43: Rock property crystal core
"Buddy, catch the blade!"
The Martial Arts Academy student rushing at the very front looked excited.
He drew his combat blade from his waist and threw it out.
"Take mine too!"
"Mine was just forged, use mine!"
In an instant, all the students who used blades threw them toward Li Canglan.
Anyone who could pop out of a rock, regardless of anything else, had to be a tough guy!
They couldn't miss the chance to make friends with him!
"Damn, there's no need for so many!"
Watching six or seven blades flying toward his face simultaneously, Li Canglan's mouth twitched.
He stomped down hard, and the ground let out a dull thud.
His figure soared into the air, and he grabbed two combat blades before landing with a boom.
Li Canglan turned around, looking at the Stone Man with a gaze that was cold yet filled with Battle Intent.
"Now, it's my turn to fight back!"
He hadn't forgotten the grudge from earlier when he was shaken so violently he almost threw up everywhere!
Borrowing the momentum of his descent, Li Canglan's Qi and blood surged as he slashed out with all his might!
A purplish-blue cold gleam, like thunder, attached itself to the blade.
It brought out a dazzling blade aura that sliced through the air.
The Stone Man went up against the mountain, throwing out a simple, unadorned punch.
Bang!
The sound of metal striking stone rang out with a boom.
Just hearing this piercing sound made everyone feel their scalps tingle.
Fragments splashed from the Stone Man's arm.
Li Canglan felt a slight numbness in the web between his thumb and index finger where he gripped the combat blade.
The immense force shook the Stone Man's body backward, and it almost rolled down the slope.
"Damn, is this really Thunderbolt Slash?"
Watching this scene, several students had dull looks in their eyes.
Their family backgrounds were average, and they had all relied on hard work to Cultivate to reach their current Realm.
Their most proficient Martial Skill, without exception, was the free-to-learn Thunderbolt Slash.
Their Thunderbolt Slash had basically all reached the proficiency of Minor Achievement.
But when they used it, there were no such eye-catching special effects at all!
"Could it be that this Martial Artist has forcefully Cultivated Thunderbolt Slash to the level of Mastery?"
Li Canglan and the Stone Man didn't pause, fighting frantically in a ball.
Under the enhancement of wind elemental power, Li Canglan's speed was much faster than the Stone Man's.
He could easily dodge the Stone Man's attacks.
And every one of Li Canglan's attacks would hit the same wound on the Stone Man as much as possible.
Even water droplets can pierce stone.
Let alone a sharp combat blade?
After more than a minute, one of the Stone Man's arms was slashed off.
However, it quickly extended another intact rock arm.
As if it had never been injured at all.
"I don't believe your energy can be endless!"
When it came to a battle of attrition, Li Canglan was not panicking in the slightest.
His abundant Raging Wind Thunder Eagle Martial Artist mark gave him endurance far exceeding other Martial Artists of the same level.
Even if it was a Stone Man, it must necessarily obey the law of conservation of energy.
Generating an arm must necessarily consume energy!
In the distance, the rock arm landed with a bang in front of the Martial Arts Academy students.
"Old Zhang, you go and try."
A student winked at a Martial Artist nearby who was holding a long sword.
Being so far away, it was hard for them to judge the strength of both sides.
This rock arm served as a perfect medium for measurement.
A long sword could also execute Thunderbolt Slash.
Crack!
The combat sword slashed onto the rock arm, but the arm didn't move a bit.
Yet this Martial Artist felt a sharp pain in the web of his hand, as if it were cracking.
"This thing... is just too hard!"
The watching Martial Artists were slightly stunned.
They couldn't even cut it when the arm was lying on the ground.
Was this rock arm a bit too hard?
They trained together every day, so they definitely knew each other's roots well.
Even if there were differences in strength, they wouldn't be too big.
If Old Zhang couldn't cut it, it meant that even if they came, they would likely be about the same.
"Coach, what do you think the strength of that young man and the Stone Man is?"
The Martial Arts Academy coach had a grave expression; after observing for a while, he said in a deep voice,
"It shouldn't have exceeded the limit of a One-Star Warrior yet."
"What?!"
Now, this group of Martial Artists was even more surprised.
If they said this young man, who looked younger than them, was stronger than them.
For example, if he had already reached the level of a Two-Star Martial Artist.
They could say the other person had immense talent and find an excuse to comfort themselves.
After all, there were Geniuses everywhere, and people who didn't lack resources were not on the same track as them to begin with.
But the other person was still a One-Star Warrior.
This meant that theoretically, their Realms were about the same!
This was what was most unacceptable!
Especially Old Zhang, who had experienced it firsthand, was looking depressed right now.
They were both One-Star Warriors, yet that strange young man had already slashed off three of the Stone Man's arms by now!
And him?
On the already severed arm, he could only leave a shallow white mark...
"Sure enough, sometimes the gap between people is greater than the gap between a person and a dog."
On the other side, the wild battle continued.
Li Canglan had already slashed off five of the Stone Man's arms.
He could clearly perceive that the Stone Man's strength was getting weaker and weaker.
He now only needed three slashes to cut off an arm that originally required more than a dozen slashes to cut off.
And during these two days of fighting day and night, he faintly felt that the proficiency of Thunderbolt Slash seemed to be climbing at an extremely fast speed.
If this continued, he estimated that it wouldn't be long before he could reach the level of Mastery!
Even though Thunderbolt Slash was just an ordinary Martial Skill without a grade.
But for any Martial Skill, wanting to grasp it to the level of Mastery was not that easy.
A few more minutes later.
The Stone Man no longer had the energy to re-condense a rock arm.
Its massive body collapsed to the ground with a boom, symbolizing the death of the Stone Man!
Clap, clap, clap!
The watching Martial Arts Academy students burst into fierce applause.
They had not yet personally fought against a Demonic Beast.
This strange young man's battle was of great benefit to them when they started fighting Demonic Beasts.
Li Canglan squatted down and broke off a grayish-brown stone that looked harder from the Stone Man's head.
The next moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"There's a crystal core!"
This was an earth-yellow Earth-Attribute crystal core.
Li Canglan decided to put it away first, and wait until he returned to the city to go to the Martial Arts Association to exchange it for a crystal core suitable for him before absorbing it.
Although an Earth-Attribute crystal core could also be devoured, it certainly wouldn't bring as much improvement as an attribute suitable for himself.
"Many thanks."
After confirming there was nothing left behind, Li Canglan returned the combat blade to the Martial Arts Academy student and thanked him.
These students excitedly crowded around Li Canglan, shouting eagerly.
"Big brother, how do you usually Cultivate? How can I become as strong as you?"
"Big brother, open a class, I'll sign up no matter how much it costs!"
Li Canglan's face darkened.
The youngest among these people was probably ten years older than him!
And they actually called him big brother?
Bah! How shameless!
But then he thought, could it be that his face-pinching technique was the problem?
This thought only appeared for a split second before he dismissed it himself.
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
His, Li's, aesthetic taste was absolutely top-tier!