This doesnât come as naturally to Liu Long as it does to teacher...
Li Hao realized as he watched the director. It would be a very forced breakthrough if Liu Long succeeded. It wasnât anywhere near as easy and natural as his teacherâs. If it hadnât been for his teacherâs injuries, he mightâve been able to set foot into Dominator without needing any outside help whatsoever.
A wave of internal force swept toward him; Li Hao planted his feet into the ground without a change in expression. Nine Forged Force!
When Liu Longâs internal force entered his body, it followed his bodyâs structure and rocked his insides. The young man grunted and stomped lightly on the ground, diverting the wave of force into the earth.
The ground shook and the floor tiles split! Fuck! Li Hao winced with dismay. He snuck a glance at his teacher. Shit shit shit, my teacher saw. I really donât have any money to fix your floor tiles. He knew that each tile was supremely expensiveâfive hundred each! He had to swap out an entire houseâs worth in one go, that required almost one hundred thousand!
Yuan Shuoâs eyes were as wide as dinner platesâaura! That had absolutely been a fledgling aura! He wasnât seeing things, heâd already suspected it earlier. Li Hao was now leveraging force against force, diverting Liu Longâs internal force through his body into the ground. That hadnât been the utilization of simple strength, but the manipulation of a kind of aura!
How is this possible? Yuan Shuo couldnât believe it. I didnât teach him this! Even if I did, I wouldâve only said to imitate the five animals because thatâs the easiest way to comprehend the aura. Li Hao... seemed to have his own understanding.
Liu Long continued to rage with power, but Yuan Shuo ignored him. There was nothing to see there and no problems that he could discern. Even if the man was successful, heâd only be a typical Dominator with nothing special about him. He wouldnât possess many distinguishing characteristics.
A Dominator like Liu Long mightâve drawn more attention from Yuan Shuo in the pastâbefore he saw how Li Hao was comprehending the aura. But now, the professor couldnât be bothered with another glance! He widened his eyes and continued to stare at his student.
A very guilt-stricken Li Hao lowered his head, ardently wishing for his teacher to look elsewhere. Stop staring at me! Isnât it just one floor tile? Liu Longâs broken several, why donât you glare at him?
âHup!â Liu Longâs grunt drew both of their attention.
Yuan Shuo finally shifted his gaze while Li Hao dabbed at nonexistent sweat on his forehead. His teacherâs look had been terrifying! Was there a need for that?? Itâs no big deal that I directed internal force into the ground. Itâs just basic manipulation of my knowledge and I still donât know much about aura.
The young man knew that he hadnât comprehended the aura; he just had a basic understanding and slightly swept the fog away.
Little did he know that one small step was a sign to Yuan Shuo that his disciple was on the right path. Li Hao possessed the requisite physique and had wrapped his head around the burgeoning notion of aura. If nothing went awry, the doors to Dominator of Thousands were creaking open to him!
Incredible! Emotion rocked Yuan Shuoâs inner world, but he had no words to express himself.
âDeploying moves in the air is useless!â he growled instead. âYou're so weak that youâre taking half a day to simply understand the aura. Nine layers of the waves are completely wasted in your hands!â
He punched with exquisite speed as he spoke; there was nothing but a looming fist in Li Haoâs field of vision. It turned into a vicious tiger descending the mountain in the blink of an eye, one that pounced on its prey.
Liu Long appeared to be a massive wave, but was abruptly reduced to a tiny creek. The ferocious tiger grabbed him in its paw and flung him aroundâthe difference between the two was apparent!
âThatâs it? Thatâs not enough, you trash!â Yuan Shuo roared angrily. A bear descended in Li Haoâs line of sight next and a bear paw slammed down on the wave. The wave broke apart while in the real world, Liu Long rocked back on his heels from Yuan Shuoâs palm strike.
Shock crossed the directorâs face! He could sense that he was about to break through, but he couldnât put up a fight against the professor. Itâd only been a few days since Yuan Shuo progressed, but the gap between them was so noticeable!
âIs that all there is to a tidal wave?â Yuan Shuo demanded aloofly. âAre you worthy of battling a Solar like this?! Youâre dead as soon as they unleash their aura! Do you really think youâll be able to match them just as a Dominator? I want to see a tidal wave, not a massage and shower! Your ugly face doesnât even count as a bath!â
Liu Long flew into a rage! A bath?! Who are you belittling?!
âBreak!â he grunted and punched again, his arm darting out like a spear. A water dragon erupted in the mental sense.
A loud bang answered him as Yuan Shuo seemed to transform into a massive ape. The ape sought to capture the dragon! The professor waved his hand and squashed his opponent, instantly clenching the water dragon to death.
âHaha!!â
The bark of victorious laughter incensed Liu Long beyond all reservation. His opponent was so strong that he couldnât begin to match the other! He could not begin to withstand Yuan Shuo even with his aura in full throttle. The man in front of him was terrifying.
Liu Long had been concerned that they would spar to the point of losing their tempers, but now he realized that heâd thought too much. The only one to lose his temper was him, his opponent was just toying with him!
âLayer!â A forceful wave appeared, one wave piling atop another. Three, four... nine layers in the span of a breath!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh... boom boom boom! sounded by Li Haoâs ears. He stared raptly at the fight, at Liu Longâs fists and his teacherâs hands. One used the Nine Forged Force and the other New Book of Five Styles, both of which he knew. They were both Dominatorsâindeed, Liu Long seemed to have advanced in this moment. Unbeknownst to him, aura punctuated each of his moves and he brought it to bear against his opponent. He was simply being overpowered by the professor.
Regardless, it was now a clash between two Dominators. As a new Sunderer, Li Hao was afforded a rare opportunity to observe a fight of this caliber in close quarters. He subconsciously aped their movements, drinking in every single punch and palm strike. The young man couldnât help but put himself in Liu Longâs shoes so he could perceive his teacherâs aura. He broke out in a cold sweat the second he did so.
So fast!
His teacher was too fast; Liu Long was entirely on the back foot. He wasnât as fast as Yuan Shuoâwhether in terms of reaction, adaptation, or deployment of technique. All Liu Long could do was doggedly match blow for blow!
Li Hao suddenly felt an icy grip around his throat. Yuan Shuo shifted his punch into a claw and swept at Liu Longâs throat like an eagle. The director roared and waved his fists around, wanting to use nine layered force to beat his opponent back.
No... he should retreat or dodge. He canât hold it off! The thought rose in Li Haoâs mind.
Liu Long gruntedâYuan Shuoâs hand had disappeared. It was now around the manâs throat and clenching his windpipe. The professor easily brushed off Liu Longâs fists, sending them down the latterâs sides.
Dejection filled the directorâs face, yet Yuan Shuo didnât even look at him. He turned to Li Hao, a movement subconsciously echoed by Liu Long. What the director saw surprised the man.
Li Hao dripped with sweat as he forced his hands apart. He seemed to be trying to shove something out rather than attack someone. He was defying Yuan Shuoâs hand, one that didnât exist!
The young man leaned backward as he thrusted his hands apart and braced himself with his right arm, pushing forward! His palm did seem to connect with something and Li Hao pushed off his toes, performed a backflip and tumbled onto the ground, swiftly evading something.
Liu Longâs eyes widened with surprise! Was this Li Haoâs method of counterattack?
The heavily sweating young man returned to his senses after he rolled away. He glanced sideways at the silent living room and was seized by sudden awkwardness. He looked at how dirty he was, then at the two broken floor tiles his toes had dug into...
âTeacher and chiefâs battle was so marvelous that I couldnât help but try to practice a thing or two,â Li Hao coughed lightly. âTeacher, the chief is our guest, so we canât make him repair the tiles that he broke. Iâll pay for the repairs...â
Retreating in order to advance!
As expected, Liu Long swiftly interjected, âThereâs no need, Iâll send people to fix them! I was too overworked to consider our environment. Iâll have someone come by to replace them.â
Yuan Shuo looked at his student with a half smile, a reaction that enlightened Liu Long. He looked speechlessly at the young man.
Was that on purpose? You said that to prompt my response so that I would fix the floor tiles. But of course, this was hardly Liu Longâs current focus. He fixed his gaze on Liu Long for a long while. âYou first pushed Elder Yuanâs hand again, then counterattacked...â
âI didnât!â Li Hao shook his head. âI couldnât counterattack, teacher is too strong. I pushed so I could shift teacherâs claw attack to the side. His next move would be to quickly follow that up with a hand to the throat, so I could only push off from the ground to flee the premises. My opponent was too much for me!â
Indeed, he was outclassed by his opponent. That was why heâd rolled on the ground after jumping backâit was to run away as fast as possible. He didnât intend to counterattack at all.
Liu Long stared into space before smiling ruefully. âWell I canât get away, Iâm not fast enough!â
This wasnât a move he could imitate because he was too slow! He may be a Dominator now, but still suffered blow after blow. He would die to Yuan Shuo because he reacted slower than Li Hao. He was less than even the kid! Not in terms of strength, but with strategy and reaction. He relied too much on pure strength!
Did this count as a breakthrough? Was he a walking god, a Dominator of Thousands?
Hah!
Liu Long drooped, then couldnât help but ask, âDid you comprehend anything from my aura?â
Li Hao hesitated, then nodded. âI did, and a lot of things!â
âWhat did you comprehend?â Liu Long insisted.
Awkwardness crossed Li Hao's face and he wanted to respond with nonsense when his teacher commanded, âSpeak the truth!â
âChiefâs aura is very strong!â The young man looked at his feet with resignation. âThe waves build upon each other, each stronger than the one before! But thereâs several things from my perspective. For one, you arenât fast enough. For another, youâre not familiar enough with the Nine Forged Force. There are tiny hiccups when you layer your internal force nine times. Theyâre very feeble, but I sense them.
âAnd third, it might be because of your previous injuries, but chief doesnât seem to dare to use internal force in your arms. You seem to be holding back...â Li Haoâs tone shifted. âFire and water are heartless! Iâve yet to see the waves, but Iâve witnessed a raging gale. Chief, even water is violent!â
He punched outward with the sound of waves crashing upon the shore! An explosion ripped through the air! A furious storm seemed to be upon them; rain blasted into them. Violence!
Liu Long somehow sensed the violence of rain from Li Haoâs boxing technique! It was the explosive sensation of a storm so domineering that it would split the earth open...
This wasnât waterâor rather, it wasnât the water of Liu Longâs impression.