"Thank you for the lesson."
Anya lowered her sword and began to mentally review the battle, summarizing the flaws in her swordsmanship.
Just then, the school bell rang, and the students of the tail-end class gathered at their positions.
Jiang Lin was just about to tell Anya that he would go speak with the teacher, but Monsa spoke up first.
"The two of you can practice on your own. The content I'm teaching in class now isn't of much use to you anymore."
"Thank you, Teacher."
With permission granted, Jiang Lin left the formation and waited for Anya to finish her review.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin picked up the copy of 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】, preparing to learn the combat technique within.
Jiang Lin frowned in thought as he flipped through the pages. He stopped after only two or three.
'Is this... really something a human can learn...?'
Even with Anya's notes as a guide, looking at the words on the pages felt like trying to read a heavenly script.
【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】 was a combat technique that required the manipulation of magic essence. It was unlike the 【Basic Swordsmanship】 Jiang Lin had learned before, which only required good control over one's physical muscles.
Before this, Jiang Lin had almost never learned a combat technique that required magic essence. He felt like a student who had just finished learning basic arithmetic and was now being asked to solve a complex calculus problem.
Of course, for a gifted student, the gap between the two might not be that large—it would be the difference between an example problem and an extension problem. But for someone with mediocre talent like Jiang Lin, he could only rely on grinding away at it over time to reach the entry level.
By then, Anya had finished her review and was ready to continue sparring. Jiang Lin took the opportunity to put down the skill book.
And so, the two engaged in battle once more.
This time, Jiang Lin was surprised to find that Anya's progress in 【Basic Swordsmanship】 was visible to the naked eye. Every time they finished a bout, she would have new insights, pushing further beyond her already superlative foundation.
'Is this what it means to be a genius...?'
Thinking about his own progress speed before he had the system, Jiang Lin's mood soured a bit.
When another bout ended, Anya began her review and summary again. Jiang Lin felt he wouldn't be able to reach the entry level of 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】 in a short time, so he seized the moment to sit cross-legged on the ground and practice his breathing technique.
"Can you really enter the right state in such a short amount of time?"
Anya was somewhat astonished to see Jiang Lin doing this.
After all, practicing a breathing technique usually required focused intent and the casting aside of distracting thoughts; it generally took some time to prepare.
However, Jiang Lin replied even as he practiced, "I'm lagging too far behind right now. I have to make every second count."
Anya sensed the magic essence slowly flowing toward Jiang Lin and stopped talking.
Yet, for some reason, seeing Jiang Lin working so hard made Anya realize she didn't use her free time to practice as intensely as he did. A strange tightness gripped her heart.
However, the feeling was fleeting. She shook her head, pushed the thought aside, and continued reviewing their previous spar.
Throughout the rest of the class, the two would fight for a while and then rest for a while. Anya's swordsmanship improved bit by bit, and Jiang Lin accumulated a significant amount of actual combat experience in the process.
Previously, Jiang Lin only had proficiency in his skills, but he lacked experience in actual combat. This opportunity allowed his combat experience to grow significantly.
Time passed quickly, and the swordsmanship class came to an end.
Anya put down her wooden sword, looking like she hadn't quite had her fill. "I'll come find you for future swordsmanship classes. Also, if you can learn the skill I gave you and use it proficiently in combat against me, I can give you other sword techniques."
Listening to the first half of Anya's words, Jiang Lin felt it was expected. After all, between the gold coin and this sword technique, paying for him to be a sparring partner for a whole semester was no problem at all.
Not to mention, he was benefiting from the actual combat experience himself.
But when he heard Anya's final sentence, his heart skipped a beat.
'Give me other sword techniques'!
A skill book like the one Anya had given him likely cost several hundred or even several thousand gold coins on the market. Jiang Lin certainly couldn't afford it on his own.
But now, he could continue to get them for free under Anya's sponsorship!
What a saint!!
Jiang Lin was naturally more than happy to agree.
Thus, he immediately moved the study of this skill up his schedule.
Anya watched Jiang Lin's departing figure. She was already certain that this young man's attainment in 【Basic Swordsmanship】 surpassed even the swordsmanship teachers her family hired.
What an amazing talent. It was a pity his cultivation speed was a bit slow. But was it really because a genius needed time to settle...?
...
Returning to the classroom, he calmed his mind and began reading the densely packed text of 【Seven Star Holy Glow Slash】.
"What are you looking at?"
Tie Chen leaned his head over.
"A high-level combat technique?"
He turned to look at Jiang Lin in great surprise. "Old Jiang, I'm not being mean, but can you even understand this?"
Jiang Lin glanced at him and didn't speak. Instead, he earnestly read the words and diagrams in the skill book.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a class period had passed.
He exhaled a breath of turbid air and closed the skill book.
Dammit...
'I don't understand it!!!'
Now, Jiang Lin truly felt the helplessness of being a poor student.
"Hey, kid, you've been looking at it for so long, why are you still on the first page?"
Seeing Jiang Lin put down the skill book, Little Black teased him.
"Sigh, seeing how well you could fight before, I thought you were some kind of genius. Turns out you're just a brute with slightly better physical stats."
Little Black talked trash while snatching the skill book from Jiang Lin's hand.
"It's too difficult. That's the book's fault," Jiang Lin replied without blinking.
His conversation with Little Black was through telepathy, a form of spiritual communication that others couldn't hear.
"Do you even believe that yourself?" Little Black said with a face full of mockery.
"Do you want to learn it? I'll teach you, but you'll have to pay a certain price..."
"What price?"
"Sacrifice a certain amount of souls to me..."
Little Black's voice took on a hint of enticement.
Jiang Lin frowned.
"Sacrifice my soul? That price is too high. I won't accept."
"No, no, no, not your soul. You just need to hunt other humans and sacrifice their souls to me," Little Black added hastily.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Lin nodded.
"Sure, no problem. But not right now. My strength isn't enough yet, and sacrificing to you probably requires setting up some ritual circles or something.
"How about this: you teach me first, and I'll owe you. When the right opportunity comes, I'll perform the sacrifice for you."
Hearing Jiang Lin's affirmative answer, Little Black was stunned. He didn't even get a chance to use the rest of his prepared persuasive speech.
'Wait... he just agreed?'
'Isn't he a paladin? How can he make a deal with an evil god like me?'
For a moment, combining Jiang Lin's history of stepping on ants for no reason, using 【Jetting Aura】 during a spar, and this series of degenerate behaviors, Little Black reached a conclusion:
There was definitely something wrong with this paladin's head!
Rate on N.U.
