Verification and Exchange

"Wind? Rain?"

His unfocused pupils suddenly constricted.

With a flick of his wrist, the Slender Willow Sword in his hand thrust out instantly, whipping up a fierce gale. The incoming raindrops, struck by the sword wind, were sent flying backward as if a powerful wind were blowing from inside the room toward the outside.

The moment this strike was unleashed, two bursts of hidden force naturally erupted from his body's core, making the Slender Willow Sword faster and more powerful!

"Hahaha... I've done it!" Feng Qingmo, standing with his sword sheathed, was immediately soaked by the rain blown in by the gale, but he didn't care at all; instead, he burst into laughter.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Standing before the window, Feng Qingmo brandished the Slender Willow Sword, the violent wind unable to suppress the sound of the blade tearing through the air.

Streaks of sword light ignited, flashing incessantly like lightning across the horizon.

It wasn't until the clouds cleared and the rain ceased, with the pale light of the waning moon spilling over the earth, that Feng Qingmo finally stopped his swordplay.

In this hour or so, he had completely mastered the second level of the Wind-Washing Sword, and his swordsmanship had finally ascended to a higher plane, reaching the level of perfection.

His force amplification had even reached 2.7 times!

Over an hour of continuous physical exertion had left him sore and weak, and as he came to a stop, he nearly collapsed to the ground.

After resting for a while, he began to cultivate Genetic Energy using a guiding technique. As he practiced, the cells within his body cheered and leaped for joy, greedily devouring the cosmic energy.

"I received the manual on March 21st, and Jia Yi gave me two months. Today is April 22nd, only a month has passed... I'll wait until this week of field training is over, then go find Li Ping when I return..." He forcibly suppressed the urge to return to the base city immediately to claim his reward.

He had originally intended to find some powerful monsters during this field training to test his sword, hoping to master the second level within these seven days, but he hadn't expected to succeed by sheer coincidence on the very first day.

Over the next few days, he followed his plan and continued to hunt down some high-level Beast General monsters.

During these battles, not only did his swordsmanship reach the level of perfection, but his footwork also advanced directly to the peak of the perfect level, and he even integrated his force-exertion techniques into his physical defense.

When his communication watch alerted him that the time was up, he shouldered a backpack full of monster materials and set off on the road back to the training camp.

Training Camp, Central Building, Li Ping's office.

"Looks like you had a good harvest during this wilderness training," Li Ping said with a playful smile as he watched Feng Qingmo knock and enter. "You aren't here to tell me you've already mastered the second level of the Wind-Washing Sword, are you?"

In his mind, the two months Jia Yi had given was already overestimating Feng Qingmo, let alone the fact that not even a month and a half had passed.

As far as he knew, the fastest record for mastering the second level of this sword technique worldwide was five months. That person, though they never mastered the third level, was now a high-level Wargod and a world-renowned figure.

"Teacher Li, did you install surveillance on me?" Feng Qingmo joked back, seeing Li Ping teasing him.

The smile on Li Ping's face froze, and he asked with a mix of shock and suspicion, "Did you really master the second level?"

"Yes," Feng Qingmo replied solemnly. "I mastered it six days ago, but I happened to be in City 0313, so I waited until I returned to come find you..."

"Six days ago? April 22nd?"

"Correct."

"You received the manual on the night of March 21st, right?" Seeing Feng Qingmo nod, Li Ping couldn't help but mutter to himself, "That means you mastered the second level of the Wind-Washing Sword in just over a month?"

He stood up abruptly, and in his haste, he leaped over his desk and arrived at Feng Qingmo's side.

"Let's go, we're going to test it right now." He grabbed Feng Qingmo and started walking.

Feng Qingmo was yanked by his immense strength and stumbled, feeling both amused and helpless as he was dragged away.

The two arrived at the Combat Room, and Li Ping used his administrative clearance to open the door.

The interior was structured identically to the Trial Room, except for the addition of a sofa, which also held a deep blue helmet.

The two sat on the sofa and put on the helmets.

On the boundless silver alloy plain, there was only one structure—a fighting ring.

Two figures appeared on the ring simultaneously.

"Requesting a punch force test," Li Ping called out to the air.

Swish. A punch force testing machine appeared on the side of the ring.

"Use your force-exertion technique and show me your strongest power now..." Li Ping instructed Feng Qingmo.

Feng Qingmo nodded, walked up to the machine, and calmly threw a punch, two bursts of hidden force naturally surging into his arm.

Bang! The target swayed slightly.

"Punch force: 27,023 kg. Force amplification: 2.7."

The electronic voice immediately announced the force and the amplification level.

"Heh! Good lad, you really did master it!" A smile appeared on Li Ping's face.

"Come, choose your weapon and spar with me. I want to see your swordsmanship and footwork."

He looked up and shouted, "Select weapons and combat suits. Combat scenario: Ruined city street!"

A vast array of weapons and combat suits appeared before Feng Qingmo. He chose a well-fitting combat suit and a Slender Willow Sword. He glanced at Li Ping, who had chosen a long saber as his weapon.

Once both had made their selections, swish, the scene shifted, and the two stood on a wide, long street.

The street was littered with trash, abandoned cars, buses, and other debris. A gust of wind blew through, causing several newspapers on the uneven road to lift and dance in the air.

"Come on, don't hold back!" Li Ping approached slowly, holding his long saber. "I also have perfect-level footwork and perfect-level saber technique, but my force amplification is a bit higher than yours..."

Feng Qingmo's bright eyes remained locked on the approaching Li Ping. As the distance between them closed to within ten meters, he moved!

"Swish!" A flash of sword light ignited, swift as a lightning strike, reaching Li Ping in an instant.

"Clang!!" Li Ping swung his blade to parry the strike.

Feng Qingmo's sword shifted at three different angles as it neared Li Ping, and the blade in Li Ping's hand mirrored those three changes in direction.

With the first strike missing, Feng Qingmo unleashed his swordsmanship. He poured the perfection-level sword techniques he had honed over the past few days into a relentless assault against Li Ping.

At first, Li Ping only defended without counterattacking, but after a few exchanges, he was horrified to realize he was being suppressed. He had no choice but to leverage his superior strength against Feng Qingmo, hoping to force a head-on collision to turn the tide.

Although Feng Qingmo lacked his experience and his power output was slightly inferior, his mastery of sword techniques and footwork was on par with Li Ping's—no, that wasn't right. It should be said that Feng Qingmo's sword techniques and footwork were actually superior to Li Ping's!

This discovery sent shockwaves through Li Ping's heart. He had spent over twenty years training, surviving countless life-and-death battles to reach his current level, yet this kid before him had only passed the martial artist combat assessment on February 1st. Even counting from the moment he passed the prospective martial artist assessment, he had only been training for a mere four months!

"Whoosh~"

A gust of wind blew from behind Feng Qingmo, forcing Li Ping to narrow his eyes slightly.

Riding the momentum of the wind, Feng Qingmo shifted his feet, his movement technique turning ghostly and swift as he circled behind Li Ping. The Slender Willow Sword moved like a willow catkin in the breeze, its trajectory ethereal and impossible to track.

Li Ping was shocked. With no time to turn around, he reversed his blade and slashed upward toward his back.