The Fire Hammer Squad's Shock!

"Teacher, I've already mastered the first layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade!"

Luo Feng's excited voice came through the phone: "Thank you, Teacher. Without your guidance, I definitely wouldn't have mastered the Ninefold Thunderblade this quickly!"

Luo Feng mastering the first layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade in less than half a month didn't surprise Zhou Ze at all.

"Mm, don't rush to practice the second layer. First, apply the force to your legs, then try combining the blade technique with speed burst, and then integrate it with the guiding technique so that every time you use the Ninefold Thunderblade, it triggers the guiding technique. Finally, fuse the blade technique, body movement, and guiding technique into one..."

"When you can move with a single thought, without needing to consciously think, and perfectly execute the first layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade—and maintain that even in real combat without any deviation—then you can move on to the second layer."

Luo Feng listened carefully and replied, "I understand, Teacher."

Having experienced the benefits of Zhou Ze's guidance, he didn't exactly treat his words as divine, but he would follow them to the letter.

"Mm, if you run into any problems during training and can't figure them out on your own, come find me." Zhou Ze always said this before ending their conversation.

"Alright, Teacher. I'll go train now."

Time passed bit by bit. It was rare for a month to fly by so quickly—long time no see. Focused time always slips away easily.

August 27th. Tomorrow, Luo Feng would leave the base city to officially begin his missions. During this period, he had been training in the Ninefold Thunderblade according to Zhou Ze's guidance. He had already achieved a combination of blade technique, body movement, and guiding technique, but something still felt off.

"I'm leaving the base city tomorrow. I'll ask Teacher about the reason tonight." Luo Feng made up his mind.

That evening, Luo Feng went to Zhou Ze's home, greeted him, and explained his purpose. Zhou Ze smiled and pointed at Luo Feng's heart. "Your heart is unsettled."

"Also, since you've already mastered the first layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade and can fuse it into one, you should now forget about the so-called Ninefold Thunderblade and let it become your instinct."

Luo Feng fell into thought...

Zhou Ze continued, "Remember the blade technique intent I told you about before?"

Luo Feng immediately replied, "Let go of everything, with only one thought in mind—speed, speed like thunder, every move like a bolt of lightning tearing through the air!"

Zhou Ze said calmly, "Mm, this kind of speed isn't something you seek; it simply is as it is."

Luo Feng grimaced. "Teacher, but I just can't do it. I keep worrying that my body movement isn't agile enough, or that the blade technique, body movement, and guiding technique aren't properly integrated..."

"Then you're not familiar enough with it. There's no other way—just practice more. Drill it a hundred times, and the meaning will reveal itself. Once you've trained it into instinct, why would you still need to worry about this or that?"

Zhou Ze said flatly, "And after turning these into instinct, forget everything, let go of everything, and guard the intent you've comprehended in your heart. Then every move will be close to the Dao..."

He paused and added, "Learn to use your heart to control your body..."

"I don't understand..." Luo Feng drooped his head and sighed.

"Not understanding is normal. You've never experienced it, so how could you understand? What you need to do is keep getting closer, until one day you have a sudden breakthrough and step into it once. Then you'll have a clear direction." Zhou Ze said with a smile.

"I still understand the first part, but I don't get the last sentence." Luo Feng said helplessly.

"Take it slow. First, practice what I said earlier..." Zhou Ze said aloud, but inwardly he was laughing. You don't understand, and that's right—I don't either, but the general direction should be correct.

After leaving Zhou Ze's house, Luo Feng grumbled to himself: "Teacher's words are getting more and more mystical. Anyone listening would think he's cultivating immortality like in those novels. We're martial artists, you know."

In the training hall of a villa in Bright Moon District, the sound of air being split rang out continuously before finally stopping.

"I've mastered the fourth layer of the Ninefold Thunderblade. Starting today, I can begin training the fifth layer... Luo Feng is leaving Jiangnan Base City today to start his adventures. As his teacher, I should greet him and see him off. I wonder if I'll ever see such a lively Galaxy Lord again."

With that thought, Zhou Ze's mind moved, and the phone on the shelf in front of him floated over. Just then, the phone rang—the caller was Luo Feng.

"Teacher, I'm leaving. Take care."

"Mm, stay safe. Watch out for monsters hiding in the shadows like ambushers, and most importantly, other martial artists..."

Zhou Ze had always wanted to maintain the image of a cold, strict teacher, but somehow, he just couldn't pull it off. Instead, he came across as nagging and fussy, like a doting old mother.

Maybe it was because, as a Warlord-level martial artist, his lifespan had greatly increased. Even at his age, he was essentially equivalent to an ordinary person in their twenties or thirties. Well, he was still young, so his mentality naturally matched that of a young person.

On the other side, Luo Feng followed the Fire Hammer Squad along the highway.

"Luo Feng, there's a One-Horned Wild Boar ahead, somewhere between G-rank and F-rank. It's yours." Squad leader Gao Feng's voice rang out. "This is your first battle in the wilderness!"

"Luo Feng, this is your first fight. Don't let your guard down." Chen Gu warned solemnly.

Luo Feng smiled. His teacher's teaching philosophy was to have a deep understanding of one's own abilities. He had told him roughly how strong he was now; how he performed was up to him. Besides, he was also a spiritual念师. A monster with physical abilities similar to his own was no pressure at all.

Still, he always kept his teacher's advice in mind. Even a lion must use its full strength to catch a rabbit—he could never afford to be careless at any time!

"Shing!"

Luo Feng drew his Blood Shadow Battle Blade, holding a shield in his left hand. Without a word, he quickly closed in. The moment the One-Horned Wild Boar reacted, he exploded with the force of the Ninefold Thunderblade's first layer from his legs, shooting forward like a bolt.

"Shing!"

Bursting at nearly a hundred meters per second, the One-Horned Wild Boar barely had time to react before its neck was severed by a single slash. Blood sprayed out, and its uncontrolled body charged forward, crashing into the curved guardrail of the highway beside it. The rail snapped, and the boar tumbled down...

"Dead!" Luo Feng leaped down and began cutting off the horn. "It seems I'm stronger than I thought. An F-rank One-Horned Wild Boar roughly on par with me—I killed it in one move, and I didn't even use my spiritual power."

The Fire Hammer Squad, watching from a distance, had just been discussing how Luo Feng would perform next. They never expected it to end so quickly. The five of them couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

"Monster!"

"Too ridiculous!"

The Wei Brothers were utterly stunned.

"I had no idea he was this strong. I only recommended him to our squad because I liked the look of him." Chen Gu was equally stunned.

"Impressive!" Zhang Ke couldn't help but exclaim. "I feel like having him in our squad is an honor for us. He's just come out of the mountains with this level of strength—unimaginable what he'll become later."

Captain Gao Feng stared at Luo Feng, who was cutting apart the horn in the distance. "That burst speed, those clean, decisive movements... it won't be long before I'm no match for him."

"He's only eighteen. No wonder I heard Supervisor Zhuge personally instructed to place him in a warrior squad..." Wei Tie, the eldest of the Wei brothers, couldn't help but say.

Wei Qing, the second Wei brother, nodded. "Once he gets familiar with the wilderness, he'll be able to stand on his own."

From then on, just like in the original story, Luo Feng began to make his way through the wilderness zone. But his strength was far greater than at the same point in the original timeline—the power he displayed was not much weaker than Gao Feng's. With such a major asset in Luo Feng, the Fire Hammer Squad grew more ambitious and hunted quite a few beast generals.

After that, there weren't many major changes. They still clashed with the Tiger Fang Squad, and Luo Feng's identity as a spiritual念师 was exposed.

Of course, none of this had much to do with Zhou Ze. His days were now fulfilling. Every day, aside from practicing the Ninefold Thunderblade, he trained his control over his spiritual power.

He could now control three flying daggers, and the fifth level of the Ninefold Thunderblade was within reach.

"I've never lacked comprehension—it's just my physical talent that held me back. But now, merging with the secondary consciousness that receives Luo Feng's insights, I feel like I'm cheating compared to before!"

Zhou Ze was almost frightened by his own comprehension ability. When he merged into that secondary consciousness receiving Luo Feng's insights, his talent for understanding was completely elevated. It was as if their comprehensions were stacked together, and he was constantly in a state resembling enlightenment!

The surge in strength and the arrogance that came with cheating made him want to charge into the wilderness and slaughter everything in sight. But he quickly sobered up.

Usually, only those who couldn't advance further and hit a bottleneck would go out to seek breakthroughs through life-and-death tempering. But the risk was enormous—one wrong move and it was over.

Only the living had hope. He didn't want to wait countless reincarnation epochs for Luo Feng to resurrect him. He could easily wait a few months until Luo Feng rose to prominence, and then naturally follow his lead.

"It all comes down to the Genius Battle. Once I'm in the Virtual Universe Company, my talent can truly bloom. My physical potential is holding me back too much. Thankfully, heavenly treasures can make up for it!" Zhou Ze's heart was full of hope.

If this were another world, his lack of talent would have doomed him. But this was Swallowing Starry Sky—comprehension was the key. The Genius Battle even adjusted all participants' bodies to the same level, testing only their insight.

"Teacher, I'm back."

Luo Feng stayed at home for a short while, then brought gifts to Zhou Ze's house. "Teacher, this is the first income of my life. You never accepted anything before, but this time you have to take it!"

"I made several billion in one go this time..."

Luo Feng briefly recounted his hunt of the Silver Moon Dire Wolf.

"You little rascal, being so polite..." Zhou Ze smiled as he took the items. "So? How did the wilderness zone feel?"

"The most dangerous thing really is other martial artists, just like you said, Teacher. At first, everything felt pretty simple on this trip, but then we were ambushed by the Tiger Fang Squad..." Luo Feng said angrily.

"You'll get used to it. The number of martial artists killed by other martial artists isn't much lower than those killed by monsters." Zhou Ze said calmly.

"Teacher, I'm planning to enter the wilderness zone alone to train my blade and movement techniques." Luo Feng laid out his plan. He'd had this idea for a while, but it had never been firm enough—probably waiting until Xu Gang provoked him to solidify it.

Zhou Ze took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Wanting to improve is a good thing. If this were before, I would have agreed with you. But now..."