Weapon
"That's right." 【Mo Jue】 nodded slightly. "Second 【Senior Sister】 said you once sang the 【Requiem Ballad】 in 【Aurora City】. Do you have any impression of it yourself?"
Chen Ling immediately shook his head. At that time, he was in the "【Loss of Control】" state after his 【Advancement】, and didn't leave the slightest memory behind.
"The 【Requiem Ballad】 is a secret method that fuses intention, spirit, and sound, and then combines it with the extremely special rhythm and tone of this ballad to achieve the effect of appeasing the soul... In terms of difficulty, it is several times harder than the 【True Word】 of the '【Speaking】' skill. The learning conditions are also extremely strict. If you don't have absolutely top-tier talent, it's fundamentally impossible to learn it.
Right now in this world, there are only the four of us senior and junior brothers who can grasp the 【Requiem Ballad】."
"Four?"
As soon as Chen Ling asked, he knew why it was four... After all, 【Fifth Brother】 【Clown】 couldn't even speak. How could they expect him to learn the 【Requiem Ballad】?
"Of course, since we know it, Master definitely knows it too, but we've just never heard him open his mouth to sing it... So strictly speaking, it should be five people. If you, 【Little Junior Brother】, can learn it, that makes six."
Chen Ling nodded slightly, and following the rhythm and tone recorded on the paper, began to practice with 【Mo Jue】:
"I hear the sound of your voice;"
"I smell longing blooming amidst the thorns,"
"I walk from the direction of the setting sun"..."
...
A week's time passed in the blink of an eye.
Clang——!!
A crisp buzzing sound rang out on the arena. A red and a white figure separated at extreme speed, the strong wind from their clash blowing their clothes so they fluttered loudly.
Chen Ling held a 【Long Sword】 in his hand. His pupils, flooding with a faint blue light, reflected Ning Ruyu's movements opposite him. The next moment, that white-clothed figure swept out with astonishing speed!
Chen Ling's eyes narrowed. The 【Long Sword】 in his hand whistled as it split the air, chopping towards the right side. Following a burst of clashing metal, Ning Ruyu's 【Long Spear】 deflected his sword edge, striking dazzling sparks in midair!
In this instant, Ning Ruyu stepped forward like thunder. The 【Long Spear】 in his hand danced like a swimming snake, knocking against Chen Ling's wrist.
Clang——
Another light sound. Chen Ling's 【Long Sword】 flew out of his hand, spinning several times in midair before stabbing upside down into the ground at the edge of the arena.
At the same time, a spear tip flashing with cold glints stopped right in front of Chen Ling's brow. A wisp of strong wind blew past, and the tips of his hair swayed lightly with the wind.
The two of them froze on the arena like this for several seconds. Ning Ruyu smiled slightly and put away the 【Long Spear】 in his hand.
"【Little Junior Brother】, it seems the 【Long Sword】 also doesn't suit you..."
Chen Ling looked at the edge of the arena, where various weapons were inserted haphazardly, and let out a long sigh.
This week, he fought with Ning Ruyu every day, and also tried all sorts of weapons. Fighting bare-handed was still somewhat better, but once he picked up a weapon, his movements would become somewhat sluggish. Before they could exchange many moves, the weapon would be knocked away by Ning Ruyu's 【Long Spear】.
When Chen Ling sparred with Ning Ruyu before, neither of them used weapons. And after Ning Ruyu took up the 【Long Spear】, his 【Combat Power】 surged several times over. That spear was exactly like an extension of his body, unbelievably flexible... On the contrary, Chen Ling's 【Combat Power】 not only didn't increase, but was greatly reduced.
"Perhaps, I'm just not suited for using weapons..."
"Not exactly." Ning Ruyu said. "I've carefully observed you these days, 【Little Junior Brother】. Your fighting style is extremely flexible. Whether it's your reaction force that can instantly see through the enemy's movements, your elusive 【Stagecraft】, or your terrifying close-combat techniques, they all provide a very high boost to close-quarters combat.
This destines you to excel even more in close-quarters combat. Therefore, using those long weapons will conversely weaken your advantage, causing your 【Combat Power】 to slide down rapidly, even to the point where it's not as good as bare-handed close combat.
I think weapons like a 【Dagger】 or a short sword will be even more suitable for you."
Ning Ruyu was a senior after all, and his eye for these things was extremely sharp. With his pointer, Chen Ling also realized this problem... When he had fought a few times before, he used exactly a 【Dagger】, and the effect seemed quite good.
"Then I'll change to another weapon and try again."
"It's already late today, let's continue tomorrow." Ning Ruyu looked at the gradually dimming sky and said.
Seeing this, Chen Ling nodded slightly. It was already mealtime. If he continued practicing with 【First Senior Brother】, the other senior and junior brothers would probably have to wait for him.
As Ning Ruyu raised his hand and stored the surrounding scene into the 【Optical Disc】, Chen Ling asked doubtfully:
"【First Senior Brother】, I've already basically mastered the other three basic secret methods... Why haven't you taught me the '【Fighting】' secret method up to now?"
Ning Ruyu laughed heartily, "【Little Junior Brother】, can't wait?"
"Not exactly, just somewhat curious."
"The '【Fighting】' secret method is different from the other three. There are risks to learning it." Ning Ruyu patted Chen Ling's shoulder, "When you've made thorough preparations, I will teach you."
"There are risks?"
Chen Ling froze for a moment. Up until now, whether it was the 【Requiem Ballad】, 【True Word】, or 【Cloud Step】, they could all be mastered with just talent and practice. If you could learn it, you could learn it; if you couldn't, you couldn't... As for risks, he hadn't heard of any.
This also made Chen Ling somewhat curious. What exactly was the origin of this "【Fighting】" secret method?
Chen Ling and Ning Ruyu walked side by side towards 【Third Senior Brother】's room. Right at this time, Chen Ling seemed to have remembered something:
"【First Senior Brother】, do you know about the 【Path of the Sovereign】?"
"【Path of the Sovereign】?"
Hearing these words, Ning Ruyu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is that the 【Divine Path】 that has already declined? Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"I encountered a 【Path of the Sovereign】 in the 【Timeline Save File】, and he's currently hunting me down." Chen Ling sighed. "I want to know if there's any method to deal with him..."
More than a month had passed since he last entered the 【Timeline Save File】. As early as four or five days ago, Chen Ling felt that he could enter it again.
But the problem was, before he came out of the 【Save Point】 last time, that guy from the 【Path of the Sovereign】 was frantically hunting him down. If he hadn't broken away from the 【Timeline Save File】 in time, he probably would have become a corpse long ago... Once he reconnected to the 【Save Point】, he would have to continue facing the 【Path of the Sovereign】's pursuit.
Although Chen Ling could just hold off on going in, raise his 【Rank】 first, and then go fight him, he didn't want to waste so much time that he could be acting within the 【Save Point】 for nothing. What's more, he had already saved up enough 【Audience Expectation Value】 and possessed an opportunity for 【Resurrection】. He felt that it wasn't impossible for him to escape.
After hearing Chen Ling roughly explain the situation, Ning Ruyu rubbed his chin with one hand and fell deep in thought.
"A method to deal with the 【Path of the Sovereign】 huh..."
Ning Ruyu seemed to have thought of something and suddenly turned his head to ask him, "You just said, you encountered him in the 【Timeline Save File】?"
"That's right."
"If that's the case, it's not completely without a way..."