Five Blades

Everyone's gaze instantly snapped in unison toward the figure in the corner of the many screens, whose image had become clear again as his opponent was upgraded—Li Wen.

Facing him was an Orange-clad Virtual Human.

Not only had Class 21's attention been drawn over, but the students who had finished the first round of assessments and returned to the plaza also turned their eyes toward the large screen.

Xue Jun, who had just stepped out of his Virtual Pod with a slightly pale face, and Deng Yuefei, whose expression held traces of pride and lingering fear, both fixed their gazes on Li Wen's screen without prior agreement.

Deng Yuefei watched especially intently, with a hint of scrutiny and a concealed urge to compare himself.

He had just fought an exceptionally difficult battle against an Orange-clad Man at Advanced Perfection, ultimately winning by a narrow margin.

He desperately wanted to know how Li Wen, who had likewise just broken through to Advanced Perfection in blade arts, would perform against an opponent of the same level.

Would Li Wen fare even more miserably than he had?

Yet the next scene froze Deng Yuefei's expression solid in an instant. His eyes went round as saucers.

The countdown ended!

The Orange-clad Virtual Human swung his long staff. Staff shadows rose like mountains, surging forward with the mighty momentum of Advanced Perfection, several times more imposing than the previous Red-clad Man.

Li Wen moved.

Fast! Fast beyond description!

It was not the blind speed of a reckless charge, but an suffocatingly efficient offensive rhythm formed through the perfect fusion of his blade's path, his body's coordination, and his footwork.

Rather than retreating, he took the initiative to meet the attack head-on.

First blade! The blade flashed like lightning, accurately cutting into the central flaw among the sky-filling staff shadows and forcefully disrupting the Orange-clad Virtual Human's opening stance.

Second blade! His wrist turned, and the edge slid eerily along the staff's shaft, forcing the Orange-clad Virtual Human to take a step back.

Third blade! Borrowing the force to spin, the quick blade carved a deadly arc toward his opponent's wrist.

Fourth blade! The blade light surged like a dragon, chasing in for a direct thrust.

Fifth blade! The instant the Orange-clad Virtual Human was forced to change moves and defend, a cold glint flashed through Li Wen's eyes. As he stepped forward, the quick blade in his hand darted through a gap in the returning staff shadows at a vicious angle, like a venomous snake flicking out its tongue.

Sshhk—!

A faint yet distinct sound seemed to pierce the distance between the virtual space and reality.

Onscreen, Li Wen and the Orange-clad Virtual Human passed each other.

The tip of Li Wen's quick blade hung diagonally downward, its body spotless. Meanwhile, the fierce-looking Orange-clad Virtual Human had frozen completely.

His right hand holding the staff lifted slightly, as though he wanted to cover something. But at the vital point of his neck, a smooth white line rapidly widened and spread...

Crash!

The Orange-clad Virtual Human's body, along with the long staff representing Advanced Perfection, collapsed with a boom into fragments of pure light and scattered across the arena.

From start to finish, there had only been five clean, decisive blades—precise, efficient, crushing.

"How... how is that possible?!"

Deng Yuefei sprang up from his seat and cried out in shock, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

He stared fixedly at the figure on the large screen, already sheathing his blade, his back terrifyingly calm, as if he had witnessed the most absurd thing in the world.

He was dumbfounded—completely dumbfounded! Compared to his own desperate, narrow victory just now, Li Wen's battle had been as effortless as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.

That had been Advanced Perfection, the very same level as his! Could his Advanced Perfection and Li Wen's Advanced Perfection possibly not be the same thing?!

Deng Yuefei was far from the only one shocked.

The entire Class 21 section was like a bomb had been dropped into it.

Every student who had clearly seen those astonishing five blades fell into a petrified state. Only sharp breaths being sucked in and a deathly silence remained in the air.

Even the composed Xue Jun unconsciously clenched his fists. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes were filled with alarm.

"Could... could it be..." Xue Jun's voice trembled beyond his control, as if he were asking others while trying to convince himself. "His... his Peak Blade Art... has reached Initiation?!"

"Three days?!"

"Peak Blade Art Initiation in three days?!"

Xue Jun's dreamlike speculation was like a massive boulder hurled into a stagnant pond.

Boom!

In an instant, the entire Class 21 section erupted.

Shock, disbelief, extreme suspicion... but immediately afterward came towering envy and undisguisable jealousy!

Every gaze toward the large screen became incomparably complicated.

No matter how much they doubted it, no matter how unwilling they were to believe Li Wen's terrifying speed of improvement, the facts stood before them all beyond dispute.

The strength to kill the Orange-clad Man in five blades far exceeded the scope of Advanced Perfection. What else could explain it besides the immense boost brought by Peak Technique - Entry?!

Li Wen was utterly unaware of the raging waves outside.

He merely calmly returned the Standard Quick Blade in his hand to the location of a nonexistent sheath at his waist. His body stood straight as pine and cypress, and his steady gaze rested on the empty space ahead.

That battle had only been a warm-up. His muscles subtly adjusted, his blood and qi circulated more actively; it was not fatigue, but the sensation of warming up as he tuned his body to its peak state.

The true test had only just begun.

"Whoosh~" New light rapidly gathered and took shape above the arena.

This time, the opponent appearing before Li Wen wore a bright yellow combat outfit. His face was cold and stern, while the long staff in his hand radiated an aura far more powerful and sharp than any previous Virtual Human.

Peak Technique - Entry.

It no longer represented "advanced," but the power of stepping across the threshold into "peak."

Li Wen's eyes abruptly sharpened like blade edges.

He clearly sensed an overwhelming pressure instantly shroud the entire arena. Even the air seemed to turn thick and heavy.

Though the Yellow-clad Man had not moved, his mere existence carried an oppressive force, as though all his power had been condensed to the utmost limit.

This was an entirely different experience from the relatively outwardly displayed ferocity of Advanced Perfection.

The countdown—ended!

There was no probing, not the slightest pause.

"Fwoosh—!!!" The long staff in the Yellow-clad Virtual Human's hand seemed to be infused with life in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, staff shadows became a howling yellow gale. The sharp explosive crack of the staff tip tearing through the air rang throughout the entire arena almost simultaneously.

He was more than a level faster than the Orange-clad Man before him. His power was condensed like steel needles, his angles vicious and tricky. The moment he struck, he unleashed an overwhelming Peak Technique - Entry assault.

The staff shadows were like countless yellow bolts of lightning, weaving a devastating net of death that mercilessly descended upon Li Wen's head.

Its speed! Its power! Its ferocity! It utterly crushed every opponent before it.

The gusts stirred up by the attack alone sent Li Wen's hair whipping wildly across his forehead.

Come on! Instead, Li Wen's fighting spirit blazed fiercely.

A brilliant gleam flashed through his eyes, and his body, which had long been poised to strike, instantly entered its optimal combat state.