"Don’t worry! C’mon, take this as my chance of repaying you for your kindness of helping me!" Ma Xiaoru then pulled Wang Tong to the driver’s seat. Of course, Wang Tong was more than happy to be offered an opportunity like this. He knew Ma Xiaoru wouldn’t mind, since she was rich, and he had always been craving for the excitement of acceleration.
"That’s the push-to-start button, the touch control panel and that’s the autopilot button. Just push that button if you feel that you’re not able to drive, simple as that." Ma Xiaoru said. Driving itself was really simple, and the rest were basically entertainment functions. Wang Tong then started the engine and began to feel the rush of adrenaline, as the maglev vehicle rose up. It really felt different from those smaller ones, and definitely looked cooler than Hu Yangxuan’s.
"Hold on tight!" Wang Tong said in excitement. He loved the feeling of adrenaline rushing throughout his body, kind of looking like a boy with his new toy. Actually, he had wanted to try driving when he was in Hu Yangxuan’s vehicle back then, but in the end, he didn’t ask for it. Nevertheless, Wang Tong had already learned most of the basics while watching Hu Yangxuan drive.
It was definitely a good quality maglev vehicle, because the vehicle didn’t rattle as it rose up slowly, even though it was driven by a rookie. Since Wang Tong had learned how to pilot a Battlecraft in his previous training, he was able to get used to every function in a jiff. Soon, Ma Xiaoru’s vehicle began to move and accelerate.
"Woah, cool!" Wang Tong loved the thrill of speed. Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoru seemed to be startled by the sudden excitement.
Wang Tong began to drive like a racer, as he had gotten familiar with the maneuvers, and within minutes, they heard police sirens wail behind their vehicle. However, neither of them knew that it was illegal to drive that fast in the city. The only thing mister rookie knew was to shake off the police as soon as possible.
"Hold on tight Xiaoru, I’m going to shake them off our tail now!"
Wang Tong stepped on the pedal and accelerated, yet their vehicle was still closely followed by the police. Two maglev vehicles were seen zigzagging across buildings. Wang Tong was getting more and more excited as he pushed his driving skills to the limit; he was even turning corners by drifting the vehicle, really looking like a racer.
Of course, the police was unable to drive like him, not to mention their vehicle was not as fast as Ma Xiaoru’s. Soon, their vehicle had gone out of sight.
"Dammit! That was fast! What the hell was that vehicle?"
"That brand… oh nevermind, let’s head back to the precinct."
"What’s the matter with you? I’m sure we can catch that fella and lock him up for ten days or maybe half a month!"
"That maglev vehicle belongs to the House of Ma, you idiot."
Both cops looked at each other, "Giving a speeding ticket to the House of Ma? Nah..." They gave up the idea immediately.
Wang Tong sighed in relief when he noticed the police was out of sight. Honestly, what happened minutes ago almost scared the crap out of him. Ma Xiaoru, who was sitting right beside him, giggled as she saw his amusing expression.
"What’s wrong, was it bad? Oh god, please don’t tell me they’re gonna arrest me soon."
"Two minutes ago, you were driving fast like a madman, and now you’re scared like a chicken. Get a grip!" Ma Xiaoru said. Actually, they could’ve just pulled over and given the officers a few good reasons instead of turning it into a street chase.
Wang Tong scratched his head, "I was kinda excited and went crazy… My bad! Luckily I didn’t take the wrong turn."
"Don’t worry, it’s fine since we’re about ten minutes earlier than our expected time of arrival."
This wasn’t Wang Tong’s first time visiting the Sky Mansion, so he decided to show himself around while w
aiting for Ma XIaoru to get changed. Minutes later, she came back in her training outfit.
"Wow, so you really are getting serious huh. Looks like I’ll have to be extra alert later." Wang Tong joked.
"Make sure you don’t go easy on me. I’ve been spending a lot of time recently to prepare for this. Hopefully, I’ll be able to succeed in one shot!"
"Are you planning to perform Tactics Advancement?" Wang Tong asked, knowing this might be a difficult task.
"How do you know about Tactics Advancement?" Ma Xiaoru looked at Wang Tong in surprise. Somehow, he always didn’t know things that were commonly known by others, but he would know things that he wasn’t supposed to know.
"Kinda heard of it before. But no one is here to monitor you. Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"I’ll be fine, Tactics of the Enchantress might be unpredictable, but it’s quite stable when it comes to Tactics Advancement. I’ll handle the rest by myself." Ma Xiaoru didn’t want to trouble the House of Li and worsen the situation, since the deal between the two houses was already settled.
"So, how can I help?"
"There are ten stages in the two hundred and one nodes Tactics of the Enchantress. Right now, I’m at the fourth stage. However, I couldn’t improve my tactics ever since I got out from the House of Li. If I were to fight Li Ruo-Er with my current level, I'd never stand a chance to defeat her. So, I have to advance to the next stage as soon as possible!" Ma Xiaoru seemed very serious about this battle. Somehow this fight meant a lot more to her than what met the eye.
Wang Tong had no idea what was going on with her, yet Mr. busybody was eager to help when he saw Ma Xiaoru’s enthusiasm. Moreover, Ma Xiaoru’s performance was crucial to their crusade against Capth.
"The Tactics Advancement of Tactics of the Enchantress is a bit different as it requires a sparring partner. For the first phase, I’ll attack you with my Soul Energy. It’s kinda like a mental and emotional attack. All you need to do is defend by strengthening your willpower and make sure you’re not distracted; Tactics of the Enchantress focus on attack. Hence, I need to boost up my attacks in order to advance."
"Haha, thank you for recognizing my strength. Hopefully, I’ll not collapse before you finish." Wang Tong was curious why Ma Xiaoru had confidence in him.
"Honestly, not everyone who is stronger than me would be able to withstand Tactics of the Enchantress’s mental and emotional attacks, but I do have faith in you. Somehow, I can tell that your tactics weren’t affected by mine when I first saw you, and for some reason, my Tactics of the Enchantress started to change after knowing you. It seemed to have become calmer like it was inhibited by something. Anyway, I might be wrong, as this is only my recent analysis. Nevertheless I do believe in my hunch as a girl." Ma Xiaoru’s wisdom shined through her eyes as she explained, but clearly all her words were not mere intuition. Somehow, Wang Tong felt that he might have done something back then and given himself away. But he was always being cautious, so it would be impossible for Ma Xiaoru to find out anything.
Or perhaps he was just being skeptical.
"What are you staring at?" Ma Xiaoru questioned.
Wang Tong then realized he had been staring at her chest as he was dozing off a while ago, so it got kind of awkward.
"Ahem, nothing... I was thinking that I’ll be fine since my only task is to defend with my willpower. As you know, my Tactics of the Blade were the steadiest of them all, so I’m sure I can handle that."
"Yea, that’s also why I have faith in you. Obviously, there are still a lot of aces and various of tactics out there, but among the people who are practicing Tactics of the Blade, I’ve never seen anyone strong like you. These tactics might have a slow progress, yet they are definitely the steadiest. However, before we begin, I have to tell you that I’ll be unleashing my maximum level of Soul Energy in order to increase my possibility of advancement. I’ve been trying a lot of times by myself, but there’s no way I could succeed without an opponent."
"Bring it on! Don’t worry, I’m tougher than you think. Not even an attractive woman can break me." Wang Tong winked as he goofed around.
"You little… I’m being serious here. If you’re not able to withstand my attacks, I’ll have to stop immediately."
"But is there another way to advance?"
"I’m afraid no, there’s no other way besides that. According to my calculation, it’ll take me another half a year if I were to advance step by step. Unfortunately, we haven’t got much time."
Although the best method was to seek help from the House of Li, yet it would be kind of ridiculous, if the reason for seeking Tactics Advancement were to defeat their own successor.
"Relax, I’m sure the first phase will be alright. What about the second phase?"
"If you’re able to defend against the attacks from my Soul Energy, we will be able to move on to the second phase. All you have to do is to attack me, and the rest will be up to me."
"Okay, let’s do this, let’s get ready!"
Both of them then began to initialize their tactics respectively, Wang Tong wasn’t surprised, since he also did the same thing when he was practicing Tactics of the Blade. Einherjar Wannabe even helped him by giving advice; the only thing different was he didn’t have to fight another person. All he needed to do was to boost his Soul Energy. Apparently, there were times when the complete version of Tactics of the Blade would develop a strong current of force, like a calm and beautiful sea turning into a ferocious roaring sea in a split second.
Nevertheless, this was a great opportunity for Wang Tong to witness the power of two hundred and one nodes Tactics of the Enchantress. However, it would be impossible for him to learn and mimic Tactics of the Enchantress under such circumstances.
It was not a coincidence for Wang Tong to be able to learn Tactics of the Blade easily, one of the reasons being his practice since childhood. But, he was unable to find out the biggest reason behind all this, and even Old Fart didn’t completely know why.
Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru decided to initialize a full circulation in order to push their Soul Energy to the maximum limit. As they completed their preparations, both of them opened their eyes, "Let’s begin!"
Ma Xiaoru began to release her Soul Energy gradually, filling the room with tons of pressure. Soon, she decided to increase the output of Soul Energy since Wang Tong was doing alright.
The currents of Soul Energy slowly started to turn into an Energy Storm. Unlike physical battles, Tactics Advancement was more similar to mental brawls, which focused more on a person’s mental toughness and attributes. The most terrifying part about Tactics of the Enchantress was its fluctuating ability to change and cause hallucinations to its opponent. Ma Xiaoru kept monitoring Wang Tong’s expression, as she might have to stop if something happened. So far Wang Tong was doing okay, and Ma Xiaoru was impressed by his level of strength.
Soul Energy was different from fighting ability. One might do good in fighting, but that didn’t mean the person’s Soul Energy was good as well, and vice versa. In order to become an ace, one had to develop a strong fighting ability and Soul Energy. Obviously, Wang Tong was good in battles, a born fighter if one may say. But Ma Xiaoru was kind of surprised when she found out Wang Tong’s Soul Energy was also quite impressive.
Ma Xiaoru was relieved when she noticed he was doing fine, then began to increase her output of Soul Energy again. The Energy Storm was getting stronger as well.
Apparently, the training room was not an ordinary room, but a custom-made chamber instead. It was built from expensive materials that were able to isolate the dispersion of Soul Energy. This room was specially built for Tactics Advancement, in order to increase one’s chances of success.
Wang Tong seemed to be waiting… waiting for the hallucination!
However, for some reason, he was only able to feel the pressure from Ma Xiaoru’s Soul Energy. Clearly, her Soul Energy had exceeded two hundred sols and no doubt that was the true strength of the pretty little princess. Nevertheless, Wang Tong was impressed that Ma Xiaoru, who was an introverted and low profiled person who didn’t like showing off, was even able to go full force on him when they fought, which was very rare amongst girls.
On the other hand, Ma Xiaoru was also startled by Wang Tong’s level of strength!
She decided not to hesitate, since Wang Tong was still doing alright. Then, she boosted her Soul Energy to the maximum state in order to break the limit and advance to the fifth stage of Tactics of the Enchantress.
It would be scary if she were making an attack with that intensity of Soul Energy. However, it wasn’t strong enough to deal any damage since she was only using it to pressure her opponent. But most importantly, Wang Tong still wasn’t able to feel any signs of hallucination… Instead, he was feeling quite comfortable.