Chapter 195: Kid, How Long Are You Going to Dodge?

Yang Ling's aura surged in an instant.

The Vajra Bright King Technique boosted two of his attributes by 60 points each.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging toward Lu Yunchen at lightning speed.

The Ethereal Steps boosted his Agility by another 48 points!

In his left hand, he wielded the Centenary Refined Vermilion Gold Pickaxe, adding 20 points to Strength.

In his right hand, he held the Jiaogu Saber, adding 10 points to Strength and 10 to Agility.

His Flawless Proficiency in the Tiger-Capturing Saber Technique further amplified his Strength by 9 points and Agility by 9 points.

At this moment, his Strength reached: 166 points!

His Agility reached: 200 points!

In Agility, he was only 8 points behind Lu Yunchen.

But in Strength, he lagged far behind, a full 75 points!

"My Strength might be much lower, but my Vital Qi is thick enough, and my HP is plenty. This is a rare opportunity. I want to see just how big the gap is between me and a Lower Sixth-Rank!"

This was why Yang Ling chose not to dodge and went head-on from the start.

A flicker of surprise passed through the eyes of the martial artists present.

Even Zhao Xun and the Fourth Prince found it unexpected.

Lu Yunchen's current aura was exactly like that of a primordial beast from ancient times.

Facing such a terrifying existence, Yang Ling actually advanced instead of retreating?

Li Huaiyi and the others were all Seventh-Rank. Only at their level did they truly understand how terrifying the strength Lu Yunchen was displaying right now.

"The gap between us and Sixth-Rank... is like a chasm!"

They had originally thought the gap between themselves and Sixth-Rank wasn't that large.

But now they realized they were completely wrong.

It turned out that when a Sixth-Rank got serious, even just the terrifying saber momentum alone was enough to intimidate them!

By now, Yang Ling and Lu Yunchen had clashed. The former executed the Tiger-Capturing Saber Technique, his saber momentum condensing into the phantom of a fierce tiger.

The latter executed the Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique, his saber momentum condensing into the phantom of a giant dragon.

Clang! Clang! Clang!—

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged three to five moves.

After those three to five moves, Yang Ling felt his entire arm going numb.

His entire body was shaken, pores opening wide as if blood was about to seep out.

His internal organs felt like an earthquake and a landslide, a wave of nausea hitting him instantly.

"Such terrifying strength!"

Without a second thought, Yang Ling immediately used the Ethereal Steps to evade Lu Yunchen's follow-up attacks.

In just those few brief exchanges, most of the Vital Qi he had channeled into the Jiaogu Saber had been depleted.

Out of 1500 points of Vital Qi, only a little over 1400 remained.

His HP had also dropped by several dozen points.

That was a full health bar for an ordinary person.

If he really kept fighting head-on like this, he estimated that even his 1500 points of Vital Qi wouldn't hold out for a hundred moves!

"Thank goodness for Vital Qi. Without it, the Jiaogu Saber would have been chopped into scrap metal after just those few exchanges..."

Yang Ling felt secretly relieved. The Jiaogu Saber's attribute boosts were excellent. Before he got better equipment, he couldn't bear to see it destroyed.

At the same time, a strange glint flashed in Lu Yunchen's eyes.

This kid had actually exchanged several moves head-on with him and was still hopping around alive and well?

He grew even more interested, using the Azure Dragon Movement Technique to constantly close in on Yang Ling, intending to keep fighting.

Yang Ling's Agility was only 8 points behind him.

And he was focused solely on evading Lu Yunchen's saber momentum.

He was like a slippery mud eel.

Every time, he managed to slip away just before the saber momentum struck.

The two seemed locked in a contest of wills. Lu Yunchen kept pressing forward, his saber momentum so tight it was like water that couldn't be penetrated.

Yang Ling dodged frantically, making every one of his strikes hit nothing but air.

Only when he absolutely couldn't avoid it would he parry a few times with his blade.

Outside the martial arena, it had fallen into a deathly silence at some point.

Every Ironclad Department agent stared wide-eyed, fixed on the somewhat battered figure inside the arena.

There was no mockery in their eyes, only pure shock and admiration.

Yun Ruo's eyes were filled with disbelief:

"Chief Constable Yang's speed is almost as fast as Uncle's!? His Strength seems to have increased too. Those few strikes earlier—I couldn't even block a single one, but he took them all..."

"Oh no, I forgot to tell him that if he just threw away his blade, Uncle would stop using the Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique too..."

"This bastard really has the skill of a newly promoted Sixth-Rank now... If he used that speed to kill me, he'd succeed every single time..."

Li Huaiyi's scalp went numb, and his gaze toward Yang Ling now carried a hint of fear.

They were both Seventh-Rank, but he realized the gap in their strength was widening!

He wasn't the only one thinking this. All the Seventh-Rank talents from the Ironclad Department who were qualified to enter the Water Qilin Cave felt the same way.

"Chief Constable Yang's strength... seems to be quite a bit higher than mine."

The Fourth Prince watched the figures of Yang Ling and Lu Yunchen locked in combat, then looked at Zhao Xun with slight surprise.

Xu Wuji and Zhao Xun were both carefully observing Yang Ling's methods.

"Fourth Prince, his speed is faster than yours. He's probably stronger than you too, and his Vital Qi is thicker."

Zhao Xun nodded slightly: "This kid should be quite a bit more powerful than you.

The Internal Technique and martial techniques he cultivates can't be higher grade than yours.

So, this kid has a very solid foundation."

He paused, then suddenly laughed:

"Don't feel upset. Your talent can't be weaker than his. You're just restricted by the Imperial Pole Celestial Classic.

Once you break through to Skilled, your future cultivation and techniques will all surpass this kid's."

The Fourth Prince nodded thoughtfully.

But inside, he sighed.

Break through to Skilled? It wasn't that easy.

By now, Yang Ling had held out for over thirty moves against Lu Yunchen.

The various Directors exchanged glances, each seeing the astonishment and admiration in the other's eyes.

"I never thought a backwater place like Changhe Prefectural Capital could produce a genius like Yang Ling."

"He rendered great service in the Water Qilin Cave, severely wounded the Heavenly Wolf Guard, and has skills like this. I'm afraid the next time we see him, we'll have to address him as Lord Yang."

"Tsk, truly remarkable."

A wave of emotion washed over the Directors.

They had trained for years, struggled and climbed through the Ironclad Department, endured countless dangers to reach their current positions.

Compared to this young man decades their junior, their experiences seemed like a joke, not worth mentioning.

In the crowd, Qin Mo strained his eyes, trying to track Yang Ling and Lu Yunchen's movements.

But unfortunately, all he could see were the fleeting images of their exchanges.

Beyond that, the two figures were so fast that if he stared too long, he'd get dizzy.

"Is Brother Yang really a player? Could he be a native of the Divine Realm pretending to be a player?"

A rather absurd thought suddenly crossed Qin Mo's mind.

Yang Ling had no idea what others were thinking. He was completely focused on evading every one of Lu Yunchen's attacks.

If it weren't for his Spirit being a full 160 points, granting him extraordinary perception, he wouldn't have been able to do what he was doing now.

Lu Yunchen had attacked dozens of times with full force, but aside from the initial head-on clashes Yang Ling initiated, ninety percent of the remaining attacks had been dodged by Yang Ling using extremely difficult methods.

Every single dodge was a hair's breadth away!

This feeling of walking a tightrope, Yang Ling actually didn't like it.

"If only I could hide in the shadows and throw flying daggers..."

The thought flickered by.

But Lu Yunchen suddenly stopped, frowning as he looked at Yang Ling:

"Kid, how long are you going to dodge?"

He was a little angry now!

Yang Ling was bewildered: "Director Lu, didn't you say I could dodge as I pleased?"

Lu Yunchen was momentarily speechless: "I did say you could dodge as you pleased, but..."

Yang Ling: "Director Lu, I really can't withstand one of your strikes. I have no choice but to dodge. I'm afraid you'll split me in half with one blow. I haven't even gotten married and had kids yet."

Lu Yunchen suddenly thought of something and immediately said:

"Fine. We'll both stop using blades from now on!"

Yang Ling's eyes lit up: "Deal!"