Child of Destiny

…

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Shin and Randel exchanged a series of blows a few more times as per Professor Henry’s instructions.

During these exchanges, Randel would engage Shin in intense melee before suddenly using the unique method to disappear from the latter’s perception and ‘killing’ Shin in the process.

Shin had never found the secret behind this technique, which somewhat frustrated him. But he still kept his calm and maintained a sharp mind during all these exchanges.

Even though he was unable to fully break this technique, he at least had some means to protect himself this time around.

He might not be able to fully counter such an unpredictable attack, but he could at least survive once or twice against it.

The trick he did was to further shank his Spiritual Sense, only limiting it to a meter around him. This then created a layer of Mentalism Energy on the surface of his body, which produced a triple-layer sensory defense.

The first layer was the Sensing Circle that he had established a meter around him. Then came the second layer: a violent aura blazing around his body, followed by a layer half a foot thick on the surface of his skin.

This triple-layer of sensory defense informed him about anything that passed through them.

If he could not sense those attacks through a single layer of defense, then what about three layers of it?

Then he would rely on his insanely fast reaction speed, which was provided by his Immediate Response Combat Talent, which was already on the verge of breaking through to another level.

However, the method he had just found was still far from ideal, which was why he was still being ‘killed’ whenever Randel made his move.

On the other hand, the fact that he could now survive once or twice from those eerie ambushes was more than enough to reach the initial goal for this training.

…

Watching from the side, Professor Henry could not help but chuckle when he saw how Shin was able to solve the initial problem without requiring any assistance or clues from him.

“Truly an amusing fellow. He always finds a way to escape his predicament whenever he is in battle. The harder the battle, the more beneficial it is for him. Truly worthy of being a Battle Genius,” he commented while watching the exchanges between Shin and Randel.

Given how Shin was able to create such a method after a dozen or so exchanges with Randel, Professor Henry could not help but think of how much suffering Shin had encountered within the game.

After all, he could fully see that Shin must have encountered such attacks for more than dozens of times to be able to reach the current answer that he had come up with.

Even though the method that Shin had found was not the ideal answer that he was looking for, he at least found a way to survive against such an attack now.

“It is quite an effective method so long as he can perfect it,” the professor nodded his head slightly after watching the exchanges between the two for a few more times before shaking his head. “Unfortunately, it is not the most efficient way to deal with this problem.”

He then turned to Selena, who was quite focused on the ongoing battle, before asking. “What do you think, Selena?”

Selena still kept his focus on using her special ability to keep Randel’s bloodlust in control while answering. “Junior Shin is indeed amazing to be able to reach such a conclusion under such pressure from Senior Randel.”

“It is quite an amazing method as well,” she paused for a moment, thinking about something, before continuing. “He has such a monstrous Willpower and even possesses an overwhelming Mental Energy.”

“Unfortunately, such a method will still put quite a lot of toll on his mind and body if he keeps this up for extended periods.”

She thought for a moment, organizing her thoughts, before adding. “This technique can become a peerless technique once it fully matures, but the downside remains the same. It consumes too much concentration and energy, so it can only be a secret auxiliary move that can turn certain situations around, but it can’t be used in prolonged battles.”

“Overall, so long as he can defeat the opposing party within a certain period, such a technique is still quite good and effective.”

Hearing her answer, Professor Herny could not help but chuckle one more time and nod. “You are right. This is why this junior of yours is extremely talented in this area.”

Selena hesitated for a moment before turning to the old professor and asking. “Professor, since you have mentioned the Six Desires and Seven Emotions to Junior Shin, are you planning to teach him the ‘Heart Realm Technique’?”

Professor Herny did not immediately answer and just asked. “Do you know why your junior chose our department when he joined the academy?”

Hearing this, Selena could not help but fall into deep thought, trying to figure out the answer. She only knew that Shin was among the batch of geniuses who were chosen to be under the special program of the academy as a form of preparation for the upcoming Hundred Empires War and Battle Supremacy in the next few years.

However, the exact reason why Shin had chosen their department was still a mystery for her. After all, young geniuses meant to choose the other more famous departments of the academy, such as the Combat Department and the Auxiliary Department.

All she could do was guess that Shin only wanted to learn under Professor Henry after hearing about him from an elder of the Springfield Family.

Realizing this, Selena shook her head in response to Professor Henry’s question.

Seeing this, the old professor smiled and answered the question for her. “He wants to learn how to achieve the complete unification of Martial Arts and Mentalism from me.”

“Eh!? This-…” Selena was completely taken aback when she heard this.

She knew that their Research Department only accepted odd students who were learning strange techniques and practicing odd disciplines, which was why she suspected that Shin was someone like them, but she did not expect that this junior was as ‘strange’.

A moment later, she seemed to have realized something from the words that the old professor had said. “Eh!? Could it be-…”

Before she could even complete her words, Professor Hery had already admitted it. “That’s right. I am planning to make him study that special method of mine.”

She then saw a nostalgic expression on the old professor’s face, who suddenly mumbled to himself. “His parents have achieved my dreams in a different sense, but their son may be able to completely realize it.”

Selena might not be able to hear his words, but she could at least tell that Professor Henry was planning to nurture Shin as a successor of his unique combat methods.

…

After letting Shin and Randel continue for a while longer, Professor Henry finally signaled them to stop. “Alright, I think that should be enough for today.”

Hearing his words, Shin and Randel swiftly disengaged from the battle retrieve their stance.

Randel looked at Shin with an appreciative look before making his remark. “Pretty good, junior. Come again some other time. Let’s have a quick spar again, but without these restrictions.”

Shin also liked the idea and responded. “Please take care of me by then, Senior.”

It was at this moment that Professor Henry walked over, along with Selena, who showed some exhaustion on her face.

Shin immediately noticed this and quickly realized that the role that Selena had played in this sparring session was more significant than he had originally thought.

Professor Henry smiled at Shin before dismissing both Randel and Selena. “You can go back and rest for now. Let me review the gains of your junior for now.”

“We understand, Professor.”

Then, two left the training room swiftly after, leaving Shin and Professor Henry behind.

Then the old professor turned back at Shin and asked. “What do you think? Have you gotten what you wanted?”

Shin went silent for a couple of moments, organizing his thoughts, before shaking his head. “I may have developed a trick to protect myself against such methods, but it is still far from being enough.”

“I can only guard myself, but I have yet to understand the secret of such a secret method from Senior Randel, which can also help me in other areas,” he added.

He then paused for a moment before continuing. “Moreover, the technique that I have developed is too inefficient in such combat. It is too demanding both for my mind and body, which can greatly affect my performance in a prolonged battle.”

“This technique can only be used on certain occasions, but not in such a demanding battle. Once I encounter someone with a bad match-up against my style, then I will only exhaust myself in battle and put myself in danger.”

Professor Herny nodded his head in satisfaction when he heard how Shin had evaluated himself and his technique.

He then continued. “That technique of yours is quite good as well. Once you have completed it and fully mastered its state, you will have yet another trump card to deal against troublesome opponents.”

“You have found such a good answer for the problem at hand, but it is still far from what I want to teach you,” he added before saying. “Now, let me show you something interesting.”

…