Chapter 39: Why Can We Win?

Caught it?

Feeling the heavy halberd in his hand firmly clamped, unable to move an inch, Ji Huai's eyes flashed with surprise.

During the battle, he was likewise observing the five people on the field.

This was an instinctive move born from his experience after countless battles.

In Ji Huai's view, Qin Chuan's performance in the several exchanges just now was commendable; though he wasn't the main attacker, each of his strikes was quite crucial.

Precisely for that reason, when facing Qin Chuan's binding power, Ji Huai for the first time fused the metal in both his hands into one, forming a heavy halberd.

Such an attack, its power far surpassing before, according to his estimate, was enough to break Qin Chuan's binding force and instantly dispel his combat ability.

But Qin Chuan gave him a surprise.

Iron powder…

Ji Huai glanced at the countless black particles churning in the water flow.

He actually knows how to learn and apply flexibly.

Accompanied by another metallic clang, all the water flow coalesced into a giant hand, firmly clamping the sharp blade of the huge axe.

With a thought from Ji Huai, the heavy halberd already firmly gripped by the water hand instantly disintegrated; before Qin Chuan could react, it had broken free of the water's restraint, reassembled in Ji Huai's hand into a long-handled great axe, and came slashing sideways at him.

Qin Chuan is this strong?!

"Not bad reflexes." This was Ji Huai's first spoken word during the one-versus-five fight.

The classmates of Class 7 seemed to have gotten to know Qin Chuan anew, while students from other classes, who previously didn't know his name, were now inquiring and initially recognizing this handsome youth.

This is the sign that his own extraordinary energy is about to run out!

By contrast, Ji Huai at this moment still struck swiftly, showing no signs of exhaustion.

Is my 385 extraordinary value being consumed faster than his 370?

"Clang clang clang——"

Knowledge truly is power!

Ji Huai's expression remained blank; his great axe reassembled once more, transforming into a broadsword that he brought down, then into a pair of heavy hammers that he swung repeatedly.

After all, Ji Huai had just displayed overwhelming strength, yet now, facing Qin Chuan, he failed to finish him off immediately and instead fell into a stalemate.

Standing in place, his attack speed grew ever faster, each time a new method, forcing Qin Chuan to devote a hundred percent of his focus to altering the water flow to respond.

What's going on?

After exchanging blows around twenty times in succession, Qin Chuan suddenly felt his head go light, and his expression changed rapidly accordingly.

Clangs of metal and iron rang out, and the students in the four formations stared at each other.

The next moment, with Qin Chuan staring wide-eyed, Ji Huai's weapon, now reassembled into a spear, lightly touched the water flow; the iron powder in the water instantly broke free of Qin Chuan's control and was absorbed into the spear.

Seeing that heavy, powerful strike, Qin Chuan's eye twitched, and he hurriedly blocked the water flow in front.

After mixing in the iron powder, the power of his Dark Current Bind noticeably increased.

Qin Chuan let out a slight sigh of relief, and his heart felt somewhat uplifted from this successful flexible application.

Before Qin Chuan could figure this out, Ji Huai's attacking motion came to a halt.

"Clang——"

Deprived of the iron powder's aid, the Dark Current Bind could no longer restrain Ji Huai's spear, formed from the metal gathered in both his hands; Qin Chuan only felt a flash before his eyes, and the spear blade was already resting on his shoulder.

Iron powder is also metal.

For a moment, Qin Chuan's gaze toward Ji Huai grew more complex.

So, Ji Huai could from the start seize my iron powder, break my Dark Current Bind, yet by continuously outputting to exhaust my extraordinary energy, prove he could defeat me in another way?

"If I'm not mistaken, you probably have no offensive ability, right?" Ji Huai turned his head, looking at Liu Xinran.

"I..." Liu Xinran stood there, feeling a bit lost; all four of her teammates had been eliminated, she truly had no way to turn the tide, "I didn't know we'd be sparring today, I only brought healing skills, which are useless."

"Now it's useful." Ji Huai pointed at the still-unconscious Zhang Yangwang and Dong Cun, "Go."

Liu Xinran: "..."

Thanks, but I wasn't comforted at all!

The uninjured Zhu Yuxi quickly walked to Liu Xinran's side, accompanying her in healing teammates while softly comforting the girl; soon Liu Xinran's face regained a smile.

The two unconscious ones slowly came to; Ji Huai also dismantled the spear, reforming it into individual metal rings on his arms, hidden within his wide training uniform, then turned and walked toward the students of the four squads.

"If conditions allow, go buy some diamond powder."

"Huh? Okay." Qin Chuan startled a moment before realizing the other was speaking to him, and quickly replied in the affirmative.

Iron powder and similar metal powders can indeed enhance water-system abilities, but they are easily restrained when facing metal-system.

He previously chose iron powder because, on one hand, within two minutes he couldn't find anything else that could form a suspension, and on the other hand, he didn't know Ji Huai was metal-system.

If conditions permit, one should naturally choose a finer, better powder.

This choice has two simple bases: first, hardness—the higher the powder's own hardness, the better, which also improves its enhancement of water.

Second, the material must be neither metal nor stone, so it won't be restrained by metal-system or earth-system.

Having attentively listened to Zhou Zixiu's lesson, Qin Chuan now has a deeper understanding of metal-system and earth-system.

Metal-system can control and affect various metals and alloys, allowing a certain proportion of other impurities to be mixed in; when metal content exceeds 90%, it retains absolute control.

Earth-system can control and affect a far broader range of substances: minerals and rocks formed from inorganic non-metal compounds, as well as soil formed from minerals and organic matter, all fall under its influence.

Thus, diamond powder is an excellent choice.

First, diamond powder possesses extremely high hardness; diamond is dubbed the hardest natural substance, and even lab-synthesized materials rarely exceed its hardness.

Second, chemically speaking, diamond is the pure form of carbon, which happens to lie outside the influence of metal-system and earth-system.

The only problem is that against fire-system, diamond powder may ignite at high temperatures.

But I am water-system, so it seems I needn't worry about that.

Thinking this through, Qin Chuan's eyes flashed with bright light, feeling quite moved.

"Return to the team."

Ji Huai's cold and solemn voice sounded, and only then did Qin Chuan quickly snap out of his reverie, jogging back to his position in the team.

"Awesome, Qin Chuan!" Xiao Pang, standing beside him, beamed, as if it were he who had just shown off in front of everyone.

Nearby classmates also couldn't help but look toward Qin Chuan, as if they were meeting him for the first time.

However, when Ji Huai's voice sounded again, everyone's attention quickly shifted away from Qin Chuan.

"You all saw that battle just now." Ji Huai spoke calmly, "Now, I have a question."

"What do you think—why was I able to win?"

(End of chapter)