n

n

nShang was stuck between three choices.

nCharge at Astor with his Ice Blast.

nTry to evade the strike and counter.

nTry to evade with his Ice Blast.

nAll of them had different advantages and disadvantages.

nIn the end, Shang went with the second option.

nWhy?

nBecause he needed his Ice Blast to end the fight.

nHe couldn’t reliably end the fight by charging in now.

nIf he evaded with his Ice Blast, he would be on the safe side, but he would lose his best shot at winning against Astor.

nAstor’s defense was incredible, and without a severe speed advantage, Shang couldn’t break through it.

nSo, Shang ran into the distance.

nAstor had already built up his momentum, and he would soon jump forward with his sword.

nIt was essentially the same situation as when Shang had first fought Astor.

nBut this time, Shang’s instincts had been honed a lot more. On top of that, he had seen that attack before, and he knew of a good way to evade it.

nBy widening the distance between them, Astor’s momentum would weaken on his way to Shang.

nAnd then, Astor unleashed his strike.

nBOOM!

nThe earth cracked beneath him as his body was thrown forward with his sword.

nShang saw Astor approach, and he was sure that Astor was even faster than back then.

nObviously, Astor hadn’t unleashed his full power in their first fight.

nShang jumped to the side.

nAt that moment, water appeared beneath Astor’s feet, and he slid to the side while keeping hold of his sword.

nAstor had slid more to the side than Shang due to his higher momentum.

nShang could only jump to the ground to let the sword pass above him.

nAstor’s strike missed, and Shang quickly slashed at where Astor should be.

nYet, Astor had already passed by Shang.

nMore water appeared beneath him as his body rotated.

nThen, the water vanished.

n“AAAHH!” Astor shouted as he changed the trajectory of his sword while adding more power to it.

nShang’s eyes widened.

nHe couldn’t stop Astor before he charged at Shang again like a bullet.

nJust by using some water, Astor had been able to completely conserve his momentum!

nWho said a Water Affinity was only useful for healing?!

nShang jumped to the side again.

nWater appeared beneath Astor’s feet again.

nAnd then, Shang’s eyes shone.

nThis time, he was prepared!

nShang pointed his left arm at Astor and unleashed an Ice Blast.

nBANG!

nA wave of Ice Mana washed over Astor’s entire body, but it only counted as a cool breeze.

nCRK!

nBut then, Astor’s eyes widened in horror as the water beneath him hardened, and in just a moment, it had transformed into ice.

nAstor lost control over his water, and his feet hit the ground unexpectedly, completely ruining his equilibrium.

nShang’s eyes shone as he charged at Astor.

nShang’s Ice Blast definitely wasn’t powerful enough to freeze that much water instantly.

nBut then why had it suddenly frozen?

nShang remembered something he had learned in teacher Niria’s class.

nSince beasts in the Empress Cobra Zone had a partial Water Affinity, they avoided the Ice Wyvern Zone.

nWhy?

nBecause Ice Mana could transform Water Mana into Ice Mana as long as there was more of it.

nThe water beneath Astor’s feet wasn’t natural water, but water created with Water Mana.

nSo, as long as Shang could blast it with a lot of Ice Mana, it would transform into Ice Mana.

nAstor didn’t have an Ice Affinity, which meant that he wouldn’t be able to control it anymore.

nAnd it had worked!

nThe water had turned to ice, and Astor lost his equilibrium.

nShang charged forward.

nAstor’s knees hit the ground as he slid forward. He was trying to regain his balance.

nShang closed in.

nIt was impossible for Astor to regain control of his sword in a short amount of time.

nAstor’s eyes widened, and he threw his sword away.

nHis sword began to rotate, and the rotating hilt came between him and Shang.

nBANG!

nShang blocked the hilt with his sword and quickly slashed forward.

nBut he missed!

nAstor had sidestepped on instinct, and he was approaching Shang with a raised fist.

nThen, Astor released his fist towards Shang’s face.

nShang hadn’t expected this attack.

nHe had always been the one to throw his weapon away. He hadn’t met someone else that did that.

nAt that moment, Shang’s mind shut down.

nHis instincts honed over years of training took over.

nOut of habit, Shang dropped his sword.

nAt this moment, Shang wasn’t even thinking about his sword.

nShang’s hands pushed Astor’s arm away by the elbow while taking a sidestep.

nAstor’s eyes widened.

nHis attack had missed?!

nOut of habit, Shang jumped upward.

nHis left knee went to Astor’s back as Shang pulled his arm to the side.

nAstor’s balance was destroyed again, and he hit the ground.

nBANG!

nShang landed with his left knee on Astor’s back while clinging closely to his arm with both of his arms.

nShang had essentially created a pseudo-armbar!

nSilence.

nThe students that weren’t in a fight yet watched on in shock.

nAstor looked with shock forward. He couldn’t see Shang from his current position.

nHis arm was extended towards his back, and he knew that Shang could break it.

n“One strike to your head and you’re dead,” Shang said.

n“I won.”

nA long moment of silence passed.

n“Mana Transformation,” Astor mumbled. “To think that Mana Transformation could also be used in this way.”

nAstor was obviously referring to how Shang had frozen his water with his ice.

n“Can you let go? I lost,” Astor said calmly.

nShang nodded and stood up.

nAstor also stood up and cleaned his uniform.

nThen, Astor smiled brightly.

n“I learned something today,” he said. “It’s been a while.”

n“I also learned several things,” Shang answered. “This was my first proper fight with a powerful warrior.”

nAstor laughed.

n“Let’s go again!” he shouted with a wide smile.

n“Sure,” Shang answered.

n“But don’t believe that I only won due to a fluke.”

n“I won’t,” Astor answered. “However, don’t expect to win again.”

n“We’ll see,” Shang answered with a smirk.

nAstor also smirked.

nSadly, Astor was right.

nOver the next three hours, Shang would lose all of his matches.

nAstor had adapted to Shang’s powers.

nShang had been able to win two times, but with his surprise advantage gone, it was clear that Astor was still the more powerful one of the two.

nHowever, Shang was now equal in power to Mattheo.

nWell, as long as he only fought as a warrior.

nAstor finally had someone new to fight against, and Mattheo could finally relax from constantly losing to Astor.

nThat was Shang’s job now.

nAnd before they knew it, the lesson was already over.

n