High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices-Chapter 119: Ranking
Virtual light and shadows swirled as Shen Wei’s figure appeared at the entrance to the Star Beast Hunting Ground.
"Welcome to the first stage of the Star Beast Hunting Ground. Challenge objective: three Star-Spotted Wolves."
"Clear condition: Kill all Star-Spotted Wolves within ten minutes. Failure condition: Exceeding the time limit or dying."
"The challenger’s Life Energy Level for this stage is fixed at 13."
As the system prompt faded, the scene instantly switched to a dense forest, and three Star-Spotted Wolves emerged at a slow pace.
"Is that all?" Shen Wei scoffed. With a single step, his figure shot forward like a phantom.
Unlike Xu Wuyi’s defensive counter-attacks, Shen Wei’s style was a relentless, head-on assault.
He raised the Seven Kills Saber high, the Qi and Blood in his body circulating wildly, instantly coating the blade in a faint red glow.
His "Kill" True Intention of Martial Arts was silently activated, and an intangible killing intent pressed down on the Star-Spotted Wolves as if it were a physical weight.
The lead Star-Spotted Wolf was just about to pounce when the killing intent stunned it, causing its movements to falter.
In that momentary pause, Shen Wei had already rushed forward. His descending saber was so fast that its arc was nothing but an afterimage.
"Seven Kills: Bone Breaker!"
SCHLICK!
The blade sliced through, sending fresh blood flying.
The lead Star-Spotted Wolf didn’t even have time to cry out before the strike cleaved it in two, and it dissipated into a flash of white light.
Seeing this, the two remaining Star-Spotted Wolves didn’t retreat. Instead, they became even more frenzied and pounced on him from the left and right.
Shen Wei’s expression remained unchanged. With a twist of his wrist, he changed his chopping motion into a sweep, swinging the long saber horizontally with a howl.
The air seemed to tear wherever the blade passed, letting out a sharp shriek.
The Star-Spotted Wolf on the left was caught by the blade’s wind and cut in half at the waist. The one on the right luckily dodged, but Shen Wei followed up with a swift kick to its chest. The crisp CRACK of breaking ribs was clearly audible, and a final slash immediately decapitated it.
"First stage cleared. Time elapsed: 1 minute, 12 seconds."
When the system prompt sounded, Shen Wei was barely even out of breath.
He flicked the virtual blood from his saber, his eyes filled with disdain. "Too slow. Easier than fighting human Martial Artists."
Without a moment’s hesitation, he chose to enter the second stage.
The scene switched to a desolate Gobi Desert, where three Iron-Spine Lizards crawled out from crevices in the rocks.
A normal challenger facing an Iron-Spine Lizard would need to patiently probe for the weak spot on its belly.
But Shen Wei never played by the rules. Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging straight at one of the charging Iron-Spine Lizards.
As the Iron-Spine Lizard swiped its massive claw, Shen Wei sidestepped it and thrust his saber forward, precisely striking the gap between the scales just below its eye.
"Seven Kills: Armor Breaker!"
Infused with Qi and Blood and True Intention, the blade erupted with formidable Penetration Power, shattering the Iron-Spine Lizard’s defenses and plunging deep into its brain.
The Iron-Spine Lizard let out a pained roar as its massive body crashed to the ground and dissipated into white light.
Seeing this, the two remaining Iron-Spine Lizards attacked simultaneously.
Shen Wei’s footwork was a blur as he weaved nimbly between the rocks of the Gobi Desert, dodging the incoming Energy Balls and charges.
His figure was as elusive as the wind, each strike precise and vicious, aimed exclusively at the Iron-Spine Lizards’ weak points like their eyes and joints.
With every rise and fall of his blade, blood sprayed and scales shattered.
In just three short minutes, the last Iron-Spine Lizard fell in a pool of blood and dissipated into white light.
"Second stage cleared. Time elapsed: 3 minutes, 5 seconds."
Standing in the Gobi Desert, Shen Wei had consumed less than twenty percent of his Qi and Blood.
He looked at the clear time on the light screen, a smile touching his lips. "Continue!"
The third stage.
The scene switched to a pitch-black cave. A thick, foul stench filled the air, and the sound of flapping wings rose and fell like a tide.
Shen Wei took a deep breath, pushing his "Kill" True Intention of Martial Arts to its absolute limit. The killing intent around him instantly solidified, forming an intangible aura that enveloped the entire cave.
"Third stage challenge objective: ten Poison Fang Bats. Clear condition: Kill all Poison Fang Bats within ten minutes."
The moment the system prompt ended, ten Poison Fang Bats dove down like bolts of black lightning, their sharp fangs glinting as they carried a lethal poison.
But as soon as they came within three meters of Shen Wei, the biting killing intent stunned them. Their movements faltered, and the frequency of their wing beats slowed noticeably.
"Die!"
Shen Wei let out a low shout, his long saber becoming an impenetrable curtain of light. Amidst the flashes of his blade, he cut down the approaching Poison Fang Bats one by one.
The Poison Fang Bats had terrible defenses. The moment the blade’s light touched them, they were instantly sliced in two and dissipated into white light.
However, their numbers and speed were too great. Two of them still managed to break through the curtain of light and lunge for Shen Wei’s shoulder and neck.
Shen Wei’s eyes narrowed. He twisted his body to dodge the attack aimed at his neck while simultaneously dropping his left arm, blocking the other bat’s bite with his forearm armor.
HISS—
The poison instantly seeped into his body. Shen Wei felt his left arm go numb, and the circulation of his Qi and Blood grew sluggish.
But he was prepared. Activating his Seven Kills True Intention, his Spirit instantly cleared, and he remained completely unaffected by the poison’s influence.
With a backhand slash, he cut down the Poison Fang Bat on his arm. At the same time, he spun, sweeping his long saber horizontally to force back the remaining bats.
"Nothing special."
Once their numbers dwindled, the bats posed a much smaller threat.
In just two short minutes, the last Poison Fang Bat fell to his blade and dissipated into white light.
"Third stage cleared. Time elapsed: 2 minutes, 23 seconds. Current stages cleared: 3. Rank updated: Fourth place."
Shen Wei looked at his rank on the light screen and nodded in satisfaction.
His rank had jumped to fourth, meaning he was the fastest among everyone who had cleared the third stage.
"Continue!"
There was no way to recover one’s condition in the Battle Network anyway. Shen Wei decided to strike while the iron was hot, vowing to seize first place in one fell swoop.
...
Meanwhile, Xu Wuyi had just finished a call and was about to head to the training room when his doorbell rang again.
’It’s a busy day today.’
He walked to the courtyard gate, where the light screen showed the visitor was Xu Zhi.
Opening the door, he saw Xu Zhi standing outside with a broad smile. Compared to his previous lost and dejected state in the Virtual Battle Network, he looked completely refreshed.
"Xu Wuyi, I’m not interrupting your training, am I?" Xu Zhi greeted him with a smile.
"Not at all. I just finished a spar. Come on in," Xu Wuyi said, letting him into the living room.
Having been neighbors for half a month, Xu Zhi would drop by every few days, so the two had become quite familiar.
"I just cleared the third stage!" Xu Zhi blurted out the moment he sat down, unable to contain his excitement. "Those disgusting Poison Fang Bats! I finally took care of them!"
"Haha, congratulations," Xu Wuyi said sincerely.
’To figure out how to pass the third stage on his own proves that Xu Zhi really worked hard and found the right strategy.’
"This freshman challenge is harder than I thought," Xu Zhi remarked, casually pulling up the leaderboard.
"This time, with just over three minutes, I’ve already jumped to fourth place, right behind you three who are on the fourth stage... Huh? Wait a minute..."
