Cold Weapons

Bang!

Bang!

"Three rings!"

"Seven rings!"

"Nine rings!"

On the training ground, the heavy machine gun's muzzle spat fire. The targets five thousand meters away either stood perfectly still or shattered on the spot, only for new ones to rise again.

"Fixed-target test complete. Next test: single moving target!"

As soon as Instructor Li Dingjun finished speaking, Jiang Ding leaped up with the two-hundred-kilogram heavy machine gun in both hands and began running swiftly, aiming and firing as he moved.

His feet moved like the wind, yet his upper body remained still as a mountain.

Vajra Seal!

Bang!

"Eight rings!"

"Next test: dual moving targets!"

Through Jiang Ding's drone vision, the target five thousand meters away began to move. It maneuvered in an S-pattern at the speed of a late Qi Refinement cultivator, occasionally accelerating without warning and bursting forth at several times its prior speed.

"Miss!"

"Miss!"

The miss rate surged. Yet the teachers and students around him showed no surprise.

Late Qi Refinement cultivators generally had divine sense ranges of seventy to one hundred meters. In other words, unless concealment and invisibility runes had been specially inscribed and enhanced, they would be detected by a late Qi Refinement cultivator at that distance, allowing the latter to maneuver in advance.

But it was not as though there was no solution.

Heavy machine-gun rounds traveled at 1,254 meters per second. Late Qi Refinement cultivators had reaction times of 0.5 to 0.8 seconds. As long as ten shots were fired in rapid succession to form a barrage blockade, it could work.

One hit earned eighty percent of the score for the question. Two hits meant full marks.

If there were no hits, then the distances between the ten bullets and the target would be measured and averaged. That was the usual outcome.

This was meaningful too. On the battlefield, late Qi Refinement cultivators were usually dealt with through encirclement, with ten or dozens of people aiming at the same target at once.

"Three rings!"

The surroundings fell silent.

"Damn!"

"What dogshit luck!"

Li Junhao, Sun Xiao, and the others waiting nearby to take the test cursed, their voices brimming with envy.

Under normal circumstances, an entire class would struggle to land even one hit in the dual-moving-target test. They could only distinguish themselves by the average distance between their bullets and the target.

"Get lost!"

Jiang Ding smiled. This time, he really had been somewhat lucky.

Late Qi Refinement cultivators moved far too fast, and their divine-sense reactions were far too sharp. With the shots coming from five kilometers away, even a barrage woven into a net found it hard to score a hit. Missing by dozens or even hundreds of meters was perfectly ordinary.

That was with the other side restricted from using possible spells such as invisibility, flight, earth escape, and wood escape.

If not for group combat, with reconnaissance methods such as Spirit-Particle Radar and cultivators of the same rank guiding their positions, even swarms of soldiers would find it difficult to harm late Qi Refinement cultivators.

Moreover, forging Spellbreaker Steel required extremely advanced industrial technology. Cultivators beyond the realm found it hard to manufacture Spellbreaker Steel bullets unaffected by divine sense at low cost. Still, they could spend enormous sums to forge special types of magical artifacts, with ranges comparable to heavy machine guns and even greater flexibility.

Cultivators using such special magical artifacts were few, but not nonexistent.

In short, even if ordinary people possessed the ability to harm Qi Refinement cultivators, that did not mean they could be mentioned in the same breath.

"Jiang Ding, your overall score for the firearm test: thirty-five points."

Jiang Ding's heart steadied.

That was pretty good.

The firearms section was worth sixty points total. Scoring above forty required a Qi Refinement cultivator driving a tank. Thirty-five was already a high score.

"Next candidate, Li Junhao."

"Yes!"

Li Junhao walked into the range carrying the heavy machine gun, radiating confidence.

A few minutes later.

Li Junhao wore a miserable expression. "Sigh, it's all over."

"Ha."

Jiang Ding glanced at him and felt as though he had finally let out a great breath.

Served you right for showing off during the written exams!

After the first half ended, Instructor Zhang Dingjun drifted away to begin testing the Qi Refinement students.

In the distance, tank engines roared and cannon shells boomed like thunder.

For a moment, silence reigned.

Quite a few people looked that way. Even Sun Xiao, Li Hu, and the others who had achieved minor success in Inner Qi wore complicated expressions.

Unless Inner Qi martial artists were truly blessed with extraordinary talent, and their academic scores surpassed those of Qi Refinement students by an entire major grade, they simply could not set foot upon the immortal path.

Jiang Ding ignored all that. He lifted a piece of camouflage cloth, revealing a great heap of sabers, spears, swords, and halberds arranged on the ground.

He picked up an utterly ordinary blue-steel sword. The moment its hilt settled into his palm, his heart calmed considerably and all distracting thoughts vanished.

He hung the sword at his waist and sat cross-legged.

A thread of Inner Qi flowed from the ten principal meridians of the Hand Greater Yin Lunar Lung Scripture into the ten principal meridians of the Hand Pericardium Jueyin Scripture, tempering and nourishing them.

Two days passed. The ten meridians of the second main channel, the Hand Pericardium Jueyin Scripture, had largely been tempered. The progress was somewhat slower than he had previously expected.

As for the reason, Jiang Ding had figured it out through research.

Meridians were not sealed spaces. When Inner Qi flowed through the ten principal meridians of the first main channel, the Hand Greater Yin Lunar Lung Scripture, it did not pass through without loss. A small amount of internal force flowed into the branch meridians as well, tempering and nourishing them somewhat.

"Right, let's get some practice in."

The other students seemed to awaken from a dream. They too picked up weapons and began warming up with swings and forms. Sharpening a blade at the last minute—even if it did not gleam, it would still shine.

As for quietly nourishing their meridians anywhere and anytime as Jiang Ding did, that required at least minor mastery of the Young Eagle Takes Flight Formula.

Half an hour later,

Instructor Zhang Dingjun returned with the fourteen Qi Refinement students. Seeing his students practicing noisily all over the ground, he could not help but reveal a look of surprise.

"Next, we will begin the cold-weapons test."

Zhang Dingjun said casually, "The total score is forty points. For the Inner Qi level, first place gets twenty-five points, second place gets twenty-three, and so on, with five points as the minimum."

"For the Qi Refinement level, the total score remains unchanged. First place gets thirty-five points, second gets thirty-three, and so on, with twenty points as the minimum."

"Of course, Banyan City has limited local conditions, so this is a simplified examination procedure." Zhang Dingjun explained, "In first-tier major cities, or in the college entrance examination, candidates enter the education-network zone of the Grand Void Illusory Realm to fight. Every placement from first to last receives a different score."

"Now, the Inner Qi level assessment begins."

Pointing at Jiang Ding, Zhang Dingjun said, "Jiang Ding is ranked first in the Inner Qi cold-weapons assessment. Does anyone disagree and wish to challenge him?"

The students exchanged looks. Some were unwilling to accept it, but none had any intention of stepping forward.

They had grown used to being beaten down in every cultivation class. They truly had no confidence of winning, and it was better to save their strength and fight for a good ranking.

"I'll do it, damn it."

Sun Xiao held a gleaming silver metal spear in one hand and snorted coldly. "My Heavenflow Spear has reached minor mastery. I refuse to believe—"

Clang!

Jiang Ding drew his sword halfway. A faint white glow appeared along its blade.

Inner Qi!

"Jiang Ding broke through to the Inner Qi realm?"

"Damn! No wonder his heavy machine-gun shooting score leaped so much earlier!"

The students around them buzzed with discussion, their curses full of envy.

At this stage, there were only three Inner Qi martial artists in the class. Including Jiang Ding, that made four.

Of course, this was also because First High School had strong faculty and specialized in teaching Qi Refinement students and academic subjects. Many students with excellent martial arts aptitude chose Banyan City No. 7 High School instead. Many teachers there were Innate martial artists and were better at teaching that field.

"...refuse to believe... no..."

Sun Xiao silently put away his silver spear and retreated into the crowd.

"Anyone else?"

Zhang Dingjun continued asking, not the least bit surprised.

After waiting a while and seeing no one speak, he continued, "Second place in the Inner Qi level: Sun Xiao. Does anyone disagree?"

"Yes!"

"I want to challenge him."

The moment he finished speaking, Li Hu and Liu Meimei, both Inner Qi martial artists, stepped forward without the slightest fear.

Sun Xiao's expression darkened another shade. Taking out his silver spear, he walked toward the two of them.

Amid clashing weapons, victories and defeats emerged one after another. Even when someone occasionally made a mistake, before their weapon could touch a bulletproof vest, a shield formed by Zhang Dingjun's mere thought blocked it, leaving no injuries whatsoever.

Jiang Ding stood silently with his sword at his side, tempering and nourishing his meridians.

The Inner Qi matches ended quickly as his progress sped along. Sun Xiao took second place, Li Hu third... and Li Junhao, unsurprisingly, came last and received the guaranteed five points.

"Qi Refinement test."

Zhang Dingjun pointed at Hua Bing. "Student Hua Bing is at the sixth level of Qi Refinement and ranks first in the Qi Refinement cold-weapons assessment. Does anyone disagree?"

Everyone turned their gazes toward Wu Tianli.

He was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, the only person who could pose a threat to Hua Bing.

"I agree."

Wu Tianli looked at Hua Bing, his voice incomparably gentle. Even a fool could understand his feelings.

"So handsome..."

The girls around them instantly turned sour with jealousy.

Hua Bing frowned, displeasure appearing on her valiant little face.

I'm at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, I have a high-grade magical artifact, and my Foundation Establishment father has taught me since childhood. Why are you making it sound as though you handed first place to me?

But she could not say anything. How irritating.

"Student Hua Bing, please enlighten me."

A fourth-level Qi Refinement student stepped forward holding an inkstone. This was also the defensive magical artifact Immortal Sect cultivators most liked to equip. Besides, more exchanges with other cultivators were always beneficial, regardless of victory or defeat.

"Student Luo Feng, be careful."

With a flick of Hua Bing's sword fingers, a silver flying sword flashed into existence from nowhere. It chopped straight into the inkstone, forcing him back several steps, then pursued relentlessly. Its sword light turned into threads of silk, rapidly grinding away the spiritual glow on the inkstone.

After only a few breaths, Luo Feng staggered backward. Yet the silver flying sword still found an opening, knocked the inkstone flying, pierced the shield, and came to a steady halt before his chest.

"I lost."

Luo Feng sighed and retrieved the inkstone.

The instant the silver flying sword emerged, Jiang Ding felt every hair on his body stand on end and a chill run down his spine.

The flying sword was not especially fast. It was still some distance from the speed of sound, and his eyes could barely keep up with its flight path. But it was too nimble, too sharp!

His thoughts could turn, but his body simply could not react in time. One exchange was enough to send a head rolling!

Next came raining sword light, dancing red ribbons, enormous shields blocking the field, and drifting spiritual radiance. Compared with the clanging battles among the muscle-bound martial artists below the Inner Qi realm, it was practically immortal mist curling through the air, its technical depth beyond measure.

It was not until the students at the first and second levels of Qi Refinement began competing that Jiang Ding barely regained a little confidence.

Their flying swords and throwing knives moved only a little faster than arrows, and they were not all that agile either. If he could land repeated hits, he was confident he could shake the divine sense off their magical artifacts.

But there was nothing to be proud of.

Immortal Sect Qi Refinement cultivators chiefly devoted their efforts to tank driving, anti-aircraft machine-gun operation, and the like. Cold-weapons combat was merely an elective hobby.