Breathing became difficult for Shang. Even though the person in front of him wasn't showing any killing intent, Shang could still feel the sheer power behind him.
However, it wasn't only his power. There was also a certain confidence or willpower inside him.
Shang felt like there was no sense in resisting. It was like his own motivation was suppressed by the sheer pressure of his opponent.
But Shang wasn't a mere teenager.
Shang had gone through a lot of training, and he had also fought on the world stage on Earth. The pressure he had felt back then was even more oppressive than the pressure he was feeling right now.
How? Were his old opponents stronger than the Vice-Dean, Soran?
Of course not.
The circumstances and eventual repercussions were different.
If Shang had lost his fights on Earth, his life would have been ruined. He had trained for months on end to succeed in only a single fight, and that fight would decide Shang's entire future.
But this fight?
Nothing would happen.
This was not a fight that would decide his future, but a fight that would teach Shang something.
Winning or losing made no difference.
So, even when the opponent was the most powerful opponent Shang had ever had, losing wasn't bad. It was expected.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang slowly took out his sword again, and he looked at Soran. "You said I can attack with the intention to kill, right?" he asked.
"You can," Soran answered with a slight nod as he readied his spear.
BANG!
Then, Soran suddenly charged forward, taking Shang by surprise.
Shang had expected that Soran would simply block all of Shang's offenses and teach him. But now, he was attacking him!
For a moment, it became difficult for Shang to react, but he had an advantage that allowed him to react in time.
His body.
Soran had said that he would make himself two levels weaker than Shang, and he had done so. Soran's speed was more than manageable for Shang, and that was the only reason why Shang was able to react in time.
Soran's spear directly went for Shang's head, and it became bigger and bigger in Shang's vision.
Shang quickly shot his sword upwards. His plan was to throw the spear to the side with all his power. Since he had a more powerful body at the moment, he could ruin the balance of his opponent by striking the weapon.
WHOOSH!
Yet, Shang's sword missed!
Soran only smiled as he slightly pulled his spear back.
That was when Shang realized that Soran had already planned this beforehand. Soran wasn't using more power than he was allowed, and he hadn't stopped his spear in a reactionary sense.
It had been planned from the very beginning.
Suddenly, the head of the spear angled downward, the spear bending in the process.
In that short moment, Shang realized what had happened.
Soran had pushed his spear forward at an angle, but before Shang had even decided to block it, Soran had pushed the butt of his spear to the side.
The wooden shaft of the spear was very bendy, and the rotation of the actual spear took some time to reach the tip.
At this very moment, the butt of the spear was pointing towards Shang's torso while the tip of the spear was slightly pointing to the side. Soran didn't even need to continue pushing. The sheer force of the bent spear would shoot forward as the spear became straight again, catapulting the head of the spear into Shang's abdomen.
Shang couldn't get either of his arms to intercept the spear. Yes, Shang had a more powerful body, and he was definitely also faster, but he hadn't been interrupted by his opponent but by himself.
Shang had wanted to stun his opponent by using all his power to throw the spear to the side. Because of that, Shang had to fight against his own power to regain his balance, not his opponent's power.
Shang couldn't block the head of the spear.
Yet, Shang's eyes narrowed as his instincts took over. These weren't the instincts of an MMA fighter but the instincts of someone that had lived in the wilderness for months, fighting powerful beasts all the time.
BANG!
Shang was thrown to the side.
However, the eyes of Soran, Viera, and Mervin widened in surprise.
Shang had gone into the attack of his own volition!
The first and most basic reaction someone had towards an attack was to protect themselves. If someone saw a punch coming toward their face, they would quickly put their arms in front of their face. If someone saw an attack coming towards their abdomen, they would put their arms and legs in front of their torso while trying to either jump back or turn to the side.
These were basic instincts.
Yet, Shang stepped forward while slightly rotating his abdomen.
If Shang had done nothing, the spear would have straightened, and the tip would have slightly pierced Shang's abdomen. Soran didn't want to injure Shang too seriously after all.
But by stepping forward and rotating, the side of the spear's head slapped Shang in the abdomen. The sharp edge of the spear left a deep cut in Shang's abdomen, but that was it. A thrust with the spear would have punched through Shang if it were performed with the intention to kill, which would obviously be worse than this outcome.
At the same time, Shang's arms wrapped around the spear, keeping it from leaving his body.
Shang had the more powerful body, and he had to take advantage of that fact.
Soran raised an eyebrow as he saw Shang grip his spear with his left hand while still keeping his sword in his right.
Then, Shang exploded forward!
He pulled Soran to him by pulling on the spear as his sword struck in Soran's direction.
Soran only smirked.
Whoooop!
The spear suddenly bent to the side, throwing Soran to the side. It was almost like the spear was not following physics anymore!
Shang noticed what had happened.
Soran was using Shang as the base of a lever. Soran was essentially using the principles of a pole vault to throw himself to the side.
At the same time, the spear in Shang's hands tried to pull itself out of his grasp. Soran was using the entire power of his body to bend the shaft out of Shang's hands.
However, one of the very first things a fighter on Earth learned was to disarm people. Because of that, Shang used some fingers from his right hand to block the exit of the spear.
The part where the fingers curled around something was easy to break out of with some rotation. Shang knew that which was why he was reinforcing that part with his other hand while still keeping his sword.
Soran nodded in praise when he saw that.
Then, Soran shoved his spear forward with all his force.
Shang strengthened his grip on the spear and managed to keep hold of it.
Clink!
Yet, the spear vibrated once and hit the hilt of his sword, throwing it out of Shang's hand.
Like it had a mind of its own, the sword gracefully flew towards Soran, who caught it.
Then, Soran pointed the sword at Shang with one hand while keeping his spear in the other.
Silence.
For a moment, Shang looked with cold eyes at his sword.
He knew that his own sword couldn't injure him. If Shang shot forward, Soran would try to stab Shang with the sword, but it wouldn't work.
Then, Shang could use that chance to start an unarmed fight on the ground with Soran, which would essentially mean that Shang would win.
"You win," Shang said.
But in the end, Shang decided against it.
First of all, Soran had already shown a cavalcade of techniques, and it was very possible that he would have even more. Saying that Shang would be able to tackle Soran to the ground would be very, very optimistic. In short, Shang's victory wasn't even close to assured.
Second, Shang was certain that the ability to not cut one's user wasn't common for a weapon. Shang still wasn't certain how other people would perceive his weapon if they knew of its abilities.
Lastly, Shang also had the ability of his left arm, but he kept it secret for the same reason. If Shang could tell his own affinity, he wouldn't be afraid of revealing it. However, his affinity was special. Even the God had called it special.
Also, if Shang used some Mana-related abilities with his left arm, Soran might do the same. Shang didn't forget that Soran had called himself a Mage Warrior, and up to now, Soran hadn't revealed any Magic abilities.
Soran only smiled as he threw the sword back to Shang.
"Well fought, Shang!"