Chapter 075: The First Sparring Match with Weapons

Afternoon.

The two of them stood several meters apart, facing one another as the sparring began.

Li Gang stepped forward, launching a straight punch. As Lin Yan sidestepped to evade, she realized that the punch was merely a feint. The true attack followed—a left uppercut from Li Gang’s other hand. Lin Yan twisted her body again, narrowly dodging the blow. With her right hand, she formed a locking grip and seized Li Gang’s left wrist joint, exerting force with her fingers.

Li Gang cried out in pain, yanking his hand back and then swiftly retreated with a maneuver from the Eight Steps of the Wandering Dragon, feinting a withdrawal only to close the distance again, seeking an opportunity to counterattack.

Yet it was as if Lin Yan could read his moves. Her hands moved with astonishing agility, employing joint-locking techniques that targeted vulnerable spots. In just a few moves, she reversed the situation and, using her whole body’s subtle strength, flung him three or four meters away.

Li Gang rolled to his feet. His arms were mottled with bruises of blue and purple. If not for his formidable physical condition—even his joints were several times tougher than the average person—Lin Yan’s ruthless techniques would have crippled his arms.

Of course, if Lin Yan had been just a fraction more precise and merciless, his arms would have been disabled in mere seconds.

Li Gang knew she had held back, not using her full strength.

The grappling techniques Lin Yan used weren’t basic ones; they were honed through real combat, infused with her own insights, and perfectly suited to her. Trying to break free with counter-grappling was still beyond Li Gang’s abilities.

Still, he persisted. This was a crucial step in improving his combat skills.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

The next ten minutes were reserved for weapon sparring.

Li Gang held a sturdy wooden saber, similar in style to the broadsword he usually trained with. Lin Yan wielded a wooden sword, resembling her treasured steel longsword.

This was the first time the two had ever crossed weapons in practice.

For Li Gang, among all his skills—broadsword, firearms, close combat—he was least familiar with the broadsword. It was the discipline he’d practiced the least, or hardly at all.

So as they faced off, Li Gang’s heart was pounding. This was his weakest area.

“Why are you hesitating? Waiting for me to make the first move? Think carefully—when I attack first, you’ll only be beaten more harshly.” Lin Yan’s tone was cold as she watched Li Gang, who stood motionless, knife in hand.

At her words, Li Gang braced himself, cast aside his hesitation, and charged forward, bringing his blade down in a direct chop.

Lin Yan dodged with her sword.

Li Gang’s attack shifted, transitioning to a horizontal sweep.

Lin Yan continued to evade, moving with remarkable agility and still refraining from striking. Clearly, she wanted to gauge how far Li Gang had come with the broadsword before engaging.

When his initial attack failed, Li Gang gripped the weapon with both hands and pressed forward, chaining together chops, slashes, and parries with impressive momentum.

What surprised him was how fluid the movements felt in actual combat—despite only knowing the basics.

There were reasons for this.

First, the broadsword, especially this machete-like type, is easy to handle. Even someone without training can swing such a weapon at an enemy.

Second, as Lin Yan had said, Li Gang was well-suited to using bold, straightforward weapons like this. Whether it was heavy arms, rapid-fire drills, military boxing, or the Eight Steps of the Wandering Dragon, he picked things up quickly.

Third, combat intuition and actual combat experience are interconnected. Li Gang had been training relentlessly, refining his techniques, never allowing himself to slack off. Over time, he developed his own sense of battle, enabling him to master a new weapon with remarkable speed.

On the field, Lin Yan’s movements were nimble and unpredictable. Li Gang’s attacks all missed, never once touching her.

After half a minute, once Lin Yan had discerned the pattern of his techniques, she struck.

A single thrust landed lightly on Li Gang’s chest. As she withdrew, she flicked the sword at his wrist, then stepped back several paces to create distance.

The outcome was decided in an instant.

A thrust to the chest, for Li Gang, who always wore a new-model JGS bulletproof vest, was harmless. Not even Lin Yan’s steel longsword could pierce it, let alone a wooden sword.

This life-saving vest did enhance his survivability. But now, with all Chosen Ones having access to comprehensive healing, many places once considered fatal were no longer so. Only the head remained truly vulnerable; a headshot would be fatal, regardless of how many healing chances one had.

“In fact, I had plenty of opportunities to strike your throat or your eyes. Even with a wooden sword, a hit to those places would incapacitate you. In future combat, you must guard such vital points. If you can protect those, your immense stamina will let you recover from almost any other injury. I’ll focus on those spots from now on. Be vigilant; as your strength grows, I may not be able to hold back. You might have to use a healing chance during training. Once is fine, but using it often would be a waste,” Lin Yan instructed, analyzing the brief encounter.

As long as the body’s few vital points were protected, all other injuries could be instantly healed.

Li Gang nodded, then charged with the wooden saber for another round with Lin Yan.

Their ten-minute weapon spar ended quickly.

Because Li Gang’s performance in the 120-meter rapid-fire drill that morning had satisfied Lin Yan, she granted him free rein in training until 6:30 the next morning.

Of course, the afternoon couldn’t be spent on leisure or rest—only training, though he could choose the focus. She wouldn’t interfere.

With her instructions given, Lin Yan went off to train alone.

Li Gang spent the first hour practicing military boxing, the Eight Steps of the Wandering Dragon, and basic broadsword techniques—eager to reflect on the sparring, to consolidate his insights and address shortcomings.

For the rest of the day until bedtime—with the exception of preparing dinner with Lin Yan—he devoted himself to refining the Guiding Technique, for now focusing exclusively on the chapters of Speed and Spirit, not yet touching the Stamina section.

He had already mastered the second stage of the Speed chapter, but the Spirit chapter would take more days of hard work to master.

Four days passed in a flash, and it was now about 4 a.m., the thirty-third day since the game began.

Li Gang awoke slowly from his dreams, having only gone to bed around midnight. After four hours of sleep, his energy and spirits were fully restored.

By now, the total number of people eliminated worldwide exceeded 570; over the past four days, only about twenty had been eliminated.

This meant that not only he and Lin Yan had enjoyed a peaceful stretch, but so had the nine thousand or so other surviving Chosen Ones.

Those who had achieved their first kill and received the mysterious gift had likely found a quiet place to focus on the Guiding Technique.

After all, in these early stages, if someone is being hunted but has no intention of fighting back—only fleeing—the odds of escape are quite high. It’s hard enough to kill one, let alone ten, to earn a second mysterious gift.

Even those who wanted that second reward would find it not worth the risk; better to master the Guiding Technique first.

Generally, anyone who had undergone comprehensive healing—unless exceptionally dull—could master the first stage of the Guiding Technique in a day or two, and the second stage within one or two weeks.

Upon waking, the first thing Li Gang did was to call up his personal stats panel.

His current basic stats were:

Stamina: 325
Spirit: 180
Strength: 140
Speed: 162
Total Combat Power: 328

He still had 19 enhancement chances left and 25 comprehensive healing chances.

For his last two choices, he had both times opted for enhancement.

With daily, relentless training, his strength had increased, even without the Guiding Technique, which surprised and pleased him, though it was within reason.

Lin Yan had explained that the growth limit for any of the four basic stats was probably 150; after that, even with the invisible influence of Rule Two, further improvement would be extremely difficult without the Guiding Technique. But before reaching 150, consistent training could still yield decent progress.

These four days had passed quickly—or slowly, depending on perspective. Beyond his routine self-training and practice of the Guiding Technique, he sparred regularly with Lin Yan.

Almost every morning, Lin Yan would spend an hour teaching him military knowledge: types and usage of grenades, how to plant and detect landmines in the wild, and basic survival skills.