He was laughing so hard he doubled over, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.
Nissan and Dragon Jade couldn’t hold back their laughter either, their shoulders trembling with amusement.
Qin Feng scrambled up from the ground, covered in dust. He patted himself off; with his tough physique, a fall from that height didn’t hurt in the slightest.
He looked at the three of them, who were so bent over with laughter they could barely stand, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry himself.
"You guys just wanted to see me make a fool of myself, didn’t you?"
"Hahahaha... I can’t take it... Just let me laugh a little longer..."
Ning Jing finally managed to stifle his laughter and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Back in the day, every last one of us took a fall just like that. Mine was the worst—I smacked my head on the ceiling before I came crashing down. Seeing a monster like you take a clumsy tumble just like we did... well, it really helps balance things out!"
"He’s right, he’s right!"
Nissan nodded emphatically. "Things feel balanced now!"
"That’s perfectly normal."
Dragon Jade explained with a smile, "If you want to truly fly at will, there are two hard requirements. First, your Mental Power needs to be at least 30 points. Second, you have to cultivate the *Empire’s Foundations of Mental Power Control* to the Perfection realm. Only then can you maintain a stable output of Mental Power and precisely control your force and direction, allowing you to soar through the sky unimpeded. Generally, only powerhouses who have pushed the Soaring Realm to its absolute limit, on the verge of touching the first ’Great Limit,’ can manage that."
After the playful banter died down, the two senior students, Chu Qi and Liang You, who had been watching with smiles, walked over.
"Alright,"
Chu Qi’s voice drew everyone’s attention back. "The first step in cultivating Mental Power, ’initiation,’ is the most difficult and the most critical. Our job was to guide you safely through this challenging phase. Now that Qin Feng has achieved his initiation, our initial teaching assignment is officially complete. From here on, you’ll have to walk the path of cultivation on your own."
"Oh, right. There’s something I should remind you of."
Liang You added, "The annual Starry Sky Cup is about to begin. If you’re interested, you might want to sign up and give it a shot."
"The Starry Sky Cup?"
Qin Feng asked, confused.
"It’s the most prestigious tournament in This Star Zone, open to all students of Starry Sky Martial Arts University."
Dragon Jade explained, "It’s highly prestigious."
Liang You nodded. "Correct. But there are two minimum requirements to enter the Starry Sky Cup. First, you must have achieved ’Rank 4’ in the Imperial Arena. Second, of course, is being a student at Starry Sky Martial Arts University."
"If you want to go far in the Starry Sky Cup, let alone win the championship, you’ll generally need to be at least ’Rank 9’ in the Imperial Arena to even have a chance."
Chu Qi’s voice held a trace of longing. "The glory from the Starry Sky Cup is secondary. The most important part is the prize. The rewards are incredibly generous. In terms of value, they’re worth far more than the combined rewards of completing ten nightmare-level missions in a row."
Ten nightmare-level missions!
That comparison alone sent a jolt through Qin Feng.
He knew just how staggering the rewards for a single nightmare-level mission were. Ten of them combined would be an unimaginable, astronomical figure.
"Oh right, and one last thing."
Chu Qi’s expression grew serious, his sharp gaze sweeping across the four of them. "And this is of critical importance to your future cultivation."
"The Imperial Arena can perfectly simulate everything in reality, including the use of Mental Power. But it has a fatal flaw. When you’re spectating a match or reviewing a recording, you can’t clearly or intuitively see the specific flow of your opponent’s Mental Power. Compared to a real battle, this has its pros and cons. Do you understand what I mean?"
The question sent Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing into deep thought.
But a flash of insight struck Qin Feng, and he instantly grasped the key point.
He spoke in a low voice, "I understand. You’re saying... before Level Six, the third-level and lower Killing Techniques we learn rely more on fixed power-generation techniques and Spiritual Energy nodes. As long as we’ve fought an opponent in the Imperial Arena who uses the same Killing Technique, we can generally find its weaknesses and counters just by reviewing the match."
"But with Fourth-level Killing Techniques and above, the core driving force becomes Mental Power. If we only fight inside the Imperial Arena, all we can see is the final form of our opponent’s Technique. We can’t perceive the internal, most critical ’Mental Power-Spiritual Energy convergence pattern.’ This means we can’t target and dismantle their fundamental energy circulation pattern with any precision."
"Exactly!"
A bright flash of admiration lit up Chu Qi’s eyes, and he nodded emphatically.
"Perfectly correct! Qin Feng, you grasp things instantly!"
"That’s exactly it! For example, in the past, if you fought an opponent who practiced the Ninefold Thunder Saber, you could review the fight and understand that you needed to strike a key power-generation node while he was building up force to disrupt his rhythm. If you fought a Gunman who used *Cold Gleam*, you’d know you had to seize the initiative and not let him get the first move."
"But a Fourth-level Killing Technique is completely different! The very same Technique can have different weaknesses and a different core, all depending on the pattern, timing, and intensity of the Mental Power guiding the Spiritual Energy Flow. If you only ever fight in the Imperial Arena, you will never learn how to deconstruct an opponent’s ’core.’ Therefore, I strongly recommend that you engage in more live sparring within your Warband. Practice with each other, trade Techniques—that’s the only way you’ll truly grasp the mysteries of a Fourth-level Killing Technique."