Child of Destiny

…

Shin stared cautiously at Shaun while assuming his sword-drawing stance. His Spiritual Sense spread outwards as mental energy gathered in his eyes.

A moment later, his pupils suddenly contracted as he hurriedly duck to the side.

Swoosh!

Then a spear suddenly thrust forward as Shaun suddenly appeared in front of him. If he reacted even a second slower, then his chest would most likely be pierced through by that black spear.

Bang!

It was only that moment when he heard the explosive sound of Shaun’s previous step when he launched himself forward followed by the delayed gust of wind that swept forward alongside him.

Shin was about to pull his katana from its sheath when he sensed another threat coming from below. He did not hesitate to put more strength on his legs and feet and swiftly hopped backward.

Swoosh!

Then the tip of another spear sliced through the air in front of his face.

Shaun quickly followed his previous attack by swinging his other spear upward, trying to catch Shin with it. Unfortunately, the latter was able to see through his move ahead of time.

Tap!

Shin’s feet just touched the ground when he suddenly flicked his ankles and propelled himself forward.

At the same time, he was unsheathing the white katana during his flight and about to swing it horizontally.

Shaun instantly saw that and quickly reacted. He borrowed the momentum of his previous move to turn around and threw a back kick at Shin. His target was the arm that was pulling out the katana.

Bang!

Shin was taken aback when that kick connected. Its force was not that strong, but it was quick and accurate enough to land on his forearm. It pushed his arm back which resulted in him being unable to unsheathe the katana.

He did not have the time to dwell on it as his opponent quickly retracted the leg and used force generated by the impact.

Shaun’s back was currently facing Shin. Then he saw the guy leaning back and bent while swiftly stabbing the pair of spears at him.

Shin quickly followed the motion of the incoming spear and bent his back. He also raised his sheathed katana and hit the spears during his action, letting them strike the air above him.

He quickly regained his balance after that and was planning to push forward when he saw the spears there thrown in the air.

He did not have the time to think when he heard the swooshing sound of a fist heading straight to him. If he suddenly raised his body up, then he would be hit by the incoming fist without a doubt.

He decisively let his body continue falling before suddenly slamming the bottom of the sheathed katana on the ground, supporting himself with it.

He then rebounded up before twisting his body in the air while also kicking the incoming fist during the process.

Bang!

Right after his foot and the opponent’s fist came in contact with each other, he quickly used the force generated by the impact to distance himself.

When he landed on the ground once again, he did not quickly resume attacking and just stared at his opponent with a deep frown.

Shin knew what the latter was planning. Shaun wanted to prevent Shin from unsheathing his sword when by engaging in that hand-to-hand combat. If Shin could not unsheathe his sword, then his sword-drawing style was basically useless.

Shin had already learned it before. He encountered such situations multiple times within the game. This was one of the ways to counter sword-drawing art, after all. And Vincent Valentine, also known as Faker within the game, already thought him this lesson.

During those situations, all Shin had to do was maintain a suitable distance where he could freely advance and retreat while executing his sword-draw attacks.

He still did not have a suitable foot technique to perfectly complement this style, but Old Plum and Old Benn had already formulated a temporary one that he could use for the time being.

The current problem was he could not freely attack if he maintained his distance either. His opponent was using spears as the main weapon, which was dominant when it came to mid-range battles.

Moreover, his opponent was using an unconventional style of fighting. Using a pair of polearm weapons was not something that most people would do as it was not only hard but wielding such a pair of weapons could also hinder each other as well as the movements of the wielder.

But from what he could see, this guy, Shaun Livingstone, seemed to be able to do it pretty well. Not only that, but he also seemed to have mastered such a style as well.

‘Is this what the professors are telling us about the Natural Style? One of the requirements that we must achieve before reaching the Ethereal Opening Stage and the peak of Grandmaster Realm,’ thought Shin to himself as he was put in a somewhat difficult dilemma where he could neither maintain a distance nor approach his enemy.

At a time like this, he was starting to miss his Martial Arts, which was currently sealed. If he could use his Yin-Yang Swordsmanship right now, then he would not be having any trouble in this situation.

Thinking about that, Shin could only sigh helplessly before adjusting his posture. If it was before, then he would not have the hope of winning this battle. But right now, he already learned the basic sword technique from the Jade Kirin Scripture, or rather ‘remembered’ the movements that he had somewhat forgotten.

Understanding that he would not be able to freely use the quick-draw style unless there was a perfect opportunity. Shin decided to rely on the thirteen sword movements of the Jade Kirin Scripture even though he had only mastered six of them.

‘I guess I will cover up the gap with my foundation in swordsmanship,’ thought Shin as he pulled out the black katana from its sheath.

The white katana was light and meant for quick attacks, which was why he was usually using it when performing a quick draw. It was the perfect sword for such a style.

But at times, the heavy and sturdy black katana was perfect to use, depending on the situation. And since he decided to use the Thirteen Sword Movements, he thought that he had to use the black katana to at least bridge the gap in terms of strength.

Of course, he could also use the white katana to further increase the speed of his attack, which could also help him in the current situation, especially when he had to get near his opponent as much as he could and nullify the reach advantage of his opponent’s spears.

But he wanted to save it for the latter since he could also use a quick draw attack when the opportunity presented itself.

He might be intending to let himself get captured and be dragged to their base, but that did not mean that he would willing to lose this battle.

No one would want to lose a battle.

Hu~!

Thinking about that, Shin focused his mind as he adjusted his posture once again. This time he strengthened his back and stood straight with one of his feet behind the other. He held the katana with both of his hands while pointing his sword toward his opponent.

The expression on Shaun’s face immediately changed when he saw Shin’s action. Not only that, but he could also feel that the air surrounding the latter somewhat changed, albeit a little.

He was surprised at first but quickly regained his composure. Though, he was starting to get upset because he could not even take care of a kid, who was not only younger than him but also weaker.

“Playtime is over. Let’s wrap this up,” he muttered before quickly disappearing.

He appeared a couple of meters away from Shin and was about to thrust his spear when he saw Shin swinging the black katana vertically.

From his perspective, a gigantic mountain seemed to be crashing down on him while a raging storm was blowing the wind in every direction and was trying to assault him.

This might be an illusion but the pressure that was coming from the attack was real.

The expression on Shaun’s face suddenly turned grave as his body burst out with a much stronger pressure alongside an energy that covered his entire being.

Bang! ｂｅｄ𝚗ｏ𝚟𝚎𝚕.

Shin was pushed back by the sudden outburst while his sword rebounded back before it could even touch his opponent.

At the same time, his face suddenly turned pale as a huge amount of strength in his body.

He had put quite a lot into that previous attack. He had poured as much mental energy into his sword as he could before performing that attack. It was the sixth sword movement that he had learned, and it seemed like he could still not showcase its full potential.

He took another deep breath as he recollected his strength once again before raising his head. He then saw Shaun being surrounded by a purple Qi, which had distinct features that indicated that it was no ordinary Internal Qi.

“That must be his Natural Force,” muttered Shin as he took his stance once again.

This time, the fight would definitely be a tough one. But despite that being the case, he would never back, nor cower.

“Let’s see, how my current mental energy stands against a higher form of Qi,” he muttered as he summoned his mental energy once again.

At the same time, the golden mental energy was suddenly set ablaze by the fire attribute that he recently gained, enfolding his body while dancing along the wind.

…