Chapter 20: Failure

Half a month had passed since Mr. Zuo began teaching his combat fundamentals course. By now, he had covered all the basic sword techniques of the Xian Kingdom.

Today’s class involved continuous practice within the combat room, with Mr. Zuo observing and providing guidance from the side.

Li Zhen, Han Wenqin, and Yu Nan had formed a small group in the class, their swordsmanship skills surpassing those of their classmates.

While others found it peculiar that Li Zhen was accepted by both the class president and vice-president, no one bothered to disrupt the trio.

Only Cheng He remained unconvinced. After receiving recognition from the school earlier, he approached Teacher Zhang hoping to become the class president. However, he underestimated Yu Nan and Han Wenqin’s backgrounds; unless they made serious mistakes themselves, the school would never consider removing them from their positions.

They look down on me, but I see through their facade! Cheng He thought bitterly.

Yet, he felt confident. Later that day, during lunchtime, he planned to showcase his exceptional talent at the cultivation room for everyone to witness.

“Li Zhen,” Yu Nan said with a smile, “you’ve mastered this beginner sword technique quite well. It seems too simple for you now. Should I find a more advanced set of techniques?”

Since Han Wenqin had taken the initiative to befriend Li Zhen first, Yu Nan found himself in a somewhat passive position when trying to connect with him. Li Zhen had already joined Han Wenqin’s inner circle, essentially securing sponsorship from the Han family.

After half a month of practicing swordsmanship together, Yu Nan was astounded by Li Zhen’s innate talent. He now shared Han Wenqin’s view—that they must redouble their efforts to befriend Li Zhen.

“Yu Nan, do you think I don’t have any sword techniques?” Han Wenqin said, clearly miffed. She turned to Li Zhen and explained, “We’re currently focusing on building a solid foundation in swordsmanship. I wouldn’t recommend jumping ahead!”

While Li Zhen couldn’t guess what specific technique Yu Nan might offer, he assumed it would likely be more advanced than the basic method they were learning at school.

However, the “basic sword technique” taught at school was actually called the Xian Nation Beginner Sword Technique—a curriculum equivalent to the seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique. Both were specifically designed by the Xian Nation to lay a strong groundwork for new cultivators.

Li Zhen trusted the educational system of the Xian Nation; he believed mastering this beginner sword technique was crucial for his development as a cultivator.

“Thank you, Class Leader Yu,” Li Zhen replied tactfully, “but since I haven’t even fully grasped the basics yet, I’d rather not learn additional sword techniques just now!”

“If you want to learn new sword techniques, just let me know!” Yu Nan said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Han Wenqin rolled her eyes at him; it was obvious what he was trying to achieve.

If Li Zhen agreed to learn the sword technique Yu Nan offered, he would inevitably have to train at the facilities Yu Nan arranged. No other smart sword training systems had the guidance capabilities for that specific style.

“Platoon Leader Han, shall we duel again?” Li Zhen glanced at his watch before challenging Han Wenqin.

The two faced each other, swords at the ready, their retinas displaying information from the smart sword training system.

Li Zhen made the first move, stepping forward with a “Bow Step Thrust.” The smart sword training system displayed a completion score of 98.31% for this form.

Han Wenqin responded with a “Hollow Step Horizontal Slash,” another advanced maneuver.

Li Zhen’s proficiency in basic swordsmanship had now matched Han Wenqin’s level. In fact, to prolong their sparring sessions, he even held back some of his power. With his mastery of fundamental sword techniques, he could now infuse more strength into his practice blade without compromising his forms.

He soon realized that his superiority over Han Wenqin and Yu Nan wasn’t just in strength but also in reaction speed, allowing him to be far more composed during sparring matches.

From a distance, Mr. Zuo had been closely observing Li Zhen’s training session. He wasn’t surprised by Han Wenqin’s swordsmanship level; students with family backgrounds often began cultivating their skills early.

What astonished him was Li Zhen. Having watched him grow up, Mr. Zuo could see progress in almost every lesson he taught.

Of course, he understood that such remarkable improvement must have been supported by the influential families behind Han Wenqin and Yu Nan—just as it had been for himself.

Without such backing, relying solely on school resources would never sustain the development of a swordsmanship prodigy.

Mr. Zuo glanced at Cheng He again, sensing the young man’s fluctuating emotions.

“Cheng He,” he called out, “focus your mind when practicing with the sword!”

Being singled out left Cheng He visibly displeased.

As the combat fundamentals class concluded, this time Cheng He bolted out first, his spiritual energy surging within him, propelling him forward even faster than before.

“What’s gotten into him?” Yu Nan couldn’t help but remark upon seeing Cheng He’s peculiar behavior.

“Who knows!” Li Zhen shook his head.

Judging by the direction Cheng He had dashed off in, Li Zhen guessed that he was trying to secure a spot in the cultivation rooms.

The combat room was much farther from the cultivation rooms than the classroom for the first-year cultivators. Moreover, students from other years were also competing for spots in the cultivation rooms. Li Zhen didn’t think anyone could manage to snatch one without rushing straight there, so he decided not to bother with the first round of sign-ups.

When Li Zhen arrived outside the cultivation rooms alongside the midday practitioners, he found that luck was on Cheng He’s side—he’d already secured a spot inside.

Inside the cultivation room, Cheng He felt the spiritual energy surging within him. Looking at the information displayed on his retinal interface, he saw that his spiritual energy had reached 9.99.

He stood just a hair away from breaking through to the second level of Qi Refining. The reason he’d been able to skyrocket his spiritual energy to 9.99 in such a short time—leaving his classmates far behind—was because he’d consumed medicinal pills.

He’d downed most of the bottle of low-grade Qi Guidance Pills he’d received, as well as all but one pill from the school’s reward of mid-grade Qi Guidance Pills.

He had read some articles and heard about the drawbacks of cultivating with medicinal pills, but as he watched his spiritual energy soar and listened to others’ praise, he simply couldn’t stop.

If he successfully ascended to the second level of Qi Refining today, he would be recognized as Yunxi County’s top prodigy for years to come.

Most importantly, there was interest from one of the four prominent families in Yunxi County—the Wang Clan.

Originally, both the Yu and Han families had direct descendants enrolled in Second High School’s cultivator program, so it was expected that the incoming first-year cultivators at Second High would receive recruitment offers from these two clans. The other families also targeted specific schools, showing little inclination to compete directly.

However, when Han Wenqin dismissed Cheng He as unworthy, Yu Nan followed suit, leaving no desire to recruit him either. This opened the door for the Wang Clan to approach Cheng He.

With a mid-grade fire spirit root—specifically 28 points, which placed him among the higher end even within mid-grade roots—such talent was exceedingly rare in Yunxi County.

To garner more support from the Wang Clan, Cheng He needed to demonstrate greater potential, hence his urgency in advancing to the second level of Qi Refining.

Placing the last remaining mid-grade Qi Guidance Pill on his tongue, he initiated the seventeenth version of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique.

The whirlpool of spiritual energy within his body was nearing its peak capacity; just a touch more would push his spiritual energy past ten points.

Ten points marked a crucial threshold, beyond which lay the second level of Qi Refining.

Given his innate talent for spirit roots, achieving the second level shouldn’t have been much trouble—more a matter of how many attempts it would take.

However, Cheng He’s impatience had destabilized the whirlpool inside him. The spiritual energy therein became tainted with remnants from various medicinal pills.

Had he informed his school teachers about his impending breakthrough, they surely would have assessed the situation using specialized instruments and provided guidance accordingly, minimizing risks during this critical moment.

As Cheng He channeled spiritual energy into his body, it followed the prescribed path outlined by the seventeenth version of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique. Upon reaching his dantian, the spiritual energy transformed into fire elemental power before merging into the existing vortex.

The spiritual energy whirlpool was at its peak capacity, naturally resisting any further intake of energy. This necessitated that he forcefully drive the energy in with his willpower.

As he watched the spiritual energy gradually being fed into the whirlpool, just as he was about to ascend to the second level of Qi Refining, suddenly the whirlpool underwent a violent upheaval.

A shrill alarm blared outside the cultivation room, signaling that a student within was experiencing difficulties during their practice.

Although the first-year cultivator class were newcomers, they had long since mastered the ‘Seventeenth Edition Foundation Qi Refining Technique’ without issue. Consequently, no teacher was stationed outside the cultivation room to supervise.

However, upon hearing the alarm, a figure materialized as a streak of light hurtling towards the cultivation room from mid-air. Behind him followed multiple figures sprinting across the school grounds from various directions.

Li Zhen recognized the one flying through the air as Principal Wang. The ability to briefly fly short distances using object manipulation was exclusive to late-stage Qi Refiners. The subsequent figures were teachers from different grade levels.