Chapter 146 - Double Breakthroughs

Over the years of Liu Hai’s sparring with his disciples, he had always gotten his disciples to make the first move. Of course, his Taiji Shield Saber technique was also good at defending and counter-attacking.

“Master, be careful.” Xu Jingming looked at his master from afar and focused his mind. He kicked the ground, and the ground trembled. He then turned into a dark-red afterimage and attacked Liu Hai.

As he was too fast, the air emitted an ear-piercing whistle wherever he passed.

Liu Hai held a shield in one hand and a saber in the other. His firm muscles made him appear like a mountain as he calmly watched Xu Jingming charge over.

The more important a battle was, the calmer Liu Hai became in combat. Even though he appeared excited and looked to be filled with fighting spirit, his heart was akin to a calm lake that clearly reflected every aspect of the battle.

Bang!

The spear suddenly struck the shield, and the terrifying might of the collision spread in all directions. Liu Hai’s hair fluttered, while Xu Jingming’s brows were filled with fighting spirit.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Xu Jingming attacked wantonly with his spear.

Slash, smash, poke, sweep… He struck out repeatedly with his spear and attacked frantically. His speed was extremely fast, and he attacked Liu Hai frantically. He would pulverize anything in front of him even if it was a mountain.

Liu Hai didn’t counterattack and only held a huge shield to block Xu Jingming’s every strike.

No matter how Xu Jingming attacked, Liu Hai was like a reef in the water, blocking every impact.

“Jingming, your spearmanship is average,” Liu Hai said. “I’m about to attack.”

“Master, come on. Feel free to attack,” Xu Jingming said with a smile.

Liu Hai suddenly took a step forward.

He took a step forward, placing his shield in front of him as he slammed forward like a mountain!

It collided with Xu Jingming’s spear, causing his expression to change slightly. He moved his feet and took a few steps back.

Master cultivates Ferocious Tiger Evolution, so his strength is much greater than mine. His shield is also a large shield, so his strikes are very powerful. Xu Jingming retreated rapidly, and Liu Hai took a step forward to catch up to him.

Xu Jingming raised the spear in his hand in a strange manner and turned it into an arc, attempting to pierce through Liu Hai’s body from below.

Liu Hai easily pressed down with the shield in his left hand and blocked the spear. As he blocked it, he continued charging forward, his saber flashing.

Xu Jingming had already retreated in advance when his spear missed. The saber beam sliced across his chest, just three inches short.

The shield is hard and fast, but the saber is soft and mild. Xu Jingming also knew his master’s combat style, so he had been very careful of the saber.

The master-disciple duo exchanged blows.

With the combination of Liu Hai’s shield and saber, his defense didn’t reveal any flaws. His attacks were fierce and strange.

Xu Jingming had the advantage in movement and was extremely fast! He didn’t give Liu Hai a chance to get close.

As the two parties fought, the valley suffered! The collisions of the weapons blasted away the trees. Large craters appeared in the mountain walls, and even the ground produced was covered in huge ravines or huge pits.

There was no audience in this battle, so the outside world was unaware. However, this battle was the strongest battle since the virtual world’s launch!

Boom!

Liu Hai was extremely fierce.

His shield strangely gave way, and Xu Jingming’s spear missed. Liu Hai immediately advanced and tried to get close.

Pu! Pu!

Xu Jingming’s spear suddenly moved. At close range, he struck out with extreme speed.

What? Liu Hai couldn’t help but tense up when he realized that his disciple could unleash his full strength just after delivering a move. He immediately spun his saber that was about to attack.

Clang!

The saber beam struck the spear shaft.

The spear spun, and a second strike stabbed over.

Two-hit combo!

Liu Hai finally made it in time with the shield in his left hand and barely blocked the strike.

What fast spearmanship. Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming. I nearly failed to block it with my shield and saber.

“Master, don’t you go losing to your disciple,” Xu Jingming said with a smile. What he had suddenly used was the foundation of one of the five ultimate moves recorded in the first volume of ‘Beam Transformation.’

Of the five spear techniques, Xu Jingming placed the greatest importance on combo attacks.

As he had possessed Xuan, Xu Jingming knew very well that Xuan’s strongest spearmanship was a single thrust. Strictly speaking, it was a combo thrust! Xuan could deliver millions of consecutive strikes in all kinds of ways.

Combo attacks became instinctive to Xuan.

When Xu Jingming honed his will, he practiced Beam Transformation and pursued combo attacks.

Pu! Pu! Pu!

Xu Jingming began to bare his fangs.

He had only been warming up at the beginning. At the same time, he gave his master an illusion—that his disciple’s spearmanship was only average. Then, he executed his combo without any warning!

This was the combat strategy his master often taught! An abrupt reversal would surprise the enemy. As long as the enemy’s reaction time was delayed in the slightest bit, he might win.

Liu Hai was indeed caught off-guard, but with his shield and saber combination, he was just too good at defense; he managed to hold on.

Since he had executed a combo, Xu Jingming didn’t hold back.

Beam Transformation.

Die.

Xu Jingming abandoned his other spearmanship moves and only stabbed out once, completely using Beam Transformation!

He kept comboing—two-hit combo, three-hit combo, six-hit combo!

According to Xuan’s requirements, Xu Jingming could at most deliver a six-hit combo! The so-called six-hit combo didn’t mean that the intervals were the same every time. Instead, he needed to accumulate strength for every strike. He needed to borrow the strength of the prior strikes until he reached the sixth strike, allowing the sixth strike to be the fastest.

However, the conditions to execute it were simplest for a two-hit combo. The more consecutive strikes Xu Jingming used, the harder it was to execute them with his current realm.

What fierce spearmanship! Liu Hai held the shield in his left hand and defended with all his might. He even had to use the saber in his right hand to help in the defense.

Xu Jingming’s attacks were too fierce like inundating waves; his spear constantly flashed.

Continuous thrusts!

The spear would pierce through at the slightest flaw, killing him. Therefore, Liu Hai didn’t dare to be distracted.

Break! Break! Break! The better his master defended, the stronger Xu Jingming’s will to attack became. He usually practiced his spear facing the air, arrows, rocks, and virtual opponents; it was nowhere as good as facing his master! His master’s defensive moves were perfect, allowing Xu Jingming to pursue stronger spearmanship.

In his excitement, Xu Jingming’s spear was like a phantom as his mind and will burned brighter. He stabbed out six times in a row before taking advantage of the opportunity to deliver a seventh strike.

At this moment, Xu Jingming felt delighted. He let nature take its course—he delivered the seventh, eighth, and finally the ninth strike!

Nine-hit combo!

According to Xuan’s description, being able to deliver a passing nine-hit combo as a planetary lifeform meant that one had reached lesser mastery in combo attacks. Reaching a 36-hit combo was considered greater mastery. It was difficult to find an opponent at the same level as a planetary lifeform.

Awesome. Xu Jingming felt extremely delighted when he executed the nine-hit combo. It felt so good that his scalp felt like it was about to explode.

He stabbed out tens of thousands of times a day in pursuit of stronger spearmanship. When he finally broke through, the sense of accomplishment and pleasure made his mind and will tremble with fervor.

At this moment—

The ‘Combat Bonus: 85%’ in Xu Jingming’s personal combat strength interface had already silently changed to ‘Combat Bonus: 100%.’

This spearmanship…

When Xu Jingming executed the Beam Transformation’s nine-hit combo, he only felt delighted. However, Liu Hai felt the exact opposite when facing this spear technique! He instinctively felt a huge threat!

He felt death approaching. He couldn’t defend against such a spear technique!

Could it be that my defense can’t even keep up? Liu Hai’s mind and will trembled at this moment—a trembling of anger and indignation! Although he had studied from every school of martial arts in the world in his life’s pursuit of cultivation, he focused on Taiji!

With Taiji as his foundation, he combined it with his shield and saber, making him best at defense.

He had never been injured since he participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament!

Now that he had a Lv. 8 legacy and had possessed a cosmic legend—who was good at shield and saber and also an expert most compatible with him—his proficiency in defending improved. Defense was what he was most proud of.

His disciple was now at the limits of Lv. 4. Being at the same level, he could tolerate being suppressed, but he couldn’t tolerate not being able to defend! This was the last bit of pride in defense!

Block him!

When Xu Jingming stabbed out with his ninth strike, it was also the most terrifying strike of the nine-hit combo.

Liu Hai only had one thought—he had to block it no matter what.

At this moment, he was retreating. The shield was too heavy, so it was too late.

He spun the saber in his right hand and drew an incomparably beautiful arc. It was a close call, and he struck Xu Jingming’s spear shaft at the last moment, causing the spear to deviate and brush past Liu Hai’s body.

I blocked it. Liu Hai felt immense joy. At the same time, he understood. I finally understand why that cosmic legend’s saber is so fast.

At this moment, the ‘Combat Bonus: 102%’ on Liu Hai’s personal combat strength interface had changed to: ‘120% Combat Bonus.’

What? Xu Jingming felt that he could win after unleashing the most unrestrained nine-hit combo because the final strike—which was the amalgamation of the first eight strikes—was too fast.

But when his master held his shield and retreated, the saber beam spun and imprinted an extremely beautiful saber beam mark in Xu Jingming’s heart. And this saber beam had surprisingly blocked the last strike.

Xu Jingming found it unbelievable that his strike could be blocked..