Absolute Destiny Game
Chapter 523 - 87 Sword God_2

Chapter 523: Chapter 87 Sword God_2

This is the combat routine he had tried and tested in battle and had never failed him.

But now that he had encountered an expert like Jin Wujiu, his combat approach was completely disrupted.

Jin Wujiu’s attack series flowed like clouds and water, with almost no openings to exploit—it was quite miraculous.

Initially, Xiao Jie did not understand why, and thought it was a unique NPC characteristic, but that moment of epiphany seemed to touch upon the crux of the matter.

He immediately asked humbly for guidance.

"I am indeed lacking in this area, just now I saw how the elder masterfully handled the blade, with saber technique transitions as smooth as clouds and water, an endless flow that truly amazes me, I wonder if you could share any tips? Is there a trick to it?"

"Do you not know what a ’Changing Move’ is, young brother?"

"Please enlighten me, elder."

"In the world of martial arts, there are thousands of tricks and myriad moves. Though they seem to change unpredictably, in essence, they all follow a fundamental principle. Every weapon, based on its characteristics, has a fixed set of actions.

Take saber technique as an example. Within the martial arts field, there are countless saber techniques, but the fundamental actions amount to no more than—chop, slash, shave, stab, flip, sweep, block, retract, pick, and push; ten types in total.

All saber techniques and combat skills are composed of combinations of these ten actions."

Xiao Jie listened with surprise, and on further thought, it really was as such.

For example, his most commonly used secret technique—Wind Roll Cloud, its core action is a sweep.

His most commonly used combat skill, One Cut, Two Pieces—is naturally a ’chop’.

Jin Wujiu continued: "These different actions are interrelated. A chop can be followed by a flip, or transition to a horizontal block, a retraction can lead to a stab or a horizontal slash, a stab can lead to a dance-like move, which can in turn transition to a deflecting flip, and so on... these different actions can seamlessly lead into another move.

Each technique has an initial and a final action. If two techniques’ initial and final actions are identical, they can be seamlessly linked, achieving the flow of clouds and water without leaving openings... especially when mastering multiple cultivation techniques and combat skills, one must rely on the art of Changing Moves to integrate various martial arts."

The more Xiao Jie listened, the more it dawned on him; so this is why. No wonder the opponent’s combat skill animations are so short, it turns out they are directly integrated.

However, such combo routines require mastering a multitude of combat skills to execute, because many skills differ significantly in their actions, making them unable to link directly, requiring one to retract and then initiate another move.

This would significantly slow down the process.

It’s fine against little monsters, but against real expert duels, it’s easy to expose weaknesses.

In the past he had done something similar, but it was more instinctual without forming a complete theory; sometimes feeling that certain moves linked more fluidly, so he would use them more out of habit. But after Jin Wujiu’s pointers, Xiao Jie suddenly realized there was plenty of room for optimization in his techniques.

The reason he hadn’t thought of this before was mainly due to his past gaming experience.

In past games, combat skills often didn’t take the form of actions into consideration, the differences were merely in damage, attack range, and speed.

The linking of skills depended entirely on the player’s hand speed.

But in this game, because the actions are so realistic, the delay in linking different moves is also distinct, which is entirely different from past games.

Thus, the Helical Slash could be followed by a flipping combat skill like Dragon Soaring Slash.

But it could not follow through to One Cut, Two Pieces because after the blade sweeps in a full circle it naturally spins upwards for a slashing strike; if you want to follow with a chop, you must first retract the blade, then slash out again.

It seems that in order to study these combo routines, one must experiment more in reality, after all, the transition and variation in the moves can be directly perceived when practicing various combat skills in reality.

If he could develop a few perfect combos, it would definitely greatly enhance his output and PvP capabilities.

Thinking of this, Xiao Jie felt he had gained much today.

"Thank you, elder, for guiding me through the maze, I have learned a lot."

"Hahaha, we are all people of the Jianghu, fellow martial artists, no need for politeness, let’s improve together."

Jin Wujiu said it was all basic knowledge, but the more Xiao Jie pondered over it, the more ingenious it seemed. He stopped sparring and found an empty space to start practicing.

After practicing for a while, he felt somewhat sentimental. His saber techniques and combat skills were too few as before he had always felt that these combat skills were not very different, just in terms of damage, attack range, and speed of attack, a few high-damage combat skills would suffice.

Now it seems, to perfectly link the moves, the more combat skills, the better. At the very least, you would need ten or eight basic combat skills to ensure the coherence of the moves.

Fortunately, the price of such basic combat skills is generally not expensive, just a few silver per book, he would buy some in the auction house later.

He had just summarized his findings when the elixir produced by Heroic Unrivaled was finally ready.

Unable to wait any longer, Heroic Unrivaled took the elixir and hurried to the back mountain of Hero Manor, Xiao Jie and Ye Luo wannabe immortals quickly followed; all three were very curious about the Sword Saint, especially Ye Luo, who also used a sword. Although she knew the Supreme Sword Skill wasn’t easy to learn, she still wanted to see this Worldly Expert.

Soon, the four of them arrived at the back hill, circled around the hill, followed a winding path down to the countryside, and came upon a water pond where an exceedingly ordinary thatched cottage sat.

An elder with white hair and beard was sitting by the pond sharpening a sword.

’Sword God’ Long Yuan (Sword Saint): Level 52 Worldly Expert. Life Value 6500.

Yet his face betrayed a shade of sorrow.

"Elder, I’m here again."

"I’ve told you before, I will not impart my swordsmanship lightly."

"Elder, please don’t get agitated. I have specially brought you the elixir you asked for."

"What—Is that true?"

Long Yuan stood up abruptly, causing the surrounding leaves on the ground to swirl.

Xia Yi the Unrivaled handed over the task item—Seven-Turns Returning Vitality Pill.

"It’s wonderful, Xia’er can be saved now."

Not long after, a frail beauty emerged from the thatched cottage.

"Xia’er, are you feeling alright?"

"Thank you, Father, for your concern; I feel much better now."

"Hahaha, good, good!"

"Elder, what about the swordsmanship for me?"

"Come, the Skill is not to be passed to the six-eared; why not teach it to you."

"By the way, Elder, I have a few friends I’d like to introduce to you, this is..."

"No need, I’m not interested. It’s fine if these individuals don’t meet me. Even you, now that I have taught you the swordsmanship, should not come and bother me again in the future."

Xia Yi the Unrivaled was suddenly at a loss for words.

Xiao Jie, however, wasn’t surprised; such Worldly Experts naturally follow their own paths, and it’s not so easy to become proficient, anyway, the one seeking guidance isn’t himself.

"Of course, I will teach you. You possess aptitude, support the weak and punish the strong, and you have a notable reputation in the worldly society. Moreover, you saved my daughter; it is not a disgrace to pass on my swordsmanship to you. However, you must remember, if you learn my swordsmanship, you must..."

"I will certainly follow your directives."

"Good, then come with me. The Skill is not to be passed to the six-eared; this Arrogant Divine Sword can only be learned by you alone."

Hidden Moon Following Wind: Jiu Jianxian, have you found your Sword Saint yet?

Jiu Jianxian: Haven’t found him.

Hidden Moon Following Wind: I did find one, but he is in Fengyin State.

As Xiao Jie spoke, he took a photo and sent it directly to the other party via his mobile phone.

Jiu Jianxian: Damn, there really is a Sword Saint—where are you?

Hidden Moon Following Wind: Hero Manor, I’ll send you the coordinates. When will you come?

Jiu Jianxian: I’m setting off right now!

At this very moment, Xia Yi the Unrivaled was watching Long Yuan practice a set of sword techniques.

Each strike of the sword left huge marks on the mountain walls.

The last strike was delivered, a massive Sword Qi split an ancient tree clean into two halves.

System Prompt: Sword Saint Long Yuan has imparted to you the sword technique [Arrogant Divine Sword], you have successfully comprehended the sword technique...

Success! Overwhelmed with joy, Xia Yi the Unrivaled shed tears of happiness, after bitterness comes the sweet, the two months of effort have finally paid off.