Coiling Dragon Sword

Guan Ning's current state was extremely similar to the "Unity of Man and Sword," and it could be said that he had touched the threshold.

Although it was merely the threshold, it was still a qualitative change.

"Truly astonishing," Feng Mu praised. "Sigh, let me give you a hand. As for whether you can succeed, that will depend on your own fortune."

Having said that, the long sword in Feng Mu's hand became uncanny. Each move and each strike was like an antelope hanging its horns by its hooves, always appearing from unexpected angles.

This was precisely Perfection-level sword technique. Feng Mu was one of the few teachers in the training camp who had mastered Perfection-level sword techniques, and both of his students were ranked in the top 30 on the leaderboard.

It was precisely because of Guan Ning's attainments in swordsmanship that the training camp had assigned Feng Mu as his teacher.

After Feng Mu unleashed his Perfection-level sword technique, Guan Ning felt extremely distressed. Regarding the sudden strikes from Feng Mu's long sword, Guan Ning's mind would react with how to respond, but his Qingming Sword was always a step too slow. If it weren't for Feng Mu holding back, Guan Ning would already be covered in wounds.

After another fifty or sixty moves, Feng Mu saw no signs of further progress from Guan Ning. Knowing that this step was already his limit, he stopped stalling, retreated, and left the combat circle.

"Teacher, what is it?" Guan Ning asked, puzzled.

"Let's stop here for now; I have already grasped your situation," Feng Mu said calmly. "You have touched the threshold of Perfection in swordsmanship, but your current accumulation is not enough to support you in taking that critical step. Therefore, you must work hard in the future to cross this step as soon as possible."

"What? Teacher, you said I have already touched the threshold of the Unity of Man and Sword?" Guan Ning looked incredulous; he knew that even most War Gods had not reached this stage.

"What are you panicking about? Looking at your expression, it's just the threshold—is it worth making such a fuss?" Although Feng Mu was also very shocked inside, seeing Guan Ning's reaction, he felt compelled to dampen his spirits.

"But this is..." Guan Ning felt confused by Feng Mu's sudden outburst and began to defend himself.

Earth's humans lacked clear and feasible secret manual guidance and could only rely on bitter cultivation and flashes of inspiration to master Perfection-level sword techniques. Guan Ning was different; he possessed the secret manual known as the Dugu Sword Manual, which was equivalent to having someone teach him hand-in-hand. As long as he followed the path, he would eventually reach the destination. Coupled with his soul transformation and constantly increasing comprehension, touching the Perfection-level threshold was not surprising.

Without waiting for Guan Ning to finish, Feng Mu said, "We will talk about these things later. Now, I will tell you about the instruments unearthed from the ancient ruins."

On the Nine-Story Tower, Feng Mu introduced to Guan Ning: "The most important parts of this Nine-Story Tower are, of course, the 'Challenge Room,' 'Trial Room,' and 'Gravity Room' on the ninth floor! These three rooms are all constructed based on treasures unearthed from ancient civilization ruins."

"As for the seventh and eighth floors, there are also many training rooms, such as the 'Gravity Rooms' imitated by our Earth scientists, and so on. Although the effects are not as good as the ancient civilization's Gravity Rooms, they are still much better than having no Gravity Room at all."

The two walked along the hall of the ninth floor toward the training rooms.

"From the 1st to the 30th of every month, students go into the Trial Room and Gravity Room to train. During these 30 days, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM every day, this one hour is a rest period. Generally, if there is a new prospective student assessment, it is conducted during this hour," Feng Mu explained.

Feng Mu led Guan Ning to a room, and the instrument at the door automatically scanned and identified their identities.

Beep!

The door opened automatically.

"This is the Gravity Room, the Gravity Room discovered in the ancient civilization ruins," Feng Mu introduced.

Guan Ning carefully observed the room. The walls, floor, and other parts of this Gravity Room were composed of an alloy mixed with yellow and black, and the entire Gravity Room felt very special because of this strange alloy.

"Our Earth scientists have yet to understand this kind of alloy," Feng Mu said, pointing to the wall alloy. "Even an existence surpassing a War God cannot leave a single mark on this wall."

However, Guan Ning discovered a fist print on the adjacent wall that was slightly indented by about five millimeters.

"You noticed it too!" Feng Mu said proudly. "This fist print was left by Earth's number one powerhouse, 'Hong.' Among the powerhouses who have surpassed the War God level, only the Dojo Master is able to leave a fist print on this wall; even Thor cannot do it."

Guan Ning touched the fist print on the wall with his hand and sighed in his heart: "Hong is worthy of being the powerhouse who led humanity to survive in the apocalypse. To be able to cultivate to such a degree without a teacher's guidance—his talent is truly terrifying."

"Bang!"

Guan Ning struck the wall with a punch, but the wall of the Gravity Room did not move at all, and he felt the immense strength of this metallic material.

"Now you understand how big the gap is between you and the Dojo Master, right? Almost everyone who comes here tries it, but no one has been able to do what the Dojo Master did."

"Beep!" After saying that, Feng Mu started the switch for the Gravity Room.

"Your current physical fitness is at the Elementary War General Level; 9 times gravity should be close to your limit."

As the device started, Guan Ning felt an invisible force instantly envelop every part of his body. Whether it was his muscles, bones, or internal organs, even every cell could clearly feel this immense force.

Guan Ning's body automatically began to rhythmically pulse according to a marvelous pattern, and under his control, the muscle cells in his body attempted to dissipate this force.

"How does it feel?" Feng Mu looked at Guan Ning with a relaxed expression; this amount of gravity was nothing to him as a War God.

At this moment, Guan Ning did not speak, his face somewhat pale, but not long after, his complexion began to return to normal.

This... how is this possible? Could it be my imagination?

Feng Mu's eyes widened, revealing a look of astonishment. The last time he had such an expression was when he discovered that Guan Ning had touched the threshold of the "Unity of Man and Sword." He did not expect that it would happen twice in such a short time.

"It's okay. This feeling of every cell in my body being immersed in gravity is truly comfortable. No wonder the students here all want to come here and never leave. My body should not have reached its limit yet. Teacher Feng, help me adjust it to 20 times gravity."

Nine times gravity might be the limit for an average Elementary War General, but Guan Ning had mastered a special method of body defense, and nine times gravity was still within his tolerance.

Feng Mu subconsciously followed Guan Ning's instructions and adjusted the Gravity Room to 20 times.

9, 10, 11... 20.

Guan Ning only felt his vision go black, and his entire body knelt on one knee. The sound of his heartbeat was as loud as a drum, and the sound of his blood flowing was like a river; everything was so clear.

Guan Ning barely stood up, his face deathly pale, his body swaying.

Knowing that Guan Ning had reached his limit, Feng Mu turned off the instrument. "How is it? Do you now feel the importance of the Gravity Room?"

"Martial artists absorb cosmic energy and turn it into Genetic Origin Energy, then let the body absorb the Genetic Origin Energy to improve genes and strengthen the body!" Guan Ning nodded. Although he had known this for a long time, only after truly trying it did he realize the preciousness of the Gravity Room.

"During normal training, only a small portion of muscle cells participate, but in the Gravity Room, all cells in the body are consuming energy, so the cultivation speed naturally accelerates."

According to Feng Mu's introduction, Guan Ning learned that the usage time for the ancient civilization Gravity Room and Trial Room was allocated according to the previous month's point rankings.

Although he had read the original work, it had been too long, and he could only remember some major events; he did not remember these minor details very clearly.

"Ranked first: for the month of April, you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 90 hours and the Trial Room for 90 hours."

"Ranked second: for the month of April, you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 60 hours and the Trial Room for 60 hours."

"Ranked third: for the month of April, you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 40 hours and the Trial Room for 40 hours."

"Ranked 4th–10th: you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 20 hours and the Trial Room for 20 hours."

"Ranked 11th–30th: you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 6 hours and the Trial Room for 6 hours."

"Ranked 31st–50th: you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 4 hours and the Trial Room for 4 hours."

"Ranked 51st–100th: you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 2 hours and the Trial Room for 2 hours."

"Ranked 101st–end: you may use the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for 1 hour and the Trial Room for 1 hour."

Although he had known this for a while, hearing that he only had one hour of usage time left Guan Ning feeling both amused and frustrated.

One hour?

What could he possibly do with that?

Listening to the 90, 60, and 40 hours mentioned for the top ranks, Guan Ning couldn't help but drool with envy.

"Alright, the higher the rank, the better the rewards. You surely already know how to improve your ranking; if you want more time, then work hard for it."

Guan Ning and Feng Mu exited the Gravity Room together, just in time to see Luo Feng following behind Jiang Fang as they arrived.

"Teacher Feng." Jiang Fang was very respectful toward Feng Mu, not only because he was a senior, but more importantly, because Feng Mu's strength was second to none in the training camp.

"Teacher Feng." Luo Feng also bowed respectfully with cupped hands.

"Mm." Feng Mu nodded.

"Teacher Jiang." Guan Ning likewise bowed to Jiang Fang.

"How is it?" Luo Feng asked, clearly very curious about the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room.

"Don't worry, it won't disappoint you." Guan Ning teased, then hurried to catch up with Feng Mu.

"Your Black Dragon Ranking is 184. Starting next month, on even-numbered days you will hunt monsters, and on odd-numbered days you will go to the simulated gravity room to practice your sword, eight hours a day, without fail."

After leaving the Nine-Story Tower, Feng Mu began to arrange a cultivation plan for Guan Ning.

"Although the simulated gravity room only goes up to three times gravity, it is enough for you to use. Your foundation in swordsmanship is very solid, but your accumulation is insufficient. So, during this time, you are to practice with all your might—practice like a madman. If you don't become obsessed, you won't succeed."

"I will test your progress every half month. If you don't meet my requirements, I will be coming for you."

After returning to Jiangnan Pavilion, the fourth pavilion had already been completed. One has to say, our great China truly lives up to its reputation as a "construction maniac."

In just two short days, a pavilion had been built; it was antique and elegant, and one couldn't even tell it had just been constructed.