Breakthrough, First Mastery of Phantom Slash

But before he could speak, Black Mountain continued with a chuckle, "Let me tell you, this little guy has already condensed his first strand of battle qi."

Koler's pupils shrank at once. "No way, really!?"

Black Mountain said, "Why do you think I've been teaching him Phantom Slash so brazenly, without worrying about punishment at all?"

The punishment for privately teaching Combat Skills was no light matter, but if it was a low-level Combat Skill like Phantom Slash, it could not be too severe no matter what!

If Fengyun was not an undercover agent, but merely an ignorant new student who knew nothing, then the punishment Black Mountain received for privately teaching him a Combat Skill would surely make Fengyun remember this favor deeply!

Koler's expression became conflicted. He glanced at Fengyun, who was practicing his Combat Skill with a shortsword nearby, and said quietly, "But his Monster Trial might not necessarily put him in danger. A trip to the Rose Garden seems a bit..."

Black Mountain slung an arm around Koler's shoulders and cut him off. "I can't exactly spare time every day to teach him Phantom Slash. One trip to the Rose Garden, and when he comes to ask me again, I'll definitely be 'busy' a few times. Then I'll introduce you and have you teach him some tricks for Phantom Slash. That should be worth it, right?"

A satisfied smile appeared on Koler's face. "Hehe, that's what brothers are for. Let's go have a drink together when we get back!"

The Monster Mountain Range was one of the Yulan Continent's three great danger zones. It contained countless magical beasts, from weak Level 1 and Level 2 creatures to powerful Level 8 and Level 9 beasts. There were even Saint Beasts.

It truly had everything.

The area where students like Fengyun underwent their trials was a long, narrow region at the outermost edge of the Monster Mountain Range. To keep the danger of their trials within a controllable range, the Light Church regularly sent experts to clear out all Level 3 and above magical beasts in the area.

Assigned to Area 09, Fengyun watched a Level 1 Great Horned Sheep fall into his trap. He tugged the rope in his hand, and several sharp wooden spikes immediately shot toward the sheep as it foraged.

However, his trap was not particularly well made. The quick-witted Great Horned Sheep dodged the spikes aimed at its vital points with several agile leaps, with only one spike grazing its belly.

But that was enough for Fengyun. His purpose in making the trap had never been to kill the prey, but to delay its escape. As long as he could stall it long enough, he was absolutely confident he could kill it and turn it into food supplies.

Even without using a trap, he was seventy percent confident he could forcefully kill it. That was the confidence he had in his strength as a Level 2 Warrior!

Yet once the two sides clashed, the battle unexpectedly reached a stalemate. Fengyun's attacks were fierce, while the Great Horned Sheep moved with extreme speed. Every exchange between boy and sheep was fraught with danger.

It was not that Fengyun had misjudged his own strength. Rather, he knew that Black Mountain and Instructor Koler were secretly watching him to prevent anything from happening to him.

He found that rather speechless. In a trial zone where the strongest magical beasts were only Level 2, what could possibly happen to him, a Level 2 Warrior?

On the contrary, having an instructor other than Black Mountain nearby made him feel restrained, since he could not go all out!

For some reason, Fengyun had recently noticed that Instructor Koler seemed to have suddenly taken an interest in him. The man was always hovering around him.

Fengyun had secretly signaled Black Mountain several times to draw him away, but none of his attempts had succeeded. Instead, because Black Mountain was busy, he even had Koler guide Fengyun through the finer points of Phantom Slash several times, making Fengyun extremely uncomfortable while learning!

It had gotten to the point that Fengyun, who was becoming unable to endure it any longer, planned to use this Great Horned Sheep to complete his "breakthrough" to Level 2 Warrior.

Though this was not entirely safe, and could not compare to his original plan with Black Mountain to find a suitable time when no one was around and use a magical beast like a Great Horned Sheep as a sacrifice for breaking through to Level 2.

But compared to the uncertainty of breaking through now, he feared that if he remained under observation for too long, he would reveal even more.

The boy and sheep continued their fierce back-and-forth struggle. After more than a dozen exchanges, Fengyun, not yet eight years old, seemed to be the first to run out of stamina. In a moment of error, he stepped onto a round stone, lost his balance, and fell to one side.

Koler, who had been silently watching from nearby, had a gleam in his eyes. His longsword left its sheath, and the muscles in his calves tensed as he prepared to rush into the battlefield at any moment to save Fengyun's life and earn his gratitude.

Even Black Mountain watched Fengyun with considerable tension. Though he knew Fengyun possessed Level 2 strength, combat was not decided by strength alone. Fatal mistakes were common on the battlefield.

Just as wind-element magic gathered around the Great Horned Sheep's forward-pointing horn, forming a sharp wind blade that was about to pierce Fengyun through the heart, and as Koler and Black Mountain prepared to act, Fengyun shouted, "Phantom Slash!"

In that instant, a blood-red, crescent-shaped Battle Qi Slash containing nearly all of Fengyun's battle qi flew from his sword and slashed toward the Great Horned Sheep.

Fengyun's speed also surged dramatically. After releasing the Battle Qi Slash, he flashed aside and avoided the Great Horned Sheep's attack path, preventing the possibility of being injured should his Combat Skill fail.

But judging from the blood spraying from the Great Horned Sheep's severed throat, there was no longer any need for him to dodge!

Koler said in disbelief, "He... he mastered Phantom Slash, and even broke through his bottleneck in a moment of crisis to become a Level 2 Warrior!!!"

Black Mountain was also stunned. "Yeah, he actually mastered Phantom Slash already!"

One month later

Fengyun raised his sword, holding back the Battle Qi Slash on its blade without releasing it. Compared to ordinary battle qi enhancement, this method consumed more battle qi and was harder to control, but it was also more powerful.

When the sword fell, a Bristle Pig with peak Level 2 strength, which had been fighting him for a long time, was beheaded in a single strike!

"Not bad, not bad. After training for so long, I can finally solo a Level 2 Bristle Pig with pure swordsmanship, without relying on a released Battle Qi Slash!"

"Still, isn't my cultivation speed a little too fast?"

"I mastered Phantom Slash in just one month and can use it this effortlessly. Is it because I'm a transmigrator, so my layered soul has given me far greater comprehension than others?"

At that moment, Black Mountain walked over to Fengyun's side with a hearty laugh. "Little Yun, I really underestimated you!"

"With combat strength like yours, why would the organization need to arrange any fortuitous encounters for you? Just from the magical beasts you've killed this past month, selling their hides and materials alone would bring in several hundred gold coins."

"Even if you can only get ten percent of that, it's more than enough to cover the cost of an Elemental Affinity Test!"

Although the instructors responsible for supervision generally traveled in pairs, the students were scattered too widely. To prevent key students—such as Fengyun, or the cousins and nephews of Light Church priests—from encountering real danger, the accompanying instructors had to split up from time to time to check on their general situation!

Sorry, while correcting typos and awkward sentences, I found some parts of the drafted plot unsatisfactory, so I made adjustments. It took a little more time, which is why this was posted late!