One Sword, Instant Kill—You're the Strongest Sequence, Part 31

Su Xing stood beneath the warm sunlight, brushing his teeth while scrolling through his phone to check how many classes he had today. Only when he was nearly done brushing did he put down the phone and spit out all the foam in his mouth.

Seeing his increasingly energetic reflection in the mirror, Su Xing touched his face and said,

"What a shame. There are only three kendo classes today."

"Forget it. There's still plenty of time before the first class. I'll go practice my sword first. I need to max out [Thrust] today."

There had been less and less news about the murder cases lately, and their area had returned to its former peace. Quite a few kendo instructors had asked the dojo owner to end their leave and let them return to work.

But unfortunately,

the dojo owner saw that Su Xing alone could handle all the work. For the sake of the dojo's interests, he decisively fired every one of them. Su Xing had no objection to this. Though his former colleagues had gotten a raw deal, it was nothing but good news for him. At least no one would come compete with him for kendo points anymore.

Pushing open his door, Su Xing was about to head to the training hall and begin today's sword practice when—

he suddenly heard faint voices drifting from Su Yu's room. One male voice and one female voice—it was clearly Su Yu and Shen Ruyun discussing something early in the morning.

If Su Xing had not happened to pass by,

an ordinary person would never have been able to hear what they were saying.

Su Yu had run out in the middle of the night for a meeting yesterday. They were probably discussing matters related to the special department even now. With that thought, Su Xing stopped and prepared to listen to what they were talking about.

"Are you sure you're not going to tell your brother about us?"

"He may have already learned some information about us from that mysterious expert."

Shen Ruyun spoke softly.

Hearing Shen Ruyun's words, Su Yu shook his head and sighed.

"You said yourself that it's only a possibility. Besides... even if my brother does know something about the supernatural world, isn't he still an ordinary person?"

"I just want to protect him and let him live out his life simply like this. If I tell him about these things, he might start worrying about me and do something foolish. That wouldn't be good."

"Sigh, it's your decision."

"If you don't tell him, then keep it hidden. The upcoming mission might not be easy. Maybe it's a good thing that he doesn't know."

Su Xing stood in the corridor and listened to their whispered conversation. Only after the room fell silent again did he leave for the training hall. Yet his mind kept turning over Su Yu and Shen Ruyun's words.

What the hell...

The special department thought he had obtained information about them from some mysterious expert?

Su Xing had no idea why the special department had drawn such a conclusion from what he said yesterday.

But he did not care how the special organization guessed at his identity. More important than that was the word "mission" Shen Ruyun had mentioned.

So...

Was Su Yu going to carry out some mission with the special organization?

Honestly, although the special organization would protect Su Yu, Su Xing had experienced several battles himself. He knew that when a fight broke out, things would not necessarily go smoothly. Something could happen at any moment, and that worried him somewhat.

Su Xing muttered, "How about... I secretly follow them?"

His identity had not been exposed yet.

If he wanted to go along, then he would need to pay closer attention to Su Yu's movements in the coming days.

As Su Xing thought, he picked up the sword he used most often and began practicing strike after strike. After he had thrust more than ten times, Su Yu and Shen Ruyun slowly emerged from the room. When they saw Su Xing, they greeted him.

"Morning, bro."

"Morning, Brother Su."

Su Xing also set down his sword and greeted them.

Then he resumed practicing on his own. One thrust, two thrusts, three thrusts... Only when a new system notification finally appeared did Su Xing put down the sword in his hand and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

[Your profession skill "Thrust lv5" proficiency +1]

[Congratulations, your profession skill "Thrust lv5" has leveled up to "Thrust lv6"]

[Thrust lv6 (Mastered)]

Su Xing closed his eyes tightly. At once, he felt a flood of information pouring into his mind.

The little figure in his mind began thrusting its sword once more. But perhaps because the level of [Thrust] was now too low for Su Xing, the little figure stopped after only ten or so days. A deeper understanding of the move [Thrust] gradually seeped into Su Xing's brain and muscle memory.

After this improvement, Su Xing gradually came to understand the direction in which [Thrust] could develop.

He suddenly felt that his decision to raise [Thrust] to the second tier had definitely been correct. He was only a single kendo point away from advancing it. Su Xing took out his phone and checked the time, muttering inwardly,

It's about time for class.

Su Xing first returned to his room and carried all the streaming equipment into the training hall.

Then, as usual, he turned on the equipment, opened the online classroom, and waited for the students to enter one by one. After confirming everyone was present, he began teaching.

Perhaps because he had something to look forward to, Su Xing felt that today's classes passed especially quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was time to dismiss the final class. As usual, Su Xing stood before the camera, sheathed his sword, and said,

"Class dismissed."

"Goodbye, Coach Su!"

[Kendo Points: 3]

Seeing the change in the [Kendo Points] section of the system panel, Su Xing finally turned off the stream. He looked at the setting sun outside, which had begun to glow gold, then immediately rested his sword against the rack and headed into his room.

He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of sword skill [Thrust] would evolve into.

After returning to his room, Su Xing took out three boxes of biscuits and placed them beside him before sitting cross-legged against the bed.

From his experience, when upgrading a sword skill such as [Thrust], although [Mortal Sword] would replenish him and his body would not fall into the weakened state it had when he first upgraded [White-Line Slash], he would still feel hungry. It never hurt to keep some food nearby.

"Whew."

Su Xing exhaled a hot breath and muttered, "I hope... I wasn't wrong."

The moment his words fell,

a pale blue panel abruptly appeared before Su Xing's eyes.

[Sword Saint Profession System]

[Name: Su Xing]

[Age: 22]

[Profession: Swordsman, Dojo Instructor]

[Profession Skills: White-Line Slash lv1 (178/2000), Thrust lv6 (Mastered), Draw-Sword Stance lv1 (12/2000), Mortal Sword lv1 (16/30000)]

[Kendo Points: 3]

Su Xing said calmly, "System, add a point."

The [Kendo Points] count abruptly changed from three to two. At the same time, a surge of power flowed into the profession skill [Thrust].

The black lettering that had read [Thrust] suddenly blurred and twisted, as if kneaded at will by an invisible pair of hands, before ultimately forming two entirely new characters.

[Congratulations, your profession skill "Thrust lv6" has advanced to "Piercing lv1"]

[Piercing lv1 (1/2000)]

Late at night, 3:24 a.m.

In the bathroom, water mixed with foam swirled down the drain.

Before the mirror, a young man stood bare-chested after his shower, quietly examining his body. His hand slowly ran over the muscles that had begun to rise across his frame, feeling the violent power contained within them.

As Su Xing's palm brushed over his skin,

the thick blue veins beneath it seemed to respond, faintly pulsing.

Bright moonlight streamed through the window and fell across Su Xing's body, making each of his muscles glint silver. He looked like a killing machine, cold and imposing.

"Having a little more muscle does look more handsome."

Su Xing withdrew his gaze, excitement stirring in his heart.

The advancement of [Thrust] into [Piercing] had given his previously lean body, shaped by [Mortal Sword], a little more definition. It was not much, but it radiated strength.

Su Xing looked at himself in the mirror, took a deep breath, then walked out of the bathroom. He casually grabbed a pure black shirt and left the dojo.

He wanted to test the exact effects of [Piercing].

Ten minutes later, atop the hill where he had fought Xue Cheng, Su Xing held his black sword before a mountainside wall and assumed the opening stance of [Piercing].

Buzz!

His right foot stepped forward, and Su Xing thrust out his black sword, swift as crashing thunder.

Boom!

The black sword shot forward, tearing through the air with such force that it let out a sharp hiss before slamming viciously into the rock wall. In the blink of an eye, it was as though the wall had been struck by a massive hammer, and a huge crater appeared instantly.

But it was not over yet. The shattered rocks within the crater began bubbling as though they were boiling, producing tiny, densely packed bubbles. Then the stones amid those bubbles seemed to be annihilated, gradually vanishing before Su Xing's eyes and making the pit grow deeper and deeper.

"So this is Piercing?"

Su Xing narrowed his eyes slightly, excitement flashing across his face.