Chapter Forty-One: A Friendly Duel

Chapter Forty-One

Overall, Mei was quite satisfied with the Ye family’s meals. Though the dishes were simple—a reality easy enough to understand in the apocalypse—the portions were generous, enough to keep everyone well fed. Besides, the food was tasty, and it was clear the cook put care into every meal.

That was sufficient.

After a peaceful night’s rest, everyone rose early the next morning to take advantage of the Ye family’s underground training facility for their morning exercise.

Arriving at the training ground, they discovered just how many members the Ye family had! The expansive space, large enough to rival a football field, was dotted with sturdy men engaged in various forms of training. Around the field, all manner of equipment was available for use.

Their group began with ten laps around the field. Mo Chen then sought out a place to practice his swordsmanship, Lin Shaojie went to the equipment area to work on speed and agility, An Ziyou started reaction drills, and the remaining Qu Wenyuan, uncertain what to practice, simply followed behind Mei, intending to continue training her archery.

“Yuan, now that you’ve awakened your ability, archery isn’t quite as important anymore. Your powers already make you suited for ranged attacks,” Mei said thoughtfully, noticing Qu Wenyuan trailing behind her.

Qu Wenyuan blushed at the memory of her embarrassing archery skills and hesitated before asking, “Then what should I practice?”

“I think what you lack most is combat experience. Your ability awakened only recently, and you’ve barely been in any fights. At a distance, you’re fine, but if zombies get close, you tend to panic. In a large group it’s less obvious, but in a small team, it could cause trouble for others. If you’re willing to take my advice, I’d suggest setting aside some time each day for sparring practice, so you can quickly figure out a fighting style that suits you,” Mei earnestly suggested.

“But how should I train?” Qu Wenyuan’s weakness had been pinpointed, but as someone who used to avoid even the sight of a fight, she had no clue where to begin.

“How about this: I’ll spar with you for now. Once you’re steadier and can control your power better, you can switch to other partners. Fighting people with different styles will help you improve your practical skills and develop your own style,” Mei said, leading her to a distant corner of the training ground.

“Let’s begin.”

Mei stood there, relaxed, signaling that Qu Wenyuan could launch her attack.

Qu Wenyuan took a deep breath, conjured a water sphere the size of a soccer ball, and hurled it at Mei.

Mei watched the slow-moving water ball, and with a resigned gesture, easily neutralized it. Though the sphere held little threat for her, it would have left quite a hole in the wall if it hit.

“The power of an ability doesn’t directly correlate to size. Bigger doesn’t mean stronger—you need to concentrate your energy. Besides, making it too large slows your attack down. At that speed, even an average zombie could dodge it,” Mei pointed out.

Qu Wenyuan bit her lip, acknowledging the truth in Mei’s words, and tried again. This time, the water sphere was only the size of a tennis ball, and its speed was vastly improved.

Yet, from Mei’s perspective, it was still too slow. She raised her hand and dispelled it once more.

Qu Wenyuan persisted, launching several water spheres in quick succession, each targeting a different part of Mei’s body.

Mei extended a finger, her white energy gathering at the tip. With swift, precise taps in the air, she made every water sphere vanish like bubbles upon contact.

After several more attempts, Mei hadn’t moved from her spot, but Qu Wenyuan was already exhausted from the drain on her ability.

“That’s enough, take a break. You did well just now—quick thinking, attacking from several angles to force me to move, rather than fixating on a single target. That’s the right combat instinct,” Mei commented.

“But you can also try more flexible attacks. Water has no fixed shape—you don’t have to make water spheres. Try water arrows, or use it to entangle your opponent, even mix it with earth to create a swamp, or...”

While Mei was advising Qu Wenyuan on how to maximize her strengths, the others in the training ground had noticed the two girls sparring and couldn’t resist gathering to watch. When they saw one of the girls manifesting an ability, envy instantly flared.

Why could even a woman awaken abilities, while none of them, all grown men, had managed it?

Their surprise doubled when they saw the younger girl casually deflect the ability. Since when were abilities so easy to handle?

Curiosity piqued, they edged closer to see how she did it. When they glimpsed the white glow at her fingertips, realization dawned—the younger girl was an ability user too!

Jealousy and awe mingled in their hearts.

“Ah Chen, come spar with me!” Mei, having finished her explanation, decided a demonstration might be more instructive and beckoned Mo Chen over.

“Sure!” Mo Chen readily agreed, picking up his Tang sword.

As he channeled electricity into the blade, the crowd erupted in surprise—another ability user? When did they become so common?

“Let’s not use abilities, though. I don’t want to accidentally destroy this place,” Mei said with a shake of her head, mindful that they were underground and unwilling to risk being buried alive.

“It’s fine, the place has been specially reinforced. Unless you hit it with a nuclear bomb, it’ll hold,” came Ye Jingxuan’s voice from among the onlookers.

Reassured, Mei nodded, guessing that with some care, nothing would go wrong. “Then I won’t hold back! Ah Ye, keep an eye out so no one gets hurt by accident!” With that, she didn’t bother with her bow and instead conjured a palm-sized arrow of light in her hand.

The arrow flew, its speed leaving Qu Wenyuan’s earlier water spheres far behind as it shot straight for Mo Chen’s vital points.

Mo Chen reacted instantly, dodging the arrow and sweeping his electrified blade toward Mei.

Mei flipped back nimbly, letting loose another light arrow aimed at Mo Chen’s eyes. He bent backward to avoid it, only to realize the first arrow he’d dodged hadn’t struck the ground—it had curved back, coming for him again.

Startled, Mo Chen rolled aside, only to see both arrows shift direction midair and come after him. Still prone, he swung his sword, sending a burst of electricity to intercept them.

At the instant the arrows were struck, both exploded in a dazzling burst of light, forcing Mo Chen and the spectators to shut their eyes.

When everyone opened their eyes again, Mei was standing beside Mo Chen, smiling, a white arrow pressed lightly against his throat, holding him motionless.

“Ah Chen, you lost,” she said with a smile.

Mo Chen, stunned by how quickly it ended, managed a wry smile. “Yes, I lost.”

He hadn’t expected the two light arrows attacking him to be mere decoys, designed to explode when struck, blinding him long enough to cover her real move.

“Surprised? There are countless ways to use abilities; it’s all about control. What I just did looked simple, but it takes a high level of mastery,” Mei explained, withdrawing her arrow and offering him a hand up before waving Qu Wenyuan over.

Qu Wenyuan, who had watched every exchange intently, was astonished by Mei’s skillful use of her ability. She realized, for the first time, just how versatile these powers could be. Her mind, previously stuck in a rut, was suddenly opened to new possibilities.

Mei felt it was necessary to expose them to more ability-based combat to prevent them from being limited to the same few moves. Scanning the crowd, she caught Ye Jingxuan’s eye and flashed him a bright smile. “Ah Ye, care for a spar?”

“Of course,” Ye Jingxuan replied, hands in his pockets as he stepped forward.

The spectators began to murmur among themselves. It wasn’t that they doubted Mei’s skill, but Ye Jingxuan’s strength was legendary.

Everyone present belonged to the Ye family, and for them, their young master commanded absolute respect. He had once escaped from more than a dozen enemies underground, breaking each of their limbs and leaving them alive but begging for death—a feat that inspired awe and fear in equal measure.

Usually, they dreaded sparring with their young master. His killing intent was so palpable, a glance from him was enough to make their knees weak. Even when he held back, two days in bed was the usual aftermath. Just seeing his fists made their bones ache.

Now, a young girl was challenging the demon of their hearts. They admired her courage, but couldn’t help worrying about her delicate frame. If she took one of his punches, would she not cough up blood on the spot?

Regardless of their concerns, the two in the arena were already facing off.

“Ah Ye, do you have a weapon?” Mei asked.

“No, use whatever you like,” Ye Jingxuan replied, well aware of her proficiency with the bow.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Knowing he’d been trained since childhood, Mei didn’t underestimate him. She retrieved her bow, slung on her quiver, and put some distance between them.

She nocked an arrow but didn’t fire immediately, instead locking her gaze on her opponent.

Ye Jingxuan showed no concern as the arrow was aimed at him, advancing steadily toward her.

Archery was only effective at a distance, and Mei had no intention of letting him close in. She loosed an arrow at his throat, so fast that the only thing heard was the whistle of its flight, the shaft itself vanishing in a blur.

Ye Jingxuan suddenly punched the air, his fist gleaming with a metallic sheen.

With a crisp crack, the arrow was shattered by his punch.

Mei’s expression remained unchanged; she immediately drew and fired three more arrows in rapid succession, each aimed at a different spot on Ye Jingxuan, the shafts glowing faintly to indicate they were no ordinary arrows.

Ye Jingxuan struck again, targeting the first arrow. At that very moment, Mei’s fourth arrow was already in flight.

This fourth arrow was much faster than the previous three, quickly overtaking them and striking the shaft of one ahead.

The combined force of the two arrows created such power that even Ye Jingxuan dared not face it head-on. He considered dodging, only to find the other two arrows had already sealed off his escape routes, forcing him to retreat quickly.

Retreat, or not?

In that split second, Ye Jingxuan made his choice.