The martial arts test was over. The final, highest-scoring event—the practical combat simulation—officially began.
The practical combat simulation was also divided into two parts.
Part one: killing technique demonstration.
The students were required to perform a complete demonstration of the killing technique they had focused on for the past month, to be personally graded by Professor Gu Yue.
When Qin Feng took up his Long Spear and began performing the basic techniques of the Thousand Army Spear, which were now ingrained in his very bones, even the notoriously strict Gu Yue couldn’t help but stroke his goatee and nod repeatedly.
The seamless flow between techniques, the perfect control over the rhythm of offense and defense, and the restrained yet heavy killing intent honed on the battlefield—all of it earned Gu Yue’s sincere admiration.
Unsurprisingly, Qin Feng’s killing technique demonstration received a perfect score.
Part two: virtual combat.
All students would enter the Imperial Arena and engage in one-on-one practical combat against a teacher assigned by the school. To ensure fairness, all participants’ life force indexes would be locked at 10.0.
The teacher would then award a final practical combat score based on the student’s technique, awareness, and adaptability shown during the battle.
"Next, Qin Feng."
When Qin Feng’s name was called, Professor Gu Yue personally stood up.
"I’ll take this student."
He looked at Qin Feng, his perpetually narrowed eyes glinting with interest.
Seeing this, the other teachers all shared knowing smiles.
They knew Professor Gu had taken a liking to the boy’s talent and wanted to personally test the spear prodigy’s mettle.
Qin Feng and Professor Gu Yue simultaneously activated their Subspace Network Passes, which took the form of wrist-mounted terminals.
[Connecting to the Imperial Arena...]
[Accepting friend request—]
[Connection successful.]
[Name: Qin Feng]
[ID: Qin]
[Rank: None]
[Record: 0 Wins, 1 Loss]
[Points: 0]
[Bio: None]
[Enemy Evaluations: None]
When Qin Feng opened his eyes again, he found himself on that familiar, massive arena suspended above a nebula.
Across the arena, Professor Gu Yue’s figure slowly materialized.
He wore no armor and held only a three-meter-long Long Spear. Majestic and unshakable, he carried the natural air of a Grandmaster.
Qin Feng focused his gaze for a moment, and the Imperial Arena’s data on his opponent appeared before him.
[ID: Gu Yue]
[Rank: Fighter]
[Points: 49,000]
[Record: 7,462,221 Wins, 7,442,021 Losses]
[Bio: Adept with the Long Spear.]
[Enemy Evaluations (999+): His spear strikes like a dragon; Silver spear treading on snow; Decisive in killing; Crafty old-timer, damn good... more comments collapsed]
"Fighter?!"
Qin Feng’s eyes widened.
’If I remember correctly,’ he thought, ’the arena has Ranks One through Nine. Above Rank Nine are Fighter, Expert, Adept, Master, Celestial King, Martial Venerable...’
In competitions like the Starry Sky Cup, countless geniuses emerged from the fighting, but the highest rank achieved was merely Rank Eight.
’Qiming First High School’s faculty is truly impressive!’
’And this Teacher Gu Yue specializes in the spear!’
[Please select your weapon]
Without hesitation, Qin Feng chose a Standard Alloy Long Spear, preparing himself to learn from the master.
’An opportunity for this kind of practical combat is incredibly rare!’
’If I can seize this chance, it’ll be like when Sun Chan Hall gave me that little bit of guidance back then. My improvement will be so rapid it’ll be like defying fate itself!’
[5, 4, 3, 2, 1...]
[Battle, begin!]
The instant the countdown ended, Qin Feng moved.
He didn’t bother with any probing attacks. He immediately pushed himself to his peak condition, his Long Spear transforming into a silver bolt of lightning that shot straight for Professor Gu Yue’s chest.
Facing this strike, which was as swift as a thunderclap, Professor Gu Yue simply raised his spear into a defensive stance.
His movements seemed slow, yet he struck second and landed first, effortlessly blocking the tip of Qin Feng’s spear from an unbelievable angle.
CLANG!
A single, clear note rang out.
Qin Feng felt an irresistible and incredibly pure force travel up from the tip of his spear. Just like that, his confident strike had been effortlessly neutralized.
"Decent speed, and your power is well-condensed."
Professor Gu Yue’s calm voice rang out. "However, your spear has ’form,’ but no ’soul.’"
He shifted his fingers slightly.
Qin Feng felt a spiraling, hidden force surge wildly along the shaft of his spear, almost wrenching it from his grasp.
He hastily pulled back his spear and retreated, resetting his stance.
"The Thousand Army Spear was born on the battlefield. Its core lies in a single concept: ’momentum.’"
Professor Gu Yue spoke as he walked slowly toward Qin Feng. "In your previous battles, you’ve already grasped how to ’borrow momentum’ and how to ’create momentum.’ However, you have not yet learned how to merge your own essence, energy, and spirit with your spear to form your own ’spear momentum.’"
"Come, attack me again. Forget the techniques, forget the skills. Use your heart to feel your spear."
Professor Gu Yue’s words struck Qin Feng’s mind like a great temple bell.
Qin Feng took a deep breath and attacked once more.
This time, he no longer stuck rigidly to specific moves, but poured his entire understanding of spear arts into every swing.
On the arena, spear-shadows danced and the wind howled.
Professor Gu Yue moved as if on a casual stroll, weaving calmly through Qin Feng’s storm of attacks.
He always managed to neutralize Qin Feng’s every attack in the simplest, most direct way. And as he did so, he would use his words to point out the flaws in Qin Feng’s spear technique with piercing accuracy.
"This thrust of yours has enough killing intent, but the force is scattered. The power at the spear’s tip should originate from your waist and hips, not your arm."
"This sweep has enough range, but you’re neglecting your center of gravity. If an enemy took that opportunity to attack your lower body, you would be defeated without a doubt."
"When you’re defending, don’t just block passively. Every contact with an enemy’s weapon is a chance to probe, to feel their power and intent. Your spear is your eyes, your feelers—not just a shield."
Under Professor Gu Yue’s constant guidance, Qin Feng completely forgot this was a test.
He was immersed in this unprecedented, exhilarating experience of combat and learning.
His spear technique was transforming at a speed visible to the naked eye.
From clumsy, to fluid, to perfectly seamless.
[Under the guidance of an expert, your understanding of the Thousand Army Spear has deepened. Thousand Army Spear proficiency +5]
[Through practical combat, you have grasped the technique of power transmission. Thousand Army Spear proficiency +4]
...
The proficiency on his status panel began to increase at an unprecedented, frantic pace.
A full hour passed.
As Qin Feng executed another horizontal sweep with his spear, he suddenly felt as if the weapon in his hands was no longer a cold tool, but an extension of his body, an extension of his Will.
A flash of insight flooded his mind.
"HAH!"
"Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion!"
With a low shout, he condensed all his body’s strength and spirit into the spear’s shaft, channeled it to the tip, and unleashed a sudden sweep that traced a crescent of light through the air.
This spear strike wasn’t aimed at any of Professor Gu Yue’s vital points, but at the empty space before him.
Yet, as the tip passed through, the air itself let out a sharp, overburdened sonic boom!
An invisible, condensed spear momentum erupted from him!
"Not bad."
A trace of genuine approval finally appeared in Professor Gu Yue’s eyes. "Grasping a killing move means you’ve touched the threshold of ’spear momentum.’"
"Since you’ve managed to use Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion, you can continue to observe."
Professor Gu Yue smiled. "Watch closely. The first killing move of the Thousand Army Spear, ’Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion.’"
He swept his spear, and it was Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion!
Qin Feng was stunned. He felt as if a thousand armies and ten thousand horses were charging right at him.
He strained to keep his eyes wide open, abandoning all defense to stare intently at Professor Gu Yue’s every move, trying to sear everything before him into his mind.
And there stood Professor Gu Yue’s figure, before the charging armies. His Long Spear swung out with a supreme might that seemed capable of sweeping across the six directions and scouring the eight corners of the world.
In that instant, Qin Feng felt as if his very soul was about to be utterly crushed by that unstoppable spear momentum.
[By observing a Grandmaster’s demonstration, you have comprehended the True Intent of ’Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion.’ Thousand Army Spear proficiency +3]
[By observing a Grandmaster’s demonstration, you have comprehended the True Intent of ’Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion.’ Thousand Army Spear proficiency +7]
[Proficiency +8]
[Proficiency +10]
[...]
[Thousand Army Spear proficiency has reached 100. Realm has been promoted to ’Lesser Completion’!]
[Killing Technique: Thousand Army Spear (Lesser Completion)]
[Proficiency: 71/1000]
[Effect: At the current realm, comprehension in spear techniques is slightly increased.]
When Qin Feng recovered from the shock of that spear intent, he found he had already logged out of the arena and was back in his virtual connection pod.
The "test," which had lasted for a full hour, was over.
He exited the Imperial Arena, his consciousness returning from Subspace. He opened his eyes and saw that Professor Gu Yue was also already standing outside.
Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Feng walked forward and gave a deep bow to the old man who had taught him for only an hour but from whom he had benefited immensely.
"Thank you for your guidance, Professor Gu."
"Mm."
Professor Gu Yue stroked his beard, a look of undisguised satisfaction on his face. "Your comprehension is quite good. My efforts weren’t wasted."
Qin Feng bowed once more in thanks.
When he returned to the group, he found all his classmates looking at him with a complex mix of envy, jealousy, and admiration.
They had been waiting there quietly for an entire hour.
No one complained.
They all knew that for a figure like Professor Gu Yue to personally enter the field and give an hour of private tutoring was, in itself, a form of supreme recognition.
Qin Feng had earned this privilege with his comprehension.
Everyone knew that you could get guidance from a famous teacher by using up contracted sessions or spending merit points.
But when a genius was favored by a famous teacher who was willing to offer extra lessons on their own initiative, no one could say a thing about it.
What could they do but feel envious, jealous, and full of admiration?
Everyone had witnessed Qin Feng’s spear skills in the bloody battle against the greenskins yesterday. For that reason, they had no complaints about the hour-long wait; they were completely convinced he had earned it.