Having only served as Yvonne Jiang's personal guard for a few days before being removed, Calvin Li had completely become a laughingstock.
The remaining Deity-Transformation guards all felt their chance had come.
Howard Jiang summoned them one by one, then went to ask Yvonne Jiang for her opinion.
"What about Ian Song? Why didn't the steward recommend Ian Song?" Yvonne Jiang asked with a hint of accusation.
Howard Jiang replied calmly, "Young Miss, I spoke to Ian Song last time, but he was unwilling to become your personal guard!"
"Is that so? Call him here. I want to ask him myself why he doesn't want to be my guard!" Yvonne Jiang sneered, her dislike for Howard Jiang growing stronger.
"Yes, Miss!"
Howard Jiang could only accept the order and sent someone to summon Ian Song.
"Ian Song, I heard you're unwilling to be my personal guard?" Yvonne Jiang looked at him and asked.
"It would be my honor to serve as Young Miss's guard!"
Ian Song replied.
Immediately, Howard Jiang's gaze turned cold and sharp as he looked at Ian Song, his heart filled with rage. This brat actually dared to trip him up—if he got the chance, he'd make Ian pay.
Seeing Howard Jiang's dejected look, Yvonne Jiang was delighted. She waved her hand and said, "That's settled! Ian Song will be my personal guard!"
"Yes, Miss!"
No matter how displeased Howard Jiang was, he could only agree.
The next day.
Ian Song officially took up his post as Yvonne Jiang's personal guard. The other guards looked on with envy; many offered congratulations and flattery, but Ian responded humbly. Only Calvin Li, demoted back to ordinary guard, glared at him with venom, thinking, "Ian Song, just wait. One day I'll make you pay!"
"Ian Song, come with me. I'm going to train my spell arts!"
Ian Song had just stepped into the courtyard when he saw Yvonne Jiang dressed in training clothes, bursting with excitement.
"Yes, Miss!"
Ian Song nodded and followed behind Yvonne Jiang.
Soon after.
The two of them arrived in front of a pitch-black great hall.
The hall was tightly shut, with guards posted outside.
Seeing it was Yvonne Jiang, the guards let them pass without question.
Inside, the hall was empty except for a formation platform.
Standing on the platform and activating the formation, one could undergo training inside the array.
Yvonne Jiang stepped onto the platform and signaled Ian Song to inject true qi into a formation disk.
Ian Song sent a stream of true qi into the disk, instantly activating the formation and enveloping Yvonne Jiang.
The array scene shifted, and three Nascent Soul-level Demonic Beasts appeared, attacking Yvonne Jiang at once.
She soared into the air, casting a string of spell seals. Instantly, three small fire dragons emerged, roaring as they crashed into the three beasts...
Yvonne Jiang stayed inside the formation for a full hour before asking Ian Song to shut it down.
After fighting for an hour, Yvonne Jiang was thoroughly drained, even breaking a sweat across her forehead.
"Ian Song, do you want to give it a try?"
Yvonne Jiang asked.
"No need!"
Ian Song shook his head. With his vast battle experience, such gentle simulated combat was useless to him.
But Yvonne Jiang insisted, "No way, you have to try it! And you're not allowed to use energy above Nascent Soul level!"
"Alright then!"
This time, Ian Song didn't refuse. He floated up onto the platform.
Yvonne Jiang activated the formation.
Standing on the platform, Ian Song felt the scene shift, and three Nascent Soul Demonic Beasts charged straight at him.
He flicked his fingers, sending out three bursts of true qi that hit the beasts. Instantly, all three dissolved and vanished.
"How is that possible?"
Standing outside the formation, Yvonne Jiang was shocked. How could those three beasts be defeated so easily?
She kept going.
More and more beasts appeared, but Ian Song dispatched them all with ease.
In less than fifteen minutes, he cleared all the stages, and the formation shut down automatically.
"Hey, how did you do that?"
Yvonne Jiang asked, a little unconvinced. She didn't suspect Ian Song of using energy above Nascent Soul level—she could sense if he did.
Ian Song smiled, "It's simple. Find their weak points and attack those. Your spells are big and scattered, which wastes energy and doesn't get the best results!"
"So how do you find their weak points?"
Yvonne Jiang asked curiously.
Ian Song continued, "Observe carefully. These beasts are formed by the power of the array, so they lack agility and intelligence. It's fine for practicing spellcasting, but not for honing real combat skills or experience!"
"Then how do you improve combat experience?"
"Real life-and-death battles are best. One true fight is worth dozens of formation training sessions!" Ian Song said.
"But with my status, how can I get into a life-and-death battle?" Yvonne Jiang complained.
"If you want to try, I can help!" Ian Song thought for a moment and said.
"How?"
"We'll spar, but I won't hold back. You'll get to experience the fear of death!"
"You're not trying to use this chance to kill me, are you?" Yvonne Jiang looked at Ian Song warily.
"Forget I said anything!"
Ian Song replied, somewhat annoyed.
"Haha, just kidding! Let's activate the defensive array and fight inside it!" Yvonne Jiang said, eager to try.
"Alright!"
So the two activated the defensive array and entered together.
"I'll suppress my cultivation to match your realm!" Ian Song said.
"Come on, I'm not as weak as you think!"
Just then—
Ian Song struck without warning.
Bang!
He punched Yvonne Jiang in the abdomen, sending her flying backward.
"Ian Song... you!"
Yvonne Jiang, having been ambushed, was furious.
Ian Song said calmly, "Your father can't protect you forever. One day you'll have to go out on your own, and ambushes are the deadliest. Only by staying alert at all times can you avoid them. If I were your enemy, you'd be dead already!"
"Hmph, nonsense! Take this!"
Yvonne Jiang snorted, retreated gracefully, and her hands flew through a series of seals.
But Ian Song shot forward like lightning, closing in and kicking out at Yvonne Jiang.
Bang!
She was sent flying again.
"Ian Song, you're cheating!" Yvonne Jiang shouted angrily.
Ian Song replied sternly, "Remember, when you're too close to the enemy, never use spells that take too long to cast, or you're just asking to die. You could've used instant-cast minor spells to stop me from getting close, then used bigger spells when you had the chance. Also, after being ambushed once, why didn't you summon your armor? And why not use your magic treasures? You're the city lord's daughter, surely you're not so poor you don't have any!"
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Click next page to read more exciting content!
Faced with Ian Song's barrage of questions, Yvonne Jiang was left speechless.
When it came to combat, she was basically a rookie.
"Hmph! This time you won't land a hit!"
Learning quickly, Yvonne Jiang hurled several fireballs at Ian Song while retreating, her body now clad in fiery red armor. She also summoned two flying swords that hovered defensively around her.
Suddenly—
Yvonne Jiang realized Ian Song had vanished.
Then—
Bang!
An attack slammed into her back, sending her flying again.
Ian Song's voice rang out once more, scolding her: "During a fight, you didn't even release your divine sense? I can't believe you're that clueless!"
Yvonne Jiang clenched her teeth in frustration. She knew Ian Song was right, but his tone was infuriating.
Throughout the rest of the spar, Yvonne Jiang kept getting knocked back by Ian Song.
But her combat experience kept improving.
By the end, she could barely exchange a few moves with Ian Song.
Still, she was determined to land a hit on Ian Song at least once.
Unfortunately, before she could fulfill that wish, her true qi was almost depleted. Just as she was about to signal a pause, Ian Song sent her flying once again.
"Ian Song, I'm going to kill you! Why did you keep attacking even after I said stop?"
"Idiot!" Ian Song scolded bluntly. "In a real fight, do you think your enemy will stop just because your true qi runs out? What's the point of all those qi-replenishing pills in your storage ring? Why didn't you take one ahead of time?"
"I—"
Yvonne Jiang was left speechless with frustration.
"Alright, that's enough for today!"
"Hmph!"
Yvonne Jiang let out a dissatisfied snort, then took out a pill and swallowed it, quickly restoring her cultivation.
For the next few days, Ian Song continued to spar with Yvonne Jiang.
Though she was a novice at first, after several days of training, at least she stopped making rookie mistakes in battle.
"Alright, you've learned all the skills and techniques. Today, I'll teach you what a true life-and-death struggle is!"
Ian Song said.
"Great!"
Yvonne Jiang's cheeks flushed, her eyes full of eager anticipation.
Just then—
Ian Song's aura changed, turning cold and sinister. His expression grew icy and bloodthirsty, and his slightly red eyes stared at her as if ready to devour.
"Yvonne Jiang, prepare to die!"
With a thunderous shout, Ian Song charged at her, appearing in front of her in an instant, pressing a dagger to her throat.
"No... don't kill me!"
Terrified, Yvonne Jiang begged for mercy, her eyes filling with tears.
Ian Song withdrew the dagger, shook his head in disappointment, and said nothing more.
Yvonne Jiang quickly realized what had happened. "You weren't really trying to kill me, were you?"
"Why would I want to kill you? I just wanted you to experience a real fight. You really disappointed me—you couldn't even fight back!" Ian Song said, exasperated.
Yvonne Jiang protested, "I... It's just that you looked so scary, like you really wanted to kill me!"
"Heh!"
Ian Song gave a helpless smile. "A real fight is even scarier than what you just saw. If you freeze up out of fear and don't fight back, you'll end up dead for sure!"
"Then let's go again!" Yvonne Jiang said.
Ian Song's aura surged again, crashing toward Yvonne Jiang like a tidal wave. In a chilling voice, he said, "Yvonne Jiang, do you know why I became your bodyguard? Your father killed my parents. Today, I'm going to make him suffer the pain of losing his daughter!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian Song struck again.
Yvonne Jiang barely managed to defend herself, but was still knocked back.
"Yvonne Jiang, die!"
Ian Song showed no sign of letting up, attacking once more.
Bang!
She was blasted to the ground, shouting, "Ian Song, this is a misunderstanding! My father definitely didn't kill your parents!"
"Die!"
Ian Song ignored her, face cold and merciless, swinging his sword down.
Despair washed over Yvonne Jiang's face, and she closed her eyes, waiting for death.
But after a long moment, she felt no blow. She opened her eyes and saw Ian Song standing nearby, gazing at her calmly.
"You were lying to me just now?"
"Idiot! Don't you know some enemies will use words to mess with your mind during a fight?" Ian Song scolded bluntly.