Chapter 24: Tool

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The next day, before the morning cultivation class, the atmosphere had returned to normal as everyone quickly forgot about Hu Shixin’s incident.

A few male trainees gathered together and discussed the interesting events that happened last night.

Ordinary trainees in the school were considered mediocre in the school. However, in society, they were thought of as the elites.

Zhao Jingru pulled Liang Lele to a corner of the courtyard and asked about Chen Yiming in whispers.

When she returned home last night, she could not find a way to break out of the situation no matter how hard she tried. She had no choice but to tell her parents the whole story of what happened and to seek their help with a red face.

Zhao Zhengming had been engaging in business for dozens of years. Due to his clan’s limited power, his business had been restricted to one city. However, he was very experienced. He hinted to his daughter that she could consider approaching Chen Yiming’s family if she could not deal with him directly.

…

Not long after, the cultivation class started.

After Wang Bowen led the trainees to complete one round of training in the Mantis Snake Sword Technique, he instructed them to practice on their own before leaving in a hurry.

The trainees quickly dispersed. It was rare that there was no one to supervise them. One by one, the trainees found a place to rest. There were even two who decided to skip class and just left.

“Junior Brother Chen, let me spar with you.”

Zhang Youde took the initiative to approach Chen Yiming. He didn’t mention what had happened the previous night. Instead, he suggested that they trade a few blows.

He was in the Mantis Snake Sword School’s special training robe which he rarely wore. Coupled with his physique that was honed from eating mutant beast meat from a young age, he looked radiant.

“Okay.”

Chen Yiming had intended to practice his swordsmanship anyway, and he couldn’t think of any reason to refuse.

For some reason, Zhang Youde seemed to have become a completely different person from the day before. Chen Yiming was overwhelmed by Zhang Youde’s combination of attacks.

“Junior Brother Chen, you probably hardly come into contact with other martial arts and lack the experience of dealing with different opponents. Coincidentally, my clan’s secret technique is also a sword technique. Although it cannot be compared to the Mantis Snake Sword Technique, it still has many merits.”

Zhang Youde did not attack immediately. Instead, he expressed his intention to use another sword technique to press his attack.

“Your clan’s secret technique?”

Chen Yiming raised an eyebrow, and suddenly became excited.

Zhang Youde was a perfect tool. When he realized that Chen Yiming was not interested in the cultivation resources, he immediately tried a different method to test his needs.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he had to keep his ability to secretly learn techniques hidden, he would have told Zhang Youde directly to help him contact other sword masters so he could spar with them.

“That’s right. My family’s Long Rainbow Sword Technique is different from the Mantis Snake Sword Technique. The technique’s distinguishing feature is that it is good for pursuit. Each move occurs in continuous succession.”

Zhang Youde didn’t hold back at all, and he immediately revealed the selling point of the Long Rainbow Sword Technique.

“Good for pursuit?”

Chen Yiming was secretly delighted.

The Mantis Snake Sword Technique’s distinguishing features were its stealth, speed, and attack power. It specialized in explosive linear attacks. If he encountered a situation where he needed to chase after the enemy, the effect would definitely not be as good as the Long Rainbow Sword Technique, which was good for pursuit.

Gaining more skills would do no harm, and it would be a waste not to learn the sword technique that was presented to him on a platter. As long as he did not use it openly in front of others, no one would know that he had secretly learned another clan’s secret technique.

As the two of them traded blows, the other trainees gathered around and watched the commotion. From time to time, they would whisper and discuss the two of them.

Zhang Youde was the strongest trainee in the East District before Chen Yiming rose up.

Chen Yiming, on the other hand, was a rising star. He had only revealed himself to be a talented trainee recently.

This was the first time that the two of them were competing publicly. Many students were looking forward to seeing if Chen Yiming would unseat the previous champion or if Zhang Youde would be able to protect his position as the prevailing champion.

“Lele, Zhang Youde is one level higher than Chen Yiming. No matter how good his swordsmanship is, Chen Yiming isn’t a match for him in terms of raw strength.”

With a clear goal in her heart, Zhao Jingru had calmed down. She purposely lied to provoke Liang Lele and see if she could gather any useful information.

“That might not be the case. In my opinion, Chen Yiming is a genius who can fight beyond his level. His potential is definitely more than what we have seen. This is because he joined the school at a relatively old age. He was delayed for a few years previously and no one discovered his talent.”

Liang Lele disagreed with her judgment.

Like Zhao Jingru, she came from a merchant family. The difference was that her appearance was ordinary, and their characters were complete opposites. She liked to gossip and paid attention to various news.

“Do you know what Chen Yiming was like before he entered the school? Did you hear any rumors about that? Though if you ask me, rumors like this are just wild guesses. The more they spread, the more ridiculous they become.”

Zhao Jingru opened her mouth slightly, showing a look of disbelief as she waited for Liang Lele to reveal what she knew.

“To be honest, I have a middle school classmate whose family background isn’t very good. Thirteenth High gave her a scholarship, so she went to study there. I spent some money to get some information from her.”

Liang Lele curled her lips and revealed a portion of the information she had obtained to prove that she was not just listening to rumors.

“How can you believe that? The school is so big. There are so many classes and students. Even within the same school, it’s mostly hearsay. It’s not trustworthy at all.”

Zhao Jingru maintained her doubtful attitude and tried to get Liang Lele to talk.

“I’m not that stupid. My classmate happened to be in the same class as Chen Yiming. That’s why I spent money to ask her about it. Chen Yiming was a delinquent in high school. Not only did he have poor grades, but he also loved to fight. I heard that he dropped out of school because of fighting,” Liang Lele whispered in Zhao Jingru’s ear.

She was afraid that others would hear it and cause trouble for her. She was unwilling to become the second Hu Shixin.

Zhang Youde and Chen Yiming continued to exchange blows.

“Watch carefully.”

With this reminder, Zhang Youde raised his hand and used the first move of the Long Rainbow Sword Technique, Sun Vessel. His entire person turned into a long shadow.

“Okay.”

Chen Yiming also struck out at the same time, using his basic sword moves to defend himself.

His true goal was to secretly learn the sword technique, not to compete with Zhang Youde.

The Mantis Snake Sword Technique’s level was obviously higher than the Long Rainbow Sword Technique. If he defeated Zhang Youde in a few moves, what he could secretly learn would only be an incomplete version of the Long Rainbow Sword Technique.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Yiming and Zhang Youde exchanged dozens of moves.

What surprised the surrounding trainees was that Chen Yiming was able to match Zhang Youde’s Long Rainbow Sword Technique with just the basic sword moves.

Zhang Youde’s moves changed extremely quickly. He could twist and attack from all directions.

This was the unique characteristic of the Long Rainbow Sword Technique. The variations of the moves were endless, and the opponent could not predict the next strike.

Unfortunately, he was facing Chen Yiming.

Although this was the first time Chen Yiming had encountered the Long Rainbow Sword Technique, he had undergone three transformations and was one level higher than Zhang Youde.

Their vision wasn’t on the same level, so Chen Yiming handled the situation with ease.