Jiang Lin shook his head.
"I suggest you cherish the present, because right now is the closest your strength will ever be to mine."
Tie Chen looked skeptical.
"By the way, I heard you beat Anya, the top student in our grade. How did you do it? How did you convince her to go easy on you?"
"Naturally, I relied on my own strength."
"I don't believe you. How about a match?"
【As a heinous demon lord, how can you allow a mere loser to provoke you? Make the opponent pay a heavy price.】
【Requirement: Defeat the opponent with thunderous means and ruthlessly devastate them!】
【Reward: Randomly copy a skill mastered by the opponent.】
Regarding the system's use of 'devastate' this time, Jiang Lin assumed it didn't mean the same thing as the last time.
'Can simply being challenged trigger this kind of quest?'
'Interesting...'
Additionally, Jiang Lin noticed a small detail.
When Zach and Anya fought him, the system's prompts referred to them as 'Heaven's Chosen' and 'Heaven's Chosen Daughter,' but when Tie Chen challenged him, it called him a 'loser.'
'Well... I can only say the system's judgment is very accurate...'
"Come on, let's find an empty training ground."
Jiang Lin naturally accepted the challenge.
He was also curious about his current combat effectiveness in an unrestricted free fight against an enemy one level higher than himself.
Furthermore, he wanted to see if the 'strengthening technique trick' he had thought of would work.
...
In the empty training ground, the two squared off.
"Old Jiang, aren't you going to use your sword?"
Tie Chen was puzzled.
However, Jiang Lin shook his head.
"I don't need a sword. If I use one, you won't have any chance of defeating me."
Tie Chen's face darkened.
'Damn, what is Old Jiang trying to pull...'
With no referee, the two began the battle by mutual tacit agreement.
Little Black crouched on the side, watching the fight.
'Go for it! Whatever-your-name-is kid! Hurry up and accidentally punch Jiang Lin to death!!'
...
Both men dashed toward each other. At the start of the fight, Jiang Lin cast a layer of 【Low-level Strengthening】 on himself, providing an all-attribute boost.
However, just as they were about to enter each other's attack range, Tie Chen saw Jiang Lin actually fire a 【Low-level Strengthening】 at him.
A divine golden light flashed. Under Jiang Lin's high-proficiency control, the originally complex spell formation was condensed almost instantly.
Then, the golden spell formation emitting divine light flew rapidly toward Tie Chen—specifically, toward his right leg.
At that moment, Tie Chen happened to be lifting his right leg, and Jiang Lin's sudden buff caught him off guard.
Consequently, as his left and right legs struggled against each other due to the power imbalance, he lost his footing and fell forward.
Simultaneously, Jiang Lin's relentless, sandbag-sized iron fist followed.
Bang!
Tie Chen was sent flying backward by Jiang Lin's punch and crashed to the ground.
"Holy crap, you're playing dirty?!"
Tie Chen was shocked.
'Strengthening techniques can be used like this?'
Seeing his idea succeed, Jiang Lin was quite pleased.
Little Black, watching from the side, was equally surprised.
'Throwing a strengthening technique at an enemy?'
He never expected to see this kind of fighting style from a low-level paladin.
One must understand that skills like Low-level Strengthening are considered positive buffs. Unlike curse-type skills, they cannot be resisted through purification or immunity.
Therefore, what Jiang Lin did was equivalent to throwing a debuff at the opponent that was extremely difficult to clear.
However, for a common strengthening technique to target a specific body part, one's proficiency must reach the superlative level.
This also set a certain threshold for others who might want to try it.
Thus, only a very small number of high-level battle healers would choose to use this move.
"Do you want to go again? I won't strengthen your leg this time,"
Jiang Lin asked.
He had other directions he wanted to test with the strengthening technique.
Tie Chen sat on the ground for a while before recovering.
"Again!"
Jiang Lin smiled slightly. It was clear that Tie Chen hadn't realized what he was about to face.
...
The two squared off again, but Jiang Lin immediately fired a strengthening technique at the distant Tie Chen.
Seeing Jiang Lin's strengthening technique flying toward him, Tie Chen instantly became alert.
Since the speed of the strengthening technique was faster than his evasion speed, he couldn't dodge it. He could only try his best to control his body once the spell hit.
'If he's not strengthening my leg... what else could he strengthen...'
In the next moment, the golden spell formation shining with divine light flew directly into Tie Chen's lower abdomen.
'Is Jiang Lin...?'
Tie Chen looked confused.
However, a moment later, his expression changed drastically.
A powerful sensation surged in his abdomen, and he felt his stomach churning violently.
The strengthening technique had indeed taken effect on him, but this time it wasn't some other organ—it was his intestines!!
To hold it in, he clutched his stomach and collapsed directly onto the ground.
The strengthening technique, carrying a holy glow, shone inside Tie Chen's body. A skill that was supposed to bring him a buff was now launching a fierce assault on his lower half.
Pfft!
A desperate sound rang out. Both Tie Chen and Little Black, who was watching the show, widened their eyes.
They couldn't understand how a paladin skill full of holiness and light could be used by Jiang Lin to produce such an evil, twisted, and indescribable effect.
"This is a skill I developed—Jetting Aura!
"The principle is to use the strengthening technique to selectively enhance the peristaltic speed of your intestines.
"Which leads to uncontrollable jetting."
Jiang Lin pushed up his non-existent glasses and explained to the two of them.
Tie Chen clutched his stomach, looking at Jiang Lin in shock.
'I've never heard of such a dirty trick before. Can someone who thinks of such methods really be human?'
Little Black was also forced to look on in astonishment.
'I've seen healers who are bad at their jobs, but I've never seen one this sinister.'
At the same time, as the two looked at Jiang Lin, who was feeling proud of his results nearby, the same sentiment inevitably surfaced in their hearts:
'This Jiang Lin is a real piece of work...'
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