Not just him.
Even Xia Sichen, standing nearby, felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.
Though he didn’t practice swordsmanship himself, he knew how difficult this particular blade technique was to master.
If someone told him that a high school senior—even one from the prestigious No.1 High—had mastered a martial art to perfection after just one demonstration and a week of practice,
Xia Sichen would’ve dismissed it outright.
Unless, of course, the student had awakened an innate martial talent. That, he could understand.
But what he was witnessing now defied comprehension.
Yet the evidence was undeniable.
If even Xia Sichen couldn’t make sense of it,
the other representatives stood no chance.
Especially Li Zihang from Class 4.
"......"
"I must be dreaming… This has to be a dream…" Li Zihang muttered, his expression dazed.
Chen Yuting, on the other hand, had been stunned from the moment Wang Xian made his move. By the time he finished, her entire body trembled with shock—before abruptly settling into eerie calm.
She simply stared at Wang Xian, her thoughts unreadable.
In the crowd, only Ye Miyue watched from start to finish with a faint smile in her eyes.
Though by the end, even she felt an urge to smack someone.
Seriously.
How could he be… this ridiculously skilled?
He was lying to me yesterday, wasn’t he? All that talk about lacking innate vitality and limited spots.
If Class 4’s homeroom teacher knew about this, the school would’ve forced an extra spot for him.
He just didn’t want to perform!
Well…
At this level of mastery,
the only thing left to improve was his vitality.
Even with guidance from a grandmaster, reaching the pinnacle of this technique would be nearly impossible.
It was simple: the stronger a martial art, the higher the physical and vitality requirements.
Even a basic blade technique demanded a certain level of bodily strength to unleash its full, perfected potential.
Without that foundation, comprehension alone was useless.
Hmph!
Bai Hongtian narrowed his eyes at the young man before him.
Half his astonishment came from witnessing such flawless mastery of the blade.
The other half… stemmed from something else entirely.
"Principal Xia…"
Bai Hongtian turned to the principal, his tone layered with meaning. "I never expected your school to harbor such a martial prodigy. In all my travels, I’ve rarely encountered talent like this."
He wasn’t exaggerating.
At Wang Xian’s age, he’d only barely grasped the Flowing Water Blade Technique.
Perfection came much later, well after the martial exams.
Of course, his own martial aptitude had been merely decent by the standards of that era’s Dragon Nation.
But someone mastering this level in a week?
Unless it was an awakened talent…
This was a first.
Principal Xia thought to himself, I’ve been a principal for decades, and even I’ve never seen anything like this.
"Right now, young Wang’s priority shouldn’t be martial mastery," Bai Hongtian observed astutely, smiling. "No need for further instruction—just focus on boosting vitality. With your talent, even the weakest awakened ability would still put you on par with me someday."
It was high praise.
Too bad…
You’re in for disappointment. I don’t even have the weakest ability.
Wang Xian chuckled inwardly.
As the only person in his past life to reach the Eighth Realm through pure martial study,
he knew better than anyone:
Awakened talents in this new era had nothing to do with true martial comprehension.
"Absolutely!" Principal Xia declared fervently. "Wang Xian’s heroic rescue speaks volumes about his character. Our school will spare no effort in nurturing him! Just wait—he’ll shine brilliantly in this year’s martial exams!"
This kid’s our trump card!
After years of being overshadowed by No.1 and No.4 High…
Finally, we’ll turn the tables!
No more ‘No.7 High underlings, No.4 High masters, No.1 High overlords’ nonsense.
This year, the hierarchy flips!
"Hahaha…" Bai Hongtian laughed heartily. "I look forward to it. With reforms in this year’s exams, I’ll likely return as one of Western Shu’s chief overseers!"
And so,
the grandmaster’s demonstration concluded in triumph.
By the time it was over, Wang Xian’s name had spread like wildfire across campus.
["Heroic Savior Shuns Fame, Martial Genius Can’t Hide Brilliance!"]
["Rongcheng No.7 High’s Decade of Preparation, Western Shu’s Blades Ready to Shine!"]
......
Reporters who’d witnessed the event scribbled furiously, crafting headlines to capture the day’s spectacle.
After school,
"Young Wang, Grandmaster Bai wishes to speak with you privately."
At the school gate, Cheng Wu grinned, steering Wang Xian toward a black official car with white license plates.
"Young Wang."
Bai Hongtian nodded slightly. "Today’s event was your school’s arrangement. What follows is my personal request."
Wang Xian agreed without hesitation.
After a pause, Bai Hongtian chose his words carefully:
"When you executed the final stance of the Flowing Water Blade earlier…"
"I sensed a trace of my transcendent technique—‘Tiger Soul Overlord Slash.’"
He hesitated.
"Have we met before?"
Truthfully, Bai Hongtian had detected a wisp of his Overlord Blade Intent within Wang Xian’s technique.
Faint.
But unmistakable.
"No," Wang Xian answered plainly.
Bai Hongtian’s eyes narrowed.
"Then… did you grasp something from my demonstration?"
"Not exactly. Just a minor insight," Wang Xian demurred. "Still far from the real thing."
In truth, he was confident that with a bit of practice, he could fully decipher Bai Hongtian’s Overlord Blade Intent—then integrate it seamlessly into the Flowing Water Blade, elevating it further.
Bai Hongtian exhaled inwardly.
Good. If he’d truly comprehended my Blade Intent from one glance…
That would’ve been too monstrous.
Even I wouldn’t know how to process that!
Smiling, Bai Hongtian added,
"There’s one more thing. A personal thank-you."
Before he could continue,
"You’re Little Xi’s family?" Wang Xian cut straight to the point.
Bai Hongtian wasn’t surprised. "Correct. The girl you saved is my daughter."
Wang Xian nodded. He’d initially assumed Little Xi was some dignitary’s child, but today’s events had confirmed it.
"Don’t thank me."
Wang Xian shook his head, smiling. "You owe me nothing."
"Why do you say that?" Bai Hongtian frowned.
"You saved Rongcheng—and me with it. I saved your daughter. That makes us even."
With that, Wang Xian opened the car door and left.
Silence lingered in the vehicle long after his departure.
Wang Xian meant every word.
In both past and present lives,
without Bai Hongtian’s intervention,
countless lives in Rongcheng would’ve been lost—his own possibly among them.
Back home, Wang Xian didn’t dwell on the day’s events.
Instead, he focused on his gains.
"A second-tier perfected blade technique… and Bai Hongtian’s Overlord Blade Intent…"
"Time to test them in combat."
Wang Xian pondered for a moment. "The concept of 'Yijing'—though typically something you’d touch upon only after reaching the fourth or fifth tier of mastery—isn’t entirely impossible to grasp early. After all, skill levels will inevitably reach that point eventually..."
"Once the Flowing Water Blade Technique reaches the 'Return to Simplicity' stage, I might even refine it further..."
"Understanding it thoroughly now and gradually integrating it into the Flowing Water Blade Technique is like laying the groundwork in advance."
Wang Xian believed in pushing his limits through real combat.
Grinding drills could raise his baseline, but true breakthroughs came from battle.
And if he was going to fight, he might as well dive straight into 'Martial Arts Unbounded.'
It had been about a week since his last login.
The moment he logged in, the game’s AI assistant, Bubble Gugu, bombarded him with notifications.
[You have 99 pending friend requests.]
Wang Xian checked and found that most were from 'Unwavering Kirito,' the opponent from his last match a week ago.
The guy had been spamming friend requests nonstop for seven days.
"......" Wang Xian was speechless.
So he lost and couldn’t take it, huh? Wanted a rematch?
After a brief hesitation, Wang Xian accepted.
Unwavering Kirito: "Holy crap, dude, you finally added me back!"
No way was he letting that loss slide—especially since he was a big-time streamer.
Plus, his gut told him that 'Cao Cao Betrayed Me' (Wang Xian’s in-game ID) was no ordinary player.
Too bad the guy hadn’t logged in all week.
Before Wang Xian could reply, Kirito immediately sent a 1v1 duel invitation to a private arena.
Wang Xian declined without hesitation.
Cao Cao Betrayed Me: "Again? At your current rank, you’re no match for me."
Unwavering Kirito: "Come on, I wasn’t even using my signature martial arts last time! You scared?"
Wang Xian smirked. Even if he had, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Back then, Kirito might have had a sliver of a chance.
But now, with Wang Xian’s Flowing Water Blade Technique at the 'Mastery' level? No shot.
Besides, after their last fight, Wang Xian had already gauged his opponent’s strength.
It just wasn’t interesting anymore.
He’d rather queue for ranked matches—at least there, he’d eventually run into stronger opponents.
Private duels like this didn’t even count toward official records.
Cao Cao Betrayed Me: "Not interested."
Unwavering Kirito: "Oh, so you’re just gonna win once and dip? I haven’t slept right all week! Look—if you beat me one more time, just once, I’ll introduce you to my sister!"
Without missing a beat, he attached a prepped photo of an absolute stunner...
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
with Taming My Adopted Niece) (Multiple Heroines + Power Fantasy) Before transmigrating, Wang Jianqiang suffered greatly from novels with no female leads. Holding firm to the belief that "women only slow down my blade," he stubbornly maintained his virginity even after decades in the Sect of Dual Cultivation. In his twilight years, with his cultivation stagnant at the third level of Qi Refining, he finally succumbed and "rewarded" himself once—triggering the awakening of the Godly Cultivation System. From then on, he realized women might actually be his lucky stars on the path to immortality. Deciding to indulge freely and savor life, he found his ungrateful adopted niece knocking at his door...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
