Chapter 196: Passed!
Wang Chong’s feet swept below, causing a cloud of dust to rise up and conceal his own figure.
This move was abrupt and it caused the instructor to frown in astonishment.
Peng! In the next moment, a gleam of light flashed and a figure wielding a sword dashed forward.
“This again?”
The instructor chuckled lightly. Instead of dodging, he allowed Wang Chong to come straight toward him.
But the situation was a little different this time. Instead of maneuvering to the instructor’s back, he attacked right from the front.
Hong! Hong! Hong!
The sword and finger clashed, producing deafening reverberations. Wang Chong’s sword qi couldn’t break the instructor’s ‘Ten Directional Lightning Fingers’ at all.
But this time, his movements were considerably different from before. Center, up, down, left, right, lower sweep... Wang Chong’s offense seemed to follow some kind of rule.
Klang!
The metallic call of a sword echoed, and Wang Chong’s sword technique abruptly changed. Gathering all of his strength, he slashed at the instructor’s back waist.
“Haha, it’s useless.”
The instructor chuckled lightly. He turned around, and while one hand worked to keep Wang Chong’s sword at bay, the other stretched forward to grab his wrist.
The disparity in their strength was simply too great. Wang Chong’s offense didn’t pose a threat at all.
Weng!
Just as the instructor was about to lock Wang Chong’s movements, an abrupt change occurred. Without any apparent reason, the instructor’s fingers suddenly slowed. It was a completely impossible situation, but his movement speed abruptly slowed by innumerable folds, as though he had run low of Origin Energy.
This slight change caused the instructor’s face to darken.
On the other hand, Wang Chong seemed to have known this would happen. Chi! Making use of this opportunity, he raised his sword and it swept through a radius of three chi in front of him.
Hong long!
An immense might suddenly burst from the instructor’s body, knocking Wang Chong along with his sword away.
The cloud of dust slowly settled and tranquility was restored to the mountain. A small piece of cloth fell from the instructor’s waist.
“Lad, how did you do it?”
That instructor stared at Wang Chong with an incomparably awful expression. He had always been a composed and casual person, but when Wang Chong managed to cut off a piece of cloth from his waist, he couldn’t maintain his calm any longer.
“Intuition!”
Wang Chong chuckled as he uttered out a single word.
He knew what the other party was trying to say. In truth, the ‘Ten Directional Lightning Fingers’ had its flaws as well. Or rather, to be more exact, the nature of this ultimate art made it extremely difficult to cultivate; one had to open up a net-like meridian connections throughout one’s body to operate this technique, and before one fully masters this technique, this ultimate art would have a fatal flaw.
From the first collision, Wang Chong had already deduced that the instructor hadn’t fully mastered the ‘Ten Directional Lightning Fingers’ yet. He hadn’t cultivated the meridians at the right of his back waist yet and so, the meridians weren’t knocked open yet.
Usually, such a flaw wouldn’t pose as much of a problem. However, if one were to use a special method and guide the Origin Energy in his body along a specific meridian toward the right of his back waist, it could cause a jam in his flow of Origin Energy. The other party would face a sudden deficiency in his Origin Energy, and this could prove to be a fatal flaw in the midst of a battle.
However, this matter was way too astounding and inconceivable so Wang Chong wasn’t willing to reveal it.
“Intuition?”
The instructor fell into deep thoughts, but he slowly loosened his tightly knitted eyebrows, as though accepting his explanation. In the path of martial arts, there were indeed some exceptionally talented individuals who possessed intuition far beyond others. They could instinctively sense flaws in the movements of their opponents.
If Wang Chong possessed such talent as well, that would explain the previous situation.
“To be able to cut off a part of my robe through intuition, you’re indeed impressive. You pass.”
“Thank you, instructor.”
Delighted, Wang Chong hurriedly bowed.
“Un, wait by the side first. When the time comes, I’ll show you around Kunwu Training Camp. I won’t be bringing you all about too often so you have to familiarize yourself with the surroundings.”
The instructor said.
Wang Chong nodded and backed down. The tenseness finally felt his body, and he felt visibly more relaxed. With this, Wang Chong’s main aim at the Kunwu Training Camp had been accomplished.
“Gongzi, that person is too strong. I’m afraid that I might not be able to pass the test!”
When Wang Chong finally returned, Zhao Jingdian remarked with a frown.
He had been watching the scene from here, and even Wang Chong had struggled with the test. He would be even less likely to pass.
“You don’t need to worry!”
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Chong chuckled.
“Different people have different ways to passing the test. Although you won’t be able to imitate my method, it’s not like there aren’t other ways to go about doing it. Besides, have you realized it yet? From the start to the end, that person has been suppressing his strength and his cultivation has never exceeded that of Origin Energy realm.”
“This...”
Zhao Jingdian fell into deep thoughts.
“That person is at least a True Martial realm expert, and if he were to use his full strength, do you think that we’ll stand a chance? The three chances he spoke of is actually an opportunity he’s giving us. Otherwise, if he doesn’t intend to pass anyone at all, he need not go through so much trouble.”
Wang Chong said.
“I understand.”
Zhao Jingdian nodded his head. The test was extremely difficult but definitely not impossible.
All it demanded was additional effort and wits.
“Listen to me...”
Wang Chong pulled Zhao Jingdian to the side and whispered into his ears. Then, patting his shoulders, he said:
“I can only tell you so much. The rest is up to you!”
The test wasn’t easy, and the current Zhao Jingdian wasn’t the same as the one Wang Chong remembered from his previous life. The one before him was still inexperienced, but Wang Chong believed that some things would still remain the same.
His words might not mean much to other people, but he believed that Zhao Jingdian would understand the significance of it.
“Gongzi, I understand.”
Zhao Jingdian nodded.
Then, walking down the mountain, Zhao Jingdian didn’t rush into taking the test. Instead, he stood at the distance away from the area, cupped his chin, and studied the surroundings contemplatively.
“Instructor, I am Zhao Jingdian. I would like to give your test a try...”
Awhile later, Zhao Jingdian finally walked over and bowed deeply.
“Hehe, feel free to show me your moves!”
The instructor beckoned casually.
Even though Zhao Jingdian was a reticent person who spoke few words and looked a little slow on the uptake, he wasn’t weak at all. Similar to Wang Chong, he was an Origin Energy Tier 7 expert as well. Of the offsprings of Duke Jiu’s subordinates, among the younger generation, the only one who could surpass him was probably only Ye Yinping.
It was precisely because Zhao Jingdian’s cultivation was remarkable that Wang Chong persuaded him to give it a try.
A cloud of dust flew up. Zhao Jingdian’s fighting method differed from Wang Chong’s; his blows were frontal and forceful, but at the same time, they weren’t lacking liveliness or adaptability either.
From this, it could be seen that Zhao Jingdian’s talent was top-notch.
At the very least, he wasn’t too far off from Wang Chong.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two figures crossed blows swiftly, and after several breaths, a figure flew out as though a kite whose string was snapped.
Zhao Jingdian!
“Do you still wish to continue on?”
The instructor smiled. With a hand behind his back, he gestured majestically with the other. His movement carried the disposition of an unworldly expert.
“Again!”
Wiping away the slight trail of blood at the edge of his mouth, Zhao Jingdian charged forward once more.
His fighting method was clearly much different from a moment ago. It seemed to wield less force, but it gained a greater degree of flexibility and agility in return. However, he still couldn’t avoid the ultimate fate of being knocked back.
When Zhao Jingdian was sent flying again, Wang Chong, who was watching the proceedings by the side, finally frowned. There were only three tries for the examination, and Zhao Jingdian had already failed twice.
If he were to fail once more, he wouldn’t have any more chances left.
“Could my actions have harmed him instead?”
Wang Chong thought.
He could feel that the strength the instructor was displaying was slightly greater than before.
He was clearly biased against Zhao Jingdian.
The duo had been watching him for a very long time, and the instructor had already noticed it from the start. Perhaps it was due to Wang Chong’s influence, but the other party was clearly resolute to not allow Zhao Jingdian to pass.
“Zhao Jingdian, Horse Trampling the Barracks! ...”
Wang Chong suddenly shouted.
Weng!
Hearing Wang Chong’s words, Zhao Jingdian’s body jolted. He swiftly turned around to look at Wang Chong in shock, as though Wang Chong had spoken something incredible.
“What’s that?”
The instructor frowned. He glanced at Wang Chong in astonishment when ‘boom!’, a light flashed and a fearsome might rippled in the air. Origin Energy surged through Zhao Jingdian’s body, and as though a ferocious tiger, he pounced over.
The same move and the same fighting method, but yet, the instructor seemed to feel that something was very different amidst the familiarity.
Just as Zhao Jingdian seemed like he was about to be defeated once more, an abrupt change occurred. His body swayed and his aura surged, granting him a sudden burst of speed. In that instant, he split into two, then into three, leaving behind two after images on the spot. Boom! He avoided the instructor’s fist technique and dived straight toward him.
A powerful fist flew out and struck Zhao Jingdian’s chest, preventing him from coming any closer. But at the same time, two feet struck the instructor on his chest.
Hong long, Zhao Jingdian was knocked onto the ground and he spewed a mouthful of blood. His face was pale.
On the other hand, the instructor maintained the posture of his final attack. Glancing at the two footprints on his chest, a bizarre expression crept onto his face.
“You’ve won.”
After a long time, the instructor finally said.
Even though Zhao Jingdian’s kick hadn’t hurt him at all—it had barely tickled him—he was still defeated.
He didn’t expect Zhao Jingdian to break through his defense using such a bizarre double-edged move. Even though it could be considered as cheating, it was a fact that the other party had managed to leave behind two footprints on his body.
Going by the rules, he had indeed lost.
“This is the method that you’ve taught him?”
The instructor glanced at Wang Chong helplessly.
“Yes!”
Wang Chong’s didn’t deny the matter. He walked over to Zhao Jingdian and passed him a pill which he obtained from Six-fingered Zhang.
“Here, eat this pill!”
Explaining the usage of some words:
Usually, when I use ‘call of the sword’, call refers to more of a natural sound produced by the sword. For example, the crisp metallic ringing sound when you draw a sword, when you slash the sword through air etc.