Explaining the Ninefold Thunderblade to Luo Feng

"Luo Feng, tomorrow's the actual combat assessment for martial artists. Got confidence?"

"Haha, teacher, of course I do!"

"Mm, with your strength, there's no need to worry, but even a lion uses its full strength against a rabbit. Facing monsters for the first time, even if they're just the weakest H-rank ones, don't take them lightly..."

Zhou Ze gave a few reminders, then chuckled and hung up the phone.

"Time really flies..."

On the rooftop of the villa, Zhou Ze stood in the open space, gazing up at the endless starry sky. His right hand touched his empty left sleeve. Inside, he felt a stir of excitement and hope, but it all ended in a sigh.

Even if he'd waited decades, until Luo Feng was born and now began to rise—so what? This world, this starry sky, ultimately belonged to monstrous geniuses. Someone ordinary like him, even with the help of this cheap disciple Luo Feng, even if he became an Undying in the future—what then? He was still just an ordinary man.

As someone born in the '90s in both his past and present life, when he first transmigrated here, even without a golden finger, cheat, or system, he could still rely on his foreknowledge to rake in a huge fortune, achieve financial freedom, and enjoy life.

But just as he was gearing up to make his big move, news about an R-type virus flu threw all his plans into chaos.

As an old bookworm who'd read Swallowed Star the novel and watched the anime multiple times, he was all too familiar with the R-type virus. In his past life, no such virus existed.

Zhou Ze frantically searched online. After several days of confirmation, he realized he'd probably transmigrated into the world of the novel.

First came a daze, then a surge of excitement. He'd thought he'd crossed into an ordinary parallel world, but instead it was this extraordinary one—a sci-fi fantasy world where power gathered in the individual. This was pure bliss!

But misfortune struck quickly.

In the two years before the RR-type virus arrived, he trained his body relentlessly while studying martial arts and even mental discipline. He survived the RR-type virus and successfully became a martial artist!

He fantasized about ruling Earth alongside Hong and Thunder God, founding his own martial arts hall, and from there stepping into the cosmos. But the idea was good; reality was cruel.

As a martial artist, he was a genius beyond the reach of ordinary people. Among martial artists, he was an exceptional Warlord-level fighter. But when he reached the Intermediate Warlord stage, he found that no matter how brutally he pushed himself, he couldn't advance a single step—he even regressed.

Of course, he refused to accept it. He tried to accelerate his body's evolution through life-and-death trials, as the novel described.

Life and death—one meant living, the other dying. After brushing close to death in such a trial, he lost an arm, and it seemed he lost his spirit too.

Rather than losing his spirit, it was more like he finally saw himself clearly and accepted his fate. Since that was the case, he decided to latch onto Luo Feng's coattails. If the path of a martial artist was closed to him, another way of living wasn't bad.

As a '90s kid, virtual online games were nothing new to him. Once the cosmic era arrived, the Virtual Universe would offer every kind of game imaginable. Just thinking about it was nice.

After making his choice, Zhou Ze started lying low. He came to the Yi'an District Limit Martial Hall early to work as an ordinary instructor. To be safe, he also took a part-time job as a martial arts teacher at Yi'an District No.3 High School, where he tricked Luo Feng into becoming his cheap disciple.

He had no talent in martial arts, but he seemed to have some knack for teaching. Over the years, under his guidance, Luo Feng's physical fitness was no different from the original story, but his basic blade technique and footwork were far stronger than at this point in the novel. His blade technique had already touched on artistic conception, and his footwork had reached the Subtle level through his own ability, not relying on telekinesis.

"The Virtual Universe... just thinking about it is thrilling. As long as I have money, I can totally customize those Japanese anime, Chinese anime, even web novels..."

"Tsunade, Hime, Medusa Queen... they're all mine, all mine..."

"And some... unmentionable adult animations... slurp..."

The Virtual Universe hadn't even appeared on Earth yet, but Zhou Ze was already lost in fantasies of its games. As a '90s kid, he completely understood Luo Feng's parents.

As for the path of a martial artist, without a golden finger or cheat, he saw no hope at all.

Jiangnan City Northern Military Region.

"Huff, huff." Luo Feng took deep breaths. The scene of the monster's neck being severed by his blade, blood spraying everywhere, still made him uncomfortable.

Killing a monster for the first time was truly shocking.

"No wonder Teacher said that many prospective martial artists, when they see blood for the first time, can't even use a tenth of their full strength. Good thing I was mentally prepared. What I need to do now is overcome it and adapt!"

Time passed bit by bit. After fully getting used to the blood and slaughter, Luo Feng began training his footwork.

"Teacher said that although my footwork has reached the Subtle level, without real life-or-death combat, it's still missing something. Training normally is definitely different from actual combat..."

Luo Feng, honing himself against the monsters, had no idea that the blade technique he'd shown earlier, tinged with artistic conception, had already caught many eyes. Now, displaying Subtle-level footwork, he stunned everyone watching the monitors!

"Subtle-level footwork! That's definitely Subtle-level footwork!" The burly man in front of the monitor sucked in a cold breath. "He's only 18. His blade technique has crossed into the threshold of artistic conception, and he's even comprehended Subtle-level footwork—without actual combat experience. This is too ridiculous!"

"How do you know he's 18?" The officer beside the burly man was startled. "You know him?"

"His name is Luo Feng. Damn it, the Limit Martial Hall already recruited him early." The burly man gritted his teeth. "The Limit Martial Hall got lucky as hell. This Luo Feng is only 18, with not only great physical fitness but such high comprehension!"

"Before even becoming a martial artist, without life-or-death combat, he's already grasped artistic-conception-level blade technique and Subtle-level footwork. He's definitely going to join the Elite Training Camp in the future!"

"No!"

The burly man slammed the table. "A genius like this can't be snatched up by the Limit Martial Hall! Lucky for me, I came here drinking with you and saw him."

"Teacher, I passed the actual combat assessment." Luo Feng smiled, then lowered his voice to complain. "Teacher, why didn't you tell me that artistic-conception-level blade technique and Subtle-level footwork were so rare? The director of the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall almost scared me to death..."

"If I'd told you, your tail would be pointing at the sky." Zhou Ze laughed.

"Haha, this isn't really a big deal, Teacher. You know I'm a telekinetic master. My strength is already stronger than an average Junior Warlord. Soon I'll be stronger than you, Teacher..."

Luo Feng paused, not finishing the sentence.

Zhou Ze, who'd long decided to ride Luo Feng's coattails, smiled carelessly. "The student surpasses the teacher. A disciple doesn't have to be inferior to the master. Haha, if you're stronger than me, I'll only be happy. No need to be embarrassed."

"Looks like you forgot the classics I told you to read. Go back and review them. Remember, reviewing the old brings knowledge of the new!"

Luo Feng looked a little embarrassed. "Teacher, on this happy day, can I take a break? Oh, by the way, do you have time tonight? I want to treat you to a meal to thank you for all your guidance these past days."

"Alright, it's a rare happy day..."

Zhou Ze hung up the phone with a smile. Luo Feng passing was a foregone conclusion—even without him, Luo Feng could have breezed through it. But now, with Luo Feng simultaneously possessing will-level blade techniques and micro-level footwork, the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall supervisor had clearly lost his composure, to the point of nearly dropping all pretense and outright trying to poach him.

After having dinner with Luo Feng's family that evening and receiving their repeated thanks, Zhou Ze got another call from Luo Feng before noon the next day.

"Teacher, this Ninefold Thunderblade... you had me practice 'speed' before, was it all to prepare for cultivating the Ninefold Thunderblade?" Luo Feng revealed a hint of surprise.

Zhou Ze smiled and nodded. "That's right. The core essence of the Ninefold Thunderblade is speed. Remember when I had you train, clearing your mind of all distractions, imagining the instant a lightning bolt flashes?"

Luo Feng exclaimed in delight, "Yes, you reminded me countless times. I used to think you were a bit long-winded, but I never imagined it was all groundwork for cultivating the Ninefold Thunderblade later."

Zhou Ze rolled his eyes. This Luo Feng had been completely led astray by him—a bit too carefree now. He couldn't tell if that was good or bad. After all, he was supposed to be his cheap teacher, yet they got along like old friends across generations.

Not that he could blame him; it was his own fault for never maintaining a teacher's dignity.

"Asking for a beating! Wipe that grin off your face..." Zhou Ze put on his teacherly authority. "Cultivating the Ninefold Thunderblade should come quickly to you, but to master it, you need to grasp its essence. This is a technique Thunder God created himself. To learn someone's blade art, you have to understand the creator's background..."

Mid-sentence, Zhou Ze suddenly paused, falling silent for a long stretch. Luo Feng found it odd, wondering if Zhou Ze had hung up or if the signal was bad.

"Hello? Teacher, can you hear me?" Luo Feng called out a few times, and soon Zhou Ze's voice came back.

"I can hear you." On the other end, Zhou Ze's face wore a dazed expression. Hearing Luo Feng's voice, he immediately resumed explaining:

"...The hidden force of the Ninefold Thunderblade isn't just for your blade techniques—it applies to speed as well..."

"...The fusion of blade technique, footwork, and guidance method—that's the true Ninefold Thunderblade..."

Zhou Ze covered many points of caution, and Luo Feng listened intently. As he listened, he grew inwardly surprised. These nuanced details weren't in the manual. This was hailed as the world's most difficult ultimate blade art, with countless martial artists failing to even enter the first level, yet his teacher could explain it so thoroughly. It seemed his mentor was no ordinary person in the past.

Moreover, he had this strange feeling that his teacher was like a worm in his belly—wherever he was confused or had a problem, Zhou Ze would call it out directly.

"Alright, that's enough for now. Talking too much is no substitute for hands-on practice. Train on your own, and if you have questions, call me or come find me at my place." Zhou Ze finished and hung up.