Death… And Me

Roan then repeated the same words once again. “Of course, I’ll test it out for you if you follow my directions. If you want to think about another solution on your own, I will wait for it.”

Orphi wanted to ponder over Roan’s words to see if they were feasible. However, there were two things that caught his attention and didn’t let him focus. First, it was how fast Roan comprehended his new meridian circulation method. Even if Roan knew the skill’s original meridian circulation method, he understood his changes way too quickly! That was simply ridiculous!

As for the second thing…

“Errr… here, take this healing pill. I don’t know how you can keep such an emotionless face after injuring your meridians to such an extent. It should be very painful, you know?”

Roan looked at his arm and nodded in response. “Indeed, the pain does bother me.”

‘Life Style, Second Form, Instant Recovery!’

Roan’s hair changed into a mix of black and white, using Rean and his White Star’s Light Element to recover his arm. In just a few seconds, Roan’s arm was as good as new. If not for the blood on his clothes and skin, Orphi would think that the damage Roan suffered a moment ago was just an illusion.

‘Hmm?’ Rean then contacted Roan. ‘Are you in trouble?’

It was rare for Rean and Roan to use Elemental Exchange, after all. When they did, they knew why it was happening.

Roan immediately answered, ‘Everything is fine. I’ll need your Light Element for a while, though.’

Rean nodded and didn’t ask anymore. If Roan really was in a bad situation, he wouldn’t hide it from him as he found such a thing meaningless. ‘Alright then.’

“Y-Y-Y-Your arm! Holy shit! How did it heal so fast like that?!” Naturally, Orphi was even more shocked now. Even the best pills he had in his spatial ring weren’t that efficient. No, they couldn’t even hold a candle to Roan’s healing efficacy. Not to mention that Orphi could tell with his Divine Sense that Roan’s meridians had recovered to a perfect state. He could see no side effects from the healing whatsoever.

Roan narrowed his eyes as he asked, “Are we here to improve your Mantis Blade’s new circulation method or talk about me? If you want to know, just ask around about the last recruitment test. Just know that other than me and my brother, no one else can do what I did.” Of course, there was a way to use Rean’s Instant Recovery skill without being one of the twins. All they needed to do was have one of Rean’s Light Element Gathering equipment. Unfortunately, Rean still hadn’t shown anyone about it.

Orphi then calmed down as he looked at Roan from a new light. “Alright! Whatever you did to recover is obviously a good thing for me. It will save me pills and allow for a more thorough test. Let me think about the changes you offered in my theory.”

Orphi then sat down and pondered about the ideas Roan gave him. He wouldn’t apply them straight away, after all. Even if Roan could recover that fast or miraculously learn his idea in a few seconds, he still preferred to rely on his own opinion. It also had his own pride in play.

However, the more he thought about all the minor and major details in Roan’s words, the more he thought that everything he said made sense. There were very few points where he could find any flaws. Well, the fact that he could find any flaws at all showed just how much time he invested in this new variation of the Mantis Blade. “What about this…”

Roan heard the points where Orphi found issues in his first examination and had to admit Orphi also had a point. Of course, the majority of the things Roan mentioned at first were maintained by Orphi.

And just like that, the two of them continued to discuss what they thought to be right and wrong, which took over an entire hour. During this time, Roan didn’t try to use the skill again, nor did Orphi ask him to do so. If Orphi had any doubts about Roan’s comprehension ability, they were now gone at this point.

Eventually, Roan got up again and raised his White Star. “Very well, let’s try it once more.” He was still being paid to receive the backlashes of the first tries if they went wrong, after all.

*Swish!*

Another dummy was hit by Roan’s White Star after the afterimage passed through another part of its body first. This time, however, Roan raised his arm to look at it and didn’t feel anything wrong. “Seems feasible. The noise decreased while the speed and strength had become higher than what I had previously predicted.”

Orphi couldn’t help but feel excited. The total attack power of the skill as a whole increased by just ten or so percent. For cultivators, such an increase in an already known skill was a huge thing. “Great! Try it a few more times against the other dummies. Don’t worry, they were made by the Blacksmith Hall and can recover on their own.”

Roan nodded and used the Mantis Blade several more times until Orphi was finally satisfied. “Alright, that’s enough. Let me try it.”

‘Mantis Blade!’

The skill worked perfectly, just like it did with Roan. However, Orphi still felt a lot of pain in his arm, although no significant damage was taken. The problem is that he wouldn’t be able to use it constantly. “This…” He then looked at Roan and asked, “Didn’t you feel any pain?”

Roan shook his head in response. “No.” However, he knew the reason for that. “It’s not a problem with the skill, but our bodies. You cultivators focus too much on the cultivation level and use Divine Energy to strengthen your bodies. I, on the other hand, train my physical body and cultivation. Putting a strong body and my Divine Energy together makes it a lot more resistant than yours.”

Roan pondered over it for a bit before asking, “This version of the skill is too strong for you. Shall we rework it for weaker bodies?”

Roan didn’t have any intention of offending Orphi with that comment. However, Orphi’s pride did take a big hit after hearing that. “No need! From today onwards, I will work on my body as well!”