Chapter 118 Sparring
The moment Zadeh spoke, a huge commotion immediately unraveled among the students who were present.
As a highly experience academy instructor, there was no need to doubt Zadeh’s strength. The decades of cultivation had already caused his attributes, specialties, and Killing technique to be tempered to their limits, reaching the pinnacle of first transition Knights.
Unless it was those Elders from the major clans, a majority of first transition Knights could not possibly be his match.
In the entire academy, maybe only Conferred Knights like the Headmaster and Huang Lin would be able to suppress senior instructors at Zadeh’s level.
And now, such a powerful Knight had requested for a spar with Fang Xingjian.
Especially the conditions of the spar, requiring the two of them to use spears against each other while standing in a circle a few metres wide. Whoever died or stepped out of the circle would be considered the loser.
These rules were equivalent to the simplest close combat killing, causing Fang Xingjian to lose the advantages of his quick movement speed and the long range attacks from his sword Qis.
On the contrary, Zadeh had practiced the spear for over decades. Within the circle, his spear could simply hit where he dictated. With 92 points in strength, he was able to crush Fang Xingjian in terms of the strength attribute. In a close combat sparring like this, Zadeh possessed all the advantages.
Hence, everyone around felt extremely shocked, followed by agitation, then excitement. Two top notch Knights engaging in a close combat spar... If they were not careful, it was possible that they could kill their opponent. How blood-boiling this was? How could one not feel agitated?
If it was in the modern society, such a behavior would surely be reported.
But in this world of steel and blood within the Knight Academy, Knights would only feel satisfied and delighted. This was what it meant by actual combat training.
If one was afraid of death, why become a Knight?
But at that moment, Lilia frowned and said, “Old fellow, what do you mean by this? My teacher is a Windstorm Sword Hero. You want him to have a close combat par with you in such a small circle? You might as well ask him to tie his four limbs and fight you.”
After Zadeh heard this, he remained calm and composed. With a turn of his spear, he continued, “The reason why I’m here is to have a spear arts exchange with Fang Xingjian.
“It won’t be interesting at all for us to chase after each other and fight it out. I’m not interested in such nonsense. Fang Xingjian, if you truly want to have an exchange, fight it out with me using a spear within this circle here.
“Of course, if you’re afraid of death, it’s also fine for you to admit your defeat now.”
Although Zadeh had a fiery temper, he was not an idiot. Although he transcended the speed of sound with the speed of his actions, his movement speed was naturally incomparable to Fang Xingjian, who was a Windstorm Sword Hero. Even if he knew of secret arts which could allow him to both abruptly unleash sneak attacks and far distance attacks, he did not have absolute confidence to defeat Fang Xingjian if they were in the process of a chase.
It would be truly unsightly if, during the spar, Fang Xingjian relied on his quick movement speed such that his attacks were not able to reach him, resulting in a draw.
Seeing how composed he looked, Lilia was so angered that her tooth itched. However, she could not think of any words to refute.
At that moment, Fang Xingjian had already come out from the Reflection Chamber. He stepped into the circle drawn by Zadeh and with a burst of strength from his hand, he had already snatched a longsword from the hands of one of the students with the force field created by ether particles.
“Having an exchange is not a problem, but compared to using a spear, I still prefer the sword. Today, I shall use a sword in the place of a spear to have a spar with you, Instructor Zadeh.”
“Using a sword in place of a spear?” Zadeh’s eyes narrowed, as if the edge of a sharp blade was flickering in his eyes.
As the saying goes, an inch longer is an inch stronger. In such a small circle, a two meter long spear could basically attack wherever the user wanted. But to think that Fang Xingjian had actually wanted to use a one-meter plus longsword to spar against Zadeh. Would he not be putting his opponent into an even more advantageous position? It was truly, extremely dangerous.
“Very well, Fang Xingjian you’re truly excellent. In such a small circle, neither running nor escaping, you would use a steel sword to fight against my long spear. Your spirit is truly great. If you don’t die here today, your accomplishments in the future would definitely surpass mine.” “For us Knights, we only emphasized on a single thing during cultivation. Similar to the ferocious stab of a huge spear, we emphasized on advancing courageously never looking back. Once you set your mind onto something, even ten thousand horses do not have the power to pull it back.
“Since you are not afraid of death, how could I be afraid of stabbing you to death?
“If you managed to win this battle today, I’ll admit that I’m not your opponent, and regardless of what you do in the academy in the future, I will not stop you.”
After saying that, Zadeh’s eyes snapped shut as his eyes and face sank in. His killing intent from earlier vanished completely in an instant. He had gathered all his killing intent and will to battle together, waiting for an opportunity to unleash them explosively in the next moment…
It was akin to a quiet volcano when it had yet to explode, such that people could even travel there and live in the vicinity. It was akin to the calm before a storm, where not even a single ocean wave could be seen on the water’s surface.
But the moment the explosive force was unleashed, be it a volcano or storm, it would destroy everything in the vicinity.
However, at the same time, Zadeh closed his eyes. Ferdinand interjected from the side, “Instructor Zadeh, you came here just like that, one-sidedly calling for a fight without any warning, declaring that if you were to lose, you won’t come looking for trouble in the future. Isn’t this a bit unfair?”
Zadeh coldly stated, “What do you want then?”
Ferdinand smiled, “Although Xingjian did not charge us anything for guiding us in our martial arts, he had made it a requirement for each of us to give him a sword technique manual not found in the academy. Instructor Zadeh is one of the senior instructors in the academy, a top notch Knight...Your status is something which cannot be compared with us students.…”
Ferdinand obviously was betting heavily on Fang Xingjian’s victory. Not only did he know that Fang Xingjian’s sword technique had already reached the state of Interlinked Forces, during this period when Fang Xingjian had guided him on his martial arts, Fang Xingjian’s had a disposition which was exuded from within his body.
The reason he was stepping out now was to vie for more advantageous conditions for Fang Xingjian. It was evident that he, as well as his clan, had already decided to stand by Fang Xingjian side completely.
Zadeh impatiently spoke, “I don’t ever collect sword techniques manuals nor, do I have such things in my possession. How about this, if I were to lose, I will give you an Empire’s Divine Weapon?”
Ferdinand had wanted to bargain for more, but Fang Xingjian shook his head, saying, “Alright, Ferdinand, that’s enough. There’s no need to be so calculative over the minor gains or losses. Instructor Zadeh, make your move.”
Zadeh’s countenance suddenly turn grim. He had obviously closed both his eyes, emanating no trace of killing intent, but he had given the surrounding spectators an incomparably oppressive feeling, as if it was the final few seconds before the start of a battle between two armies.
The next instant, it was as though lightning struck from the heavens. Zadeh’s longspear emitted a chilly glow, piercing towards Fang Xingjian as if it was a rocket.
As this spear thrust out, a sonic boom manifested, creating a white-colored wave of air current. Layers of Reduced Force Field enveloped the spear, pushing the longspear as if they were a rocket booster.
The distance between the two of them was not even two meters, and the speed of this spear attack was extremely fast as well. Almost no one around could even react when the distance between Zadeh’s spear tip was just less than an inch away from Fang Xingjian’s chest.
If this spear really penetrated through, a huge cavity would appear in Fang Xingjian’s body, utterly destroying his entire internal organs. Neither the Reduced Forced Field nor the Knight attire would not be of any help.