Chapter 902: A Spar Between Body Cultivators
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 902: A Spar Between Body Cultivators
"Hello. You're Bai Yu, right? I believe this is our first formal meeting."
"Yes, and you are...?" The moment Bai Yu saw the three witches standing before her, she recognized them.
These were the three Body Cultivation witches the Academy Dean had recruited—the same three Xiao Han was supposed to collaborate with for the Dream Domain experiments.
Xiao Han had mentioned them to her before.
However, they hadn't had the chance to meet yet. Bai Yu hadn't expected to run into them at a time like this.
Since Xiao Han was now fully immersed in the experiments, Bai Yu felt it wasn't right to linger. After all, her presence was meant to be a form of mental support for Xiao Han, and she didn't want to exhaust that encouragement. Choosing to leave at the right time was for the best.
"Hello, I'm Long. These two beside me are Muli and Fanny. We all arrived at the Witch Academy quite recently."
"Could you not introduce me as 'this one'?" Muli grumbled from the side.
Since the three of them were newcomers to the Witch Academy and didn't know many people, they had naturally gravitated toward each other because they shared common interests.
Originally, they had planned to seek out other Body Cultivation witches within the academy to see if they could make friends and exchange insights.
However, they hadn't found anyone yet. The only Body Cultivation witch they knew of was "Bai Yu," who had been mentioned in the experiment briefings, leaving them with a bit of an impression.
It could be said that the reason these three got along wasn't just because they were all Body Cultivation witches.
Their social skills... were also somewhat concerning.
Compared to them, Bai Yu had quickly integrated into several circles after becoming a Transcendent Witch. While these weren't necessarily "soulmates," she was frequently invited to gossip sessions or tea parties, and she had quite a few such acquaintances.
"It seems you recognize the three of us. A pleasure. Want to have a match?" Long said, cutting straight to the chase.
Bai Yu stared at the three witches, momentarily stunned. She didn't understand the situation—they had known each other for less than a minute, and they already wanted to fight?
However... Bai Yu could sense their sincerity. There was no malice, only a pure sense of appreciation.
"Is this how Body Cultivation witches from outside the Main World usually greet people?" Bai Yu asked, puzzled.
"Forgive her. Long is just very direct; all she cares about is fighting. Actually, the two of us have already sparred with her. If it's inconvenient, you don't have to agree," Muli said, trying to smooth things over.
"A fight is fine. There aren't many opportunities for a witch to cut loose in the Witch Academy." Bai Yu clearly accepted the challenge.
To be honest, even she had never gone all out.
She knew her lower limit—she could likely crush the Transcendents from the Dragon Blood Academy—and she knew her upper limit—she probably couldn't beat that Rebel Witch.
But as for her true extreme... she really didn't know.
"Really?!" Long grew excited instantly. "Aside from these two, you're the first one willing to have a match with me! Other witches always look at me like I'm crazy. Honestly, they just don't understand that flesh-on-flesh combat is the most hot-blooded way to communicate!"
As Long spoke, Muli looked like she wanted to bury her face in her hands.
Her entire expression screamed: Why am I hanging out with a witch like this?
"Perhaps... your sincerity is just a bit much for them to handle," Bai Yu said with a light chuckle, offering no further comment.
After all, was a witch like this stupid?
Not necessarily. Looking at it another way, she was simply filtering for friends she could actually get along with.
Bai Yu knew very well how much effort a witch majoring in Body Cultivation had to put in. In most cases, they simply didn't have the spare time for social niceties or networking.
Even Bai Yu wouldn't claim to be a witch who majored in Body Cultivation; she just happened to have more prominent achievements in that field at this stage.
She spent most of her time exploring other interesting things.
Some witches might think that failing to specialize would lead to a lack of achievement.
But that was just their opinion.
"Exactly! They're all witches who don't understand the thrill. I think you're quite to my taste, Sister Bai Yu. Where should we fight? Right here?"
"Here? Better not. If we trade punches here, the Academy Dean will be knocking on our door the next second," Bai Yu said, shaking her head.
"This Witch Academy is huge, isn't it? Is there really no place for witches to practice?" Long asked, somewhat confused.
"This is an academy, after all. It's for teaching preparatory witches, so it's naturally not suitable for Transcendents," Bai Yu explained patiently. "Fighting outside the academy would affect the stability of society. We can go to the Expansion Realm."
Although the aftershocks of the Dreamscape Calamity in the Expansion Realm hadn't fully dissipated, the Academy Dean had already lifted most of the restrictions on Transcendent Witches entering the area.
Word was that the Primitive Dream Realm had completely receded from reality, though some shallow dreams still needed time to fade.
Once those shallow dreams vanished, the repaired section of the Expansion Realm would be fully integrated into the Main World.
"The Expansion Realm? Sure! Give me the spatial coordinates. I've never been there, so I'll need help with the positioning."
"Just follow me. Once you've been there and set your own spatial markers, you won't need coordinates anymore." Bai Yu reached out and tore through space.
This was a method of tearing through material space using the deep-level power of Real Time, combined with a Space Teleportation Spell to bridge the Core World and the Expansion Realm.
If she had mastered Body Cultivation Space Sense, it wouldn't have been so troublesome, but unfortunately, she hadn't.
However, she knew that Xiao Han was already beginning to grasp the prototype of Space Sense.
Space Sense wasn't just a simple mastery of space, just as Time Sense wasn't just a simple dominance over time.
That was power she couldn't touch at her current stage. She hadn't even fully mastered Time Sense yet; she still had a long way to go.
But when it came to utilizing the power of Time Sense, she feared no one.
The three witches didn't stand on ceremony. They followed Bai Yu through the spatial portal and arrived in another world.
"Phew—wow! This feels completely different from the Core World! In the Core World, I felt like someone was constantly pressing down on me. It was miserable! This is much better!"
The moment Long arrived, she spoke without restraint. The other two felt similarly, though they weren't as vocal as Long.
"The Main World's Core World is under a Great Weakening Spell cast by the Academy Dean herself, covering the entire realm. It's meant to protect the integrity of the Core World from being destroyed."
"A Great Spellbook? No wonder."
"Yes. The situation in the Main World is currently quite complex. We'll just spar here in the Expansion Realm. If we make too much noise elsewhere, it could cause problems."
"Hah! Does the Main World always have so much going on? Fine, fine—let's trade a few punches!" Long was already itching to start.
"Let's go over there. This still seems to be within the Ninglan Territory; it's not good to start here," Bai Yu said, her body shooting forward like an arrow.
The three figures followed closely behind.
"Sister Bai Yu, you're not slow—but you're not fast enough!" A competitive streak flickered in Long's eyes. They didn't stop until they reached a deserted area far away.
"Is this the spot?"
"Yes," Bai Yu nodded.
She, too, felt a surge of anticipation. Witches were naturally combative; suppressing that urge for too long only caused it to build up until it eventually exploded.
"Then I won't hold back!"
Long's eyes burned with battle intent. This was a spar between equals.
There was no referee, and no need for a starting signal. When the two Body Cultivators locked eyes, their Heart Sense resonated.
There was no such thing as a sneak attack.
BOOM!
With a single punch, a terrifying shockwave exploded outward. The air itself detonated, and even the so-called Body Cultivation Internal Energy seemed insignificant beneath this clash of pure physical power.
"It seems I have the upper hand in strength," Long said with a touch of modesty.
She was being genuinely modest. How could Bai Yu's physical stats and strength be only slightly inferior to Long's?
Bai Yu had only recently reached the Transcendent level; she couldn't possibly match the terrifying accumulation of a witch like Long.
Long had sensed Bai Yu's power instantly and had controlled her own punch to be just a fraction stronger.
This punch was a test—not to determine a winner, but to decide what level Long should fight at.
This was how Body Cultivators sparred. A one-sided crushing victory was meaningless. Learning from the opponent while fighting at their level—that was a true spar.
Otherwise, fighting only for victory was nothing more than showing off.
With the initial punch over, the contest of Body Arts began.
"The Body Cultivation Secret Classic? Very classic, very standard Body Arts. You don't fight often, do you?"
"True. There isn't much room to cut loose in the Main World," Bai Yu admitted honestly.
"Your accumulation gives me the feeling of a beginner. Is life in the Main World really that lax?" Long asked seriously after a few exchanges.
In her mind, a Body Cultivation witch specifically mentioned by that genius shouldn't be this weak.
"I only reached the Transcendent level a year or two ago. My accumulation is indeed lacking."
"What?!"
Long's eyes widened in shock.
But thanks to her powerful physical conditioning, she didn't let a single opening show in her combat stance.
"One or two years! You've reached this level after only one or two years as a Transcendent?!"
"Is this not the normal level?" Bai Yu asked.
In truth, when it came to this kind of physical combat... she was actually better at perception through the Heart State Domain and the utilization of Time Sense, which she had only recently mastered.
She realized that after spending so much time with Xiao Han, she had also grown fond of the feeling of overwhelming her opponents.
Of course, it didn't have to be an overwhelming display of strength. She truly enjoyed overwhelming them through perception, control, prediction, methods, and skill.
Combat was a game of finding an advantage. If you didn't have a single area where you could crush your opponent, you had absolutely no chance of winning.
And right now, Long was being completely outplayed by Bai Yu.
Normal level?
When Long had been a Transcendent for only a year or two, she was still struggling in the dirt somewhere!
"Your heart is starting to waver. You can't even hit me anymore," Bai Yu said.
"I have to admit, you seem to be stronger than me in terms of perception."
"After all, when I started Body Cultivation, I began with Five Senses Body Cultivation. My perception is superior to yours," Bai Yu stated.
"Heh... Perception! I might not major in it, but I'm not weak either!" Long roared, finally getting serious.
Heart Sense was born from the Five Senses but stood above them. It was the bridge that connected the Five Senses to the abstract perception and dominance of power.
The Heart State Domain also originated from Heart Sense, but this fight hadn't reached the point of using Domain powers yet. A Domain battle was a confrontation of Order, whereas using Heart Sense was still within the realm of Body Cultivation.
As the battle between Bai Yu and Long grew more intense, the commotion began to stir the Expansion Realm.
Bai Yu, who was constantly monitoring their surroundings, realized this. "I think we should end the spar here."
"A Body Cultivator should always press forward! The moment you said that, you showed a desire to retreat! That's not the mindset a Body Cultivator should have!" Long didn't want to stop; she was just getting into the spirit of it!
"Sigh..."
Bai Yu sighed softly, her gaze turning serious.
"Yes! That's the look! That's the mindset—urgh!" Long saw the change in Bai Yu and began to speak excitedly, but her pupils suddenly dilated before slowly refocusing.
Bai Yu's fist had struck her left shoulder in a way she couldn't have imagined!
Her left shoulder instantly disintegrated, and a sudden, overwhelming fear of death surged into her heart!
This fear instantly shattered her calm state of mind and crushed her fanatical Heart Sense.
Before she could even begin to heal the gruesome injury, a second punch landed squarely on Long's face.
This blow completely demolished her mental defenses. A fear she had never known before was magnified a thousandfold in an instant.
She swore she had never felt such a heavy, suffocating fear of death in her entire life.
She finally understood how the weak felt when their bodies were dominated by terror.
So... fear... really could... make the body... shake uncontrollably...
After that punch, Long collapsed onto her back. The force of the blow hadn't actually been that great, but she no longer had any desire to strike back.
She knew clearly that her condition was abnormal, but she was experiencing it. She wasn't fighting the power; she was simply experiencing a sensation she had never felt before.
"What... is this?" Long asked, her voice trembling as she lay on the ground.
"The Seventh Sense: Time Sense. You can't block it."
"I mean... that... fear."
"Oh, that... that's Emotion Body Cultivation. I only used it to make you settle down quickly. If we kept going, the Academy Dean would have come to break us up herself."