"Bring it on!" Ezio shouted with blood seeping from the side of his mouth. Whenever he battled with Anon, he would be humbled, and today was no different. Since he broke through to Qi Solidification Realm, a new part of the Jade Slip of The Azure Wolf King's Eternal Fang had been unlocked and new techniques appeared.
Sadly, his Qi Force was not enough to use them all. At the Qi Force Opening Realm First Layer, a cultivator would have 10 Qi Force, at the intermediate layer 40, at advanced layer 70, and at the pinnacle 100 Qi Force.
The techniques before Qi Force Opening Realm were about concealing one's aura and sneaking on prey. Since Force was essential for executing techniques, before reaching this realm, the art could only prepare the cultivator for the higher stages.
After he broke through to the Qi Force Opening Realm, he unlocked another part of the art. There were 5 techniques in this stage and all of them were devastating. And he used them while he was battling against Xiao Chen's guards and in the tournament.
The first technique required 10 Qi Force. It was Wolf Stance. By lowering his body to the ground, he could unleash force from the sole of his feet to dash out with great speed akin to a hidden wolf jumping on its prey.
The second technique was, Nimble Wolf. This technique required 40 Qi Force. Through this technique, Ezio's muscles were packed with potential power and could be used to take turns even at full speed. Normally changing the path when executing movement techniques would be nigh impossible, yet by using this technique, Ezio could change his trajectory even at full speed. Ezio used it when battling with guards, and could use branches and trunks to change his path even in the air.
The third and fourth techniques required 70 Qi Force. They were Wolf Fang and Descending Killing Claw respectively. The first one required dagger mastery as Ezio lacked a fang that could kill his prey. But it could be imitated with a dagger. The dagger was the main weapon of this art, to begin with.
If he awakened the Signium that nudged his soul, he could morph into a wolf and execute these techniques with better mastery, but it wasn't essential.
He could also morph his hands into claws with his second Signium and use the second technique, Descending Killing Claw. It was a killing technique that aimed lethal spots on his opponents. Although not as deadly as Wolf Fang, it was a continuous technique that could be used over and over again if the prey somehow managed to dodge.
The last technique that could be used in Qi Force Opening Realm and required 100 Qi Force was Wolf Stare. It was a technique that could be used to intimidate opponents. By using the bloodthirsty aura of a wolf, it could pressure the opponents. By mixing this with his first Signium, Anon was giving him hard times.
"Watch carefully. This is the advanced techniques of the previous Realm." Anon said as he crouched down. He was holding a dagger and his left arm was on the ground, his right hand was behind him. "Like the Wolf Stance, Wolf Charge can be used by using Force to propel oneself. But unlike the first one, the depletion of Qi Force is much higher and the speed is also many times faster."
The Qi Force in the first layer of the Qi Solidification Realm was 300. In the second it was 600 and in the third, it was 900. The initial 40 Qi Force Ezio had lost its value the higher his realm climbed.
Wolf Charge required 250 Qi Force. Anon used it before and the speed was incredible.
"Let me try!" Ezio said excitedly as he lowered his upper body. Qi Force started to gather at his feet and with a dash, he disappeared. He appeared in front of Anon in the next second. "Amazing!"
"It is." Anon nodded. "Now, because speed is much higher, Nimble Wolf is useless. The advanced technique, Wolf Twist, requires 300 Qi Force. But changing the flight path at that speed is quite difficult and dangerous. Use this technique with Wolf Stance first to practice, later you can train with Wolf Charge."
"Okay." Ezio nodded and used the inferior technique Wolf Stance and started to move at high speed. But instead of using Nimble Wolf to turn around, he used Wolf Twist instead. By using Qi Force to change his direction, he needed mastery at circulating his Qi. Because when he was using Wolf Twist, he would be using two different techniques at the same time. After all, he would be using it during his charge.
Using two techniques at the same time was no easy thing. Qi circulation and concentration were tedious work on their own. By mixing two different techniques, he would be forcing his body even higher.
After getting used to it, he got the gist of it so he tried with Wolf Charge and managed to change its trajectory.
"Good." Anon nodded from the side. "You can try it later on your own. Now, there is another unique technique that can be used with 300 Qi Force but even I haven't mastered it yet."
In the next second, Anon's aura changed and a wolf silhouette appeared behind him. It looked like an azure wolf ready to pounce on him. Ezio knew something big was coming and assumed a defensive posture. In the next second, Anon appeared in front of him with Wolf Charge and his arm on top of his head started to descend on his face. Ezio dodged the attack by jumping backward, but the claw, as if it wasn't carrying any force, stopped in front of his face and moved forward instead.
He knew the attack wasn't a feint. The force behind the attack was so great that the air was breaking around his arm. But when Ezio dodged it, the attack stopped as if it wasn't carrying any strength behind it. And when it charged forward, the claw attacked with the same ferocity. Ezio had nowhere to dodge, thus waiting with his eyes closed, but the attack he was waiting for never arrived.
"Like Wolf Twist, Claw Twist can help you to maneuver your limbs in great mastery. When mastered, you can use both techniques in tandem to become even more nimble. It requires finesse and lots of Force thus it is not easy to use, but you can use it to surprise your opponents and finish them quickly." Anon said. Ezio recognized the move immediately. Anon used it when battling with the girl with the Lava element during the tournament. Despite charging with full speed, he could pull back the dagger and attack from behind to end the battle in a matter of seconds.