Free Web NovelChapter 336: Chapter 50: Traces of Immortal Gods
October 29, 2015, 10:45 AM. Qinxing Academy, Training Hall of the Practical Combat System.
The Training Hall of the Practical Combat System was a massive indoor space—280 meters long and 200 meters wide, roughly the size of two or three soccer fields. It was typically used for the practical combat tests, physical examinations, and data collection of the Academy’s Practical Combat System students. For battles among those in the Awakening Tier, a venue of this size was perfect: not so small as to be restrictive, but not so vast as to feel empty.
At the moment, only a small team was training inside.
A stern-faced Professor Su Zhou paced back and forth, his eyes scanning the five team members before him. They had just finished a small-scale sparring session and were all panting for breath, their bodies aching and weak. Despite being in the Awakening Tier, with strength more than ten times that of an ordinary person, they looked to be in worse shape than an overweight nerd after a ten-kilometer run.
This was only natural, as their sparring partner had been Su Zhou.
"Your teamwork this time was good. Guan Wanjing, your strength has reached an exceptional level within the Awakening Peak. If that last punch hadn’t hit me, any ordinary High-level or even Peak Awakening practitioner would have been severely wounded."
Though his expression was stern, Su Zhou was praising his students. "Shao Qiming and Lii Yeyu, your coordination was also excellent. The former used intense light to create shadows, paving the way for the latter’s shadow jumps. You must have practiced that many times, haven’t you? With Li Hanshan and Guan Wanjing tying up the enemy from the front, even a Demon Beast at the Awakening Peak would be swiftly killed by that combo."
"But Garuda, you have a problem. You’re clearly the strongest and possess inherited memories, yet in battle, you only focus on brute-force, one-on-one fights. If you had acted as the main tank to block my attacks from the start, the whole team might have held out for another thirty seconds."
Su Zhou’s critiques were objective. Even sprawled on the floor in exhaustion, everyone barked out a "Yes!" in response. It was a clear sign they understood the issues and would work on them. No one questioned his assessment.
Su Zhou was pleased with their response. He waited a moment, and once everyone had recovered enough strength to sit up, he continued, "You’ve got your direct combat skills down pat. But here in the Practical Combat System, we can’t just be about head-on fights. Real combat means using any means necessary. It’s not a noble duel; you have to use every dirty trick you can."
"As the future Elites of Zhengguo, you also need to learn infiltration, assassination, setting traps, using poison, tracking targets, and calling in airstrikes."
With that, Su Zhou grabbed a small whiteboard from behind him and quickly sketched a simple city layout. Placing it before them, he addressed the group. "Now, a question for you all. Let’s say you need to infiltrate a heavily fortified city like this one. Your mission is to assassinate the City Lord in the city center. The city guards are around the early Awakening Tier, while the City Lord himself is a High-level Awakening. Your own strength is also at the High-level Awakening, and you have access to your usual training resources. What would you do?"
Su Zhou gave them five minutes to think. When the time was up, Shao Qiming was the first to raise his hand.
"Excellent. Qiming, you go first."
Shao Qiming’s thoughts were well-organized. He laid out the possibilities one by one. "If the enemy has no magical detection, I can use Optical Magic to turn invisible, blend in with a local group heading into the city, and enter with them. If they have a way to see through Optical Invisibility, then I’ll infiltrate the city’s sewer system, hide out to gather intelligence, and look for an opportunity to strike."
It was a textbook answer—not wrong, but not particularly creative either. A classic case of adapting to the situation. Su Zhou gave a slight nod and then turned to the second person with a raised hand, Guan Wanjing.
This hulking, muscular young man looked like the type to say, ’I’ll just kill everyone, then no one will know I infiltrated.’ Instead, his answer was direct and pragmatic: "Survey the surrounding terrain. Find a high vantage point to confirm the location of the City Lord’s Mansion. Then, request an official, long-range bombardment to take it out with a precision strike."
This answer was even more by-the-book, but Su Zhou understood. After all, Guan Wanjing’s build and features were too conspicuous, and his abilities were geared toward direct combat. He couldn’t blend in, so calling in an airstrike was a logical choice. ’Of course,’ Su Zhou thought, ’there’s always the time-honored assassin tradition of just charging in and going on a god-like rampage.’
Li Hanshan didn’t speak. He pulled out a small whiteboard and wrote: [Fly up high. Confirm target. Long-range snipe. One shot, one kill.]
With his Chongming Bird bloodline, he could indeed fly and had exceptional vision. Li Hanshan’s sniping skills were also top-notch, with a maximum range measured in kilometers and immense power behind each shot. For him, this plan was entirely feasible.
Lii Yeyu’s plan was even simpler. "I’ll use my Tongyou Divine Techniques to infiltrate at midnight, slip into the shadows, and move through the other world. I’ll gather intel and find the right moment to assassinate the target."
There was nothing to critique; this was her specialty.
Finally, Su Zhou turned to Garuda. For reasons unknown, the Extraordinary Tier Divine Bird had ended up on his team. Now in her human form, she answered his question timidly, "I’ll revert to my true form, conceal my aura, and hide in the clouds. When the time is right, I’ll dive down and kill him."
A brute-force aerial assault. That was certainly one way to do it.
Su Zhou nodded noncommittally. ’This question is just a standard procedure,’ he thought, ’a way to see how they perceive their own roles, to see if they’re self-aware. Guan Wanjing did very well. He knows he isn’t built for stealth, so he didn’t even consider it. Qiming, on the other hand, is a bit naive. He’s a support. Even if he managed to infiltrate the city, how would he actually kill the target? If he’d suggested a plan involving poison instead of a direct attack, that would have been a much better answer for his role.’
