Chapter 617: Practice Fights

It might have been because the training hall had turned too quiet, but Xiao Lin stopped his actions after a moment, looking at everyone else strangely before continuing his training.

The others exchanged looks with each other, and Yu Mei’s lips curled up into a smile before she loudly shouted at the rest of them, “Do you see that? What I need to see is real results from your training! I don’t care about these petty squabbles! I also need to remind you that the student union president has given me power. Even though you’ve all been registered to participate, before the official tournament, I have the right to switch out any of you! Ah, in truth, a few of you will never be able to fight anyway, so we’ll at least be able to save on the expenses for a few of you!”

Yu Mei had always been a straightforward person, and her words were never intentionally meant to scare anyone. If she dared to actually scare someone, it meant that she really had the right.

The captain was already a very big official in the eyes of the monitors. After the lecture, even Han Manman shut her mouth because the student union had exposed the final rewards for the tournament a few days ago. Just a part of it had already attracted everyone’s attention, making them salivate. No one wanted to be kicked out at this point. Not only would they lose any and all rewards, it would be very humiliating as well.

After the training went past the chaotic first few days, it started to get more orderly. Based on the basic rules that the student union had set, since Dawn Academy had been messed with by the other academies in terms of the rules, they were planning on basically giving up on the secondary professions. Based on Yu Mei’s intentions, the ones who performed the worst would be thrown to the secondary professions, since they did not plan on winning it anyway.

As for the individual fights and the group events, those still needed to be monitored closely, which was why Yu Mei had gathered them to train.

“Based on past experiences, the individual events will usually send out one martial participant and one magical one. From the past battles, mages usually have an advantage against close-ranged fighters. Based on our data, the win rate is as high as seventy per cent.” A fourth-year senior named Bai Ning had spoken. She had a head of short hair, and was thin but seemed to have a body that was full of energy. She seemed very capable.

Yu Mei had looked to her for help, and she had participated in the tournament for new students four years ago. It was a pity that Dawn Academy had been eliminated by Judge Academy in the Top 8 that year. However, she had won her individual event, and Bai Ning had kept her skills up in those few years; she was already at Gold rank in skill. She would be the instructor in individual battles for Xiao Lin and the others.

Yu Mei was someone extremely experienced, but Yu Mei’s specialties lay in war strategies and commanding large-scale battles. She was not suited to solo fights like these tournaments.

Cheng Ming raised his hand and voiced his questions. “Senior Bai, I’m a bit curious. I’m not doubting their abilities, but in individual combat, if both sides are elites, and if the close combatant knows sword aura, shouldn’t the melee fighter have an advantage?”

“There’s no need to be so polite. I’m still a student just like all of you. I was just invited to help out here. Oh, what is your name?” Bai Ning laughed casually, causing most of them to feel closer to the senior.

“I’m called Cheng Ming, the monitor of Class One.” Cheng Ming smiled.

“It’s true that close combatants usually have the advantage when skills are equal; I think the practical combat course you have this semester would have taught you about it. However, that’s just under the conditions of large-scale combat. In a battle between elites, if both of them are in the same situation, mages have a very obvious advantage.” Bai Ning pursed her lips, as if she was mulling over her words. However, she was not a specialized teacher in the end, and after thinking about it, she smiled and said, “How about this? Come try it out with me. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

“Alright, then I’ll give it a shot!”

Cheng Ming was just about to agree, but someone answered even quicker than he did. After that, he looked over at Xiao Lin in confusion.

Xiao Lin helplessly said, “Are you dumb?! She’s at the Gold rank. Even if she suppresses her strength to the lowest, you wouldn’t be able to beat her. You’re not some masochist, so why are you sticking your head out?” The others naturally knew that logic since they did not step out, and Cheng Ming was probably the only one honest enough to stupidly stand out.

“It’s just a sparring session.” Cheng Ming regretfully rubbed his head, but since Xiao Lin had stepped up, he did not press on.

“Senior Bai Ning, please teach me well.” Xiao Lin politely greeted her as he stood in the middle of the hall.

Bai Ning did not know how to react after seeing everything clearly, but she still nodded and praised, “Your swordsmanship was quite good just now. I’ve seen a lot of fourth-years who don’t have their basic movements down so smoothly.”

“Thank you for your praise.”

Since Xiao Lin stood at the ready, Bai Ning did not waste any time speaking. As a senior from the fourth year, she handicapped herself by not using any weapons. Of course, Xiao Lin only had a training sword that had no killing power. In truth, he was looking forward to it. Even though he had encountered a lot of battles in the New World, there were very few chances for pure 1v1 battles, especially with an opponent at such a level.

Since the senior would definitely not make the first move, Xiao Lin went straight for it, thrusting the tip of his sword forward. He was already rushing forward, and pointed his sword upward. That was the most basic technique in swordsmanship.

However, Bai Ning’s smile had frozen in place as her pupils constricted. With her sharp observation skills, she could naturally tell that, while it was still the same basic swordsmanship move, Xiao Lin’s movements were faster, and the angle of the sword was very fierce. He did not plan on letting her cast a spell.

Since it was just a sparring match, Xiao Lin naturally did not use his full strength. He did not even use his Miracle state, and only used his Phantom Steps. However, even without increasing his attributes, his Phantoms Steps already raised his speed to shocking levels. He was only about a hundred meters away from Bai Ning, and he closed the gap in just a few seconds.

Bai Ning’s reactions were not slow either. Her deft hands quickly moved in the air, and a faint gold magic array was quickly formed. Xiao Lin’s blade was fast, and after the clear sound of impact, the training sword bounced a few centimeters away from Bai Ning’s body.