That Kid Was Simply Inhuman!

The moment Chen Fan obtained a copy of the sword art, he turned and walked straight away.

The top-ranked student in the Prodigy Class had a private cultivation room of his own.

The room was small, its furnishings almost Spartan in their simplicity. Aside from a hard metal bed, it contained only a set of basic training equipment.

But the spiritual energy here was nearly three times as concentrated as it was outside.

Chen Fan did not rush to draw his sword.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the quiet room, his eyes half closed, and sank his mind entirely into his vast sea of consciousness.

The little golden figure imprinted there in the armory appeared once more.

Again and again.

Chop, thrust, upward slash, sweep, and point.

Under Chen Fan's Martial Dao Talent of over five thousand points, the five most basic, purest movements were instantly broken down and understood.

The Five Elements Fist, which he had long since cultivated to the pinnacle realm, was his most formidable foundation.

The sword was merely an extension of the fist.

Grasp one thing and understand others; all arts returned to one!

Once he had seen through its core profundities, Chen Fan opened his eyes.

He walked to the weapons rack by the wall and took down an utterly ordinary standard-issue alloy practice sword.

The blade was cool to the touch and moderate in weight.

Chen Fan slowly closed his eyes and put the insights surging through his mind into practice.

They were still the same five basic movements.

At first, his movements were as precise as a textbook's, each one executed by the book, but there was nothing remarkable about them.

Yet after only an hour—

A sudden change occurred!

A barely perceptible force began to coil around the ordinary iron longsword in his hand.

As its edge moved, even the air seemed to change.

At times it was as heavy as a mountain, pressing down until one could scarcely breathe; at others, it was as sharp as a blade, cutting painfully at the skin.

This meant that in the space of a single hour, he had forcibly cultivated this basic sword art to the beginner level!

Had Feng Lie been there, his eyes might have popped right out of his head in shock.

But Chen Fan still was not satisfied.

Night deepened, and the stars wheeled outside the window.

Not only did he feel no fatigue, he became utterly immersed in the thrill of growing stronger at such speed.

He began to incorporate the Star-Transferring Blood Art into his sword forms.

The Five Elements Sword Intent as the bones, Star Power as the soul!

For a time, sword light flickered through the quiet room. A faint, cold layer of starlight coated the previously unremarkable blade, lending the unadorned sword moves a measure of aloofness and sharpness from the stars of the nine heavens.

When the first pale light of dawn appeared on the horizon outside the window—

The sword force in Chen Fan's hand, whose elements had previously been distinct, suddenly changed!

The five elements flowed, generating and overcoming one another, until they became a perfectly harmonious whole.

He casually thrust forward.

The thrust possessed the sharpness of metal, the hidden flexibility of water, and the explosive force of fire. It changed at will, leaving no trace, like an antelope hanging by its horns.

A nearly imperceptible glimmer of five-colored light flashed across the cold blade and vanished!

Five Elements Swordplay, minor mastery!

Seven o'clock sharp in the morning.

When Chen Fan entered the Martial Dao training hall on time, the other twenty-four prodigies had already arrived.

But unlike their proud, confident, high-spirited selves of the previous day, nearly every one of them now wore a trace of inescapable fatigue and gravity.

After a night of tossing and turning, the miserable sight of themselves being sent flying with a single move and the two earth-shattering battles at the peak kept replaying in their minds like nightmares.

When Chen Fan appeared, the hushed discussions in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

Gazes converged on him, filled with an extreme mixture of reverence, distance, and even traces of fear.

In a corner, Qin Wuyue, who sat cross-legged, seemed to sense something. Her cool eyes slowly opened and swept over Chen Fan.

Her gaze lingered for an instant on the new aura about him, restrained yet incomparably sharp, and a faint flicker of surprise passed deep in her eyes.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Heavy footsteps rang out as military boots struck the alloy floor.

Instructor Feng Lie strode into the hall, as unruly as ever.

He looked around at the little brats, so dispirited by their setback that they resembled frost-stricken eggplants. Far from displeased, he looked extremely satisfied.

Flowers in a greenhouse would never grow into towering trees without suffering the ravages of wind and frost.

And Chen Fan was the blizzard that could destroy the entire garden.

"What? Already wilted?"

A cruel curve touched Feng Lie's unruly face. His voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Where's that 'I'm number one under heaven' attitude you had yesterday? A nine-year-old brat knocked you down, and now you can't get back up?"

"Trash!"

The end of the cigar clenched between his teeth was bitten out of shape as his icy gaze swept across the hall.

"Today's lesson is free training!"

"I'd like to see just how wide the gap is between you and a real monster!"

With that, he walked to the side and sat down with his legs spread, like a spectator waiting to enjoy a monkey show.

The prodigies felt as though they had been granted amnesty.

The crowd quickly dispersed.

Some rushed at the gravity equipment like mad, using physical pain to numb their mental humiliation; others gathered in twos and threes in the corners, furiously circulating their Qi and Blood while casting complicated glances at the two figures.

Qin Wuyue remained seated cross-legged in the corner, her breathing long and steady, like an ice sculpture cut off from the world.

On the other side, Chen Fan ignored everyone's gazes and walked straight to the weapons rack by the wall.

He once again took down that utterly ordinary standard-issue alloy practice sword.

He took his position in an open space at the center of the hall.

The action immediately drew everyone's attention.

"What's he doing? Practicing the sword?"

"He only copied the martial art yesterday, and he expects to make something of it today? Dream on!"

"Just watch. He's putting on an act to keep up that unfathomable image of his in front of us."

The whispers were tinged with disdain and a certain morbid anticipation.

Chen Fan, however, turned a deaf ear.

He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.

The next second, the sword moved.

Chop, thrust, upward slash, sweep, and point.

They were still the same five basic movements, each executed by the book, as precise as a textbook's, yet with nothing remarkable about them.

At the sight, a barely perceptible sneer touched the corners of many prodigies' mouths.

Sure enough, he couldn't keep up the act.

Only Instructor Feng Lie frowned slightly. He keenly noticed that each of Chen Fan's movements flowed into the next far too smoothly, so smoothly it was almost uncanny.

Just then!

A sudden change occurred!

As Chen Fan gradually unfolded his sword moves, a barely perceptible sharpness began to spread from him.

The ordinary iron longsword in his hand seemed to come alive at that moment. Its force suddenly grew as heavy as a mountain, pressing the air until it gave a dull hum!

But before long, the sword tip tapped lightly, moving like a trickling stream.

Th-this... how the fuck does he look like a beginner?!

The chair beneath Feng Lie scraped sharply as he shot to his feet, his eyes fixed on Chen Fan in the center of the hall. All amusement and mockery had vanished from his face, replaced by profound disbelief!

Chen Fan, meanwhile, seemed oblivious to it all.

He was completely immersed in the world of swordplay.

When he finished practicing the complete sword art, he slowly brought his movements to a halt, then delivered an unremarkable straight thrust.

It was this exceedingly simple thrust—

Hum!

A nearly imperceptible glimmer of five-colored light suddenly appeared on the cold sword tip, then vanished in a flash!

The entire flow of his sword force was perfectly harmonious, the five elements circulating without the slightest hitch, like a flawless closed loop.

Boom!

A bomb seemed to explode in Feng Lie's head, and he could no longer maintain his dignity as an instructor.

His figure flashed, and he rushed up to Chen Fan as though teleporting. He grabbed the wrist holding the sword and stared at the unremarkable alloy blade, his voice hoarse and dry with utter shock.

"Y-you... your sword art... you've already reached minor mastery?"

Yesterday!!

This kid only got the Five Elements Swordplay yesterday, and he's fucking reached minor mastery the very next day??

Feng Lie could hardly believe it.

One night.

Just one night.

And he had cultivated an entirely new martial art to minor mastery?!

He abruptly let go and staggered back two steps. The way he looked at Chen Fan had completely changed.

He was no longer looking at a genius, or a monster.

The next moment, Feng Lie seemed to think of something. He spun around and dashed out of the training hall!

As he ran, he activated his Personal Computer with a trembling hand and dialed a number.

"Beep... beep..."

The moment the call connected, Feng Lie did not even wait for the other party to speak before roaring with all his strength.

"Wei Tianlong!"

"That fucking kid... he's simply not human!"

Meanwhile.

Jiangnan No. 1 High School, the principal's office.

This building, situated at the highest point on campus, was quiet and solemn throughout the year. Clouds gathered and drifted beyond its floor-to-ceiling windows, lending it an air of command and strategy.

Wei Tianlong, director of the Admissions Office, stood respectfully before an antique mahogany desk, reporting on the various tasks for the start of the school year to an old man with white hair and a white beard, whose aura was as deep as an abyss and as towering as a mountain.

"Principal, the Prodigy Class's initial rankings have been decided. You know what Feng Lie is like; I expect he'll make those youngsters suffer plenty in their very first lesson..."

Before Wei Tianlong could finish, the Personal Computer on his wrist suddenly sounded a piercing alarm and vibrated violently.

It was an emergency call from Feng Lie, marked highest priority!

Wei Tianlong's expression changed, and he hurriedly answered.

The next second, Feng Lie's incoherent, near-maddened roar exploded from the Optical Brain.

"Wei Tianlong! That kid... fuck, he's simply human!!"

The shout stunned Wei Tianlong, and his face promptly paled in alarm.

What could have happened in the Prodigy Class to make Feng Lie, that fearless madman, lose his composure like this?

Could it be Chen Fan...

"Make yourself clear!"

Wei Tianlong shouted sternly.

On the other end of the Optical Brain, Feng Lie took several deep breaths before he could barely keep his voice from trembling, but he could not conceal the utter fervor in it.

"Five Elements Swordplay! The Five Elements Swordplay he copied from the armory just yesterday!"

"One night! Just one fucking night!"

"He reached minor mastery! Minor mastery!!!"

Boom!

Wei Tianlong felt a buzz in his head, and his mind went blank in an instant.

The Optical Brain slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a clatter.

Behind the desk, the old principal, who had kept his eyes closed in repose all along, seemingly long since become one with heaven and earth, slowly opened them.

They were weathered eyes, shaped by the passage of endless years and having seen through the world's shifting winds and clouds.

He said nothing, merely looking calmly at the distraught Wei Tianlong.

Wei Tianlong jolted back to his senses. He picked up the Optical Brain and, in a dreamlike voice, repeated Feng Lie's report word for word.

"Principal... Chen Fan... cultivated the Five Elements Swordplay to minor mastery in a single night."

A long silence fell over the office.

Even the clouds outside seemed to stand still.

After an unknown length of time, the old principal's face, as undisturbed as an ancient well, finally showed a flicker of profoundly mixed emotion.

There was shock and wild joy, but above all, there was the resolve of someone who had made a certain decision.

He slowly spoke, his voice steady.

"Have Feng Lie continue observing."

"Use every resource at our disposal to meet all his cultivation needs."

The old principal paused, his deep gaze seemingly piercing through layer upon layer of obstacles to fall upon the training hall.

"If..."

"He can cultivate this sword art to perfection within a month..."

"Let him skip a grade immediately!"