Chapter 79: Sparring

The status of a Senior Apprentice, the special recruitment training spot, one hundred thousand Fate Points per year, a Silver Quality weapon, and so on—these already exceeded the standard for an ordinary Senior Apprentice. These resources would not only make other apprentices envious, but even many instructors from branch halls would covet them. Sun Lei faced great pressure himself for recruiting Xu Feng with such generous conditions. If Xu Feng turned out to be flashy without substance, lacking in strength and potential, even though Sun Lei was the Hall Master, his reckless actions could lead to him being impeached.

Hearing Sun Lei’s words, Xu Feng smiled slightly and said, “Alright, I’ve been wanting to learn Hall Master Shi’s martial skills.”

Sun Lei had referred to elite disciples, but Xu Feng mentioned Hall Master Shi. The elite disciples behind Sun Lei grew angry upon hearing this.

Hall Master Shi laughed heartily and said, “Truly, heroes emerge from the young. Haha, good, good.”

The group entered the training ground, a single-story building covering over five hundred square meters. Inside, various training equipment was arranged, and the ground beneath their feet was hard earth with no protective measures. Dozens of martial hall apprentices were sweating profusely as they trained, with many sparring in pairs.

“Zhao Li, Intermediate Apprentice of Thunder Martial Hall, seeks guidance from Senior Brother Xu Feng.”

As soon as they entered the training ground, an elite disciple behind Sun Lei couldn’t wait to step forward and challenge Xu Feng.

Seeing Zhao Li so impatient, Sun Lei’s expression darkened.

Seeing Xu Feng nod, Zhao Li directly drew a long blade and swung it at Xu Feng.

Xu Feng shifted his body slightly to the side, drew his longsword, and struck the spine of Zhao Li’s blade.

With a clang, the long blade fell to the ground. Zhao Li clutched his wrist and stared at Xu Feng in shock.

“I concede,” Xu Feng said calmly.

Sword-type weapons increased damage by 300%, which was terrifying. Even a simple slash was more than most could handle. Xu Feng hadn’t used his full strength; otherwise, Zhao Li’s long blade might have been severed with one strike.

“Chen Xiao, Senior Apprentice of Thunder Martial Hall, seeks guidance from Xu Feng.”

“Li Qiang, Senior Apprentice of Thunder Martial Hall, seeks guidance from Xu Feng.”

…

Almost all the elite disciples came forward to challenge Xu Feng, but they were defeated even faster than they stepped up.

These elite disciples all had Two-Star Strength, but none had reached Two Star Peak. They had only broken through in one or two attributes to the Two Stars level. Compared to Xu Feng, who was at Two Star Peak, their physical abilities fell far short. How could they compete?

“Eldest Senior Brother?”

“Eldest Senior Brother, it’s up to you now.”

“Eldest Senior Brother, we’ve all been defeated…”

Nearly all the elite disciples turned their gaze to a man standing beside Shi Changdong.

This man wore no graded equipment, only a simple set of black martial attire.

He stood quietly next to Hall Master Shi, inconspicuous. Even if someone noticed him, they would overlook him at first glance. Xu Feng hadn’t paid attention to him initially, but now, with all the elite disciples looking his way, Xu Feng focused on him.

He was a young man in his twenties, with handsome features. Upon closer inspection, Xu Feng found him quite good-looking, the most handsome among all the elite disciples. Yet, anyone who saw him for the first time would unconsciously ignore him, their gaze sliding past. This contradiction gave Xu Feng a strangely nauseating feeling.

“Eldest Senior Brother?” Xu Feng said with a smile.

“Qin Mo, Senior Apprentice of Thunder Martial Hall, seeks guidance from Xu Feng.”

Xu Feng nodded with a smile.

Qin Mo was only slightly stronger than the other elite disciples, and Xu Feng didn’t take him seriously.

“Shadow Strike!”

With a soft shout, Qin Mo’s figure suddenly accelerated, turning into a blurry shadow as he lunged at Xu Feng.

During his charge, two daggers gleaming with silver light appeared in Qin Mo’s hands.

“He’s actually following the Western Thief and Assassin combat path,” Xu Feng thought with slight surprise. He hadn’t expected someone in Thunder Martial Hall to adopt a Western profession route.

“Drizzle Sword Technique!”

Xu Feng’s figure swayed lightly with the movement of his longsword. The sword’s shimmering arcs resembled an unbroken curtain of rain, tightly shielding his entire body.

Clink, clink, clink, clink—

A rapid series of metallic clashes echoed around Xu Feng.

Qin Mo moved like lightning, circling Xu Feng and attacking from various angles and positions. Yet, no matter how tricky Qin Mo’s attacks were or how fast he moved, he couldn’t breach the fine rain-like defense surrounding Xu Feng.

Each time his blades met Xu Feng’s longsword, a sharp pain shot through Qin Mo’s wrist. He was puzzled and alarmed that a Black Iron Grade longsword could withstand so many clashes with his two Silver Quality daggers without breaking.

“Life-Sacrificing Strike!” Qin Mo’s eyes turned red as he abandoned defense and thrust with all his might toward Xu Feng’s throat.

After attacking for so long, Qin Mo’s stamina had drained far more than Xu Feng’s, and his wrist had swollen visibly. If this continued, Qin Mo would likely lose his grip on his daggers and be defeated without Xu Feng even needing to strike.

“I can’t lose, I can’t lose!” Qin Mo’s eyes were bloodshot, the weight of all the apprentices’ stares pressing down on him.

Left with no choice, Qin Mo resorted to desperate measures. The Life-Sacrificing Strike skill reduced his own defense to zero, boosting his attack. After executing it, whether he killed his opponent or not, he would fall into a Weak State for half an hour.

Seeing Qin Mo resort to a life-risking move, Xu Feng narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grim.

Originally, this was just a sparring session, not a fight to the death. But now, Qin Mo was using his ultimate skill in an attempt to kill him.

Xu Feng’s nature wasn’t gentle; he believed in an eye for an eye and killing to stop killing. He always retaliated immediately against provocation, a temperament that had earned him many enemies in his past life and kept him suppressed.

In this life, Xu Feng had no intention of changing.

Seeing Qin Mo’s reddened eyes and once-handsome face now twisted with ferocity, Xu Feng sneered inwardly. He gripped his longsword, ready to kill Qin Mo on the spot. A faint killing intent began to emanate from him.

Sun Lei and Shi Changdong both paled at the same time.

“Bastard!” Shi Changdong roared, leaping forward and kicking Qin Mo’s wrist.

The Silver Quality dagger spun through the air.

Then, Shi Changdong followed with a chop to the back of Qin Mo’s neck, knocking him unconscious.

“This fool actually used deadly force in a sparring match with a fellow disciple, breaking the martial hall’s rules. I’ll take him to reflect in seclusion and cool off.” After saying this, Shi Changdong didn’t even glance at Xu Feng, carrying Qin Mo out quickly.