Chapter 178: A Lesson

Blade’s strength was well known to everyone. But Shi Ji didn’t care. To him, no matter how strong his opponent was, they weren’t stronger than him.

In Blade’s eyes, Shi Ji was nothing more than a foolish kid. Being young wasn’t an excuse for arrogance.

When Blade saw Shi Ji draw his blade, he didn’t move. He just stood there.

“Come on, show me what you’ve got.” 

Blade’s words dripped with disdain, even gesturing for Shi Ji to make the first move. He was overflowing with confidence. To him, Shi Ji was bound to charge at him recklessly, just like before.

And for Shi Ji? He never turned down a challenge.

With a casual smile, Shi Ji gave his silver blade a few easy swings, locking his eyes on Blade.

“Never underestimate any opponent, especially me.”

As soon as he said this, Shi Ji leaned forward.

Swish!

In an instant, he vanished from where he was standing. He disappeared as if he’d never been there.

Blade’s eyes widened in surprise. How could Shi Ji move so fast? In the blink of an eye, Shi Ji was already in front of him.

For the first time, Blade felt something was off coming from Shi Ji. He had thought this would be an easy fight, which is why he hadn’t bothered to draw his own weapon. But now? His blade was already in his hand without him even realizing it.

Their swords clashed, sending shockwaves in all directions. The force of their collision created a powerful blast of energy that rippled outward.

Blade’s first impression? Shi Ji’s strike wasn’t just fast. It was incredibly heavy.

‘What’s going on? This feels completely different from last time.’

Blade didn’t have time to think too much.

When it wasn’t necessary, Shi Ji’s fighting style was always about relentless offense. Never retreating.

Shi Ji’s expression remained the same, calm and confident, but Blade’s face had already started to change.

“Third time’s the charm, Blade, but you’re still way off.”

Shi Ji swung his sword again, this time even faster. To Blade, the second strike felt even quicker than the first.

His hurried attempts to parry were ineffective. The moment their blades clashed, Blade’s sword was knocked back instantly. The impact was painfully obvious, felt deeply by Blade with each hit.

“What the…? You little…!”

Blade couldn’t believe what was happening. The two glaring issues? Shi Ji’s speed and his strength.

The battle had barely begun, and Blade was already on the defensive. Shi Ji’s unrelenting attacks left him with no room to counter. Was this really his strength?

It dawned on Blade that he had severely underestimated Shi Ji.

Amid Shi Ji’s barrage of strikes, Blade saw countless blades coming at him. The overwhelming pressure was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was suffocating.

To Shi Ji, Blade’s so-called “sharpness” wasn’t enough. His mindset needed serious sharpening. If not, why else would Blade be struggling to stand his ground?

Each of Shi Ji’s strikes was fast, powerful, and perfectly timed. Blow after blow, Blade simply couldn’t keep up. The relentless rhythm of Shi Ji’s attacks made it impossible for Blade to mount a defense.

Under Shi Ji’s assault, Blade kept retreating, unable to fight back. His blade was pushed back, forced into submission. With each clash, more and more cracks in Blade’s defense became painfully clear, exposing him to even greater danger.

Shi Ji channeled all his strength into his next strike. It was undoubtedly his strongest one yet.

CLANG!

The sound of impact erupted. An invisible force rippled outward in all directions, followed by powerful gusts of wind swirling around them.

Blade was sent flying back. He staggered nearly twenty meters before managing to stop himself.

At that point, Shi Ji halted his offensive, casually resting his long blade on his shoulder.

Blade, an S-rank hero, rarely found himself on the receiving end of such a beating. For someone like him, being pressed this hard should have been humiliating. But as Shi Ji glanced at Blade, he noticed something unexpected. There wasn’t a trace of frustration or anger on Blade’s face. Instead, a faint smile had appeared, and that smile was slowly growing.

It turned into a grin, then soft laughter, and finally erupted into a full, maniacal laugh.

“Hahaha… interesting! Very interesting! Hahaha… looks like I underestimated you after all. Who would’ve thought that a brat like you would have some real skill? You were faking it last time, weren’t you? Was it all part of your plan? Did you know all along that we’d face off like this? So you played dumb, made me think you were just a single-minded fool, and waited for the perfect moment to defeat me? Haha… kid, you’ve still got a long way to go!”

Blade’s eyes sharpened. His body straightened as he regained his composure, and his left hand slowly reached behind his back.

Shing!

Another blade slid free from its sheath, glinting in the light as Blade drew his second sword.

“While you may have exceeded my expectations, your power is still only at the level of an A-rank hero. Kid, I—”

“Alright, alright! Enough with the nonsense!” Shi Ji interrupted, clearly fed up. “Why do people like you always talk so much before a fight? It’s like listening to the same old story until my ears bleed. Is trash-talking really that important? Let me guess, you’re about to say something like ‘you’re not my match’ or ‘you can’t beat me,’ right? Man, I’m so done with this. Why is it that people who are getting beaten down always act all arrogant at first? Always gotta put on a show. Now it’s my time to show off, so can you stop wasting it?”

Blade was momentarily speechless.

Without a word, he raised both of his blades. The light reflecting off their edges made their sharpness evident.

“Kid, I—”

Just as Blade started to speak again, his smug grin vanished in an instant. His eyes widened in disbelief.

He stared at the spot twenty meters ahead where Shi Ji had been standing just a second ago. But now… nothing. No Shi Ji in sight.

“Over here!”

Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out right next to Blade’s ear.

!!!

Blade froze, an invisible pressure weighing down on him.

When… when did this kid…

A flood of emotions surged within him, but there was no time for questions. Blade began to twist his body, preparing to counterattack. Just as he started to pivot, an overwhelming force pressed down on him from behind.

Wham!

Shi Ji didn’t hold back at all and landed a powerful kick squarely on Blade’s backside.

With that single, forceful kick, Blade shot forward like a cannonball. He skidded along the ground, tumbling over and over, sliding nearly a hundred meters before finally coming to a stop after several rough rolls.

The fight was far from over. 

Shi Ji, holding his blade casually,  walked toward Blade, who lay crumpled over a hundred meters away, sprawled on the ground.