"Hidden Sword Style."
"Whirling Sword Style."
"Harmony Sword Style."
"Rushing Sword Style."
Jiang Ding danced with his sword, following the shadow's movements–suddenly lunging forward, then whirling to the right to deliver a slashing cut, and sometimes encircling a point for a series of rapid thrusts, his blade hissing as it cut through the air, his figure appearing everywhere within the hundred square meters of the training room.
"Concealed Sword Style."
The blade silently sheathed, Jiang Ding's body trembled slightly as he tried hard to steady his panting breaths, slowly exhaling the waste air, while streams of sweat flowed from his pores, quickly soaking his clothes and sticking to his skin.
Including the preparatory posture, the "Eagle Taking Off Sword Technique" only had nine moves, emphasizing extreme speed and explosive power. This blend of practice and combat creates a sophisticated sword technique that exhaustively utilizes the body's meridians, muscles, and bones. If one could master it to a minor degree and pair it with a sharp weapon, killing an average Inner Qi Realm martial artist would just be a matter of a single sword stroke.
Jiang Ding only felt pain all over his body as if his stomach was on fire.
He took three steps at a time and lifted up the milky-white Consolidating Essence and Strengthening Bone Soup, downing it in one go. The temperature was still just right, not having cooled despite sitting for so long.
A wave of warmth dropped from his throat to his stomach and then spread throughout his body, giving him immediate relief from the acute pain.
The "Eagle Taking Off Sword Technique" delved too deeply into the human body's potential, which also caused an immense strain. If it wasn't for the school-provided Consolidating Essence and Strengthening Bone Soup, a short time would be manageable, but without regular nourishment over a long period, it was easy for someone to be refined into waste.
Ding!
Joy filled Jiang Ding's heart, and he quickly lifted his head to look at the figure in front of him.
The body made of light blue lines flickered for a moment as the first spinal vertebrae changed from 62% to 66% completion.
"Four percent!"
Jiang Ding was invigorated, "Ten more times like that, and I can refine the first vertebra. Give me thirty more days, could I possibly break through the Inner Qi Realm?"
Without resting, he seized the time to execute another set of sword techniques.
Unfortunately, possibly in his eagerness, his movements fell short of correctness. This time, there was no talk of a four percent increase, not even a one percent progress.
"It was indeed a misconception."
Jiang Ding felt a bit disappointed but became calmer instead. He slowly pondered which parts of his movements were off and in what ways the sequence and rhythm of his muscles and meridians differed from that of the shadow.
After practicing more than ten times in a row, he finally made some gain.
The proficiency of the "Eagle Taking Off Sword Technique" increased slightly to 33%, moving another small step closer to minor completion.
The other spinal vertebrae also experienced a few points of improvement.
Ding dong ding dong...
Without realizing it, class had ended, the pale blue shadow slowly disappeared, the lights in the bright cultivation room turned off in sequence, and the door of the cultivation room gradually opened.
Jiang Ding took a few minutes to shower and changed into a new set of blue and white school uniforms before stepping out of the cultivation room.
"They say that those cultivation prodigies can increase their Cultivation Method by five or six percent and their bone forging by more than ten percent with every practice session. Accumulating day by day, who knows to what realm they've now advanced?"
"Great Achievement of Inner Qi? Internal Qi Perfection?"
Jiang Ding mulled quietly.
Although No.1 High School was the best high school in Rongcheng City and had the highest number of students entering universities' Cultivation Departments each year, its martial arts instructional strength was not the strongest, thus failing to attract those top genius martial artists, most of whom were concentrated at No.7 Middle School.
On the way, most were students returning to their classrooms from the cultivation room, some with drooping shoulders and weak steps, clearly having practiced intensely.
In the classroom, students returned one after another. Jiang Ding found his seat and closed his eyes to rest.
Soon, a strong smell of sweat reached his nose.
"How's the progress?" He didn't even lift his eyelids.
"Not bad," Li Junhao replied tersely, "In a few months there is hope to break through skin refining and step into the Body Refining Realm."
"Keep it up."
A few minutes later, the noise gradually subsided, and Jiang Ding opened his eyes.
Hua Bing, the class monitor, stood at the lectern without anyone noticing when she had arrived.
"Starting from the first row, everyone should orderly collect their backpacks," she said and swiped her student card on the display screen next to the metal locker by the blackboard. Little doors opened one by one, revealing various colored backpacks inside.
All the students were used to this procedure, taking their backpacks in turn.
Soon, Jiang Ding received his gray backpack and a black sword by its side. He wore the sword at his waist first, then took out a box from his backpack.
He opened the box.
Inside was a black handgun and a magazine filled with bullets.
Model 58 Self-Defense Handgun.
Data about this handgun, which had been with him since middle school, naturally came to mind.
In the year 10558, the Model 58 Self-Defense Handgun, manufactured by Luban Arms Technology Company, had a six-round magazine, using 7.62mm N2702 Spell-Breaking Steel bullets, with an effective range of 50 meters, capable of penetrating the inner energy defense of a minor Inner Qi Realm Great Martial Artist within this distance, and by hitting the same spot with two consecutive shots or three continuous hits, it could break through the inner energy defense of a Great Martial Artist who had reached the Great Achievement of Inner Qi.
For over ten thousand years, Lanying Planet had been interacting with the Cultivation World, occasionally leading to the abrupt transportation of Outer Realm cultivators or martial artists onto Lanying Planet, causing significant harm to nearby residents.
Although Lanying Planet was poor, it periodically produced a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure that drove Outer Realm cultivators mad—Magic Arts-Breaking Immortal Gold, which they were willing to pursue at the cost of their lives, especially many old cultivators with waning Life Energy were particularly desperate.
For this reason, Lanying Planet had long since fully liberalized gun permits for all citizens, even middle schoolers were required to begin firearms training.
Of course, the primary intention was self-defense, to buy time to escape, which was why they were issued handguns.
"Disassemble and maintain!" Hua Bing commanded loudly.