Chapter 64: Battle

Thinking to this point, Li Er promptly cut off his own wild train of thought. Because if he were to continue pondering further, he would likely stumble upon his master's true intentions...

"Heh heh~"

Atop a giant boulder in the distance, Old Man Yang seemed to have guessed Li Er's inner thoughts. He let out a sudden chuckle, shook his head, and said with an amused smile, "Rest assured, your master will not plot against you."

"Right..."

Li Er still wore a somewhat diffident expression. Had his spine not remained as straight as an ancient pine, anyone would have taken him for a coward trembling with fear.

Time drifted away in the waiting. Roughly a dozen minutes had passed when the sound of grinding metal suddenly echoed from afar.

Li Er opened his eyes and followed the sound, his gaze locking onto a figure clad in metallic armor approaching from the distance. His expression froze, and he was utterly taken aback by the suit of armor Su Ling wore.

This armor on Su Ling was forged over the course of three years, combining his fragmentary knowledge of mechas from his past life to finally bring it to life in this world.

The armor was pitch-black throughout, its surface shimmering with a dim metallic luster that gave it an extremely rugged appearance.

The design was imposing and sleek, yet retained a unique aesthetic belonging to the modern era—all forged by his own hands.

Clank~

Every step Su Ling took left a shallow footprint in the ground beneath his feet, which spoke volumes about the immense weight of the pitch-black armor he wore.

The dull, heavy footsteps mixed with the metallic grinding of the armor's joints. Witnessing this scene, Li Er was completely dumbfounded, his right eyelid twitching frantically.

"This is?"

"Oh? So you kid actually knew how to put on armor after all?"

Unlike the stupefied Li Er, Old Man Yang on the other side grew rather interested upon seeing this. He opened his tiger-like eyes, which had just been half-closed in a doze, and was greeted by the sight of a pitch-black figure resembling a torrent of iron.

"Defeat him, and I will give you an explanation regarding the whereabouts of your natal porcelain."

"..."

At these words, Su Ling beneath the battle helmet raised an eyebrow. Even in this situation, he hadn't expected Old Man Yang to still refuse to admit that it was he who had stolen Su Ling's natal porcelain three years ago.

"...Then, I suppose I must obey rather than refuse."

Su Ling's somewhat muffled voice traveled across the hundred meters of air straight into Li Er's ears.

Hearing this, Li Er felt every hair on his body stand on end. An unprecedented, horrifying sense of crisis surged violently toward him from the Su Ling standing before him!

"Uncle Li, please guide me."

Through the slit of the dark battle helmet, Su Ling cast a casual glance a hundred meters away at the peasant-like Li Er, who was currently in a state of extreme vigilance and had struck a defensive stance.

Just as Su Ling was about to charge, Old Man Yang's somewhat weathered voice suddenly rang out.

"Ah, almost forgot one thing. You two are merely sparring, not fighting a life-or-death battle, understand?"

"..."

"Understood."

Su Ling reined in the towering battle intent that had been on the verge of materializing, raised a hand, and removed the helmet from his head, revealing a resolute and handsome face.

In his profound eyes reflected Li Er's dead-serious posture a hundred meters away. Su Ling suddenly chuckled; the rustic fellow before him was truly endearing in his earnestness.

"What?"

Hearing the cheerful laughter, Li Er, who had been standing in place maintaining his combat stance, abruptly dropped his fists and cast a puzzled look at Su Ling.

"Nothing."

Su Ling waved a hand and casually dropped the heavy helmet he was holding. The helmet crashed into the ground with a loud thud, blasting out a shallow crater as dirt flew in all directions.

"..."

Seeing this, Li Er's eye twitched violently. Just a single helmet possessed such terrifying weight—then just what inhuman degree of hardness had Su Ling's entire suit of armor reached?

At this thought, Li Er suddenly felt his knuckles begin to ache in anticipation. After all, mortal flesh was mortal flesh; even though he had stepped into the ninth realm of martial artists, this was supposed to be a simple, friendly spar of martial arts.

He couldn't use overly destructive divine abilities, nor could he unleash his full power. Because his absolute best effort wouldn't even match the strength of a single finger of Su Ling's.

It wasn't that Li Er didn't want to use his full strength, but rather that if he set that precedent, what awaited him would be a Su Ling holding nothing back!

That horrifying and dreadful prospect was something Li Er had no desire to witness whatsoever. Therefore, Li Er had no choice but to follow the rules set by his master and honestly engage in a martial arts spar with Su Ling...

If fighting a full-power, unreserved Su Ling was a terrifying ordeal that Li Er simply could not accept, then merely sparring in martial arts with him suddenly didn't seem so unacceptable after all.

One could only say that humans were a species capable of adapting to their environments with astonishing speed. Look, just like that, the resistance in Li Er's heart vanished away like flowing water.

As for why Su Ling had bothered to put on this pitch-black armor—something he had previously never considered—it was simply because he had been tipped off in advance.

Through Old Man Yang's telepathic transmission, he understood that this battle was meant to teach him the importance of martial arts. Relying solely on invincible strength was unwise; he also required rich combat experience.

In other words, Old Man Yang was placing a bet on him, and the price was a deeply reluctant Li Er, who was made to demonstrate the importance of martial arts to him.

This was to prevent Su Ling from turning into a reckless brute in the future—one who only knew how to use basic, unrefined punches—and an absolute novice woefully lacking in battle experience.

Of course, as for Old Man Yang's good intentions, although Su Ling caught a glimpse of the underlying motives, he somewhat disdained them. After all, subduing others through sheer force and shattering all techniques with a single type of power was the Great Dao he intended to walk.

As for combat experience? Martial proficiency? Could any of that match the instant gratification of a single punch?

Su Ling cupped his fists toward Li Er a hundred meters away, then heavily stomped his foot against the ground. With a loud *bang*, the earth ruptured, mud splattered, and a shallow crater appeared where he stood.

Su Ling darted forward like a pitch-black afterimage, shaking the ground with every stride as he closed in on Li Er at breakneck speed.

"..."

Seeing this, Li Er hurriedly assumed his defensive posture, his eye twitching once more as he cast a complicated final glance at the master who sold out his disciple without a shred of heartache.

With a sigh, Li Er clenched his fists, stood sideways, and adopted an obscure, high-tier footwork stance. With a solemn expression, he watched Su Ling hurtling straight toward him, bracing himself for the onslaught.

Su Ling carved a distinct wave of air in his wake, the atmosphere ahead pulverized by the immense force of his charge. Although the armor fit him like a second skin, it gave off the terrifying impression of a heavily armored knight executing a full-speed charge.

As Su Ling closed the distance to within three meters of Li Er, he planted one leg forward. Gathering the strength of his waist into his arm, Su Ling threw a punch that cleaved through the air, hurtling toward the skin-close Li Er with a booming roar.

Witnessing this, Li Er's expression shifted drastically, and a silent wail echoed in his heart. Although this freak before him had suppressed his strength, it was still far from an attack he could receive without injury!