Chapter 22: Training in Vain

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At long last, Han Feng had mastered the “Fundamentals of Energy Cultivation,” and the previously stagnant progress of his psionic cultivation finally saw a glimmer of hope. This skill was the foundational ability all superhumans had to learn. Now, Han Feng suddenly noticed that at the skill node for the Fundamentals of Energy Cultivation, there was a “1/3” indicator. This was a familiar sight to him—signifying that up to three skill points could be invested in this ability.

Typically, the first skill point was required to learn and activate the skill, immediately granting its basic effect. Any subsequent skill points would then enhance its effectiveness and potency.

Without hesitation, Han Feng maxed out the skill, investing two additional skill points. His game interface promptly notified him that his psionic cultivation speed had increased by 30%. Even his card panel popped up with messages:

[Your psionic cultivation level has risen to Novice.]
[Your psionic cultivation level has risen to Intermediate.]

Han Feng blinked in surprise—this was an unexpected boon! His psionic cultivation level had advanced straight to Intermediate!

Just as I thought, he mused, “The bicycle will come, the wristwatch will come”—now, the ultimate skill “Demon King’s Black Dragon Wave” from the Shadowblade card and three further skills from the Laxus card were instantly unlocked. Finally, he had some impressive ultimate moves to his name.

It was a pity that only three skill points could be invested in this node; otherwise, Han Feng would have poured all his points in, perhaps even pushing his card system’s psionic cultivation straight to Master level.

Of course, that was pure fantasy. Advancement from here would still require diligent, step-by-step effort.

With his most urgent cultivation skill settled, it was time to officially activate the Martial Arts skill tree.

Martial Arts had many branches and schools—sword, spear, saber, staff, unarmed, and more, each with its own unique skill system.

On his way to the Martial Artist’s Sub-Hall, Han Feng had already informed his instructor of his chosen path, so the skills transmitted to him did not include other schools.

[You have successfully activated the Martial Arts (Sword) skill tree. You have obtained the new class “Swordsman.”]

[Detected basic universal skills: Lethal Strike, Lethal Backstab, Sword Mastery, Indomitable Will, Burning Will (Exclusive), Falling Strike, Rapid Thrust—do you wish to spend 1 skill point to learn any? Yes/No?]

“Lethal Strike (0/1)”—passively increases physical critical strike rate by 5%.

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“Lethal Backstab (0/1)”—attacking an enemy from behind passively increases physical critical strike rate by 10%.

“Sword Mastery (0/1)”—boosts sword weapon attack power by 5%.

“Indomitable Will (0/1)”—when casting a skill within 10 seconds, there is a 20% chance that incoming enemy attacks will not interrupt the action.

“Burning Will (Exclusive) (0/1)”—next attack has a 30% chance to deal true damage. In Han Feng’s recollection, this skill didn’t exist in previous games—could it be a unique ability the system panel itself had synthesized? Having hacks was truly wonderful!

“Falling Strike (0/1)” and “Rapid Thrust (0/1)” were just basic sword techniques, of little practical use.

“Indomitable Will” was more suited to magisters, as spellcasting in the magic arts required chanting—more powerful spells took longer, and being interrupted could even lead to backlash.

Han Feng opted to learn “Lethal Strike,” “Lethal Backstab,” “Sword Mastery,” and “Burning Will”—three practical passive skills and one extremely useful active skill. Burning Will’s true damage could ignore both physical and magical resistance—once triggered, its effect would be explosive.

He invested four skill points at once. These skills required no simulation demonstration and could be activated immediately.

[Detected E-rank Sword Techniques: Earthsplitter, Wavecleaver, Fivefold Slash, Cross Slash, Crescent Slash, Shadowstrike—do you wish to spend 1 skill point to learn any? Yes/No?]

[Detected D-rank Sword Techniques: Trine Sword, Limit Break, Rising Dragon Slash, Phantom Blade—do you wish to spend 2 skill points to learn any? Yes/No?]

Thanks to his card panel, with two cards equipped, Han Feng’s current strength was already at D-rank, so most E-rank sword techniques were now nearly obsolete—he could skip these transitional skills.

However, one of them was especially important: “Cross Slash (0/5).” This sword technique contained the secret of releasing sword energy, making it highly worthwhile to learn—though only the first level was necessary.

Among the D-rank sword techniques, “Trine Sword” and “Rising Dragon Slash” were similar to the “Tornado Flash” and “Soaring Dragon Flash” he had already mastered, so he set them aside.

He chose to learn “Limit Break” and “Phantom Blade.”

“Limit Break (0/1)” was a burst skill, temporarily pushing the weapon beyond its limits to increase attack power and critical rate by 20% for 30 seconds.

“Phantom Blade (0/10)” could conjure a shadowy double of the user, which would dart forward and deliver six powerful slashes before vanishing. The phantom’s attack power would be 30%/35%/40%/45%/50%/... of the original.

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Han Feng activated the simulation device, and the virtual instructor performed and explained “Cross Slash,” “Limit Break,” and “Phantom Blade” in detail.

[Learning “Cross Slash”: 23%... 61%... 100%]

...

[Learning complete. You have mastered “Cross Slash (1/5),” “Limit Break (1/1),” and “Phantom Blade (1/10).”]

This was the advantage of having a system—by investing skill points, he could rapidly acquire the corresponding skills and knowledge, saving vast amounts of time. Many martial artists needed years of training to reach E-rank, and mastering advanced sword techniques required even greater effort and talent.

All twelve of his accumulated skill points were now exhausted, but Han Feng was perhaps the fastest martial arts learner in this world—within half an hour, he had fully grasped skills that would take others years to master.

Each training chamber was isolated—outsiders generally could not see what transpired within. Only professional instructors had the authority to monitor a student’s learning progress, so they could offer timely guidance and help the student avoid unnecessary detours.

The instructor and Li Lizhong stood before the observation screen of this particular chamber, watching Han Feng’s skill acquisition in real time.

“He chose Cross Slash. Yes, that’s the essence of E-rank sword techniques—the only one capable of releasing sword energy. Wow, no wonder he’s someone with maxed-out potential—what extraordinary talent. Those two sword energy waves are already quite impressive.” The martial arts instructor watched the screen intently, admiration shining in his eyes.

“Heh, every young person is curious about advanced sword techniques. Now he’s watching the demonstration of Phantom Blade, but a D-rank technique like that isn’t something a beginner can master easily. The way of martial arts is all about steady refinement—success rarely comes overnight,” the instructor said with a smile to Li Lizhong beside him.

“Look! Him!” Li Lizhong suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the screen in astonishment.

The instructor immediately looked over and saw Han Feng, sword in hand, wielding a standard training blade. With a single-handed swing, a black, humanoid phantom burst forth from his body, dashing fifteen meters in the blink of an eye and unleashing six rapid slashes on the simulated enemy, which shattered instantly!

“That—that’s Phantom Blade!”

The martial arts instructor’s jaw dropped in shock—he was nearly speechless. For Han Feng to master an E-rank sword technique so quickly was one thing, but to perform the most difficult D-rank Phantom Blade in such a short time? Was this even human? The instructor began to doubt his own life’s path, feeling as if all his years of training had been in vain compared to this prodigy.