“Wait… wait a minute…” Angelia started, totally unprepared! And Robin’s preceding comment was quite unsettling—what did she mean by, “Hope you don’t kick the bucket from this!”? Did she actually intend to go all out?
Tension and excitement flooded her heart in an instant! But it was already too late; the fault lay with Angelia for not performing better earlier. Robin had no intention of lingering with her any longer and already made her move!
Suddenly, Robin’s delicate hand shot out toward Angelia’s abdomen, swift as a striking viper. The angle was sharp, leaving Angelia no time to defend.
Perhaps she truly didn't intend to harm Angelia, because Robin’s movement was quite slow; with Angelia’s current strength, she could absolutely dodge it!
Seeing Robin suddenly attack, Angelia was momentarily stunned, not expecting Robin to act so immediately after speaking.
However, this eased her apprehension, as she realized Robin’s palm strike was not as powerful as she had imagined. She was confident she could evade it!
The final outcome proved Angelia’s assumption correct; she did indeed manage to dodge Robin’s strike.
Yet, what she never anticipated was that her body would inexplicably fly backward!
“Bang~~~~~”
Angelia landed hard on the ground five meters away, instantly feeling dizzy and breathless! Aside from that, however, she seemed largely unharmed. It appeared Robin had truly held back!
What in the world just happened? I clearly dodged it, so why did I still…?
Angelia simply could not fathom it. She had no idea how she was thrown backward, let alone how she landed!
“Hey, you haven’t kicked the bucket yet, have you?” Robin asked calmly.
Robin had, in fact, been extremely precise, knowing this move was merely meant to clear Angelia’s head and rid her of excessive reservations.
But contrary to Robin’s expectation, this action hadn't cleared Angelia’s mind; instead, it had made her even more confused!
Angelia, being a dutiful student, had never encountered such bizarre techniques. To dodge an attack only to be sent flying—if she hadn't experienced it firsthand, she never would have believed it!
Staring blankly at Robin, Angelia even forgot to get up from the ground.
Robin walked slowly toward her and asked again, “Can you get up now?”
Still no response. Angelia merely looked up at Robin with a bewildered expression, clearly still trying to process exactly what had just occurred.
“Hey, you aren’t expecting me to help you up, are you?” Robin suddenly inquired.
It was then that Angelia snapped back to reality and hurriedly scrambled to her feet. However, her gaze remained somewhat unfocused, as if she had just emerged from a dream. If it weren't for the dull ache emanating from her lower body, she might have dismissed the whole thing as a hallucination!
“Strange, isn’t it?” Robin asked.
Angelia nodded foolishly. The matter was too bizarre; if Robin didn't offer an explanation, Angelia suspected she would be thinking about it even in her sleep—wondering exactly how she was propelled through the air!
“This is ‘Qi’!” Robin stated as concisely as possible. “Talking too much about it won’t help you understand!”
“What is ‘Qi’?” Angelia seemed genuinely preoccupied with the matter. That sensation she just felt was too peculiar; she felt as if she had been forcefully tossed by some gentle, yielding power.
Angelia had never landed so humiliatingly in her entire life, not even during the ‘Academy Ranking Tournament.’ She had been sent flying without even knowing how!
Previously, Angelia had only witnessed Robin’s prowess from a distance. Through this brief physical contact, she now realized with a shock that Robin was far more formidable and mysterious than she had ever imagined!
Angelia knew that in that single exchange, she had already lost. If Robin hadn't intentionally spared her, she might have been looking at the end of her days then and there!
“I can’t explain what ‘Qi’ is to you, but I can give you a demonstration. Watch closely!”
As Robin spoke, her hand suddenly moved. Instantly, the fallen leaves dancing in the breeze began to converge in a large cluster toward her hand, forming a sphere.
As the leaves continued to gather, the sphere of foliage in Robin’s hand grew larger and larger until it reached the size of a basketball.
Angelia watched in stunned silence, her eyes wide. This was perhaps the most unbelievable thing she had ever witnessed in her life—it completely overturned all scientific logic!
“Watch carefully. I’ll give you a small demonstration of ‘Qi’’s power!” Robin said, shaking her hand slightly. The ‘Leaf Ball’ in her grip shot forward.
“BOOM~~~~~~~~~~”
Dust flew everywhere, and smoke billowed. Once the dust settled, Angelia peered closely and sucked in a sharp breath.
There was a massive crater in the ground not far away!
How was this possible? Was this caused by those leaves?
Angelia genuinely struggled to accept the reality, becoming increasingly fascinated and curious about this ‘Qi’!
“H-How could this be?” Angelia pointed at the large pit, looking somewhat crestfallen. “Did those leaves do that?”
Incomprehensible! Utterly incomprehensible!!
If Robin had carved such a crater with her sword, Angelia might have accepted it. But for something as soft as leaves to create a giant pit was utterly absurd! If she told anyone, she’d surely be laughed at as mentally unsound!
The worldview of this world dictated: an egg could never be harder than a stone!
But Robin had shattered that fundamental principle, and Angelia found it impossible to reconcile.
“Hard to understand, is it?” Robin looked at Angelia with an expression that seemed almost amused, leaving Angelia wondering what was going through her mind.
Angelia immediately nodded. It wasn't just “hard to understand”; it was utterly impossible to comprehend!
“Alright then, do you see that large stone over there?” Robin pointed toward a sizable rock about ten meters away.
“I see it.”
“Good. Now, take your sword and drive it into that stone!”
Angelia stared blankly at Robin, but Robin’s expression was profound, giving away no hint of her intentions!
“You can’t do it?” Seeing Angelia hesitate, Robin prompted quickly.
“I can!” Angelia responded instantly. This kind of feat was quite easy for someone with the strength of a Gold Swordsman!
Watching Angelia smoothly embed her sword into the stone, Robin gave a strange smile—a smile that oddly reminded Angelia of Zhong Shenxiu.
“Do you see this stone here?” Robin asked again, pointing to another stone nearby of roughly the same size.
“I see it.” Angelia grew more and more perplexed about Robin’s ultimate goal.
“Very well.” Robin then bent down, picked up a twig from the ground, and handed it to Angelia. “Now, stick this twig into this stone!”
In that instant, Angelia was completely dumbfounded.
How could that possibly be achieved??