Chapter 119: Super-Psychic Wave

Ever since the day he was attacked by the Saint Servant Sean, Luo Chen had been contemplating a single issue: self-preservation.

Previously, he had always believed that continuous cultivation and strengthening were the only paths to survival. Now, however, Luo Chen realized he needed a faster shortcut. This way, when encountering an opponent far more powerful than himself, he would at least be able to escape, even if he couldn't win. Counting the time he encountered the nameless beast during his internship, Luo Chen had already faced two situations where his opponent’s strength was overwhelmingly superior. If his luck had been any worse on either occasion, he likely would have lost his life.

Defeating an opponent was important, but staying alive was even more so. Luo Chen’s primary goal in learning martial arts was not to brawl, but to survive.

The best way to ensure self-preservation in battle was, naturally, to use an evasion technique to get as far away as possible. However, the movement techniques taught at the academy were insufficient for Luo Chen’s requirements. Whether it was the nameless beast or the hunchbacked old man, even if Luo Chen utilized 80% of his vortex pressurization to activate his evasion technique, he likely couldn't shake them off completely. Furthermore, his spiritual energy would suffer a brief period of exhaustion shortly after the vortex pressurization, making it an unsustainable strategy.

Luo Chen initiated a mental connection and said to Nicole, "Nicole, I want to create a footwork technique. This technique shouldn't consume too much spiritual energy and must be highly effective at shaking off opponents. Do you think it’s feasible?"

Nicole’s sweet voice replied promptly, "Master, your question has actually already been factored into my considerations. It takes a considerable amount of time for an ordinary human to grow into an ultimate, powerful warrior, but they will inevitably encounter dangerous situations throughout their growth. If they lose their life, they, of course, cannot continue to grow. The appearance of that hunchbacked old man gave me some inspiration, and I was just about to discuss it with you!"

Luo Chen’s spirits lifted. "Nicole, tell me about it!"

"Since you cannot surpass your opponents in speed, you must focus on variance. The first type is conventional variation: Master, you can rapidly change your speed and direction to influence the opponent’s judgment."

Luo Chen nodded. This was easy to understand and was the evasion technique taught by the instructors at Blue Emperor Academy. It was just that Luo Chen had never placed much importance on it before and had never undergone specific training for it.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen said, "You’re right; I haven't done enough in this area and will need to strengthen it in the future. But I’m afraid it’s hard to make significant improvements in a short time. Hmm, right, Nicole, since there are conventional methods, what about unconventional ones?"

"Unconventional methods are mainly for dealing with experts like the hunchbacked old man you encountered the other day," Nicole said. "When you were fighting him, I detected faint mental fluctuations. Since there was no one else around, it must have come from him. This proves that he was constantly sensing your actions through his mental power. Whether it was the flow of your internal energy or the micro-reactions of your muscles when exerting force, he magnified them countless times through his mental power, allowing him to anticipate your next move and thereby seize the initiative!"

"Oh, so that’s how it was!" Luo Chen suddenly realized. No wonder he couldn't shake the old man off even after two sudden bursts of movement; the man seemed to know exactly what he was going to do and could react instantly. Luo Chen had been puzzled by this ever since.

"Still, we should thank him; otherwise, I wouldn't have had this new inspiration, hee hee..." Whenever there was a new discovery, Nicole was always happy, as she learned while assisting Luo Chen, and gaining new knowledge was always fulfilling. "However, let’s focus on how to shake off an opponent for now. Against an opponent with sensory capabilities, you can create illusions of force to cause them to misjudge."

Luo Chen asked curiously, "How does one create an illusion of force?"

Nicole paused for a moment. "It might be difficult for spiritual warriors of the same level, but Master, with the vortex pressurization of your spirit core, you can certainly do it better than them. Remember the double-force technique you realized on your own? When performing your evasion technique, you can release the first force to trigger a reaction. An opponent capturing you through mental sensing will immediately move to counter, but your secondary, hidden force will be the true objective. By then, the opponent will have already committed to a movement based on your first force, allowing you to mislead their actions."

"Once the opponent realizes that your every exertion might be a feint, and they fail to capture your movements or predict them correctly, their actions will be severely constrained, making it much easier to shake them off. Furthermore, you can use reverse psychology to display expressions and gazes that contradict your intentions, further disrupting their judgment, as expressions and eyes can also become breakthrough points for the opponent to track your movements."

Luo Chen clapped his hands excitedly. "That’s right! It’s absolutely brilliant, Nicole! You’re so clever to have thought of this!"

"Hee hee, Master, you flatter me. I only thought of it a short while ago!" Nicole laughed delicately. "Besides that, in the psychology lessons I taught you earlier, do you remember that everyone has behavioral blind spots?"

Luo Chen nodded vigorously. "I remember. You even gave a very vivid example back then, such as how a person eating a meal will absolutely not consider going to the restroom, because they subconsciously resist such thoughts!"

"Yes, exactly. Your opponents also have behavioral blind spots when acting. Incorporating these blind spots into your footwork will make your opponents even more disoriented. However, Master, I’m afraid you’ll need to study more psychology in this regard!"

"Heh heh, no problem!"

"Then, Master, let’s move on to learning something new. This is something I learned from that hunchbacked old man. This method of using mental power to pre-sense others' actions is truly wondrous and can play a huge role in battle. If you can sense the opponent’s exertion first, you can immediately make a judgment and seize the initiative!"

Luo Chen gave a wry smile. "Nicole, you make it sound easy, but I don't have the ability to sense things!"

"No, you already possess it," Nicole smiled. "Have you forgotten? That day you met the hunchbacked old man, you discovered his presence before he even appeared. Because of your training in reverse thinking, your mental power has already achieved a small level of success."

"Oh, is that mental sensing?"

"Exactly, but it is only a vague sense. Your mental power is still a bit weak, and at such a distance, the feedback isn't very clear, manifesting only as a 'sixth sense.' You can't explain it logically, and it might be inaccurate, but it is still useful. As your mental power gradually improves, one day you will be able to accurately capture an opponent’s actions with your mental power. However, that is a long-term goal. For now, I have an emergency strategy that could allow you to sense an opponent’s actions during battle just like that old man!"

Luo Chen said with pleasant surprise, "There’s such a good thing?"

"Hee hee, it’s only in the theoretical stage for now, Master. Whether it will succeed still needs to be proven through practice. The basis of this method is—Super-Mental Waves!"