Chapter 23: Blood Shadow War Blade

At five o’clock the next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, Luo Feng hurried toward the Limit Martial Arts Academy.

As he had not yet received his official Warrior certification, Luo Feng still used his “Senior Student” ID card to gain entry into the academy.

The translation preserves all original meaning while enhancing the fantasy atmosphere through lexical choices.

“Senior brother.”

“Senior brother, good morning.”

Within the academy, numerous students were already jogging along the verdant pathways for their dawn drills. Luo Feng offered a faint smile and a nod before resolutely striding toward the third level of the Elite Training Pavilion. As he had yet to secure his Warrior Candidate certification, his privileges remained confined to the Senior Student Training Hall, barring him from the Instructor’s Quarters on the fourth floor.

“Hah! Ha!” From the training hall came loud cries of breath and movement.

Luo Feng looked inside and saw a young man in white robes holding an iron spear, continuously swinging it around.

“Iron Brother,” Luo Feng greeted with a smile. “You’re practicing with your spear this early? That’s unusual.”

“Crazy One,” the white-clad youth stopped in his tracks, his face suddenly brightening with astonishment and joy as he locked eyes with Luo Feng. “What wind blows you here? Hah! Speaking of which, my heartfelt congratulations! Rumor has it you’ve conquered the Warrior Candidate Examination.”

“How do you know?” Luo Feng asked in astonishment.

The news of him passing the quasi-warrior exam should have been known by only a select few.

“Last night, during training, the instructors mentioned it. They said both you and Brother Yang were the only ones among the senior disciples who passed the Warrior Candidate trials,” the white-robed youth scratched his head sheepishly. “Seeing you two succeed lit a fire under me—that’s why I came at dawn to practice my spear forms.”

Luo Feng nodded.

So it was the instructors who had revealed the news. Although the Limit Martial Arts Academy had over 30,000 students, there were only six instructors and just one chief instructor. When instructors taught, it was usually in massive lecture halls where thousands of students attended at once.

Of course, senior students didn’t need that. The number of senior students in the entire academy was limited.

“Crazy One, since you’ve already passed the exam, why come so early?” the young man in white robes laughed.

“The practical assessment for warriors is on August 1st. I need to prepare,” Luo Feng smiled and walked toward the weapon room next to the training hall. The door to the weapon room was not closed.

Inside the weapon room, numerous weapons were neatly displayed on the shelves—swords, spears, staffs, clubs, axes, hammers, blades, and lances, each category further divided into many types. For example, swords were divided into one-handed and two-handed, and even one-handed swords had many variations.

“The Blood Shadow Series,” Luo Feng opened one of the weapon cabinets, inside which were many identical-looking battle blades. Of course, these blades were all “simulated”—their models, balance, and weight were identical to real blades, but their materials were vastly different. A real blade capable of slaying beasts might cost hundreds of thousands, while these simulated ones were only a few hundred, much cheaper.

Whoosh!

Luo Feng drew one of them. This was a Blood Shadow Type 2 battle blade. Its blade was 78 centimeters long, the whole sword was 101 centimeters long, 5.2 centimeters wide, with a thick spine, and a sharp tip suitable for thrusting.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng casually swung it a couple of times and frowned. “I’ve used the Blood Shadow blade for a long time, but now it feels too light.”

The blade he had been used to swinging now felt too light.

“My strength has increased. I need a heavier blade to feel comfortable,” Luo Feng took out another Blood Shadow Type 2 blade and swung it a few times, producing a sharp whistling sound in the air. “No, still too light.”

“This one isn’t enough either.”

“Too light, far too light.”

Luo Feng took out the heaviest Blood Shadow Type 2 simulated blade and couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. “Looks like my strength has truly increased too much. There isn’t a single suitable blade for me in the Senior Student Weapon Room.” Luo Feng could only choose to leave the third floor and head up to the fourth.

“The fourth floor is where the instructors and the chief instructor frequently visit.” Luo Feng was aware that the fourth floor also housed a training hall and an armory. “Prospective warriors are permitted to access the fourth floor, but my certification hasn’t arrived yet. I wonder if I’ll be allowed in.”

Beside the staircase to the fourth floor was a small room where an old man was on duty.

“Hmm? What are you doing here? Students aren’t allowed in,” the old man rose to his feet, then suddenly recognized him with a smile. “Ah, it’s Luo Feng. Director Jiang mentioned you passed the Warrior Candidate exam. Haha, come on in.”

“Thank you, Uncle Li,” Luo Feng exhaled in relief.

If the old man had been strict and insisted on Luo Feng presenting his quasi-warrior certification, Luo Feng wouldn’t have been able to enter. After all, legally speaking, he wasn’t officially recognized as a quasi-warrior yet.

The fourth floor training hall was clearly much better decorated, with much higher quality equipment.

At the moment, Luo Feng was the only one in the fourth floor training hall.

“What a waste, such a huge waste,” Luo Feng couldn’t help shaking his head and sighing. “The academy only has six instructors. Besides teaching, they usually train at the Limit Club. Such a great place is left empty, rarely visited.”

Shaking his head, Luo Feng entered the weapon room beside the hall.

The weapons in this room were also simulated, but they looked much better than those on the third floor.

“The Blood Shadow Type 2 series. Hmm, the blades here are indeed much heavier,” Luo Feng drew one and swung it a couple of times, then tried another. After five attempts, he finally selected one suitable for him. Looking closely at the markings on it, he saw the blade’s weight engraved on the edge—101 kg.

“What? 101 kg?” Luo Feng was startled himself. “So heavy a blade, and I actually feel comfortable with it?”

You had to know that the Blood Shadow blades were originally fast-swinging blades, relatively light in weight.

If even this type of blade required 101 kg to feel comfortable, how strong had his strength become now?

“My physical condition must have improved remarkably. I should test my punch power and speed later,” Luo Feng felt excited. “Now, first, I’ll practice the basics.” After selecting the blade, he casually picked up a hexagonal shield.

…

In the training hall, Luo Feng placed his left forearm into the shield and held the Blood Shadow blade in his right hand.

“Hah!”

“Ha!”

Standing in place, Luo Feng precisely executed the basic sword techniques—horizontal cuts, upward slashes, downward chops, consecutive strikes… Each move was textbook perfect. Every time he swung the blade, his body’s center of gravity remained unaffected as he continuously practiced and adjusted.

“My strength is too great now. My control over the force of my swings isn’t refined enough,” Luo Feng was aware of his problem.

“Even if my physical condition is good, I still need to be able to fully utilize it,” Luo Feng understood clearly.

Having better physical attributes than an opponent doesn’t necessarily mean one’s combat strength is superior.

Some people can only utilize 30% of their physical potential.

While others can utilize 50%, 60%, 70%, or even 100%. Some sword masters can even slay opponents ten times stronger than themselves with inferior strength, all due to the importance of skill and experience.

Of course—

If there’s a huge gap in physical attributes, skill alone cannot make up for it. In summary, no matter what, one must diligently hone their skills to fully utilize their physical strength.

…

“Director,” the duty officer Uncle Li on the fourth floor respectfully called out.

“Who is inside?” Instructor Jiang Nian inquired. He distinctly heard the piercing whistling noises emanating from the nearby training hall. These sounds were unmistakably created when weapons achieved breathtaking velocities, cleaving through the air. Merely by listening, one could discern it was undoubtedly a martial artist.

“It’s Luo Feng,” Uncle Li smiled.

“Luo Feng?” Instructor Jiang Nian smiled slightly and walked toward the training hall.

Standing at the entrance of the training hall, Instructor Jiang Nian watched Luo Feng inside, performing each basic sword technique precisely, like a textbook, continuously swinging his blade. Sometimes standing still, sometimes running swiftly, dodging, retreating, and swinging the Blood Shadow blade in a very fluid motion.

“Mmm, his foundation is indeed solid,” Instructor Jiang Nian couldn’t help but nod, secretly admiring. “With a good foundation, his sword techniques will develop better in the future. No obvious weaknesses, very impressive.”

The more he watched, the more satisfied he became.

“Ah, Instructor,” Luo Feng turned around and noticed Instructor Jiang Nian, immediately stopping.

Instructor Jiang Nian smiled and walked in: “Luo Feng, your sword techniques are quite good. Did you start training from a young age?”

“Yeah, when I was young and hadn’t entered the academy yet, I used to practice swinging my sword alone at home,” Luo Feng smiled. Instructor Jiang Nian nodded in satisfaction, but the smile on his face suddenly froze. He stared at the Blood Shadow blade in Luo Feng’s hand with wide eyes.

“Instructor, Instructor?” Luo Feng was startled by Jiang Nian’s expression.

“You… you…” Instructor Jiang Nian stared at Luo Feng in shock. “Did you just swing a 101 kg Blood Shadow blade?”

“Yes, yes,” Luo Feng was a bit frightened.

Instructor Jiang Nian shook his head in disbelief: “Impossible, impossible… How could that be…” But then, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he were staring at a priceless treasure. “Luo Feng, go to the punch power testing machine now. Show me a punch. Let me see how strong your punch power has become!”