In the center of the grounds, the two facing each other continued to test one another with strikes, but without exception, neither could gain the upper hand.
Anya shifted her weight, launching a horizontal sweep. Once again, Jiang Lin anticipated its trajectory, intercepting and blocking the attack.
By this point, Anya was beginning to feel a sense of surprise.
In her perception, Jiang Lin’s speed was increasing. Along with it, his mastery of swordsmanship was becoming more superlative, and his understanding of certain techniques even showed signs of surpassing her own.
'Could his 【Basic Swordsmanship】 have also reached the superlative level? And a superlative level even higher than mine?!'
...
While superlative was the highest level of proficiency, it didn't mean one couldn't continue to improve once they reached it.
Just like the earlier proficiency levels—from just starting out as a beginner to being on the verge of moving from beginner to proficient—even though both were technically at the beginner level, there was a significant gap between them.
These gaps would only grow wider in the later stages of proficiency.
It was like grinding monsters to level up. In the early stages, the experience required was low, and the gap between those of the same level was small. But in the later stages, the experience required was massive, and the difference between two people at the same level could be like heaven and earth.
When Anya’s 【Basic Swordsmanship】 first entered the superlative level, she had stopped her practice to begin learning other combat techniques. After all, that was the most efficient way to increase her combat power within the same amount of time.
Although other sword techniques would, to some extent, raise the proficiency of her 【Basic Swordsmanship】, they ultimately couldn't reach the absolute limit of the superlative level.
Jiang Lin, however, was different.
He possessed a bug-level system reward that directly pushed his proficiency to the maximum—the absolute limit of the superlative level.
Therefore, one could say that in terms of sheer understanding of 【Basic Swordsmanship】, Jiang Lin was the strongest person present, far surpassing even their teacher, Monsa.
The reason the scene didn't yet look like a total slaughter was simply because he was still getting used to a body that had experienced a sudden surge in power.
Today’s battle was the perfect opportunity to help Jiang Lin familiarize himself with his physical control.
He was currently like a dry sponge, absorbing and digesting his newly acquired abilities, his actual combat strength steadily rising.
Accompanying this was an increasingly fierce offensive, and his control over his physical strength became more refined.
Furthermore, because they were both users of 【Basic Swordsmanship】, he could see every one of Anya's weight shifts. He could clearly grasp every weakness in her sword forms, as well as the wind-up and recovery of every strike she made.
To continue mastering his muscular control, Jiang Lin didn't make his attacks more cunning or aggressive. Instead, he maintained his level to match Anya’s, continuously attacking and parrying.
...
By now, the surrounding area—including both the tail-end class and the elite class—had fallen silent. Everyone watched the two in the center of the practice field with expressions of gravity and admiration.
Their attainments in swordsmanship... seemed a bit high...
From the elite class:
'Is this Jiang Lin guy really from the tail-end class? How can he have such powerful swordsmanship?'
'Every move he makes is so concise. He pours every ounce of strength into that wooden sword without wasting a single bit of energy!'
'His swordsmanship is probably stronger than many of ours, isn't it?!'
From the tail-end class:
"So fast! I can't even see them!!"
"Was Old Jiang always this badass?!"
...
In the blink of an eye, another five minutes passed, and the two were still trading blows.
However, their states were beginning to differ.
Jiang Lin had now completely mastered his body's strength. Every move he made was effortless, and he was able to apply appropriate pressure to Anya.
Under Jiang Lin’s constant pressure, Anya’s defense was becoming increasingly strained.
Her physical attributes at Level 2 were already somewhat inferior to the current Jiang Lin.
Now, her only advantages were her Level 9 stamina and the control and application of power she had learned from other combat techniques. It wasn't that she didn't want to suppress him; the main issue was that without using sealing arts, these things were difficult to control.
Bang!
The wooden swords clashed once more. Anya barely managed to brace against Jiang Lin’s slash.
However, this time, neither of them continued with a follow-up attack. Instead, they stopped their movements in unison.
"Thank you for the lesson."
A thin layer of sweat appeared on her fair skin, and a strand of damp golden hair clung to her cheek as she gave Jiang Lin a standard knight's salute.
At the same time, waves of shock were crashing through her heart.
Jiang Lin returned the salute, saying, "The honor is mine."
Monsa looked at Jiang Lin with a surprised gaze, while the surrounding students were still somewhat confused.
A moment later, a crisp crack echoed through the room.
The wooden sword in Anya’s hand had snapped into two pieces.
To fight with identical weapons and have your own weapon break during the exchange—that was the ultimate sign of inferior skill.
Everyone’s eyes widened, their faces filled with disbelief.
'What’s going on?! Jiang Lin actually won??!!'
'Isn't this Jiang Lin a student from the tail-end class? How could his swordsmanship possibly beat a genius like Anya?!'
'Is there some hidden secret?! Since they're both paladins, the talent gap shouldn't have been that big before. Did this Jiang Lin choose to slack off and end up in the tail-end class on purpose?'
Faced with this, the crowd couldn't help but look incredulous, including the second-ranked student of the elite class who had once been defeated by Anya—Zach.
Zach was a Level 9 assassin with a well-proportioned build and delicate features. His silver hair was particularly striking in the crowd. He had sparred with Anya many times, but without exception, he had suffered crushing defeats.
Of course, that was also related to the fact that he specialized in assassination-style swordsmanship.
He stared at Jiang Lin, his mind racing with wild theories.
At that moment, Zach recalled some web novels he had read:
'Wait, could this Jiang Lin have found a ring with an old grandpa inside? And then this old grandpa stayed in the ring and sucked up all his magic essence, making it impossible for him to level up and causing him to fall from a former genius to the looked-down-upon loser he is today...'
'And now, the three-year period has arrived! Some fiancée he didn't know he had showed up to break their engagement, and the old grandpa in the ring just happened to wake up, teaching him a world-shaking breathing technique and guiding his cultivation!!!'
While everyone was shocked by Jiang Lin’s hidden swordsmanship mastery, many were also feeling pity for him.
'To have such strong talent in swordsmanship, but such a terrifyingly slow cultivation speed... it's a real shame he won't make it into a Middle Magic Academy...'
However, the expressionless Jiang Lin was internally suffering:
'How the hell am I supposed to complete this damn system mission?!'
Rate on N.U.
