Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1856: Fire and Ice

Amelia was an excellent fighter, but even someone as pragmatic and calculating as she was had underestimated what Adam was capable of.

She was certain that a simple palm strike would be enough to start their fight. That way, she could demonstrate her speed and strength so that Adam could adapt later on.

After all, this wasn’t a real fight. Amelia’s goal wasn’t to defeat or humiliate Adam. She wanted him to learn to control his body better. It was part of his preparation to learn the Soul Stance.

In fact, she was acting appropriately as a teacher, but Adam wasn’t just any student.

Unlike her, he had come here not to learn, but to become stronger, and the best way he knew to do that was to win.

BAM!

Adam’s fist sank deep into Amelia’s stomach, causing her abs to tremble and her eyes to widen.

“Gha!” She gasped as a sharp pain shot through her entire body while she tried to withstand the impact.

And Adam wasn’t going to stop there. He had no reason to.

If Amelia lost to him now after just a few hits while at the Baron Level, she’d have only herself to blame.

Step.

Adam stepped forward as he swung his right leg straight toward Amelia’s side.

In an instant, Amelia’s combat instincts kicked in as her gaze snapped back to normal.

She put up a block on her left, colliding with Adam’s leg.

Whoooooosh!

The impact sent Amelia flying to the side as Adam’s body trembled.

Mirroring the movements of his fastest opponents, Adam lunged forward to catch up to Amelia and attack her while she was still in midair and hadn’t yet touched the ground.

Amelia’s gaze snapped to the side, shock evident on her face.

‘What? He has that kind of speed without any abilities? This… If I keep letting him attack me, he’ll start to doubt my competence!’

Amelia couldn’t let that happen.

She had deliberately chosen to hold the first part of the training session now to improve her relationship with Adam. This increased the chances that he would heal her father and that no conflict would arise between them later.

But all of this only worked as long as Adam was confident that Amelia would teach him how to use the Soul Stance.

Whoooooosh!

Amelia began spinning rapidly, gathering gusts of wind around herself.

No matter how much Adam wanted to attack right now, he couldn’t afford to. Getting too close to Amelia at this moment would be a mistake.

Tap.

Adam jumped aside just as Amelia touched the ground.

“I must admit, I underestimated you, Mr. Adam.”

In response, Adam simply shrugged.

“That’s fine. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last to do so.”

Amelia nodded.

“Apparently, testing how well you can use your body in combat doesn’t make much sense. Still, I’d like to be sure of your skills. So here’s what I propose: We’ll stay where we are and attack each other. You can dodge and block the attacks. As soon as either of us takes a step to the side, we’ll stop.”

“What happens next?”

Amelia’s blue eyes grew cold.

“After that, we’ll move on to the second part, where we’ll use energy, but not abilities.”

Tap.

Adam tapped his chin, thinking.

“I see, first the body, then energy. Soul Stance… That sounds logical. Alright, I’m ready.”

“Glad to hear it.”

She stepped forward and appeared right in front of Adam.

At her signal, they simultaneously began attacking each other, using only their hands.

Given their power levels, it would all be over as soon as one of them took a direct hit from their opponent. If Amelia’s palm struck Adam’s chest, he wouldn’t be able to stay on his feet, and the same was true for Amelia if Adam’s fist connected.

For a moment, their arms turned into a blur of attacks because of how fast each of them was moving.

“Damn, this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.” Adam frowned as he tried to keep track of Amelia’s every move.

In half a second, he had to block two of her palm strikes, duck his head to dodge a third, and attack her side at the same time, but she was ready for it, parrying his hit with her backhand.

She used a more precise and sharp style, while Adam put all his strength and speed into simple fist punches, though… he could do the same thing Amelia was doing.

“Huh, nothing’s stopping me from trying her own tactics, right?”

SLAM!

Suddenly, the two palms collided, sending a shockwave rippling through the training hall.

Amelia’s eyes widened in disbelief as Adam’s other palm, like a blade, was already moving straight toward her.

“No!”

For a split second, something changed in Amelia’s gaze. Her coldness vanished, replaced by a bloodthirsty desire to kill.

Her other hand struck Adam’s forearm with such force that his arm was slammed into the ground.

The impact of Amelia’s strike was enough to make Adam lose his balance. He took a step back and stumbled onto his back.

Blink.

Adam blinked, looking at Amelia, who immediately resumed her calm stance.

“You fought well, Mr. Adam. I can say with confidence that you’ve passed the first stage. You’re using your body and instincts as effectively as possible.”

For a moment, Adam stared at Amelia, trying to figure out what had just happened, before nodding.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Sure,” Amelia replied calmly. “But I wouldn’t advise you to be so overconfident right now. My energy is dangerous.”

To demonstrate her point, Amelia took a few steps back.

Her aura grew stronger, but it wasn’t that that deserved attention – it was the energy covering her hands.

As soon as the blue energy coursed through her palms, the temperature around her dropped sharply as a thin layer of ice covered the wooden floor.

But this only elicited a satisfied smirk from Adam.

Ever since he found out they would be fighting, he’d been waiting for this moment.

“Ice, right? After all, that’s your family’s power.”

Adam scratched the back of his head as his eyes darted toward her.

“I’ve got something even better.”

At that very moment, a speck of fire flashed before his eyes.