"Luo Feng, your Martial Artist Combat Assessment is tomorrow. Are you confident?"
"Haha, Teacher, of course I am!"
"Good. With your abilities, you really don't need to worry. Still, even a lion uses all its strength to catch a rabbit. This is your first time facing monsters. Even if they're all the weakest H-Class Monsters, you mustn't underestimate them..."
Zhou Ze gave him a few more reminders, then hung up with a smile.
"Time really flies..."
On the rooftop of his villa, Zhou Ze stood in the open and gazed up at the endless starry sky. He touched his empty left sleeve with his right hand. Excitement and hope stirred within him, but in the end, all he could do was sigh.
So what if he'd waited decades, from Luo Feng's birth until the moment he began to rise? This world, this starry sky, ultimately belonged to the gifted and the monstrous. What did it matter if an ordinary person like him had Luo Feng, his cheap apprentice, to help him become an immortal in the future? He would still be just an ordinary person.
A '90s kid in both his past and present lives, he had just crossed over. Even without a cheat or a system, he could have made a fortune with his foreknowledge, achieved financial freedom, and enjoyed life.
But just as he was getting ready to make a killing, news of the R-type Virus flu threw all his plans into disarray.
As an old webnovel reader who had read Swallowing Starry Sky and watched its anime adaptations many times, he knew the R-type Virus all too well. There had been no such virus in his previous life...
Zhou Ze frantically searched the internet. After checking for several days straight, he realized he had probably crossed into the world of a novel.
At first, he was dazed. Then excitement surged through him. He'd thought he had crossed into an ordinary parallel world, but it turned out to be an extraordinary world—a world of fantasy and sci-fi where individuals wielded immense power. It was simply wonderful!
But misfortune soon struck.
In the two years before the RR-type Virus arrived, he trained his body relentlessly while studying martial arts and even matters of the mind. He successfully survived the RR-type Virus and became a Martial Artist!
He'd imagined becoming one of Earth's rulers alongside Hong and Thunder God, establishing his own martial arts hall, and using it as a springboard to the universe. It was a fine idea, but reality was cruel.
As a Martial Artist, he was a genius beyond the reach of ordinary people. Even among Martial Artists, he was an exceptional Warrior Level fighter. But after reaching the intermediate Warrior Level, he found that no matter how brutally he trained, he couldn't improve at all. He might even regress.
Of course he wasn't willing to accept that. So, just as the novel described, he decided to accelerate his body's evolution by tempering himself through life-and-death trials!
Life and death: one meant dying, the other living. After risking his life in a trial and teetering on the brink of death, he lost an arm—and seemingly his fighting spirit as well.
Rather than losing his fighting spirit, it might have been more accurate to say that he'd come to understand himself and accept his fate. Since that was the case, he decided to hitch himself to Luo Feng. If the path of a Martial Artist was closed to him, there was nothing wrong with choosing another way to live.
As a '90s kid, he was no stranger to virtual online games. And in the future, when humanity entered the space age, what sort of game couldn't he try in the Virtual Universe? The thought alone sounded wonderful.
After making his choice, Zhou Ze began keeping a low profile. He went to work early as an ordinary instructor at the Yi'an District Limit Martial Hall. To be safe, he also took a job teaching martial arts at Yi'an District No.3 High School, and managed to fool Luo Feng into becoming his cheap apprentice.
He had little talent for martial arts, but seemed to have some aptitude for teaching. After years under his guidance, Luo Feng's physical abilities were no different from those in the original story, but his basic blade work and movement technique were far superior to what they'd been at this point in the original. His blade work had already brushed the threshold of Artistic Conception, and he'd reached the Micro level in movement technique through his own ability, not by relying on Psychic Power.
"The Virtual Universe... Just thinking about it is exciting. As long as I have money, I should be able to commission all those anime, Chinese animations, and even webnovels..."
"Tsunade, the lighter, Queen Medusa... They're all mine, all mine..."
"And some of those indescribable late-night anime... Slurp..."
The Virtual Universe hadn't even appeared on Earth yet, but Zhou Ze already seemed to be lost in its games. As a '90s kid, he completely understood Luo Feng's parents.
As for the path of a Martial Artist, without a cheat or some other advantage, he couldn't see any hope for himself.
Jiangnan City Northern Military Region.
"Huff, huff." Luo Feng took several deep breaths. He still wasn't used to the sight of a monster's neck being severed, blood spraying everywhere.
Killing a monster for the first time was truly shocking.
"No wonder Teacher said that when many Quasi-Martial Artists see blood for the first time, they can't bring out even a tenth of their strength. Good thing I was mentally prepared. I just have to overcome it and get used to it!"
As time passed, Luo Feng grew completely accustomed to blood and killing, then began practicing his movement technique.
"Teacher said that even though my movement technique has reached the Micro level, there's still something missing until I've been through a real life-and-death battle. Practicing normally is definitely different from actual combat..."
Luo Feng was using monsters to hone himself, completely unaware that his blade work, which had shown a hint of Artistic Conception from the very start, had already attracted plenty of attention. Now his Micro-level Movement Technique had shocked the people watching him through the monitors even more!
"Micro-level Movement Technique! That's definitely Micro-level Movement Technique!" The burly man in front of the monitor drew in a sharp breath. "He's only eighteen. It's already incredible that his blade work has crossed the threshold of Artistic Conception, but he's even mastered Micro-level Movement Technique—and he's never been in real combat before! That's outrageous!"
"How do you know he's eighteen?" The officer beside the burly man was startled. "Do you know him?"
"His name's Luo Feng. Damn it, the Limit Martial Arts Hall recruited him early." The burly man's voice was harsh. "The Limit Martial Arts Hall got unbelievably lucky. Luo Feng's only eighteen, and not only is his physical condition good, his comprehension is incredible too!"
"He mastered Artistic Conception-level blade work and Micro-level Movement Technique before becoming a Martial Artist, without ever having fought for his life. He'll definitely be able to join the Elite Training Camp in the future!"
"No way!"
The burly man slammed his hand on the table. "We can't let a genius like him get snatched up by the Limit Martial Arts Hall! Lucky for me, I happened to come here for a drink with you and saw him."
"Teacher, I passed the combat assessment." Luo Feng smiled, then complained in a low voice, "Teacher, why didn't you tell me Artistic Conception-level blade work and Micro-level movement technique were so rare? That Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall manager nearly scared me to death..."
"If I'd told you, your tail would've been in the clouds." Zhou Ze laughed.
"Haha, it's not that big a deal, right, Teacher? You know I'm a Spiritual Psychic. I'm stronger than most Junior War Generals. It won't be long before I'm stronger than you..."
Luo Feng paused and didn't finish.
Zhou Ze had already decided to hitch himself to Luo Feng, so he just laughed it off. "The student surpasses the teacher. There's no reason a disciple can't be better than his master. Haha, I'll only be happy if you become stronger than me. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"Looks like you've forgotten the classics I told you to read. Go back and review them. Remember, reviewing the past helps you understand the new!"
Luo Feng looked a little awkward. "Teacher, it's such a happy day. Can't I take a break? By the way, are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner to thank you for teaching me all this time."
"All right. It is a rare happy occasion..."
Zhou Ze hung up with a smile. Luo Feng was bound to pass. Even without him, Luo Feng would have passed easily. It was just that now Luo Feng had both Artistic Conception-level blade work and Micro-level Movement Technique, and the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall manager had clearly lost his composure. He might even swallow his pride and try to snatch Luo Feng outright.
After having dinner with Luo Feng's family that evening and receiving their thanks several times over, Zhou Ze got another call from Luo Feng the next day, before noon.
"Teacher, this Ninefold Thunderblade... You had me practice 'fast' before because it was for learning the Ninefold Thunderblade now?" Luo Feng sounded pleasantly surprised.
Zhou Ze smiled and nodded. "That's right. The core principle of the Ninefold Thunderblade is speed. Do you remember how I told you to clear your mind of everything when practicing it, and imagine the instant a bolt of lightning flashed?"
Luo Feng said excitedly, "Yes. You reminded me countless times. I used to think you were nagging, but it turns out you were laying the groundwork for me to learn the Ninefold Thunderblade!"
Zhou Ze rolled his eyes. He'd completely led Luo Feng astray. The kid was a little too carefree now. He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. Zhou Ze was supposed to be his cheap master, yet the two of them got along like old friends despite their age difference.
It was no wonder, really. He had no one but himself to blame for not maintaining his dignity as a teacher.
"Stop grinning. You're asking for a beating..." Zhou Ze put on his teacherly air. "You should pick up the Ninefold Thunderblade quickly, but if you want to master it, you need to understand its essence. Thunder God created this technique himself. If you're learning his blade art, you need to know about its creator..."
As he spoke, Zhou Ze suddenly fell silent. There was no sound for a long time. Luo Feng was puzzled. He thought Zhou Ze had hung up or that the signal was bad.
"Hello? Hello, Teacher, can you hear me?" Luo Feng called out a few times. Soon, Zhou Ze replied:
"I can hear you." On the other end, Zhou Ze looked somewhat bewildered. As soon as he heard Luo Feng's voice, he started explaining again:
"...The Hidden Force of the Ninefold Thunderblade doesn't just apply to your blade work. It applies to your speed too..."
"...Only by combining blade work, movement technique, and the Guidance Technique can you truly master the Ninefold Thunderblade..."
Zhou Ze went over many things to watch out for, and Luo Feng listened attentively. As he listened, he grew more and more surprised. The manual didn't mention any of these details. This was supposedly the most difficult ultimate blade art in the world to cultivate, and countless Martial Artists couldn't even master the first form. Yet his teacher explained it all so thoroughly. It seemed his mentor had been quite extraordinary in the past.
He also had the strange feeling that his teacher could read his mind. Zhou Ze knew exactly what he didn't understand and where he was having trouble.
"All right, that's enough for now. It's better to practice it yourself than to hear me say more. Try it out, and if there's anything you don't understand, call me or come over to my place." With that, Zhou Ze hung up.
Before you continue