Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 1130: Whatever Makes you Sleep At Night

And indeed, her words were true. She had turned towards Asher at the time as she had noticed his passive cultivation. She didn’t turn towards him because he was special, nor was he some sort of protagonist in some novel.

And although she didn’t say it or talk about it back then, the only reason she talked about it now was simply because the speed of Asher’s passive cultivation had become even more noticeable.

Hearing her words, Asher was stunned. This was the first time that someone was asking him about it since he started using the skill. He stayed silent for a moment. Truthfully, even he too didn’t know. He had created it on the spur of the moment. If it was through his Absolute Physique, his ridiculous intelligence, or maybe a mixture of both, he didn’t know.

”Honestly, this might sound like a lie,” he began to speak, ”but even I don’t know how I created the skill. After all, it’s not an ability I was born with or anything of the sort,” he explained calmly, as he didn’t want Arianna to misunderstand and think that he didn’t want to teach her the skill.

Of course, if he didn’t want to teach her, he wouldn’t, and he would just say that without hiding it or beating around the bush. It wasn’t like Arianna was going to beat him or block him online if he didn’t.

Arianna stayed silent for a moment, then nodded as she believed him. She had merely been asking as she had never seen anything like it before.

”Sorry I don’t have any information to give,” Asher added with a weak smile.

Arianna simply smiled as she replied, ”It’s fine. Besides, skills and abilities are people’s secrets. Me asking is considered a form of disrespect,” she stated, then paused for a moment, then added, ”It seems that I’ve simply become too comfortable around you, hence making me ask such a question. I apologize if I crossed any line,” she added.

Asher gave a small smile as he shook his head. ”You are overthinking it. It’s just a question. If I don’t want to teach you, I wouldn’t,” he paused for a moment, then added with a chuckle, ”Besides, you are known for copying and stealing other people’s skills with your ocular ability. Do you also apologize to everybody you’ve stolen a skill from?” He asked as he met her eyes. ”And I’m guessing that if I was around your age or older, you would have stolen the passive cultivation skill without asking me about it,” he joked.

Arianna couldn’t help but laugh, as he was indeed right. If he was her age or above, she would have stolen the skill without a word. Although through her natural talent, she had always been able to copy the skills of other people, like during battles, without relying on her ocular ability.

She didn’t overthink the fact that she couldn’t replicate Asher’s passive cultivation skill. After all, as she had said, even Crownstar Life Rankers couldn’t do it, as if they could, they definitely would.

And now that she actually thought about it, she never apologized to anyone whose skills she had stolen. Well, not that she was exactly apologetic about it anyway.

”I guess you are right,” she finally replied as she gave a weak smile.

Asher’s eyes shifted to the beautiful sky as he spoke, ”With your talent, it won’t take more than a while for you to come up with something better.”

Arianna stayed silent for a moment, then simply nodded, not believing a word Asher said, as she was sure he was just saying that to make her feel better.

She rose to her feet as she spoke, ”I guess we should have the spar right now since it’s getting late,” a smile appearing on her lips.

Asher simply watched her as she rose to her feet. He sighed as he shook his head as he spoke.

”I hope you are ready to lose again,” his tone gentle.

Arianna smirked as she replied, ”I won’t deny or make excuses for my previous loss, but this isn’t an all-out fight like last time, but just hand-to-hand combat, which is different. You should prepare to lose instead,” she stated as though she was ready to settle the score.

While she may have lost, it didn’t mean she didn’t want to settle the score.

Asher stood up as he dusted the sand off his clothes as he replied, ”Sure, whatever makes you sleep at night.” He paused for a moment, then added, ”Maybe I should have brought some handkerchief with me, but I guess I forgot,” he stated.

But Arianna didn’t reply. She had no need for dirty talk; she simply settled into a stance, her feet planting into the ground firmly as her hands extended forward.

Seeing her settle into a stance, Asher sighed and shook his head. It was getting late, and he had to end the spar and head back, although it was a shame he couldn’t explore the foreign Empire. Unlike Arianna, he didn’t settle into a stance. His combat training in the Combat Refinement and Attunement Room didn’t just involve the rapier, but also hand-to-hand combat, as he had made sure to train that too.

Arianna, seeing that Asher was ready without settling into a stance, didn’t say anything or argue that Asher was looking down on her or anything of the sort. She simply moved, her body shooting forward like a rocket, her right fist streaking forward like a bolt of lightning.

Asher stared at the incoming attack, a smile appearing across his lips. His head snapped sideways. The moment he did, Arianna’s fist tore through the space his head had been, a cyclone of wind pressure blasting outwards, tearing everything and anything in its path.

As her attack missed, Asher followed up with his. He hadn’t moved from his position; he simply sent out a low inverse palm attack towards her stomach. As the attack closed in, Arianna’s eyes snapped towards it. Although she had just completed a motion from the attack she unleashed earlier, it didn’t slow her. Her reaction remained swift and efficient.

She twisted her waist, footing, and shoulders as her centre of gravity shifted, and in a blur, she dodged the attack by a hair’s breadth by twisting to the side. But Asher didn’t just watch her twist out of the way. The moment she twisted out of the way, he squatted and sent out a swiping kick.

Arianna felt the impact on her ankle. She, who had just finished dodging his earlier attack, instantly lost her footing, her form and body crumbling downward as her side streaked to the ground. But before her body could slam into the ground, she caught herself with one hand, her palm slamming into the desert ground with a bam sound, her core control and body strength precise.

As she balanced on single hand, she sent out a lashing kick towards Asher’s head as he was still in his squatting position after his second attack.

Asher didn’t delay. He raised his right forearm, Arianna’s attack slamming into his arm with staggering force. But Arianna didn’t slow or wait; she immediately transitioned, she stomped on his forearm and pushed herself backwards. She then rotated with that momentum and landed upright on her feet.