Chapter 41

This line of poetry comes from a great person, but not from ancient times. However, in a martial arts game, we don't need to be so serious about it.

Moreover, the meaning of this line of poetry perfectly aligns with the principles of the Zang Jian Manor.

Even when facing raging waves and a rain of bullets, one remains as calm and composed as if strolling through a garden, at ease and content.

Jiran had seen the manor lord use this set of footwork. Dozens of evil sect experts surrounded the manor lord, but he walked among them with his eyes closed, as if strolling through a garden. His figure moved slightly, and his long sword swung lightly. No one's attack could reach the manor lord, and every strike of his sword would severely wound an evil sect expert!

He naturally couldn't reach the manor lord's level, but it should be enough to deal with these colorful balloons.

Taking a step forward, his body tilted slightly to avoid the collision with a blue balloon on the left. His right hand suddenly thrust out, directly hitting a red balloon that was trying to dodge. Then, he turned his body and took two consecutive steps, leaving behind two trails of blue balloons...

These blue balloons weren't as crazy as the Bump Bunnies; otherwise, Jiran would have no way to dodge them with his footwork. They moved according to their own patterns and didn't target Jiran. Even so, the balloons flying all over the sky were enough to give anyone a headache.

However, Jiran's inspiration remained. His understanding of the Four Seasons Sword Technique deepened his grasp of the "strolling through a garden" concept. Moving through the blue balloons, he raised his sword to pierce the red balloons, or flicked and slashed them, his movements as smooth as flowing clouds, flexible yet elegantly different.

He dodged the blue balloons and attacked the red ones, completely immersed in the process. But the two people in the monitoring room were once again in a daze.

"Tell me, David, are we seeing a genius or a monster?" The excited instructor couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Jiran's elegant steps left him completely baffled.

"Geniuses are mostly monsters, Bass. The one in front of us is clearly a genius-monster." David was now more composed. The boy's performance was astonishing, whether in swordsmanship or footwork, both had a unique charm. And while he could see it, he couldn't fully grasp it...

"This guy will definitely pass the exam. Even if his performance in the final practical test is poor, his scores in the first three tests are enough to give him a very high score. And if Professor Lawrence discovers him, he'll probably treat him like a treasure..." The excited instructor Bass didn't know what to say. How long has it been since they've seen such a genius swordsman?

"Right, Professor Lawrence's swordsmanship hasn't improved much in recent years. He's stuck in a bottleneck. This sword technique might inspire him. And he loves talent, so he won't let this genius slip away!" David nodded.

This candidate was already预定 to definitely join the Azure Wind. No matter how much they believed in equal education and boundless love, their attitude towards geniuses would definitely be different...

A genius might bring the academy more glory for years to come! He could bring honor to the academy and motivate other students. Those strong individuals who could become professors at the academy also had a passion for nurturing the next generation. Seeing such a genius, how could they let him go?

Ten minutes passed. For others, the third test was incredibly difficult, but Jiran passed it effortlessly.

Not a single blue balloon hit him, and all the red balloons he saw were pierced. However, since the red balloons kept refreshing, he never ran out of targets.

According to his calculations, he burst 203 balloons. That means, on average, he burst one every three seconds.

One might think this score was terrible, but in reality, being able to avoid being hit by so many blue balloons while also bursting balloons was an incredibly difficult task. Jiran didn't know that, until just now, the record for this test was 124.

He not only broke the record but also surpassed it by more than half! This record would definitely make future candidates cry...

No chance at all! Damn it!

In fact, David and Bass were already cursing. You could break the record, but breaking it by so much, this is outrageous!

Of course, no matter how much they shouted, Jiran couldn't hear them. Having completed two consecutive ten-minute tests, his sword qi was full, but his true qi was significantly depleted. Now, he was taking the opportunity to practice the Heart Sword Technique to quickly recover his true qi. He heard that the exam had four parts, and the next one would be the final and most important part, right?

"The fourth test, practical assessment. Defeat your opponent or last for ten minutes."

This time, the prompt was simple... In fact, every prompt seemed simple...

Clouds swirled around, and a large cloud drifted out, gradually taking shape in front of Jiran.

It formed the shape of a tall man, with a blurry face but solid limbs and body. The man held a long sword and stood opposite Jiran from a distance.

Jiran also held his long sword, looking at the man formed from the cloud. He used the Appraisal Skill and was shocked to find that the man's level was 37!

This guy is ten levels higher than me! This doesn't make sense! A practical test is understandable, but being ten levels higher is normal?

While he might be able to kill monsters above his level, who knows what this man's strength is! Killing monsters above his level is based on the assumption that the monsters' levels are somewhat inflated. In the game, encountering a human-shaped monster ten levels higher would be a tough battle. If the opponent were a player, the chances of winning would be even smaller!

Unlike the True God Cult followers, who were level 3 but whose actual combat ability was far inferior to Ban and Beck, making the battles relatively easy, would this opponent be so simple?

But now, there was no time for more thinking.

Because the cloud man had already made a move.

Facing Jiran, the cloud man suddenly bent down, looked up, and stared at Jiran. Then, his figure suddenly moved!

Like a bolt of lightning, the cloud man charged directly at Jiran! He held the long sword with both hands, clearly intending to slash down as soon as he got close!

The speed of the cloud man startled Jiran. This guy is so fast? Even faster than Beck with his artifact activated! Without hesitation, Jiran could only sidestep and raise his sword in front of him.

Dodge the attack, then use Tide Breaker! This was Jiran's plan. This move was almost always effective against NPCs, unless the opponent's strength was far superior...

But this time, he failed.

The cloud man, seeing Jiran dodge to the side, suddenly changed direction mid-air, his sword drawing an arc and landing right in front of Jiran!

"Damn!" Jiran was shocked. This guy's transition was too quick! Charging at such speed and still changing direction mid-way! Is this guy really only level 3?

Now, dodging was impossible. Jiran could only raise his sword to block. No choice but to parry.

With a clang, Jiran was pushed back several steps. The cloud man's strength was too high! If he hadn't felt something wrong when his sword touched the other's and retreated a few steps, he might have been in serious trouble!

Is the practical test of the fourth part this difficult? Jiran took a deep breath. No, can't be careless. He had passed the first three tests, how could he fail at the last one?

Quickly retreating, he raised his sword, ready to counter! He wanted to see just how strong this cloud man was!

In the monitoring room, David and Bass were both excited.

"The highest-level human-shaped illusion, this guy's previous test scores were a bit too high..." Bass's eyes were shining.

David nodded, "That's right. Although it's only one level higher than the candidate and only knows Silver Rank sword techniques, this human-shaped illusion can almost perfectly execute these techniques. With the level advantage, the chances of this kid passing are not high..."

Bass sighed, "That's how the exam system works, trying to prevent candidates from getting full marks. Not to mention a level 2 swordsman, even a Silver Rank swordsman would find it hard to defeat this human-shaped illusion. Unless they are at level 5 or 6, with an absolute strength advantage... I wonder if this kid can successfully defeat this human-shaped illusion."

"With his swordsmanship, there's still a chance," David pondered, "But he needs a deep understanding of swordsmanship to perform beyond his level. Also, he needs to see through the patterns of this human-shaped illusion... After all, it's a lifeless object created by magic, so it must have some weaknesses. But for his level, seeing these weaknesses... is not easy."

The two continued to comment as they watched, but Jiran wasn't so relaxed. He found that this level 3 cloud man was far stronger than Beck and Ban!

While the cloud man was a few levels higher than Beck and Ban in game terms, this didn't create an absolute gap. But the sword techniques he used, though not particularly advanced, made it extremely difficult for Jiran to defend!

Every move and technique of the cloud man had no unnecessary actions. Each strike targeted a spot Jiran had to protect, making it hard to dodge, leaving him no choice but to block with his sword. As a result, Jiran had no chance to counterattack and was being pressed by the cloud man!

No, I have to counterattack! Jiran thought.