For the past three months, other than the increase in attributes brought about by the mastery of techniques, Fang Xingjian’s fundamental attributes had also been augmented due to the long time he had spent training.
Thus, Fang Xingjian’s current attributes were:
Name Fang Xingjian
Age 16
Occupation Warrior’s Squire
Level 9
Strength 36
Agility 42
Reaction 23
Endurance 30
Flexibility 32
Techniques:
Single-handed Sword Grab Level 20
Cross-slash Level 20
Grizzly Bear Sword Technique Level 30
Eagle Sword Technique Level 30
Tenauer-Style Body Strengthening Sword Technique Level 30
Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique Level 20
Chaotic Strike Level 20
Silver Moon Prayer Sword Technique Level 20
Descent of Holy Light Level 10
Tresia-Style Foundation Sword Technique Level 20
Specialities: Genius Swordsmanship, Survival Instinct, Internal Healing, Internal Training, Sword Specialist
He now possessed more than double the strength he’d had three months before, and his speed was now fast enough to leave an afterimage if within a short distance. He was now able to stay energized the entire day with just one or two hours of rest each day, especially given his enhanced physical strength from the development of his internal organs.
At the same time, the fusion of his muscles, bones, blood and organs greatly boosted his flexibility, allowing him to execute various sword techniques with the perfect control over the amount of power.
At this moment, Fang Xingjian gained three additional specialties while practicing his sword techniques for internal strength.
Internal Healing: possesses a certain amount of control over the internal organs; allows one to rouse the muscles and bones using willpower, restricting internal injuries and forcing internal wounds to heal temporarily.
Internal Training: subjective willpower can help the intestines digest and greatly enhances one’s absorbing ability, thus increasing the effects of martial arts training and improving food absorption rate.
Out of the first two specialties, one allowed Fang Xingjian to heal his own internal injuries while the other increased the degree of attribute enhancement during martial arts practice.
The other one, Sword Specialist, made Fang Xingjian feel slightly perplexed.
Sword Specialist: increases the accumulated potential from practicing sword arts.
He had attained this specialty after perfecting the tenth sword technique up to the maximum level, but he did not understand its effects, and gave up after researching for a while. Little did he know that it was a specialty Kaunitz had always dreamt of attaining, and for which he had even come to The School of Sword Arts for it, intending to learn the school’s basic sword techniques in a bid to obtain it.
The next moment, as Fang Xingjian casually cut through the air, the sword’s pitch-black afterimage successfully connected into one, like a cloud of black fog exploding and dispersing into the air. The blade sliced through the air, creating an explosive buzz. The continuously compressed air formed shockwaves which were pushed outwards. They were similar to sword Qi striking against the ground and the walls, at the same time creating light crackling sounds.
Compared with the current Kaunitz, Fang Xingjian realized that he was already able to crush Kaunitz both in terms of attributes and swordsmanship.
This increased his self-confidence for the Prefectural Selection.
Taking a step forward, Fang Xingjian was like an arrow ripping through the air whilst yelling out continuous howls, and arrived at the base of the wall in a second. Thereafter, he took a heavy step with his right leg, making a series of dull sounds, as if the ground had trembled for a moment.
Suddenly, an explosion revealed a small pit the size of a footprint. Amidst the crumbling surface and flying rocks, Fang Xingjian had already flipped across the wall and headed towards the examination area.
As the Prefectural Selection neared, Kirst gradually started filling with strangers. They were Warriors who had come for the selections from the neighboring cities, towns, or even villages.
According to the official figures, more than three thousand people were participating in Kirst’s Prefectural Selection.
While hurrying all the way to the examination area, Fang Xingjian saw many brave strong Warriors carrying various weapons. Solemnity and nervousness fully shone on their faces, since the following competition could decide the paths that the rest of their lives would take.
The drill grounds in the City Guards Institution were already packed with people. Fang Xingjian queued up at the entrance to verify his identity before he took a number tag and wore it on his wrist.
Fang Xingjian had been casually standing by the side. After a while, his senior in The School of Sword Arts, Ogden, appeared before him. Ogden had already comprehended the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique and had successfully attained level 2 in it. Confidence was written all over his face. His current strength, agility, and reaction attributes had all broken past 20 points. A few juniors who were also participating in the selection followed behind him.
Seeing Fang Xingjian, he could not help but laugh. “Isn’t this Junior Xingjian? After hiding for so many months, you’re finally out in the sun?
“Couldn’t have been easy training by yourself. Anyway, it’s been such a long time. Have you increased your Eagle Sword Technique’s level? Do you need some guidance from me?
“Oh, right. Young Master Kaunitz is also here for the selection. Why don’t you go greet him?”
Ogden laughed out loud. To him, the one Fang Xingjian feared the most in The School of Sword Arts would be Kaunitz, who had thrashed him daily.
Fang Xingjian smiled coldly in his heart and threw a glance towards Ogden. Suddenly, he placed his hand on Ogden’s chest and pushed him with a little force. It was as if an adult had pushed a young child. Ogden flew backwards and landed with a bang after tumbling away over ten meters.
“You!” Having been pushed over by the other party in one strike, his face had turned a furious red. But then he thought to himself, ‘What happened? How could his strength exceed mine by such a large margin?’
At this moment, a red-haired Knight wearing Knight attire clapped, starting to speak slowly from a podium on the drill grounds. “Everyone is here, let’s begin.”
This Knight had strong limbs, a full beard decorated his face, and his red hair flew in the wind like flames.
He had only opened his mouth normally, not even shouting, but the sound waves reached the ends of the arena due to some specific contractions of his lungs. Ogden’s expression turned ghastly. He glared at Fang Xingjian fiercely, but did nothing else.
Fang Xingjian did not even look at him, but instead stared fixedly at the red-haired Knight, saying to himself, ‘His internal organs must be extremely condensed, and their strength is equivalent to that of a strong man’s arms and thigh muscles.’ He had asked around and had found that the Knight before him was one of the examiners in the selections. He was Hogan, the leader of the City Guards, at level 19. Since he had been able to attain level 19, it was obvious that he had completed his first transition after becoming a Knight.
His abilities were just a step away from reaching the second transition. It was said that he had participated in the Regional Selection before, and had almost become a Conferred Knight, who could attain the right to the Empire’s second job transition.
As the red-haired Knight spoke, everyone on the grounds fell silent.
The Knight nodded, satisfied, and said, “I am Hogan, your examiner for the first round.”
The Empire’s Prefectural Selection was not an easy test. The three areas he was evaluating were namely their physical abilities, their techniques, and their level of comprehension.
The examinees were basically Warriors who had not gone through the first job transition, and there were many participants overall. Therefore, it was not arranged for them to have duels which could easily result in deaths or injuries.
Suppose there were duels between a few thousand people, each of them the elites of various dojos and academies. If there were to be any cases of injuries or death, these could even incite fierce rioting, increase the frequency of armed fights in the city, and cause unrest in the Empire.
Moreover, a single battle would not be sufficient to determine one’s potential and talent.
Hence, the Prefectural Selection removed the battling mode, only including theoretical and practical tests.
Hogan continued. “The Prefectural Selection’s main arena is at Kirst Royal Academy, which is about twelve kilometers away.
“You have ten minutes to get there. All latecomers will be disqualified.
“So, I will be waiting there.”
After saying that, in a flash, Hogan sprinted beyond the drill grounds. The air howled and the earth shook, as if a large group of elephants were running wildly. Each of his steps smashed the ground into pieces, making little pits, while the enormous counterforce propelled his body, allowing him to dash out like a rocket, and even to rip through the air, creating a trail of faint white smoke.
‘What a fast speed!’ Fang Xingjian’s gaze froze. ‘To have such an explosive force, his strength and agility must both be at a minimum of 50. No, they could even be at 60! Or even higher!’
With Hogan’s display of ability, many Warriors on the ground started to move, jostling each other as they headed towards the drill grounds’ exit.
“Everyone, I will make a move first. The Tresia Clan will be accepting the position of this time’s Prefectural Champion.”
With a faint howl, a shadow dashed up high. Kaunitz stepped on the heads of over ten Warriors and dashed out of the drill grounds like a cool breeze.
The City Guards’ Institution was barricaded by tall walls over five meters tall, and the fastest way out was through the main gate.
Kaunitz’s control was brought to its peak. He used the bones and muscles of the bodies in the crowd as a propulsion medium, sprinting to the gate in a flash.
However, just as he was about to leap to the main gate, a fierce gale howled. The turbulence in the air stirred against his face, making it difficult for him to breathe.
“Scram.”
Immediately afterwards, a gigantic shadow loomed over him.
“Who’s that?”
With a holler, Kaunitz still managed to turn his body whilst in the air, fiercely smashing his tender fist towards the figure.
The other party chuckled and returned the punch straight on. Kaunitz only felt overwhelming strength piercing through his fist into his body, the domineering strength sending him flying.
Bang! With a loud sound, Kaunitz flew over twenty metres away. Half kneeling on the ground, he felt his right arm numb and aching. His vital energy and blood thrashed about in his body, making him unable to exert any strength for quite some time.
He raised his head to take a look, and stared in disbelief at the burly man who had driven him back.
“Robert?”
That burly man laughed, already turning to squeeze through the gates. His height was over 2.5 metres, and his four limbs were strong and thick, much like the supporting pillars of bridges.
There were many big Warriors on the grounds, but standing beside him they looked like little kids.
Wherever this burly man passed by, it was as if a wild boar thrashed through a ploughed field, the crowd being the wheat, easily crushed and pushed aside. With just a few steps, he was the first to dash out of the grounds.
“Hahahaha, the Prefectural Champion this time around can only be me, Robert Abel!”
With a fanatical laughter, he dashed out like a tornado.
“Robert Abel?”
“How is that possible? Isn’t he the leader of the Tyrant Fist Dojo?”
“Hasn’t he already undergone the first transition?”
“This fellow…” Kaunitz gritted his teeth. Eldest Martial Brother Ogden came up to him from the back and asked in concern, “Young Master Kaunitz, are you alright?”
With a cold snort, Kaunitz dashed out once again without bothering to reply. Fury had been ignited in his heart, and without showing any mercy, he advanced like a crazed elephant. Wherever he passed by, the others would be thrown off their feet.
‘Damn it. This fellow Robert… Has he disbanded the Tyrant Fist Dojo?’ Kaunitz thought to himself. ‘If he were to disband the school and go under the Empire’s protection, even if he’s already undergone the first job transition he would still be qualified to participate in the Prefectural Selection.’
Kaunitz was aware that the Tyrant Fist Dojo was merely a third rated school which only passed down the route for the first job transition. As the leader of the school, Robert was merely a level 13 or 14 who had gone through the first job transition.
Usually, he would not give a hoot to such a Warrior with the Knight status. Even if he could not win against the other party, he would be able to fully suppress him with just his background alone.
But they were now in the Prefectural Selection. It was almost impossible to only depend on his own abilities to win over the other party and claim first place.
For a Warrior like Robert who had undergone the first job transition, the goal was the Regional Selection after the Prefectural Selection, namely the path towards the second job transition.
With Robert’s sudden appearance, the atmosphere in the grounds turned increasingly heavy.
Following Kaunitz’s dash out of the grounds, three other figures consecutively knocked off the people around them and dashed out as well. Tens of people who were at the front cried out as they were grabbed, pushed or sent flying by these three.
The three were one lady and two guys respectively. They also had blonde hair and blue eyes, with similar attitudes to that of Kaunitz.
The lady had a pale face, as if her skin had never seen the sunlight, and her figure was slender and light, similar to the legendary spirits. She closed in on Kaunitz with just a few steps.
As for the two guys behind her, one of them had bronze skin, black hair and was dressed in animal hide, much like a wild man who had come running out of the mountains.
The other one was dressed in a full white suit and wore a spotlessly clean mantle, without a speck of dust. His gaze carried a tinge of despise when he looked at the rest of the people before him.
Amidst the mad rush of the four, a large amount of energy smashed hard into the ground, allowing them to tear through the air like missiles as they chased after Robert.
The lady gave a cold laugh and said, “Haha, seems like the Prefectural Selection this time around will be a competition between our four families and Robert.”
Kaunitz did not pay heed to her words but continued to adjust the rhythm of his breath and muscles, trying to save his physical strength. He was very familiar with this lady and the two guys.
Other than The School of Sword Arts and Kirst Royal Academy, there were four other academies who were on par with Tresia Academy. Together, they were known as the Seven Pearl Academies.
The three people before him were representatives from the other three academies.
The lady who had just spoken was Fei Yang Knights Academy’s representative, Barbara.
The wild man with bronze skin was Shadow Moon Academy’s representative, Boris.
Meanwhile, the other guy dressed in white was Ferdinand, a representative of Kirst Aristocrat Academy, a school which had been set up through the collaborative efforts of Kirst’s aristocrats.
With their spurt, they reached the exterior of the city in the blink of an eye, falling into second place right after Robert, as they left the rest of the Warriors far behind.
A cool smile broke out on Barbara’s pale face when she saw that the three guys were all focusing on the run and that they had ignored her. She continued, “The latest news is that Robert is already at the first transition, level 15. Ignoring his level of comprehension and looking just at attributes and skills alone, he is definitely above us. If we wish to compete to get first and become the Prefectural Champion, it is impossible for us to do it alone.”
Shadow Moon Academy’s wild man Boris said, “You want to join forces? How do I know if I can place my trust in someone from Fei Yang Knights Academy?”
“Haha.” Barbara smiled and said, “Wild man, at least we settle the competition amongst ourselves after dealing with Robert.”
“The Prefectural Selection is broken down into three stages which respectively test one’s physical strength, one’s skills, and the potential of one’s comprehension.
“But other than the first stage where everyone is examined altogether, the other two stages are related to the area of training in which one specializes.”
There were countless Warriors in the Empire, but when the Empire held the selections, it divided the different factions into five groups.
These were the Sword and Saber, Staff and Rod, Bow and Arrow, Bare-handed and Miscellaneous.
Fei Yang Knights Academy’s Barbara further said, “Our academy specializes in archery. Wild man, you specialise in tackling, combat, fist techniques and wrestling, right?”
She looked towards Ferdinand, dressed in white, and continued, “Kirst Aristocrat Academy specializes in the spear arts, right?” The spear arts was, of course, went under the category of Staff and Rod.
“As for Kaunitz, you’ll of course go for sword arts.
“Therefore, other than the physical strength in the first stage, we do not have any conflict of interest in the other two stages. So long as we join efforts in order to win against Robert, we will be able to reach the top four.
“As for who will be the first in the Prefectural Selection, this will rely on our respective abilities.”
Shadow Moon Academy’s Boris was not happy with this, and said, “Robert specializes in the Tyrant Fist. Wouldn’t it mean that I’d have to compete with him in the other two stages?”
“Hahahaha.” Barbara let out a long laugh and said, “You can only blame it on your bad luck. Although we cannot kill in the Prefectural Selection, if the four of us were to join efforts, it would not be difficult to delay Robert.”
Battling was prohibited during the Prefectural Selection, but just as in the case of the collisions and squeezing during the run, so long as there were no injuries, no one would show too much concern about it.
“Do it.” Kaunitz said calmly.
The other two exchanged glances and also nodded in agreement.
But while they were discussing, a loud thumping sound drummed crazily in their hearts. A ferocious strength repeatedly tapped against the surface, making the three of them feel as if the surface was trembling.
“Who’s that?”
The four of them turned their heads at the same time and saw a figure dashing towards them, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him. The speed he was moving at was as if he had brought along a hurricane, sending dust and rocks flying. In just an instant, he closed the gap of tens of metres between them and overtook the four. He only left behind blurred shadows, making them unable to react in time, even if they would have wanted to stop him.
Kaunitz stared with his eyes wide open at the person who was turning into a small dot in just an instant. In a low voice he said, “Fang Xingjian?”
The four of them immediately shouted, “After him!”
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