Martial techniques were also divided into different categories. These were defensive, offensive, support and movement. The most expensive were the defensive and movement skills, particularly because they directly increased one’s chances of survival. Offensive skills were also quite expensive, these skills directly damaged one’s opponent.
Support martial techniques or skills were the cheapest or the most common. They were the kind that either fitted in none of the other three categories or were in more than one. In general, it was well known that the more uses a martial skill had, the less potent it was in one particular area.
It was considered worthwhile for one to have at least three skills, which were specialized in one particular field, especially the one that had aspects from all the three. Of all the four types of skills, movement techniques were the rarest and the most difficult to comprehend. They required complex use of qi and a lot of technique to use.
The martial technique that Bastian was planning to use was called Vector Steps. It was a support skill that focused more on movement, and it supplemented speed and strength, making it partially an offensive skill as well.
Vector Steps was technically a support skill, but it could easily qualify as a top class movement skill, at least to Bastian's standards anyway. It was an attributeless technique, which meant that anyone with any type of an attribute could use it. Attributeless martial techniques were also very cheap and common. This was so because they did not pack the punch an element had.
Every element had its own specialty. For example, earth martial skills often improved strength. This meant that attributeless techniques were usually less powerful. Yet Bastian was baffled.
Vector Steps was an attributeless support technique. According to martial technique common sense, it was the lowest of the low in terms of caliber. Yet Bastian could tell that this was a very powerful technique. One that required good use of forces. Bastian knew that he would only be able to use this technique due to his awakened bloodline. Otherwise he would not be able to master this technique, let alone use it instantly.
The technique also required one to be a middle disciple at least and even then, one could only use it for less than a minute, since it used up quite a bit of yuan. Bastian was a quick thinker and he could easily economize his time. He had already decided on how to deal with these scorpions.
After flexing and jumping for a moment, he sprinted straight toward the scorpion group, they could sense that they had been compromised, so they started coming out of the ground one by one, in an orderly file. The first being the one closest to Bastian, which was at that particular moment only 30 meters away.
Bastian had managed to catch them off guard, preventing them from using their usual attack pattern.
Bastian took this opportunity and started weaving from side to side as he ran, his fists were guarding his face and his eyes were focused. With his elbows in, shoulders tucked, and knees bent, he started weaving in a figure eight shape, whilst going forward.
The moment the first scorpion was fully exposed above ground, the second one was just about to appear, that was when Bastian activated his Vector Steps. Qi started moving along certain paths in his body. Bastian's senses heightened temporarily, his brain started to think at a faster pace, to such an extent that time seemed to slow down a little bit.
V saw Bastian's strange posture and weaving motions. She silently observed and her curiosity was piqued. Then just when Bastian was only a few meters away from the scorpion, his silhouette flashed.
A sudden burst of speed made him look like he had disappeared. Then his body seemingly materialized in front of the leading scorpion. A left hook penetrated its eye in an instant. Bastian was moving so quickly, that the scorpion barely had time to react. By the time its body had reacted, Bastian had already retracted his fist. His silhouette flashed once again. This time he reappeared in front of the second scorpion.
This time he used a right hook, and in the same manner like its predecessor, the scorpion failed to react in time.
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Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The same scene repeated itself four more times, the victims being the last four scorpions. After the last attack, Bastian changed direction and moved in a straight line toward V. He was so fast that his movements kicked up clouds of dust, leaving virtually no clear air behind him. By the time he had returned to V, the clouds of dust he had left behind him started to disperse.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Six loud thuds rang out in the open desert, with each thud, more dust and sand would be displaced. Although V couldn't see what was ahead, she knew exactly what Bastian had left in his wake. Complete and utter annihilation.
He was moving fast, but with her cultivation and her unique training, she could clearly see what had just happened. He was alternating between left hooks and right hooks, speeding up to reach a scorpion, then slowing down to strike.
He had obtained a near perfect and melodious rhythm. Even as a warrior with experience, she had never seen anything quite like it. She whistled in admiration. Each hook, covered in fire qi, penetrated an eye, reaching straight into the brain, and without a doubt, killing the beasts instantly.
Bastian stood in front of V. He was panting heavily since, during the entire process he wasn't breathing. He was afraid of disrupting his rhythm.
Although Bastian was a cultivator, he was still at a level were he needed to breathe, especially after such a taxing moment.
After some very quick thinking, Bastian decided not to economize his energy. Instead, he decided to use as much as he could in one burst, so he could catch the scorpions by surprise and finish the fight quickly.
“Does that...thing even have a name?" said V in admiration.
Bastian frowned, and furrowed his brow, as if he was thinking. After a few seconds he clapped his hands, a smile plastering his face, as if he had had an epiphany.
“I call it, the Vector Roll!” said Bastian with gusto.
He calls it?
V put two and two together, figuring out that Bastian had come up with the technique himself. She had assumed that it was some type of all-powerful technique given to him by his bloodline. Techniques given from awakened bloodlines are called Bloodline Legacies. Truth be told she was not far off in her conclusion.
Bastian did not have any Intention of lying, so he told her the truth. He told her about the Vector Steps. After hearing that it was an attributeless support technique, V wanted to argue with Bastian. She believed it was a movement technique, and very powerful one at that, but she was too lazy to argue so she let him continue.
After explaining about the Legacy he just used, Bastian went on to explain the boxing technique. V frowned deeply. She clearly did not believe him. This time, she could not hold back, and started arguing with him.
“Look I'm telling you, that is not a Legacy. That is a simple fist technique.” said Bastian.
“Don't lie! I'm an assassin remember? I'm trained to master all basic forms of hand to hand combat, and that Dempsey whatever is not one of them," said V in a rather annoyed tone.
The boxing technique Bastian had just used was called the Dempsey Roll. It was a technique he saw in a Japanese anime he had seen on earth, and was the reason he chose to do boxing in the first place. It was created by a boxer from the early twentieth century.
It was also the move he had put the most effort in back on earth. It did not really suite his technical style because he had weak punches, but he practiced it anyway, thousands of times.
Now that obsession, it seemed had paid off. V was an experienced warrior, she could see a practiced technique when she saw one. That was why she did not believe Bastian when he told her that it was a simple fist technique. Simple or not, Bastian previously had a weak body that had not studied martial arts. She was not convinced. Not by a long shot.
“So it was you who caused that large apparition. I'm glad I arrived before others did.”
Suddenly, in the dust clouds next to them, appeared a silhouette. It seemed they had lingered around for to long. They had intended to leave the site where the apparition had appeared, in case an expert with a very powerful cultivation appeared. It seemed their fears had come true!
Out of the dust came a young woman. She was very attractive and wore extremely revealing clothes. She had tattoos covering her exposed left arm and had what looked like a mohawk. With a flash, she appeared next to Bastian and V. She grabbed the two by their necks and lifted them up.
V immediately fainted for some reason, whereas Bastian remained conscious. This woman was not radiating any power, nor was she oppressive in any way. Her aura gave the impression of a normal human, yet no matter what Bastian did, he could not loosen the grip she had on him.
“Boy, I do not know why he likes you so much, but you better thank the stars that he does, and that I just happened to be nearby, otherwise… Anyway a storm is coming here, and a large one at that. After such a ridiculous apparition, this area will be a war zone filled with people looking for you. I am sending you away from here for a few months, until it calms down. After about 6 or so months, you should be back here. Good luck," said the woman.
Due to the grip she had on his throat, Bastian could not speak. Then after her monologue, he lost consciousness. Just before he blacked out though, he was shocked to extremes. The Sovereign Continent only had one language, which was virtually no different to English. There were no other languages.
Yet Bastian had no doubt, that the woman who had overpowered him, was speaking Chinese!