Chapter 64: Ultimate Counterattack
Chapter 64: Ultimate Counterattack (Please Keep Reading)
"Whoosh!"
The trainee swung his silver longspear, his figure dashing forward like a car speeding down a highway.
A torrent of momentum erupted from him, channeling into his spear techniques. The sweeping, wide-ranged strikes aimed straight at Lin Qi like a thunderous storm.
A sharp sense of peril enveloped Lin Qi.
Yet he remained calm, his body exploding forward like a black panther, leaving behind two phantom silhouettes in the arena.
The spear danced like a flowing dragon, brimming with deadly intent.
Lin Qi unleashed force. The spear trembled, its tip darting like a viper striking from its nest.
He had already analyzed the trainee's spear techniques—they had surpassed the Second Stage, hovering around 10% of that realm when converted to status panel metrics.
For any ordinary martial artist newly breaking into the Second Stage, victory would be impossible.
But Lin Qi wasn’t ordinary.
"Boom!"
The clash of longspears exploded with power, sending both combatants reeling backward.
In this skill assessment, both contestants shared identical life force and body constitution—the only variable was pure technique.
"Blocked!"
Lin Qi skidded to a halt, his feet scorching the ground, before launching forward again. The spear twirled, its tip flickering as it lashed out in dozens of consecutive strikes.
Cloud Piercer!
"Clang! Clang!"
Facing Lin Qi’s assault, the trainee rooted himself like a mountain, his longspear sweeping upward like a rising peak, forming an impenetrable defensive dome.
Lin Qi’s strikes rained down, but the trainee parried each one with roaring gusts of wind.
"His spear techniques are truly formidable!"
Even as his attack was repelled, Lin Qi patiently probed for openings.
He unleashed the Mountain-Shattering Spear Method in full, its sweeping motions and seamless transitions growing faster, more ferocious.
The arena trembled under the onslaught.
...
Meanwhile, in another assessment chamber.
Two figures collided with equal intensity. Jiang Tao, clad in a golden combat suit, swung his battlesaber with his long reach, slicing downward in a crushing arc.
His opponent, Trainee No. 8, wore a white suit and raised his battlesaber like a mountain rising from the earth, weaving a defense as heavy as a thousand peaks.
"His blade techniques are incredible!"
Jiang Tao furrowed his brow, feeling the unyielding pressure of an ironclad fortress.
He had lost to this opponent before.
Though his blade techniques had improved significantly, defeating him remained a daunting challenge.
"I wonder how long Brother Qi can hold out", he mused, thinking of Lin Qi. "How long can he survive against his evaluator?"
"No, I need to endure longer—and win. I must triumph!"
Seeing Lin Qi’s current strength ignited a fierce determination within him.
His gaze hardened.
...
"Boom!!"
In the assessment arena, the white-clad trainee raised his silver longspear high, its descent like a collapsing sky.
Leap Sky!
Lin Qi braced himself, crossing his spear in defense. The collision thundered as force coursed through his arms, sending him sliding backward a dozen paces, his limbs numb.
He narrowed his eyes. Though their body constitutions were equal, the trainee’s mastery of spear techniques allowed him to accumulate overwhelming power.
"Whoosh!"
The trainee surged forward like an arrow, his longspear channeling titanic force into a single thrust—like a raging tidal surge tearing through the air.
The tip cleaved through the atmosphere with a shriek.
The ultimate strike—Raging Sea Collapse Thrust!
Here it comes!
Lin Qi’s eyes flashed. He sensed the lethal danger, as though the entire sea would swallow him whole.
Yet he stood his ground, his stance rooted like a mountain, his waist coiling power.
"Hoo—"
The moment the trainee closed the distance, the spear’s cold tip gleamed, the wind of death howling.
Lin Qi erupted. His strike was like a Ten-Thousand-Ton Thunder Thrust, unstoppable.
A devastating cleave, like a mountain crushing down or a shattered peak collapsing.
The ultimate strike—Mountain-Shattering Cleave!
A storm of wind roared as their weapons collided.
The force reverberated through their bodies.
Lin Qi twisted midair, but the trainee tightened his grip, correcting his spear’s trajectory to strike again.
A faint smirk tugged at Lin Qi’s lips. To him, the trainee’s movements slowed to half-speed.
Twisting his body, he landed with a stomp, his longspear lashing out in a return strike.
Fundamental Spear Manual—Rearmount Thrust!
"Spurt—"
A sharp pain seared Lin Qi’s neck as the trainee’s blade sliced across his skin, blood spraying.
But at the same moment, his longspear impaled the trainee’s chest, piercing the heart. Blood erupted from the wound.
[Trainee '8' has been eliminated!]
The AI voice echoed as the trainee’s form dissolved into nothingness.
Lin Qi pressed his hand to his neck, the wound sealing rapidly.
That was close. The carotid artery had nearly been severed.
But in the end, he prevailed.
"In a real fight, I might’ve won... or lost", he murmured, waiting silently for the next round.
Moments later, the white-clad trainee reappeared, the number on his chest now "9."
[Assessment Objective: Defeat Trainee No. 9!]
[3... 2... 1...]
[Assessment Begin!]
...
"Ha! I won, though barely a draw", Jiang Tao exited the neural pod, his face flushed with excitement. Others had already emerged, the next group filing in.
He locked onto Lin Qi’s pod, seeing his friend stepping out.
"Brother Qi, this time I’m sure of it—I won!" Jiang Tao declared confidently.
Lin Qi smiled faintly. "We’ll see."
"Both Lin Qi and Jiang Tao reached Trainee No. 8, and both broke through to the Second Stage", someone whispered.
"Of course it’s Jiang Tao", another replied.
Hearing the chatter, Jiang Tao felt smug. Advantage was his—he’d win for sure.
Lin Qi remained silent, waiting patiently.
Since the assessment didn’t reset, the evaluations progressed faster this time.
Zhang Cheng stood up.
"I declare the martial arts assessment concluded! Return to training or your classrooms. Results will be announced shortly."
As the crowd dispersed, Lin Qi returned to the training hall, changed into his uniform, and resumed spear drills.
After defeating Trainee No. 8, he faced No. 9—whose spear techniques had surged even higher.
Lin Qi adopted a defensive stance from the start, learning from his previous defeat.
Still, he only lasted a few seconds longer before being eliminated.
Even Wang Qiufeng, the strongest in Tianhai, had never left him so overwhelmed.
"Trainee No. 9’s spear techniques must be around 20% of the Second Stage. I’m only at 2%. No matter how strong my innate talent for combat, it’s insufficient", Lin Qi mused. His path in spear techniques was still long.
...
An hour later, the Elite Class classroom buzzed with restless chatter.
Lin Qi entered to find most classmates already assembled.
"Why hasn’t the result come out yet? This wait is killing me—I can’t focus on training", someone griped.
"I wonder how my ranking improved. I’m curious about my position across Cang Province", another whispered anxiously.
They hoped to distract themselves, but nervous energy filled the air.
Moments later, Headteacher Yan Hong and Zhang Cheng entered, silencing the room.
Yan Hong strode to the podium, Zhang Cheng beside her.
"No need for speeches. Here are the results!"
With a wave, the scores projected onto the air. Heartbeats quickened, palms sweated, as everyone scrambled to find their names.
(End of Chapter)
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