Chapter 72: Bloodburn Drive

"Crack!" A crisp sound echoed as Wang Yu's expression shifted. He exerted all his strength to fend off Wendy's greatsword, which was pressing against him, and rolled away to create distance.

"Ah! Wang Yu, I'm so sorry! I always lose control of my strength once I start fighting!" Wendy hastily apologized before Wang Yu could even respond.

"It's fine..." Wang Yu glanced at his right arm, the one he'd been using to brace against Wendy's greatsword. It now hung limp by his side. His shoulder joint had dislocated from the sheer force of the greatsword.

He released his short axe with his left hand and yanked his right arm forcefully, ignoring the sharp pain as the joint snapped back into place. Rotating his arm to ensure it was functional again, Wang Yu recalled the sudden burst of weight. That hadn't been Wendy's raw strength—rather, the greatsword itself had abruptly increased in weight.

Wendy's greatsword was trembling slightly as it emitted a low, ominous hum. Wang Yu noticed for the first time that the saw-like teeth on the sword weren't designed for cutting. Those serrated edges bore faint, rune-like engravings that now glowed with a purplish light.

Between the serrated teeth of the blade were crackling streaks of purple energy resembling electrical arcs.

The greatsword, which Wang Yu hadn't initially thought all that heavy, was now trailing on the ground beside Wendy. Its blade had dug deeply into the earth, fracturing the ground around it under the burden of an enormous and oppressive weight.

Clearly, the sword now boasted terrifying weight.

"My grandfather had this sword custom-made for me," Wendy explained. "Because I've always been really strong, he figured I'd get the most out of a weapon like this, enchanted with 'weight magic.'"

She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "But I fight on instinct, so I tend to go overboard and lose control. Sorry for hurting you, Wang Yu. "But wow, you're incredibly strong! We're both intermediate knights-in-training, right? My strength is top-tier for my rank, but you're even stronger!"

Wendy scratched her head. Her admission came with a hint of frustration. Strength had always been her, well, strength, but she now found herself outmatched in that very area by Wang Yu.

"You're younger than me, so you've still got room to grow," Wang Yu reassured her. "And wielding a greatsword enchanted with, uh... gravity magic? No, weight magic... shows how talented you are. Don't overthink it. My fighting spirit isn't that great."

Wang Yu casually downplayed his strength. While he had an advantage in raw physical power, this was due to his focus on physique—an unusual path for a knight. It left him with weaker fighting spirit reserves compared to others at his level.

"Gravity magic? That does sound better than weight magic. I'll call it that from now on!" Wendy grinned, seemingly uninterested in the actual concept but happy with the name. She gestured toward a regular greatsword on a rack nearby. "Want me to switch swords, Wang Yu?"

Wang Yu shook his head. There had to be a reason Barrett had paired them for sparring. Wendy couldn't dominate him in every way; otherwise, the sparring would have no purpose.

Likely, this was meant to improve his adaptability in combat—perhaps teaching him to rely on agility to evade Wendy's immense strength and gradually wear her down to seize victory. After all, Wang Yu's constitution as a whole was superior to Wendy's; it wasn't just a matter of strength.

But... Wang Yu thought for a moment. Rather than go with Barrett's likely intentions, he decided to test his limits in a direct confrontation.

"Hold on. I'm changing weapons. Wendy, keep using your greatsword," Wang Yu called out, signaling her to wait.

Walking to the edge of the training ground, Wang Yu set aside his short axe and pulled out the matching left-handed gauntlet from his bag.

This pair of iron gauntlets was a memento from the old knight Reynard. Wang Yu wore the right gauntlet, the Voidblade, at all times because it served as a Nightblade token.

He usually stored his left gauntlet for better manual flexibility, but its craftsmanship was on par with the right one—both gauntlets were made of what was possibly the most durable material Wang Yu had encountered.

After equipping the second gauntlet, Wang Yu returned to the training ground and motioned for Wendy to continue.

"Uh, Wang Yu, are you sure? I'm worried I might hurt you again," Wendy said hesitantly, troubled by the sight of Wang Yu standing barehanded as he prepared to fight.

"Don't worry, Wendy. Go all out!" Avia's voice called out from the edge of the training ground.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Okay, Avia! Then I won't hold back against Wang Yu—please don't get mad at me later!" Wendy hesitated for a moment, swallowed nervously, then shifted into a combat-ready stance.

"Wang Yu, here I come," Wendy called out. With both hands gripping the hilt of her glowing greatsword, she dragged it behind her as her muscles tensed. Her fighting spirit surged through her body, propelling her forward with a sudden burst of speed.

"Mm." Wang Yu adopted a defensive posture, calmly awaiting Wendy's charge.

The greatsword emitted a deep hum as the purple glow on its surface dimmed. The blade's weight abruptly dropped, allowing Wendy to accelerate even faster. In mere moments, she closed the distance, her heavy strides kicking up dust and debris from the ground.

With a mighty swing, Wendy raised the sword overhead, pulling back slightly to maximize force before bringing it crashing down. As the blade descended, the hum intensified, and the purple arcs reappeared along the serrated edges. The weight of the sword surged dramatically, transforming the slash into a crushing blow.

Wendy's fighting style had never relied solely on brute force. Instead, she wielded her greatsword with skill, using its shifting weight to her advantage. At precise moments, she would amplify its weight to overwhelm her opponents.

Now, as the massive sword plummeted, gravity—not Wendy's own strength—became the dominant force. Her strength merely served to direct the blade, which was now primed to obliterate anything in its path.

At the last moment, Wendy hesitated. This was too much for a practice fight. Recalling how Wang Yu had dislocated his shoulder earlier, she feared that she would severely injure him.

With a thought, she began to reduce the sword's weight. However, before she could act in earnest—"Clang! Clack!" Two iron-clad hands shot up to meet the descending blade. Before the greatsword could fully accelerate, Wang Yu's gauntleted palms stopped it mid-fall.

"Boom!" The impact drove Wang Yu's legs into the ground, embedding his feet in the compacted dirt of the training field. His arms and legs trembled under the immense pressure, but he held firm.

Wang Yu's skin flushed crimson as he stood with his knees bent, holding up Wendy's descending greatsword with his raised hands.

Heavy but steady breaths escaped Wang Yu's mouth and nose, with puffs of white mist swirling out. His current state bore a strong resemblance to the "berserk" mode he had used against Oka. In truth, it was similar, but fundamentally different.

Inside Wang Yu's body, three forces intertwined and collided. His entire physique was operating like a roaring furnace in a factory. Muscles and bones formed the framework holding up this internal world, while fighting spirit coursed throughout as an auxiliary support. The system should have been complete—if not for the addition of a new player: blood.

The Bloodburn Drive was a new enhancement technique Wang Yu had devised by combining the secret art Blood Tempest with Bloodsurge.

Originally, Bloodsurge forced all of Wang Yu's organs and his blood into a frenzy to gain short bursts of explosive power at great cost—massive strain and damage. In this state, his muscles and fighting spirit served as the primary driving forces of his body.

But after mastering Blood Tempest, a secret art that infused fighting spirit and his void ripples into his blood, Wang Yu had unlocked a new form of power: blood-driven strength.

Blood Tempest enabled knights to manipulate their blood for offense outside the body. Wang Yu, however, pushed the art in another direction—internal control. By utilizing the nearly instantaneous transmission of energy inherent to his ripples, he was able to precisely control his blood within his body, turning it into a source of power.

Not only did his blood serve to convey nutrients, air, and vital energy to the extremities of his body, it could now also supply energy to his muscles and safeguard his organs.

The controlled blood flow also provided extra nutrients, softened impact through distributed force, and dissipated heat more efficiently through faster circulation.

In short, Blood Tempest was the perfect secret art for Wang Yu. While its versatility couldn't rival the enigmatic Dark Ritual, it was perfectly aligned with his strengths.

It changed his berserk mode from a reckless, self-harming technique into a sustainable enhancement, limited only by his reserves of stamina and fighting spirit.

Wang Yu had calculated the precise duration he could sustain Bloodburn Drive—three minutes. That was the maximum time he could maintain this state before his fighting spirit ran out and the balance was lost.

However, even after deactivating the drive, he would no longer suffer debilitating injuries. His combat strength would remain intact.

At present, fueled by Bloodburn Drive, Wang Yu's combined strength from fighting spirit, muscles, and blood had surged beyond the limits of an intermediate knight-in-training. He was a monstrous force, physically holding up the weight-enchanted greatsword—a feat few could dream of achieving.

His power had effectively doubled—no, tripled—compared to his usual limits. His agility and durability were likewise enhanced, though not to so exaggerated a level.

"Ugh! It's so heavy!" Wendy exclaimed. When Wang Yu, astonishingly, managed to stop her greatsword mid-swing, its enormous weight suddenly pressed down on both of them. For the first time, Wendy experienced the crushing force of her own weapon as she struggled to support it.

Wendy's strength was impressive, but it was no match to Wang Yu's while Bloodburn Drive was active.

The sheer weight of her greatsword overwhelmed her, and she stumbled back. The sword's blade smashed toward the ground, forcing her body down as well.

Fortunately, Wendy's mental connection to her greatsword allowed her to maintain control. While she had been caught off guard by Wang Yu's monstrous strength, she quickly deactivated the weight enchantment. The greatsword's weight lessened immediately, but the sudden change caused Wang Yu's muscles—strained to their limits—to momentarily falter.

Wendy seized the opportunity. She released the sword and spun around, sending an elbow strike toward Wang Yu's exposed side.

But Wang Yu moved faster. Under Bloodburn Drive, his speed was terrifying. His brief pause lasted only an instant. With a quick lateral push from his feet, Wang Yu shifted sideways and launched a shoulder strike.

The impact of Wang Yu's technique overpowered Wendy's elbow strike and sent her flying. She tumbled twice across the ground before regaining her footing, but by the time she stood back up, Wang Yu was already upon her.

The sound of his punch cutting through the air was so sharp it almost sounded like a drawn blade. His fist, covered in iron armor, struck at Wendy, who had just risen to her feet, with incredible force.

The punch stopped abruptly mere inches from Wendy's nose. The air from Wang Yu's motion blew a few strands of her hair back, while a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. Her throat tightened, and she involuntarily gulped. If that punch had connected, her head might have been obliterated.

"Amazing... really amazing, Wang Yu. I surrender," Wendy stammered. She was genuinely shaken.

Wang Yu's sudden burst of power had been utterly overwhelming. His all-encompassing physical superiority left Wendy barely able to respond.

The battle ended with her staring at his gauntleted fist, which had mercifully halted in the nick of time.

"Whew..." Wang Yu exhaled as his blood circulation slowed, the redness in his skin fading away. His body began to return to normal, though faint muscle twitches reminded him of the strain he'd endured. It was manageable. This newfound power—his tangible strength—was remarkable.

A satisfied smile spread across Wang Yu's face as he clenched and unclenched his fist.

Wendy, however, timidly hid behind Avia, who had come running over. Though she was normally brash and bold, Wendy was now glancing at Wang Yu's cheerful grin as if it were a terrifying sight.

"This guy... he's a little scary, isn't he?"