Tales of Demons and Gods : The Legend of Xiao Ning'Er

Lu Ye's voice hardened as he gave a warning. "Don't even think about fooling me and hiding your true talents. I'm too experienced for that. If I can tell that you're trying your best, you'll build a good first impression with me!"

He smiled and continued, "I'll start with those who passed the second year as usual. Then I'll move on to see what makes those three who jumped straight from the recruit class so special. Finally, I'll end with the returning students since I'm already familiar with your capabilities."

Lu Ye then went through a systematic process, using a high-tier strength stone and testing crystal to check their physical power and soul force. He then asked them to demonstrate a martial art, before finally asking them to merge with their demon spirit in order to spar with him. This spar would take place in a private room so that students could not spy on each other. Even though he didn't merge with his own demon spirit, he was easily able to defend all their attacks at Black Gold rank.

Ning'Er paid greater attention when Lin Hong stepped up as one of those who come from the second year class. His strength and soul force were nothing spectacular, at around an average 3 Star Silver Rank expert, and his martial arts were above average at best.

However, she took note of Lu Ye's expression when they walked out of the sparring room. He seemed a bit shaken and unsettled, taking a long, worried look at Lin Hong's back as the student confidently walked away. Then he composed himself and called for the next student.

What had happened in there? What could make a seasoned Black Gold ranked expert seem so unnerved? Ning'Er had no answers as she thought through the puzzling situation but it reinforced her intuition that this student was dangerous. She would have to warn Ziyun and Du Ze after this when she had the chance.

Soon, it was her turn. She decided to test Lu Ye's ability, and only revealed a strength and soul power up to a level of 5 Star Silver rank. He looked at her trying to read whether she had given her full effort but decided that it was genuine because he knew that she had only reached 4-Star at the last recruit class exam recently. There would be no way that she broke through to Gold Rank, right?

She then demonstrated a few martial art routines from the highest level that her Winged Dragon Family possessed, and this satisfied him as well. Finally, in the private sparring, she revealed her treasured Panterran demon beast to him.

Lu Ye had heard of her demon spirit before but had never fought one before. He was shocked that she had even found such a rare demon spirit but was left completely astounded at the blinding speed that she possessed once she merged with it. He could barely keep up with her movements and he suspected she wasn't even going all out yet.

The only consolation was that the beast's brute strength didn't seem to be top tier, relying more on its unparalleled speed to generate enough momentum for more powerful piercing attacks. Nonetheless, he felt that she could even compete with Linjian for the title of the strongest student of the class this year, and she had just been in the recruit class the previous year!

What a genius! He silently applauded the Winged Dragon Family for having such a talented youngster and knew that this suppressed family would finally have a chance to rise from the ashes.

He was also stunned by Ziyun and Du Ze's performance although the experience with Ning'Er had already prepared him for the brunt of it. What had happened in that recruit class? He also heard that another five students had jumped straight to the Genius Class of the second year. Was it the teacher's methods or the initial signs of an era of greater prosperity for Glory City, starting from this specific generation? He decided that he would have to investigate more into these students to know more.

Lu Ye looked drained by the end of the assessments. Going through the twenty students in the Genius Class had given him more unsettling surprises than he cared to admit. He realised that guiding this batch was going to be very different from the previous years and would require far more research and customisation. They were far too talented!

Even Linjian had jumped two levels since the exam and he had spent significant time recovering from his recent injuries. What was going on? Their capabilities were beyond everything he had learnt about how the previous generations grew stronger. Lu Ye was a little nervous but at the same time excited to see what would become of these unprecedented talents!

The three friends along with Linjian walked off from the morning assessments in high spirits, feeling like they had given a good showing among a group of students who were meant to be the elite of Glory City. They headed to the City Lord's Mansion in order to meet up with the rest of their group, who came shortly after. They looked at Ning'Er in anticipation, wondering what she would come up with for the training menu today.

She looked at them thoughtfully. "We've done a lot of one to one sparring over the time that we've trained together in order to reinforce our martial comprehension. The next step that we haven't been exposed to yet will be group combat situations. I believe the learning curve will be so steep that it will accelerate our growth as long as we have sufficient cultivation resources."

She continued as the others looked at her in surprise, "I know that traditionally Glory City has had demon spiritualists fight as individuals, with only the relatively weaker fighters and soldiers using formations to cover their weaknesses. But imagine the impact if experts could find a way to synergise the abilities and power of their demon spirits together with others. It could exponentially amplify their defensive and offensive capabilities depending on how they worked together!"

She could see their foreheads crease in thought as they considered the implications and unlimited possibilities this way of thinking opened up.

"It's easier said than done. I'm sure our seniors have thought about it before!"

"It's complex enough to try to comprehend formations for normal fighters. Imagine the intricacies if we start taking into account the abilities of demon spirits!"

"Some powers are too difficult to synergise and may end up harming your own team if it's not applied properly."

"It would require for the team members to have such a deep sense of trust for each other and even each other's strength!"

"But if it could work, how much more strength could we draw out from an effective formation!"

Ning'Er was pleased to see the discussion that was taking place because of how their minds were working through the idea presented. As they went down this journey, the process of seeing their analysis and ideas applied into real life practice would be an incredible catalyst for the martial comprehension required for growth.

"I've researched the most effective four-man formations that can be used for us to learn from. This is how we'll do it. Two four-man teams each time will spar with one another, and since there's nine of us here, the last one will observe the flaws and insights from each battle to share with the rest. Then we will rotate each time. Let's begin without merging with our demon spirits!"

They randomly broke into two teams of four with Ning'Er sitting out to observe for today. She took the time to impart her knowledge of a defensive formation to one team, and an offensive formation to the other. Before the spar began, they would require a few hours to practice first with Ning'Er giving pointers throughout.

It was more difficult than they realised to coordinate with others and they began to gain a newfound respect for the common soldier. To cover for each other's weak points and blind spots with deep trust, and to align each other's movements so as to not disrupt your own comrade required you to let go of your instincts to function with your individual strengths as a priority.

By the time that the spar came along, Ning'Er estimated that they had only learnt less than ten percent of the formation as a team. This was taking into account that it was only a four-man formation where, as the numbers increased, the complexity would multiply many times as well. As the battle continued, it became clear that the defensive team was doing much better than the one that was more offensively oriented, revealing that it took far more coordination to effectively attack together than focusing on protecting and countering.

When it ended, both teams were left wondering if they would have fought better as individuals because it seemed like for most of the spar, they were getting into each other's way. There were only a few moments that they felt protected from a blind spot or when an attack landed because of the support of another comrade. They knew that learning formations was a long road ahead of them but realised that if they could attain proficiency in these deceptively intricate formations shared by Ning'Er, it could provide them a powerful weapon to defend Glory City with in future.

No longer would they look down on weaker fighters who worked together in synergy. It took real blood and sweat to work through, and was not just a crutch for the weak! After Ning'Er broke down the finer points of the battle to them, they all sat down to channel their insights into accelerating their cultivation. By the time evening came, they had each made significant progress in cultivation of their soul force.

As they walked home side by side, Ning'Er and Linjian talked about the day that had passed. The others had gone ahead.

"OK, I can begin to understand how you guys grew at such a monstrous speed. Incredibly cultivation techniques, innovative ways to accelerate martial comprehension, unlimited cultivation resources, and a lot of hard work!"

He saw her worried expression as he said this. "Don't worry, Ning'Er. I won't tell a soul. You know you can trust me. I just didn't want to pretend as though I didn't realise about anything, especially the cultivation techniques that all of you are using. The powerful soul force that each of you give off in your cultivation is not normal at all!"

"Thanks for reassuring me that you'll keep our secrets, Linjian. Know that I don't have any hidden agenda to hurt Glory City in any way. I just want to protect our home...no matter what it takes." she replied.

He suddenly stopped and looked at her with a tender expression. "Of course I know your intention to protect our home. You speak of it sometimes and I can always sense your heart so strongly for Glory City. It's part of what...I love about you."

He held out his hand and said, "I forgot that I bought something for you."

As she looked down at the beautiful ring resting in the middle of his hand, he abruptly leaned forward and kissed her gently on her lips. Even though she was surprised, she found that she didn't want to pull away.