Luo Feng

Chen Hao didn't rest. Instead, he awkwardly swung his blade. What was that? He'd only meant to incorporate his movement technique into his blade work, but the moment he swung, the motion felt terribly awkward.

Chen Hao stopped and frowned, thinking over what had felt wrong with that swing. It seemed that incorporating his movement technique into his blade work wouldn't be easy.

Jiang Nian's movement technique had been honed through killing, while Yang Wu's blade technique had been built up through painstaking practice. There was a vast difference between the two.

If he couldn't combine them, then encountering a monster in actual combat would surely put him in danger.

Chen Hao sighed inwardly. Even though I got the Fusion Copy Panel and discovered the copy function of the Fusion Panel, relying on copied skills to reach the top in a single bound is still difficult. I'll need to practice extensively and combine the experience behind both techniques.

"It seems that what isn't mine will never truly be mine. If I want to make someone else's experience my own, hard practice is essential. In that case, I'll start by combining my movement technique and blade technique."

Chen Hao's movement technique had already reached the Microscopic Level, so he could use it to complement his blade technique. Unfortunately, there were no monsters around for him to practice on. Otherwise, he could have solved his current problem by hunting them.

Chen Hao spent a long time trying to figure it out, but got nowhere. He stopped and checked the time. It was already past five in the evening.

He hadn't gone to the Martial Hall that afternoon, so Yang Wu and the others might have wondered about him. Still, they meant him well.

With the Hundred-Year-Old He Shou Wu, Chen Hao didn't need to worry about getting enough nutrition. After a simple dinner, he sprinted toward the Martial Hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw that the number of people had increased dramatically. So many people. School must be out.

Students had tight schedules, so they usually made the most of their free time by coming to practice martial arts. Unfortunately, his former self had never had that opportunity.

The first and second floors were crowded, but when Chen Hao reached the third floor, the number of people dropped by more than tenfold. There were fewer than a hundred Senior Trainees in all, and they were clearly divided into two groups.

The larger group had fifty or sixty people, while the smaller one had only a little over twenty.

Yang Wu and Tong Yun were with the smaller group. Having read the original story, Chen Hao could guess the reason: it was probably a class divide, with wealthy students on one side and ordinary students on the other.

As Chen Hao walked toward Yang Wu and the others, the people on the other side looked at him with hostility.

Chen Hao ignored them. Given his current strength, even if he couldn't bring it out at full capacity, the entire group probably wouldn't be enough to take him on.

"Chen Hao, over here!" Tong Yun spotted him right away and called him over.

"Good evening, Sister Tong and Brother Yang! ... Good evening! Luo Feng, you're here too?" After greeting everyone, Chen Hao noticed the young man beside Yang Wu and smiled.

This was his first time meeting the protagonist. His former self had only seen Luo Feng a few times.

"Brother Chen?" Unlike Chen Hao, who was calm, Luo Feng was astonished. He knew Chen Hao hadn't even been a Junior Student back then.

A year ago, when Luo Feng had been an Intermediate Student, Chen Hao hadn't even passed the Junior Student test. If they hadn't lived in the same neighborhood, Luo Feng might not have recognized him.

"You two know each other?" Yang Wu asked, surprised by Luo Feng's reaction.

"Brother Chen lives in my neighborhood," Luo Feng replied, finally recovering. Since Chen Hao had made it to the third floor, he must have the strength of a Senior Trainee.

Though Luo Feng had no idea how Chen Hao had improved so much, he was delighted to see a familiar face.

"Since you two know each other, that makes things easier. No introductions needed—you're both one of us." Looking at the two young men, Tong Yun felt a little envious.

A Senior Trainee and a Quasi-Warrior at such a young age were bound to have bright futures. As for her, if she still couldn't break through to become a Martial Artist in another two or three years, she'd have to get married and start a family.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone hurried to train. When all was said and done, strength was what mattered at the Martial Hall. If you couldn't become a Martial Artist, everything else was meaningless.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Hao used Identify on Luo Feng: Luo Feng, Earthling, age eighteen, talent: Mental Power, Apprentice Stage Nine (not activated), copyable; skills: Proficient Basic Movement Technique (copyable), Proficient Basic Blade Technique (copyable).

"Holy crap!" Seeing the results of Luo Feng's appraisal on the panel, Chen Hao felt his heart race. Could he copy talents too?

The panel's copy function really was incredible. He didn't know whether his strength and mental power were enough to support a copy.

The sudden discovery that he could copy talents left Chen Hao distracted for the rest of the evening's training. Before long, it was past nine.

Luo Feng seemed to have finished training too. He said goodbye to the people around him, then greeted Chen Hao as he passed. "Brother Chen, I'm heading out. I have class tomorrow."

"Huh? Oh, sure. I'll head back too." Chen Hao only snapped out of his daze when he heard Luo Feng's voice.

"Brother Yang, Sister Tong, Luo Feng and I are heading out. See you tomorrow." After saying goodbye to Yang Wu and Tong Yun, he left the Martial Hall with Luo Feng.

"Brother Chen, you went from not even being a trainee to becoming a Senior Trainee in just one year. That's amazing." Luo Feng both admired and wondered at Chen Hao's improvement.

"It's not that amazing. I was one of the unlucky ones hit by falling glass during that Lord-level Monster invasion. After I was knocked unconscious and woke up, my physical fitness had improved by a lot. When I came in for a test yesterday, I found that I'd reached the Quasi-Warrior level. Then Hall Master Jiang recruited me. I'm still a little confused myself." Chen Hao couldn't tell him that it was because he'd eaten Century-Old Ginseng, but what he said wasn't exactly untrue: his physical fitness really had improved after he woke up.

Luo Feng's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected Chen Hao to be one of those unlucky few. But after hearing his explanation, Luo Feng's expression shifted. So Brother Chen's situation is very similar to mine. We both woke up from unconsciousness with a huge increase in physical fitness. His improvement is much more dramatic, but it seems I'm not some freakish one-off case. There are others like me. His gaze grew a little more sincere.

Seeing the look in Luo Feng's eyes, Chen Hao felt relieved. He knew Luo Feng had come to his own conclusions, so there was no need to explain further.

They were both Senior Trainees, so they got home quickly. In just over ten minutes, they reached the entrance to their neighborhood. Along the way, they had clearly become much more familiar with each other.

"See you tomorrow, Brother Chen." Luo Feng said goodbye and hurried off.

Watching Luo Feng leave, Chen Hao brought up the panel. He gritted his teeth and silently thought, Copy. A streak of white light landed on Luo Feng's talent and began to change, eventually forming the faint outline of a card. In the end, it stabilized.

The new card displayed the words: Mental Power: Apprentice Stage Nine.

"Oh no!" Chen Hao's head was splitting with pain. It felt as though he hadn't slept in a month and someone was stirring his brain with an iron poker.

Clenching his teeth, Chen Hao struggled home. The moment he closed the door, he collapsed to the floor.

Looking at the Talent Card in the panel, he silently thought, Use. Then he lost consciousness. The card turned into a streak of white light and shot into his mind.

As the white light faded, a dark golden orb appeared in his sea of consciousness. It seemed to sense that the space there was too cramped.

Tiny fragments fell from the dark golden orb. A mist appeared in his sea of consciousness, gradually expanding its space before seeping out and spreading through his body.

At that moment, Chen Hao's body began convulsing violently. The veins beneath his skin bulged, and even though he was unconscious, his brow remained tightly furrowed.