Chapter 84: Challenge Lin Wei?

[Spear Skill Rankings]

[First Place — Lin Wei — Moon Ascending Slash (Five Stars)]

[Bow Skill Rankings]

[First Place — Lin Wei — Scorching Sun Arrow (Five Stars)]

As Liu Qi tapped the screen, data from the two leaderboards appeared. His gruff voice, like a stone slab resting on magma, was scorching and intense. "Lin Wei possesses a Martial Arts Talent. The Spear Skills and Bow Skills he comprehended himself are equivalent to Shadow Stepping in the Body Technique Realm—domineering and powerful. They were rated as Five Stars difficulty the very first time they were recorded in the system.

To put it plainly, by the time he advances to a Martial Artist, these techniques will be Tier Two. What’s more, they are the techniques that best suit his own Martial Arts, with power that is difficult to replicate.

This is the monstrous nature of a Martial Arts Talent."

At this, he looked at Jiang Qiu, his eyes as sincere as the crimson sun. "And you—you can also comprehend Spear Skills and Bow Skills on your own. You learned Shadow Stepping in thirteen days and surpassed Yang Zheng. You must possess a latent and exceptionally outstanding Martial Arts Talent.

Some Martial Arts Talents are easy to identify. Innate great strength, a tough physique, or even sensing the Spirit Charm of a Martial Artist from birth, something they long for with every fiber of their being.

But other Martial Arts Talents are not so easily noticed. They need to be slowly tempered, emerging like true gold from a trial by fire.

Jiang Qiu, you clearly have such an astonishing growth rate, yet you only began to stand out in your third year of high school. I believe this is likely the reason."

’A latent Martial Arts Talent?’

An image of his panel flashed through Jiang Qiu’s mind, and he remained silent.

’Maybe the system panel *is* my awakened Martial Arts Talent...’

"It’s precisely because you have a Martial Arts Talent that your Spear Skill was powerful enough to cripple the right arm of the Top Tier Demon Beast, King Niu. And because of that, I think you can use that one move to directly challenge Lin Wei’s Moon Ascending Slash for the number one spot in Spear Skills."

The words struck Jiang Qiu like a clap of thunder, making his pupils tremble in shock. "You want me to challenge Lin Wei right now?"

In the Tianjiao Project, Lin Wei had long been known as the strongest. The Spear Skill that put him at the top of the rankings was by no means an undeserved reputation.

The Virtual Training Pod’s directory showed Lin Wei’s Realm—Steel Bone Realm Perfection.

He had already surpassed the three major stages of the Steel Bone Realm and reforged the four points—his arms, feet, torso, and head—in preparation for breaking through to the Jade Sinew Realm.

’I still haven’t finished training my head, so I’m one stage behind him. And rumor has it that his control over Strength bursts, thanks to his Martial Arts Talent, has earned the admiration of many officers. I’d be at a disadvantage if we fought.’

Jiang Qiu sighed inwardly at this thought.

’In the end, I joined the Tianjiao project too late, and I’m paying the price for not having enough time. My original plan was to use the Virtual Training Pod to hone my Spear Skill and only attempt a challenge when the Demon Blood Fragrance was about to be delivered.’

’But now, it seems the gap between me and Lin Wei is just too big. If I can’t raise my Realm, it’ll be very difficult to win.’

"Not to challenge Lin Wei, but to challenge his Spear Skill, Moon Ascending Slash."

CLICK. Liu Qi clicked on the first-place Spear Skill on the leaderboard, his expression serious and proper. "I’ll switch it to the Spear Skill recording mode for you. Your opponent will be a training partner based on Lin Wei’s template. The ranking will be decided in a single battle. That way, you won’t have to spend as much time as you did learning Shadow Stepping.

However, in recording mode, your Spear Skill will be analyzed and then loaded into the Virtual Training Pod. You need to consider that yourself..."

"I agree."

Jiang Qiu nodded decisively.

’Every Life and Death Drill is an opportunity to comprehend new Spear Skills. Why get hung up on one or two moves? Even if Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven is my strongest trump card right now, an even stronger one will replace it in the future.’

’Or perhaps, it could evolve into an even more powerful technique in my hands.’

’After all, I’m not a Martial Artist yet, so the true power of my Spear Skill is limited.’

’If I can contribute the current version of Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven in exchange for a chance at the Demon Blood Fragrance refined from the Essence Blood of the master of Dongqi Lake, then that’s the best choice.’

’I need to raise my overall ranking as much as possible and choose a better Demon Blood Fragrance to break through to the next Realm!’

"Good." Liu Qi patted Jiang Qiu’s shoulder twice, the admiration in his eyes as rich as strong tea. The more he looked, the more pleased he felt. "Proud but not arrogant. That’s the true spirit of youth.

Since you’re willing to record your Mastery of this Spear Skill, the Military Department will register a creator account for you. In the future, whenever a Non-commissioned Officer or Martial Artist redeems your Spear Skill in a normal training pod to learn it, 80% of the Contribution Points will go into your account.

Furthermore, our Tianjiao Base will give you a Contribution Point reward upfront. And if any other base wants to import it, you’ll receive a portion of Contribution Points as a reward for that as well."

Jiang Qiu’s heart leaped with joy, but he was immediately puzzled. "You need Contribution Points to learn Spear Skills?"

"Of course you do. The hundreds of thousands of Non-commissioned Officers in Gao Yuan City weren’t able to get into Northwest Martial University. Most of them only graduated from high school. They rely on accumulating Contribution Points from the most basic missions to exchange for resources or to learn Spear Skills after reaching a certain level," Liu Qi said with a smile. "The instructors at the base can only teach the easiest, most common Spear Skills like Sky-Spinning Stab. For the most part, they have to spend their own Contribution Points to learn others.

It’s just that you’re in the Tianjiao Project right now, so the base covers a lot of things for you. You don’t need to pay Contribution Points.

By the way, the thousand-plus Contribution Points you got in the last Military Department test is quite a lot. Yang Yu hasn’t accumulated that much in six years. You can exchange them for some resources to improve yourself..."

While adjusting the settings on the Virtual Training Pod, Liu Qi explained some of the lesser-known common knowledge within the Military Department to Jiang Qiu, such as details about the Demon Blood Fragrance, the current situation with the college entrance exams, and the underlying meaning of the Dongqi Lake operation.

Jiang Qiu listened intently, catching Liu Qi’s sigh of lament.

"If the Demon King Red Flame Spider Mother hadn’t killed over three hundred of the top students in the Outer City, the Northwest Province College Entrance Examination Committee wouldn’t have temporarily designated us as a high-risk examination zone, which affects the allocation of resource policies.

A large amount of resources are now being shipped to Tianshan City to support the war effort, and the allocations from above are decreasing. Our only choice is to proactively seize control of Dongqi Lake to create opportunities for the Non-commissioned Officers to earn Contribution Points and resources.

It’s just a shame this happened at such a critical time, and you haven’t been able to enjoy the best resource treatment." Liu Qi let out a long sigh, but then a spark of light returned to his eyes. "But thankfully, the Dongqi Lake operation went relatively smoothly. The slain master of Dongqi Lake, Zhu Li, left behind a drop of Essence Blood that can be refined into the highest-grade Demon Blood Fragrance.

As long as you surpass Lin Wei in the overall rankings and claim that Su Fragrance, you’re guaranteed to undergo a massive transformation!"

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ—"

Suddenly, a communications ring vibrated, interrupting Liu Qi. He squinted at it, a look of delight spreading across his face.

BEEP—

"General."

As the full-throated cry rang out, Jiang Qiu instinctively turned his head, his eyes bright. He wondered to himself, ’Is that the general with the surname Mo?’

"I saw your message. It said Jiang Qiu has mastered Shadow Stepping and even defeated the training partner based on Yang Zheng’s template. Is this true?"

A dignified voice, like that of an old man carved from a guardian stone statue, came from the other end of the communications ring. Liu Qi glanced up at Jiang Qiu, his own words firm and resonant:

"I’ve already obtained the data from the central control of the virtual training building and confirmed it’s correct. Not only did Jiang Qiu defeat the training partner, he has also completed the torso stage of the Steel Bone Realm. All he needs now is the great transformation brought by the Demon Blood Fragrance to pass the final skull stage.

Moreover, Jiang Qiu is right here with me and has agreed to record the move he used to cripple King Niu’s right arm. My idea is that when it’s formally uploaded tomorrow, we should open spectator access to the Virtual Training Pod. All Non-commissioned Officers who aren’t on guard duty can observe and learn from Jiang Qiu’s Spear Skill recording..."