188. The Sparring Match with Lin Chaoyu
Seeing the sun had risen, Yun Ling wasn't sleepy at all and decided to go out for breakfast.
He hadn't tried the breakfast at St. Freya Academy's cafeteria yet.
Himeko went back to her apartment to catch up on her sleep, since the alcohol still had a strong aftereffect.
The breakfast here was plentiful. Although the taste wasn't as good as Mei's, it was still quite good since they were all cooked together.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast, Yun Ling sat on a bench beside the training ground, watching the Valkyries or prospective Valkyries sweat it out.
"Are girls these days all so well-developed..." Yun Ling commented as he admired them.
The fact that there are basically no ugly characters in anime is really... amazing!
Youthful and energetic bodies, sunny and positive faces, and glimpses of skin glistening with sweat...
"Yun Ling."
"!" A gentle voice called his name! Yun Ling looked startled, as if caught doing something wrong.
"It's Chaoyu! Good morning! Have you eaten?" Yun Ling greeted her.
"Yeah, Yun Ling, what about you?" Lin Chaoyu asked in return.
"I've eaten too."
A greeting unique to Shenzhou.
"Yun Ling, are you here to train so early?"
Lin Chaoyu sat down naturally beside Yun Ling, a unique fragrance of orchids wafting towards him.
"Training? Oh, yes, of course. I feel like Kiana and the others are working so hard, and I've been a bit too lazy lately, so I deliberately got up a little earlier."
Yun Ling immediately followed up on Lin Chaoyu's words.
"That's perfect! I'm training too. Want to join me?" Lin Chaoyu invited.
"I didn't expect getting up early would bring such good fortune. Looks like I can consider getting up early every day from now on," Yun Ling said with a delighted expression.
"Yun Ling, you're exaggerating. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were on a date," Lin Chaoyu chuckled, covering her mouth.
"Training is also part of spending time together. In some galgames, it's one way to increase affection," Yun Ling said seriously.
"Galgame...what's that?"
Yun Ling's words immediately touched on Lin Chaoyu's area of ignorance.
"It's a kind of strategy game. Most of the time, you raise affection by triggering certain events, and then once the affection level is high enough, you can do some...cough, interesting things."
Seeing Lin Chaoyu's confused look, Yun Ling quickly corrected himself.
"Oh..." Lin Chaoyu nodded, seemingly understanding.
She stood up and took out a slender sword.
Yun Ling's gaze focused on the sword. Sure enough, it was also the 'Xuanyuan Sword'.
After Lin Chaoyu comprehended the sword intent, the originally heavy, golden Xuanyuan Sword transformed into the slender 'Light Dust Willow' it is now.
It was exactly the same as Yun Ling remembered, unchanged, thus eliminating the possibility that it was merely similar.
Yun Ling took out 'Ruoshui,' and Lin Chaoyu could clearly feel a resonance between 'Light Dust Willow' and Yun Ling's 'Ruoshui.'
"Come on."
The two stood with their swords drawn, and Lin Chaoyu's appearance immediately attracted the attention of many around them.
She was the only A-rank Valkyrie among the students, and coupled with her remarkable temperament and appearance, as well as her incredibly approachable personality, she was extremely popular among the students, the dream girl of many.
After all, St. Freya Academy was clearly lacking in yang energy and excessive in yin energy, so the presence of yuri tendencies was perfectly normal.
And Yun Ling, as the only male student at St. Freya Academy, although they hadn't officially met yet, many people knew of his existence.
Yun Ling struck first, her Ruoshui Sword conjuring countless sword shadows in mid-air, whistling as it attacked Lin Chaoyu.
Lin Chaoyu remained calm, her Qingchen Willow Sword transforming into a whisk, her figure like a butterfly, dancing gracefully amidst the sword energy.
The clanging of metal filled the air, a dazzling spectacle that drew gasps of admiration.
While defending, Lin Chaoyu unleashed a sword aura from an extremely tricky and concealed angle with her 'Light Dust Willow' Sword.
This was the characteristic of the 'Light Dust Willow' Sword: as fragile as a willow leaf, yet able to sway freely in a strong wind.
Seemingly inconspicuous, yet concealing deadly intent.
Yun Ling joined his index and middle fingers together, drawing forward, and an invisible barrier of sword energy appeared before him.
Lin Chaoyu's attack didn't even cause a ripple.
Several more sword energies were unleashed, but Yun Ling remained standing there leisurely, not even moving an inch.
The surrounding students were somewhat surprised. Was Lin Chaoyu being suppressed?
Perhaps finding this fighting style too unfair, Yun Ling directly summoned Ruoshui back and engaged Lin Chaoyu in combat.
Lin Chaoyu's attacks were dense like rain, and extremely varied.
Because 'Light Dust Willow' was a soft sword, its attacks were complex, unpredictable, and exceptionally agile.
Sometimes it lashed out like a whip, sometimes it thrust straight like a spear, and sometimes it coiled like a rope.
Yun Ling, who had never fought against such a sword style before, seemed somewhat exhausted, retreating repeatedly.
Lin Chaoyu's swordsmanship grew faster and faster, but Yun Ling became increasingly adept at countering it.
Just as Yun Ling was about to counterattack, Lin Chaoyu's sword suddenly reflected a blinding light, causing Yun Ling to instinctively squint.
In the next instant, Lin Chaoyu's sword was aimed directly at his throat, while Yun Ling's sword appeared at her neck.
However, both of their other hands simultaneously gripped each other's blades, and the outcome seemed uncertain.
"Yun Ling, you're truly amazing." Lin Chaoyu twirled her sword beautifully, then tucked the Light Dust Willow sword into her sleeve.
"You too, your sword technique is truly divine, difficult to parry." Yun Ling praised in return.
"My talent is lacking, so naturally, I can only constantly hone my sword technique. On the other hand, Yun Ling, your sword energy is far superior to mine." Lin Chaoyu shook her head.
She could sense the difference in skill. If Yun Ling truly didn't want Lin Chaoyu to touch him, Lin Chaoyu would have no chance of fighting Yun Ling to a draw.
And she had the slight advantage in the element of surprise. After Yun Ling erased that advantage, in close combat, she could only barely manage a draw with Yun Ling.
"Chaoyu, you're too modest. I'm afraid no one can match your mastery of sword forms."
Yun Ling was also quite surprised. He hadn't expected Lin Chaoyu to be able to utilize sword forms to such a level. The four sword forms used in combination, coupled with the unpredictable nature of the Light Dust Willow, would be extremely difficult for someone unfamiliar with the technique to handle.
Moreover, Lin Chaoyu seemed to be holding back, perhaps to avoid injuring Yun Ling, and didn't aim for vital points.
Based on this logic, if the difference in strength wasn't too great, Lin Chaoyu would undoubtedly be a BO1 god of war.
Even Yun Ling, who completely overwhelmed Lin Chaoyu in his mastery of the Taixu Sword Qi, suffered a slight setback.
This wasn't just empty flattery; it was genuine praise.
Yun Ling's sword qi was far superior to Lin Chaoyu's, but Lin Chaoyu's mastery of sword forms was equally far greater.
Initially, Yun Ling thought that after learning Soul Essence, the use of Form Essence would be much less, but Lin Chaoyu had truly taught him a lesson.
...