Chapter 38: Despicable Means

#

Generally speaking,

From the speed at which a servant masters a combat skill, one can judge the talent they possess for that profession.

Taking 【Swift Step】 as an example, ordinary people need years of training to reach the threshold, achieving silent footwork and swift, elusive steps.

And for those who inherently possess the talent to become assassins, when mastering this most basic and core ability,

the required learning time will be between half a year and one month.

And the reason Lu Kan is confident he can teach Su Ya to master 【Swift Step】 in five days is because he is a master-level thief, and due to a past experience, he also possesses a specialty called 【Hero Cultivation】.

Nevertheless, Lu Kan never imagined having Su Ya fully master this combat skill in five days; he originally only intended to focus on teaching Su Ya the agility-enhancing part of 【Swift Step】.

However,

Now,

This brat, from seeing my demonstration of the advanced technique of Swift Step, to perfectly executing the kind of ability that only a proficient-level Swift Step user can produce,

has only taken a few seconds?

At this moment,

Realizing that something seemingly impossible was happening before his eyes, Lu Kan's breath hitched, a chill shot from his soles to the crown of his head, making his scalp tingle!

#

"Lu Kan, Lu Kan—"

A voice clearer and more pleasant than a wandering bard's reached his ears,

Lu Kan snapped out of his shock and saw Su Ya's little hand waving in front of him,

"Why did you space out?"

"Is mastering this technique really that difficult?"

Lu Kan instinctively wanted to nod,

Damn, even the strongest assassin would need a month to learn this technique, you learned it in two seconds, and you're asking me, who took half a year to learn it—

Is this difficult?

Is~this~difficult~?

Lu Kan couldn't help clench his sore molars, using a top-tier con artist's facial control to forcefully suppress the urge to curse,

Afterward, his gaze lingered gloomily on Su Ya,

He shook his head, coughed once, then revealed a strange, eerie smile:

"No, it's not."

"This is merely the most basic combat skill; to be frank, Your Majesty, you're still far from it."

Su Ya nodded with a look of sudden realization, thinking, indeed, his meager skill level is nowhere near that of the hulking Seleucus who can leap hundreds of meters,

This made him feel a sudden urgency.

However, he then reconsidered, thinking that according to what was just said, Lu Kan seemed only intending to teach him this much,

In order not to waste time, he spoke up:

"I see, then, Lord Lu Kan, is the training over?"

"According to the plan, I still need to learn magic from Mei Li and stealth from the Dagonite."

"Can I go find them now?"

But when these words reached Lu Kan's ears, it was as if a thunderclap had burst from flat ground!

He slightly narrowed his eyes, his golden pupils locked onto Su Ya's goofy, dawn-like smile, and found that smile blindingly bright!

It was as if another Su Ya had popped up behind him, covering her mouth and snickering coldly, currently poking his spine with a look of disdain, asking:

"Is this it?"

"You so-called Hero Cultivator, relying on fraud to become a master thief, is this all you've got?"

"You're no different either, Lord Lu~Kan~."

Just thinking about this!

"Wait!"

Lu Kan immediately bellowed,

He forcibly controlled his twisting face to produce a smile that inspires involuntary trust:

"Your Majesty, just now was merely a warm-up."

"Next, I will teach you the most important combat skill for an assassin swordsman—"

"Shadow Vanish!"

Su Ya halted the step she was about to take, her sturdy frame shuddering,

"Shadow Vanish!"

Although I don't know what this is, just hearing the name tells me it's incredibly cool!

It's way more awesome than techniques like hook punches and flying kicks!

At that moment, Lu Kan spoke gloomily:

"However, this is an advanced combat technique."

"Before you can learn this technique, you must first master its four prerequisite skills!"

"Which four?"

Lu Kan stared at Su Ya, speaking slowly with a confident smile:

"【Roll】, 【Throw】, 【Despicable Means】, and 【False Clock】."

Regardless,

In just two seconds, with only a glance, he learned an ability that even the most brilliant people in the world need a month to master.

The incident was too sensational; Lu Kan couldn't for a moment connect it to reality.

However, Lu Kan thought that perhaps this was merely the result of Su Ya's prior training.

It's akin to the long‑accumulation, short‑release process many experience; this kid must have been painstakingly practicing this combat skill for years, already having the foundation and understanding, further shaped by his own 【Heroic Nurture】 specialization and his "detailed" explanation.

Stacking all those prerequisites makes that previous scene practically a picture of a deity descending!

And now,

Lu Kan is convinced that the kid before him hasn't mastered the combat skills he mentioned; otherwise, he would no longer be an attendant but a full‑fledged professional!

Moreover,

Shadow Vanish, this ability, is beyond what even a typical professional attendant can wield; only a professional who has already birthed "Qi" as a high‑level practitioner can barely use this near‑supernatural power!

"Good!"

At this moment, Su Ya didn't realize that Lu Kan was abstractly teaching him something beyond the ordinary.

He only felt that the Lu Kan before him was becoming increasingly refined and handsome.

He stared intently at the apparent swindler—ah, what swindler, this was clearly the king's mentor—and exclaimed eagerly:

"Lord Lu Kan, teach me!"

"Hmm, full of vigor, then let's start with Roll—"

"【Roll】 is a universal ability for all professions, but an assassin's Roll differs from others; it requires the coordinated force of hands, feet, waist, legs, and eyes, feeling oneself merge with the earth."

Then

After Lu Kan demonstrated it himself for five seconds.

"Lord Lu Kan, I've learned it!"

Su Ya looked at Lu Kan with excitement,

Isn't this the same technique he first saw Ma Qidun Tan Ma Chi use when he flipped off his horse in the trench and quickly readjusted his posture?

A slightly more abstract version is the devout posture Lu Kan described, merging with the earth.

Lu Kan: "."

The kid must have learned this too, after all it's the most basic combat skill.

"Next, Throw!"

Lu Kan, his face darkened, handed over a stack of throwing knives.

One minute later,

"Lord Lu Kan, I've learned it!"

Su Ya watched twenty small throwing knives embed within the 10‑ring of a target twenty meters away, his face excited as he looked at Lu Kan.

Although the throwing technique differed slightly, its principle was the same as the two Tan Ma Chi who had previously hurled spears at him, and it was no different from the card knives and fingertip needle throws at balloons Su Ya had played with in his past life.

The only difference is that during the throw, one must abstractly link self and target with an enigmatic "spirit"; after Lu Kan demonstrated how to activate this "spirit", Su Ya quickly mastered the technique.

"That despicable tactic—this combat skill requires the advanced combination of Swift Step, Roll, and Throw."

Five minutes later,

Su Ya began with a Roll, raised his hand and scattered a handful of ash forward, his body crawling within the dust as if merged with the ground,

Then, he leapt violently from an ambiguous spot, yet emerged from another direction through the dust cloud, swinging his iron sword to strike the wooden staff in Lu Kan's hand.

Lu Kan looked down at the notch in his wooden staff.

"."

His face finally didn't collapse, revealing a vague expression.

Fortunately,

The next combat skill Lu Kan taught, the 【False Clock】, which had gradually numbed him with awe, finally stumped Su Ya.

It is a technique akin to the "Stand" abilities seen in the ninja anime and live‑action works Su Ya watched in his previous life,

that combines all the combat skills he had previously learned,

by using Roll, Swift Step Translation, despicable tactics to create a smoke cloud, and a Swift Step Big Leap to flash out of the smoke's area, while hurling a wooden barrel shaped like himself; employing near‑illusion and hypnosis methods to fabricate a "self" within the smoke that the enemy perceives, then flickering away to safety and seeking a combat opening.

The first time learning such a complex skill, which requires linking other techniques and leaving no flaw, one must first raise the proficiency of the other combat skills before it can be released.

Su Ya first spent half an hour, consulting Lu Kan and pondering on his own, to grind the proficiency of the other combat skills to the level shown on his panel,

Then,

he spent another hour linking a series of techniques together,

and finally he flawlessly executed the skill!

And just as he was about to continue asking Lu Kan for the final combat skill, 【Shadow Vanish】, that Lu Kan had promised to teach,

Lu Kan, gradually recovering from his awe, suddenly raised his hand to block Su Ya from further practice, a conflicted look flashing in his narrowed eyes.

Then, with a solemn face, he stopped Su Ya:

"That's all for today!"

"My king,"

"Now, go eat; eat as much as you can!"

"Tomorrow, if you can still stand, then I will teach you this ability."

Steps to support the author during the new book period:

1. Cast a recommendation vote

2. Keep reading to the last page

3. Join the group, then accept the author's kneeling thanks—

Bang bang bang!



(End of Chapter)