Chương 17: War God — Chapter 17 - First-Stage Blade Technique, Shocks the Entire Arena!

"Chen Yuting, life force: 1." The crowd collectively drew a sharp breath. Only two people had yet to go on stage. She was the only one in the class whose life force had reached 1. The others, like Zhou Xukun, were all around 0. 7—the same level as Cui Sanyan.

"Not bad." Cui Sanyan nodded slightly.

"A 0. 2 improvement from last time. Substantial progress." He rarely praised anyone. Chen Yuting held her long sword and made a standard sword salute.

"Attack!" The moment the word fell, Chen Yuting shot forward like a thrown javelin.

"Well done!" Cui Sanyan was slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected such massive improvement from her either. But he still didn't move. The sword emphasizes intent. At this moment, Chen Yuting was like an unsheathed swift sword, fully baring her edge. In the span of a few blinks— BANG BANG BANG! The two exchanged three moves in rapid succession. On the fourth move, Chen Yuting flung the long sword directly from her hand. The spinning sword arced toward Cui Sanyan's right shoulder. His gaze didn't waver.

He simply deflected the sword away. But he hadn't expected Chen Yuting to already leap lightly into the air, as if she'd anticipated this, catching the deflected sword mid-flight. Then, with a 360-degree spin, she twisted and thrust the sword back at him. Her graceful form instantly captivated a sea of gazes. However. Cui Sanyan, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, simply reversed his grip on the staff and blocked the thrust. Then he gave a light flick. Chen Yuting was sent flying backward.

Fortunately, her fundamentals were solid. She landed on both feet first, then used her sword to dissipate the force, retreating several steps to steady herself.

"Not bad. Speed and technique are on point." Cui Sanyan revealed a faint smile, probably fairly satisfied with that move.

"Pity, the power is lacking. With a life force of 1, the theoretical maximum punch force can reach 1000 jin. The force behind your sword strikes didn't even reach a third of that."

"That's exactly what you're missing."

"Otherwise, you could have lasted ten more moves." The screen displayed:"Chen Yuting, sword technique: 99." The class erupted into an uproar. This was practically already at the first-stage technique level. And it wasn't even the second semester of senior year yet! There were still at least six months until the Martial Exam! At this point, in the entire Class 4, only one person remained. Because the order followed the sequence in which they fell during stance training, Wang Xian was the very last.

But now, most of the crowd was waiting to enjoy the show. Using drugs to boost life force during stance training to fake results was putting the cart before the horse. But martial technique allowed no possibility of faking. In fact, the moment he stepped on stage, any problem would be detected. Li Zihang looked excited and was about to mock him, but a single glare from Chen Yuting shut him down.

Even over on the other side, in Class 9, the students who had also finished most of their testing turned their gazes this way. All of them were waiting to enjoy the show.

"Not listening to me..." Chen Yuting's eyes held an indescribable flavor. She looked at Wang Xian. From the corner of her eye, she seemed to catch a glimpse of the Class 9 area as well. She saw Ye Miyue sitting alone in a high seat. Because Class 9 had already finished their assessment, it was now free time. She was always alone, yet she showed no awkwardness of being a social outcast. She even seemed to quite enjoy it. Ye Miyue held a long towel.

Every time the towel wiped her forehead, it would block her line of sight, and then she would steal a glance toward the arena where Class 4 was. Chen Yuting, who caught this scene, had a subtle change in her expression.

"What are you looking at? Waiting to see him make a fool of himself?" Chen Yuting snorted coldly in her heart, not voicing the thought aloud. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She quietly watched Wang Xian. She wanted to see if he actually dared to go up.

"Wang Xian, you're the last one." Cui Sanyan called the name. Wang Xian nodded, picked up his blade, and walked onto the stage. Class 4 only had a sparse three or four blade practitioners. Unfortunately, their level was all very low. The blade emphasizes imposing momentum. For most senior students, they didn't even have the courage to face the teacher. Where would the momentum come from? Naturally, it was very difficult to train blade techniques well.

Unless through years of accumulated cultivation, or having an excellent family background... Of course, the school did have students who were formidable with the blade. They just weren't in Class 4. Stepping onto the arena, Wang Xian stood for only 2 or 3 seconds. The display above the arena showed the result:"Wang Xian, life force: 0. 59." Seeing this number, most of the students were momentarily stunned. This number wasn't high. Most of the class's life force was currently around 0. 5.

Cui Sanyan was slightly taken aback.

"Your last life force test was 0. 17." An innate life force of 0. 1 meant his aptitude was already very poor. Add two years of slacking off, so over these two years, there had been basically no improvement. Yet this time, it had jumped a full 0. 4. Much higher than even Chen Yuting, who had the highest improvement in the class. Moreover, with an innate life force of 0. 1, improving it was inherently very difficult.

"Confirmed. He definitely took drugs." Li Zihang didn't hesitate to voice it. Before, it was just speculation. Now this was solid data. This time, even Zhou Xukun didn't know what to say. Still, he didn't believe it.

"Qi nurtures the blade. Even if Wang Xian relied on drugs to get close to 0. 6 life force, he probably can't even take a single move." Long Biao spoke up. He was one of the few blade users in the class. His score wasn't high, but that was already quite rare. The other students nodded in agreement. On the stage, Cui Sanyan said nothing, just spoke normally:"Attack." Wang Xian gripped the Embroidered Spring Blade. Suddenly, he turned the blade sideways.

The unsharpened blade face instantly reflected a chilling, intimidating gleam. Cui Sanyan's heart gave a slight jump. The blade emphasizes momentum. For some reason, this ordinary opening move of turning the blade to build momentum made him feel as if he were facing an exotic beast about to pounce. In the next second, Wang Xian charged forward at full speed. Like an afterimage.

"So fast!" That was everyone's instantaneous reaction.

"His speed... seems even a bit faster than Chen Yuting's..."

"Something's off, right?" It was indeed off. Only Cui Sanyan's pupils slightly contracted.

"Limit speed."

"This kid, what's going on? He can actually reach the limit speed for 0. 59 life force." Life force is a representation of a martial artist's physical quality. But physical quality has fluctuations and variations. Reaching the limit is extremely difficult. Punch force has a limit, and speed also has a limit. Cui Sanyan didn't have much time to think, because what came at him was a textbook-standard:"Force Splitting Huayue!" The most direct core technique of blade arts: the split!

The split is the embodiment of blade power! One blade cleaving down, like a fierce tiger pouncing on prey! Terrifying enough to shatter courage and split gall! Cui Sanyan's eyes lit up brilliantly. He immediately raised his staff to block. BANG! The instant the weapons intersected, a violent, quivering ring burst forth! In the next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

Cui Sanyan, who from start to finish had never moved from his original spot, in the instant he blocked this blade strike, his body seemed to be forced back a step by a powerful force. Cui Sanyan's eyes showed obvious excitement and astonishment.

"Limit strength?"

"This kid can actually reach the limit strength for 0. 59."

"No, there's absolutely no way he took drugs! He must have been immersed and tempered at this stage for a long time. His foundation is incomparably solid!" The force of this blade strike—he could feel it clearly. 600 jin! With the power amplification of the blade technique, it even exceeded 600 jin.

"What a fine Force Splitting Huayue!" Cui Sanyan laughed, then casually used the tip of his staff as a pivot, sticking to the blade's edge and drawing a circular arc through the air, gently flinging it aside. Many students had already seen this move. Staff momentum to deflect force. Once it sticks, the weapon would definitely be disarmed. Wang Xian, however, had anticipated this long ago. His palm never left the hilt. He lightly tapped his toes, following the momentum to pivot and slash downward.

Cui Sanyan's eyes lit up brilliantly once more. This kid really didn't seem like he was touching a blade for the first time! Such rich combat experience—he must have had many people feed him moves!

"Interesting, interesting!" Cui Sanyan seemed to have developed a bit of fighting desire. He no longer stood in place, but began to move. His entire body was like a roly-poly toy tracing a circle on the ground, shifting his form within a tiny space, receiving move after move of Wang Xian's blade momentum that poured down like flowing water. At the same time, Wang Xian's comprehension of blade techniques climbed continuously. He had never used a blade before.

This was his first time, in both his past life and this one. But relying on his superb combat talent and a suitable opponent at this stage, he was growing at breakneck speed. Any technique, even martial arts. Unless you're cheating with a proficiency system. Real combat is always the best path to improvement. Yet at this moment, the crowd below the stage was already speechless. Because the two on stage had exchanged several moves in the blink of an eye, BANG BANG DONG DONG.

The speed was so fast that no one dared to blink. Even their breathing had frozen. Only the gap in life force made Wang Xian's speed slower and slower. The power behind his blade strikes also gradually weakened. Cui Sanyan, however, showed no significant change. Even though he suppressed his life force to just 1, his footwork within that tiny space was like that of a ghost, shifting unpredictably. He continuously neutralized Wang Xian's blade momentum. Over 10 moves passed in a flash.

After yet another clash, Wang Xian's gaze remained unchanged. His breathing was still not disordered. He looked at the Embroidered Spring Blade in his hand, silent. Vaguely, he seemed to have gained some insight.

"That's about enough." Cui Sanyan looked at his opponent, knowing he had reached his limit. From here on, he could at most swing one more blade strike. But wanting to break his third-stage staff technique, combined with inch-level footwork, was completely impossible. Wang Xian closed his eyes, consolidating his momentum. Abruptly, he turned the blade sideways again. Seeing this, Cui Sanyan knew this was the final blade strike. The blade's spine flickered with a thunderbolt-like cold gleam! This momentum...

"Even at this point, his momentum still hasn't exhausted?" Cui Sanyan drew a deep breath. The first blade strikes out, the second blade exhausts, the third blade declines. This final blade still carried such momentum... But for this strike, Wang Xian's speed was not fast. In fact, many students felt they could react to it. Cui Sanyan furrowed his brow, vaguely sensing something was off. Until, roughly five steps away. Wang Xian lunged forward, raised his blade, and cleaved down.

It was still the very first move he had used:"Force Splitting Huayue." Still this move? Cui Sanyan thought to himself. But with just this move, breaking it was far too simple for him. Of course, being able to deliver this final blade strike, he already thought this kid was extremely impressive. However, just as this blade was about to land—"Something's wrong!" Cui Sanyan stiffened. The originally unhurried blade momentum abruptly crashed down like a thunderclap! Bearing the weight of a thousand jun!

"He improved! Is this... fast-slow blade?" Cui Sanyan raised his staff to block. But under the combined force of speed and power, his form was instantly forced back several steps! Even the long staff in his hand showed slight deformation! Only after five steps did Cui Sanyan steady himself. Then he shook the opponent away with a burst of force. Wang Xian landed steadily, flicked his wrist, and sent the long blade in his hand flying off the stage to the weapon rack several dozen meters away.

He turned and said casually:"I lost." At the same time, the screen displayed a bright three-digit number:"Wang Xian, blade technique: 125 (First Stage)" Seeing this, in an instant, the entire martial arts arena exploded as if a pot had boiled over, a massive uproar sweeping through! ➤ Next: Fangcun-Level Footwork!