Chapter 20 The Imitator's Limit

Just as Zhou Jing was pondering, Wu Fan moved.

*Whoosh!*

He closed in like a ghost, wielding his blade in a powerful downward slash, stirring up a fierce gale.

Zhou Jing's eyes flashed, and he raised his blade to parry, meeting the attack head-on.

*Clang!*

With a muffled thud, the two training swords clashed, rebounding slightly before grinding against each other. The force of the impact sent a cloud of dust swirling.

In the next instant, both men changed their tactics simultaneously, their blades flashing as they aimed for each other's vital points, exchanging blows at lightning speed. In a mere moment, they had traded more than ten moves, the air filled with the incessant clang of their weapons.

Zhou Jing twisted his blade, sticking to Wu Fan's weapon, and with his other hand, he grabbed the blade, raising an eyebrow and saying, "That move looks familiar. Are you copying me?"

Wu Fan didn't try to pull his blade away. Instead, he also reached out and grabbed Zhou Jing's training sword, which hadn't had time to retreat.

The two men held each other's weapons, pulling and straining, locked in a stalemate.

"My ability allows me to precisely imitate the physical movements of others. Whether it's muscles, bones, or fascia, I can mimic the trajectory of every detail. There are no secrets in my eyes. I already understand your combat skills."

Taking advantage of the deadlock, Wu Fan explained casually, without concealing anything.

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes. "Your strength and speed are also quite impressive. Does imitating my movements also allow you to imitate my physical attributes?"

"Not exactly." Wu Fan said expressionlessly, "This is my other ability. I can temporarily enhance my strength using thoughts, ideas, or willpower. In other words... if I think I'm strong, I become strong."

Zhou Jing felt a twitch in his heart.

*Damn, what kind of mystical superpower is that? If you think you can do it, you can?!*

"So, no matter what kind of enemy I face, I can surpass them. If I imagine my physical attributes are stronger than yours, I can temporarily boost myself to exceed your level!"

As Wu Fan spoke, the hand gripping the blade gradually increased its force, pulling Zhou Jing's way.

Zhou Jing knew this was his opponent's psychological tactic. He quickly calmed down and formulated a plan.

Despite making himself sound like he had no weaknesses, there must be a limit, or he wouldn't be an S-rank aptitude, but a 3S-rank.

The intensity, duration, and other factors must have limitations. Moreover, he probably couldn't easily replicate unique abilities through "thinking" about it.

Even if he temporarily boosted himself to similar physical attributes, he wouldn't have the various characteristics conferred by his own xenogeneic blood enhancement. He would just be a blank slate. Furthermore, the sudden surge in power would weaken his control over his body. Even if he imitated his combat skills, he probably couldn't immediately get used to the temporarily acquired power.

Still, it was indeed an unreasonable and wondrous ability. Zhou Jing gained some insight, marveling in wonder.

"You think imitating my skills is enough? Even with the skills, do you know how to use them? Can you learn all my experience too?"

Zhou Jing suddenly released his grip.

Abruptly losing resistance, Wu Fan was caught off balance by his own force, stumbling slightly.

*Whoosh!*

Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Jing's hands shot out, striking at Wu Fan's chest, stirring up a fierce gust of wind.

In a hurry, Wu Fan exerted force to steady himself, but he didn't have time to counterattack. He held his blades in front of his chest, bracing for Zhou Jing's palm strikes.

At the same time, his eyes flickered with a faint light, flashing through a series of different stances, as if analyzing the movements.

*Whoosh!*

Just as the palms were about to strike the blades, the tense palms suddenly softened, transforming the strikes into caresses, crossing each other like butterflies flitting through flowers.

One hand struck the intersection of the blades from the side, using a clever force to deflect the weapons, then the palm slid down the blade at lightning speed, controlling Wu Fan's blade-wielding hand.

The other hand went straight for the center, taking advantage of the deflected blades, bypassing the parrying weapons, and directly seizing Wu Fan's collar.

Zhou Jing's feet didn't stop, advancing to seize position, tripping Wu Fan to break his balance, then twisting his waist and driving his arms, as if to grab Wu Fan and throw him to the side.

"Trying to throw me?" Wu Fan reacted quickly. As he was about to be lifted into the air, he hooked his foot around Zhou Jing's leg, using the force to neutralize the throw.

However, in the next moment, Zhou Jing seemed to have anticipated this. Before Wu Fan could change his move, Zhou Jing suddenly bent his knee, trapping Wu Fan's hooked foot between his calf and thigh, then flipped to the other side.

*Bang!*

With a muffled thud, Wu Fan, completely off balance and unable to dodge, arced through the air and slammed face-first into the ground, Zhou Jing straddling his back.

The arm with which he held his blade was twisted behind his back by Zhou Jing, pinned between their bodies, unable to move.

The months of combat training on the ship hadn't been for nothing.

The moment the position was established, Zhou Jing didn't hesitate. Using the force of the roll, he slammed an elbow into Wu Fan's shoulder, producing a muffled thud.

"Hiss!"

Wu Fan gasped in pain, quickly exerting force to arch his back, lifting Zhou Jing off his back and pushing him away a short distance.

But before he could make another move, a heavy blow struck his back, a knee strike slammed into his spine, instantly weakening him and causing him to collapse, once again pinned beneath Zhou Jing.

The next moment, a flurry of old-fashioned punches rained down on Wu Fan's head and back.

*Thump, thump, thump!*

The ground beneath them vibrated with each strike.

Wu Fan's vision blurred from the blows. The hand that wasn't restrained quickly released its grip on the blade, protecting the back of his head, enduring the onslaught.

Just then, Zhou Jing suddenly stopped punching, pressing down on Wu Fan's body, and rolled to the side.

Wu Fan's wrist of the arm twisted behind his back was almost broken by the movement. He involuntarily released his grip on the blade, and his weapon was snatched away by Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing took the blade, and while rolling, he also picked up the other blade that Wu Fan had dropped on the ground.

Before he could even stand up after the roll, his legs suddenly thrust backward, the explosive force like a cannonball leaving the barrel.

Without the pressure on his back, Wu Fan had just tried to get up when he was struck by a powerful back kick, hitting his side and ribs!

*Bang! Bang!*

Wu Fan was sent flying uncontrollably for more than ten meters, slamming into the ground with a thud and rolling several times before sliding to the edge of the arena.

He vomited a mouthful of sour liquid. The pain made it impossible to maintain his aloof expression, and his face twisted slightly. He felt as if his entire rib cage had been shattered.

On the other side, Zhou Jing performed an oolong twister to stand up, holding two blades, and said in a deep voice:

"Techniques are static, people are dynamic. Imitation is just imitation. If you can't truly integrate and understand them, in actual combat, if you encounter multiple changes from your opponent, you won't necessarily be able to resolve them with just imitated techniques. You're still far from there."

"I haven't lost yet..."

Wu Fan covered his ribs, struggling to stand up, gritting his teeth and adopting a fighting stance, his fists glowing faintly, as if he still had some untapped ability.

However, in the next moment, Zhou Jing's figure suddenly magnified in his eyes.

*Swish!*

Zhou Jing closed in instantly, his speed even faster than before, almost impossible to react to.

Everything around him seemed to darken suddenly, and the two bright electric lights about to erupt from Zhou Jing's eyes became the only colors in Wu Fan's vision.

The twin blades stirred up a gale, carrying the momentum to strike horizontally in unison, hitting Wu Fan's abdomen.

*Bang!*

Muffled thuds merged into one, and a shockwave exploded and spread.

"You really are... strong."

Wu Fan's face turned purple, and he managed to say before his eyes rolled back, revealing the whites, and he fell backward off the arena.

The medical staff waiting nearby rushed to treat him, discovering that Wu Fan had merely fainted from the sudden impact and that his injuries weren't serious.

Zhou Jing glanced at them, then walked back to the center of the arena, secretly exhaling a breath.

"Huff, that guy was quite strong... an imitation ability, huh? That should be the aptitude of a martial arts genius, with amazing potential. He has limited combat experience at the beginning, so he might not be strong enough, but the more he fights, the more powerful he becomes. If he is given enough opportunities to continuously learn and grow through imitation, it won't be so easy to take him down."

Zhou Jing's heart grew serious. Wu Fan... was definitely a promising stock.

He steadied his mind, put aside his thoughts, lowered his blades to the ground, looked at the audience, and asked, "Is there anyone else who wants to come up?"

The arena was silent.

This time, no one really wanted to challenge him.

Many new students swallowed, without a trace of underestimation, their hearts filled with awe.

Even an S-rank had been easily defeated, although it wasn't an instant kill, but it was complete suppression.

This series of fluid, swift close-quarters combat had captivated everyone, filling them with shock and fear.

It seemed... that even among the special selection students, this Zhou Jing was an extremely strong one.

Especially his close combat ability. Compared to these new students, he was undoubtedly a master among masters, completely crushing the kids... Just speaking of close combat, no one thought anyone could match Zhou Jing.

Even with the same physical attributes and skills, it seemed that they couldn't fight as well as him.

Seeing that no one responded, Zhou Jing stepped down from the arena. Unless he challenged someone himself, he probably wouldn't have to go on stage again.

As soon as he got off the stage, Tang Liu approached him, standing on tiptoes and vigorously patting Zhou Jing's shoulder, with an expression of "well done, worthy of praise":

"Not bad, not bad. Although you're still a bit behind me, you're already very strong. I announce your official promotion. From now on, you're my number one general!"

"...I'm so happy."

Zhou Jing gave him a strange look, momentarily speechless.

He didn't know whether to say this young man had no sense of self-awareness or was overly confident.

And did you have anyone else "under your command"? Isn't it just me who likes to tease you...

Shaking his head, Zhou Jing had no interest in discouraging the young man. He casually responded twice, then sat aside to watch the battles.

He didn't go on stage again in the following sparring matches, observing the abilities of the other people from below.

He also took a look at the superpowers of the other special selection students.

In addition, some of the new students' plans to challenge the special selection students were successful. Those who won were all the special selection students who were ranked lower.

From day to afternoon, almost everyone was exhausted. The internal sparring finally ended. Li Yun led the mentor group down from the viewing platform, gathered everyone around him, and announced the arrangements.

"Everyone performed well today. We have collected your combat information and made an evaluation. The list of participants for the arena competition and the team competition has been decided."

As he spoke, Li Yun displayed a virtual screen with the names of fifty people, allocating the spots for the competition.

The crowd quickly crowded around to find their names.

Zhou Jing also took a look and quickly saw himself on the list for the arena competition.

Li Yun looked around, his gaze falling on Zhou Jing, and said:

"In addition, the mentor group has decided to have Ding Qiu, Tang Liu, Wu Fan, Feng Xulei, and Zhou Jing as the core members of the competition. Our tactics will be developed around you."

Hearing this, everyone looked at the five people, with envy and awe.

Zhou Jing nodded inwardly. Besides him, the other four were all S-rank.

On the platform, Deng Yunjie and other leading figures shook their heads and smiled, looking at Zhou Jing, and joked in a low voice:

"I didn't expect that a B-rank would really be appointed as the core. This is a first in the history of the department."

"Hey, I hope the other departments won't be scared by him at that time."