A Sword Establishes Authority

Late on the night of February 28th, inside a villa in the Ginkgo Residential District, Guan Ning, dressed in a blue training suit, was wielding his Qingming Sword. Although he was only performing the thirteen basic techniques—such as flicking, parrying, and thrusting—every transition between strikes was effortless and natural. This was the deep foundation Guan Ning had built over the past decade or so.

"Hoo~~~"

After a long while, Guan Ning stopped his movements, picked up a towel from the side to wipe away his sweat, and dragged his exhausted body to the basement to conduct his daily footwork training.

On the Wooden Stake Formation, Guan Ning's figure retreated and advanced, pivoted and leaped. Each time, he narrowly avoided the rubber balls swinging from all directions; it looked perilous, but in reality, everything was under his control. His Qingming Sword flicked, parried, pointed, and swept with perfect ease, intercepting and stopping the incoming balls every time with just enough force to bring them to a dead halt.

If someone knowledgeable were to see this scene, they would surely exclaim, "Mastery."

Footwork at the "Micro" level is the exquisite control of one's own body, while sword mastery is when the control of both body and sword reaches such a refined state that they act as one.

This was exactly Guan Ning's current state. His footwork and sword techniques complemented each other, flowing according to his will. In less than a minute, Guan Ning had passed through the Wooden Stake Formation, and the thousands of rubber balls that had been falling were all left perfectly still.

Seeing this, although Guan Ning wasn't aware that his sword technique had reached the level of mastery, he knew that previously, after passing through within a minute, those balls would still be colliding in a chaotic mess. The current situation clearly showed he had far surpassed his past self.

Although Guan Ning had only reached this current realm five or six days ago, he knew it must be inseparable from the baptism that night. Thinking of this, Guan Ning couldn't help but nod. In his heart, the importance of the Heaven and Earth Baptism was in no way inferior to the transformation of his soul.

After sighing with emotion for a while, Guan Ning withdrew his focus and began his footwork training over and over again, followed by yoga and the absorption of cosmic energy in sequence.

Once his body reached saturation, the horizon began to turn white. The timing was perfect; it was just right to continue reciting the Dao Scripture. Although the transformation of his soul had ended long ago, Guan Ning still meticulously read the Dao Scripture for an hour. After all, his initial reason for reciting it was to nourish his state of mind, not to transform his soul, so he intended to keep up the habit.

"The actual combat assessment is today. I wonder what kind of fierce beasts they've prepared—no, they're called monsters now. I hope they're strong enough; otherwise, it'll be too boring."

After half a month of bitter training, Guan Ning's punch strength, speed, and reaction time had all increased by a significant margin. Now that his physical fitness had reached the high-level warrior stage, this actual combat assessment really didn't seem like much to him.

Guan Ning checked the time. It was still early before departure, so he took a hot shower, satisfied his hunger, and headed out.

Led by a martial artist from the hall, Guan Ning and over fifty other Quasi-Warriors headed to the train station.

"Chug—chug—" The friction of the train moving rapidly was faint, but the train carriage itself was filled with noise.

The carriage was a fully enclosed structure with no windows to see the outside. At this moment, a figure appeared on the large screens in every carriage.

The Limit Martial Hall, the Thunder Martial Hall, the HR Alliance, the Huaxia Military, and other major factions were constantly promoting themselves, vying for these future warriors to join their ranks. These were all fresh blood for the martial artist community, and no group would easily give them up.

Inside the carriage, a large group of Quasi-Warriors sat in twos and threes.

"Guan Ning, I heard you were admitted to the martial hall in advance. That's amazing!" A sturdy youth of twenty-one or twenty-two looked at Guan Ning with envy.

"Brother Wang, you flatter me."

Those around Guan Ning were mostly from the Ginkgo Residential District; even if he wasn't close with them, he recognized them.

"Guan Ning, why didn't I notice you were this strong before? You really know how to hide your light."

"Tsk tsk, a seventeen-year-old Quasi-Warrior is a genius, but not enough to warrant early admission to a martial hall. Guan Ning, is there something else you're hiding from us?"

"Yeah, tell us about it. Let us see for ourselves."

"That's right, that's right."

There were twenty or thirty Quasi-Warriors from the Ginkgo Residential District, and whether they knew him or not, they were all particularly interested in Guan Ning, clamoring and egging him on.

Such a commotion naturally attracted others. Hearing that Guan Ning had joined the Limit Martial Hall in advance, they all looked toward him with expressions of inquiry, envy, jealousy, and surprise.

"Brother Wang, Brother Li, have you decided which faction to join?"

Guan Ning naturally wouldn't reveal the reason for the questions. Sensing the gazes of everyone around him, he felt a headache coming on. He didn't like being the center of attention, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Naturally, the Limit Martial Hall," the sturdy youth who had spoken first said without hesitation.

Brother Wang's name was Wang Cang, and his father was a martial artist at the Limit Martial Hall, so he naturally wouldn't go to any other faction.

"My brother joined the Limit Martial Hall, but my mom insists I join the Thunder Martial Hall," another slightly immature-looking youth said speechlessly. He was the "Brother Li" Guan Ning had mentioned, named Li Yuan. He was nineteen this year and had decent talent.

His family situation was a bit complicated: his father was with the Limit Martial Hall, his mother with the Thunder Martial Hall, and his brother, Li Ze, twenty-three, had joined the Limit Martial Hall. Although he wanted to join the Limit Martial Hall too, his mother insisted he join the Thunder Martial Hall, claiming it was only fair to have one in each. He was currently distressed about this matter.

Others spoke up one after another, and the previous topic was quickly forgotten. Seeing that everyone had shifted their focus, Guan Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

For the sake of peace and quiet, Guan Ning simply closed his eyes to doze, conserving his energy. When others tried to ask him something, they saw his appearance and shut their mouths. The rest of the journey passed in silence.

Not long after, the train stopped at a military district, and the roars of beasts could be heard faintly from all around.

"Everyone—"

A loud voice reached the ears of every Quasi-Warrior. "Welcome to the Jiangnan City East Military District. This time, the actual combat assessment for you 1,813 people will be held right here in my East Military District. I hope that most of you will pass the assessment, and I hope that all of you will survive this actual combat test!"

After resting in the military district, it was afternoon, and the weapons and equipment began to be distributed, which meant the actual combat assessment was about to begin.

"This is your combat suit, combat boots, a communication watch with positioning functions, a backpack, and the Qingming Sword we prepared for you—exactly 98 kilograms." As the officer handed the items to Guan Ning, he asked with concern, "Are you sure you don't want a shield? We have spare shields here. When dealing with monsters, having a shield in hand can prevent you from being surrounded."

"Thank you, but no need. One sword is enough." Guan Ning hadn't practiced with a shield during his training; adding one now would only hinder his performance, so he politely declined.

"Alright, be careful."

Seeing Guan Ning's persistence, the officer didn't say anything more. After all, everyone had their own combat habits, and it couldn't be forced.

Carrying the pile of over a hundred kilograms of gear to the side, Guan Ning put on his combat vest, alloy boots, combat suit, backpack, and communication watch. He held the Qingming Sword, felt its weight, and frowned.

He usually only had one Qingming Sword at home, and now that he had suddenly added nearly a hundred kilograms of weight, he felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

After thinking for a moment, he found a secluded corner and began to move while swinging the Qingming Sword, slowly adapting to the equipment on his body.

The others were excited about their gear, and the square was filled with laughter. Only Guan Ning, an outlier, stood out from the crowd.

"What is he doing? Trying to cram at the last minute?" A youth with an afro noticed Guan Ning and shouted in a sarcastic, shrill voice, desperate to draw everyone's attention.

"How hilarious. Who trains in a military district? He'd be better off going home early," a brown-haired girl remarked upon hearing the afro-haired youth. She seemed to have found something amusing and chimed in with a loud, mocking laugh.

"Isn't that Guan Ning, the one who joined the Limit Martial Hall early?"

"Is this his level? And he joined early?"

"Look at his swordsmanship. Aren't those just basic moves? What an embarrassment."

"He dares to participate in the actual combat assessment with skills like that? Is he in such a hurry to die?"

Once Guan Ning entered his zone, he became incredibly focused; this was true in his past life, and it remained so in this one. Thus, even though the people around him were clamoring loudly, they failed to disturb him in the slightest.

"What's going on over there?"

"Isn't that Guan Ning? What is he doing?"

"Let's go take a look."

Wang Cang and Li Ze were chatting with seven or eight other Quasi-Warriors from the Ginkgo Residential District on the other side. Noticing the commotion, they hurried over.

"Guan Ning! Guan Ning!" Wang Cang called out a few times, but Guan Ning was too focused and didn't hear him at all.

"Guan Ning!" Li Ze tried to walk over and tap Guan Ning, but as he approached, Guan Ning sensed someone closing in. Reflexively, he thrust his sword forward, the tip pointing directly at the center of Li Ze's brow. Had Li Ze not sensed something was wrong and shouted to wake him, the Qingming Sword would likely have been embedded in his forehead by now.

"Guan... Guan... Guan Ning, could you put the sword down?" Looking at the blade tip just an inch from his brow, Li Ze could feel its icy chill. For the first time, he felt the terror of death. He swallowed hard, stammered, and pointed cautiously at the Qingming Sword.

"Oh, oh, oh..." Guan Ning hadn't immediately grasped the situation. Upon hearing Li Ze, he hurriedly retracted the Qingming Sword and said apologetically, "Brother Li, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to; it was just a reflex. I'm truly sorry."

Seeming to feel that his sincerity wasn't enough, Guan Ning bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

"It's fine, it's fine. It was my lack of consideration."

Li Ze touched his brow, still feeling a lingering chill. A cold shiver ran through his heart, and he silently warned himself to be steady and never be reckless again. It was precisely thanks to this experience that he would later escape unscathed from numerous life-threatening situations, benefiting for the rest of his life.

"Why is it so quiet?"

Guan Ning stood up, only then noticing that the noisy square had fallen into dead silence.

The surrounding crowd had originally been mocking Guan Ning, but when they saw the steady, accurate, ruthless, swift, and sharp movements of the Qingming Sword, they were struck dumb, not a sound left among them.