Quasi-Warrior Assessment

"Qingmo," Feng Jiansong said quietly on the way home, "you decided to join the military because of who your mother and I are, didn't you?"

"No, Dad, you're overthinking it..." Feng Qingmo said with a smile. "I know a little about the Limit Dojo and the Thunder Dojo, too. Given my abilities, I might not receive better training by joining either of them than I would in the military. Besides, I'm a Huaxia citizen first. Naturally, my first choice is to join our own military..."

"That's the right way to think!" Feng Jiansong said, delighted. "Don't slack off during this time. Keep training. There's no doubt you'll pass the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. With your abilities, I'm sure the combat assessment won't give you any trouble either..."

Feng Jiansong's voice grew serious. "But from what the dojo master said, he might recommend you for the Huashan Training Camp. The trainees there will all be elites from our country..."

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad," Feng Qingmo said easily. "Just wait until I become a War God. Then I'll get you and Mom a bottle of the Water of Life each..."

"Haha, that'd be great. Once your mom recovers, we can make another little one..." He winced as Zuo Huifen pinched him in the tender spot at his waist.

"You want to die? What are you saying in front of our son..."

In the training room, Feng Qingmo stood in the middle of the room wearing a training uniform, a long sword gripped in his right hand.

It feels so light. I guess my strength has grown too quickly, and I haven't fully gotten used to it... He weighed the sword in his hand. A weapon that had once felt just right now seemed weightless.

Following the basic sword techniques he remembered, he began practicing each move in turn: drawing, sweeping, lifting, parrying, thrusting, tapping, flicking, chopping, and intercepting.

At first, his mind, eyes, hands, techniques, and footwork were terribly uncoordinated. The sudden surge in his strength had also left him with poor coordination. Several times, he nearly injured himself, but his Spiritual Force stopped the momentum of the sword in his hand just in time, sparing him the gruesome fate of being disemboweled by his own blade.

As the memories in his mind rekindled his muscle memory, Feng Qingmo's posture gradually grew more precise, and the transitions between moves began to flow smoothly. He performed more than a dozen basic sword techniques in a seamless series, his basic footwork carrying him along as the air around him filled with the sound of slicing wind.

Perhaps because he couldn't see clearly, Feng Qingmo's Spiritual Force instinctively spread around him. As he continued to swing his sword, it seemed to turn into countless tendrils, constantly sensing changes in the surrounding air.

This gave Feng Qingmo, who was practicing basic sword techniques for the first time, some unexpected insights. I should thrust from this angle to move faster and meet less air resistance. I should pull back a little more before this chop so I can put more strength into it and concentrate the force...

Air? Is this what wind is?

The thought drifted through Feng Qingmo's mind as he swung his sword. He wanted to explore it further, but couldn't quite grasp it.

I'll take it slowly. Practice a thousand punches, and their meaning will reveal itself... He pushed the thought aside and focused on his training again.

The original Feng Qingmo had never had any manuals to train with, but his parents had taught him well, giving him a very solid foundation. After a short while, Feng Qingmo had fully absorbed his predecessor's understanding of sword techniques and footwork.

More than two hours later, Feng Qingmo finally stopped, still reluctant to quit. He sat cross-legged and began cultivating Genetic Energy.

This was his first time experiencing cosmic energy entering his body and being absorbed by his cells. He was almost immediately captivated by the sensation. The wisps of energy being absorbed by his cells brought such a soothing feeling that he could hardly bear to stop.

As his body absorbed cosmic energy, wisps of it also entered the Sea of Consciousness and transformed into Spiritual Force. The deep teal droplet in the Sea of Consciousness spun faster, releasing more pale teal mist.

Unfortunately, he hadn't yet passed the Martial Artist Combat Assessment and earned a Martial Artist account, so he couldn't buy advanced sword techniques, footwork, or a Guidance Technique. He could only train in the most primitive way.

After half an hour, his cells were saturated, and the training session came to an end.

After washing up, Feng Qingmo sat cross-legged in the training room again.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Two sharp sounds cut through the air as a pair of matte-black throwing knives flew erratically in front of him.

He had borrowed them from Feng Jiansong specifically to practice controlling his Spiritual Force.

Having read the original novel, Feng Qingmo knew that without a cultivation method for Spiritual Masters, this was the only way to improve his control over his Spiritual Force.

This isn't working. Controlling two knives at once is still a bit too hard. I should focus on one for now and maximize its power...

He recalled one knife. The other immediately picked up speed, its trajectory becoming even more unpredictable, like a leaping antelope leaving no trace.

He practiced until the mist of Spiritual Force in his Sea of Consciousness was almost completely depleted. Only then did he stop, dizzy and lightheaded. He was so exhausted that he fell into a deep sleep without even having dinner.

Life returned to its old routine. His parents still made time to go to the dojo every day, but he trained even harder, swinging his sword until he was utterly exhausted each time, then pushing himself to the point of nearly depleting all his Spiritual Force.

A few days later, he realized this kind of training seemed to promote the growth of his Spiritual Force even more, and his physical fitness naturally improved along with it.

Through this training, he gradually gained perfect control over his suddenly increased strength.

The date quickly arrived: January 1, 2054.

At the Military Dojo, Feng Qingmo joined five other senior military trainees taking the Quasi-Warrior Assessment and headed to the testing hall on the third floor.

"We'll test punch strength first. One at a time," said Huang Qihui, the intermediate-level Battle General overseeing the assessment. He glanced at the list in his hand. "First up, Xu Zaiyong."

"Here!"

A lean young man who looked to be in his twenties stepped forward. He had a close-cropped, military-style haircut and took his place in front of the Punch Strength Tester.

"Ha!" He let out a sharp shout and punched the target.

"923 kilograms. Pass!" Huang Qihui recorded the result. "Next, Feng Qingmo!"

"Here!" Feng Qingmo had deliberately put on a pair of sunglasses before leaving, hiding his eyes. He stepped up to the target and took his place.

"Bang!"

Controlling his strength, Feng Qingmo punched the target.

"1,023 kilograms! Pass! Next..."

There weren't many people, so the assessment moved quickly. When the punch strength test ended, one of the five had failed to meet the standard, leaving four to take the speed test.

One more failed, while Feng Qingmo controlled his speed and passed at 28.5 meters per second.

The remaining three took the nerve reaction test. This time, all of them passed, so three people had cleared the assessment.

"You three, come over and sign the application agreement for the Martial Artist Combat Assessment."

Huang Qihui led the three who had passed back into the hall. The staff had already prepared the contracts.

"Qingmo, would you like me to read the contents aloud for you?" Huang Qihui asked Feng Qingmo quietly and considerately.

As a senior instructor at the Military Dojo, he knew Feng Qingmo and was aware of his vision problems.

"No need, Uncle Hui. Thanks!"

Feng Qingmo shook his head. These agreements were standard forms; apart from the names, they were all identical.

He picked up a pen and signed his name on the contract.

After all three had signed, Huang Qihui put the contracts away. "This is the last hurdle before you become official Martial Artists. The Martial Artist Combat Assessment begins on February 1. I'm sure you've all heard what it involves, so I won't say more. If you can't pass this, you're not qualified to become Martial Artists!"

When all three nodded, Huang Qihui turned on the display screen in the hall.

"Look here!" Huang Qihui pointed at the huge screen. "This is the Genetic Energy cultivation method..."