The Test

The Void-Standing Realm of the Stance Technique and minor mastery of leg techniques were the testaments to Lu Hao's hard work during this period. Next, as long as he brought his fist techniques to minor mastery and incorporated some blade usage, Lu Hao would be ready to accept missions to earn Slaughter Points.

He believed this wouldn't take too long.

In the evening, Lu Hao shared his achievements with his mother and subtly proposed his desire to engage in real combat and execute missions for the Detective Bureau.

The result was exactly as Lu Hao had expected: he was rejected. Bai Qiuyao refused on the grounds that Lu Hao's strength was insufficient, and Lu Hao didn't say anything more; after all, his current strength was indeed still lacking.

However, if his fist techniques saw further breakthroughs, combined with his blade techniques and weaponry, Lu Hao was confident he could persuade his mother.

At the same time, Lu Hao asked his mother to prepare a combat blade for him. A D-Grade Alloy would be sufficient, as it was enough to deal with lower-tier martial artists.

In the time that followed, Lu Hao focused more on real combat. The morning sessions, originally meant for teaching, almost entirely turned into one-on-one sparring matches, while in the afternoon, Lu Hao practiced his blade techniques and performed bone tempering at night.

Life was very fulfilling, and five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Hao was especially happy today because, just this day, his fist techniques successfully reached minor mastery, and his blade techniques had also made significant progress.

This meant that Lu Hao now held a leading position among first-year martial arts university students of the same stage. Furthermore, relying on the enhancements brought by his three-time bone tempering, Lu Hao's vitality was equivalent to a peak first-tier martial artist. While their basic combat techniques might be stronger than his, the gap was limited. With his Void-Standing Realm Stance Technique, Lu Hao was essentially in an invincible state.

After all, even within the martial arts universities, very few could reach the Void-Standing Realm in their stance techniques, and most of those were second or third-tier.

Therefore, it was no exaggeration to call Lu Hao a prodigy of the martial arts university. With this strength, his mother should finally agree to his idea of real-combat training.

Thus, after dinner, Lu Hao spoke to his mother about his plan to take on missions.

"Mom, I want to join your Detective Bureau to take on missions. My strength growth has started to slow down, and only through real combat can I achieve greater improvements."

"No, I don't agree. You are still a high school senior; those missions are not for you yet. Besides, you have great talent, and you can cultivate just as well at home."

As soon as Bai Qiuyao heard that Lu Hao wanted to take on missions at the Detective Bureau, she immediately vetoed it. As the bureau chief, she knew best what these missions entailed, and she did not want her son to take risks.

"Mom, no martial artist has ever succeeded just by training at home. I will have to walk this path sooner or later. If I start earlier, I can grow up faster."

"Besides, I've already reached the first tier, and my fist and leg techniques are at minor mastery, and my stance technique has even reached the Void-Standing Realm. The martial arts students who go to your bureau for missions aren't even as strong as I am."

"If they can go, why can't I? And do you really want to raise your son to be nothing more than a greenhouse martial artist?"

In order to gain his mother's consent, Lu Hao had no choice but to speak more sternly. He understood his mother's worries, but in this world, if you don't become strong, you have no way to control your own destiny.

He didn't want to be at the mercy of others in the future.

"But how old are you? Those who go to the bureau for missions are all years older than you. Besides, the bureau's missions aren't that simple. Those criminal martial artists aren't easy to deal with. What if something happens to you? What would I do then?"

Although Bai Qiuyao knew from Lu Hao's previous hints that he wanted to take on missions and face the dark side of the martial arts world, now that it had truly come to this, she was afraid. She feared that her last remaining son would also die in an accident.

After all, as a mother, who could bear to let their child face such vicious and dangerous elements? Looking at Lu Hao before her, Bai Qiuyao felt as if she were seeing Lu Tianbai from the past—the same vitality, the same drive.

"Mom, there's no avoiding it. Since I chose to become a martial artist, this is something I have to face sooner or later. At least for now, you can still watch over me for a while."

"I will protect myself well. At first, I will follow some of the other martial arts students on their missions. With them around, my safety will be much better guaranteed."

Bai Qiuyao remained silent for a long time...

Just as Lu Hao said, since he had chosen to step onto this path, he would have to face it sooner or later.

With her as his mother, she could still help him now, but once he was out there on his own, there would be no one to call for help.

"Sigh... alright. Mom agrees to your request, but you must first pass my test. Only then can I feel at ease letting you take on missions; otherwise, I will absolutely not allow it."

Bai Qiuyao sighed as she spoke. She wanted him to grow a bit more before he officially took this step.

"Okay, no problem. I will definitely pass. But Mom, what is the test? Is it hard? Give me a hint in advance!"

Seeing his mother relent, Lu Hao quickly agreed. As for the test, his mother surely had her own methods, and with his current strength, passing shouldn't be difficult.

"You'll know what the test is tomorrow. But Hao'er, you must promise Mom that you will always prioritize your safety."

"Mm, I know. Don't worry, Mom."

Bai Qiuyao stood up and took an alloy blade from her room.

"Here, this is the D-Grade Alloy Big Ring Blade you wanted. It was specifically crafted for executing missions; ordinary training wouldn't require a blade of such high quality."

"This is a Big Ring Blade, best suited for use with your Blood Battle Mad Blade. Sigh... I don't know if letting you walk the path of a martial artist is right or wrong."

Lu Hao took the Big Ring Blade from his mother. Unlike a standard Big Ring Blade, this one lacked the iron rings used for adding weight, and both sides of the blade were covered in blood grooves designed for draining blood.

The blade was 3 feet 5 inches long, with a 7-inch hilt, a 2-foot 8-inch edge, 4 inches in width, and a spine thickness of 4 fen. As for the weight, it was a non-issue for Lu Hao.

After all, as a martial artist, Lu Hao relied on his vitality rather than added weight to increase his power. For the sake of efficient killing, the blood grooves were both deep and wide.

Lu Hao excitedly picked up the Big Ring Blade. Since he would be relying on it to slay enemies for a long time to come, he was extremely fond of this weapon.

"Don't worry, Mom. I will be careful, and then careful again."

After chatting with his mother for a while, Lu Hao took the Big Ring Blade into the training room and began to practice.

After all, the blades he had used before were just ordinary tools; neither their quality nor their weight could compare to this Big Ring Blade. Since he had to face his mother's test tomorrow, he needed to familiarize himself with the weapon today.

Otherwise, even the slightest error could lead to a major failure.