A High-Mana Melee Mage 22: Chapter 22: Testing Kido!
A High-Mana Melee Mage On the floating island, Lu Ming opened his eyes, drew the sealed Senbonzakura from its scabbard, and swung it wildly.
Although Zhao Kongcheng had only briefly exchanged blows with Leng Xuan last night, it had transformed Lu Ming from a complete sword novice into a newly initiated practitioner.
At the very least, Lu Ming’s slashes and strikes now possessed proper form.
If he were to face the Ghostface Man from last night now, his current swordsmanship paired with the sharpness of his Zanpakuto would allow him to decapitate the creature in close combat, rather than relying on Senbonzakura’s ultimate ability against such a minor minion like he had before…
*To be honest, Old Zhao’s swordsmanship is pretty solid!
But his Hakuda leaves a lot to be desired.* In the world of Shinigami, Hakuda was essentially hand-to-hand combat.
Perhaps because Zhao Kongcheng and Leng Xuan had engaged in an armed duel, Lu Ming hadn’t gained much Hakuda experience.
Compared to his sword skills, he had barely scraped the surface of Hakuda.
With his current skill level, if someone were to engage him in bare-handed martial arts, he would be little more than a weakling.
*So what if Hakuda is weak!
At least my experience in Kido has surged.
I’ll just play as a noble mage in the early game.* For a Shinigami, Kido was divided into three categories: Hado, Bakudo, and Kaido.
Hado was the most straightforward and destructive, prioritizing raw offensive power.
Bakudo required more technical finesse; as the name suggested, it focused on binding and restraint while offering various utility functions.
As for Kaido, it was a more advanced technique within Kido capable of directly healing injuries without incantations.
However, even Captain-level Shinigami struggled to master it.
For Lu Ming, his current breakthrough in Kido was merely a preliminary mastery of Hado and Bakudo.
Lu Ming sheathed Senbonzakura, a faint dark glow flickering in his black eyes.
“Hado #1: Sho!” Lu Ming extended his finger, and a small shockwave erupted from his fingertip, shattering a giant boulder in front of him.
“Considerable power, but the consumption is this high?” Lu Ming was satisfied with the destructive output, but deeply displeased with the mana cost of Hado #1.
A single cast had drained one-tenth of his Reiryoku.
Although it didn’t require an incantation and possessed an extremely fast casting speed, his current Reiryoku at the Cup realm meant he could cast Sho ten times at most.
Most importantly, he couldn’t use all his Reiryoku on Kido; he needed to reserve enough energy to trigger his Zanpakuto’s release.
At this moment, Lu Ming felt like a mana-starved mage in a video game.
Though his spells possessed destructive power, he couldn’t escape the limitations of his low resource bar.
Still, wielding a lethal Zanpakuto while possessing swordsmanship made Lu Ming an anomaly among mages.
To be precise, he was more like a melee mage.
“Hado #4: Byakurai!” Assuming tonight was a peaceful night, Lu Ming decided not to be overly stingy with his Reiryoku.
He cast through the first ten Hado spells one by one to raise his proficiency.
However, the single-digit Hado spells were currently his limit.
When he tried to perform Hado #11: Tsuzuri Raiden, his body immediately issued a warning.
If he forcibly cast a Hado spell above number ten, his current physical frame wouldn’t be able to withstand the recoil.
Even if he forced it out, it would be a double-edged sword that hurt himself almost as much as his enemy.
*In other words, even if I squeeze out my Reiryoku and endure the recoil, the highest spell I can cast is a Hado under number twenty.
The Cup realm is still too weak; I need to break through to the Pool realm as soon as possible…
Currently, my only method of acquiring Reiryoku is absorbing Reishi inside the Soul King Palace, but that efficiency is way too slow.* Lu Ming’s brow furrowed slightly.
Although the concentration of Reishi in the Soul King Palace was extremely high, his current body could barely adapt and move around freely.
Absorbing Reishi on a massive scale was simply impossible right now.
*When I forged Katen Kyokotsu last night, my body’s efficiency in absorbing Reishi increased significantly.
Is it because the physical frame gets strengthened during the forging process?* Lu Ming couldn’t fully comprehend the underlying principle, but one thing was certain: continuously forging Zanpakuto was his top priority for the future.
Forging Zanpakuto in the detached palace allowed him to rapidly absorb Reiryoku, and the forged Zanpakuto granted him more Blade-Borrowers.
As those Blade-Borrowers used the Zanpakuto, they would provide him with experience, making him stronger.
Being stronger would allow him to slay more Mystics and gain more forging materials, which in turn allowed him to forge even more Zanpakuto…
It was a perfect positive feedback loop, and the foundation of it all was the Zanpakuto itself.
Lu Ming knew that the moment he chose Phoenix Palace, his future path of growth had already been set.
*I wonder when I’ll be able to unlock the other detached palaces.
If I can, should I choose Phoenix Palace, Tonden Palace, or Shura Palace?* Having access to only Phoenix Palace had already brought immense rewards.
Once he could unlock the other detached palaces, he knew he would be able to handle Mystics with far greater ease.
…
The next day.
At Lin Qiye’s house, learning that Lin Qiye had regained his sight made his aunt extremely emotional, feeling as though the long-awaited day had finally arrived.
“Xiao Qi, once Aunt gets off work tonight, we have to celebrate properly!” “Mm, Aunt!” For the first time, Lin Qiye could see a future of his own.
Now that he had regained his vision, he was determined to take good care of his aunt, get into a top university, and find a good job early on so she wouldn’t have to work so hard.
…
Inside the Nightwatcher office.
“Old Zhao, did you find that proxy of Michael?” Seeing Zhao Kongcheng’s unusual state, Hongying assumed he had pulled another all-nighter and fallen back into his obsessive Jinzen loop.
However, as she stepped closer, she noticed his eyes were clear and free of yesterday’s stubborn fixation.
“Oh, Hongying!
Not yet, I’m going out to look again today.” Zhao Kongcheng instinctively chose to conceal Lin Qiye’s identity.
“Sister Hongying, let’s head out together!
We still need to keep a close eye on Cangnan No.
2 High School today!” Wen Qimo waved at Hongying.
Behind him, Si Xiaonan and Leng Xuan were already geared up and ready.
“Oh, coming!” Hongying nodded and gave Zhao Kongcheng a concerned look.
“Old Zhao, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Whether it’s Jinzen or missions, we just do our best!” Zhao Kongcheng nodded as Lin Qiye’s rejection from last night crossed his mind.
Everyone had their own pursuits.
Protecting the public was the right choice, but who could say that protecting one’s small family was wrong?
“Old Zhao!
Fighting, you can do it!” Hongying pumped her fist in front of Zhao Kongcheng.
Her injuries hadn’t fully healed, but her splints and bandages had already been removed.
Seeing Hongying full of energy, Zhao Kongcheng felt a surge of motivation.
Even after her parents went missing, Hongying managed to maintain such a positive attitude.
He had merely suffered a minor setback with Lin Qiye; he couldn’t afford to be so downcast.
Zhao Kongcheng nodded.
“Giving up so easily isn’t my style!
Hongying, do your best today too!” “Mm!
Let me know if you need anything.
Bye!” “Bye!”