Flying Sword!

Ghost.

There was a special event after the match ended!

What was the deal with that Little Boy?

And what was the Witch's Heart?

A wave of unease swept through Xu Yuan—

After all, at a "suitable time," he would take part in this event.

How exhausting.

—Because he knew nothing about it.

What counted as a suitable time?

Once his Spiritual Power was full and his strength had recovered?

Or—

Would the trial begin after he finished tomorrow morning's written Monthly Exam?

Forget it. No point thinking about it.

Xu Yuan took out a Spirit-Restoring Pill and popped it into his mouth. He sat cross-legged beside Zhao Afei and began regulating his breathing.

Pill-making techniques had grown quite advanced.

And cultivators at the Qi Refining stage didn't have much Spiritual Power to replenish.

Before long,

the four of them had restored their Spiritual Power. They opened their eyes and sat together to talk.

"I wonder what score we'll get—we did beat a monster at the ninth level of Qi Refining," Yang Xiaobing said with a sigh.

She spread her legs, leaned forward, and pressed her head down toward her knees to stretch.

Xu Yuan pulled her upright.

She stared at him, baffled.

"Don't do that. Do you know how many guys are sneaking looks?" Xu Yuan whispered.

Yang Xiaobing glanced around. Her face reddened slightly, and she obediently sat cross-legged.

"We disobeyed orders and acted on our own, but we also killed a ninth-level Qi Refining monster. The examiners will probably need to discuss it," Jiang Xueyao said thoughtfully.

"That doesn't earn full marks? What's there to discuss?" Zhao Afei asked in surprise.

"It depends on who gave the order to assemble. If it was a military order, we could be in trouble," Jiang Xueyao explained to him.

A shiver ran through Zhao Afei. He lowered his head and said nothing for a long time.

—Goddess Jiang had actually responded to him!

She'd done it on her own!

"What if it wasn't a military order?" Xu Yuan asked.

"We'll probably take first place," Jiang Xueyao said.

"In the school?" Yang Xiaobing asked.

"In the Eight-School Joint Examination, we should rank first among all eight schools. No one else has killed a ninth-level Qi Refining demon," Jiang Xueyao said.

"Hahaha!" Zhao Afei suddenly laughed. "My grandpa said that if I make the top hundred in our grade on the Monthly Exam, he'll give me a huge cash gift. I've got it in the bag!"

"Share it with everyone here," Xu Yuan said at once.

"I'll cover your breakfast from now on, brother!" Zhao Afei declared. "Lunch is on me today. Let's all eat something good!"

Xu Yuan shook his head.

—We don't even know our scores yet. Look how happy you are.

Still, a meal sounded good.

He turned to Yang Xiaobing and Jiang Xueyao.

"Sure," Yang Xiaobing said happily, linking arms with Jiang Xueyao. "We can eat together and talk about that fight."

"Okay," Jiang Xueyao agreed.

There were a few tactical details she wanted to ask Xu Yuan about.

And that final sword strike of his.

He had stood right on top of the pill furnace—

How had he even thought of that?

Yang Xiaobing took out a Talisman and patted it against Jiang Xueyao, then against herself.

It was a skin-care Talisman she had made herself.

—Dust removal, hydration, and skin softening: not one of the three could be left out.

Jiang Xueyao also took out a Talisman, patting it against Yang Xiaobing and then herself.

The two spoke quietly as they followed Xu Yuan and Zhao Afei toward the cafeteria.

Suddenly, a streak of light swept across the sky.

A Flying Boat!

It descended and stopped directly in front of the four of them.

A white-haired elder in Daoist robes smiled at them before speaking.

"Miss, the head of the household wants you to return and see him at once."

"I was about to eat with my classmates. Has something happened at home?" Jiang Xueyao asked.

"An emergency," the elder said.

Jiang Xueyao's expression shifted slightly, and she looked back at her three classmates.

"Family comes first. You should hurry back."

"Yeah."

"We can go over the fight another time."

The three spoke up at once.

Jiang Xueyao leaped aboard the Flying Boat.

The elder changed his hand seal. The Flying Boat shot into the sky and vanished into the distance.

"An Azure Sky S-Class Flying Vessel—you can't buy one even if you have the money. Her family must have a lot of influence. Hey, Xiao Bing, do you know what Jiang Xueyao's family does?"

Zhao Afei asked.

"No idea." Yang Xiaobing shook her head.

Zhao Afei was fascinated and about to ask more when a girl waved to him.

"You finished your exam too?"

Zhao Afei called out. Abandoning the others, he immediately ran over.

The two stood together and exchanged a few words, then slowly walked away side by side.

Just like that, they left.

Left.

They were gone...

"Wasn't he treating us?" Yang Xiaobing asked curiously.

"He betrayed our revolutionary friendship right to our faces. The guy cares more about girls than friends," Xu Yuan said with his arms folded, disgruntled.

There was nothing he could do.

He couldn't exactly drag Zhao Afei back.

"Forget it. Let's go eat."

"Okay."

The two got food at the cafeteria and found seats.

It was lunchtime.

The cafeteria was packed.

Plenty of seniors were excitedly discussing the group battle at the tops of their voices.

The first- and second-year students listened quietly, their faces showing both envy and fear.

They had entered an era of the past and faced a real disaster.

Demons of every shape and kind, all too real.

Every fight demanded their full attention. The slightest lapse could mean death.

Exams had rarely covered anything like this in the past few decades.

Even the College Entrance Examination seldom featured such questions.

Xu Yuan listened for a while. Hearing nothing worth noting, he focused on his food.

The cafeteria chopsticks were uniformly made using Artifact Refining methods. Each one bore several simple, forceful runes.

Xu Yuan tried picking up a quail egg with them.

It was effortless.

The egg even stuck to the chopsticks without slipping off.

—The chopsticks bore runes with the Object-Pinching attribute, keeping food from sliding free.

That made it easy to pick up oddly shaped food.

Students jokingly called them "clumsy-hands chopsticks."

Pretty interesting.

If Earth had these, they'd definitely be popular.

"Hey, Mom. What do you want for lunch? I'll bring you something from the cafeteria."

"Whatever? They don't serve a dish called 'whatever.'"

"...Okay, I know you're not hungry. I'll come by a little later."

Xu Yuan hung up.

He was about to eat when lines of faintly glowing text appeared silently in the air:

"Beginning redemption of rewards for the match: Nationwide Joint Examination (Hard Mode)."

"Three rewards in total. Matters concerning your survival will be redeemed first."

"The other two rewards may be viewed at any time."

"Congratulations."

"The postponement of the 'Nightmare' has been successfully redeemed."

"Details: Your performance tonight will delay the Nightmare-level match for a longer or shorter period."

"Please take this seriously."

The text flashed and vanished.

Xu Yuan sat stunned for several breaths.

—The delay could be "longer or shorter"?

Of course I want it delayed for a long, long, long, long, long time!

Better yet, let it happen ten years from now, when I'm all but certain to win the Nightmare match!

Wait.

My performance tonight!

Oh heavens, I don't have a girlfriend! How am I supposed to perform?

Forget it.

Whatever this meant, it couldn't hurt to start preparing early.

—Start preparing right now!

First things first.

"Use the special Spirit Treasure-grade reward."

Xu Yuan said it silently to himself.

On the shop shelves, the skills he had learned and the weapon he possessed appeared as expected:

"You brought the entire crowd to its feet during the match."

"For this performance, you may grant one piece of equipment or one skill a Spirit Treasure-grade 'upgrade.'"

"Current options:"

"Qiong Jia Sword, Swallow Song Sword Art, Flying Eaves Movement Technique, Inch Punch."

"Please choose."

"After selecting, place it on the 'upgrade shelf' and wait a few seconds for the process to complete."

Xu Yuan silently clenched his fists.

I've waited so long for this day (actually, not even a whole day).

That Swallow's Departure sword technique was downright embarrassing.

It sent the sword flying three meters to kill an enemy.

But what if it failed?

The sword wouldn't come back, damn it!

Was he supposed to prepare dozens of swords, strap them to his back, and keep "launching" them?

Tch.

He had no use for swordsmanship like that.

But there was one thing about it that had caught his eye—

Swallow's Departure carried a special description:

"Basic Flying Sword technique. Can be developed further."

In this world, Flying Sword techniques were extraordinarily rare and precious forms of swordsmanship!

Any one of them was worth passing down through a family.

They were powerful, closely guarded advanced combat sword arts that surpassed all ordinary skills.

It would never circulate in the world!

Xu Yuan took the matter seriously.

Since it was a Flying Sword, and it could "grow again," then—

"I choose the Swallow Song Sword Art."

Xu Yuan made his choice silently.

A booklet appeared on the shelf. Four large characters on its cover read "Swallow Song Sword Art."

Tiny, faintly glowing words flashed into view:

"'Spirit Treasure'-grade special reward used."

"While practicing the Swallow Song Sword Art, you gained a unique insight and created a new move, making it the art's fifth move."

"This sword technique is yours alone. Its name is—"

"Swallow's Departure."

"But your talent is extraordinary, surpassing that of many powerful figures before you."

"Through constant battle, you refined this move."

"Now your swordsmanship has shed its old skin and been reborn!"

"Congratulations."

"Your Swallow Song Sword Art has gained a sixth move, named:"

"Three Questions."

"Core Flying Sword technique. Can grow again."

"Effect: Your sword flies out and slashes three times in succession. Each slash is twice as powerful as the last, and you can recall the sword to your hand with a sword incantation."

"Note: At your current level of cultivation, this move will exhaust all the Spiritual Power you have left."

"In addition."

"Because you have mastered the secret of recalling a Flying Sword, your fifth move, Swallow's Departure, has also grown."

"After using Swallow's Departure, you can now recall your Flying Sword."

"Thus, the fifth move has been renamed Swallow's Return."

(End of chapter)