Chapter 79: Super Intensive Training

With such a formation to confront Zhang Wen directly, the outcome for Zack and his companions was already self-evident.

“Ahhh!” Zack, who charged at Zhang Wen first, was immediately targeted at his weakest point. His crystal-energy sword was effortlessly knocked away by Zhang Wen. Immediately afterward, an excruciating pain once again surged through Zack’s body. Zhang Wen had severed his right arm with a single slash and then kicked him toward the two charging behind.

“Zack!” Cloud and Amelith shouted in alarm, simultaneously finding themselves at a loss. Zack’s body blocked their line of sight and attack path to Zhang Wen; they couldn’t even see where Zhang Wen stood.

In the next moment, agonized screams 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 a single strike, Zhang Wen’s left fist slammed into Amelith’s abdomen. The young girl’s sexy body curled up like a shrimp in pain. She collapsed onto the ground, dry heaving violently, as if her internal organs were twisting together.

Letting out a pained groan, Amelith, unable to wait for her body to land, chose to reincarnate. Severely wounded once again, Zack and Cloud also vanished from their spots, reappearing in a corner of the virtual training hall.

“You’d better save your reincarnations for when it really matters. I almost forgot to mention earlier—you each only have ten chances to revive. If you use all ten and still can’t defeat me, you fail. To be honest, this time, it’s less of a training session I’m giving you and more of a test you’re conducting on yourselves,” Zhang Wen said with a calm smile to the three apprentices.

“You came crying to me in my room before, presenting me with a bit of a dilemma. Should I trust your determination, or ignore you and take the safest path to victory? I chose to believe in you, but what about you? You wasted years of time, and suddenly now say you want to defeat a ninth-stage opponent. Heh, wanting to make up for lost time isn’t something effort alone can achieve. Perhaps you do have the determination to reach your goal, but do you have the talent? Or more importantly, do you truly believe you can do it?”

“This match against Themis Academy, I don’t want to lose either, and I can’t afford to. So this opportunity is the limit of what I can offer you. If you lose or give up because you can’t endure the pain, don’t bother coming to me again.”

“What?!” Zhang Wen’s words left the three reincarnated apprentices wide-eyed.

Frankly speaking, the painful experience they had just gone through was already nearly unbearable. Although their resolve to continue training remained firm, an inevitable thought of slacking off had crept into each of their minds. For example, all three apprentices simultaneously considered secretly lowering their virtual intensity settings before entering the Mind术 Countermeasure Machine next time—as long as Zhang Wen wouldn’t find out.

Now, however, they had to abandon all such thoughts. Success or failure, this was their one and only chance.

“No matter what, we can only rely on ourselves! Although Zhang is strong, we’ve learned his sword techniques too, and we’re three against one!” Zack, pushed to the edge, finally unleashed the fighting spirit inherited from his days in the imperial army. He raised his crystal-energy sword again and shouted to his companions.

“Hmph! Like I need to be told that? Even if you both give up, I won’t quit!” Cloud firmly raised his sword.

“Hehe!” Amelith smiled at Zhang Wen and then clenched her teeth tightly.

“Hmph!” Seeing the three apprentices finally calm down, Zhang Wen’s lips curled upward again. “Now 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 suddenly accelerated, his sword raised across his chest, and his body moved along an eerie path, ghost-like as he floated toward the three apprentices.

“This… this can’t be happening!” Zhang Wen’s sudden attack nearly made the three apprentices pop their eyes out.

Because all of them clearly saw that the sword in Zhang Wen’s hand was now surrounded by a faint blue glow! Though the glow was very weak, it was indeed flickering!

Zhang Wen could use battle energy!

“What the hell? Amelith, didn’t you say the simulator hadn’t developed the technology to use battle energy yet?” Zack shouted in disbelief.

“What? Already losing heart at the first blow? Your pathetic attitude is really going to get you killed! That’s right, my battle energy is somewhat special—it contains a bit of mind energy. So here, I can display about first-stage strength. But you’re already scared off by just this? You can’t even face a one-stage difference in power and still dare to challenge a ninth-stage opponent? Don’t make me laugh!” Before Amelith could answer, Zhang Wen had already shouted back, swinging his sword once more at the three shocked apprentices.

The three apprentices fell one by one beneath Zhang Wen’s sword. They had used up their third reincarnation.

Among the three apprentices, Cloud was the first to recover from the pain and shock.

“It’s nothing big! It’s just first-stage battle energy! There are three of us total. If we work well together, we definitely have a chance!” Zack gasped for breath, trying to forget the pain he had just endured, his eyes locked on the blue-glowing sword in Zhang Wen’s hand.

“Take care of yourself first! Who said he couldn’t use battle energy?” Zack shot a disdainful glance at Zack and instinctively gripped his crystal-energy sword tighter.

“Oh! Seems like you’ve made a little progress. Still, determination alone won’t cut it.” With a cold sneer, Zhang Wen accelerated again, appearing beside the three apprentices in the blink of an eye and swinging his sword.

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, and the sword blocked by Zack suddenly slid along the blade of Zack’s sword.

With a grating metallic screech, Zack watched in horror as Zhang Wen effortlessly withdrew his sword from under Zack’s.

At that moment, Cloud and Amelith finally snapped out of their daze and desperately attacked Zhang Wen. But Zhang Wen easily dodged, leaving the two to miss completely.

“Come on! I’ve taught you for so long, and your combined attack is still this sloppy? How embarrassing!” Zhang Wen mocked the flustered Cloud and Amelith without mercy. Before they could recover, Zhang Wen’s sword was already against Zack’s crystal-energy sword.

Then, Zack involuntarily moved, his sword following Zhang Wen’s as they both attacked Cloud. Their strikes formed a perfect diagonal cross—from bottom-right to top-left and top-right to bottom-left—completely sealing Cloud’s escape. Cloud managed to block Zhang Wen’s sword but could only watch helplessly as Zack’s crystal-energy sword pierced through his chest.

In deathmatch mode, attacks from teammates wouldn’t result in “death,” but they would bring corresponding pain. Seeing Cloud writhing in agony after being pierced by his own ally, Zack panicked and was once again easily struck in the arm by Zhang Wen.

The intense pain shooting from his right arm immediately told Zack that Zhang Wen had “cut off” his arm this time.

Letting Zack and Cloud writhe in pain on the ground, Zhang Wen advanced toward Amelith. Step by step, he slowly raised his sword and thrust it toward her.

“Ahh…” Amelith flailed her defenses, but her movements were completely disorganized. She felt like she clearly knew how to block Zhang Wen’s attack, but her body wouldn’t obey. Finally, the frustrated young girl didn’t even wait for Zhang Wen’s sword to land before choosing to reincarnate.

“What a disappointment! Do you know how long this special training has been going? Fifteen minutes.” Looking at the three apprentices who had reappeared for the fourth time in the training hall’s corner, Zhang Wen shook his head. “Fifteen minutes, and you’ve already used four reincarnations. At this rate, you won’t even survive the 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 drag everyone down?” Cloud glared at Zack.

“Who’s dragging anyone down?” Zack muttered under his breath but finally lowered his head under Cloud’s icy stare.

The three whispered for a while before finally following Cloud’s plan, forming a formation with Zack and Cloud at the front and Amelith at the back.

“Hehe! Finally got your act together a bit.” Watching the three carefully maintaining their distance and slowly approaching him, Zhang Wen finally allowed a slightly warmer smile.

“But still too many flaws! Zack, you and Cloud are so far apart—are you afraid of accidentally hurting your teammate? Sure, keeping that distance won’t hurt your allies, but when I attack Cloud, how far away are you going to be able to do anything? Waiting for me to let him stab you again?” As Zhang Wen shouted, his sword was already against Zack’s crystal-energy sword.

“Not this time!” Cloud shouted, struggling to prevent Zhang Wen from controlling his movements.

Truthfully, Cloud had studied 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 battle energy, perhaps Zhang Wen would have had a hard time. But now, Cloud, unable to use battle energy, faced Zhang Wen who could wield first-stage battle energy. Even with all his effort, Cloud could only make Zhang Wen’s sword angle slightly to the right.

Facing two swords from Cloud and Zhang Wen simultaneously, Zack used every ounce of skill he had and barely managed to block Zhang Wen’s attack. But Cloud’s sword slid along Zack’s arm, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound on his right arm.

“Tch!” Zack gritted his teeth, not even minding the wound on his arm. He stepped sideways, then forcefully pushed off the ground and charged back at Zhang Wen.

“Oh! Now that’s interesting!” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, easily blocking Zack’s desperate counterattack. Using the force, he floated over to Cloud’s front and kicked him hard in the stomach.

“Ugh…” Cloud, clutching his violently twisting stomach, knelt painfully on the ground.

One hundred and twenty percent pain left Cloud unable to stand. He could only watch helplessly as Zhang Wen dodged Zack’s attack and then kicked him down as well.

“Amelith! What are you doing?” After taking down the two struggling males, Zhang Wen turned to Amelith, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines, and shouted.

“Ahh!” Finally snapping out of her daze, Amelith screamed and charged at Zhang Wen.

Zhang Wen snorted coldly and easily knocked Amelith’s crystal-energy sword from her hand.

“Amelith, Zack and Cloud asked you to stay behind them—did you think that meant hiding? You looked so confident when you left my room earlier, but now when it’s for real, you’re playing hide-and-seek like a turtle?”

“Who’s hiding like a turtle? I was looking for an opening!” Amelith snapped, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger.

“Save the excuses! What kind of opening can you find from so far back? Even if you accidentally find one, by the time you get there, your teammates will have been taken down several times already! Sigh! You’re not scared of dying, are you?” Zhang Wen continued his verbal assault while not letting up on his physical one.

“Who’s scared of dying?” Amelith shouted furiously, only to be forcefully shoved against a wall by Zhang Wen.

However, compared to Zack and Cloud, Amelith was much more stubborn. As the previously defeated Zack and Cloud watched, Amelith continued to struggle fiercely even after being pinned against the wall.

“Oh…” During her fierce struggle, Amelith’s knee accidentally slammed into Zhang Wen’s abdomen. The enraged girl kicked him back several steps, and then, eyes red with fury, she raised her crystal-energy sword and charged at him like an avenger.

“Amelith!” Zack and Cloud shouted in shock.

In their eyes, Amelith charging straight at Zhang Wen like that was practically suicide!

But to their surprise, Amelith’s wild, unskilled strike actually hit Zhang Wen! Although the strike only grazed him slightly—something that might not even pierce Zhang Wen’s battle suit in reality—in the virtual world, the system still honestly awarded her a “hit point” and inflicted pain on Zhang Wen.

Zhang Wen hadn’t expected that in this so-called “99% realistic” system, Amelith’s seemingly weak strike would hurt him as if he had been stabbed with a real sword.

“Tch! Could that 1% of unreality be exactly for this?” Zhang Wen gritted his teeth—though of course, the simulator couldn’t simulate that action either.

Then, feeling the pain might affect his performance, Zhang Wen simply waved his hand and disappeared on the spot.

Did we actually win?! Both Zack and Cloud’s brains froze at this completely unreasonable sight.

As the two stood there, stunned into silence, wondering if this painful “hell trial” would end in such an unbelievable way, Zhang Wen suddenly reappeared in another corner of the training hall.

Zack and Cloud were once again left speechless.

“Hey hey! Come on, Zack, Cloud, you didn’t really think it would be this easy to get your ticket out of hell, did you?” Zhang Wen mocked the two stunned boys, his sword flashing with blue light as he reappeared with his familiar blade in hand. “In the simulator, the competition is fair and the conditions are the same for both sides. You have ten reincarnations, so of course I do too! Now 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.

“Nonsense! What underhanded? Zack, you’d better remember why you’re here! Do you really think I’d let you out now and you’d have the confidence to defeat Link?” Zhang Wen’s stern words left the three apprentices speechless.

“Amelith, although your last strike had a lot of luck involved, your spirit was admirable. Remember this: don’t fear death! On the battlefield, only those who dare to die can survive. Remember that well! Zack, Cloud—you too!” As Zhang Wen spoke these encouraging words to his three students, he simultaneously launched several quick strikes at the only one still standing—Amelith—and swiftly knocked her down.

Although Amelith was quickly defeated, her two successful hits on Zhang Wen instantly boosted Zack and Cloud’s confidence.

They finally realized that Zhang Wen wasn’t some invincible monster. Apart from his incredible sword skills, he was just an ordinary person! If struck, even his first-stage battle energy couldn’t stop the sharp crystal-energy sword. He could still be injured, still be defeated!

“Amelith! Reincarnate!” Unable to bear watching Zhang Wen torment Amelith any longer, the already incapacitated Zack and Cloud shouted with all their might, simultaneously using their fifth reincarnation.

“Listen! We still have five reincarnations left. If we can’t defeat him before they run out, we’ll truly be tortured for five whole days! We have to think of a plan! Even if we can’t defeat him quickly, at least we must ensure we don’t get defeated too quickly!” Under the terrifying pressure from Zhang Wen, Zack finally started thinking and proposed a surprisingly wise suggestion.

“That’s right! Zack! Zhang’s sword skills are definitely much stronger than ours, and he even has first-stage battle energy, but did you notice? He doesn’t find it easy to defeat us head-on. Every time he beats us, it’s almost always by exploiting our coordination mistakes.” The meticulous Cloud joined his two companions in taking a defensive stance while speaking rapidly.

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” After the earlier chaos, Amelith had also calmed down.

“I get what you mean, Cloud!” After Cloud finished speaking, Zack thought for a moment and nodded excitedly. “Our priority now is defense. But how exactly should we defend?”

“Maintain distance! Earlier, Zhang said our distance was too far. Although it eliminated the risk of friendly fire, it also made it hard to rescue each other.” Cloud turned his head. “I think, since we can’t beat him now, we should abandon offensive moves altogether. That way, we won’t have to worry about friendly fire. As long as we maintain proper distance, whenever someone is attacked, the other two can immediately come to their aid. Then, the longer the battle drags on, the more unfavorable it becomes for him!”

“Hehe! Exactly! The longer the fight lasts, the more skilled our coordination will become. Once we’re confident we can block him, we can try to counterattack! I like this plan!” Zack grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

“No problem!” Amelith tightly gripped her crystal-energy sword.

“Alright! Then let’s do it! Also, remember our reincarnation count is limited. If possible, endure minor injuries and avoid wasting reincarnations!”

“Don’t worry!”

“Then let’s go!”

“Alright!”

With a unified shout from the three apprentices, the three reincarnated individuals sprinted from their separate corners and gathered near a pillar in the training hall, once again forming their triangular formation. This time, however, the distance between them was significantly shorter, and they leaned against the pillar without making any move to attack Zhang Wen.

“Oh! You’ve figured out a little trick, huh! Your idea is pretty good, but still flawed.” Watching the three apprentices’ formation, Zhang Wen smiled faintly, and in an instant, his figure shot toward them like lightning.

Clang! The first strike from Zhang Wen was blocked by Zack and Cloud together.

Zhang Wen immediately changed tactics, withdrawing his sword and attacking from a new angle. The three apprentices also responded valiantly, using the sword techniques Zhang Wen had taught them to meet his attacks head-on.

Soon, Zack and his companions understood exactly what Zhang Wen meant by “flaw.” Amelith also realized why Zhang Wen had said she would suffer ten times more than Zack and Cloud.

In the formation the three apprentices had created, each of them—Zack, Cloud, and Amelith—was an equally important support point. Yet among these three supports, Amelith was clearly the weakest link.