Mohists excelled at defense, fearless in the face of peril.
Back when the old Empire still stood, Mohists relied on the infinite possibilities touched by their Encircled Realms, undaunted even when besieged by more than ten times their number of opponents of equal rank.
The more opponents there were, the more possibilities there were to exploit, and the greater the threat they could pose!
"Deflecting an opponent's attack is merely one application. Once you master it thoroughly, you can strike second yet arrive first, seizing the strategic initiative before your opponent even makes a move.
"Or even..."
Tianlu paused for a beat. Before he could say another word, Ji Jue went sprawling face-first into the dirt.
"—just like this."
Every action the enemy intended was plunged into the worst possible outcome, rendering all of their strikes not only futile, but turning them back to inflict wounds upon themselves.
The instant an enemy displayed hostility toward a Mohist, the worst possibilities and the slimmest probabilities were already grasped within the Mohist's hands.
When Ji Jue scrambled up from the ground with a mouthful of Federation curses, just about to unleash a tirade, he saw Tianlu suddenly flash a warm, genial smile.
"Want to learn?"
"Yes!"
Ji Jue nodded vigorously, rubbing his hands together obsequiously.
In an instant, his eyes became remarkably clear and reverent—*Grandmaster, it's me, Ji Jue!*
"Oh. Then figure it out yourself."
Tianlu threw his head back and roared with laughter, barking like a dog at last.
Ji Jue's face twitched, veins bulging on his forehead.
"This move is nothing more than the utilization and development of the Encircled Realm. It's not hard at all. Back in the day, I watched someone demonstrate it twice, tinkered with it a bit, and had it down."
Having laughed his fill, Tianlu turned back, asking with a half-smile, "You haven't taken this many hits... without having a single clue, have you?"
*Old dog, you really fucking deserve to die!*
Ji Jue had ground his teeth and stormed off, his fists clenched so tight they hadn't unclenched to this day.
Every time he recalled that memory, it was like hearing that dog barking all over again, driving him mad with fury.
*You'd better pray I never learn it. The first thing I do when I master it will be caving your dog skull in!*
*I'll show you the first lesson of graduation: biting the hand that fed you!*
And when he snapped back to the present, he realized that, without his noticing, it had gotten easier and easier!
This was a stress test.
Having weathered the most grueling period of adjustment, he had gradually gained experience against Ni Lin's moves, and his utilization of the Encircled Realm was beginning to show rudimentary mastery.
The key lay in choices!
Granted, Non-Offensive's Encircled Realm possessed infinite possibilities; theoretically, as long as it was within arm's reach, all attacks should be blockable. But the problem lay in the *magnitude* of the *probability*.
Theoretically, Ji Jue sneezing could whip up a storm on the other side of the world—after all, the probability wasn't zero.
Yet the slimmer the probability of an outcome, the more terrifying the toll on spiritus and mental stamina to bring it to fruition.
It was just like a normal person facing an armed opponent: catching a blade barehanded was never the optimal solution; the simpler way was turning tail and running to open up distance.
Dodging the line of fire was always far more probable than dodging a bullet.
No matter how hard your skull was, it wasn't an excuse to take a spiked club to the face.
And sometimes settling for the next best thing—giving up on hard parries, dodging appropriately, neutralizing, and pinning down—was far more effortless and straightforward.
Just like now...
*Bang!*
A fissure surfaced on the back of Ni Lin's hand.
Once Ji Jue began shifting strategies, what Ni Lin felt was an ever-heavier suffocation!
Even though from start to finish Ji Jue had never mounted a counterattack, merely standing in place in passive defense, Ni Lin felt the figure before him growing increasingly blurred, intangible, and out of reach.
The faster his own movements became, the more ethereal and distant his target seemed. No matter how ferociously he assaulted, he received no feedback whatsoever.
So much so that he found it harder and harder to gauge the distance and measure between them.
If this punch were thrown, would it hit? How much force would pierce this layer of defense? Why had that punch, which should have guaranteed a hit, been deflected so effortlessly?
When they were clearly within three inches of each other, why did every strike fall just out of reach?
*Boom!*
Amid the howling wind, countless afterimages suddenly converged into one. Ni Lin materialized, eyes crimson, hands like razor-sharp blades slashing down toward Ji Jue's neck in an interlocking cross!
Yet Ji Jue simply met the scissoring arms by extending his palms and pressing down. Instantly, bursts of shrill, ear-piercing screeches erupted.
The slashing hands felt as though they had hacked into invisible mud and glue. Guided by deflection and attrition, they gradually slowed, trudging through mire.
Until they no longer posed a threat, easily evaded by Ji Jue with a sidestep.
Once again, missed by a hair's breadth!
Always just shy, always slightly deflected!
Under the acute senses of a Wolf, everything was crystal clear, yet reality continually slipped past his measurement and estimation. His keen senses and sharp intuition only made the experience more agonizing.
In a daze, the Ji Jue before him seemed to dissolve.
Like ink bleeding into water, his original form gradually dispersed, becoming shapeless, indefinable... The enemy's silhouette clearly stood before his eyes, yet it felt more like an endless expanse of darkness with no bottom in sight.
It was like wrestling a tempest, locked in battle with the deep sea—the more he struggled beyond his depth, the deeper he sank.
And throughout, the tempest remained silent, the abyss quiet.
Ni Lin's movements came to an abrupt halt.
He reappeared ten paces away from Ji Jue, looking as though he had given up—finally realizing that if this was all he had, he would likely never pose any threat to the Wolf Lord.
"Forgive me, Wolf Lord," Ni Lin said, bowing his head in apology. "I must bare my fangs."
"I'd ask for nothing less, Inayat. Please, hold nothing back," Ji Jue laughed. "Bring it on."
Thus, amid the dead silence, a cracking sound rang out.
Right before Ji Jue, the already burly and imposing figure swelled once more, as if tree trunks were growing and bones proliferating, flesh tearing apart.
Upon the human face surfaced the visage of a beast.
A wolf!
Regeneration form, manifesting.
All corruption forms acting upon Celestial Chosen were incomplete or uncontrolled mutations, and White Stag Celestial Chosen who had once been eroded by Wolf Sin, without exception, transformed into the likeness of a wolf.
However, Ni Lin's appearance was completely different from anything Ji Jue had ever known.
What appeared before the beast's fur were flames erupting as if from within the skull. Amid the stench of scorched flesh, fur burned away, bones shattered, and metallic luster gleamed within the blaze.
Fire and steel entwined as one, forging the savage, monstrous countenance of a beast.
Even more flabbergasting were the iron branches slowly sprouting from the mutated skull, branching out like deer antlers, rugged and luxuriant.
Clearly a wolf, yet bearing antlers like a stag. But if a stag, why such savage claws and fangs?
Shrieks of grinding steel rang out. Ni Lin clenched his fists, and eight claw blades tinged with faint crimson burst forth from between his finger bones.
Then, as his ten fingers spread wide, the eight blades rapidly retracted, replaced by two swords thrusting out from his palms.
Curved unnaturally, hooked like sickles—the ceremonial sickle-swords once worn by the White Nation Royal Guard when escorting the Priest-King!
An antlered wolf, clad in shimmering scales!
Right before Ji Jue, the Wolf of the Crucible he had forged with his own hands finally revealed its true form!
"Magnificent."
Ji Jue's eyes lit up, unable to conceal his admiration and delight.
A match made in heaven—nothing less!
The burning metal wolf spoke no words. It merely bowed respectfully, pressed a hand to its chest in salute, and immediately charged forward without hesitation!
No more hiding or dodging, no more feints and flanking.
Like a beast finally baring its fangs, launching an outright frontal assault against its foe—a clash of brute force and bloodshed!
*Boom!*
Amid the chills sent by his killing intent perception, Ji Jue finally began retreating, dodging with all his might, no longer able to keep his composure.
He couldn't even maintain a purely defensive stance—in just a single hasty probing clash, he discovered that with Ni Lin's stats skyrocketing, his own probability of deflecting and neutralizing attacks had plummeted past decimal points, while the probability of withstanding them head-on was downright abysmal.
To hold out long enough, he had to counterattack!
Useless!
With a deafening crash, Pan Ying slashed down, gouging a furrow into that ferocious wolf face, but covered in flames, the metal writhed and began repairing itself immediately.
It hardly felt a thing!
When Ji Jue switched to using the Dissociation Art, he realized that Ni Lin's body was covered in a faint, eerie shimmer of scales.
Like armor, dissipating and regenerating constantly. Moreover, it was no mere creation, but a qualitative change forged from the overlap of spiritus and flesh—part of his Regeneration form!
Tough, far too tough!
And unlike the dead stiffness of an ordinary Barren Ruins, this was full of resilience and utterly slick. Strike it carelessly, and the blade would just slide right off...
"Is this 'Scale'?"
Ji Jue marveled. Amid the tempestuous slashing and fierce onslaught, he couldn't help but laugh aloud: "As expected of me. Fucking brilliant!"
Scale, Horn, Claw, Fang.
The four branches of the White Stag lineage. Ni Lin undeniably belonged to the Scale branch.
Though the four branches shared a common origin, each had different emphases. Unlike Claw, which favored flanking and ambushes; Fang, which focused on skill and technique; or Horn, which excelled in weapon mastery—Scale relied far more on its thoroughly tempered self!
Celestial Chosen of the Scale lineage had no need for swords, spears, or halberds. They themselves were weapons honed a thousand times over: teeth, palms, craniums, knees, feet, even hair and breath could easily become lethal instruments.
Depending on faction and inheritance, their bodies also possessed different bizarre transformations: some looked like withered, dying old men, yet possessed colossal strength capable of hurling giant elephants.
Some looked utterly unremarkable, yet could expand and shrink at will, their flesh slipping through narrow cracks like liquid. Still others could dissolve their very selves, melting into shadows and shifting between light and dark.
And after receiving Ji Jue's Wolf Blood Oath, the current Ni Lin had inherited the unique talent of the Wolf of the Crucible lineage—specifically referring to "eating trash"!
Even Ni Lin occasionally couldn't resist sneaking away in private to find a couple of alchemical creations to gnaw on and sharpen his teeth.
Though it sounded rather unseemly, in essence, this talent was the ultimate extraction and transformation of spiritus and material properties—devouring external matter to strengthen oneself!
Coupled with the Scale lineage's heritage, it was truly like giving wings to a tiger!
Even Ji Jue couldn't do this. His sin fiend form was too hybridized, lacking purity, making it impossible to min-max his stats so radically.
Ni Lin, however, could comfortably channel all the siphoned spiritus and material properties into bolstering his own body!
To the point where the moment he transformed, Ji Jue's vision began to darken.
Chapter 833