Black Mountain Instructor's Phantom Slash

Only when there were no outsiders around could Black Mountain speak with Fengyun without restraint.

Fengyun smiled. "I hadn't expected to break through to become a Level 2 Warrior so quickly either. And I seem to be quite suited to this kind of close-quarters life-and-death combat."

"And this Phantom Slash is unexpectedly useful too, though it consumes quite a lot of battle qi. If I launch Battle Qi Slashes for long-range attacks, two strikes basically use up all my battle qi!"

Black Mountain smiled and explained, "As a low-level Combat Skill, Phantom Slash does not consume much battle qi!"

"You are simply too young and have trained for too short a time, so you have too little battle qi!"

"But don't worry. Once you grow older and train longer, your battle qi reserves will naturally increase."

At that, he slapped his forehead. "Tsk, no, that's not right. I nearly forgot that you're going to become a mage in the future, so why are you even tempering battle qi?"

Hearing this, Fengyun smiled. "Becoming a mage doesn't mean I can't train as a warrior!"

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he shook the droplets of blood from his sword and said eagerly, "I wonder whether I have a chance against a Level 3 Magical Beast now."

Black Mountain's mouth twitched, and his tone immediately turned stern. "Little Yun, don't fantasize about fighting above your level and challenging magical beasts stronger than yourself."

"The gap between levels is almost impossible to cross. Trying to challenge a higher-level magical beast is basically seeking death!"

Fengyun froze at those words. He asked in confusion, "Seeking death? Is it really that serious?"

He had only wanted to steer the topic toward his Phantom Slash training progress, so he could ask whether his current Combat Skill progress was too fast, whether it would affect the foundation of his future cultivation, and whether he had any talent for learning Combat Skills.

But he had not expected Black Mountain to be so sensitive and suddenly turn serious!

Black Mountain nodded. "That's right. It is seeking death!"

"Even those who displayed superior talent from childhood and were admitted to and taught by top continental academies such as Ernst and O'Brian can hardly accomplish fighting above their level."

"Compared with you, they have better aptitude and a better learning environment, yet challenging opponents above their level is still undoubtedly seeking their own deaths."

Seeing Fengyun's somewhat dazed expression, and not wanting to discourage him too badly, Black Mountain did not mention that many ancient families and factions would never send their outstanding descendants to academies for training, instead raising them themselves.

For such people, whether they could challenge opponents above their level was not so absolute. Their powerful bloodlines, abundant resources, and privileged environments were things ordinary people could not even imagine!

Take the Darkness Church and the Light Church, for example. They had such training grounds, but as the core of their respective factions, outsiders had virtually no chance of getting involved.

"Little Yun, don't be discouraged. After all, you will switch to studying magic in the future. For mages, as long as their teammates cooperate well and give them enough time to cast spells, it is perfectly normal for them to kill enemies and magical beasts of higher levels."

"This can also be considered challenging above one's level!"

Fengyun's lips twitched. He strongly suspected that Black Mountain had subconsciously treated him like a child because of his age, which was why he could say something so foolish to comfort him.

Does teaming up to raid a boss count as challenging above one's level!?

After letting out a light breath, Fengyun asked directly, "Then, Instructor, what stage has my Phantom Slash reached?"

"During this time, I've watched those twelve- and thirteen-year-old trainees use Phantom Slash. They seem to be about the same as me, or even worse!"

Black Mountain casually patted Fengyun's shoulder. "Phantom Slash is only a low-level Combat Skill. What does it matter no matter how fancy you make it?"

As he spoke, he drew his Battle Saber. Like Fengyun just now, a restrained but unlaunched Battle Qi Slash silently attached itself to the blade.

That effortless, light-as-air feeling, along with the denser and more restrained battle qi, made Fengyun realize that he still had plenty of room for improvement in his Phantom Slash training.

But that was not all. The Battle Qi Slash attached to Black Mountain's saber suddenly split into several small energy blades that flew out and severed several twigs from a branch.

Yet the battle qi attached to the saber remained as steady as before, without the slightest fluctuation. This meant that the several small Battle Qi Slashes he had fired did not reduce the power of the Battle Qi Slash on the blade.

Next, the Battle Qi Slash on Black Mountain's saber flew out in the form of a crescent blade. After tracing a beautiful arc through the air, it cut down a tree ten meters away that was as thick as an ordinary person's thigh.

Denser, more restrained, more stable Battle Qi Slashes; smaller Battle Qi Slashes that could split off for harassing attacks; Battle Qi Slashes that could even turn after being launched—everything made Fengyun realize that he still had vast, enormous, incredibly vast room for improvement in Phantom Slash!

But after demonstrating all this, Black Mountain said earnestly, "Little Yun, Phantom Slash is ultimately only a low-level Combat Skill. So what if you make it fancy?"

"In the early stages, attaching it to a weapon is stronger than ordinary battle qi reinforcement. But as warriors grow stronger and the quality of their battle qi improves, Phantom Slash will no longer amount to much."

"Level 5 Warriors who possess battle qi can basically use weapons to unleash attacks like sword qi and saber auras. They are powerful while consuming little energy. Many low-level Combat Skills centered around Battle Qi Slash, such as Phantom Slash, were essentially created based on these sword qi and saber auras."

"Later on, without a good weapon, fighting with one's body can even be more convenient and powerful for a warrior than fighting with a weapon."

"Every punch and kick carries tremendous power, something these Combat Skills simply cannot compare to!"

"So don't become overly obsessed with Combat Skills. What we should pursue is physical strength, as well as the quality and quantity of our battle qi!"

"Take the Phantom Slash I just demonstrated as an example. The technique of splitting off small Battle Qi Slashes may seem to increase the versatility of this move."

"But the split-off Battle Qi Slashes are too weak. There is no need to use them against weak opponents, and they are useless against strong ones."

"Making a launched Battle Qi Slash change direction does have some use, more or less."

"But in battle, who has the attention to spare for such little tricks? Landing your attacks on the enemy's vital points in the fastest, fiercest, and steadiest way is what truly matters."

After saying this, Black Mountain paused for a moment before continuing, "Little Yun, the only reason I can train Phantom Slash to this extent is that, as an instructor, I need to master these low-level Combat Skills proficiently."

"For those senior trainees, training Phantom Slash to your level, where they can attach it to their weapons to increase their attack power, is enough."

"Once they achieve that, they will go buy more advanced and complicated Combat Skills to learn."