Does my dual mastery of blade and sword also require reporting to you?

Among the weapons issued by the school, there were firearms, but not many students chose them.

First, the Martial Exam lasted seven days, and carrying enough ammunition for that long was a pipe dream for high schoolers.

Second, using a gun made too much noise.

Whether or not you hit a demon monster was one thing, but the gunfire could easily attract others.

In that case, bringing a firearm was less convenient than just taking a cold weapon.

So almost no one picked guns for the Martial Exam.

Ji Ruo grabbed a Standard Issue Miao Saber.

He thought it might trigger an achievement like 'One Day, Saber in Hand.'

It didn't.

So Ji Ruo also took a sword and strapped it crosswise on his back.

The teacher handing out weapons didn't bother him.

Every year, there were students like this—they probably thought more weapons meant a better chance of survival.

Though for martial artists, only what suited them was best, high school exam takers were just martial artist reserves.

Those who hadn't truly tasted blood didn't deserve the name of martial artist.

Class monitor Liang Shixian followed behind Ji Ruo. Seeing him carry both a saber and a sword, he couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Why are you taking one saber and one sword? Either dual sabers or dual swords—saber techniques and sword techniques aren't the same!"

Ji Ruo lifted his chin and said, "Do I have to report to you that I have Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword?"

He only did this to trigger an achievement, but it didn't work.

The Achievement System was as good as dead.

Clearly, if a kid got a saber and a sword, their sense of accomplishment would be through the roof!

Ji Ruo wasn't sure what criteria the system used to judge.

But he had already mastered Iron Sand Palm at the Entering the Hall level. As long as he was careful in this exam, nothing major should go wrong.

Too bad time was short—Ji Ruo hadn't managed to train it to the third stage, 'Pure Mastery.'

The current proficiency barely reached 536.

Basic techniques for various conventional weapons were mandatory to learn, and the original body had studied hard and already mastered them.

So Ji Ruo carrying both a saber and a sword wasn't strange—he knew how to use them.

Of course, 'Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword' was an exaggeration.

Liang Shixian: "..."

The class monitor frowned and warned, "Anyway, be careful once you enter the 'exam site.' Find our classmates as soon as possible. Many hands make light work—it'll be safer together."

"Relax, I get it."

Over the past two months, what surprised Ji Ruo was that he hadn't run into the cliché bullying plot that usual transmigrators faced.

His classmates were very united.

The school teachers were also very responsible.

This was clear from the homeroom teacher's words three days ago and the principal's pre-exam speech.

The top priority was survival.

But that was fine—Ji Ruo's Achievement System was child-oriented. 'Showing off and slapping faces' probably didn't count as a child's achievement.

"Classmates, follow me!"

After everyone had collected their weapons, Liang Shixian called out softly and prepared to step into the Secret Realm Portal first.

He seemed calm and composed, but the hand gripping his saber was trembling—whether from excitement or fear was unclear.

But then, Ji Ruo stepped forward with his saber and sword on his back and said, "I'll lead the charge!"

With that, under his classmates' astonished gazes, Ji Ruo plunged headfirst into the portal.

No one noticed that the moment he entered the portal, Ji Ruo's hands flushed red, their temperature skyrocketing.

That was Iron Sand Palm pushed to its limit.

Passing through the portal felt like a slight resistance, like jumping into water.

The next instant, Ji Ruo found himself no longer at school but in a wilderness overgrown with grass and trees.

He warily hid behind a tree, first observing his surroundings.

"Huh? Random-type exam?"

Ji Ruo frowned slightly.

Though the Martial Exam didn't forbid teamwork, the exam mode could change.

For example, the easy difficulty where classmates or schoolmates landed in the same place, the normal difficulty with groups of ten, or the hard mode—completely random landing.

This was mainly to teach students that plans could never keep up with changes. In short, it was about cultivating crisis awareness.

Secret realm teleportation was instantaneous. If it were the standard mode, he should have seen the nine temporary teammates assigned to him for this exam the moment he arrived.

But he didn't. So, this exam was the random hard mode.

"This is gonna be tricky."

Ji Ruo frowned as he began observing the surrounding vegetation, intending to use it to determine his bearings.

Just then, a pained cry caught his attention.

Ji Ruo whirled around and immediately grinned.

It turned out Liang Shixian had landed in a tree canopy. Caught off guard, he'd fallen and face-planted into the dirt.

"At least I have a teammate. Not completely random."

Ji Ruo quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then walked over and helped Liang Shixian up.

"Class monitor, what a coincidence."

"Ji Ruo?"

Liang Shixian blinked, then immediately scanned the area. "A dual-match random Martial Exam?"

"Looks like it."

Liang Shixian frowned. "Let's find a way to regroup with the other classmates first."

"Sure."

Ji Ruo pointed at the vegetation. "I arrived a bit before you and already roughly figured out the directions. This way is west. I suggest we head this way."

Liang Shixian paused. "Why?"

Ji Ruo said, "Going west to slay demons and monsters, going east to return victorious to the kingdom—that's what they say in Journey to the West."

Liang Shixian: "...Let's go east!"

Before the exam, the students of Grade 12 Class 4 had already drawn up plans for some possible exam formats.

If it was a random Martial Exam, everyone was supposed to head east after arriving, regroup first, and then discuss everything else.

Ji Ruo knew this, which was why he'd said that.

The two of them walked eastward, staying alert to their surroundings.

The magnetic field inside the secret realm was chaotic, so compasses were useless. They could only rely on some theoretical knowledge taught at school to determine direction.

Checking the sun was useless too. The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm had day and night, but no sun or moon.

Most secret realms were like that.

Two hours later, they encountered another two-person team.

Judging by their school uniforms, they weren't from Cloud City No. 1 High School.

"Careful." Liang Shixian gripped his steel blade warily. In this secret realm, besides Monster Beasts, they also had to watch out for students from other schools.

The other side might not necessarily harm them, but they also might not help them.

In fact, under special circumstances, students from other schools might even snatch the spoils they'd earned from hunting Monster Beasts—that was one of the criteria for scoring the Martial Exam.

Everyone wanted a good score.

So the school teachers had repeatedly stressed: in the secret realm, be careful with everything.

Liang Shixian's approach was correct, but before he could finish speaking, Ji Ruo enthusiastically waved at the other two. "Hey there, classmates! I'm Ji Ruo, from Cloud City!"

Liang Shixian: "???"

Didn't I just tell you to be careful!

The other two hesitated at first, then after a moment said, "We're... from Sea City. I'm Zhang Quan."

"I'm Liu Neng."

Seeing this, Liang Shixian sighed.

This scatterbrained Ji Ruo was really a handful.

No one noticed that after the two Sea City students responded to Ji Ruo, he suddenly froze for a second, then walked up with a beaming smile and, while the other two looked utterly confused, shook Zhang Quan's hand. "Meeting is fate! How about we team up?"

"Ji Ruo, we still need to—" Liang Shixian hadn't finished before he heard Zhang Quan say hesitantly, "...Alright. Spoils split evenly."

Ji Ruo's smile widened. "Of course!"

Liang Shixian opened his mouth.

Wasn't he going to find their classmates anymore?

What he didn't know was that the reason Ji Ruo had so enthusiastically invited them to team up was that right after greeting them, he'd received a system notification—

[Congratulations, host kiddo, for unlocking the functional achievement: First Greeting to a Strange Classmate of the New Semester!]

[Obtained Title: Diplomatic Spokesperson!]

[Title—Diplomatic Spokesperson: Increases language appeal by 10%. Title effect can be enhanced by greeting strangers.]

[Note: Speaking is an art~]

He's practically a diplomatic spokesperson now—not teaming up with him would be inexcusable!

Liang Shixian let out a sigh. Seeing that Ji Ruo had already begun 'friendly diplomacy' with the Sea City students, it wouldn't be right for him to leave. So he introduced himself as well, and then the group started to briefly draft rules for distributing the spoils.

But before they could finish, a sudden change occurred—

"Hiss~!"

The abrupt hissing sound caught the students off guard.

Ji Ruo's gaze sharpened. From the grass beside them, five or six green figures shot out.