You're trying to murder me!" exclaimed Long Kongkong.
"Murder what? Aren't you wearing your inner armor?" retorted Long Dangdang impatiently.
Only then did Long Kongkong remembered that he was wearing the inner armor subsidized by the Knights Temple. Yes, didn't he have an inner armor on? However, looking at the shield in his hand, he suddenly felt like he could actually communicate with the items in his storage ring.
"Is this light specialty magic?" Long Kongkong asked curiously.
Long Dangdang nodded, "It's 1st Rank Magic Light Beam Bomb, I just experimented successfully with it. Senior Na Ye's Archangel's Embrace restored the energy I expended when I absorbed the Holy Diversion Spirit Furnace. My spiritual power is presently abundant, it should be over a hundred in total. In theory, I should be able to use 1st and 2nd rank magic. However, I still need to continue trying to communicate with the elements."
Long Kongkong's mouth twitched. It had only been a week since they enrolled, while other students were still trying to sense the elements, his older brother could already use low-level magic. Was this the advantage of being extraordinarily talented?
"What are we going to do about the assessment?" Long Kongkong asked with a grimace.
"Why the hurry? There's always a way when we reach the mountain," Long Dangdang replied dismissively.
Long Kongkong retorted annoyedly: "Of course, you're not worried. You have the Divine Lotus Spirit Furnace. No one can touch you. You can always find a way to get points. So what am I supposed to do? We're not allowed to use any weapons or equipment, any male classmate in our class could knock me down."
"Are you stupid!? Why would you fight with your own classmates? Have you forgotten what dad used to teach us? In times of trouble, we should unite all the forces we can. Besides, since Senior Na Ye is here, didn't he say how he would teach us? I think he set this assessment to put some pressure on us and make us learn well from him."
"But there's only a few days left, it's too late to start learning now!" Long Kongkong continued to look upset.
"Worried about it being too late? If not this time, there's always next time. Failure is the mother of success, haven't you heard?" The laid-back voice rang out. The next instant, both brothers blinked and saw the Divine Knight, Na Ye, appear in front of them.
"Greetings, senior." Long Dangdang hastily gave a bow, but Long Kongkong just plonked himself on the living room couch.
"You don't bow to your teacher?" Na Ye said, disgruntled.
Rolling his eyes, Long Kongkong responded, "You remember that you're my teacher now? Who pulls tricks on their own students like this?"
Na Ye indifferently replied, "Giving you pressure before giving you a motivation to learn. Solve your own problems. If you want to grow, you need to feel urgent at all times. I'll teach you three moves. Master these three and you will have a chance to pass the assessment."
"Can I learn them in a week?" asked Long Kongkong.
Na Ye glanced at him and said, "Dangdang can, for you, it's a bit challenging."
As if realizing something, Long Kongkong exclaimed, "Teacher! I have something to discuss with you!"
Na Ye looked at him questioningly, "What is it?"
"Could you perform the Archangel's Embrace a few more times for me? I can feel it. The energy my vortex absorbed that day was more than what I got from sleeping... no, meditating over the past few days. I think it went from ten points to fifteen, four of which were added by your Archangel's Embrace. If you do it for me a few dozen times more, I might be as talented as my brother."
Na Ye placed her hands on her hips, indignant, "Cheeky kid, you just want gain without putting in the effort. Not to mention that the Archangel's Embrace isn't easy to use and requires the consumption of my Luminosity source. Even if I could, do you think it would have the same effect every time? The good effect that day was because it was your first time, it had a muscle-easing and marrow-cleansing effect. Even an idiot's body would change after one Archangel's Embrace, and since your talent is at a lower level, it's normal for your innate spiritual force to improve significantly. In fact, the Elemental Vortex Spirit Furnace at most could have only increased a point or two, so you're not wrong there. But from now on, the effect will not be the same, at most it will be a bit better than your meditation."
Long Kongkong asked: "If I do this a hundred or eighty times a day, will my innate talent improve faster?"
"Are you dreaming? All the divine knights in the Knights Temple combined couldn't perform the Archangel's Embrace that many times in a day. Don't try to take shortcuts, you can choose not to practice, but prepare to be embarrassed during the weekend assessment. Once your true identity is revealed, I won't be responsible for your parents. Masquerading in the Temple Academy and deceitfully obtaining a spirit furnace, they could be sent to the law court for that."
Long Kongkong was taken aback, "Is it really that serious?"
Na Ye scoffed, "How could it not be? What do you think a spirit furnace is? Did you think you got it for free?"
"Alright, alright, I'll learn." Long Kongkong stood up droopily.
"What I'm teaching you are basic skills. Today, I'll teach you the first technique, Slide Step." Na Ye explained.
"Slide Step? Like this?" Long Kongkong asked, dragging his right foot and taking a step to the side.
Na Ye disapprovingly said, "You call that a Slide Step? Try catching me."
Long Kongkong didn't hesitate and pounced at Na Ye. Just when he was about to make contact, he exclaimed, "Haha, got you now, huh..."
The next moment, his sight blurred, it was as if Na Ye had disappeared into thin air. He ended up sprawling on the ground.
Long Dangdang, who was watching from the sidelines, didn't see what happened either. It looked as if Na Ye had teleported, moving three feet to the side in an instant, causing Long Kongkong to miss.
Ignoring Long Kongkong who was groaning on the ground, Na Ye said: "The Slide Step seems simple, but it's an incredibly important basic ability for a knight, crucial in both attack and defense. The key is to catch your opponent off guard and make your movements unpredictable. Therefore, when performing a Slide Step, your upper body must remain unchanged, as stable as possible, even your gaze should remain unchanged. Otherwise, your opponent will easily guess your actions based on where you are looking."
"The power generated for a Slide Step primarily comes from the muscles in your calves and the tendons and muscles in your feet. You can even change direction by applying different forces with your toes. Both legs and feet are the foundation of the Slide Step. What you need to do is to understand every muscle in your feet and calves and be able to flexibly use them together. This is how to perfectly execute a Slide Step. When perfected, you'll be able to change direction constantly in the blink of an eye, leaving your opponent guessing."
As he explained, Na Ye's body suddenly started moving. As he had said, it seemed like he made no effort at all, but his body kept flashing and turning in the room like an unpredictable breeze. As his speed increased, he left afterimages in the room, making it seem as if many Na Yes had been cloned, with no way to distinguish between the real one and the fakes.
"Wow! Not bad, old man!" Long Kongkong became increasingly interested. Could Slide Step really be like a clone technique?
"Ouch!"
"Hey, why'd you hit me again?"
"Ungrateful brat! If I don't hit you, who would I hit?" Na Ye grumblingly pulled both Long Dangdang and Long Kongkong in front of him.
"Close your eyes and feel carefully. I'm going to show you every muscle you need for a Slide Step." Warm currents flowed from Na Ye's palms into their bodies, quickly spreading to their legs.
"The calf is mainly divided into posterior, lateral, and anterolateral muscle groups. The posterior muscle group primarily consists of superficial muscles like the gastrocnemius and soleus, whose tendons form the Achilles tendon. The deeper layer of muscles - the popliteus, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus - whose tendons go along the medial side of the ankle, have a function in toe flexion and foot inversion. The lateral muscle group consists of the peroneus longus and brevis, which stabilize the foot for eversion. The anterolateral muscle group – the fibularis tertius, extensor digitorum longus, extensor hallucis longus, and tibialis anterior– control toe dorsiflexion and foot eversion."
As Na Ye spoke, the energy he infused into their bodies highlighted the muscles he described, allowing the brothers to clearly feel their structure. Na Ye's voice, coupled with the guidance of the infusion, deeply etched the details into their minds.