Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

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That's hilarious, I couldn't beat her at all.

Gathering her courage, Lin Ning suddenly leapt out from her hiding place, sprinting at full speed with the Shifting Technique!

But then, suddenly her foot gave way, as the Impact Curse struck her right knee.

If Yan Yu hadn't held back and had used his full True Yuan, that strike would have been strong enough to shatter her kneecap.

Instantly losing balance, Lin Ning slumped to the ground at an angle, looking blankly at the sky with an expression that had lost all "I can make a comeback" determination, and only showed bewilderment of "Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?"

"Still too green, Little Lin Ning," a face appeared in her field of vision, it was Yan Yu crouching down beside her, looking at her with a playful expression.

Lin Ning no longer had the strength to correct how he addressed her; she simply continued to gasp for breath and stare at the sky, before finally blurting out in a daze,

"Where exactly did I go wrong?"

"If you really want to know, there were problems everywhere," Yan Yu offered her a hand to help her up. "Let's do a post-mortem."

Lin Ning stood up silently, dusting off the dirt from her back.

"You were very aggressive at the start," Yan Yu said with a laugh. "Though it was a bold style, it wasn't wrong because against an opponent superior in every aspect, playing it safe means certain defeat, whereas taking extreme risks may lead to a chance of winning."

"Of course, it doesn't mean that just going all out guarantees victory. At most, it turns the situation into muddy waters where neither side can perform steadily, and then it's a bet on 'a slim chance of me performing exceptionally well while he slips up.'"

"However, after several setbacks in your attacks... well, I feel it started with the 8th assault, you began to doubt your aggressive strategy due to a string of failures which shook your confidence, and thus, you switched to a more cautious approach: hiding, watching, and waiting for opportunities."

"Is that a bad thing?" Lin Ning asked weakly.

"Not at all," Yan Yu replied, "it varies from person to person."

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"For me, the more time you give me, the more easily I can move to a position more favorable for me. Speaking of which, did you notice? Ever since you changed your strategy, every place we fought at was an environment unfavorable for you."

"Yes," Lin Ning said with a wry smile. "But I thought it was because I lost too much, and my combat condition had deteriorated."

"If you'd observed carefully, you'd have noticed that after that it was I who was moving, and you were just being led by me," Yan Yu said with a grin.

"By choosing to hide and not making a move straight away, you gained the initiative of 'when to fight,' that is, 'the right moment'; however, every advantage has its downside, and by giving up the initiative of 'where to fight,' the 'geographical advantage,' you handed it over to me, didn't you?"

"Indeed," Lin Ning fell deep in thought.

This self-reflection and contemplation were precisely the response Yan Yu wanted to see.

So, Yan Yu stayed silent until Lin Ning's expression gradually turned into one of understanding, then she turned to him again and asked,

"Am I not suited to this strategy? What I mean is, I feel like Ling Yun is probably better at it."

"It's the same answer: it varies," Yan Yu analyzed. "Chen Lingyun doesn't react as quickly as you. If you have her use a reckless, all-out offensive strategy, she might only be able to perform flawlessly with the initial sneak attack, and will be hit in every subsequent exchange."

"Who talks like that," Lin Ning immediately laughed, "are you trying to provoke a fight by trash-talking? Ling Yun is not that weak; I'm not going to fall for your tricks."

"I'm not praising you by putting her down; I'm just stating the facts," Yan Yu shook his head. "Her strength lies in having a well-thought-out plan before taking action, methodically forcing the enemy into a corner under her control, which is exactly where you fall short... of course, I'm not saying you're not smart, given that your high school grades speak for themselves."

"I think you're simply better suited to direct assaults and strong offensive tactics, that's all."

"I understand," Lin Ning nodded.

"No, you don't have to take my word for it," Yan Yu added, "You should also think for yourself about what kind of fighting style suits you best."

"No need," Lin Ning insisted, "I actually don't like hiding around, unable to find opportunities, and then when I finally take a shot, I end up getting hit... It's better to just charge forward from the start. How about we go again?"

"Let's rest for a while; I'll go check how they're doing with their training," Yan Yu said.

"I'll come with you," Lin Ning hurriedly said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The two left the training area and went to where Chen Lingyun and Zhao Yuanzhen were sparring, only to see Chen Lingyun writing the character "正" on the nearby blackboard.

"With that, it's five to five for now," she said with a beaming smile.

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Yan Yu stared at the two blackboards on both sides, each bearing the character "正", his mouth unintentionally gaping open before he incredulously turned to look at Zhao Yuanzhen.

No way, sister! Sister Zhao! You're a proper cultivator, aren't you? How did you end up tying five to five with the mere Chen Lingyun?

"I..." Zhao Yuanzhen opened her mouth to object, "This is a real combat drill, not a life-or-death fight, I obviously didn't need to go all out."

"And, I should thank Sister Zhao for going easy on me." Chen Lingyun's smile grew even brighter, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"What's going on with you?" Yan Yu pulled Zhao Yuanzhen aside and asked with a frown, "Even if you were holding back, this is too much, five to five? What the hell kind of sparring was that!"

"Don't you know how restrictive I was?" Since it was a private conversation, Zhao Yuanzhen no longer feigned strength, directly complaining, "Not allowed to use puppets, not allowed to use spells, only the Three Arts and Five Spells allowed, you might as well have tied up my hands and feet to fight her. Do you know how annoying her Runescript can be when she uses it?"

Yan Yu immediately understood.

Got it.

You're like a college student only doing single digit arithmetic, then getting thrashed by a first-grader who has been practicing mental math for months.

That's still embarrassing though! You were Empress Yuanzhen, wah! The Empress Yuanzhen who dominated the scene and forced the entire Lu Country into negotiating with you in your past life, and now you're being mercilessly thrashed by a Jiang Hai Missy. How did things turn out this way!

It couldn't possibly be that I spoiled you into becoming useless, it must be that the Demonic Sect Enchantress got complacent from not being hunted, wasting away, and falling into degeneracy, losing the gutsy determination to fight boldly from your past life.

Zhao Yuanzhen, you have to take full responsibility for this!

Seeing Yan Yu's extremely unpleasant expression, Zhao Yuanzhen felt a bit embarrassed and continued to defend herself:

"Moreover, I'm not good at holding back my strength. What if I use too much force and kill her? Last time with the puppet, I could have disassembled it in a few moves. So, tell me, am I supposed to dismember Chen Lingyun, taking off all her limbs?"

This excuse was somewhat reasonable. Yan Yu was able to defeat Lin Ning (referring to Lin Ning being unhurt) because he had strong control over his True Yuan, capable of directing the Impact Curse to hit a concrete wall with wound depths accurate to the centimeter level—if he aimed for a few centimeters deep, that's exactly what he'd achieve.

But Zhao Yuanzhen hadn't trained for this. Whether it was in the Cultivation World before crossing over, or on Earth after crossing over, this Demonic Sect Enchantress had always gone all out, aiming straight for killing her opponent. Now, to ask her to not injure the opponent, she would indeed feel somewhat at a loss.

In other words, the cultivator who spars with her must be strong enough, strong to the point that she couldn't beat them even if she went full force, only then would the training be effective.

Not by sending a weakling and telling her to control her power and not to harm the opponent. Supposed to only use a third of her strength, the Enchantress instead cut down to one-tenth, and ended up not being able to win.

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Hmm...

Doesn't that mean she still has to spar with me?

Alright, alright, Lin Ning will spar with me, Zhao Yuanzhen will spar with me, Chen Lingyun will also spar with me, guess I'll just be your full-time private male coach 24 hours a day, not sleeping!

The more Yan Yu thought about it, the more irked he felt, and he said with sarcasm:

"Got it, don't spar with her anymore. If there is a contest for finding excuses next time, I'll send you up."

Zhao Yuanzhen was stunned for a moment, and as she came to her senses, she was so angry she nearly crushed her teeth, wishing she could swallow them:

Yan Yu, you little thief! Underestimating my demonic powers, huh?

Wait for the day when I turn the tables, I will surely catch you and thoroughly humiliate you, subjecting you to endless torment!

Although we are cultivation companions, we've been dreaming different dreams in the same bed, from today on, we won't share the same sky!

"Where's Yun Jin?" Lin Ning asked from the side.

"I told her to train by herself in the Barrier Charm training ground," Yan Yu replied, "Not to activate Barrier Charm, but to rely solely on Shifting Technique and Cloud Ascension Technique to dodge liquid bullets shot at her from around."

"Those bullets actually hurt quite a bit if you don't activate a Barrier Charm," Lin Ning shivered and turned to leave, saying, "I'll go find her."

"It's also about time for dinner," Yan Yu glanced at the time, "Lin Ning, call her over, let's all meet up at the school gate. We won't eat in the cafeteria today, we've been training pretty hard recently, let's go out and enjoy something nice…"

"I'm in! I want to eat beef hotpot!" Zhao Yuanzhen immediately raised her hand and shouted, her face flushing with anticipation and excitement, all the resentment and hate wiped away in an instant.