Chapter 254: Mutual Destruction!
No, sir, do I have to learn this too?!
Jiang Che opened his eyes again and found himself back at the starting point.
The trial began anew, and this time, he could feel the pain of his body being smashed into mush, along with the sharpness of the long knife twisting and grinding at his chest.
Not far away, the puppet stared at him and picked up its weapon once again.
Jiang Che took a deep breath. The combat techniques this puppet used were definitely unnatural!
Time and again, as Jiang Che wrestled with the puppet to a stalemate, he would be killed by inexplicable moves.
He even encountered a death where the puppet exploded and perished along with him.
Feeling the pain of the explosion ravaging his body, Jiang Che was somewhat puzzled. Is this really a viable combat method?
Would anyone really perish together with their enemy?
No matter what, he had to find a way to survive, because there were still people waiting for him at home. He wouldn’t allow himself to die, nor would he let his wife and child grieve alone.
But that puppet kept using this move, over and over again.
Until he could, at any stage, guard against such an attack from the puppet, only then did the puppet change its combat style.
Jiang Che didn’t know how long he’d stayed in this illusion, only that he had been dying, dying in various ways.
Bit by bit, he found solutions.
Whether it was poisoning or something else, he could keenly detect the issue.
After evading the puppet’s self-destruction again, Jiang Che unhesitatingly decapitated the puppet with his Saw Meat Knife.
After its head hit the ground, Jiang Che continued to crush it into powder, not sparing even the body, eliminating everything together.
He was used to kinds of death where deceit was involved, and now only by seeing the corpse himself, personally obliterating it, could he confirm the enemy was dead.
After the puppet’s demise, the illusion returned to darkness.
No new puppets appeared, and no new enemies attacked.
Jiang Che remained vigilant. Countless deaths made sure that he wouldn’t let his guard down even after the battle ended.
Countless deaths, countless pains.
Until he truly left this place, he would never relax.
Because danger strikes when people feel victorious and let their guard down.
Jiang Che held his breath, hiding his presence in the darkness.
Facing unknown enemies, he had learned to conceal himself.
A light appeared in the distance. He focused his gaze; it was a table and chairs.
From afar, he could only see one person sitting at the table, looking at him, making no move.
Without the anticipated attack, Jiang Che stayed cautious.
He saw the man not far away stand up and walk toward him, holding nothing in his hands, only clasping them together.
A loud clap echoed from the front as the man applauded, the rhythm quickening.
"Not bad!" The voice carried joy.
Jiang Che was slightly stunned because the voice was very familiar. He hadn’t seen Blood Slaughter for a long time, but he hadn’t forgotten his voice.
Seeing that Jiang Che still hadn’t lowered his guard, Blood Slaughter nodded approvingly. "That vigilance is commendable!"
He took strides toward Jiang Che, who remained stationary.
He saw the man holding an oil lamp, and as he approached, his face became clear.
As before, Blood Slaughter wore a skull mask with stitches, only the two red-glowing eyes visible.
He slowly walked toward Jiang Che, whose hands trembled, his shoulders starting to quake.
"You fought well. I am not your match anymore," Blood Slaughter laughed heartily, his laughter echoing in the illusion.
He snapped his fingers, and a glove of the same material as the puppet appeared by his side, now tattered.
"Just now, I was controlling the puppet with this thing. You don’t blame Dad for being harsh, do you?" He patted Jiang Che’s shoulder.
Jiang Che’s eyes reddened. From the start, he had thought that puppet was too unmechanical, always considering it must have had its consciousness.
He pondered if the puppet might be one of Ding Ning’s setups, but even if it was a subordinate setup, they wouldn’t teach him these combat skills meticulously.
Combat techniques, regardless of their origin, are never fully taught to a student by a master.
Jiang Che had heard Xiong Jie and others grumble, mentioning that when they sought masters to learn martial arts, they not only had to pay, but often didn’t learn much.
These masters feared that they might face their so-called students in the future.
They all held back something.
Jiang Che kept wondering who could teach him so meticulously.
Focus on his weaknesses and train them specifically.
He thought of Ding Ning, but Ding Ning had mentioned she wasn’t adept at direct combat.
During that time, the throne was vacant, making advancement much easier than now.
Looking at Blood Slaughter in front of him, Jiang Che finally found an answer to his question.
Jiang Che wiped the corner of his eye, turning his head away.
"Dad taught me well. I’ve learned a lot."
"You don’t resent me for teaching you some dirty tricks, do you?" Blood Slaughter scratched his head in embarrassment, half the time, Jiang Che was killed by his tricks.
He clearly could have resolved Jiang Che directly but chose to kill him in the most underhanded ways instead.
"No, it’s because you taught me that I understand real combat is even dirtier. The enemy won’t care about what’s devious or not," Jiang Che shook his head.
"I’m just a bit puzzled about why you always wanted me to guard against self-destruction."
"Do people really self-destruct?" Jiang Che voiced his question.
"Isn’t life just one life?" he questioned.
No matter how many life-saving skills one possesses, self-destruction doesn’t count among them.
To die by self-destruction is true death.
"Because everyone has things they care about," Blood Slaughter shook his head. "The power of self-destruction is immense, and when facing enemies, you’ll find that real enemies are fearless."
"Just like me, if one day I face an undefeatable enemy, I would choose self-destruction even if it can’t take them down," Blood Slaughter explained earnestly to Jiang Che.
"But you can’t do that."
"You have a higher throne to attain; you can’t fall like that."
Jiang Che was somewhat lost, thinking that his goal was to keep his family together for life. He wouldn’t let any family member die.
But now, Blood Slaughter was telling him that if they ever encountered an insurmountable enemy, he would choose self-destruction, even if it was useless.
"If it’s useless, then just keep living!" Jiang Che took a deep breath.
"What if it helps?" Blood Slaughter said no more.
"Anyway, you need to be wary of enemies, vigilant at all times."
Jiang Che lowered his head, glancing at Blood Slaughter.
He had taught him many combat techniques, but never how to self-destruct.