Chapter 921: Learning From Each Other
Chapter 921: Learning From Each Other
Shortly after Valefor gave up resisting the spar, he immediately focused all his attention on besting Vaan in every close combat exchange.
He was someone who had lived for tens of thousands of years. The accumulation of battle experience shouldn't be something Vaan could compare with.
As such, how could he lose when their powers were equal?
Moreover, his body was a True Divinity-level treasure with indestructible defense to those below it. As such, he didn't need to care about defense at all; he could go all out on attack to overwhelm Vaan.
However, was that really what he wanted?
Although Vaan truly ruffled his feathers the wrong way, Valefor didn't want to beat him in such a crude manner. A victory that relied on simply brute strength couldn't really be called a victory if he lost in other aspects, such as fighting techniques and skills.
No, even if he won that way, he would still feel like he had lost; it would leave a sour taste in his mouth.
Furthermore, his pride wouldn't allow it; he had to beat Vaan with finesse.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky reverberated with powerful shockwaves as Vaan and Valefor clashed fist against fist and body against energy.
Despite being restricted to the same level of strength, Valefor was surprisingly forced back in every exchange. Such an outcome forced him to re-evaluate the situation and his opponent's strength.
How was he losing when their strengths were equal?
What was the problem?
After several dozen rounds of exchange, Valefor eventually understood where his problem was He might have countless years of battle experience, but it was with his original body.
Now that he was using the body of the Primordial Avatar, while it was superior in every way, he had not completely mastered control of its movements.
There were minor discrepancies in each of his movements.
It was also precisely these minor discrepancies that eventually led to a large deficiency in his final attack.
Valefor thought he had nothing to learn from their spar, but he had thought wrong.
Not being able to use his full power forced Valefor to realize his foundation was not stable. He had to relearn and master control over his new body. Otherwise, he would not be able to utilize his full battle potential.
Furthermore, during their exchange, Valefor also realized he had forgotten the joy of struggling; it was the process of learning to become stronger, no matter how minor the improvements seemed.
He had become too accustomed to killing efficiency after becoming the strongest being in Gehenna of the original timeline. While it was good for taking care of weaklings, it was also not good against the strong.
In other words, he had grown used to the easy life after obtaining strength. However, enduring hardship and overcoming the challenges was where he truly felt alive.
As such, this spar with Vaan was needed, far more than Valefor hoped to believe.
"Come, Other Me! Let this master of combat see what you got!" Valefor eagerly urged with an arrogant and provoking gesture. He felt a rising sense of mental liberation and fighting spirit.
In a setting where their strengths were equal, fighting Vaan was the same as fighting himself. Only by continuously overcoming himself would he become truly strong and without weakness.
"Hm?" Vaan glanced at Valefor's change in attitude towards their spar before smirking, "Did I hit you too hard and make you suffer brain damage? Have you forgotten you have been losing to me in every exchange?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Where are you getting this sudden surge of confidence, hm?" Vaan questioned provokingly. However, Valefor simply laughed, "Hahaha! You will find out soon enough, Other Me!"
Shortly after, Valefor and Vaan continued to clash and trade blows in the skies of the Purpleflame Territory. The shockwaves of their colliding fists and kicks would sway the [Eternal Purpleflames] each time.
Of course, Valefor would also be pushed back by Vaan's strength each time.
However, the distance shortened with every subsequent blow they traded. Eventually, Valefor stood his ground and was no longer forced back.
Boom! Boom!
Peng!
Vaan finally suffered an unpredictable full-powered blow from Valefor and was sent flying over several thousand meters.
"Hahaha! How satisfying! I've finally landed one!" Valefor rejoiced.
After the gap in their strengths closed, the gap in their techniques and battle experience became more apparent.
Although Vaan had a wealth of knowledge and memories of countless lifetimes, it didn't necessarily mean he had completely integrated all the battle techniques and mastered them.
Even though his unparalleled thought-processing speed greatly helped in selecting specific battle techniques in certain situations, there was still a small window of delay; he had yet to achieve muscle memory.
Sometimes, too much knowledge was a burden.
Having too many battle techniques would increase the thought-processing period in determining the best one to use in each scenario.
As a result, even a minuscule moment of hesitation could lead to instant defeat.
Vaan knew what he was lacking.
Unparalleled learning did not equal unparalleled experience. Unparalleled learning only helped to acquire unparalleled experience sooner.
In front of a battle fiend like Valefor, their technical differences were easily made clear. Valefor had long achieved the state of muscle memory. He did not need to think when fighting; his battle techniques flowed naturally like river water and without pause. Nevertheless, after Valefor mastered control of his body, his battle techniques also gained fluidity. He was able to add minute changes to remove rigidness and create the element of surprise and unpredictability.
In other words, he had surpassed the realm of muscle memory and reached the realm of
minute subtlety.
Even when Vaan predicted Valefor's choice of battle techniques and its attack path, a slight deviation of a few degrees in angle was enough for Valefor's attack to slip through his
defense.
That was how he suffered his first hit to Valefor.
"Interesting." Vaan smiled and said, "You won't be so lucky next time. You should relish the
moment while you still can."
"Was it just luck? We shall see," Valefor grinned.
What should have been a vengeful fight on Valefor's part turned into a wonderful exchange of
battle knowledge.
Not only was Valefor learning from Vaan, but Vaan was also learning from Valefor.
An unusual sense of friendship and tacit understanding was quickly formed between them.