CHAPTER 90: Three Pairs Of Eyes In The Dark

"I can get you the black iron ore, yes, but you also know that it's not that easy to get. How many gold coins do you want to spend to buy it?" Han Shuo weighed things up in his mind as he spoke slowly with a calm expression.

His mental state sharpened, Lawrence straightened up and said with some excitement, "So you can get it. Heh heh, I only need the size of a fist to forge weapons. There is a shortage on the black market right now, so name your price!"

Rubbing his chin, Han Shuo remembered a conversation he had with Phoebe last time and hesitated, saying weakly, "How about this? Give me five thousand gold coins and I'll try to get you a piece."

"No problem, although black gold ore is even rarer, a fist-sized piece of black iron ore is actually worth five thousand gold coins. If you can get a piece of black iron ore, you can come to me at the Knight School. We'll make an exchange of goods and money. Lawrence said happily.

Nodding, Han Shuo remembered how he'd been beaten up by Lawrence at the Knight's School a few months ago. His eyebrow raised as he chuckled. "I'll get you a piece of black iron ore within ten days. Why don't you train with me again now? I'll be very happy to be a human target for you again."

"Alright, let's get started. I can see how wonderful you are. Even someone as proud and unapproachable as Phoebe complimented you all the time in front of me. I'm very curious about your strength." Lawrence struck an excited pose, ready to fight Han Shuo immediately.

It was noon and most of the students in the courtyard had just put their things away and were getting ready for lunch. Only two or three students sunbathing in the distance had apparently not left because they had fallen asleep. Han Shuo glanced around and smiled, "Let's go to the left. There aren't that many people there and we won't bother anyone."

Han Shuo lifted his head provocatively at Lawrence after speaking and walked to an empty clearing behind the railing to the left. Lawrence clenched his fists and chuckled slightly as he followed Han Shuo and also made his way to the empty space on the left.

When he arrived, Han Shuo circulated the magical yuan throughout his body and began to adjust his physical condition. Lawrence was a few steps behind Han Shuo and had just walked down the stone stairs when Han Shuo had already doubled back in a flash and brought a fist down on Lawrence without giving him time to react.

Lawrence hadn't expected Han Shuo to move so quickly. The frighteningly powerful punch had already landed in front of Lawrence before he'd had time to react. His facial expression changing slightly, Lawrence suddenly backed up a step after setting his feet down, stepping back onto the stone steps and moving his body to the side to avoid the punch that Han Shuo had suddenly thrown at him.

.

The punch whistled past Lawrence's face and cold air came out of Han Shuo's left fist, giving Lawrence a slight start.

Han Shuo pulled his left arm back before Lawrence had time to react, then suddenly bent it and slammed his elbow into Lawrence's chest.

Lawrence grunted softly as his body was pushed into the railing by Han Shuo's elbow, his face reddening slightly.

"Heh heh, Lawrence, your sense of vigilance isn't good enough!" Han Shuo didn't follow up his elbow to Lawrence's chest with another attack. Instead, he stepped back with a strange smile and teased Lawrence in a sing-song tone.

The two of them were just practicing, not fighting to the death, so Han Shuo hadn't used his full strength in that blow. He had only released the slightest hint of cold air from the 'Glacial Mystic Spellfire'. As a Sergeant Knight, Lawrence had an inner combat aura protecting him and hadn't suffered any injuries.

"You were the one who suddenly attacked me. This blow doesn't count, I'll make you pay later". Lawrence wasn't angry as he told the truth with a wry expression. Then he walked back down the stone steps and suddenly faced Han Shuo without a hint of levity.

A pale green combat aura suddenly blossomed from Lawrence's hands as his steps quickened. He approached Han Shuo like lightning, the combat aura from his left hand suddenly forming into the shape of a sword of light and hurtling towards Han Shuo.

Lawrence had just experienced Han Shuo's speed and strength and understood that the current Han Shuo was nothing like the one he had been. Therefore, he was using his combat aura, but his movements were quite cautious as he was obviously holding back his punches.

A trace of a slight smile curved Han Shuo's lips as he watched Lawrence's movements. He measured the strength of Lawrence's combat aura and completely failed to dodge. He spun the 'Glacial Mystical Spellfire' in his right hand as a thin beam of faint red light materialised in the path of Han Shuo's swinging right fist. It crashed into the sword of light that had coalesced from Lawrence's fighting aura along with Han Shuo's right fist.

Bam sounded dull as Lawrence's sword of light made of combat aura disintegrated into a mass of light spots. Lawrence's strong forward momentum was stopped in its tracks. Han Shuo also felt a wave of pain and numbness wash over his right hand as his body involuntarily retreated two steps.

"Lawrence, how much of your martial aura did you use to coalesce your light sword just now?" Han Shuo looked at Lawrence with burning eyes as he asked.

"Sixty percent!" Lawrence replied and then looked at Han Shuo questioningly. "Your speed and aura are noticeably different from a few months ago. It looks like you were definitely acting on purpose last time - otherwise, why would you be willing to get beaten up for five gold coins?"

A few months ago, Han Shuo had been a rookie who hadn't been trained in battle, and his magical yuan was only at the first level of the 'solid realm'. He had done it to earn gold coins, but more importantly to train his body, so he hadn't held himself back. It looked like Lawrence had misunderstood Han Shuo.

Sixty percent of his combat aura. Han Shuo thought for a moment and went over the amount of magic yuan he had just injected. He finally came to the conclusion that his own strength should be slightly stronger than Lawrence's, as he had only infused about forty percent of his magical yuan into his punch. This already had the effect of being equal in strength to his opponent.

After testing his strength through the direct collision of a fist, Han Shuo did not continue to collide head on with Lawrence. Instead, he used the agility and nimbleness of his body to fight Lawrence in a much more efficient manner.

The two of them traded blows back and forth on the empty lot for a while, and both of them suffered from a few attacks. Han Shuo's body was obviously much stronger than Lawrence's, and he let out low grunts when punches of equal strength landed on his body.

Han Shuo's body was stronger than Lawrence's to begin with, not to mention that the initial stage of the Magical Yuan training had been self-inflicted torture, so he had endured all kinds of pain. He was already used to that kind of pain, so these blows didn't even register on his body when they landed.

Spots danced in Lawrence's eyes as he stopped voluntarily after a while. He smiled wryly, "No more, enough. You're a very strange person. I can't feel any martial aura from you, but why is your strength so much greater than mine? Is your body made of steel? Why does it feel like I'm hitting a stone wall when I hit you? Don't you feel any pain at all?"

Chuckling maliciously, Han Shuo said, "Don't worry about it. My body is naturally strange. Can't my body be strong?"

"Eh, do you have the blood of barbarians running through you, or can you go berserk like the berserk warriors? Phoebe was right, you are a wonderful person!" Lawrence asked in astonishment and then muttered to himself.

Han Shuo also understood his shortcomings after the two of them had fought. His body and magical yuan were indeed miraculous, but Lawrence had obviously been trained in martial arts and there was a certain rhythm to his punches and evasive manoeuvres.

Han Shuo had never studied martial arts and his attacks were always the simplest methods. Compared to Lawrence, he lacked effective attacking methods. He made a mental note of this shortcoming. Han Shuo planned to think about it thoroughly when he had time and see if there were any other attack styles left in Chu Cang Lan's memories.

"I don't know. Alright, let's stop here for today. I've finally redeemed myself for the last time. I'll come to the Knight School when I get the black iron ore." Han Shuo mentally weighed up a few things and said his careless farewell to Lawrence as he returned to the Necromancy Major with a furrowed brow. Lawrence didn't get angry after coming out a little worse for wear this time. After saying goodbye to Han Shuo with a smile, he walked towards his knight school and muttered, "A strange person indeed. The durability of his body is probably comparable to that of an orc warrior!"

Han Shuo thought privately as his footsteps led him further towards the Necromancy Major. Phoebe would need some time to prepare the rations, and he had no intention of returning to the Cemetery any time soon. Duke was currently staying at the school and Han Shuo still didn't know his exact plans. Therefore, after some thought, he decided to stay within the Necromancy Major.

Han Shuo's dormitory had been arranged by Fanny a long time ago, but he'd never lived in it. Now that he'd decided to stay at the academy temporarily, the dormitories finally proved to be of some use to him.

The Babylonian Academy of Magic and Strength was the largest institution of learning in the Empire. Its facilities were extensive, and it was no wonder that a high tuition fee was charged for each student.

Han Shuo's room was in the corner of the second floor and was about fifty to sixty square metres. It consisted of a bedroom and a bathroom with tables, chairs and mirrors. It was the difference between heaven and earth compared to the warehouse Han Shuo had stayed in before.

It was after noon when he arrived at his dormitory. Han Shuo had missed mealtime and was only able to take a few pieces of meat jerky out of his space ring to fill his stomach.

Han Shuo did not leave the dormitory after he had eaten. He closed the room door tightly and sat on the bed, taking advantage of a quiet lull to practice his magical yuan. The magical yuan began to circulate and slowly began to coalesce in his mind from all parts of his body. A sort of clear, slightly cool feeling permeated his brain, making Han Shuo feel as if his brain was immersed in a refreshing pool of water.

However, this feeling only lasted for a short time. The comfort of his mind was replaced by a soul-crushing pain. The training of the 'Moulded Spirit' level caused Han Shuo's brain to constantly switch between comfort and pain. One second he would feel lazy and comfortable, and the next he would feel so much pain that it felt like someone was digging through his brain with a sharp knife.

What was most agonising for Han Shuo was that each time the pain would surge, his mind would become immensely clear. This would cause the pain to suddenly increase tenfold. The clarity of his mind was specifically designed for him to suffer through even greater pain. This made Han Shuo want to curse whoever created this magical Yuan Technique, they were truly a perverted masochist.

After a long, long time, Han Shuo exhaled lightly and stopped his magical yuan training. Hot air rose from his body as if he'd just had a hot shower and a strong sense of masculinity rolled off his body.

The training of his magical yuan had taken Han Shuo from the afternoon directly into the night. The night scene outside his window was captivating as the cool night breeze blew in. It was desolate and silent all around.

Sitting up from his cross-legged position, Han Shuo turned on the hot water in the bathroom and relaxed in the tub, enjoying this rare moment of carefree ease. He even hummed a little tune.

The middle of the night was the perfect time for those with ulterior motives to sneak around. Two small sounds suddenly rang in Han Shuo's ears as he lazily took a shower. One came from inside the dormitory, the other from outside the window.

Three original demons flew out of the back of Han Shuo's neck without a sound. Two of them went out the window to see what was going on outside. One of them floated towards the source of the sound, while the other stayed near the window, silently observing any abnormalities. The last original demon floated out of the crack in the door and into the hallway of the dormitory building, moving forward along the hallway and floating to where the sound had come from.

The one that had gone outside eventually spotted Duke, who had been travelling for a while, hovering stealthily around the sides of the buildings. Duke hadn't used the nightwalker clothes this time. Appearing like a ghost in the darkness, he floated to the Dark Major's classroom buildings without any weight at all.

The original demon in the corridor had noticed that one of the dormitory doors had been slightly opened, and Fitch tiptoed out with a scowl on his face. He walked towards Han Shuo, and from the expression on his face, he seemed to bear ill will.

Han Shuo immediately jumped out of the bathtub and quickly towelled himself off. He put his trousers back on and lay down on the bed with his back to the door, even breathing sounds coming from his mouth.