Combat Training

Early the next morning, Zhang Ye emerged from his cultivation state. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Leona squatting in front of him, staring. They were very close.

“Gah!” Zhang Ye jumped in surprise. “What’s up?”

“Your cultivation speed is truly monstrous. It’s even faster than mine,” Leona said.

In just one night, Zhang Ye had progressed from Newly Advanced Tier Four to nearly the early stage of Tier Four. At this rate, through normal cultivation alone, he would be able to reach Tier Five in less than half a month!

Such a cultivation speed was far beyond even the geniuses of the major factions!

Zhang Ye immediately grinned. “Of course! I’m a genius, after all!”

Leona rolled her beautiful eyes. “You’re just too weak. With your current combat strength, even though we’re both at Tier Four, I could totally wipe the floor with you.”

Zhang Ye looked embarrassed and scratched his head. “It can’t be that bad...”

Leona countered, “Don’t doubt it. Back then, I was doing real combat while cultivating. My strength was forged through actual killing. Your practical combat ability is too weak; you can’t even begin to bring out your talent and abilities.”

“You can instant cast multiple spells simultaneously, which is actually more than enough to handle a Tier Five Berserk Bear. If you concentrated them on a single point and released twenty instances of Light Ray at once to hit the bear’s eye, you could pierce straight through the eyeball and into the brain. Even if it didn’t kill it, it would severely weaken its combat strength, leaving it at your mercy,” Leona explained.

Zhang Ye smacked his lips.

It sounded simple enough, but the problem was how to concentrate them on a single point. And how was he supposed to hit the eye of a Berserk Bear—which was only about the size of a fist—while it was in a frenzied state?

He had Perfect Mastery over his magic, allowing him to maximize power and cast instantly without a cooldown, but he lacked perfect control over his own body and the timing of his spells. It was like having a perfect sniper rifle but no marksmanship.

Furthermore, doing what Leona described was like a sniper getting a headshot from a kilometer away.

For a trained sniper, it was certainly possible, but for a combat rookie like him, it was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

Leona knew this, so she smiled. “Combat is the fastest way to grow stronger!”

“And I noticed that after you killed the Berserk Bear, your physique strengthened significantly. Clearly, killing magical beasts also allows you to grow stronger. In that case, combat will provide you with an even greater boost!”

Zhang Ye was slightly amazed by Leona’s powers of observation.

This seemingly boisterous woman also had a very perceptive side.

“So, for now, you’re going to get some real combat experience. I’ll set up a magic circle, and you’ll undergo combat training inside it,” Leona continued.

“The circle will ensure your safety. No magical beasts from outside will be able to harm you, and the ones inside the circle are all within your ability to handle.”

“I’ll hold onto that Berserk Bear’s magic core for now. I want you to fight as a Tier Four first; it’ll be good for consolidating your current strength.”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Alright!”

He followed Leona into the forest, where a magic circle spanning a thousand meters had already been set up. Inside the circle were several mana cages, each containing a magical beast.

Leona said, “These magical beasts are all Tier Four and Tier Five. Every time you kill one, the next will be released after half an hourglass.”

“Finally, there are three Tier Six magical beasts. You can choose whether or not to fight them.”

“To fight, just channel mana into the cage, and it will unlock automatically.” Leona spoke with her arms crossed, then looked at Zhang Ye. “My requirement for you is to deal with every magical beast below Tier Six before I return!”

Zhang Ye looked at the beasts huddled and shivering inside their mana cages and nodded. “No problem!”

He had already dealt with a Berserk Bear whose combat strength was comparable to Tier Seven; he believed he could handle these beasts.

“Good. I’m off.” Leona nodded and flew away.

However, she flew back three seconds later, pulled Zhang Ye toward her, and tapped her finger on his forehead. A red flame mark appeared between his brows.

Zhang Ye touched the spot and asked, “What’s this for?”

Leona smiled. “Just to be safe. You’re yours truly’s savior, after all. You can’t die before I have the chance to repay you by marrying myself off to you.”

Zhang Ye’s breath hitched, and he pumped his fist. “Don’t worry, I won’t kick the bucket that easily!”

Although she didn’t recognize the slang, Leona could feel Zhang Ye’s determination. She nodded with a smile and flew off.

Watching Leona disappear into the horizon, Zhang Ye sighed. “It must be nice to fly... Alright, time to start grinding mobs!”

“Gujiu!” Gujiu bounced off Zhang Ye’s head and let out a cry.

Zhang Ye laughed. “You want to fight by my side?”

“Sure thing!”

“Let’s begin!”

As Leona left, the magical beasts that had been shivering in their cages returned to normal and began to look around. The Tier Six beasts repeatedly rammed their cages, but Leona’s mana prisons were incredibly sturdy; no matter how hard they struck, they couldn’t cause a single ripple.

A few seconds later, one mana cage opened, and a three-meter-long lizard poked its head out, flicking its blue tongue.

Without a word, Zhang Ye immediately cast Analyze.

【Blue-tongued Lizard: Tier Three poison-type magical beast!】

Zhang Ye nodded, then proceeded to copy it.

He wasn't copying a spell, but rather checking the innate magic the Blue-tongued Lizard possessed.

There were only two: the Tier One Venomous Bite and the Tier Three Blue Poison Mist.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ye copied and analyzed Blue Poison Mist.

He could never have too many spells.

“Hiss hiss hiss...” The Blue-tongued Lizard looked at Zhang Ye warily. It could sense that the mana fluctuations of the bipedal creature in front of it were stronger than its own, so its first thought wasn't to fight, but to flee.

But how could Zhang Ye let it have its way?

Without hesitation!

“Light Wings, unfold!”

Thirtyfold—Light Ray!

A dense barrage of light beams instantly blanketed the area where the lizard was. The Blue-tongued Lizard only had time to let out a single shriek before it was overwhelmed by the light.

A moment later, its mangled corpse appeared in Zhang Ye’s sight, and he felt his physique grow a fraction stronger.

A total one-shot. What else was there to say?

Next!

Half an hourglass was about five minutes. Five minutes later, the second Tier Three magical beast was released.

It was a beast that looked like a monkey.

【Stone-fist Monkey: Tier Three earth-type magical beast!】

It possessed the Tier One spell Stone Throw and the Tier Three spell Stone Fist.

Zhang Ye immediately copied Stone Fist and then cast the spell. A pair of stone gauntlets immediately condensed over his fists, looking quite heavy.

“Since it’s Tier Three, I can use this Stone-fist Monkey to train my melee combat!” Zhang Ye thought, his eyes burning as he looked at the monkey.

The Stone-fist Monkey was smarter than the Blue-tongued Lizard. As soon as it was released, it turned and bolted.

It had witnessed the scene where Zhang Ye obliterated the lizard, so it wasn't about to stupidly go head-to-head with him.

It charged up a leap, jumping over ten meters high onto a massive tree, and then swung away at high speed.

Seeing this, Zhang Ye cried out, “Holy crap, don’t run!”

He sprinted after it, and a chase between man and monkey began in the forest.

However, the Stone-fist Monkey was incredibly cunning, and its speed while leaping and swinging between trees was too fast. Even with his late-stage Tier Three physique, Zhang Ye couldn't catch up.

“Hoo-hoo-ha-ha!” The Stone-fist Monkey swung through the trees using its tail and limbs, throwing stones and making faces at Zhang Ye, making his eye twitch.

“I’ll monkey-trap you!”

“Just wait until I get my hands on you!”

Originally, Zhang Ye wanted to use the monkey to practice melee combat, but since the monkey refused to fight him, he had to give up on that idea.

“Sharp Cable!”

He gave a loud shout, and two magic circles appeared at his waist. Iron chains shot out from them, their tips as sharp as spearheads. They slammed into a distant tree trunk, and under his Perfect Mastery, Zhang Ye was able to control the chains to retract.

With the rapid retraction, his body flew forward.

“Wahoo!” He let out an excited shout, but it quickly turned into a scream of pain. “Oh, crap!”

Thud... With a dull sound, Zhang Ye slammed into a tree. It didn't do much damage, but it made him grimace in pain. Up in the tree, the Stone-fist Monkey began to dance and jeer at him.

This was a sudden whim of his; he wanted to see if he could use magic for high-speed movement, just like the Omni-directional Mobility Gear from Attack on Tit—

Evidently, while he had mastery over his magic, he still lacked control over his own body and distance. That single move had resulted in a very close encounter with a giant tree.

“I don’t believe this!” Zhang Ye gritted his teeth, his stubbornness flaring up.

Sharp Cable could pull his body forward like a grapple hook, proving the idea was feasible. It was just missing something...

How did the people in the anime change direction?

Besides the hooks, they had gas thrusters on their backs!

As for thrust...

Maybe I can use this instead!

Thinking this, Zhang Ye immediately began his experiment.

Tier Three Bursting Flame!

Plus a Slow Fall to make his body lighter!

Instantly, a light flashed over Zhang Ye, and a circular red magic circle appeared behind his waist. A pillar of fire erupted from the circle, and Zhang Ye immediately felt a powerful thrust.

It worked!