Target Accomplished

Across the boundless prairie, two hundred Reckless Bulls kicked up the earth, charging madly toward the black-haired youth ahead.

Feng Qingmo held his Slender Willow Sword and met them head-on. As his blade flashed, bull after bull collapsed to the ground, blood spraying across the grass with a thick, pungent stench.

This was the third week of March, and with another practical training session in the Wilderness Zone scheduled for next week, this was Feng Qingmo's second attempt at the Trial Tower this week.

During his first attempt yesterday, his best result had been killing nine intermediate beast-general level Reckless Bulls, but he had been severely wounded and ultimately gored to death by the final one.

I should only have these two chances over the next seven days; if I want to challenge it again, I'll have to wait until the end of the month... Feng Qingmo's bright eyes locked onto the few intermediate beast-generals with red horns. I must find a way to take these ten down first; that will make things much easier... It's a pity I can't use spiritual force inside the Trial Tower.

When he had entered the Trial Tower last time, he had chosen the sword and the Gold-Severing Thread as his weapons. Unfortunately, without spiritual force, the difficulty of using the Gold-Severing Thread had skyrocketed, causing him to lose focus and resulting in his worst performance yet. Afterward, he simply stopped choosing the thread, relying purely on his swordsmanship and footwork to fight.

Straining to dodge the surrounding Reckless Bulls, he began to focus specifically on hunting the intermediate beast-general level ones.

"About five minutes left..." He glanced at the three remaining intermediate beast-general Reckless Bulls and the dozens of primary beast-generals, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He had been grazed by the hind hoof of a primary beast-general earlier, leaving his internal organs aching.

As he dodged continuously, suddenly, at a certain moment, the massive primary beast-general Reckless Bulls, the even larger intermediate ones, the carcasses on the ground, and even the grass where blood had pooled in a slight depression to his left...

Everything was reflected in his mind, granting him an instantaneous, massive boost in his control over the environment.

There was no need for near-limit calculations or conscious thought; everything seemed to have become instinct.

Guided by this sensation, his footwork became more ethereal and illusory, his grasp of spatial distance becoming far more precise!

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"

In just a few strikes, the remaining three intermediate beast-general Reckless Bulls fell. Without the command of the intermediate beast-generals, the remaining dozens of primary beast-generals swarmed him, only to be cut down one by one by his faster footwork and more precise swordsmanship!

"Time elapsed: 32 minutes and 17 seconds. Killed 10 intermediate beast-general level and 190 primary beast-general level Reckless Bulls. Stage C of the first floor cleared. First floor of the Trial Tower cleared. Congratulations, student Feng Qingmo. Your current Trial Tower rating is 2.0. Stage A of the second floor will begin shortly!"

As the last bull fell, a grand electronic voice echoed through the air. With a flash of light, the entire prairie vanished, replaced by shifting yellow sands as the surroundings transformed into a boundless desert.

"Trial Tower second floor, Stage A trial: The objective is to kill 50 primary beast-general level Iron-Armored Scorpions within 10 minutes," the electronic voice continued.

"Finally cleared it!" Feng Qingmo let out a long breath, looking at the rustling ground. "It seems I briefly entered the perfect-level footwork during that final phase, which is why I could kill the remaining bulls so easily... Since the objective is complete, I'll spend the remaining time sparring with these scorpions."

Twenty-some minutes later, Feng Qingmo, lying on the sofa, reached up to remove his helmet. He took a deep breath before walking toward the door.

In the virtual space just now, he had been killed the first time when an Iron-Armored Scorpion's tail hook pierced the back of his head, and the second time he was dragged beneath the desert floor. Fortunately, he had died quickly, or he would have had to experience the sensation of suffocating to death.

"Trial Tower rating 2.2; I've completed the goal set by Jia Yi..." Feng Qingmo walked briskly out of the elevator and headed toward Li Ping's office.

"Please, come in!" Feng Qingmo knocked twice, and upon hearing Li Ping's voice from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.

"Oh, it's Feng Qingmo," Li Ping, who seemed to be handling paperwork, looked up and asked with a smile, "Why aren't you training? What brings you here?"

"Teacher Li," Feng Qingmo stood still, his voice steady, "I have completed the first goal set by Chief Jia!"

"Oh," Li Ping nodded at first, then reacted, "Hm!? Completed?"

Seeing Feng Qingmo nod, he immediately checked his computer and looked at Feng Qingmo with surprise: "Not bad, you really did it. Your Trial Tower rating is now 2.2... Wait here, I'll report to the Chief immediately!"

Feng Qingmo stood quietly, waiting for the call between Li Ping and Jia Yi to end.

"The Chief is very pleased!" Li Ping hung up the phone and looked at Feng Qingmo. "He gave you a month, but you finished in less than half that time. Very good!"

"Your secret manuals will be delivered tonight. There will be a purchase record, and the funds will be covered by the Chief, so you can train without worry!" Li Ping looked at Feng Qingmo. "The Chief said he is very happy to see you complete the first goal in such a short time. He hopes you can complete the second goal soon, and he will have the rewards ready..."

"Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Teacher Li!" Feng Qingmo bowed slightly in gratitude.

"Haha..." Li Ping nodded with a smile. "Keep working hard and master them soon. Go on!"

At around nine that evening, a knock sounded at the door of Feng Qingmo's residence.

He went downstairs to check, and sure enough, it was the delivery of the manuals.

Taking the lightweight alloy case, Feng Qingmo quickly went to the basement training room.

After unlocking it with his fingerprint, he opened the case to find two manuals resting inside.

He carefully took them out. The second volume was noticeably thicker than the first one he had purchased previously, and the third volume was thicker still than the second.

Feng Qingmo soon understood the difference. The first volume, in addition to footwork and guidance techniques, contained 36 sword forms, which helped the practitioner understand the force-generating techniques within the manual more quickly.

The second volume also contained footwork and guidance techniques, but included 72 sword forms with the same effect, while the third volume contained 108.

After reading through the second and third volumes, he had already grasped the guidance techniques—they were, after all, of the same lineage, merely more refined and profound.

At the end of the third volume, there was a passage: "Once you master the third level, your realm will be on par with mine. You should then have full confidence in how to create the fourth level, or even higher realms. The future direction and path of your cultivation will surely be clear to your heart!"

Feng Qingmo could not yet grasp the meaning of these words; after all, he hadn't even mastered the second level yet.

Storing the third volume away, Feng Qingmo sat cross-legged and began to study the second volume word by word.

Two hours later, Feng Qingmo put down the manual, drew his Slender Willow Sword, and began to practice the 72 sword forms recorded in the second volume.

Again and again...

These 72 sword forms included matching footwork that allowed the practitioner to push their footwork realm toward the perfect level more rapidly.

Today, Feng Qingmo had experienced the power of perfect-level footwork in the Trial Tower—it was a state of perfect control over both his own body and the surrounding environment.

If "micro-level" footwork was about dodging enemy attacks in the most concise way possible, it still required constant calculation and would inevitably appear slightly rigid.

Perfect-level footwork, however, meant that the space within a certain distance was already under one's control. There was almost no need for further calculation; one could instinctively make the most perfect response.

He practiced countless times until the horizon turned pale, and only then did Feng Qingmo stop his sword.