Guan Chenglong

March 1, Training Camp, Central Building, Room 301.

The spacious room was nearly a thousand square meters. The building had clearly been uniquely designed: despite the vast open space, only four pillars supported it.

Seven students, including Feng Qingmo, were waiting. Their teacher hadn't arrived yet, so they started chatting.

"Hey, what's your name? Which Base City are you from?" asked a burly young man in his twenties, holding a broad longsword as he turned to Feng Qingmo.

As he spoke, he couldn't help looking curiously at Feng Qingmo's eyes.

Feng Qingmo walked just like anyone else, but without sunglasses, his unfocused gaze made it easy to notice that something was different about him.

"My name's Feng Qingmo. I'm from Jiangnan Base City." Sensing no malice in the young man's gaze, Feng Qingmo smiled and answered. "What about you?"

"I'm Zuo Mingkun, from Northeast Base City. It's freezing where I'm from right now..."

"I'm Zheng Hu, from Southwest Base City," cut in another young man, tall and thin, who looked about eighteen or nineteen. He acted as if they were already old friends.

"We'll be fellow disciples for the next few years. Why don't we all introduce ourselves first?" said the shortest of the group, stepping forward.

"Sure. You go first," Zuo Mingkun said casually.

"I'm Chu Xinming, from Kyoto Base City." A hint of superiority colored his introduction. "In last month's Martial Artist Combat Assessment, I killed fifty-three monsters..."

"So what?" Zuo Mingkun muttered with a dismissive curl of his lip. "I killed forty-nine, and I wasn't even giving it my all..."

"Brother Chu, you're amazing!" exclaimed a round-faced girl, making Chu Xinming smile. He gestured for her to introduce herself.

"I'm Guo Hui, from Northwest Base City."

"Guo, how many monsters did you kill in the combat assessment?" Zheng Hu asked.

"Not that many. Sixty-one, I guess..." Guo Hui tried to keep the smile out of her voice, but couldn't hide it from her face.

"..." Chu Xinming hadn't expected to be one-upped so quickly. The more pleasant he'd found the girl's voice a moment ago, the more irritating he found her now.

The door opened, and a middle-aged man walked in. He was about 1.8 meters tall and somewhat lean, with a sword strapped to his back.

Feng Qingmo lightly probed with his Spiritual Force and felt a stir in his heart. The sword on the man's back was almost identical to the one in his own hand—a Slender Willow.

"I'm your teacher, Guan Chenglong!"

"Hello, Teacher Guan."

Their greetings came at uneven intervals.

"Let's get acquainted first." Guan Chenglong took out a tablet and swiped it open. "Feng Qingmo!"

"Here!" Feng Qingmo answered.

Guan Chenglong sized him up, his gaze lingering briefly on the sword in Feng Qingmo's hand, then continued calling the roll. "Guo Hui... Chu Xinming... Zheng Hu... Zuo Mingkun... Su Chenghui... Li Canyang..."

After surveying the group, Guan Chenglong said flatly, "Except for Li Canyang, the rest of you only passed the combat assessment last month. That means you're all basically rookies!"

"All seven of you practice swordsmanship, which is why I was assigned as your teacher. You've all bought sword manuals to match your chosen styles. I've practiced some of them and not others, but even the ones I haven't practiced are no problem for me to teach to rookies like you..."

"Here's what we'll do." Guan Chenglong ignored Zuo Mingkun's dissatisfied look. "Today, I'll first assess where you're at..."

"Spread out and surround me. Attack me—don't hold back. That's the only way I can get an accurate read on your abilities. It'll also give you a sense of one another's strength and help you develop some teamwork..."

He walked to the middle of the room and motioned for them to spread out. "Begin!"

The seven students took their positions, exchanged glances, and drew their swords. They attacked Guan Chenglong all at once.

The seven swords varied in width, and their attacks ranged from thrusts and chops to slashes and rising cuts. Though they attacked almost simultaneously, their skills differed, and so did their speed.

Guan Chenglong shook his head slightly. He dodged back and forth with an ease that made it look like a leisurely stroll through a courtyard, without even drawing the sword on his back.

All seven swords missed. Feng Qingmo's heart tightened, and a thought flashed through his mind. Perfect Level movement technique!

Then he was overjoyed. Teacher Guan Chenglong used a Slender Willow Sword too, and had reached Perfect Level movement. That meant he must have mastered the second level of the Wind-Washing Sword.

He focused and tracked Guan Chenglong's movements, attacking relentlessly with the Slender Willow Sword in his hand, yet couldn't even brush the man's clothes.

"Rookies!" Guan Chenglong dodged with ease, taunting them as he went. "Who was bragging about how many monsters he killed in the combat assessment? Is this all you've got?"

Chu Xinming flushed with embarrassment. He let out a shout and thrust his sword forward, but the move threw him off balance.

Guan Chenglong frowned slightly, then finally drew the Slender Willow Sword from his back. With a soft hiss, he twisted his wrist, and the longsword in Chu Xinming's hand flew away.

Now that Guan Chenglong had struck, he showed no restraint. He made a few quick moves, striking each of them once. He kept his strength roughly on par with theirs. Chu Xinming, for example, was an Intermediate Warrior, so Guan Chenglong used Intermediate Warrior-level strength when he twisted the sword from his grasp.

Clang! Clang!

Swords clattered across the room. Apart from Feng Qingmo's, even the sword in Li Canyang's hand had been twisted away by Guan Chenglong.

Feng Qingmo hadn't used his Spiritual Force. He'd relied purely on his swordsmanship to keep Guan Chenglong from twisting the sword out of his hand.

A flicker of surprise crossed Guan Chenglong's eyes. He nodded at Feng Qingmo, then told the others, "Pick up your swords."

Once all seven were back in position, Guan Chenglong stood facing them. His stern expression suddenly softened into a faint smile.

"Not bad. You're all rookies, but your foundations are solid—at least a little better than I expected. Especially Feng Qingmo and Li Canyang..."

The other five turned to look at Feng Qingmo and Li Canyang. Their expressions ranged from surprise and admiration to defiance and envy.

Guan Chenglong's smile disappeared, and his expression turned stern again. "Most of you have only just become Martial Artists. Having foundations like these is acceptable, but you're still a long way from being excellent. You'll need to keep training hard and never slack off. Understood?"

His final words boomed in their ears like a lion's roar. They all answered in unison, "Understood!"

"Good." Guan Chenglong looked at them. "My teaching style is a little different from that of other teachers. I usually teach you through the sword..."

"All seven of you chose swordsmanship, but you picked different manuals, so I can only teach you one at a time. See that door over there?"

He pointed to a door in the wall. "That room is a small training room. Decide among yourselves who goes first, then come in one by one. I'll be waiting inside. The rest of you can practice on your own..."

As if remembering something, he turned back and added, "Keep an eye on your Communication Watches. The Training Camp Intelligent System will schedule your time in the Gravity Room and Trial Room, and send you the details through your watches."