Although questions lingered in his mind, Chen Chuan never dwelt on irrelevant matters when facing battle. He instantly banished all extraneous thoughts and entered a combat state.
He practiced the Zhouyuan Jin technique. At the beginning, it might not have possessed any prominent traits or strengths, but as his foundation continually strengthened, the benefits brought by the growth of mutated tissue throughout his body gradually revealed themselves.
He could mobilize more mutated tissue than others to transmit jin, enhance physical functions, and supply energy. Stacking these advantages together was far from a simple addition—it was a qualitative leap.
Now, even without using his Second Self, he was confident he could defeat his past peers.
After her first strike was parried by him, Hongfu's second slash followed immediately, slightly faster than the first, and she arrived upon the mountain peak where Chen Chuan stood. After Chen Chuan blocked her second blow, a fierce third slash followed in rapid succession, its speed climbing yet again.
Chen Chuan could clearly sense that it wasn't just speed; the power behind Hongfu's saber was also constantly adjusting and elevating according to his performance.
This forced him purely onto the defensive, leaving him no opening to execute the counterattacks he had planned.
After just a dozen or so simple exchanges, he felt himself pushed to his limit. Hongfu seemed to perceive this change and stabilized at this level, commencing intricate variations in pure saber technique.
If earlier had merely been testing his physical capabilities, what followed was a trial of his saber skill.
Technique had always been his shortcoming. Under nearly identical physical conditions, it was impossible for him to outmatch this collective conscious entity.
Unless something unexpected happened, he would likely be defeated within a few moves, bringing the test to an end.
However, he did not give up.
His saber technique might be mediocre, yet whenever he clashed with others or faced formidable foes, he could always find a way to adapt.
And right then, he noticed a flaw in Hongfu that wasn't truly a flaw.
Perhaps to better test him, Hongfu would not use strength and speed exceeding his own, but if he displayed a new surge, she would match it. However, that adjustment took a brief moment.
That made it something he could exploit.
He suddenly kicked off with both feet, leaping toward the summit of an adjacent peak. Although he knew the training room floor lay below, since Hongfu had conjured the sea of clouds, he was willing to play by the rules.
The instant his foot grazed the summit, before both legs even settled, jin surged up from the tip of his foot and transferred to his arm in a flash. With a flick of his wrist, his saber slashed out.
Sure enough, Hongfu pursued him closely. Seeing his saber slashing toward her, she spun midair, her red sleeves billowing as she nimbly dodged and swept her yanling saber toward the blade of the Xuejun Saber.
The moment contact was made, she would be able to borrow leverage from it; whether she leaped upward or lunged forward would be entirely up to her choice.
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. The mutated tissue within him compressed and twisted in layers, boosting his power once more. As if condensing the full might of his body, this slash forcefully shifted trajectory mid-swing, veering off to the side. That slight alteration prevented Hongfu from borrowing any leverage, her saber merely grazing through the afterimage of his blade.
Yet in a fraction of a second, Hongfu's own level rose to match the elevation of his strike, and with a flick of her long sleeve, she whipped it toward his saber to ensnare it.
Having exploited the rules to secure this advantage, Chen Chuan was not about to let her turn the tables so easily. He swung his saber once more. This time, a fiery passion surged in his heart as if he had completely unleashed himself. Mutated tissue across his entire body seemed to leap and cheer; his speed and power spiked abruptly. Reversing its momentum, his blade sliced effortlessly through the swirling red shadow and cleaved straight down toward Hongfu's head!
*Clang!*
Hongfu parried the strike in the nick of time, but the force behind it had grown by far more than a notch. Although she managed to borrow a sliver of momentum, it was not enough to propel her onto the mountain peak; instead, the impact knocked her farther away.
Chen Chuan did not stop there. He unleashed two rapid follow-up strikes. After parrying both, Hongfu fell even farther from the summit.
With nothing beneath her feet to push against, she had no way to gain leverage. Moreover, Chen Chuan had deliberately dialed back some force on his final strike, depriving her of the momentum needed to leap back to the previous peak. Thus, after blocking the last blow, Hongfu's lively eyes met his, and her entire figure plunged down into the sea of clouds.
Chen Chuan stood firm upon the mountain peak enveloped by clouds, holding his saber in one hand, half of his body bathed in radiant golden light.
He knew that by unleashing these moves, Hongfu would likely perceive his physical potential more clearly, making the recorded data on him more comprehensive.
But it didn't matter.
This was a victory won purely through his original self, without overlapping with his Second Self. He felt exhilarated.
Although he had no way to measure it right now, he could sense that he had drawn closer on the path toward achieving a twenty-four-hour overlap.
At that moment, the surrounding clouds dissipated, and the golden light suddenly vanished. He was still standing in the training room, and Hongfu appeared before him once again as a formal, mechanical voice resonated in his ear:
"Student Chen Chuan:
Strength Performance: Upper-Mid
Speed Performance: Mid
Technique Performance: Low
Combat Reflexes: High
Tactical Decision-Making: Superior
Overall Assessment Score: 72 points.
Potential Evaluation: Excellent.
Student Chen Chuan, based on your performance, relevant courses and course catalogs will be recommended to you. You may browse the course introductions to find corresponding subjects and academy instructors. For instructor selection, you may also opt for authorized academy recommendations.
You may undergo a second evaluation in ten days. During the enrollment period, you have three evaluation opportunities in total. Please make good use of them."
Chen Chuan looked at Hongfu before him, solemnly holding his saber in a formal salute.
Hongfu gazed at him, raised her hand to return the salute with her saber, and then twirled. Amidst fluttering red garments, she vanished without a trace in an instant.
Seeing her disappear, Chen Chuan couldn't help pondering. *So she really was an illusion after all?*
He raised his saber. The collisions upon the blade had been completely real. How had that been accomplished?
He mulled it over. According to the explanations he had read earlier, Hongfu's ability to blur the line between real and unreal might stem from the power of biological fields.
As the Main Academy's bio-conscious entity, Hongfu was responsible for testing every student—and perhaps even the academy's instructors. The levels she could reach might be higher than he could imagine. Under normal circumstances, defeating Hongfu was nearly impossible; this time, he had merely relied on a clever trick.
Of course, more importantly, Hongfu was willing to abide by the rules she established, or rather, she was bound by them. Making good use of rules could sometimes prove immensely useful.
Moving past that thought, he asked, "Hongfu, does the academy determine my courses based on my score?"
The voice answered, "Yes. The academy evaluates a student's proficiency through their performance and scores, then recommends corresponding courses and training plans."
"So it's different for everyone?"
"Yes."
Chen Chuan nodded. That made sense. This way, each individual could receive tailored, more professional guidance. The Main Academy was indeed on a higher level.
He said, "I'd like to see the academy's recommendations."
"Based on Student Chen Chuan's combat performance, the academy recommends the following courses and training:
1. Weaponry Combat Technique Course. This course is designed to enhance the student's combat techniques. The student may select an instructor independently or accept an assignment via platform recommendation.
Note: Given that the student's rating in this category is 'Low,' this course falls under mandatory study and is currently listed as an assessed subject.
2. Intensive Training Course. It is recommended that the student select a highly efficient breathing technique and corresponding jin technique to improve power release and efficiency of utilization. This is a non-mandatory course; the student may decide at their discretion.
3. Based on a comprehensive multi-faceted assessment, Student Chen Chuan has a 35 percent probability of successfully reaching the third limit. Therefore, the academy puts forward the following recommendation:
Phototherapy-Assisted Training. This training provides significant reinforcement to mutated tissues such as bones and fascia, and may be supplemented with pharmaceuticals to maintain bodily strength.
Note 1: If the student substitutes this with implants such as 'skeletal reinforcement surgery, implanted modified body tissue, nervous system enhancement, or endocrine system transplantation,' this recommendation may be disregarded.
Note 2: If the student possesses a targeted training regimen, all subjects other than mandatory assessed courses may be pursued through self-directed training."
Chen Chuan read through them in turn, feeling that these recommendations were truly useful. Although these conclusions had been drawn without using his Second Self, strengthening his original body would similarly enhance his Second Self, making them exceedingly valuable.
He paid special attention to the first mandatory course. Technique truly was his weak spot. That was inevitable; he had only been studying combat for a short time, unlike other students who had trained since childhood.
With past opponents, he had primarily crushed them using overwhelming power and speed, avoiding reliance on finesse whenever possible. But here, it seemed he had to make up for this deficiency. Moreover, since it was listed as a mandatory examination subject, part of his focus going forward had to be placed here.
He searched for instructors related to this subject. The interface listed over a dozen individuals, each with a teaching evaluation score displayed beneath their profile. However...
All of these courses required payment, and the more distinguished the instructor, the higher the fee.
The offerings were split into two formats: General Courses and Masterclass Courses. A General Course involved one instructor teaching multiple students. A Masterclass Course allowed hiring a mentor for in-depth, one-on-one instruction, much like the advising instructors at Yangzhi Wuyi. However, instructors at the Main Academy also had public teaching reviews, so there was no need to worry about being shortchanged.
He noticed that the schedules for some higher-rated instructors were already fully booked, clearly making them very popular.
At the moment, these instructors were still on break, so he didn't make an immediate choice, planning to examine them more closely later.
As for the academy's second recommendation—choosing a highly efficient breathing technique and corresponding jin technique to improve power release and efficiency of utilization—he already had one: the Furnace Breathing Technique. He simply hadn't employed it just now.
He Xiaoxing had told him that this was one of the achievements of the Purist Faction, an esoteric technique meant to counter other factions.
If that were true, the Furnace Breathing Technique might be even more valuable than imagined.
Since he already possessed it and it wasn't mandatory, he could leave it aside for the time being.
As for whether the Furnace Breathing Technique had a corresponding jin technique or combat applications, perhaps he could try sending a telegram to ask.
Chapter 234