On the Ark.

"Hmm?" Lin Ye looked at Nightingale with some confusion. "What's wrong?"

"No."

Nightingale shook her head and handed the meal ticket to the cafeteria worker, but what she was thinking was—rich woman, rich woman, rich woman, rich woman.

Is she a rich woman?

Nightingale glanced at Lin Ye furtively before looking away.

She doesn't know either.

……

After lunch, Nightingale returned to the pharmacy to continue working, while Lin Ye went back to his office for a nap. He only intended to take a short break, but ended up sleeping until after 4 PM, with only a few minutes left before the end of the workday. When he woke up, he found that White Owl still hadn't come to work, and Lin Ye shook his head helplessly.

He's such a hardworking boss, but his subordinate is a lazy bum who doesn't even show up for work and still clocks in for himself.

Well, he was a good boss, so he didn't bother arguing with White Owl too much. He went to the cafeteria an hour early for dinner, rested in his dorm for a bit afterward, and then went straight to the training grounds. About half an hour later, Night Blade appeared at the training grounds, somewhat surprised to see Lin Ye: "You're here so early today?"

"Yes," Lin Ye said, "I came early because I finished my work ahead of schedule today."

"Really? You really are hardworking." Yato praised Lin Ye, "You have to finish your work during the day and practice your sword at night. Even in Rhodes Island, there aren't many operators as ambitious as you."

Lin Ye scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed even though he was.

"Then let's begin as soon as possible." Yato picked up his sword. "Today you'll practice..."

Lin Ye recalled his conversation with Shining at noon that day, so he interrupted Yato and said, "Can we have another match tonight?"

"Hmm?" Yato was somewhat surprised. "Why do you suddenly want to fight?"

"I learned some skills from others."

Actually, Lin Ye was also a little unsure, because upon closer reflection, he didn't seem to know how to actively use Leaping Wave Strike. Last night, he had only been able to use it passively under Skadi's immense pressure. Skadi hadn't taught him how to use it proactively, which meant she wasn't exactly a good teacher.

“Is that so? In that case, let’s give it a try.” Yato nodded. “Our last battle was the day Liz came over, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, you let me win,” Lin Ye replied.

“This time, Liz isn’t here.” Yato smiled slightly. “I’m glad you had the courage to challenge me. But I won’t go easy on you like last time. After a month of training, you’ve got some basic skills, so from now on I’ll treat you as a fair and square swordsman.”

Lin Ye also felt the pressure, after all, Yato was one of Rhodes Island's most senior Guard Operators. Although he wasn't particularly tall, he could beat Lin Ye up like it was nothing, and when he got serious, he could defeat Lin Ye in twenty seconds.

"I understand." Lin Ye took a deep breath, regulated his breathing, and then drew his black steel sword. "Then let's begin."

Seventeen seconds later, he was defeated by Yato. When the sword was right at Lin Ye's nose, Lin Ye was completely dumbfounded.

What's going on? Why didn't Leap Strike trigger?

"You've lost." Yato slowly sheathed his sword and shook his head. "You managed to withstand nine of my sword strikes in total, which is quite good for now. Let's continue training."

Lin Ye sat on the ground, still pondering the reason.

Why did Skadi manage to trigger Lin Ye's Leap Strike with just one sword strike, while Night Blade attacked Lin Ye nine times in a row without any sign of triggering Leap Strike?

Could it be... stress?

It must be said that the nine swords that Night Blade unleashed upon Lin Ye were less oppressive than Skadi's single sword strike. Could it be that Leaping Wave Strike is a passive skill that can only be used in dire situations?

Lin Ye decided to try again, so he got up from the ground and said to Ye Dao, "Let's do it again, please go all out."

Yato frowned: "Go all out?"

“Yes, you were holding back just now,” Lin Ye said. “Please attack me like you would a real enemy.”

"This is just a practice match," Yato said. "Your basic skills are still far behind mine. If I really go all out, I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"It's okay." Lin Ye was very determined. "It doesn't matter if I get hurt. My roommate is a medical operator. As long as he doesn't kill me on the spot, he can save me."

Yato: "..."

Although somewhat speechless, Yato decided to respect Lin Ye's idea.

“Since that’s the case,” Yato raised his sword again and said slowly, “then so be it. Although I don’t know what you’re thinking, I will do my best not to hurt you.”

"No, I just want to get hurt."

Yato: "..."

Lin Ye picked up the black steel sword again and took two steps back.

Lin Ye could barely withstand nine of Yato's sword strikes without Yato using his full strength. If Yato were to use his full strength, Lin Ye felt that this number would decrease, and he might only be able to withstand about five strikes. In that case, he had to use Leaping Wave Strike within five strikes.

Gripping his sword tightly, Lin Ye tried to recapture the feeling from last night, and then said to Yato, "Let's begin."

Yato suddenly charged at him, almost twice as fast as before!

Lin Ye was immediately shocked, but instead of retreating, he chose to meet him head-on.

Clang!

The two black steel swords locked together.

At that moment, Lin Ye realized his mistake. He had thought that even if Yato went all out, he could at least withstand five sword strikes. But judging from the power of the first sword strike, it would be quite difficult to withstand five.

But he also needed such difficulties and pressure, so instead of retreating as before, he took the initiative to attack.

Yato was also somewhat surprised, but she was definitely not going to back down.

So the two swords clashed together for the second time. At that moment, Lin Ye felt an unbearable pain in his hand. Clashing head-on with a demon like Yato, he had to exert every ounce of strength to keep the sword from slipping from his grasp. But this seemed to be his limit. The pain in his arm seemed to be reminding Lin Ye that he could not possibly withstand a third sword strike.

But he still did not choose to retreat, and moved forward again.

It was at this moment that he finally "heard" the sound of the waves.

"You're really crazy," Yato said softly, then swung again. She knew Lin Ye's condition very well and knew that Lin Ye couldn't block this sword no matter what. In order not to hurt Lin Ye, she held back some of her strength. "A suicidal fighting style will only bring trouble on yourself."

Lin Ye had no idea what Night Blade was thinking. He only "heard" the sound of the waves and felt the giant waves "surging" towards him, just like last night. He stood firm in the giant waves and then, facing the wind and waves, vigorously swung the black steel sword in his hand.

Clang!

The two black steel swords clashed for the third time.

But this time it wasn't a close contest.

One black steel sword was knocked from his hand, twirled a dozen times in the air, and finally stuck in the grass more than ten meters away. The other black steel sword was pressed against the neck of the opposing swordsman.

Yato stared blankly at Lin Ye and the black steel sword in Lin Ye's hand.

She still didn't understand what was happening.

Her right hand, which was holding the sword, had been completely shattered at the base of her thumb, and blood was slowly dripping down her fingers and onto the grass.

Lin Ye was also stunned; he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

That's just how he is.

We won?!

……

……

Author's Note: It seems some readers in the comments section have calculated that I still owe 36 chapters. I'm too lazy to calculate it myself, so I'll just use this number. The 8,000 words from last time weren't included in the make-up chapters, so that counts as two chapters. Including today's 6,000 words, that's one chapter, so I still owe 33 chapters.

Chapter 146 After taking care of one demon, it's time to take care of another (Part 1)

Training Course.

The battle was over, and Yato was sitting on the grass, her injured right hand bandaged. Standing beside her was Lin Ye, whose face was full of guilt.

"Well, I'd better call Ansel or Liz over to treat you," Lin Ye said.

“No need.” Yato shook his head. “I’m not that delicate. It’s just a minor injury… no, it’s not even an injury. A little bandaging will prevent infection.”

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

“This is a common occurrence on the battlefield,” Yato said. “We don’t have medics available all the time.”

"Is that so?" Lin Ye thought to himself, this isn't a battlefield.

Having been injured many times before, Yato was quite skilled at bandaging his wounds and finished quickly. After moving around a bit and finding that he was alright, he slowly stood up and said, "Alright, that's enough about my injury. Now it's your turn."

Lin Ye immediately lowered his head and apologized, "I'm sorry."

Yato countered, "Why should I say sorry?"

"Because I hurt you."

Yato chuckled softly, "I'm not that petty, especially since it's only an injury of this severity. If what you're saying is true, wouldn't I have had to apologize to you every single day for the first few days?"

"That's different."

“Same here, that’s the point of this drill. The fact that you could hurt me already says a lot.” Yato looked at Lin Ye. “But I still want to know, how did you do that? Even though I held back my power in the last strike, it shouldn’t have ended like this. I’ve never seen that kind of power before. Is this the little trick you mentioned earlier? Can you tell me about it?”

Lin Ye nodded and then repeated to Yato what he had said to Shining during the day.

Yato listened quietly throughout, but she was far less composed than Shining. Upon hearing Skadi's name, her expression changed: "It's that person from the fourth floor. So you really have dealings with her."

Lin Ye nodded. He actually wanted to say that not only had they become acquainted, but Skadi had also become his assistant, albeit one who didn't work regular jobs. However, he decided against it and continued discussing the Leaping Wave Strike. Yato's expression grew increasingly surprised. After Lin Ye finished speaking, she remained silent for a long time, as if deep in thought.

After a long silence, Yato slowly spoke: "It's an incredible ability. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would hardly believe that such an ability exists in this world. To be able to turn someone who is completely powerless into a powerful warrior in a short time is simply too exaggerated."

Is the phrase "too weak to even kill a chicken" referring to him...?

Lin Ye remained silent.

"But according to her, only her people and humans like you can use it?" Night Blade looked at Lin Ye and said softly, "Are you all descendants of the sea?"

“I don’t really understand either.” Lin Ye scratched his head. “Anyway, that’s what she said, and she doesn’t seem to be able to confirm whether it’s true or not. She just said that it’s a legend that has been passed down in her tribe.”

“Legends are often based on some truth, especially those from such a mysterious group,” Yato said. “And most importantly, the abilities she taught you have indeed worked. Have you noticed any changes in your body?”

"A little," Lin Ye said. "Shining said my physical strength has improved significantly."

"Is that so? I can't see that, but as the Sarkaz Sword Saint, Shining's eyesight shouldn't be wrong." Yato nodded slightly. "So, what do you think?"

Lin Ye was taken aback: "What do you mean, what are you thinking?"

“The one on the fourth floor, Skadi,” Yato said softly. “I can’t say whether your approach to her is good or bad. She’s not like us… Never mind, I doubt you’d listen anyway. Let’s wait and see. Back to your ability, honestly, it’s truly outstanding. Even for a short time, it can make those who underestimate you pay the price. So, make the most of it.”

Lin Ye nodded, then said seriously, "Thank you, Night Blade. I will use my abilities wisely. As for Skadi, I believe she is not a bad person, and you will understand her sooner or later."

"Is that so? Then I'd really like to see what kind of person she is." Yato laughed. "Also, there's no need to thank me. No matter what, I'm still your teacher. Let's end the training here tonight. You probably won't be able to use that sword technique again, right?"

Lin Ye nodded with a helpless expression.