Chapter 64

What's going on! Is this guy a ghost? He was just in front of that Fourth-Class Swordsman, so how did he suddenly appear in front of me?

"Stop him!" the Fourth-Class Swordsman shouted, turning and charging back.

The Third-Class Swordsman fumbled to raise his iron club. After all, he was a Third-Class Swordsman, capable of channeling his Aura into his weapon to increase its power, and he had some combat experience. Although his reaction was a bit slow, he still managed to block a couple of strikes in time.

But that was only if Ji Ran was still in front of him.

As he raised his iron club, his vision blurred. Then, the black-haired kid strangely disappeared. All he could see was the Fourth-Class Swordsman charging at him.

"Behind you!" the Fourth-Class Swordsman shouted, his eyes wide with alarm. The Third-Class Swordsman immediately snapped to attention, turning around and swinging his iron club...

Then, he felt a chill in his thigh, followed by intense pain.

With a howl, the Third-Class Swordsman fell to the ground, abandoning his iron club, which he threw to the side. As a student of the Azure Wind, he had experienced some real combat, but he had never been injured so severely.

His thigh had been pierced by Ji Ran. Although it didn't seem to have hit the bone, the pain from the muscle being pierced still made it impossible for him to stand.

In just a few seconds, the two Third-Class Swordsmen had lost their fighting ability.

Ji Ran flicked his longsword, shaking off the blood, straightened his body, and smiled at the Fourth-Class Swordsman.

"I told you, I'll make your mothers not recognize you. Did you really think that just because you were in numbers, you could win?"

Ji Ran's tone was still calm, but the disdain in his voice was palpable to the Fourth-Class Swordsman.

"Damn it, a Second-Class Swordsman, and you dare to injure our brothers? You're dead!" the Fourth-Class Swordsman gritted his teeth, his eyes turning serious.

This Second-Class kid is quite agile! But he hasn't really used his Aura, which means he's not strong enough in direct combat!

After all, he's just a Second-Class, while I'm a Second-Year Silver Rank, considered a prodigy. If not for my poor family background, why would I have to rely on Douglas?

I thought this mission would be easy, but I didn't expect this kid to be so cunning, avoiding direct confrontation and managing to take down the other two Third-Class Swordsmen!

Now, even if I complete the mission and return, the significant losses will affect my status! Bringing two Third-Class Swordsmen to deal with a Second-Class, and losing more than half of them... what good is a Fourth-Class Swordsman?

So, I have to give this kid a proper lesson! At least make him more seriously injured, so he'll be bedridden for ten to fifteen days, even if he doesn't die!

The Fourth-Class Swordsman, determined, gripped his longsword and charged at Ji Ran!

Actually, if he were to face a Fourth-Class Swordsman head-on, Ji Ran wasn't too confident.

The battle with Reinhardt had already taught him that the Aura in this world was no joke. After thousands of years of human development, the Aura system had gradually been perfected. If it weren't powerful, who would cultivate it?

As for the True Qi, magical power, and sword qi that Ji Ran mastered, they were, in essence, a product of fantasy, derived from the cultural and philosophical essence of that ancient nation, tailored to the needs of Eastern people. In the game, they were incredibly powerful, but in reality, they were almost impossible to achieve.

But this strange world had turned this fantasy into reality.

Compared to the Aura that had been tested for thousands, even tens of thousands of years in this world, Ji Ran couldn't confidently say that his Four Seasons Sword Technique was stronger. However, the essence of Eastern culture still had its own strengths. Given time, standing at the pinnacle of this world was not impossible.

At least now, this unique combat style, which had never appeared in this world, gave him a significant advantage.

No direct confrontation! Ji Ran used his footwork to step back slightly, dodging the Fourth-Class Swordsman's attack.

Counterattack! The longsword swept upward, directly attacking the Fourth-Class Swordsman's arm. The Fourth-Class Swordsman's strike missed, but he didn't hesitate, roaring and turning to slash at Ji Ran again. Ji Ran's strike was also dodged by his sudden turn.

This broad and open sword technique had a surprisingly strong combat ability. Even if Ji Ran tried to dodge with his footwork, the opportunities for counterattacks were limited. It was like the fog man during the exam, whose overwhelming pressure made him quite uncomfortable.

However, this Fourth-Class Swordsman's Aura was much stronger than the fog man's, and his sword technique was a bit inferior.

Step back, dodge, Cut the Tide!

The longsword turned into a flash, slicing through a gap in the Fourth-Class Swordsman's defense!

The Fourth-Class Swordsman was instantly terrified. What kind of speed is this! His body was in a state where his old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated, making it impossible to dodge!

With no choice, the Fourth-Class Swordsman roared again, his Aura bursting out!

With a loud boom, a large cloud of white Aura exploded, deflecting Ji Ran's longsword. Following that, the Fourth-Class Swordsman's Aura-infused strike came from the front!

The Fourth-Class Swordsman was now all-in. Similar to Ji Ran's sword qi burst, this method of using Aura couldn't last long, but it provided a short-term burst of power exceeding his normal capabilities.

Uncle Les, during his battle with the True God Sect, could even withstand the scroll spells of a Fifth-Class Priest, relying on this burst ability. However, Uncle Les, who was once a Sixth-Class Swordsman, had a much stronger burst compared to this Fourth-Class Swordsman.

The longsword deflected, and Ji Ran, who had intended to turn and continue his attack, found that the burst of Aura had pushed him back, making it difficult to counterattack. The Fourth-Class Swordsman's frontal strike was also hard to block.

Sword qi burst! With no other choice, Ji Ran had to use this technique again.

All attributes increased, boosting Ji Ran's stats. The burst of sword qi gave him enough time to block the Fourth-Class Swordsman's strike. However, the Fourth-Class Swordsman's Aura still forced him to take several steps back—the powerful impact was still hard for him to withstand.

But now, Ji Ran had thoroughly gauged the Fourth-Class Swordsman's strength. With Aura, his absolute power was definitely stronger than Ji Ran's. However, in terms of combat ability... it might be a bit higher for Ji Ran.

With this experience, dealing with other Fourth-Class Swordsmen would at least provide a reference.

So, it's time to end this battle.

Taking two steps back, stabilizing his stance, Ji Ran looked at the Fourth-Class Swordsman, who was glowing like a large light bulb.

"Enough playing, let's end this." Saying this, he didn't retreat but charged at the Fourth-Class Swordsman!

Seeing Ji Ran charge, the Fourth-Class Swordsman immediately raised his guard. This guy has been avoiding direct combat, so there must be a trick!

But even so, the Fourth-Class Swordsman didn't give up on attacking. He raised his longsword, aiming at Ji Ran. Aura condensed, forming a large white light around his sword. Judging Ji Ran's path and angle, he swung his sword again!

This strike was hard to dodge. Even if he managed to dodge, there would be no opportunity to counterattack. The Fourth-Class Swordsman's full-power strike was not something just anyone could withstand—especially a Second-Class Swordsman.

But Ji Ran had no intention of directly resisting this strike. As he approached the Fourth-Class Swordsman, his steps suddenly stopped. It was as if he defied the laws of physics, stopping without inertia.

The Fourth-Class Swordsman's strike, though wide-ranging, wasn't so wide that Ji Ran couldn't dodge. With the strike missing, he immediately retracted his sword, preparing to defend or attack again!

Then, a dozen fist-sized sword flowers dazzled his eyes.

New sword technique, Flying Petals.

The wind rustles through the branches, petals fluttering.

As the name suggests, this sword technique is incredibly graceful. When mastered at a high level, it can even envelop the user in a cloud of sword flowers, making it a comprehensive offensive and defensive technique.

However, this technique was only at the first level, so it could only produce a dozen sword flowers.

But this was enough to dazzle the Fourth-Class Swordsman. These dozen sword flowers didn't all come from the same place; they appeared from all directions!

"These are feints!" the Fourth-Class Swordsman judged. Even he couldn't perform such a wide-range, multiple strikes simultaneously. A Second-Class Swordsman had even less reason to be able to do it! These sword flowers must be feints created with Aura, with no real killing power!

But thinking they were feints was useless; he had to find Ji Ran's real attack. Only then could he block or dodge in time. Otherwise, what was the difference between feints and real attacks?

Moreover, these sword flowers were far more complex than the Fourth-Class Swordsman imagined. Each sword flower was a feint, but any of them could become a real attack when needed.

This was an attack based on extremely high speed and skill, creating a situation where you couldn't dodge or block.

In the end, the Fourth-Class Swordsman couldn't identify the real sword flower. Forced to, he covered his entire body with Aura to block Ji Ran's attack.

But even the Fourth-Class Swordsman's Aura couldn't withstand Ji Ran's sword qi when covering his entire body.

A sword flower finally shone on the Fourth-Class Swordsman's right shoulder, making him pale and almost lose his grip on his longsword.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Ran used his longsword to knock the Fourth-Class Swordsman's sword away and then sneered.

"I told you, I'll make your mothers not recognize you. Clearly, we haven't reached that standard yet..."

Sheathing his sword, he stretched his limbs and walked slowly toward the three of them, a smile on his face...