Late at night on February 28, Guan Ning was practicing in a villa in Ginkgo Residential District, dressed in a blue training uniform and wielding the Qingming Sword. Though he was only going through the thirteen basic moves—lifting, deflecting, thrusting, and the like—each transition flowed with effortless ease, as if it came naturally. This was the deep foundation Guan Ning had built over more than a decade.
"Whew~~~"
After a long while, Guan Ning stopped and picked up a towel to wipe away his sweat. Dragging his exhausted body, he went down to the basement for his daily footwork training.
Within the Wooden Stake Formation, Guan Ning moved back and forth, turning and leaping, narrowly evading the balls swinging at him from every direction. It looked perilous, but he had everything under control. The Qingming Sword flicked and deflected, tapped and swept, its movements perfectly controlled. Each time, he intercepted a ball he couldn't dodge in time, with just enough force to bring it to a complete stop.
Anyone who knew their stuff and saw this would cry, "Mastery!"
Subtle control of the body through footwork meant having precise command over one's movements. Mastery in swordsmanship, however, required precise control of both the body and the sword, moving together as though they were one.
That was exactly Guan Ning's state now. His footwork and swordplay complemented each other, flowing freely at his command. In less than a minute, he had passed through the Wooden Stake Formation, and all the thousand-plus balls hanging above him had come to a standstill.
Though Guan Ning didn't know that his swordsmanship had reached Mastery-Level, he could tell that something had changed. Before, when he passed through in under a minute, the balls kept colliding chaotically. Now, it was obvious that he had far surpassed his previous performance.
He had only reached this level five or six days ago, but he knew it had to be thanks to the baptism that night. Thinking of this, Guan Ning nodded. In his heart, the importance of the Heaven and Earth Baptism was no less than that of his soul's transformation.
After reflecting for a while, Guan Ning gathered his thoughts and resumed his routine: practicing footwork over and over, doing yoga, and absorbing cosmic energy, one after another.
By the time his body was saturated, the sky had begun to grow pale. The timing was just right; next came reciting the Dao Scripture. Although his soul's transformation had ended long ago, Guan Ning still read the scripture for an hour, meticulously as ever. He had started reciting it to cultivate his state of mind, not to transform his soul, so he needed to keep up the habit.
"The practical assessment is today. I wonder what kinds of beasts they've prepared. No, they're called monsters now. I hope they put up a good fight, or this'll be too boring."
After half a month of grueling training, Guan Ning had improved tremendously in punching power, speed, and reflexes. His physical abilities had now reached High-Level Warrior Rank, making this practical assessment seem like a poor match for him.
Guan Ning checked the time. Since he still had a while before he needed to leave, he took a hot shower, then had something to eat before heading out.
Accompanied by a warrior from the club, Guan Ning and more than fifty other Quasi-Warriors headed to the train station.
"Ka-chunk—ka-chunk—" The sound of the train speeding along its tracks was faint, but the carriage was filled with chatter.
The carriage was completely enclosed, with no windows or other way to see outside. At that moment, a person appeared on the large screen in each carriage.
The Limit Martial Hall, Thunder Martial Hall, HR Alliance, Huaxia military, and the other major powers were all promoting themselves, vying to recruit these future warriors. They were fresh blood for the warrior ranks, and no organization would give them up easily.
A large group of Quasi-Warriors sat in pairs and threes throughout the carriage.
"Guan Ning, I heard the martial hall accepted you early. Impressive!" A sturdy young man in his early twenties looked at Guan Ning enviously.
"Flatterer, Brother Wang."
Most of the people around Guan Ning were from Ginkgo Residential District. They weren't close, but they knew one another.
"Guan Ning, how come we never realized you were this impressive? You really kept your talents hidden."
"Tsk, tsk. A seventeen-year-old Quasi-Warrior might be a genius, but that's not enough for the martial hall to accept you early. Guan Ning, are you hiding something from us?"
"Yeah, come on, tell us. Give us a look too."
"Exactly!"
There were twenty or thirty Quasi-Warriors from Ginkgo Residential District. Whether they knew Guan Ning or not, they were all especially curious about him, and they chattered excitedly.
The commotion naturally drew the attention of others. When they heard Guan Ning had joined the Limit Martial Hall early, they all looked his way, their expressions ranging from curiosity and envy to jealousy and surprise.
"Brother Wang, Brother Li, have you decided which organization to join?"
Guan Ning wasn't about to reveal the reason behind everyone's curiosity. When he noticed all the eyes on him, he felt a headache coming on. He didn't like being the center of attention, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Of course I'm joining the Limit Martial Hall," the sturdy young man who had spoken first replied without hesitation.
Brother Wang's name was Wang Cang. His father was a warrior with the Limit Martial Hall, so he naturally wouldn't join another organization.
"My brother joined the Limit Martial Hall, but my mom insists I join the Thunder Martial Hall," said a boy beside him, looking a little younger and sounding exasperated. He was the Brother Li Guan Ning had mentioned, Li Yuan, and he was nineteen. His talent was decent.
His family situation was a little complicated. His father belonged to the Limit Martial Hall, while his mother belonged to the Thunder Martial Hall. His older brother, Li Ze, was twenty-three and had joined the Limit Martial Hall. Li Yuan wanted to join it too, but his mother insisted he join the Thunder Martial Hall, saying it would be fair to have one child in each. He was troubled by the whole situation.
The others chimed in one after another, and everyone quickly forgot the previous topic. Seeing their attention shift, Guan Ning let out a sigh of relief.
To get some peace and quiet, Guan Ning simply closed his eyes and pretended to nap, conserving his energy. Whenever someone thought to ask him something, they saw his expression and kept quiet. The rest of the trip passed without a word.
Not long afterward, the train stopped at a military base. The roars of beasts could be heard faintly all around them.
"Everyone—"
A loud voice reached every Quasi-Warrior's ears. "Welcome to the Jiangnan City East Military District. The practical assessment for all 1,813 of you will be held here in the Eastern Army's district. I hope most of you pass, and I hope every one of you makes it through this practical assessment alive!"
After some time to rest at the base, afternoon arrived. The weapons and equipment began to be distributed, which meant the practical assessment was about to begin.
"Here's your combat uniform, boots, backpack, and Communication Watch with positioning functions, along with the heaviest Qingming Sword we've got. It weighs exactly 98 kilograms." As the officer handed Guan Ning his gear, he asked with concern, "Are you sure you don't want a shield? We have spares. Having one can help keep you from being surrounded by monsters."
"Thanks, but I don't need one. A sword is enough." Guan Ning had never trained with a shield. Adding one now would only interfere with his performance, so he politely declined.
"All right. Be careful."
Seeing that Guan Ning was determined, the officer said no more. Everyone had their own fighting style, after all, and there was no point forcing him.
Carrying the pile of gear, which weighed over a hundred kilograms, Guan Ning ran to one side. After putting on his combat vest, Alloy Combat Boots, combat uniform, backpack, and Communication Watch, he held the Qingming Sword and tested its weight, frowning.
At home, he usually carried only the Qingming Sword. Adding nearly a hundred kilograms of weight so suddenly felt unfamiliar.
After thinking it over, he found a secluded corner and moved around while swinging the Qingming Sword, slowly getting used to his gear.
The others were excited about their equipment, and laughter filled the square. Guan Ning was the odd one out, standing apart like a crane among chickens.
"What's he doing? Cramming at the last minute?" A young man with a spiky hairstyle noticed Guan Ning and called out mockingly, loudly enough to make sure everyone heard him.
"This is ridiculous. Who trains at a military base? He might as well go home now." A girl with brown hair heard the young man and, as if she'd seen something amusing, laughed at Guan Ning.
"Isn't that Guan Ning, the one who joined the Limit Martial Hall early?"
"And this is his level? They accepted him early?"
"Look at his swordsmanship. Those are just basic moves, aren't they? What a disgrace."
"With skills like that, he dares take the practical assessment? Is he trying to get himself killed?"
Once Guan Ning got into the zone, he became completely focused. He had been like that in his previous life, and he was the same in this one. So although people around him were making a racket, they didn't distract him.
"What's going on over there?"
"Isn't that Guan Ning? What's he doing?"
"Come on, let's take a look."
Wang Cang and Li Ze were chatting with seven or eight other Quasi-Warriors from Ginkgo Residential District on the other side. When they noticed what was happening, they hurried over.
"Guan Ning, Guan Ning!" Wang Cang called out several times, but Guan Ning was so focused that he didn't hear him at all.
"Guan Ning!" Li Ze tried to approach and tap Guan Ning on the shoulder. But as he got close, Guan Ning sensed someone approaching and reflexively thrust his sword. The blade pointed straight at Li Ze's brow. If Li Ze hadn't sensed something was wrong and called Guan Ning back to his senses in time, the Qingming Sword might already have been buried in his forehead.
"G-G-Guan Ning, could you lower the sword?" Li Ze could feel the chill from its tip, which was barely an inch from his brow. For the first time, he felt the fear of death. He swallowed several times before stammering out the request, nervously pointing at the Qingming Sword.
"Oh, oh, oh..." Guan Ning didn't understand what was happening at first. When he heard Li Ze, he quickly withdrew the sword and apologized profusely. "Brother Li, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It was a reflex. I'm really sorry."
As if he felt that wasn't enough, Guan Ning bowed deeply, almost ninety degrees.
"It's fine, it's fine. I should have thought it through."
Li Ze touched his brow, still feeling a chill there. His heart trembled, and he silently warned himself to be more careful from then on and never act so rashly. Thanks to what happened that day, he later escaped danger unharmed many times over. It benefited him for the rest of his life.
"Why is it so quiet?"
Guan Ning straightened up, only then noticing that the lively square had fallen silent.
The people around him had been mocking Guan Ning, but when they saw the Qingming Sword's steady, accurate, ruthless, swift, and fierce thrust, they all fell silent.
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