Chapter 6

As the countdown ended, Shi Feng leaned forward, his legs bent, like a cheetah, and suddenly exerted his strength, dashing past the starting line.

With a whoosh, Shi Feng had already run 3 yards before the sound of the musket fired, hitting the starting line.

Another round of gunfire followed, with a total of 6 bullets fired, blocking Shi Feng's path forward. Green prediction lines of the bullets covered his body, and if his reaction wasn't quick enough, he would be riddled with bullets.

Seeing the bullets flying towards him, Shi Feng took a side step, moving nearly a yard to the right, dodging the second round of gunfire, and continued to charge forward.

Although the three goblins kept aiming and shooting, the bullet casings on the ground clinked as they fell, the agile Shi Feng, like a cheetah, seemed to control the bullets, always managing to dodge them in advance. When the next round of bullets came, he advanced a few more steps.

"Impossible, he's already 10 yards in," the male priest exclaimed, seeing Shi Feng cross the 10-yard line in less than 5 seconds, which was twice as fast as even his brother, Cixin.

Cixin remained silent, watching Shi Feng's progress quietly.

He had thought Shi Feng was a new player, a rookie who didn't even know him, coming to the challenge arena for fun. However, his previous performance was so swift and precise, as if he had been honing his skills in the challenge arena for years. Every move was simple and efficient, something a regular new player couldn't achieve. Even after multiple challenges, Cixin didn't think he could dodge any better.

However, Cixin, with the pride of a skilled player, believed Shi Feng couldn't be stronger than him. He explained, "Maybe this new player is an athlete or has practiced martial arts, which is why he's so agile. But once he passes 15 yards, the goblins' attack method will change, and he won't be able to handle it."

"Brother is right. Someone we in the Assassin Alliance don't know can't be a skilled player. He'll be shocked once he reaches 15 yards and end up riddled with bullets."

"Yeah, once he passes 15 yards, the number of bullets will increase to 12, and they won't focus on shooting the player. The bullet trajectories will cover a wide area, and dodging left and right won't work."

The other members of the Assassin Alliance agreed, as they had seen this challenge many times.

Cixin had passed 15 yards on his first attempt, but it took him several more attempts to reach 20 yards, showing how difficult it was beyond 15 yards.

"He's passed 15 yards," one of the Assassin Alliance members said.

Everyone's attention immediately focused on Shi Feng, eager to see how he would perform.

In the challenge arena, after crossing the 15-yard line, the three goblins became extremely angry and started firing wildly, no longer focusing on their aim.

Suddenly, a large area in front of Shi Feng was covered with bullet trajectories, and only three bullets could hit him. If even one hit, the game would be over.

"Finally starting to cheat, huh?" Shi Feng smiled calmly, drew his beginner's sword, and charged towards the bullets.

In his previous life, as the leader of the Shadow, Shi Feng was busy with work and leveling up, so he never had time to play the challenge arena. However, he had seen it many times and knew that the goblins would change their attack method after 15 yards.

The 15-yard mark in the Black Market challenge arena was a benchmark for player skill. Only those who passed the 15-yard mark with a bronze medal were considered to have basic body control skills. Most players took two to three months to reach this level, a few managed it in a month, and only a select few, like Cixin, could pass it immediately.

Seeing the three bullets about to hit Shi Feng's head, chest, and arm, Cixin thought, "This kid is no good. There are too many bullets, and he's forgotten to dodge. He's charging straight in like an idiot. Does he think the challenge will continue even if he's hit by a couple of bullets?"

At that moment, Shi Feng tilted his head, swung his beginner's sword, and a white light flashed.

Bang!

The beginner's sword swung perfectly, easily hitting the bullet aimed at his chest, creating a small spark.

The three dangerous bullets were easily deflected by Shi Feng, and he advanced a bit further.

However, the three goblins had no intention of stopping. Their muskets seemed to change into machine guns, with a continuous stream of fire. The intervals between rounds were very short, and Shi Feng had to face 5 bullets at once, with bullets sealing off all directions, leaving no place to hide.

Clang, clang, clang!

Shi Feng quickly swung his beginner's sword to block the unavoidable bullets while moving his body to avoid being hit, letting the bullets graze past him. He could even hear the sound of bullets whizzing by his ears.

After another 3 seconds, Shi Feng had passed 20 yards, with only 10 yards left to the finish line.

"Damn, is this guy human? He actually blocked the bullets with his sword," the male priest exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock. The impact Shi Feng had on him was indescribable.

Although he knew the bullet trajectories, blocking them perfectly was no easy task. It required extremely precise judgment and agility, with a margin of error that was almost unimaginable.

Cixin was speechless. Using a weapon to block bullets was like walking a tightrope in the sky; one misstep and you'd fall into the abyss. Yet, Shi Feng did it repeatedly, and the other bullets seemed to have a life of their own, flying past him.

"Brother, that swordsman has already reached 25 yards. He's definitely going to make it to the finish line," the male priest said, watching Shi Feng move forward like a dance, with sparks occasionally flashing in front of him, his mind completely in chaos.

"I have eyes, I don't need you to remind me," Cixin replied, deeply captivated by Shi Feng's movements, though he was impatient.

The moment Shi Feng passed 25 yards,

"Die, challenger," a goblin at the finish line said excitedly, pulling out a rapid-fire musket and spraying bullets at Shi Feng.

Suddenly, each round of bullets became 24, and at a distance of only 5 yards, there was no place to hide.

"Damn, this is cheating!" Cixin shouted.

Seeing this, the other players' hearts leaped to their throats, cursing the goblin's shamelessness.

Faced with such a dense barrage of bullets, Shi Feng became serious for the first time. Although he knew the attack method would change at 25 yards, facing so many bullets head-on was still nerve-wracking.

Shi Feng bent his knees, leaped like a cheetah, and charged through the area with the least bullet density, reducing the surface area exposed to bullets. He then gripped his beginner's sword tightly and swung it wildly, creating four white flashes at once.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

After a shower of sparks, Shi Feng passed through the dense barrage of bullets.

The moment he landed, he used his other hand to support himself, stood up with a burst of energy, and dashed past the finish line in a flash.

The total time taken was 14 seconds, breaking the bronze medal record of 18 seconds.

"Hmm, this frail body is a bit uncomfortable," Shi Feng mused after crossing the finish line. If he had a constitution of over 100, the four consecutive sword strikes would have been much easier and less tiring.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's cheer! Congratulations to this swordsman for successfully completing the challenge," the goblin administrator announced loudly.

System: The player is the first to pass the bronze medal challenge and break the record. Reward: 1 silver coin and the Swordsman skill, Wind and Thunder Flash.

"No way, he actually got the ultra-rare skill Wind and Thunder Flash, a skill even a 100-level swordsman can't get," Shi Feng thought, half-expecting to be hallucinating. But seeing the skill book in his backpack, he was indeed shocked.

Wind and Thunder Flash: Action skill, requires a sword. Rapidly strikes the area in front (10*2 yards) three times with sword light, each strike causing 130% damage and increasing the damage of the next strike by 20%. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Since he had the skill, he clicked to learn it without hesitation.

Swordsman is a class that primarily focuses on single-target damage skills, with few powerful area-of-effect damage skills. Wind and Thunder Flash is one of the few ultra-strong area-of-effect skills a swordsman can have, and learning it early would put him far ahead of other swordsmen.

After learning Wind and Thunder Flash, Shi Feng felt he finally had the appearance of a swordsman.

"You guys play, I'm leaving. Don't forget my 50 copper," Shi Feng said to the stunned Cixin and left the Black Market.

Cixin nodded indifferently.

"Brother Cixin, he's gone, and he took the reward. Should we chase after him?" the male priest asked.

Only after Shi Feng left did Cixin recover from his shock. He glared at the male priest and scolded, "Are you an idiot? We should be flattering such a skilled swordsman, not making him an enemy. That would be suicide."

"No, I have to report this to the guild leader. Luckily, I added him as a friend. His name is Night Edge, right? I've never heard of such a skilled swordsman. Is he a master swordsman in disguise?" Cixin knew he couldn't achieve such a smooth and elegant challenge, especially the attack after 25 yards, which seemed almost like cheating. How could a player dodge and block so many bullets, but Shi Feng did it.

In the trade area, Shi Feng found Master Kevin, the potion master, and spent 120 copper to buy 20 Burst Berries, which significantly reduced his wealth, leaving him with only 30 copper.

But for a rocket-like level-up, the cost was worth it.

With the Burst Berries, Shi Feng left Red Leaf Town and ran west.

Currently, all players were level 0, killing level 0 monsters outside Red Leaf Town. However, some skilled players formed teams to kill level 1 wolf cubs, with the tank in front, ranged damage dealers, and healers supporting, fighting in an organized manner. Although the experience was split among the group, the efficiency was high, and there were few players competing for the monsters.

However, Shi Feng had no intention of competing for monsters. He ran past the level 1 monster area, then the level 3 monster area, and finally reached the Red Leaf Forest, a level 5 monster area, where no player had ventured yet.

At this stage of the game, no player dared to challenge level 5 monsters. The level difference, the high health, and the significant attack power made level 5 monsters easily crush level 1 players. Even a six-player team couldn't defeat a single level 5 monster.

If a player died, the death penalty was severe, losing a level's worth of experience and skill proficiency. No player would risk losing hours of hard-earned experience and proficiency.