Apprentice-Level Duel

Under the dim streetlights.

As Qin Mu and Hou Fei reached an agreement, the thousands of drifters from both humanity and the Crystal Race retreated to either side of the street, clearing a road over a hundred meters long and leaving ample space for Heavy Spear Qin Mu and Crystal Bear Hou Fei to fight.

"Those two NPCs look like they're about to start fighting."

Twilight of the Gods stared at Qin Mu and Hou Fei, both built like giants, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I wonder how this game's combat system is designed."

"If it has the same impact as those martial arts masterpieces, this game will be the game of the year."

"This game's immersion is so high that it should have combat feedback like those martial arts masterpieces." Fang Zhen spoke with equal anticipation. "But even if this game is a little worse than other action masterpieces, I think it'll still be fine. After all, these visuals and this sense of texture are already unbeatable."

"I don't think this game will be bad." Wu Shang stopped swinging her shovel, rolled her shoulders, and stared avidly at the two fighters in the distance. "Based on my years of experience playing Pilgrimage, along with the feedback from digging and the sense of bodily control..."

"This game has already surpassed Pilgrimage. It just depends on how far the combat demonstration from those two NPCs can go."

The three of them chimed in one after another, filled with curiosity and anticipation for the coming battle. They were entirely evaluating the game, leaving Lin Qi, who listened from the side, deeply shaken.

Combat feedback?

Impact?

And an NPC combat demonstration?

He had to admit, the three of them had imagined it perfectly. Even more than half of his nervousness had vanished.

No, I can't let them affect me. I need to take this seriously.

Lin Qi shook his head, feeling that he could not let the three of them lead him astray. He adjusted his mindset and turned his attention back to Qin Mu and Hou Fei—especially Hou Fei.

Whether it was Qin Mu or Hou Fei, both were clearly figures standing at the pinnacle among the drifters.

By his estimate, both had reached the peak of Martial Apprentice level and were only a hair away from becoming Quasi-Martial Artists. Otherwise, so many people on both sides would not have allowed the two of them to decide who controlled this area.

In this world of high martial arts, one had to reach a strength of 100 kilograms and a speed of 10 meters per second to step through the threshold of a Quasi-Apprentice.

To rise from Quasi-Apprentice to a true Martial Apprentice, one had to reach a strength of 200 kilograms and a speed of 12 meters per second.

Only then did one reach the threshold of Martial Apprentice, gaining a certain standing in the City of Light Chasing and qualifying to apply for the martial arts classes of various high schools.

To advance from Martial Apprentice to Quasi-Martial Artist, one's strength had to reach 900 kilograms and speed had to reach 26 meters per second. Most Martial Apprentices were stuck at this stage, with all their attributes stalled between 800 and 899 kilograms, and their speed between 24 and 25.9 meters per second—the peak of the Apprentice level.

Qin Mu and Hou Fei clearly belonged to this tier.

Strength exceeding 800 kilograms and speed surpassing 24 meters per second—calling them humanoid beasts would not have been an exaggeration. A fight between them was simply beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Yet this battle directly concerned his future development—whether he would stay or leave this area. Even if he lacked the strength, it was not as though he had no chance to alter the outcome of their battle.

That chance was to discover Hou Fei's weaknesses. Even a Peak Apprentice like Hou Fei would have numerous fighting habits, and those habits often became weaknesses. As long as Lin Qi could find them and warn Qin Mu, he could undoubtedly greatly increase Qin Mu's odds of victory and change the situation between the two sides.

Before coming to this world of high martial arts, he had played countless virtual combat games on Blue Star. He had over ten years of virtual combat experience, and the monsters and players he had killed numbered in the tens of thousands. In terms of combat experience, he likely surpassed even the martial artists of the City of Light Chasing. Discovering Hou Fei's weaknesses was not impossible.

Beneath the streetlights, in the middle of the road.

Qin Mu and Hou Fei had both donned alloy armor and stood thirty meters apart.

Lin Qi, who had visited the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop several times, found the alloy armor they wore incredibly familiar. It was Apprentice-level armor forged from A5-class alloy. A full set weighed over sixty kilograms and cost more than thirty thousand bits.

As for the weapons in their hands, they were no ordinary items either. They were clearly made from alloy above A5-class, each weighing over a hundred kilograms.

"Wild Crystal Bear Hou Fei, I've long wanted to cross blades with an expert like you. Unfortunately, we never operated in the same wilderness zones. Today, let me see just how formidable your saber technique is!" Qin Mu said, holding a silver spear. He casually swung the spear, over three meters long, and the sand and gravel on the ground were blown flying as he strode toward the over-three-meter-tall Hou Fei.

"Come, then. Let me see whether your Soaring Cloud Seven Spears is truly as miraculous as the White Feather Gang claims!" Hou Fei laughed and drew the Mountain Splitting saber from his back. It too was over three meters long, not losing to Qin Mu's spear in attack range at all.

The moment his words fell, Hou Fei, over three meters tall, let out a furious roar. Gripping the saber in both hands, the muscles across his body began to swell as he took a savage step forward.

Boom!

The sonic boom in the air echoed through the entire street. The ground beneath Hou Fei's feet shattered inch by inch, and every step he took cracked the hard concrete. In fewer than four strides, he appeared before Heavy Spear Qin Mu. Like a gigantic bear, he bore down directly upon Qin Mu.

"Good!"

Qin Mu did not retreat in the slightest. He stamped his foot down and brought his spear crashing downward, shattering the air itself. He clearly intended to meet Hou Fei head-on.

Seeing this, Hou Fei twisted his body, channeling the strength of his body and arms into the saber as he swung it upward in a horizontal slash.

One struck downward, the other slashed across. Neither yielded an inch.

Boom!

The clash of metal echoed through the whole street. The collision of their terrifying strength forced both men back several steps. Each retreating step cracked the ground inch by inch, and the nearby streetlights shook as though an earthquake had struck.

"Your body... what tremendous strength." Hou Fei looked at Qin Mu in surprise, a trace of confusion in his heart.

The Crystal Race was naturally sturdier than humanity. In terms of pure strength, he himself had already exceeded 900 kilograms. He had only failed to become a Quasi-Martial Artist because his speed had not reached the requirement.

Yet Qin Mu, a human, could trade strength with him without falling behind. That showed Qin Mu's strength was no weaker than his own.

"You're not bad either. Not only are you powerful, you're also that fast. You're probably only a sliver away from the speed requirement for a Quasi-Martial Artist, aren't you?" Qin Mu looked at Hou Fei, his gaze growing much more solemn.

If the speed standard for a Quasi-Martial Artist was 26 meters per second, then Hou Fei had already reached around 25.8 or 25.9 meters per second. In terms of attributes, he was already at the level of a Peak Apprentice.

"Looks like I can't hold back against you." Hou Fei realized that Qin Mu was no worse than him in any attribute, and he abruptly raised his saber. "Since our attributes are about the same, then let's meet force with force and see whose strength and stamina are greater!"

Having said that, Hou Fei savagely chopped down at Qin Mu, every strike carrying the howl of tearing wind.

One slash, two slashes, three slashes—like a raging gale, they swept toward Qin Mu, making the saber shadows impossible to see clearly. This was also Hou Fei's famous wilderness technique, the Wind Slaying Saber. Each slash was stronger than the last, but every swing also consumed enormous amounts of stamina.

Once the Wind Slaying Saber was unleashed, it was victory or death!

"Since you want to stake it all, then I'll stake it all with you!"

Facing the saber shadows like a wild gale, everything Hou Fei passed seemed to be swept by violent winds. Qin Mu suddenly thrust out his spear like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

One thrust, seven shadows!

One shadow, one explosion!

Soaring Cloud Seven Spears!

For a time, spear shadows and saber flashes collided incessantly across the street. Every collision was like artillery fire, allowing even those more than a hundred meters away to clearly feel the tremors in the air.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Neither side held anything back. Every attack was delivered with full force. After dozens of exchanges, the recoil from their weapons left their entire bodies prickling with pain.

As for the street beneath them, everything within a hundred-meter radius had become a complete mess. Not a single stretch of concrete remained intact.

Fang Zhen, Twilight of the Gods, and Wu Shang, watching from afar, had their mouths hanging open. The shock in their eyes was beyond words.

"Monsters fighting?"

"They've really gone mad trying to kill each other! Both of them are monsters! This destructive power is probably no weaker than a company's artillery barrage!"

"This isn't some blockbuster film the game company recorded and is playing for us, right?"

Watching through Fang Zhen's perspective in the livestream, everyone in the audience was similarly left dumbstruck by the sight.

There was simply no description for it besides "holy shit."