Chapter Seventy-Four: The Art of Battle

  After several hours, Laul, who was severely physically exhausted, dragged the motionless old Liu, who looked like a dead dog, to the shore. It's not really ashore, but just a relatively higher place, because all around are flooded waters. These two guys fought underwater for half a day, and now they've run out of energy and have nowhere to go, so they can only find a nearby place to sit down and rest.

  "Refreshing! So refreshing!" Having barely been attacked, the victorious Rourou sat down on the ground with a thud, bursting into laughter. Beside him, Old Liu, half dead and half alive, spat out bitter seawater in big mouthfuls, but his mind was exceptionally clear. He let out a bitter laugh and said weakly: "I'm really f**king stupid, asking for punishment myself..."

  Raul looked at Old Liu, but smiled and said: "How is it? After this battle, you feel much more comfortable! Initially condensing into a furious beast, generally can't control this violent power. Can only through nearly exhausted consumption, to make oneself from the violent wake up, and only in this way, can constantly grind their own consciousness hidden anger soul, until completely control it!"

  It seems that you are quite pleased with yourself. Old Liu was shocked to the point of vomiting blood, and as he turned his thoughts around, he wanted to take a look at the state of his own demonic soul, but what he saw was an extremely unbelievable scene. The evil god's power, which had always been dormant within him like a tyrant, suddenly began to move on its own initiative, without his guidance, and in perfect coordination, it absorbed the thunder force and magma force, transforming them into a faint, weak evil god's power. This process was many times more comfortable than when he used to endure the intense pain of cutting flesh and scraping bones to transform his abilities, although there was still some pain involved. However, the feeling it gave Old Liu was not as strong as the blow dealt by Laural, nor the numbness and weakness that followed.

  "Could it be, could it be that this is the true way to cultivate the power of the evil god? ... Self-torture?" Old Liu's eyes widened in shock, and he was stunned for a while before banging his head on the ground, finally speaking with tears streaming down his face: "My heavens, what kind of sin have I committed?! If only I had known earlier, why would I have suffered so much?!"

  On the other side, the high priest who sensed Liu's emotional fluctuations was also depressed and thought: "I really don't know this, I haven't practiced it either."

  The tragic old Liu was speechless.

  Raul didn't know why Old Liu was crying, and thought the kid had finally come around, so he happily patted Old Liu's back and said with a smile: "How is it? Have you been enchanted by the power of being unmatched in the world, who else but me?! Haha, just like I used to be! Although at first, it was indeed a bit uncomfortable, but as long as you have that unyielding faith in your heart, and the fearless warrior spirit, you can quickly tame it and make it your deadly weapon. Bringing you immense pleasure and endless thrill! Hehe, under our iron fist, no matter how many magic tricks or methods the opponent has, we just need to stick to our own faith, merge our spirit into the martial arts, and with one punch, shatter all the enemy's spells, annihilate everything, tangible or intangible, even the ghostly bodies, in an instant! No matter what it is, as long as you remember, I am the strongest, that's enough!"

  "This is the most difficult and strongest martial art on the path to divinity? Indeed, it's enough for a man, enough for a grandpa. If this were in my world, this kid would definitely be a believer of Spring Brother!" Old Liu thought to himself.

  Lao Liu rested for a while, regained some strength, and was able to stand up and move around. Old Liu also wanted to sit up and exercise his body, to recover as soon as possible. But as soon as he lifted his arm, the injured muscles on his body were triggered, and all sorts of hidden injuries flared up at once, numbness and pain surged in, causing Old Liu to grunt and fall back onto the ground, twisting his mouth and gasping for air, looking utterly disheveled.

  "Kid, it seems you don't often fight like this. You don't even know how to adjust your body, keeping your energy expenditure at a certain point, so it won't collapse with exhaustion. It's because of your wrong approach that you're feeling tired, numb, and even sore now. This not only affects your ability to act, delays your recovery time, but also gives your enemy an opportunity to easily kill you. Looks like I need to teach you these things. This is a warrior's life insurance, something you must learn." Laul said with a serious tone, looking at Old Liu who was grinning from ear to ear.

  "Compared to you, I'm indeed a clumsy rookie." Old Liu said with a bitter smile. After much effort, he finally stood up again, swaying and staggering to the energetic Lao Er's side, looking at the land below that was ravaged by the floodwaters, hesitantly saying: "It seems that the Sea Clan has launched an attack, the battle is about to begin. Brother Lao Er, what do you think we should do next?"

  "No. The battle has already begun, a long time ago." A strange light flickered in Raul's eyes, and although he spoke calmly, it gave Old Liu a feeling that there was more to his words.

  Old Liu hesitated for a moment and then said with some doubt: "Lao Rui big brother, aren't you worried about the others?"

  "Since it's a war, it can't be helped that some people will die. I've already given them the opportunity to escape, whether they can seize it or not depends on themselves." Raul's face didn't change expression at all, and he said calmly: "If they survive, they'll definitely go to the battlefield to wait for us. Dying on the battlefield is every warrior's honor."

  "I remember the barbarians in Mangshan said the same thing. Glory? Is this really more important than one's own life?……” Old Liu, who had no faith, found it hard to understand these people's way of thinking, and could only silently stare at the surging floodwaters below his feet, not knowing what else to think."

  "Enough rest, we should get going too. Kid, follow me closely and keep up with my pace. I think I can teach you a lot on this journey." Raoul said with a smile, savoring the taste of his words. Old Liu was about to ask how they would proceed when he saw Raoul's toes twitch, exert a slight force, and his body shot out like an arrow leaving a bowstring, already appearing on a branch of a giant tree. Before the branch could fully support his weight, his feet pushed off again, propelling him tens of meters forward, landing on another massive tree's branch. He was using the dense giant trees in the Gaya Rainforest to jump and traverse through the forest with incredible speed, just like a ninja from the Fire Shadow, completely disregarding the raging torrent below, and his speed was several times faster than ordinary running. In just a few breaths, Raoul had already traversed seven or eight miles, leaving Old Liu stunned and far behind.

  "Isn't it? I'm not that high-end!" Old Liu wailed, seeing Raul suddenly stop on a giant tree and turn his body to look at him, as if waiting for him to follow. Old Liu had no choice but to grit his teeth and pounce towards the big tree, and as expected, he slipped underfoot, lost his balance, and with a splash, fell into the floodwaters.

  "Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" Old Liu suddenly looked up to see Lao Er standing beside him. The beastman warrior was gazing at him coldly, and before Old Liu could even ask a question, he began speaking: "As warriors, we need to fight against our enemies in different situations and locations. First and foremost, you must observe your surroundings, take note of the terrain beneath your feet, and think about how to utilize it to maximize your combat effectiveness. If you can't do this, you'll never become a qualified warrior! You'll only end up as someone else's prey."

  Lao Liu was unhappy in his heart, gritted his teeth, quickly climbed up the tree, and said seriously: "The previous one was just a mistake, next time I will be careful."

  "Watch my movements carefully, remember the rhythm of my progress. We don't have time for nonsense, can't waste a single moment." Raul said, and once again used the power of the swinging branches to jump out. Although it was only an instant, Old Liu watched with utmost seriousness, calculating in his mind: "To accurately position myself in one direction, I can also do that. But how does he control the magnitude of force? Is it by using the elasticity of the branches or his own jumping ability? Or both? No, this should be related to one's body shape and weight, I need to try again."

  Old Liu was indeed a bit of material, although the experimental results still failed, he gradually tried out his footwork and gradually grasped the force required for each step. He adjusted himself according to the size of the branches where he landed. Slowly, he could also display the steps of jumping and flying between the branches, but it still looked a bit awkward. Every time he fell, he would slightly shake, and his center of gravity seemed very unstable, completely incomparable to Laul's effortless performance.

  "Good, you've already learned some of the essentials. As for how to master them, that's up to you to study on your own. This skill mainly requires a lot of practice." Raul, who had intentionally slowed down his pace, nodded in approval as Old Liu caught up with him, and reminded him, "Relax, no need to be so tense. In battle, if your emotions fluctuate too strongly, it will affect your judgment."

  Although Old Liu didn't know why Lao Er was suddenly so enthusiastic about teaching him all these things, as a rookie he also knew that these skills were beneficial and harmless to him, learning them would absolutely not be a bad thing, and at critical moments they could even save his life. So he learned with such dedication. Now that he had stopped, the whole person felt a kind of relaxation after a big exam was over, whether it was mentally or otherwise, everything gradually relaxed, even the tense muscles loosened up a bit.

  "Did you feel it?" Raul asked Lao Liu with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

  "What?" Old Liu looked around, but didn't see anything. It was strange, but then he saw a layer of ripples suddenly appear in the turbulent floodwaters, and vaguely, something seemed to be moving underwater.

  "Every living being, regardless of strength or weakness, has a peculiar aura surrounding its body. If your intuition is sharp enough and you focus on sensing it, touching that aura, you can see the things hidden in the dark, unknown to others. Try it!" Raul instructed patiently beside him, like a dedicated teacher, striving to pass on his experience to Old Liu, who was determined to cultivate this novice, ignorant of combat arts, into a qualified hunter.

  "Look carefully, look carefully... why does it sound so familiar?" Old Liu closed his eyes and entered a state of self-hypnosis, following the guidance of Labor, slowly opening up his mind to touch that strange atmosphere. Gradually, the dark space seemed to brighten, as if the black cloth covering it had been lifted, giving Old Liu a vague feeling. Although he was closing his eyes from start to finish, after the black cloth was lifted, he could see the 360° surroundings, and with his focus, the picture gradually became clear, just like really using his eyes to gaze at it. This feeling was different from when he usually entered his own subconscious, where one was internal, and thoughts could freely come and go, seeing everything he wanted to see. The other was external, requiring him to slowly search, transforming gray areas into colorful hues and vibrant images. The spiritual impact transmitted to the visual surface could make people feel a kind of unspeakable shock. The feelings brought by these two were fundamentally incomparable.

  "What's that thing, yeah, that thing, what is it?" After getting familiar with it, Old Liu gradually expanded his spiritual energy, no longer limited to his surroundings, but instead turned to more distant places. Although this made the scenery he saw increasingly blurred and hazy, he also continuously discovered new and strange things. It was a very peculiar existence, vague and unclear, like a thin gauze covering every living being's body surface. He had it on himself, Labor had it on him, even small insects attached to tree branches and leaves had it. Although they were different in strength and size, they could allow people to directly explore their location, feel the other person's emotions at that moment. Letting people understand whether he was tense with anger, excited and agitated, or unrestrained and carefree. This layer of mysterious outer shell, or gauze, should be what Labor called an aura.

  When Old Liu followed this exciting impulse, filled with a fierce and violent atmosphere, he found the creature swimming freely in the flood, and immediately observed its true form. It was a huge, terrifying sea monster with a ferocious appearance. At this moment, the sea monster was swimming freely in the flood, stirring up large amounts of mud, devouring the fish that were washed away by the current, or the corpses of magical beasts that had drowned in the floodwaters. It was eating with great relish, clearly having not had such a satisfying meal in a long time.

  "I saw it!" Old Liu excitedly opened his eyes, grasped Raul's hands and said: "Clairvoyance, I've been wanting to learn this for a long time. Haha, from now on, we won't have to worry about sneaking peeks at anything."

  "Great, you're learning fast, it seems like you have a natural talent for this." Raul didn't know what Old Liu was so excited about, he just nodded and calmly said: "Then let's move on to the next stage. Now, use your fastest speed to kill that Sea King Beast. Let me see how strong you really are!"

  "What?" Old Liu heard and became depressed again.