The Arsenal and Five Elements Swordplay

After a brief, deathly silence, the tension eased, as if everyone had been granted a pardon.

One by one, the Prodigy Class students left, pale-faced and unsteady on their feet, like drowning victims just pulled from deep water.

Their pride had been ground to dust by that nine-year-old child in the span of a single lesson today.

Whenever anyone passed near the arena, they instinctively gave it an even wider berth and held their breath, as though the figure standing there so calmly were some primordial taboo, and a single extra glance would see them swallowed by that invisible pressure.

He was no longer a child, but a towering divine mountain, too lofty to climb and so oppressive they could hardly breathe.

Soon, only Instructor Feng Lie and the two figures tied for first place in the corner remained in the vast, empty venue.

Qin Wuyue had long since sat down cross-legged, her sword cradled in her arms. Breathing deeply and steadily, she had once again entered a meditative state in which she forgot both herself and the world, as though everything outside had nothing to do with her.

Chen Fan, however, had not left.

After everyone else had departed, he leaped down from the arena, landing lightly without making a sound.

Then he set off straight toward Instructor Feng Lie.

Feng Lie folded his arms and watched Chen Fan approach with great interest.

What did this kid want now?

He was looking forward to finding out.

"Instructor."

Chen Fan stopped three paces in front of Feng Lie and calmly raised his head.

"I want to learn a weapon-based martial art."

At those words, Feng Lie's eyebrows shot up.

A flicker of surprise crossed his wild face, but there was more than a hint of hesitation.

Generally speaking, at the prospective martial artist stage, learning one basic martial art was enough.

Chen Fan had already learned the Five Elements Fist. If he learned more, he risked biting off more than he could chew.

But given Chen Fan's mastery of the Five Elements Fist...

Feng Lie's heart stirred slightly.

"Oh?" Feng Lie deliberately drew out the word before asking, "Why? Give me a reason!"

Faced with Feng Lie's question, Chen Fan remained perfectly calm.

"I've already cultivated the Five Elements Fist to the Pinnacle Realm. I have plenty of time to cultivate another basic martial art!"

That single sentence made the smile on Feng Lie's face blossom.

"Haha! Hahahaha! Well said!"

He burst into hearty laughter. That reason pleased him far more than any grand declaration could have.

"A true expert should be versed in all arts. Fists and feet are merely the foundation; weapons are an extension of the power to kill!"

Feng Lie reined in his smile and waved a large hand, his voice carrying an imperious authority that brooked no question.

"Follow me!"

He turned and strode toward an alloy gate deep within the venue.

Chen Fan calmly followed.

The two passed through several heavily guarded alloy gates, each requiring both iris and genetic verification, before finally arriving beneath a massive tower at the very center of the campus, cast entirely from an unknown black metal.

The tower rose a hundred meters high, its style ancient and austere, like a giant sword thrust upside down between heaven and earth. Two bold, sweeping ancient characters were engraved on its blade: Arsenal!

"This place holds every martial art and cultivation technique Jiangnan No. 1 High School has collected in the three hundred years since its founding. From basic stances to Grandmaster secret canons, it has everything."

Feng Lie led Chen Fan into the tower, and the sight before them sent a faint ripple across Chen Fan's eyes, still as an ancient well.

Rather than the rows of bookshelves he had imagined, the tower contained a vast space that seemed to have no boundaries.

Countless orbs of light, some bright and some dim, floated and drifted slowly through the pitch-black void like real stars, radiating auras that were sharp, weighty, or ethereal, each profoundly mysterious.

Every orb represented a powerful martial arts inheritance.

"Prodigy Class students may make a copy of one basic martial art for free." Feng Lie gestured at the vast sea of martial arts stars, his voice becoming more solemn than ever. "Remember, don't bite off more than you can chew."

"On the path of the Martial Dao, the foundation is king. Choosing one that best suits your own foundation and training it to the utmost is far better than picking some flashy showpiece that looks impressive."

Had he said this to someone else, perhaps...

But Chen Fan turned a deaf ear to it.

The soul from his previous life made him understand his own path more clearly than anyone else.

His gaze passed straight over the high-level martial arts section, where the orbs floated high above, dazzling and awe-inspiring.

Thunder and flames swirled around those orbs, making their extraordinary power obvious at a glance and drawing countless ordinary students to stop below and gaze up in envy.

Chen Fan, however, paid them no heed and walked straight to an inconspicuous corner on the Arsenal's lowest level.

Most of the orbs here were dim and gave off weak auras. They were evidently all low-grade basic martial arts, and few people showed any interest in them.

He stopped and looked up at the sign marking the area: [Basic Swordplay].

His gaze swept over the hundreds of basic swordplay techniques floating before him.

The strengths and weaknesses of each basic swordplay technique surfaced in Chen Fan's mind.

Clear Wind Swordplay was more than agile enough, but lacked killing power.

Thunderbolt Sword Art had power and ferocity to spare, but lacked variation.

Layered Waves Swordsmanship consumed an enormous amount of Qi and Blood and was unsuitable for prolonged battles.

Information on one swordplay technique after another raced through his mind, only to be quickly rejected.

His foundation was the Five Elements Stance and the Five Elements Fist at the Pinnacle Realm. He needed a swordplay technique that would fit his foundation perfectly and bring the intent of the five elements' cycle fully into play.

At last, his gaze settled on a white orb of light at the very edge of the area. It was nearly extinguished, its glow as dim as a candle flickering in the wind.

It floated there alone, looking so ordinary and inconspicuous compared with the other swordplay orbs around it.

A line of small characters beneath the orb identified it by name.

Five Elements Basic Swordplay.

This swordplay had been derived by the predecessors of the Federation Martial Dao General Bureau from the oldest and most widespread Five Elements Stance, with the aim of helping every martial artist who practiced the stance master a weapon as quickly as possible.

It had no elaborate moves or powerful special effects. All it had was the purest five elements sword intent.

Precisely because it was so basic and unadorned, modern martial artists seeking quick results and power had long since abandoned it.

But in Chen Fan's eyes, this dim orb shone brighter than any of the dazzling stars overhead.

The same origin!

This was the one that suited him best!

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised a finger and pointed at the nearly forgotten white orb.

"I choose this one."

Feng Lie, following behind him, looked where he pointed. When he made out the swordplay's name, undisguised surprise flashed across his unruly face.

Feng Lie bared his teeth in a stark white grin, his voice carrying a hint of satisfaction as he tested Chen Fan.

"You've got an eye for it."

"But don't think that just because it's called basic, it'll be easy to practice. Any martial art, trained to the utmost, can reach a divine level."

"If you can train this swordplay to the same realm as your Five Elements Fist..."

Feng Lie paused, his gaze sharpening like a blade. "Its power won't be the least bit inferior to that girl Qin Wuyue's Moonlight Sword Canon!"

He waved his large hand, drawing the dim white orb toward them. It became a streak of light and vanished into the space between Chen Fan's eyebrows in an instant.

A vast flood of information exploded in Chen Fan's mind, transforming into tiny golden figures holding swords. They demonstrated the five most basic movements—chopping, thrusting, lifting, sweeping, and pointing—as well as the profound mysteries of the five elements' cycle contained within them.

Chen Fan half-closed his eyes, and in mere seconds, he had engraved every essential principle of the entire swordplay deep within his soul.

"Take it."

Feng Lie's voice rang out again, full of anticipation.

"I hope you can make something of this basic swordplay!"