Heavy Machine Gun

More than ten minutes later, Jiang Ding's arms began to tremble, aching unbearably. Around him came the thuds of firearms hitting the ground, only for them to be picked up again under the instructor's furious bellow.

The hundred-odd kilograms he had not cared about at first now weighed as heavily as a mountain.

Jiang Ding refused to think about the pain in his body. He focused his mind on the dynamic visualization diagram in his head. Each muscle operated in orderly sequence like a gear, while one mechanics formula after another flashed into existence and vanished.

Gradually, he entered a state of lucid emptiness.

The soreness in his body disappeared. He thought of nothing; only the giant of mechanics in his mind turned quietly and methodically.

"Time's up!"

Amid the overlapping thuds of heavy machine guns falling to the ground, Jiang Ding opened his eyes, and his body shuddered.

A flood of muscle pain surged over him, nearly drowning him. It took him quite a while to recover before he lowered the heavy machine gun in fits and starts.

"Holy shit, Jiang Ding's amazing. He didn't drop it once in twenty minutes."

"His Vajra Seal didn't even deform. He seems stronger than some of the students at the Inner Qi Realm..."

Jiang Ding drew countless astonished looks.

"Not bad!"

Zhang Dingjun praised him without stint. "Your Vajra Seal should have made a breakthrough. Remember this feeling—it will help you step into the Inner Qi Realm."

"Yes, Instructor!"

Jiang Ding answered loudly, joy filling his heart.

He knew this was related to the Broken Sword Tip. It had greatly strengthened his comprehension. This time, he had caught the flashes of inspiration that had appeared many times before but always slipped from his grasp.

"Now, Hidden Sword Form!"

After the students had rested for a while, Zhang Dingjun roared again.

Jiang Ding stood still and made the motion of sheathing a longsword, slowly closing his eyes.

The Hidden Sword Form among the Nine Great Sword Forms!

It could relax the muscles, store up strength, and conceal one's aura. It was far more effective than any massage or tendon-stretching treatment.

The other students assumed various poses as well. Some mimed lowering spears, while others brought hammers down toward the ground. All were variations of the Hidden Sword Form.

The difference was that some quickly entered the state, their muscles easing and receiving rest, while others merely shut their eyes and struck a pose, their bodies twitching now and then as they uselessly drained themselves.

Zhang Dingjun swept his gaze over Li Junhao and several others, secretly frowning, but said nothing.

He knew that since these people had entered First High School despite their poor martial arts cultivation, their academic scores must have been decent. Even so, he did not like it.

"Release!"

At the shout, Jiang Ding opened his eyes. The intense pain in his sore arms and knee joints had eased, leaving him temporarily unharmed.

"Next is live-fire shooting. I've set up targets at a distance of 4,500 meters. Each person is limited to two hundred rounds." Zhang Dingjun paused, then sternly said, "No matter what happens, do not point your gun at a fellow student!"

"No matter the reason, no matter how justified you think you are, no matter how great the grievance you have suffered."

"First time, warning. Second time, disciplinary record. Third time, immediate expulsion!"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, Instructor!" Jiang Ding and the others answered loudly.

"Free activity."

Zhang Dingjun waved a hand. His figure flashed, and he flew toward the students at the Qi Refinement Realm side using the Wind-Riding Art.

Jiang Ding picked up the heavy machine gun from the ground and walked toward the firing point, casually opening the Swallow-1 drone case at his waist.

A swallow the size of a palm lay at the bottom of the case, its eyes gleaming like gemstones.

Bluetooth connected to the panoramic helmet.

"Activate."

Jiang Ding selected the activation button in his helmet display.

The Swallow-1's eyes moved. It swiftly completed its self-check, flapped its wings, and flew into the sky. At the same time, image after image appeared within the panoramic helmet.

Compared with the drone Jiang Ding had bought online, this one was more precise and had better image quality. He could even clearly see ants crawling on the ground. Beyond that, it could locate and mark even stationary hidden targets.

Very soon, targets 4,500 meters away came into view. Some were human-sized and standing, some prone, and some hidden behind large trees.

"I really envy you."

Li Junhao dragged his heavy machine gun along behind him listlessly. Simply holding the gun and standing still was difficult for him. His Hidden Sword Form was not practiced well enough for him to get any rest, making this class a form of torture.

"I'll say it again: keep a regular schedule and keep exercising." Jiang Ding glanced at him. "Skin tempering and flesh tempering are the beginning of martial arts. How hard can it be to break through them? Keep at it, and you'll gain something."

"Besides, your academic scores are so high. That's a huge help in practicing martial arts."

A hesitant expression appeared on Li Junhao's face.

Jiang Ding reached the firing point and lay down. He set up the heavy machine gun, loaded the ammunition belt, pressed his left eye to the scope, and aimed at Target Number One.

Holding his breath, he circulated the Vajra Seal through his entire body to stabilize himself, then used Thousand-Thread Guidance to adjust the firearm.

Thousand-Thread Guidance had currently only been cultivated to the proficient level of "Ten Threads," allowing him to divide one force into ten portions.

Bang!

Amid muzzle flash and the smell of gunpowder, the bullet left the barrel and shot into the distance at over 2,000 meters per second. Two and a half seconds later, it reached the target.

It missed.

"Wind speed..."

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

At that moment, he truly envied cultivators, who had specialized spells for manipulating firearms. Divine sense and spiritual power gave them formidable control precision, allowing them to easily achieve a perfect score of forty points in light weapons.

Cultivators worked toward tank driving and control. They were born standing at the endpoint of martial artists.

Bang!

The second shot, the third shot...

He finally hit the target on the sixth shot, blasting its head into fragments scattered across the ground.

After taking a moment to recover, he aimed at another target that moved unpredictably at the speed of a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator using the Wind-Riding Art. He repeatedly pulled the trigger. The thunderous gunfire did not cease, and shell casings flew through the air.

This was even harder. It took more than fifty rounds before he managed to blast it apart.

"This..."

Jiang Ding frowned.

A real third-level Qi Refinement cultivator would be far more cunning than a target. They had divine sense with a coverage range of around thirty meters, as well as the Yuanwang spell. Even if heavy machine gun rounds traveled at several times the speed of sound, they could see them clearly and predict their path in advance to evade or take cover.

"They really are impossible to match..."

With a sigh, Jiang Ding continued practicing. The students around him kept firing, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He did not dare waste ammunition like that again. After each shot, he stopped to ponder slowly and carefully feel the immense recoil of the heavy machine gun. He used the Vajra Seal to neutralize it, observed the wind speed, humidity, and other conditions, then used Thousand-Thread Guidance to adjust the heavy machine gun bit by bit.

Practicing the two martial skills was just this repetitive and tedious.

More than two hours later.

At around eleven in the morning, during the fourth class, Zhang Dingjun returned from the Qi Refinement Realm students. He carried a refined steel battle axe over two meters tall in one hand.

He called the students over and had them form a circle.

"Cold weapons—sabers, spears, swords, halberds, staves, and the like—are not very useful on the battlefield. They only have some use in a very few special circumstances." Zhang Dingjun lifted the battle axe with one hand. "But the enemies of the Immortal Sect use them, and they are mainstream. Artifact flying swords, artifact shields, artifact water beads, and such are equally terrifying in power."

"That is why the Immortal Sect established cold weapon electives. You do not have to use them, but you must understand them. They are worth forty points on the college entrance examination."

"Ready stance."

Zhang Dingjun placed the battle axe diagonally. "The Young Eagle Takes Flight Formula is a cultivation method that combines training and combat. Many martial skills of the Immortal Sect are derived and specialized from it, such as my Long-Armed Ape Axe."

Hum!

The battle axe slashed diagonally, detonating the air and creating a gale that spread in all directions, making the clothes of the surrounding students flap wildly. Then it swept sideways, forcibly cleaving apart the newly rising gale until not a single direction stirred.

"Next, freely choose opponents for sparring. Whoever lands their weapon on the opponent's torso wins." Zhang Dingjun lifted another piece of camouflage cloth, revealing a pile of cold weapons beneath it.

Jiang Ding stepped forward and unhesitatingly chose a steel sword about a meter long.

With the sword hilt in hand, he inexplicably felt much safer.

The other students also selected their own cold weapons. There was every sort imaginable. Li Junhao in particular had chosen a pair of meteor hammers as his primary cold weapons.

After everyone had chosen their weapons, they did not begin sparring immediately. Gaze after gaze shot toward Jiang Ding.

"Jiang Ding!" Sun Xiao, captain of the First Squad, held a two-meter steel spear and revealed a faint smile. "How about a round?"

He had reached minor accomplishment in the Inner Qi Realm, placing him among the strongest of the Inner Qi Realm martial artists in the class.

An Inner Qi Realm fighter challenging a Bone Tempering Realm fighter did not surprise the surrounding students. They gathered around.

"Sun Xiao wants to challenge him again? How many times has he lost already?"

"The others are no different. Those Inner Qi Realm martial artists must have practiced themselves into dogs if they still can't beat a Bone Tempering Realm fighter."

"Bullshit. Why don't you go up? You don't even have Inner Qi..."

Compared to endless problem sets and repetitive machine gun firing, this kind of real blade-and-blood combat was far more capable of stirring the hot blood of young people.

With the longsword in hand, Jiang Ding's heart calmed. He nodded.

"Fine."

Whoosh!

The steel spear in Sun Xiao's hand became like a twisting, slithering long snake. In an instant, it lunged three times in succession, the three thrusts forming starlike points of light that shot toward Jiang Ding's body.

Li Junhao held his breath. From his perspective, the silver light merely flashed past. There was no time at all to react.

Clang!

Clang!

Jiang Ding drew his sword. A perfect arc flashed forth, precisely blocking the side of the spearhead. His steps slid like flowing water. As he deflected most of the force, he struck again with his sword and knocked aside the spearhead once more.

With another turn of his footwork, he evaded the third thrust and swiftly closed into the inside of the steel spear.

Sword Unfurling Form!

Step Sword Form!

"Damn it! Again with this? Sun Xiao's speed and strength are clearly far greater than his, so how does he keep dodging?" Several sword-wielding students nearby widened their eyes, unconvinced.

Sun Xiao's face darkened. He swiftly retreated, then suddenly thrust his entire body forward. White light flickered, and his speed more than doubled as he flashed into Jiang Ding's embrace.

Returning Horse Spear!

"Sun Xiao learned a new martial skill? No wonder he had the guts to challenge him." Li Junhao cried out.

"Not worth it. He might as well practice the Young Eagle Takes Flight Formula more and enter the next realm..." Someone shook his head.

A trace of surprise appeared in Jiang Ding's eyes. He turned sideways, and the longsword scraped fiercely against the side of the spearhead, sparks flashing. The Returning Horse Spear immediately struck empty air.

The sword light flowed like water, racing along the spear shaft. It quickly neared Sun Xiao's fingers, its edge icy cold.

Sun Xiao's expression changed. He had no choice but to let go, allowing the spear to fall to the ground. Before he could do anything else, a streak of sword light flashed and stopped directly at his throat, against his bulletproof camouflage uniform.

"I lost." Sun Xiao took a deep breath.

Silver light flashed as Jiang Ding sheathed his sword and looked around.

"He lost again. Damn, what a monster!" The surrounding students cursed inwardly, but none dared step forward. They knew they would be defeated in an instant if they went up.

"I'll do it!"

Suppressed by a Bone Tempering Realm martial artist, Li Hu, captain of the Third Squad, could not save face. He grabbed a large axe and charged in with a chop.

Clang!

Clang, clang!

After five moves, the longsword stopped at his throat.

"I'll do it!"

Another Inner Qi Realm student stepped forward. After a burst of clanging strikes, he was defeated as well.

One after another, nearly all the students went up. Some lasted six or seven moves, some only one or two, but every battle ended in an extremely short time.

"I'm done playing!"

"You animal!"

By the end, no one was willing to spar with Jiang Ding anymore. He alone found an open patch of ground and practiced swordsmanship.

Zhang Dingjun moved among the various fights, offering occasional pointers and correcting the students' techniques for exerting force and exchanging moves.