground about ten meters away.
Looking at the steel plate in front, Yu Jian retreated a few steps, creating distance, and said, "We are about fifteen meters from that steel plate, which is within the maximum attack range of the Thunder Dragon Claw. The steel plate is one foot thick. I will now demonstrate the long-range attack capability of the Thunder Dragon Claw for you."
The moment his voice fell, the Thunder Dragon Claw on Yu Jian's right hand violently shot toward the steel plate. Its speed was extremely fast, and air crackled and popped in its wake.
"Boom!"
The fifteen-meter distance vanished instantly. The Thunder Dragon Claw collided with the steel plate and immediately exploded, flashing with blue-violet lightning and engulfing the entire steel plate.
Yu Tianlin instinctively raised his hands to shield against the blinding lightning and asked, "Is the damage radius that large?"
"It's not that exaggerated," Yu Jian shook his head. "The surrounding lightning is just the dispersed light after the Thunder Dragon Claw exploded, and it only has a slight paralyzing effect. The true damage is concentrated at the center of the Thunder Dragon Claw's explosion."
As he spoke, the lightning slowly dissipated. Yu Tianlin looked toward the steel plate and saw that it was indeed the case. Only the section hit by the Thunder Dragon Claw was blackened and destroyed, while the rest of the steel plate was intact.
Yu Tianlin approached to observe and found that the one-foot-thick steel plate had been directly penetrated halfway by the Thunder Dragon Claw, which also blasted a small crater.
The destructive power was truly terrifying!
Yu Jian also walked over and said, "Now you should have a good understanding of the Thunder Dragon Claw's long-range and close-combat capabilities. Next is the targeted training."
"Before we train, I need to know about your first Soul Skill," Yu Jian looked at Yu Tianlin and said, "Don't worry, I will keep it a secret for you and absolutely will not disclose your first Soul Skill."
Hearing Yu Jian say this, Yu Tianlin just eyed him skeptically without saying a word.
The news about him absorbing the wrong Soul Ring becoming common knowledge was initially leaked by Yu Jian. Now he was talking about secrecy—Heh heh...
"Hey, what kind of look is that!" Yu Jian said with some dissatisfaction. "Before, the Clan head hadn't placed a gag order. When the other Elders came to question me, of course, I could only tell the truth."
"As for now, I doubt the Elders will be interested in a white Soul Ring's skill, and the Clan head has specifically required me to keep it a secret this time, so I won't tell anyone."
However, Yu Tianlin still shook his head, refusing to tell Yu Jian.
"Fine," seeing Yu Tianlin's firm attitude, Yu Jian compromised, "Then just give me a general description of your first Soul Skill."
Yu Tianlin stated concisely: "Lightning attribute, single-target, long-range attack."
"As expected," Yu Jian nodded in realization and said, "But it's a bit of a pity it's not an area-of-effect attack."
"Although single-target attacks generally surpass area-of-effect attacks in power, given your Soul Ring's age, its power definitely can't match the single-target Thunder Dragon Claw. In this situation, an area-of-effect attack would have been easier to use."
"This is troublesome. If we distance ourselves for a long-range fight, your first Soul Skill can't beat the Thunder Dragon Claw, and close combat is out of the question."
Yu Tianlin looked calmly at Yu Jian and asked, "So? How can I win?"
"You weren't defeated by the disadvantages I analyzed. That's good composure." After praising Yu Tianlin, Yu Jian offered a slight smile and directly gave the answer: "Stall and engage in a war of attrition."
Yu Tianlin nodded: "Indeed, my Soul Power level is slightly higher than Xiao Qing's. I will have an advantage in a war of attrition."
"It's more than just that," Yu Jian continued. "All lightning-attribute Martial Souls, including the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, share a common advantage—terrifying burst power and fierce attack strength. But beneath this advantage, there is also a hidden flaw."
Yu Tianlin looked thoughtful: "Uncle Yu Jian, are you referring to endurance?"
"That's right, endurance," Yu Jian's expression became serious here. "Due to the formidable burst capability of their attacks, lightning-attribute Soul Masters inevitably consume more Soul Power than other attribute Soul Masters. Therefore, lightning-attribute Soul Masters have low endurance and limited sustained attack capability."
"Tianlin, in future battles, you must always be mindful of this point: finish the fight quickly and avoid being stalled and worn down by the opponent."
Yu Tianlin nodded, indicating his understanding.
Yu Jian continued: "Four months from now, Tianqing will have at least a Soul Ring over 300 years, so his Thunder Dragon Claw will be very powerful. Correspondingly, using this skill will consume a significant amount of his Soul Power."
"Not to mention he will only be level 11 then. How many times can that tiny bit of Soul Power allow him to use the Thunder Dragon Claw?" Yu Jian extended his hand, wiggling his five fingers in front of Yu Tianlin. "Five times, maximum. After five uses, his Soul Power will be insufficient."
"Conversely, while your first Soul Skill has less power, its consumption is also lower. Combined with your advantage in Soul Power, your attack attempts can be more than double his."
Yu Jian had thoroughly explained the strategy. Yu Tianlin finally understood the winning method and summarized: "In the end, it still comes down to creating distance and fighting remotely. Since the remote Thunder Dragon Claw is a single-target attack, it's not extremely hard to dodge. As long as I can evade it a few times, his Soul Power will be greatly depleted, and then it will be my turn to counterattack."
"Exactly," Yu Jian agreed with Yu Tianlin's summary. "The key to victory lies in speed and agility. Your speed must be faster than Tianqing's to maintain a certain distance at all times, and your reactions must be more agile so you can flash away from the Thunder Dragon Claw's attack at the critical moment."
"The morning training was primarily designed to improve your physical fitness, but most importantly, to increase your speed. Correspondingly, the afternoon will be dedicated to training your evasive ability."
With that, Yu Jian pulled out a gray cloth bag from his spatial Spirit Tool.
Yu Jian tossed the gray cloth bag up and down twice and said, "This is a sandbag. I will use it to hit you in a moment, and your job is to dodge."
Uh, throwing a sandbag? That sounds a bit unreliable...
Sensing Yu Tianlin's thoughts, Yu Jian added: "Don't worry. I've used the Thunder Dragon Claw for so many years that I understand the skill thoroughly. I will make the sandbag move at the exact same speed as the Thunder Dragon Claw. If you can dodge my sandbag, it will be easy for you to dodge Tianqing's Thunder Dragon Claw when you fight him."
"Alright, no more nonsense. Start now."
Having said all he needed to, Yu Jian stopped talking, took a few steps back to create a ten-meter distance, and immediately tossed the sandbag toward Yu Tianlin.
Staring at the oncoming sandbag, Yu Tianlin subconsciously tried to dodge, but the sandbag was extremely fast. Yu Tianlin couldn't move in time and was hit directly.
"Ouch!"
Yu Tianlin immediately felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He hadn't expected Yu Jian to use so much force just throwing a sandbag.
"Too slow!" Yu Jian's stern voice came through. "I only aimed for your shoulder. You should have been able to dodge it with a slight shift, but you failed!"
"Concentrate!"
Yu Jian took out another sandbag from his spatial Spirit Tool, casually tossed it in his hand, and a layer of lightning began to coil around it.
"This time, I will imbue the sandbag with the lightning attribute. If you get hit, you'll be in for it!"
The moment his voice fell, the sandbag, flashing with electricity, flew out of Yu Jian's hand.
Yu Tianlin had sensed trouble when Yu Jian started talking. Without hesitation, he executed a clumsy forward roll, just managing to dodge the sandbag.
The sandbag smashed into the ground, and the lightning contained within immediately exploded. Yu Tianlin's heart pounded at the sight.
What the heck! He's serious?!
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Apologies for the lack of chapter these past few days. The country was hit by a cyclone. Anyway, I will begin resuming posting today. Also if you can show some support that would be nice.
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