With such a combination facing off directly against Zhang Wen, the outcome for Zack and his team was already self-evident.
“Ahh!” Zack, who charged at Zhang Wen first, immediately found himself targeted at his weakest point. The crystal-energy sword in his hand was effortlessly knocked away by Zhang Wen. Immediately afterward, an excruciating pain once again coursed through Zack’s body. His right arm had been severed by Zhang Wen’s blade, and then Zhang kicked him toward the two rushing teammates behind him.
“Zack!” Cloud and Amelith shouted in alarm, simultaneously thrown into confusion. Zack’s body blocked their attack routes and obstructed their view of Zhang Wen; they couldn’t even see where Zhang Wen stood.
In the next moment, pitiful cries of agony erupted from both Cloud and Amelith. Just as Zhang Wen had said, he would show no mercy simply because Amelith was a girl.
While piercing Cloud’s thigh with one sword strike, Zhang Wen’s left fist slammed into Amelith’s abdomen. The sexy young woman’s body curled up like a shrimp in pain. She collapsed onto the ground, retching violently as though her internal organs were twisting together.
With such a lineup facing Zhang Wen head-on, the outcome for Zack and his companions was already a foregone conclusion.
“Ah!” Zack, who was the first to rush towards Zhang Wen, was immediately struck at his weakest point by Zhang Wen, who effortlessly knocked the energy sword out of his hand. Following that, excruciating pain once again spread through Zack’s body. Zhang Wen severed Zack’s right arm with a single strike and then kicked him towards the two who were charging from behind.
“Zack!” Cloud and Amelith shouted in unison, finding themselves in a state of helplessness. Zack’s body blocked their path and line of sight to Zhang Wen, making it impossible for them to even locate Zhang Wen.
In the next moment, tragic cries of agony also erupted from Cloud and Amelith. As Zhang Wen had stated, he would not show any leniency just because Amelith was a girl.
While piercing Cloud’s thigh with his sword, Zhang Wen’s left fist also struck Amelith’s abdomen. The petite beauty’s body curled up like a shrimp. She lay on the ground in pain, retching uncontrollably, feeling as if her internal organs were being twisted into a knot.
The young beauty groaned in pain and, without even waiting to hit the ground, chose to respawn. Zack and Cloud, who were also battered and bruised, simultaneously vanished from their spots and reappeared in a corner of the virtual training hall.
“You’d better save your respawns. I forgot to mention earlier that each of you only has ten respawn opportunities. If you use up all ten chances and still haven’t beaten me, it counts as your failure. Honestly, this time, rather than saying I brought you here for special training, it’s more accurate to say it’s a test… no, it’s a test you’re giving yourselves.” Zhang Wen spoke candidly, addressing the three students.
“You came to my room earlier to complain, which I suppose is a challenge I, as a teacher, set for you. Should I trust your determination? Or should I ignore you and win in the safest way possible? I chose to believe in you, but what about you? You wasted several years, and now suddenly you want to defeat a ninth-tier opponent. Haha, trying to make up for lost time isn’t something that can be achieved through effort alone. Maybe you do have the determination to reach your goal, but do you have the talent? Or do you truly believe you can do it?”
“For this match against the Themis Academy, I, like you, don’t want to lose, and I can’t afford to lose. So, this is the limit of the opportunity I can give you. If you lose, or if you can’t endure the pain and quit, then don’t come looking for me again.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen’s words left the three respawned students wide-eyed.
To be honest, the recent painful experience had already pushed the three students to their limits. Although their determination to continue training hadn’t wavered despite the pain, deep down, they couldn’t help but entertain thoughts of slacking off. For instance, all three students had independently considered secretly lowering their virtual intensity before entering the mental combat machine next time. As long as Zhang Wen didn’t notice, it would be fine!
Now, however, they had to abandon any thoughts of cutting corners. Success or failure, they only had this one chance.
“No matter what, we can only rely on ourselves! Teacher Zhang may be formidable, but we’ve also learned his sword techniques, and there are three of us!” Zack, pushed to the edge of the cliff, finally unleashed the inherited ferocity of an imperial soldier. He raised his energy sword once more and shouted to his two companions.
“Hmph! Do you even need to say that? Even if both of you can’t hold on, I won’t back down!” Cloud firmly raised his energy sword.
“Hehe!” Amelith smiled at Zhang Wen, then clenched her teeth tightly.
“Hmm!” Seeing the three students finally calm down, Zhang Wen’s lips curled up again. “Now this is getting interesting. But if you want to beat me, you’ll need to put in more effort! Also… Zack, who told you I couldn’t use combat energy here?” Zhang Wen placed his longsword across his chest and suddenly accelerated again, his body moving along a bizarre trajectory, ghost-like, towards the three students.
“This… this is impossible!” Zhang Wen’s sudden attack nearly made the three students’ eyes pop out.
Because they all saw that Zhang Wen’s longsword was now enveloped in a faint blue glow! Although the glow was very weak, it was indeed shimmering!
Zhang Wen could actually use combat energy!
“What kind of joke is this? Amelith, didn’t you say the mental combat simulator hasn’t developed technology to use combat energy yet?” Zack yelled in panic.
“What? Are you already disheartened by a little setback? Your loser mentality is truly fatal! That’s right, my combat energy attribute is somewhat special, containing a bit of mental energy. So here, I can exert about first-tier strength. But is that all it takes to scare you? If you can’t even face a one-tier difference, how do you expect to challenge the ninth-tier? Don’t make me laugh!” Without waiting for Amelith to respond, Zhang Wen shouted loudly, swinging his longsword once more at the three astonished students.
The three students fell one by one under Zhang Wen’s sword. They had used up their third respawn opportunity.
Among the three students, Cloud was the first to recover from the pain and shock.
“It’s no big deal! It’s just first-tier combat energy! There are three of us, and if we perform well, we definitely have a chance!” Zack gasped heavily, trying to forget the excruciating pain he had just endured, his eyes fixed on Zhang Wen’s longsword, which was now glowing faintly blue.
“Mind your own business! Who was it that said he couldn’t use combat energy?” Zack gave Zack a disdainful look and instinctively tightened his grip on the energy sword.
“Oh! Seems like there’s a bit of progress. But determination alone is useless.” With Zhang Wen’s cold laugh, he accelerated once more, appearing beside the three students in an instant, swinging his longsword at them.
Clang!
Zhang Wen’s longsword was blocked for the first time.
“Heh! We’re not just relying on determination!” Zack exerted all his strength to resist the force transmitted through his arm.
“Is that so?” Zhang Wen sneered, and the longsword that Zack had blocked suddenly slid along the blade of the energy sword.
Amidst the screeching sound of metal grinding, Zack was horrified to find that Zhang Wen had effortlessly withdrawn the longsword from beneath his energy sword.
Cloud and Amelith, as if waking from a dream, desperately attacked Zhang Wen. But Zhang Wen nimbly dodged, causing both to miss.
“Hey hey! After teaching you for so long, is this the best you can do with a combined attack? It’s downright embarrassing!” Zhang Wen mercilessly mocked the disheveled Cloud and Amelith. Before they could recover, Zhang Wen’s longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
Then, Zack found himself moving involuntarily, his energy sword thrusting towards Cloud alongside Zhang Wen’s. Moreover, their attacks perfectly complemented each other—one thrusting diagonally from the lower right to the upper left, the other slashing from the upper right to the lower left—sealing off all possible escape routes for Cloud. Cloud desperately blocked Zhang Wen’s incoming longsword, only to watch helplessly as Zack’s energy sword pierced his chest.
In deathmatch mode, damage between companions wouldn’t result in “death,” but it would cause corresponding pain. Seeing Cloud writhing in agony after being pierced, a panicked Zack was easily struck in the arm by Zhang Wen.
The excruciating pain from his right arm immediately told Zack that Zhang Wen’s attack had “severed” his arm.
Leaving Zack and Cloud to struggle in pain on the ground, Zhang Wen turned his attention to Amelith. As he slowly approached her, he raised his longsword and thrust towards her.
“Ah…” Amelith frantically parried a few times, but her technique was completely disorganized. She felt like she knew exactly how to block Zhang Wen’s attack, but her body wouldn’t obey. In the end, the frustrated young beauty didn’t even wait for Zhang Wen’s longsword to descend before choosing to respawn.
“How disappointing! Do you know how long this special training has been going on? Fifteen minutes.” Watching the three students respawn for the fourth time in the corner of the training hall, Zhang Wen shook his head vigorously. “Fifteen minutes, and you’ve already used up four chances. At this rate, you won’t even make it through this afternoon.”
“Don’t underestimate us! We haven’t given up yet!” Zack shouted defiantly. He seemed ready to charge straight at Zhang Wen, but Cloud grabbed him.
“Zack, don’t be impulsive! We don’t have many chances left! Do you want to drag everyone down?” Cloud glared at Zack.
“Who’s dragging anyone down?” Zack muttered under his breath, but ultimately lowered his head under Cloud’s icy gaze.
The three whispered among themselves for a while, and finally, following Cloud’s plan, they formed a formation with Zack and Cloud at the front and Amelith at the rear.
“Hehe! Finally, it’s starting to look like something.” Watching the three students cautiously maintaining their distance and slowly advancing towards him, Zhang Wen finally showed a hint of a smile that wasn’t entirely cold.
“However, there are still too many flaws! Zack, you and Cloud are keeping such a wide distance apart—are you lacking confidence in yourselves, afraid of accidentally hitting each other during an attack? Well, you certainly won’t hurt each other this way. But when I attack Cloud, what can you do from so far away? Wait for me to make him stab you again?” As Zhang Wen shouted this, his longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
“It’s not that easy!” Cloud yelled, struggling to prevent Zhang Wen from controlling his movements.
To be honest, Cloud had been practicing the Spring Water Sword Technique for quite some time, and he wasn’t completely clueless about balance control like Griffith. If Cloud were to go all out and Zhang Wen didn’t use combat energy, Zhang Wen might indeed have a tough time. But now, with Cloud unable to use combat energy and Zhang Wen capable of using first-tier combat energy, Cloud’s full resistance only managed to slightly deflect Zhang Wen’s sword angle to the right.
Facing the two sharp swords thrusting at him from both Cloud and Zhang Wen, Zack used every ounce of his strength to barely block Zhang Wen’s attack. However, Cloud’s longsword slid along Zack’s arm, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound.
“Tch!” Zack gritted his teeth, ignoring the wound on his arm. He stepped to the side and then stomped the ground, charging back at Zhang Wen.
“Oh! Interesting!” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, easily blocking Zack’s desperate counterattack, but used the momentum to float in front of Cloud, delivering a powerful kick to Cloud’s abdomen.
“Ugh…” Cloud clutched his churning stomach, kneeling on the ground in pain.
The 120% pain made it impossible for Cloud to stand up straight. He could only watch as Zhang Wen dodged Zack’s attack right in front of him and then kicked Zack to the ground as well.
“Amelith! What are you doing?” After taking down the two struggling boys, Zhang Wen turned to Amelith, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines but couldn’t intervene, and shouted.
“Ah!” Amelith, as if waking from a dream, shouted and charged at Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen snorted coldly, effortlessly knocking the energy sword out of Amelith’s hand.
“Amelith, when Cloud and Zack had you stay behind them, did you think it was so you could find a place to hide? You seemed so confident when you left my room earlier, but when it comes to the real deal, you’re playing the turtle?”
“Who’s playing the turtle? I was looking for an opening!” Amelith’s face flushed with shame and anger.
“Cut the nonsense! What opening can you find from hiding so far back? Even if you coincidentally find one, by the time you get there, your companions would have been taken out several times over! Tsk! Are you afraid of dying?” Zhang Wen continued his relentless attack on Amelith without pause.
“Who’s afraid of dying?” Amelith shouted through gritted teeth, but Zhang Wen forcefully pinned her against the wall.
However, compared to Zack and Cloud, Amelith was much more stubborn. The previously subdued Zack and Cloud saw that even after Zhang Wen pinned Amelith to the wall, she continued to struggle desperately.
“Oh…” In her violent struggle, Amelith’s knee accidentally struck Zhang Wen’s abdomen. The frenzied young beauty kicked Zhang Wen back several steps, and then, with red eyes, she raised her energy sword and charged at Zhang Wen as if he were her mortal enemy.
“Amelith!” Zack and Cloud shouted in surprise.
To them, Amelith’s direct charge at Zhang Wen seemed like a suicidal move!
With such a lineup facing Zhang Wen head-on, the outcome for Zack and his companions was already a foregone conclusion.
“Ah!” Zack, who was the first to rush to Zhang Wen’s side, was immediately struck at his weakest point by Zhang Wen, who effortlessly knocked the energy sword out of his hand. Immediately after, excruciating pain once again spread through Zack’s body. His right arm was severed by Zhang Wen’s sword, and then he was kicked towards the two who were charging up behind him.
“Zack!” Cloud and Amelith shouted in unison, both thrown into a state of panic. Zack’s body blocked their path and line of sight to Zhang Wen, making it impossible for them to even see where Zhang Wen was.
In the next moment, agonizing screams erupted from both Cloud and Amelith. Just as Zhang Wen had said, he would not show any mercy just because Amelith was a girl.
While his sword pierced through Cloud’s thigh, Zhang Wen’s left fist struck Amelith’s abdomen. The petite beauty’s body curled up like a shrimp. She lay on the ground in pain, dry heaving, feeling as if her internal organs were being twisted into knots.
The young beauty let out a painful moan and, before even hitting the ground, chose to respawn. Zack and Cloud, both battered and bruised, also disappeared from the spot, reappearing in a corner of the virtual training hall.
“You’d better save your respawns. I forgot to tell you earlier, each of you only has ten respawns. If you use up all ten and still haven’t beaten me, you lose. Honestly, this time it’s less about me training you and more about… well, it’s a test you’re giving yourselves,” Zhang Wen said with a calm smile to the three students.
“You came to my room crying earlier, which I suppose was a challenge for me as a teacher. Should I trust your determination? Or ignore you and take the safest route to victory? I chose to believe in you, but what about you? You’ve wasted years, and now suddenly you want to defeat a ninth-tier opponent. Hah, trying to make up for lost time isn’t just about effort. Maybe you do have the determination to reach your goal, but do you have the talent? Or do you truly believe you can do it?”
“For the upcoming match against Themis Academy, I don’t want to lose any more than you do, and I can’t afford to. So, this is the limit of what I can give you. If you lose, or if you can’t endure the pain and quit, then don’t come bothering me again.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen’s words left the three respawned students wide-eyed.
Honestly, the recent painful experience had already pushed the three students to their limits. Although their determination to continue training hadn’t wavered despite the pain, deep down, they couldn’t help but entertain thoughts of slacking off. For instance, all three students had independently considered secretly lowering their virtual intensity before the next match in the mental combat simulator. As long as Zhang Wen didn’t notice, it would be fine!
Now, however, they had to abandon any thoughts of cutting corners. Success or failure, they only had this one chance.
“No matter what, we can only rely on ourselves! Teacher Zhang may be formidable, but we’ve learned his sword techniques, and there are three of us!” Zack, pushed to the edge of the cliff, finally unleashed the inherited ferocity of an imperial soldier. He raised his energy sword once more and shouted to his two companions.
“Hmph! You don’t need to tell me that! Even if both of you give up, I won’t back down!” Cloud firmly raised his energy sword.
“Heh heh!” Amelith smiled at Zhang Wen, then clenched her teeth tightly.
“Hmm!” Watching the three students finally calm down, Zhang Wen’s lips curled into a smile once more. “Now this is getting interesting. But if you want to beat me, you’ll need to put in more effort! And by the way… Zack, who told you I couldn’t use combat energy here?” Zhang Wen held his longsword horizontally in front of his chest, suddenly accelerating again, his body moving along a bizarre trajectory, ghost-like as he floated towards the three students!
“This… this can’t be!” Zhang Wen’s sudden attack nearly made the three students’ eyes pop out of their heads.
Because they all saw that Zhang Wen’s longsword was now enveloped in a faint blue glow! Although the glow was very weak, it was indeed shimmering!
Zhang Wen could actually use combat energy!
“What the hell? Amelith, didn’t you say the mental combat simulator hasn’t developed technology that allows the use of combat energy?” Zack shouted in panic.
“What? Are you going to lose heart at the first setback? Your loser mentality is really something! That’s right, my combat energy is a bit special, with a hint of mental energy. So here, I can exert about first-tier strength. But, is that all it takes to scare you? If you can’t even face a one-tier difference, how do you expect to challenge the ninth-tier? Don’t make me laugh!” Before Amelith could respond, Zhang Wen was already shouting, swinging his longsword once more at the three shocked students.
One by one, the three students fell under Zhang Wen’s sword. They had used up their third respawn.
Among the three, Cloud was the first to recover from the pain and shock.
“It’s no big deal! It’s just first-tier combat energy! There are three of us, and if we perform well, we definitely have a chance!” Zack gasped heavily, trying to forget the excruciating pain he had just endured, his eyes fixed on the blue-glowing longsword in Zhang Wen’s hand.
“Mind your own business! Who was it that said he couldn’t use combat energy?” Zack shot a disdainful look at Zack, instinctively tightening his grip on his energy sword.
“Oh! Seems like there’s a bit of progress. But determination alone is useless.” With Zhang Wen’s cold laugh, he accelerated once more, appearing beside the three students in an instant, swinging his longsword at them.
Clang!
Zhang Wen’s longsword was blocked for the first time.
“Heh! We’re not just relying on determination!” Zack exerted all his strength to resist the force coming from his arm.
“Is that so?” Zhang Wen sneered, and the longsword that Zack had blocked suddenly slid along the blade of the energy sword.
Amidst the screeching sound of metal grinding, Zack was horrified to find that Zhang Wen had effortlessly withdrawn his longsword from beneath Zack’s energy sword.
Cloud and Amelith, as if waking from a dream, desperately attacked Zhang Wen. But with a nimble dodge, Zhang Wen made both of them miss.
“Hey hey! I’ve taught you for so long, and your combined attacks are still this pathetic? How embarrassing!” Zhang Wen mercilessly mocked the disheveled Cloud and Amelith. Before they could recover, Zhang Wen’s longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
Then, Zack found himself moving involuntarily, his energy sword thrusting towards Cloud alongside Zhang Wen’s. Moreover, his attack and Zhang’s perfectly complemented each other—one thrusting diagonally from the lower right to the upper left, the other slashing diagonally from the upper right to the lower left—sealing off all possible escape routes for Cloud. Cloud desperately blocked Zhang Wen’s incoming longsword, but could only watch helplessly as Zack’s energy sword pierced through his chest.
In deathmatch mode, damage between teammates wouldn’t result in “death,” but it would cause corresponding pain. Watching Cloud writhe in agony after being pierced by his own sword, a panicked Zack was easily struck in the arm by Zhang Wen.
The excruciating pain from his right arm immediately told Zack that Zhang Wen’s attack had “severed” his arm.
Leaving Zack and Cloud to struggle in pain on the ground, Zhang Wen turned his attention to Amelith. Step by step, he approached her, slowly raising his longsword and thrusting it towards her.
“Ah…” Amelith flailed in a panic, but her defense was completely disorganized. She felt like she knew exactly how to block Zhang Wen’s attack, but her body wouldn’t obey. In the end, the frustrated young beauty didn’t even wait for Zhang Wen’s longsword to descend before choosing to respawn.
“How disappointing! Do you know how long this training session has been going on? Fifteen minutes.” Watching the three students respawn for the fourth time in the corner of the training hall, Zhang Wen shook his head vigorously. “Fifteen minutes, and you’ve already used up four respawns. At this rate, you won’t even make it through the afternoon.”
“Don’t underestimate us! We’re not giving up yet!” Zack shouted defiantly. He seemed ready to charge straight at Zhang Wen, but Cloud grabbed him.
“Zack, don’t be impulsive! We don’t have many chances left! Do you want to drag everyone down?” Cloud glared at Zack.
“Who’s dragging anyone down?” Zack muttered under his breath, but ultimately lowered his head under Cloud’s icy gaze.
The three whispered among themselves for a moment, then, following Cloud’s plan, formed a formation with Zack and Cloud at the front and Amelith at the rear.
“Heh heh! Finally, something resembling a formation.” Watching the three students cautiously maintain their distance as they slowly approached him, Zhang Wen finally showed a smile that wasn’t entirely cold.
“However, there are still too many flaws! Zack, you and Cloud have left such a large gap between you—are you not confident in yourselves, afraid of accidentally hitting each other during an attack? Well, you certainly won’t hit each other this way. But when I attack Cloud, what can you do from so far away? Wait for me to make him stab you again?” As Zhang Wen shouted this, his longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
“Not so easy!” Cloud shouted, struggling to prevent Zhang Wen from controlling his movements.
Honestly, Cloud had been learning the Spring Water Sword Technique for quite some time, and his balance control wasn’t as clueless as Griffith’s. If Cloud could use his full strength and Zhang Wen didn’t use combat energy, Zhang Wen might indeed have a tough time. But now, with Cloud unable to use combat energy and Zhang Wen able to use first-tier combat energy, Cloud’s full resistance only managed to slightly deflect Zhang Wen’s sword to the right.
Facing the two swords thrusting at him simultaneously from Cloud and Zhang Wen, Zack used every ounce of his strength to barely block Zhang Wen’s attack. But Cloud’s longsword slid along Zack’s arm, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound.
“Tch!” Zack clenched his teeth, ignoring the wound on his arm. He stepped to the side, then stomped the ground fiercely, actually charging back at Zhang Wen.
“Oh! Interesting!” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, easily blocking Zack’s desperate counterattack, but used the momentum to float in front of Cloud, delivering a heavy kick to Cloud’s abdomen.
“Ugh…” Cloud clutched his churning stomach, kneeling in pain.
The 120% pain made it impossible for Cloud to stand up straight. He could only watch as Zhang Wen, right in front of him, dodged Zack’s attack and then kicked Zack to the ground as well.
“Amelith! What are you doing?” After taking down the two struggling boys, Zhang Wen turned to Amelith, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines but couldn’t get involved, and shouted.
“Ah!” Amelith, as if waking from a dream, shouted and charged at Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen snorted coldly, effortlessly knocking the energy sword out of Amelith’s hand.
“Amelith, when Cloud and Zack had you stay behind them, did you think it was so you could hide? You were so confident when you left my room earlier, but now that it’s time for real action, you’re playing the turtle?”
“Who’s playing the turtle? I was looking for an opening!” Amelith’s face flushed with shame and anger.
“Enough nonsense! What opening can you find from so far back? Even if you stumble upon one by chance, by the time you get there, your teammates would have been taken out several times over! Sigh! Are you afraid of dying?” Zhang Wen spoke without pausing his attacks on Amelith.
“Who’s afraid of dying?” Amelith shouted through gritted teeth, but Zhang Wen forcefully pinned her against the wall.
However, compared to Zack and Cloud, Amelith was much more stubborn. The previously defeated Zack and Cloud saw that even after Zhang Wen pinned Amelith to the wall, she continued to struggle with all her might.
“Oh…” In her violent struggle, Amelith’s knee accidentally struck Zhang Wen’s abdomen. The frenzied young beauty kicked Zhang Wen back several steps, then, with red eyes, charged at him with her energy sword as if he were her mortal enemy.
“Amelith!” Zack and Cloud shouted in shock.
To the two of them, Amelith’s straight charge at Zhang Wen seemed like a suicide mission!
“You came crying to me in my room before, so I gave you a challenge. Should I have trusted your determination or ignored you and taken the safest route to victory? I chose to believe in you—but what about you? You wasted years of time, yet suddenly claim you want to defeat a ninth-stage opponent. Heh, wanting to make up for lost time isn’t something you can achieve with effort alone. Perhaps you indeed have the determination to reach your goal, but do you have the talent? Or, more importantly, do you truly believe in yourself?”
“This match against Themis Academy, I don’t want to lose either, and I can’t afford to. Therefore, this opportunity is the absolute limit I can offer. If you lose or give up due to the pain, don’t come bother me again.”
“What?” Zhang Wen’s words left the three revived apprentices staring in shock.
Frankly speaking, the recent painful experience had already become almost unbearable for the three apprentices. Although their determination to continue training hadn’t wavered, an inevitable thought of slacking off crept into each of their minds. For instance, all three apprentices simultaneously considered secretly lowering their simulation levels before the next session inside the Psychic Duel Machine—just enough to avoid detection by Zhang Wen!
Now, however, they had no choice but to abandon any such thoughts. Success or failure, this was their one and only chance.
“No matter what, we can only rely on ourselves now! Though Zhang is powerful, we’ve learned his sword techniques too, and there are three of us!” Pushed to the edge, Zack finally unleashed the fighting spirit inherited from his days as an imperial soldier. He raised his crystal-energy sword again, shouting at his two companions.
“Hmph! Like we’d need you to remind us? Even if you two give up, I won’t quit!” Cloud firmly raised his crystal-energy sword.
“Hehe!” Amelith smiled at Zhang Wen before clenching her teeth tightly.
“Hmm!” Observing his three apprentices finally regaining their composure, Zhang Wen’s lips curled into a smile again. “That’s more like it. But if you want to beat me, you’ll need to work harder! Also… Zack, who told you I couldn’t use battle energy here?” Zhang Wen held his sword across his chest and suddenly accelerated again, moving along a bizarre trajectory as he ghosted toward the three apprentices.
“This… this can’t be!” The sudden attack nearly made the three apprentices pop their eyes out.
Because they all saw clearly that the sword in Zhang Wen’s hand had emitted a faint blue glow! Although the glow was very weak, it was indeed flickering!
Zhang Wen could use battle energy!
“What kind of joke is this? Amelith, didn’t you say the Psychic Duel Machine hasn’t developed the technology to use battle energy yet?” Zack shouted in disbelief.
“What? Already losing heart at the first setback? Your pathetic attitude is really going to get you killed! True, my battle energy has a special characteristic—it carries a slight psychic nature. So here, I can exert about first-stage power. But you’re already scared stiff by just this? You can’t even face a one-stage gap in strength, yet you claim you want to challenge ninth-stage opponents? Don’t make me laugh!” Without waiting for Amelith to respond, Zhang Wen shouted loudly and swung his sword again at the three astonished apprentices.
With such a combination facing off against Zhang Wen, the outcome for Zack and his companions was already a foregone conclusion.
“Ah!” Zack, who was the first to reach Zhang Wen, was immediately struck at his weakest point by Zhang Wen, who effortlessly knocked the energy sword out of his hand. Immediately after, excruciating pain once again spread through Zack’s body. Zhang Wen severed his right arm with a single strike and then kicked him towards the two who were charging from behind.
“Zack!” Cloud and Amelith shouted in unison, both thrown into a state of panic. Zack’s body blocked their path and line of sight to Zhang Wen; they couldn’t even see where Zhang Wen was.
In the next moment, cries of agony erupted from both Cloud and Amelith. Just as Zhang Wen had said, he would not show any mercy just because Amelith was a girl.
While his sword pierced through Cloud’s thigh, Zhang Wen’s left fist simultaneously struck Amelith’s abdomen. The petite beauty’s body curled up like a shrimp. She lay on the ground, retching in pain, feeling as if her internal organs were being twisted into knots.
With a painful groan, Amelith chose to respawn even before she hit the ground. Zack and Cloud, both battered and bruised, also vanished from the spot and reappeared in a corner of the virtual training hall.
“You’d better save your respawns. I forgot to tell you earlier, each of you only has ten respawns. If you use up all ten and still haven’t beaten me, it’s game over. Honestly, this time it’s less about me training you and more about… well, it’s a test you’re giving yourselves,” Zhang Wen said with a calm smile to the three students.
“You came crying to my room earlier, which was a challenge for me as a teacher. Should I trust your determination? Or ignore you and take the safest route to victory? I chose to believe in you, but what about yourselves? You’ve wasted years and suddenly want to defeat a ninth-tier opponent. Hah, catching up on lost time isn’t just about effort. Maybe you have the determination to reach your goal, but do you have the talent? Or do you truly believe you can do it?”
“For the upcoming match with Themis Academy, I don’t want to lose just as much as you do, and I can’t afford to. So, this is the limit of what I can give you. If you lose, or if you can’t endure the pain and quit, don’t come bothering me again.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen’s words left the three respawned students wide-eyed.
Honestly, the recent painful experience had already pushed the three students to their limits. Although their resolve to continue training hadn’t wavered despite the pain, deep down, they couldn’t help but entertain thoughts of slacking off. For instance, all three had independently considered lowering their virtual intensity before entering the mental combat simulator next time—as long as Zhang Wen didn’t notice!
Now, they had no choice but to abandon any thoughts of cutting corners. Success or failure, they only had this one chance.
“No matter what, we can only rely on ourselves! Teacher Zhang may be strong, but we’ve also learned his sword techniques, and there are three of us!” Zack, pushed to the edge, finally unleashed the ferocity inherited from his imperial soldier lineage. He raised his energy sword again and shouted to his companions.
“Hmph! Who needs you to say that? Even if both of you can’t hold on, I won’t back down!” Cloud firmly raised his energy sword.
“Heh heh!” Amelith smiled at Zhang Wen, then clenched her teeth tightly.
“Hmm!” Watching the three students finally calm down, Zhang Wen’s lips curled up again. “Now this is getting interesting. But if you want to beat me, you’ll need to put in more effort! Also… Zack, who told you I can’t use combat energy here?” Zhang Wen placed his longsword across his chest, suddenly accelerating again, his body moving in a bizarre trajectory as he ghosted towards the three students.
“This… this can’t be!” Zhang Wen’s sudden attack nearly made the three students’ eyes pop out of their sockets.
Because they all saw that Zhang Wen’s longsword was now enveloped in a faint blue glow! Although the glow was very weak, it was indeed shimmering!
Zhang Wen could actually use combat energy!
“What the hell? Amelith, didn’t you say the mental combat simulator hasn’t developed technology to use combat energy yet?” Zack yelled in panic.
“What? Are you giving up at the first setback? Your loser mentality is really something! Yes, my combat energy is a bit special, with a hint of mental energy. So here, I can unleash about first-tier strength. But is that all it takes to scare you? If you can’t even face a one-tier gap, how do you expect to challenge the ninth-tier? Don’t make me laugh!” Before Amelith could respond, Zhang Wen shouted again, swinging his longsword at the three shocked students.
One by one, the three students fell under Zhang Wen’s sword. They had used up their third respawn.
Among the three, Cloud was the first to recover from the pain and shock.
“It’s no big deal! It’s just first-tier combat energy! There are three of us, and if we play our cards right, we’ll have a chance!” Zack gasped heavily, trying to forget the excruciating pain he had just endured, his eyes fixed on Zhang Wen’s blue-glowing longsword.
“Mind your own business! Who was it that said he couldn’t use combat energy?” Zack shot a disdainful look at Zack and instinctively tightened his grip on his energy sword.
“Oh! Seems like there’s a bit of progress. But determination alone isn’t enough.” With Zhang Wen’s cold laugh, he accelerated again, appearing beside the three students in an instant and swinging his longsword at them.
Clang!
Zhang Wen’s longsword was blocked for the first time.
“Heh! We’re not just about determination!” Zack strained with all his might to resist the force on his arm.
“Is that so?” Zhang Wen sneered, and the longsword that Zack had blocked suddenly slid along the blade of the energy sword.
Amidst the screeching sound of metal, Zack was horrified to find that Zhang Wen had effortlessly pulled his longsword out from under Zack’s energy sword.
Cloud and Amelith, as if waking from a dream, desperately attacked Zhang Wen. But Zhang Wen nimbly dodged, leaving both of them to miss.
“Hey hey! I’ve taught you for so long, and this is how you perform a combined attack? How embarrassing!” Zhang Wen mercilessly mocked the flustered Cloud and Amelith. Before they could recover, Zhang Wen’s longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
Then, Zack found himself moving involuntarily, his energy sword thrusting towards Cloud alongside Zhang Wen’s. Moreover, his and Zhang Wen’s attacks perfectly sealed off all possible escape routes for Cloud—one thrusting from the lower right to the upper left, the other slashing diagonally from the upper right to the lower left. Cloud desperately blocked Zhang Wen’s longsword but could only watch helplessly as Zack’s energy sword pierced his chest.
In deathmatch mode, damage between teammates wouldn’t result in “death,” but it would cause corresponding pain. Seeing Cloud writhing in agony after being pierced by him, a panicked Zack was effortlessly stabbed in the arm by Zhang Wen.
The excruciating pain from his right arm immediately told Zack that Zhang Wen’s attack had “severed” his arm.
Leaving Zack and Cloud writhing in pain on the ground, Zhang Wen advanced towards Amelith. As he slowly approached her, he raised his longsword and thrust it towards her.
“Ah…” Amelith flailed in a panic, but her moves were completely disorganized. She felt like she knew how to block Zhang Wen’s attack, but her body wouldn’t obey. In the end, the frustrated beauty didn’t even wait for Zhang Wen’s longsword to descend before choosing to respawn.
“How disappointing! Do you know how long this training session has been going on? Fifteen minutes.” Watching the three students respawn for the fourth time in the corner of the training hall, Zhang Wen shook his head vigorously. “Fifteen minutes, and you’ve already used up four respawns. At this rate, you won’t even make it through the afternoon.”
“Don’t underestimate us! We’re not giving up yet!” Zack shouted defiantly. He seemed ready to charge at Zhang Wen but was grabbed by Cloud.
“Zack, don’t be impulsive! We don’t have many chances left! Do you want to drag everyone down?” Cloud glared at Zack.
“Who’s dragging anyone down?” Zack muttered under his breath but eventually lowered his head under Cloud’s icy gaze.
The three whispered among themselves for a while, finally arranging themselves in a formation with Zack and Cloud at the front and Amelith at the back, following Cloud’s plan.
“Heh heh! Finally, it’s starting to look like something.” Watching the three students cautiously maintaining their distance as they slowly approached him, Zhang Wen finally showed a smile that wasn’t entirely cold.
“However, there are way too many flaws! Zack, you and Cloud are so far apart—are you not confident in yourselves, afraid of accidentally hitting each other during an attack? Well, you certainly won’t hurt each other this way. But when I attack Cloud, what can you do from so far away? Wait for me to make him stab you again?” As Zhang Wen shouted this, his longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
“It’s not that easy!” Cloud shouted, struggling to prevent Zhang Wen from controlling his movements.
Honestly, Cloud had been learning the Spring Water Sword Technique for quite some time and wasn’t completely clueless about balance control like Griffith. If Cloud could use his full strength and Zhang Wen didn’t use combat energy, Zhang Wen might indeed have to put in some effort. But now, with Cloud unable to use combat energy and Zhang Wen capable of using first-tier combat energy, Cloud’s full resistance only caused Zhang Wen’s sword to slightly veer to the right.
Facing the two swords thrusting at him from Cloud and Zhang Wen, Zack used every ounce of his strength to barely block Zhang Wen’s attack. But Cloud’s longsword slid along Zack’s arm, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound.
“Tch!” Zack gritted his teeth, ignoring the wound on his arm. He stepped to the side and then stomped the ground, charging back at Zhang Wen.
“Oh! Now this is interesting!” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, easily blocking Zack’s desperate counterattack, but used the momentum to float in front of Cloud and deliver a heavy kick to his abdomen.
“Ugh…” Cloud clutched his churning stomach, kneeling in pain.
The 120% pain made it impossible for Cloud to stand up. He could only watch as Zhang Wen dodged Zack’s attack right in front of him and then kicked Zack to the ground as well.
“Amelith! What are you doing?” After taking down the two struggling boys, Zhang Wen turned to Amelith, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines but couldn’t intervene, and shouted.
“Ah!” Amelith, as if waking from a dream, charged at Zhang Wen with a shout.
Zhang Wen snorted coldly, effortlessly knocking the energy sword out of Amelith’s hand.
“Amelith, when Cloud and Zack had you stay behind them, did you think it was to find a place to hide? You were so confident when you left my room earlier, but now you’re playing the turtle?”
“Who’s playing the turtle? I was looking for an opening!” Amelith blushed with shame and anger.
“Cut the crap! What opening can you find from so far back? Even if you stumble upon one by chance, by the time you get there, your teammates would have been taken out several times over! Sigh! Are you afraid of dying?” Zhang Wen said, not pausing his attacks on Amelith for a moment.
“Who’s afraid of dying?” Amelith shouted through gritted teeth but was forcefully pressed against the wall by Zhang Wen.
However, compared to Zack and Cloud, Amelith was much more stubborn. The previously downed Zack and Cloud saw that even after Zhang Wen pressed Amelith against the wall, she still struggled with all her might.
“Oh…” In her violent struggle, Amelith’s knee accidentally struck Zhang Wen’s abdomen. The frenzied beauty kicked Zhang Wen back several steps, and then, with red eyes, she raised her energy sword and charged at Zhang Wen as if he were her mortal enemy.
“Amelith!” Zack and Cloud shouted in surprise.
To the two of them, Amelith’s straight charge at Zhang Wen seemed like a suicidal move!
Among the three apprentices, Cloud was the first to recover from the pain and shock.
“It’s nothing big! Just first-stage battle energy! There are three of us altogether. As long as we work well together, we definitely have a chance!” Zack gasped for breath, trying to forget the pain he had just endured, his eyes fixed tightly on the blue-glowing sword in Zhang Wen’s hand.
“Mind your own business! Who was the one saying he couldn’t use battle energy just now?” Zack shot a scornful glance at Zack while instinctively gripping his crystal-energy sword tighter.
“Oh! Seems like you’ve made a little progress. Still, determination alone won’t do.” With a cold chuckle from Zhang Wen, he accelerated again, appearing beside the three startled apprentices in the blink of an eye and swinging his sword at them.
Clang!
Zhang Wen’s sword was blocked for the first time.
“Heh! We’re not just about determination!” Zack exerted all his strength to resist the force coming down his arm.
“Is that so?” Zhang Wen mocked with a smile. The sword that had been blocked by Zack suddenly slid along the edge of Zack’s crystal-energy sword.
Amidst the screeching sound of metal scraping against metal, Zack watched in horror as Zhang Wen effortlessly pulled his sword free from under Zack’s blade.
It was only then that Cloud and Amelith snapped out of their shock, desperately attacking Zhang Wen. However, with a light dodge, Zhang Wen easily evaded both of them.
“Hey hey! After teaching you for so long, how can your combined attack still be this pathetic? You’re making yourselves a laughingstock!” Mocking the flustered Cloud and Amelith, Zhang Wen wasted no time in bringing his sword against Zack’s crystal-energy sword again.
Then, Zack involuntarily moved along with the force, his crystal-energy sword suddenly attacking Cloud alongside Zhang Wen. Their attacks formed a perfect diagonal cross—one slicing upward from the lower right to the upper left, the other slashing downward from the upper right to the lower left—blocking every possible escape route for Cloud. Cloud barely managed to block Zhang Wen’s sword, but could only watch helplessly as Zack’s crystal-energy sword pierced through his chest.
In death-match mode, damage from teammates wouldn’t result in “elimination,” but it would cause corresponding pain. Seeing Cloud writhing in agony after being pierced by his own teammate, a panicked Zack was easily struck in the arm by Zhang Wen again.
The intense pain shooting through his right arm immediately told Zack that Zhang Wen’s attack had “severed” his arm.
Leaving Zack and Cloud to writhe in pain on the ground, Zhang Wen turned toward Amelith. Step by step, he approached her, slowly raising his sword to strike.
With such a lineup facing Zhang Wen head-on, the outcome for Zack and his companions was already a foregone conclusion.
“Ah!” Zack, who was the first to rush to Zhang Wen’s side, was immediately struck at his weakest point by Zhang Wen. The energy sword in his hand was effortlessly knocked away by Zhang Wen. Immediately after, excruciating pain once again spread through Zack’s body. His right arm was severed by Zhang Wen’s sword, and then he was kicked towards the two who were charging from behind.
“Zack!” Cloud and Amelith shouted in unison, both finding themselves in a state of helplessness. Zack’s body blocked their path and line of sight to Zhang Wen; they couldn’t even see where Zhang Wen was.
In the next moment, tragic screams also erupted from Cloud and Amelith. Just as Zhang Wen had said, he would not show any mercy just because Amelith was a girl.
While his sword pierced through Cloud’s thigh, Zhang Wen’s left fist also struck Amelith’s abdomen. The petite beauty’s body curled up like a shrimp. She lay on the ground in agony, dry heaving, feeling as if her internal organs were twisted into a knot.
The little beauty let out a painful groan and, without even waiting to hit the ground, chose to respawn. Zack and Cloud, both battered and bruised, also disappeared from the spot and reappeared in a corner of the virtual training hall.
“You’d better save your respawns. I forgot to tell you earlier, each of you only has ten respawns. If you use up all ten and still haven’t beaten me, you lose. Honestly, this time it’s less about me training you and more about… no, it’s more about you testing yourselves,” Zhang Wen said with a calm smile to the three students.
“You came to my room crying before, which was a challenge for me as a teacher. Should I trust your determination? Or ignore you and win in the safest way possible? I chose to believe in you, but what about you? You wasted years and suddenly want to defeat a ninth-tier opponent. Haha, catching up on lost time isn’t just about hard work. Maybe you have the determination to reach your goal, but do you have the talent? Or do you truly believe you can do it?”
“For the match against Themis Academy, I don’t want to lose just like you, and I can’t afford to lose. So, this is the limit of what I can give you. If you lose, or if you can’t endure the pain and quit, then don’t come bothering me again.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen’s words made the three respawned students widen their eyes in shock.
Honestly, the painful experience just now had already made the three students somewhat unbearable. Although their determination to continue training hadn’t wavered because of the pain, in their hearts, they couldn’t help but think of slacking off. For example, all three students had thought of secretly lowering their virtual intensity before entering the mind combat machine next time. As long as Zhang Wen didn’t notice!
But now they had to abandon any thoughts of slacking off. Success or failure, they only had this one chance.
“No matter what, we can only rely on ourselves! Teacher Zhang is strong, but we’ve also learned his sword techniques, and there are three of us!” Zack, pushed to the edge of the cliff, finally erupted with the ferocity inherited from his imperial soldier lineage. He raised his energy sword again and shouted to his two companions.
“Hmph! Who needs you to say that? Even if you both can’t hold on, I won’t quit!” Cloud firmly raised his energy sword.
“Hehe!” Amelith smiled at Zhang Wen, then clenched her teeth tightly.
“Hmm!” Looking at the three students who had finally calmed down, Zhang Wen’s lips curled up again, “This is getting interesting. But if you want to beat me, you’ll have to put in more effort! Also… Zack, who told you I can’t use combat energy here?” Zhang Wen placed his longsword across his chest and suddenly accelerated again, his body moving in a bizarre trajectory, ghost-like, towards the three students!
“This… this is impossible!” Zhang Wen’s sudden attack almost made the three students’ eyes pop out.
Because they all saw that Zhang Wen’s longsword was now enveloped in a faint blue glow! Although the glow was very weak, it was indeed flickering!
Zhang Wen could actually use combat energy!
“What kind of joke is this? Amelith, didn’t you say the mind combat machine hasn’t developed the technology to use combat energy yet?” Zack shouted in panic.
“What? Are you giving up after just one setback? Your loser mentality is really something! Yes, my combat energy is a bit special, with a touch of psychic energy. So here, I can exert about first-tier strength. But, is that all it takes to scare you? If you can’t even face a first-tier difference, how do you expect to challenge the ninth-tier? Don’t make me laugh!” Without waiting for Amelith to answer, Zhang Wen shouted loudly, swinging his longsword again at the three shocked students.
The three students fell one by one under Zhang Wen’s sword. They had used up their third respawn.
Among the three, Cloud was the first to recover from the pain and shock.
“It’s nothing! Just first-tier combat energy! There are three of us, and if we perform well, we definitely have a chance!” Zack gasped heavily, trying to forget the excruciating pain he had just endured, and fixed his gaze on the blue-glowing longsword in Zhang Wen’s hand.
“Mind your own business! Who was it that said he couldn’t use combat energy?” Zack glanced disdainfully at Zack and instinctively tightened his grip on his energy sword.
“Oh! Seems like there’s a bit of progress. But determination alone is useless.” With Zhang Wen’s cold laugh, he accelerated again, appearing beside the three students in an instant, swinging his longsword at them.
Clang!
Zhang Wen’s longsword was blocked for the first time.
“Heh! We’re not just relying on determination!” Zack exerted all his strength to resist the force on his arm.
“Is that so?” Zhang Wen mocked, and the longsword blocked by Zack suddenly slid along the blade of the energy sword.
Amidst the screeching sound of metal, Zack was horrified to find that Zhang Wen had effortlessly withdrawn his longsword from under Zack’s energy sword.
Cloud and Amelith, as if waking from a dream, desperately attacked Zhang Wen. But Zhang Wen nimbly dodged, leaving the two to miss their target.
“Hey hey! I’ve taught you for so long, and your combined attacks are still this pathetic? How embarrassing!” Zhang Wen mercilessly ridiculed the disheveled Cloud and Amelith. Before they could recover, Zhang Wen’s longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
Then, Zack found himself involuntarily moving, his energy sword thrusting towards Cloud alongside Zhang Wen’s. Moreover, his attack with Zhang Wen’s was perfectly coordinated—one thrusting from the lower right to the upper left, the other slashing from the upper right to the lower left—sealing off all possible routes of action for Cloud. Cloud desperately blocked Zhang Wen’s longsword, but could only watch helplessly as Zack’s energy sword pierced his chest.
In deathmatch mode, damage between companions wouldn’t result in “death,” but it would bring corresponding pain. Seeing Cloud writhing in pain after being pierced, a panicked Zack was easily struck on the arm by Zhang Wen.
The excruciating pain from his right arm immediately told Zack that Zhang Wen’s attack had “severed” his arm.
Leaving Zack and Cloud to struggle in pain on the ground, Zhang Wen moved towards Amelith. As he approached her step by step, Zhang Wen slowly raised his longsword and thrust it towards Amelith.
“Ah…” Amelith flailed in panic, but her defense was completely disorganized. She felt like she knew how to block Zhang Wen’s attack, but her body wouldn’t obey. In the end, the frustrated little beauty didn’t even wait for Zhang Wen’s longsword to fall before choosing to respawn.
“How disappointing! Do you know how long this training session has been? Fifteen minutes.” Looking at the three students who had appeared for the fourth time in the corner of the training hall, Zhang Wen shook his head vigorously, “Fifteen minutes, and you’ve already used up four respawns. At this rate, you won’t even make it through this afternoon.”
“Don’t look down on us! We haven’t given up yet!” Zack shouted defiantly. He seemed to want to charge straight at Zhang Wen, but Cloud grabbed him.
“Zack, don’t be impulsive! We don’t have many chances left! Do you want to drag everyone down?” Cloud glared at Zack.
“Who’s dragging anyone down?” Zack muttered, but ultimately lowered his head under Cloud’s icy gaze.
The three whispered among themselves, and finally, following Cloud’s plan, they formed a formation with Zack and Cloud at the front and Amelith at the back.
“Heh! Finally, it looks a bit like a formation.” Watching the three students cautiously maintaining their distance and slowly approaching him, Zhang Wen finally showed a smile that wasn’t so cold.
“But there are way too many flaws! Zack, you and Cloud are so far apart—are you not confident in yourselves, afraid of accidentally hitting each other when attacking? This way, you certainly won’t hurt each other. But when I attack Cloud, what can you do from so far away? Wait for me to make him stab you again?” As Zhang Wen shouted this, his longsword was already pressed against Zack’s energy sword.
“Not so easy!” Cloud shouted, doing his best to prevent Zhang Wen from controlling his movements.
Honestly, Cloud had been learning the Spring Water Sword Technique for quite some time, and he wasn’t completely clueless about balance control like Griffith. If Cloud could use his full strength and Zhang Wen didn’t use combat energy, Zhang Wen might indeed have to put in some effort. But now, Cloud, unable to use combat energy, faced Zhang Wen, who could use first-tier combat energy. The result of Cloud’s full resistance was merely causing Zhang Wen’s sword angle to shift slightly to the right.
Facing the two sharp swords thrusting at him from Cloud and Zhang Wen, Zack used all his might to barely block Zhang Wen’s attack. But Cloud’s longsword slid along Zack’s arm, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound.
“Tch!” Zack gritted his teeth, ignoring the wound on his arm. He stepped to the side, then stomped the ground, charging back at Zhang Wen.
“Oh! Interesting!” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, easily blocking Zack’s desperate counterattack, but used the force to float in front of Cloud, delivering a heavy kick to Cloud’s abdomen.
“Ugh…” Cloud clutched his churning stomach, kneeling on the ground in pain.
The 120% pain made it impossible for Cloud to straighten up. He could only watch as Zhang Wen dodged Zack’s attack right in front of him, then kicked Zack to the ground as well.
“Amelith! What are you doing?” After taking down the two struggling boys, Zhang Wen turned to Amelith, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines but couldn’t intervene, and shouted.
“Ah!” Amelith, as if waking from a dream, shouted and charged at Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen snorted coldly, effortlessly knocking the energy sword out of Amelith’s hand.
“Amelith, Cloud and Zack had you stay behind them—did you think it was to find a place to hide? You were so confident when you left my room, but when it came to the real deal, you turned into a turtle?”
“Who’s a turtle? I was looking for an opening!” Amelith’s face flushed with shame and anger.
“Enough nonsense! What opening can you find hiding in the back? Even if you coincidentally find one, by the time you get there, your companions would have been dealt with several times! Sigh! Are you afraid of dying?” Zhang Wen said, not pausing his attack on Amelith for a moment.
“Who’s afraid of dying?” Amelith shouted through gritted teeth, but was forcefully pressed against the wall by Zhang Wen.
However, compared to Zack and Cloud, Amelith was much more stubborn. The previously downed Zack and Cloud saw that even after Zhang Wen pressed Amelith against the wall, she still struggled with all her might.
“Oh…” In her violent struggle, Amelith’s knee accidentally struck Zhang Wen’s abdomen. The frenzied little beauty kicked Zhang Wen back several steps, then saw Amelith, eyes red, charging at him with her energy sword as if he were her mortal enemy.
“Amelith!” Zack and Cloud shouted in shock.
To the two of them, Amelith’s straight charge at Zhang Wen seemed like a suicidal move!
“Truly disappointing! Do you know how long this special training has been going? Fifteen minutes.” Looking at the three apprentices appearing for the fourth time in the training hall’s corner, Zhang Wen shook his head in exasperation. “Fifteen minutes, and you’ve already used up four chances. At this rate, you won’t even last through this afternoon.”
“Don’t underestimate us! We haven’t given up yet!” Zack shouted defiantly. He seemed ready to charge at Zhang Wen directly but was held back by Cloud.
“Zack, don’t be reckless! We don’t have many chances left! Do you want to hold everyone back?” Cloud glared at Zack angrily.
“Who’s holding anyone back?” Zack muttered under his breath but eventually lowered his head under Cloud’s icy stare.
The three whispered among themselves briefly before finally adopting a formation based on Cloud’s suggestion—Zack and Cloud at the front, and Amelith positioned behind.
“Hehe! Finally showing some sense of teamwork.” Watching the three carefully maintaining their spacing while slowly advancing toward him, Zhang Wen finally allowed a slightly warmer smile to appear.
“Still, there are way too many openings! Zack, you and Cloud are keeping such a large distance apart—are you doubting your own abilities, afraid of accidentally hurting your teammates during attacks? Sure, keeping that distance might prevent friendly fire, but when I attack Cloud, what exactly do you think you can do from so far away? Just wait for me to make him stab you again?”
As Zhang Wen shouted these words, his sword once again pressed against Zack’s crystal-energy sword.
“Not this time!” Cloud shouted, struggling desperately to prevent Zhang Wen from controlling his movements.
Truthfully, Cloud had studied the Spring Water Sword Technique for quite some time, so he wasn’t completely clueless about balance control techniques like Griffiths. If Cloud could use his full strength while Zhang Wen refrained from using battle energy, perhaps Zhang Wen would indeed have to work much harder. However, now Cloud—who couldn’t use battle energy—was facing off against Zhang Wen, who could wield first-stage battle energy. Even Cloud’s strongest resistance only caused Zhang Wen’s sword to deviate slightly to the right.
Faced with two swords simultaneously thrusting toward him from Cloud and Zhang Wen, Zack exerted all his skill to barely block Zhang Wen’s strike. However, Cloud’s sword slid along Zack’s arm, carving a deep, bone-exposing wound into his right arm.
“Tsk!” Clenching his teeth, Zack paid no attention to the wound on his arm. He stepped sideways, then forcefully pushed off the ground, launching himself in a counterattack toward Zhang Wen.
“Oh! Now that’s interesting!” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, easily blocking Zack’s desperate counterattack. Using the force from the impact, he floated backward to stand in front of Cloud, delivering a heavy kick to Cloud’s abdomen.
“Ugh…” Clutching his violently churning stomach, Cloud collapsed to his knees in pain.
One hundred and twenty percent pain prevented Cloud from standing upright. Helplessly, he could only watch as Zhang Wen dodged Zack’s attack before delivering a powerful kick that sent Zack sprawling onto the ground as well.
“Amelith! What exactly are you doing?” Having subdued the two resisting boys, Zhang Wen turned around, shouting at Amelith, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines without finding an opportunity to join the fight.
“Ahh!” Finally snapping out of her daze, Amelith screamed as she charged toward Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen snorted coldly, effortlessly knocking Amelith’s crystal-energy sword from her hand.
“Amelith, Cloud and Zack kept you behind them thinking you’d hide somewhere? You looked so confident when you left my room earlier, but now that it’s for real, you’re playing the coward?”
“Who’s playing the coward? I was looking for an opening!” Amelith flushed red with anger and embarrassment.
“Save your excuses! What kind of opening do you expect to find hiding behind? Even if you accidentally found one, from that far away, by the time you got there, your teammates would already have been taken down several times! Sigh! You’re not scared of dying, are you?” Even as Zhang Wen spoke, his attacks on Amelith showed no sign of slowing.
“Who’s scared of dying?” Amelith shouted furiously, teeth clenched, only to be forcefully pressed against a wall by Zhang Wen.
However, compared to Zack and Cloud, Amelith proved far more stubborn. As Zack and Cloud, previously defeated by Zhang Wen, watched, Amelith continued struggling fiercely despite being pinned against the wall.
“Ow…” During her violent struggle, Amelith’s knee accidentally struck Zhang Wen’s lower abdomen. The furious young woman kicked so hard that Zhang Wen staggered backward several steps. Then, they saw Amelith, eyes red with rage, raise her crystal-energy sword like confronting an enemy and charge toward Zhang Wen.
“Amelith!” Zack and Cloud shouted in alarm.
In their eyes, Amelith’s direct charge toward Zhang Wen was practically a suicide attack!
However, to Zack’s and Cloud’s astonishment, Aerith’s seemingly random strike actually hit Zhang Wen! Although Aerith’s attack merely grazed Zhang Wen’s body—something that wouldn’t even scratch Zhang Wen’s combat suit in the real world—in the virtual realm, the system still honestly awarded her a “hit point” and imposed a pain penalty on Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen hadn’t expected that within this so-called “99% realistic” system, Aerith’s weak and feeble strike would actually hurt as much as being stabbed by a real sword.
“Tsk! Could that 1% artificiality be exactly where it’s used?” Zhang Wen gritted his teeth in pain—though of course, this expression couldn’t be simulated on the training simulator.
Feeling that the pain might affect his upcoming performance, Zhang Wen decisively waved his hand and disappeared from the spot.
Had they actually won?! Both Zack and Cloud froze mentally, unable to process this completely unreasonable scene.
As the two stood there, stunned and wondering whether this miserable “hell trial” would end in such an inexplicable way, Zhang Wen suddenly reappeared in another corner of the training hall.
Zack and Cloud were once again left gaping in disbelief.
“Hey hey! Come on, Zack, Cloud, you didn’t actually think it’d be this easy to get your return ticket out of hell, did you?” Zhang Wen mocked the two stunned boys, his eyes flashing with a blue glow as he once again gripped his familiar longsword. “In the simulator, the competition is fair and equal for both sides. You have ten chances to respawn, so how could I possibly not have the same? I’ve used one, so you still need to work nine more times harder!”
“Ah! Teacher Zhang, that’s just too underhanded!” Zack shouted indignantly.
“Underhanded? What underhanded? Zack, don’t forget why you’re here! If I let you out now, do you really think you can defeat Link?”
Zhang Wen’s stern expression silenced Zack and the others instantly.
“Aerith, although your last strike had a lot to do with luck, your spirit was commendable. Remember, you must never fear death! On the battlefield, only those who dare to die can truly survive. Remember that well! The same goes for you, Zack and Cloud!” As he spoke these encouraging words to his three students, Zhang Wen simultaneously lunged forward, delivering several quick blows to Aerith—the only one still standing—swiftly knocking her down.
Although Aerith was quickly defeated by Zhang Wen, her two successful hits gave Zack and Cloud a sudden surge of confidence.
At last, they truly realized that Zhang Wen was no indestructible monster. Aside from his amazing swordsmanship, he was just an ordinary person. If struck, his first-tier battle energy couldn’t withstand the sharpness of a crystal blade. He could still be injured, and he could still be defeated!
“Aerith! Respawn!” Unable to bear watching Zhang Wen dominate Aerith any longer, Zack and Cloud—who had long been lying on the ground, unable to rise—shouted desperately, simultaneously using up their fifth respawns.
“Listen! We’ve still got five respawns left each. If we can’t defeat him before they’re gone, we’ll really be tortured for five whole days! We’ve got to come up with a plan! Even if we can’t take him down quickly, at least we can avoid getting taken down too fast!” Under the terrifying pressure from Zhang Wen, Zack finally started thinking and proposed what could be considered a brilliant suggestion.
“Exactly! Zhang’s swordsmanship and his first-tier battle energy are definitely stronger than ours, but did you notice? It’s not that easy for him to defeat us head-on. He always exploits the mistakes in our coordination.” Cloud, ever meticulous, quickly added while he and Zack assumed a defensive stance alongside their companion.
“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Aerith said, regaining her composure after the chaos of the moment.
“Cloud, I get what you’re saying!” After Cloud finished speaking, Zack thought for a moment and nodded enthusiastically. “So our priority now is defense. But how exactly should we defend?”
“Keep our distance! Earlier, Teacher Zhang said we were too far apart—while that prevented accidental harm during combat, it also made it hard to support each other quickly,” Cloud explained. “Since we can’t beat him anyway, let’s just give up attacking altogether. That way, we won’t have to worry about friendly fire. As long as we maintain the right distance, the moment anyone is attacked, the other two can immediately come to the rescue. He won’t be able to do anything to us! And the longer the battle lasts, the more disadvantageous it will be for him!”
“Hehe! Right! The longer it goes on, the more coordinated we’ll become. Once we’re confident we can block him, we can start counterattacking! I like this idea!” Zack laughed loudly and nodded.
“No problem!” Aerith gripped her crystal sword tightly.
“Alright then! Also, remember—we don’t have many respawns left. If possible, endure minor injuries and avoid wasting respawns unnecessarily!”
“Don’t worry!”
“Then let’s do it!”
“Alright!”
With a loud shout from the three trainees, the trio—scattered across different corners of the training hall—rushed toward a column and regrouped into the triangular formation they’d used earlier. This time, however, the distance between them was significantly smaller, and they stood with their backs to the column, clearly not intending to attack Zhang Wen.
“Oh! You’ve figured out a little trick! Not a bad idea, but unfortunately, there’s still a flaw.” Zhang Wen smiled slightly as he watched the three students take their positions, then darted toward them like lightning.
Clang! Zhang Wen’s first strike was blocked by Zack and Cloud together.
Zhang Wen immediately changed tactics, withdrawing his sword and attacking from a different angle. The three students, undeterred, met his assault with the sword techniques Zhang Wen had taught them.
Soon, Zack and the others understood exactly what Zhang Wen meant by “flaw.” Aerith also realized why Zhang Wen had said she would suffer ten times more than Zack and Cloud.
In the formation formed by the three students, each of their positions—Zack, Cloud, and Aerith—was an equally important pivot point. Yet among these three, Aerith was clearly the weakest link.
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