The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

However, she only obtained high-level beast cores by using her mental power to cast mage magic or her magical power to cast witch magic.

Now, in order to disguise herself, she needs to suppress her physical fitness back to the level expected of a fifteen-year-old genius high school student, and can only use martial arts techniques and the two one-star skills she has already demonstrated: Glimmering Illusion and Starlight Flicker.

In this situation, she can at best fight a two-star Mirror Beast to a standstill, but she is still a bit short of the skill to kill a three-star Mirror Beast independently.

"Show me your full strength and attack." Yan Shuang stood with her sword in hand: "Let me see how much you've improved in combat skills in the past year or so in Yongquan Forest, besides your mental strength."

Moran nodded without hesitation. With a quick step, she charged out like a cheetah, her long sword slicing through the air with a fierce momentum, heading straight for Teacher Yan Shuang's middle lane.

The speed, angle, and force of this strike were as sharp as those of a true warrior.

A barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in Yan Shuang's eyes. With a slight flick of her wrist, she precisely parried the attack with the knife in her hand.

"clang!"

The two swords clashed, producing a crisp sound.

Despite being blocked, Moran did not hesitate. He continued to slash downwards with his blade, changing his move extremely quickly. At the same time, he shifted his body to the side, trying to find an opening in Yan Shuang's defense.

Her attacks were not random slashes, but rather carried a clear purpose and were coherent, as if they had been honed through countless trials.

Yan Shuang remained unmoved like a mountain, his blade moving with him, parrying, blocking, drawing, or deflecting attacks, always managing to neutralize Moran's offensive with minimal movement.

Her defense was impenetrable, while she carefully observed every detail of Moran.

The more they fought, the more surprised Yan Shuang became.

She clearly remembered that a little over a year ago, although Moran was a prodigy in martial arts, she was still quite inexperienced in actual combat and lacked the experience and fighting spirit honed in real battles.

However, her combat awareness and fighting skills have now undergone a complete transformation!
Every attack is decisive and ruthless, with an exceptionally keen sense of timing. His counter-attacks after a block are fluid and natural, and he can even predict some of her subsequent movements and interfere with them.

The composure, decisiveness, and precise sense of distance that can only be honed in life-or-death battles are qualities that no amount of simulated training can impart.

It is evident that during the past year or so, she was not merely hiding and cultivating her spiritual power in the Yongquan Forest, but rather she experienced countless real battles without the slightest slackening, thus truly transforming the pressure of life and death into her own combat nourishment.

"Not bad!" Yan Shuang rarely praised after Ge Kaimolan's tricky diagonal slash, but her attack also suddenly accelerated. "But it's not enough!"

Her swordplay instantly transformed into a raging storm, with power and speed increasing by more than one level. Each strike contained multiple follow-up variations, putting immense pressure on Moran.

Moran immediately felt the oppressive feeling brought by Teacher Yan Shuang's continuous sword techniques.

She used her body and the knife in her hand to their fullest extent, dodging and parrying with great difficulty. Fine beads of sweat quickly appeared on her forehead. Although she relied on her rich combat experience and instinctive intuition for danger to avoid vital points time and time again, the situation had completely fallen into a disadvantageous position.

A few minutes later, Yan Shuang's knife tip stopped precisely an inch in front of Moran's throat.

"Alright." Yan Shuang sheathed her sword and stepped back, looking at Mo Lan, who was slightly out of breath but with bright eyes. She already knew what was going on: "Your combat awareness and reaction speed are indeed completely transformed compared to a year ago." Yan Shuang first affirmed Mo Lan's progress, then changed the subject and pointed out her problems:

What you lack now is further systematic training in martial arts skills.

The martial arts techniques you learned before are no longer sufficient for you.

Too many moves stem from instinct and the summaries of experience, efficient but lacking in finesse. Against an equally skilled opponent, this rich experience might prevail, but against a truly masterful fighter whose power and strength far surpass yours, these unsystematic, unorthodox techniques will become your weaknesses.

As Yan Shuang spoke, she had already decided on the next training direction: "Next, I will teach you a few more powerful sword techniques and dagger skills. I will also teach you some other martial arts as appropriate. What you need to do is to completely integrate the combat awareness you have honed in actual combat with the martial arts moves, so that you can truly control them at will."

Moran nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with anticipation.

This is indeed a weakness she needs to address, and it is also the key to enabling her to make another leap in strength.

Teacher Yan Shuang's martial arts training has officially begun.

For the next three months, Moran devoted all her daytime hours to almost obsessive martial arts training.

When Teacher Yan Shuang didn't have any classes scheduled, Mo Lan would follow her to learn the knife and dagger techniques that Teacher Yan Shuang was best at.

When Teacher Yan Shuang had classes, Mo Lan wouldn't be idle. She would transform into an insatiable sponge, lingering in the training grounds of various martial arts teachers at the school.

In the boxing instructor's training ground, she learned various boxing techniques that concentrate power in the fists, palms, fingers, elbows, and knees, and learned how to fight bare-handed without weapons.

In the footwork instructor's training ground, she trained in various complex and harsh simulated environments, learning how to maintain agility, stability, and speed in any adverse conditions.

In the archery instructor's training ground, she picked up a longbow and practiced her arm strength, eyesight, patience, concentration, and overall judgment of the environment.

In Master Heavy Axe's training ground, she tried attacking with wide, sweeping movements and overwhelming force. This understanding fed back into her swordsmanship, giving some of her heavy slashes a sense of powerful strength.

The evenings were the time Teacher Yan Shuang had set aside for her to train her body and cultivate her mental strength, but Mo Lan used them all on the beast cores she had brought back from the Yongquan Forest.

Each skill imprint is analyzed individually, and the corresponding spell structure is constructed based on this.

Three months of intensive, all-round training flew by.

Moran's body lines became smoother and more explosive, with a sharpness that came from years of hard work and refinement in every move.

Although she still suppressed her mental strength to around "three stars, second stage", her combat ability, especially in terms of martial arts, had undergone a complete transformation.

If she were to encounter a three-star mirror beast again, she was now confident that she could hunt it down alone, relying on the longsword in her hand, the dagger at her waist, and other weapons in her storage mirror ornament.

If she didn't suppress her physical abilities, she was even confident she could hunt down a six-star Mirror Beast using her martial arts skills. (End of Chapter)