Mission

Li Qiming and the others walked out after returning their books.

As soon as they stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion, Li Qiming spotted a familiar figure.

"Senior Brother Qin?"

Li Qiming was somewhat surprised; the person he saw was none other than Qin Yu, whom he had met briefly at the tavern before.

At this moment, Qi Weiwei was following right beside Qin Yu.

"Junior Brother Li, I told you that you could do it, and sure enough, I was right!" Qin Yu said with a faint smile.

"Heh, you kid, who would have thought you were hiding so much?" Qi Weiwei said to Li Qiming, her tone neither cold nor warm.

Deep down, she was surprised; she never expected that Li Qiming would be able to take first place yesterday and become a registered disciple.

Now, even she did not dare to look down on him.

Offending a martial artist was truly not a wise move.

"Senior Sister Qi." Li Qiming cupped his fists toward her, his attitude impeccable.

Li Qiming then looked at Qin Yu, "Senior Brother, why are you here?"

"It's like this: each of the eight true transmission disciples has a quota for 'registered disciples.' Senior Sister Qi and I are representing the eldest senior brother, Shen Changsheng, to bring a group of registered disciples to the Scripture Pavilion."

Qin Yu explained.

Li Qiming finally understood; it turned out that Wang Liang and the others were able to become registered disciples because of the intervention of the eight true transmission disciples.

It seemed that this Senior Brother Qin and Qi Weiwei were both people under the eldest senior brother, Shen Changsheng.

Thinking of this, Li Qiming leaned in closer and asked in a low voice:

"Senior Brother Qin, I'm new here and don't understand much. Is there competition between us within the martial arts hall? I hope you can enlighten me."

"That goes without saying. The eight true transmission disciples have to compete for contribution points every three months!"

"To become a true transmission disciple, besides talent and an exceptional martial arts realm, contribution points are absolutely essential!"

"Actually, to a certain extent, as long as you earn more contribution points than a certain true transmission disciple, and your strength is sufficient, you also have the chance to become a true transmission disciple yourself!"

Qin Yu said.

Li Qiming nodded inwardly, and at the same time, he realized that because of this, the eight true transmission disciples would naturally compete in secret. Most of the registered disciples in the academy would be absorbed by these eight, forming factions to maximize their contribution point earnings.

Therefore, promising newcomers like Wang Liang had already been recruited by the true transmission disciples.

Suddenly, Qin Yu lowered his voice as well:

"I'm about to go on a mission soon. Should I take you with me?"

Li Qiming's heart stirred.

Missions were unavoidable; he would have to do them sooner or later.

Moreover, Qin Yu's martial arts realm was at the Great Perfection of the Blood Refining Realm, and he could break through to the Bone Refining realm at any time.

Being led by such a senior brother was definitely something that would make others envious.

"Then I thank you, Senior Brother." Li Qiming nodded.

At the same time, he understood in his heart that if he spent a long time with Qin Yu, he would likely lean toward the faction of the eldest senior brother, Shen Changsheng.

But that didn't matter; it was still better than the fourth senior brother.

In this fiercely competitive melting pot, it was almost impossible to avoid taking sides.

It was better to choose someone reliable and familiar.

"By the way, which martial art did you choose?"

Qin Yu asked curiously.

"One Blade Style." Li Qiming said.

"What? It's actually the One Blade Style!" Qin Yu had clearly heard of this "unique" technique.

His expression immediately turned anxious for Li Qiming.

"Junior Brother, you are being foolish! Since the founding of the martial arts hall three hundred years ago, no matter how talented or intelligent a disciple was, they could never master this One Blade Style! Unless you possess the blade technique comprehension of our founder, but such a person hasn't been seen in hundreds of years!"

"Here, I have a third-rate martial art called Nine Style Blade Art. Try the One Blade Style first, but if it doesn't work out, switch to the Nine Style Blade Art!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu took a manual directly from his robes and gave it to Li Qiming.

"This..." Li Qiming felt it was too valuable; did he dare to accept it?

"Don't worry, this is a trophy I obtained from killing an enemy during a previous mission. I can pass it on to you, so feel free to practice it boldly." Qin Yu said.

For some reason, seeing Li Qiming felt like seeing himself when he had first started.

Li Qiming had a steady temperament—he didn't make a sound, but when he did, he would shock everyone. He always felt that this young man would surely achieve great things in the future!

"Alright! Then thank you, Senior Brother!" Li Qiming stopped being coy and reached out to accept the Nine Style Blade Art readily.

At the same time, he secretly noted this favor in his heart.

"This kid really stepped in dog shit. He originally picked the impossible-to-learn One Blade Style, and who would have thought he'd then receive the Nine Style Blade Art from Senior Brother Qin Yu..."

Mo Su felt a secret pang of jealousy.

However, he was confident that the Tyrant Blade he had chosen would absolutely crush Li Qiming; he possessed that much self-assurance!

Li Qiming first went to the blacksmith shop, spent seven taels of silver, and bought an ordinary steel blade.

He then returned to his room to study the One Blade Style in earnest.

After memorizing the entire manual until he could recite it backward, he took his steel blade to the Martial Arts Arena and began hacking at the air.

The One Blade Style focused on enlightenment rather than complex moves; it consisted of only a single action: drawing the blade, raising it above the head, and chopping downward!

His movements were incredibly fast, yet they were completely useless.

Even so, he remained focused, repeating the incredibly dull chopping motion over and over again.

"What is this new disciple doing?"

"I heard he chose the notoriously difficult-to-master One Blade Style!"

"Why does he look... a bit like an idiot?"

Several other disciples practicing their martial arts in the arena couldn't help but glance over and whisper. After all, Li Qiming looked quite peculiar, standing in one spot without moving his feet, endlessly repeating the same chopping motion.

"Can this really kill an enemy?" Someone even laughed at the sight.

Li Qiming didn't care in the slightest about the skepticism of the crowd.

This was an experiment from the start, an attempt where even he didn't know the outcome.

And with the Nine Style Blade Art in his possession, Li Qiming naturally wouldn't waste all his time on the One Blade Style.

After repeating the chopping motion for two hours, he switched to practicing the Nine Style Blade Art.

This was his plan: regardless of whether there were results, he would dedicate two hours every day to practicing the One Blade Style and spend the remaining time on the Nine Style Blade Art.

This time, Li Qiming's figure danced as he began to clumsily practice the blade techniques one by one.

In the evening, Wang Liang treated him to a simple meal at the martial arts school's dining hall. After all, Wang Liang had only just joined and had previously been a servant, so he didn't have much money.

However, the two of them hit it off well and could be considered to have officially become casual friends.

Days passed by one after another.

Nine days later.

Li Qiming's heart grew heavier and heavier. He had been practicing extremely hard during this time, but let alone the One Blade Style, he hadn't made the slightest bit of progress even with the ordinary third-rate martial art, the Nine Style Blade Art.

He couldn't even reach the entry-level stage!

This undoubtedly proved that he had no talent for blade techniques!