Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Zhao Yuanzhen was knocked to the ground by the Huang Tingjian.

Damn it! Did this little thief choose the Edgeless Heavy Sword from the beginning just for this purpose—to bully us more conveniently?

Looking back at the others, only Lin Ning was righteously offering her help with Sword Control, who was now being toyed with by Yan Yu wielding the Huang Tingjian.

As for Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin, they didn't even make a move and were hiding behind watching the fun.

"Sorry, Sister Zhao~" Su Yunjin said with a wry smile, "Even if we all went at him together, it wouldn't be possible to defeat the captain, right?"

"We're not trying to defeat him; we're supposed to band together for legitimate defense!" Zhao Yuanzhen argued, "He was the one who came to provoke us for no reason!"

"The result of banding together for defense is getting collectively beaten up," Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "so please do me a favor and handle it, you two~"

Zhao Yuanzhen: ???

She soon had an epiphany: What an idea, sacrificing comrades to save oneself, huh?

"Sister Zhao, save me!" Lin Ning ran frantically with her head in her hands as Yan Yu's Sword Control Technique overwhelmed her; her Green Bamboo Sword couldn't defend properly, forcing her to scurry around in panic, she cried out, "I can't hold on any longer!"

"Alright!" Zhao Yuanzhen replied, then added, "I'll go get a cup of water and then come save you."

Lin Ning: !!!

Stranded and helpless, Sister Lin finally got hit in the buttocks by the Huang Tingjian and tumbled clumsily to the ground.

"Phew!" Yan Yu let out a long breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated, with all his muscles feeling loosened up.

Then, seeing Lin Ning disheveled and furiously trying to get up from the ground, teeth bared and claws out as if ready to bite him, Yan Yu stood at ease and calmly asked:

"So, you understand now, right?"

Lin Ning suddenly froze, then hesitantly asked:

"Understand what?"

"Didn't you ask me to help you identify the problems with your swordsmanship?" Yan Yu looked puzzled, "I've already demonstrated the solutions for you personally. Don't tell me you weren't seriously learning."

Lin Ning immediately sensed trouble: Oh no, I was so focused on how to fight back after getting hit hard that I completely forgot about the real issue!

She then meekly and sheepishly said:

"I was indeed studying hard, but I'm afraid I might have misunderstood... So please explain it to me again verbally."

"Alright." Yan Yu gave a "there's no helping you" look of resignation and began to brandish the Huang Tingjian once more, "First, when you attack like this, and I counter like this... don't you feel troubled, as if there's no proper way to respond?"

"Exactly, exactly!" Lin Ning nodded her head frantically.

"That's because my Huang Tingjian has been in this position from the start," Yan Yu carefully explained to her, "Whether you slash or stab, from this direction I can easily defend. To break through, you must approach from another direction..."

"What if your sword changes direction along with mine?" Lin Ning, a keen problem-solver, swiftly began to extrapolate, "If your sword follows mine to this side, my attack will still be defended against."

"That's correct, it's called 'the advantage of close-range defense'," Yan Yu expressed satisfaction with her ability to understand, "There's a mnemonic in Sword Control Technique that goes, 'Attack from afar, defend up close.' Remember that well."

"What does that mean? It means the farther the Flying Sword is from you, the more advantageous it is for attacking; the closer it is to you, the more it benefits defense."

"The former case is because every time the Flying Sword changes direction, its speed drops to zero and it requires adequate distance to accelerate again. The longer the flight distance, the faster it can accelerate, and the greater the power when it hits the target.

The latter is because the Flying Sword needs to maneuver around you for defense, and the smaller the radius of this defensive circle, the more agile its rotation..."

As Yan Yu explained in detail, Lin Ning felt like she was receiving enlightening insights, and the uncertainties that had long clouded her mind were melting away as if they were snow under the sun.

She absorbed the swordsmanship knowledge like a sponge, thirsty for learning, occasionally asking questions to deepen her memory and understanding.

Zhao Yuanzhen, on the other hand, was looking at the harmonious teaching scene before her, the pair so in sync, and for a moment, she could hardly believe her own eyes.

Ningning! Don't be silly! How could you forgive him just like that? Weren't you just scattered and thrown to the ground by his beating, eating dust everywhere?

How did you suddenly make peace? Where's your dignity? Can you really endure such humiliation?

Aaaargh! I'm so angry! I'm so furious! Lin Ning is also spineless, it seems I'll have to take revenge myself!

Zhao Yuanzhen pondered for a long time, knowing that she was currently weak and alone, and that the girls on her team each had their own ulterior motives and were not worthy of her trust. It seemed that she would have to plan her revenge more carefully.

She could endure it, so why couldn't I? Let this little thief be smug for a while longer!

"Really easy to deal with," Chen Lingyun said leisurely, picking up her coffee cup again—not knowing whom she was referring to.

————————————

By external standards, Yan Yu's Team's training regimen was indeed extremely harsh.

Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin were another story. One a law practitioner and the other an envoy, both roles were more about testing awareness, judgment, and intellect, so Yan Yu had been somewhat merciful, even though the two of them might not have noticed.

Lin Ning and Zhao Yuanzhen had it much tougher, to enhance their on-the-spot reaction skills, Yan Yu's live combat training sessions always ended with him mercilessly beating them both.

Superficial injuries were common, broken bones happened every so often, and the mental pressure was always at its peak. Any ordinary cultivating college student would have broken down long ago.

Of course, Lin Ning was extremely strong-willed herself, and could endure the bullying without losing confidence for now; Zhao Yuanzhen was a different story altogether, the Zhao Runner who in a previous life sneaked and escaped across half of Lu Country had absolutely top-notch mental resilience.

If it were anyone else here, Yan Yu wouldn't insist on such ruthless hellish training; after all, he wasn't a big monster.

In the afternoon training session that day, once it was over, Yan Yu waved them off to find Su Yunjin for treatment.

Overall, Lin Ning's combat talent was outstanding; she was just new and unsteady with the basics, requiring more experience to level up.

Zhao Yuanzhen was the old fox type. Experienced and talented in combat, but unwilling to train properly, only setting to work under pressure from Yan Yu—perhaps this was also influenced by her background in another world, as there was no such thing as "militarized training" in that world's Cultivation World, where cultivators were accustomed to being loose in personal style.

"Yan Yu," Chen Lingyun entered from outside with a smile, "are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Yan Yu asked.

"Remember what Teacher Qi mentioned last time? The military media interview—people are already at the school gate."

"I'm busy. Deal with them for me."

"But they specifically requested to interview Yan Yu, the big team leader," Chen Lingyun said smilingly, "How could I overstep my bounds as a vice-captain?"

"That's true," Yan Yu sighed, "What did Teacher Li say? If there are no special requests, let's talk here on the training ground."

"Grandpa Li didn't say anything special, telling you to handle it yourself," Chen Lingyun paused before continuing with a smile, "But Teacher Qi asked me to accompany you the whole time. It seems he's worried you might say something wrong, and I would be able to make immediate corrections if I'm there."

"What wrong things could I say? Ridiculous!" Yan Yu disdained Qi Changping's worries, "I am the strongest team leader in this world! It's their honor to interview me. If they want standard, stable reporting content, why didn't they go find Liu Longtao?"

"Speaking of that, I did hear something," Chen Lingyun's smile was brilliant, "I heard that the editorial department of their publication originally intended to interview Dingbei Army first before coming to us at Zhendong Army."

"But the chief editor insisted against the others' views, demanding to issue a report on Zhendong Army first, so the journalist team skipped the closer Shengjing and took a plane specifically from Pingjing down to Jinling."

"Hmph," Yan Yu said contemptuously, "Silly office politics. Just speak plainly, I'm not in the mood to play guessing games with you."

"This interview isn't just routine," Chen Lingyun kept her smile, "The other party is no small fry. This is for the first issue, the content of which will be presented to the Privy Council, and those few might have a chance to see it. But it's not the same for the second issue."

"The competition between Zhendong Army and Dingbei Army isn't about who gets the first issue spot, but who can make a deeper impression on those few. Although I can't deny the nature of office politics, you better be spirited, right?"

"It's your father's idea, isn't it?" Yan Yu glanced at her sideways.

"Mhm~" Chen Lingyun didn't deny it.

"Alright then," Yan Yu stroked his chin, thoughtfully saying, "I'll take it seriously then."