Victory

After finishing his morning exercises and taking a shower, Guan Ning went to the study, turned on the computer, and found a file in his inbox.

"A challenge letter?"

The letter had been sent after the training camp's computer system received John's challenge request and approved it.

"Accept!" Guan Ning replied.

"Beep!"

A new email arrived.

Guan Ning opened it.

"That was fast. It's already scheduled? April 3 at 9 p.m.?"

In another building,

several young white men and women were gathered together.

"John, did he accept?" a blue-eyed white woman asked.

"He did." The blond-haired John said excitedly, "Tonight at 9."

"Don't worry, John. That Guan Ning is no match for you."

A tall, white young man beside him offered encouragement.

After taking care of the email, Guan Ning put the matter out of his mind. Whether he won or lost the challenge, he had nothing to lose.

Still, he was quite confident. The previous evening, Zhao Ruo and Shi Jiang had given him a detailed introduction to John McClane.

John McClane had perfect-level footwork, mastery-level spear skills, a force level of 2.5, and a Trial Tower level of 2.4.

Although Guan Ning's force level was only 2.0 because of his manual, Feng Mu had said that with his current footwork and swordsmanship, he could easily pass the second floor. The third floor was less certain. That meant his Trial Tower level was at least 3.0, putting him on par with John.

Most importantly, Guan Ning's defense was better than John's, giving him more room for error and naturally increasing his chances of winning.

There was another email from Feng Mu. It contained only one sentence: "Don't forget today's training."

Seeing those words, Guan Ning didn't know what to say. His teacher certainly had confidence in him.

After taking care of these odds and ends, Guan Ning began following the training plan Feng Mu had assigned him.

During training, Guan Ning discovered that he could last almost twice as long in the replica Gravity Room, and his gains had increased accordingly.

Guan Ning understood why: his body had stored a tremendous amount of nutrition, all thanks to the young Tuoshan Deer.

April 3, 8:50 p.m.

Nine-Story Tower, ninth floor.

The area in front of the Challenge Room was already packed with training camp students. Quite a few War God Level instructors had come as well.

There was no help for it. Guan Ning had caused such a stir the day before that even the War God Level instructors had been alarmed. What's more, students returning from City 1001 had brought news that two Lord-level Tuoshan Deer, leading thousands more, had attacked training camp members in the city. Fortunately, the Tuoshan Deer herd could only move within a certain area. Otherwise, the students who had gone hunting that day would have been in for a rough time.

It was naturally because all three of the herd's young had been killed, and their bodies had vanished. The Tuoshan Deer had come to take revenge.

When he heard the news, Guan Ning felt a chill of fear. He hadn't realized there were two Lord-level Tuoshan Deer. Luckily, they hadn't been there, or else...

"I need to learn from this. From now on, I have to be even more careful before I act!"

Guan Ning silently warned himself.

"So that's Guan Ning? Lucky kid."

"I wonder whether John or he will win?"

"Relax. John's ranked 75th, and his Combat Power Amplitude is 'Intermediate.' He definitely won't lose."

Two white men with prominent noses muttered nearby. From their language and appearance, it was clear they were from Russia.

"William McClane, Guan Ning, enter the Challenge Room!"

An electronic voice echoed through the ninth-floor hall.

Guan Ning and John exchanged a glance, then headed toward the Challenge Room.

"John, beat that kid!" the tall, blue-eyed white girl shouted.

"Ning, you have to win!" Zhao Ruo called out too. Many of the students cheered them on. This battle was a clash between old and new students, as well as a confrontation between the American faction and the Huaxia Nation faction.

Luo Feng had dealt them a heavy blow last time. Now, they were eager to see John give Guan Ning a thorough beating. Many of them even resented Guan Ning.

The two entered the virtual challenge space. Guan Ning chose a wilderness setting. With little room to dodge on this kind of terrain, it would be a straight contest of strength.

After looking over the setting, John immediately understood Guan Ning's plan.

"Arrogant! Even though we'll have the same physical attributes in the Challenge Room, my force and combat skills far surpass yours. You actually want to face me head-on? You're dead!"

John chose a Dragon Spear as his weapon. As soon as the battle began, he quickly went on guard. His temper was somewhat volatile, but he was extremely focused in combat. Otherwise, he could never have made the top hundred in the Elite Training Camp, where geniuses abounded.

Guan Ning chose only a Qingming Sword. He had no intention of revealing his trump cards in a challenge that didn't matter.

Seeing no sign that Guan Ning planned to strike first, John moved. At full power, he was slightly faster than Guan Ning, and the distance between them instantly shrank to a little over a meter.

The Dragon Spear thrust forward, its gleaming point like a flash of lightning as it shot straight for Guan Ning's throat.

"Fast!" Guan Ning jolted and sprang backward, raising the Qingming Sword in front of him at the same time.

Clang!

The spear tip struck the thick spine of the Qingming Sword, ringing out with a crisp metallic clang.

Bang!

Guan Ning felt a tremendous force hit him. The Qingming Sword pressed against his combat suit with a dull thud. By the time the sword and suit had absorbed some of the force, what reached his body had little effect.

"What strength! Anyone who makes the top hundred is no pushover." Guan Ning hadn't expected such an ordinary-looking, straight thrust to carry so much force.

"Quick reaction!"

The first strike missed, but John pressed his advantage. The Dragon Spear in his hands swept in a strange arc, its shaft seeming to bend with the curve, a testament to how powerful the attack was.

Faced with such a fierce attack, Guan Ning had no intention of blocking it head-on. He darted forward. The Dragon Spear was a long weapon, while the Qingming Sword was short; Guan Ning needed to close in to use his sword to its full potential. Then John would be in trouble.

John knew this perfectly well. Faced with Guan Ning's decisive move, he had no choice but to abandon his attack and shift his position.

John's explosive power was greater, but the difference in speed was less pronounced.

His strength was 2.5 times greater, but air resistance increased with speed. So the difference between a 2.5-fold increase in speed and a 2.0-fold increase wasn't nearly as large as the difference in strength.

However, John's footwork had reached the Perfect Level, making him far more agile. Guan Ning couldn't get close to him at all.

John couldn't find an opening to attack with his long spear either. Guan Ning's footwork hadn't yet reached the perfect stage, but it was already at the advanced mastery level, and he had even begun to grasp the threshold of the Perfect Level. To keep Guan Ning from getting close, John could only dodge with all his might. The slightest lapse in attention, and Guan Ning might catch up.

One pursued while the other fled, and the stalemate lasted for a minute or two.

Guan Ning was trying to figure out how to break the deadlock when inspiration struck. He sneered, "John, you're one of the top hundred students on the Black Dragon Ranking. Is running away all you can do?"

John was already furious. Guan Ning's taunt made his temper flare, but he hadn't made the top hundred by being a hotheaded fool. He wouldn't act rashly just because Guan Ning mocked him.

Of course he wanted a straightforward fight with Guan Ning. But after their brief exchange, he had already judged that although Guan Ning's force level was lower than his, the gap wasn't all that big.

That alone would have been manageable, but Guan Ning's footwork was good too. Under normal circumstances, John would have charged in and fought him already.

But the stakes in this challenge were different from before. One side had staked a video that would decide his future, while the other had staked precious access time to the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room. He couldn't bear to give up either one, so he had to act cautiously. Otherwise, why would he be so frustrated?

Seeing that John wasn't taking the bait, Guan Ning had no choice but to stop. He said openly, "John, we can't keep this up forever. Let's have a proper fight!"

John could tell Guan Ning didn't seem to be lying. Besides, he'd had enough of this game of cat and mouse. He answered readily, "As you wish."

Clang, clang, clang...

Clash, clash, clash...

The two fought fiercely. Sword flashes and spear tips tore across the wilderness, and they seemed evenly matched.

"Is that Perfect-Level swordsmanship? No, that's not it. Phew, it's only starting to show signs of it..."

The longer they fought, the more alarmed John became. He'd already thought highly of Guan Ning, but now he realized he'd still underestimated him. His swordsmanship was more than a cut above John's. John's spear skills could barely be considered advanced mastery-level, but against Guan Ning's Qingming Sword, they seemed incredibly weak. If not for his slight advantage in footwork, he would have lost already.

Guan Ning was having a hard time too. John was stronger than him and more agile as well. Whenever the Qingming Sword clashed with the Dragon Spear, its trajectory shifted. Guan Ning regained control of the sword in the blink of an eye, but John used that moment to change position. Guan Ning clearly felt the frustration of having nowhere to apply his strength.

They fought for several hundred more exchanges. Guan Ning's expression grew increasingly grim, while John became more and more excited. As he continued clashing with Guan Ning, his spear skills grew more practiced. The Dragon Spear seemed to come alive in his hands, becoming incredibly nimble. Before, he could block seventy percent of Guan Ning's attacks with it; now he could block eighty percent, and the figure was still rising. How could he not be thrilled?

Guan Ning noticed the same thing. He hadn't expected to become someone else's whetstone, and it certainly didn't improve his mood.

"I can't let this go on. I have to finish this quickly." Guan Ning had just made up his mind when he spotted an opening. "Now!"

John launched another ordinary-looking, straight thrust, aiming for Guan Ning's chest. Before, whenever Guan Ning encountered this move, he either blocked with the Qingming Sword or dodged aside. No matter which choice Guan Ning made, John had a way to counter it.