Chapter 78 Start
A few days later, the first day of the inter-class competition.
Fang Xingjian stopped training for a while. Looking at the level 20 Supreme Mistwind Sword, he let out a deep breath.
'I've finally succeeded.'
What gave Fang Xingjian satisfaction was that at level 20, the Supreme Mistwind Sword was still not at its maximum level. Apart from the three feet long sword-light, he had gained another level 20 special ability.
Level 20 Supreme Mistwind Sword: the practitioner's comprehension of sword arts and air currents reaches the pinnacle; not only is he able to create various types of sword Qis, but he can also control Qis through the sword, and the sword through Qis.
…
The academy's inter-class competition was held in a valley over ten kilometers away, to the east of the academy.
The whole valley ran from the north to the south and was two kilometers long, one kilometer wide, with cliffs over a hundred meters tall. Wild grass and various plants flourished in the valley, and countless small-sized ferocious beasts roamed through it.
Right now, many people had picked out the best spots on the cliffs, peering over at the battle grounds in the valley.
There were four days until the inter-class competition. For the first two days, the competition would be held within the three groups, each class participating in one round each day.
On the third and fourth days were the elimination rounds, where the first two classes would directly advance to the semi-finals, while the third, fourth, fifth and sixth would go through two other competition rounds. The two teams with the higher scores would then compete in the finals with the first two teams.
The finals would be held on the fifth day.
For each round, the two teams would enter from the extreme north and south respectively. A small fortress would be placed near the entrance from where each team came in, and the team which took over the other team's fortress would win.
And if both teams were unable to take down the opponent's fortress after two hours, the match would be considered a draw.
The only condition for capturing the fortress was to ensure that there was no one from the opposing team in the whole fortress who would be able to fight back.
Such a competition was full of hostility, but since they were all Knights conferred by the Empire, they were forbidden to deploy deadly attacks throughout the course of the competition, which was focused more towards sparring.
But even so, each year, there would be Knights who suffered from serious injuries during the competition, and a few even lost their lives once every few years. After all, weapons did not have eyes, and it was impossible to completely avoid such problems. Moreover, in order to mirror the effects of an actual combat, risks are inevitable. And if Knights who were cultivating Killing techniques wished to improve, experiencing real combat was a necessity.
In today's first round of competition, it was Fang Xingjian's Class 256 competing against Class 253, who were three years ahead of them in training.
Because it was tougher for them to win against Class 252, which Renault and Xiu Yi were in, most people thought that whether they could advance in the group competition lay in defeating Class 253.
Jack, Anthony, Barbara, Ferdinand and the others had long entered the stage and were standing before the fortress at the southern end, looking anxiously towards the entrance.
Barbara frowned and said, "Kaunitz made it clear that he would not be coming, but what is the deal with Fang Xingjian?
"There are only three minutes left before the round starts, why is he not here yet?"
“Don't worry, he's definitely coming," Anthony said with confidence, but he was also looking towards the entrance.
Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, clinking and clanking sounds of metallic objects knocking against each other started coming from the direction of the entrance. It sounded as if there were countless metallic items knocking against each other, and as if the sound was coming from very far away.
"What sound is that?"
"Is Fang Xingjian here?"
Under everyone's scrutiny, Fang Xingjian walked out of the tunnel, carrying an enormous bamboo basket on his back. There were thirty or more metallic longswords in the bamboo basket, constantly shaking as Fang Xingjian walked, clashing against each other and resounding with crisp clangs.
Barbara frowned and asked, "What is this guy up to?"
Ferdinand also looked at Fang Xingjian, puzzled.
Zhou Yong and Carter felt troubled when they saw Fang Xingjian. Without Kaunitz supporting them, they were really afraid that Fang Xingjian would take it out on them. After all, there had been many times when they deliberately spoke ill of Fang Xingjian.
Jack ran up, looking at Fang Xingjian's stack of swords in the bamboo basket, asked curiously, "Why did you bring along so many swords?"
"One is not enough." Fang Xingjian swept a glance over the crowd. Barbara and the others broke out in sweat, feeling as if the edge of a sword had swept across their necks.
'This fellow!' Ferdinand felt frightened, and looking at Fang Xingjian’s poker face, he thought to himself, 'This fellow's sword arts are getting increasingly horrifying.'
He gave it some thought and decided to walk up, his hands cupped together as he said, "Fang Xingjian, we had some disagreements previously, but they were all just misunderstandings. I hope that we can put them aside and work hard together for the Regional Selection."
As he said this, he took out a square box the size of a palm from his pocket and placed it in Fang Xingjian's hand.
Fang Xingjian received the box and opened it to find a few gold bars inside. He roughly estimated that it was about fifty gold.
Fang Xingjian nodded, held it casually and said, "Alright. I know."
Behind Ferdinand, Barbara shouted out in frustration, "Ferdinand!
"What are you doing?!"
Ferdinand impatiently said, "We never had any major disagreements with Fang Xingjian in the first place. In the past, we only took into consideration our relationship with Kaunitz, but now that Kaunitz is gone, I don't see what you're hanging on to."
Barbara was so angry that she stomped her feet. Robert and Boris, who belonged to the faction of the hands-on martial arts, also headed towards Fang Xingjian.
Robert took the lead and said, "Xingjian, let us know what to do in the competition. We'll listen to you." Robert smiled intimately as he looked at Fang Xingjian, letting go of his previous arrogance.
Carter and Zhou Yong wanted to go over and apologize as well, but they could not put down their pride like Robert did. As a result, they were at a loss.
Seeing this, Barbara's fury flared up, "What are all you guys doing?!
"Just because he has transitioned into a Windstorm Sword Hero, you're all going to suck up to him?"
Ferdinand's face fell. The way Barbara put it, he had also been scolded. He coldly replied, "Barbara, do you think before you talk?
"Or do you just randomly bite everyone you see?"
Seeing how Robert, Ferdinand, Boris, Zhou Yong and Carter were all staring at her, Barbara lost some of her spirit, but her expression still held fury. She took in a deep breath and said, "Fang Xingjian, don't think I'll listen to you just because you've transitioned into a Windstorm Sword Hero. I, Barbara, am not like some people who would sacrifice my principles for the sake of profit, bending down to those with influential power.
"Don't think that I'll listen to you in this competition!"
Fang Xingjian did not say a word. He did not wish to bother with Barbara’s opinion. He walked to a spot one hundred meters away from the fortress and stuck the longswords from the bamboo basket into the ground.
"The few of you, listen up! Later, in the competition..."
As he spoke, he moved about at great speed, and the longswords all pierced the ground at lightning speed, each of them about one to two meters apart. In the blink of an eye, they were all connected into a line, laid out in front of the fortress.
"I alone will be enough..." Fang Xingjian pointed to the sword circle formed from the longswords, saying, "All of you stay behind this line. I'll beat up whoever steps out."
"Fang Xingjian!" Barbara shouted out. "What crazy things are you talking about?"
The others' expressions had also turned grim. By suggesting this, Fang Xingjian was obviously looking down on them.
Ferdinand also said with a gloomy look on his face, "Fang Xingjian, we know you are very strong. But by doing this, you're being overly insulting."
"It doesn't matter if you guys don't listen." Fang Xingjian shook his head, waving his hand towards the others, and smiled. "I'll eliminate you guys first, then go for the competition." The reason why Fang Xingjian wanted to this was because only then would he be able to control the competition's rhythm by himself, having plenty of time to spar with each and every opponent, and secretly learning the sword arts in plain sight during the combat.
As he said this, the mental cultivation method circulated even more smoothly in his consciousness, as if he had broken through another great hurdle.
At the same time, his eyes gleamed, as if streaks of sword light flashed in them, especially when he was staring at Zhou Yong, the only other person in Class 256 who specialized in sword arts. He had the gaze of a starving wolf.
Fang Xingjian still remembered that there were a couple of Tresia Academy’s Nurturing sword techniques which he had yet to learn from Kaunitz.