Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Xiang Ning passed the next few days without incident, filling his time with many things to do. In the mornings, he went to school as usual, as he thought it was still necessary. Although cultivation was now his strength, he still had to develop in other areas of his life. Despite owning the Comprehension skill and having the ability to master a textbook by spending Fury Points, he still wanted a peaceful life. After experiencing war, he knew how precious peace was.

He was already a well-known celebrity across Marsh City. While he was previously only famous within the schools, even martial artists in the city now knew of him. He was a high school student that students from top Marsh City schools called ‘teacher’.

In the martial world, not just anyone could take on the title of ‘teacher’. Even a teacher of the cultural subjects had to be decently knowledgeable, then pass an examination to be a teacher. To be a martial artist’s teacher, strength was not enough. Besides strength, one must have a lot of true battle and mentorship experience.

Xiang Ning’s battle against the Aurig Central Academy students had inspired many people. Even teachers from the top ten schools saved the video so their students could learn from his observational skills and battle strategy. It was invaluable.

Soon, he had turned into the new generation’s young genius teacher in Marsh City.

Currently, he was training with Fang Rou and the rest in the virtual reality capsules. After the battle with Aurig Academy, he felt like he owned too few martial skills. If only he had a surprise attack-type skill or a breathing technique that greatly enhanced his physical body, he wouldn’t have needed to end the battle like he did, using his skills as a spiritual cultivator.

Xiang Ning had been part of a dark moment in history. It was utterly embarrassing to even mention it.

As for why they trained on the Battle Network, Fang Rou and the rest hadn’t completely healed from their injuries. Now, all they wanted was to capitalize on this time to train with the skills they had won from the wilderness activity.

Xiang Ning had one more opening for a skill he hadn’t filled yet, and decided to redeem something from the Battle Network.

Height: 1.78m

Weight: 67kg

Identity: Student, Class 8, Upper-First Year

Automatic Scan Results: Tier Three, One-Star Martial Artist, Tier Three, Four-Star Spiritual Cultivator

It was the same familiar electronic voice and interface but Xiang Ning noticed an additional option. Other than Hunt, Match and Training mode, there was one more - Explore.

Xiang Ning wanted to tap in, but the box was gray and couldn’t be tapped. It had only been three months since his last login!

“Fang Rou, what’s this Explore mode?”

“I don’t know either, it appeared after the latest system update. My father seems to know, but when I asked him, he said I’ll know when I’m stronger.”

“Oh, it’s related to our abilities?” Xiang Ning nodded and did not ponder on it. “You guys spar with each other, I’ll go pick a skill.” Then he disappeared and reappeared in the same library he had visited during his first login. There were many people there, and many recognized him.

“Oh, is that Teacher Xiang Ning? I can’t believe he’s here!”

“Why’re you surprised? He has so much battle experience, he must have cultivated here for a long time and challenged many opponents!”

“Yeah, I heard Teacher Xiang Ning has two attack-type skills at Peak Mastery. I’m still trying to attain Assimilation in mine.”

“Don’t be sad, you shouldn’t compare yourself with him.”

“Yeah, it’ll only hurt, brother.”

Xiang Ning greeted every person who greeted him. To be honest, he was happy. Although the term ‘teacher’ sounded a bit twisted, he felt good.

At the library, he pulled up the selection interface and tapped into the attack-type genre.

“Triple Slash is too basic. Although that and Mountain-Splitting Slash are both basic skills, Mountain-Splitting Slash is in reality a difficult skill to master and could result in injury if it’s incorrectly used. That is why it was demoted to the basic level. Once cultivated to Peak Mastery, it’s as good as any tier two skill,” he muttered as he browsed.

“I need a surprise attack-type skill. Although Triple Slash works as a surprise attack, it’s still too slow and I have to pair it with Mountain-Splitting Slash.…” Skill after skill scrolled past. After five minutes, Xiang Ning had browsed through more than a hundred skills from tier one to tier four. In the end, he decided on the tier three Charging Toss. It was an incredible skill for surprise attacks, though it was very difficult to be upgraded and was considered difficult to cultivate.

Charging Toss: “Wield the power of a giant and break through the enemy's rank!”

First, aim at the opponent. User is propelled toward their target, then upward, throwing their target in the air.

The skill had the same three tiers. The Beginner tier allowed the user to fight a tier three beast... with defensive armor, of course. That was only in reference to the strength of the attack, which was as destructive as a tier three beast when unleashed at top speed.

At the Assimilation tier, the user would be able to defeat any beast of equal tier and under. It was awesome.

Xiang Ning was very satisfied with it as he continued reading its details.

Beginner: attack range of five meters

Intermediate: attack range of eight meters

Assimilation: attack range of fifteen meters

Awakened: attack range of twenty one meters

Peak Mastery: attack range of thirty meters

That meant using Charging Toss at point-blank range and Peak Mastery tier could send the target more than thirty meters back. It would be brilliant for breaking through an enemy’s defenses.

Xiang Ning had thirty thousand Fury Points left. The cost of the skill didn’t surprise him at all; it was affordable to upgrade to Beginner, costing only five hundred Fury Points. Intermediate required fifteen hundred Fury Points, Assimilation required three thousand points, and Awakened required fifteen thousand points. As for Peak Mastery, Xiang Ning couldn’t afford it even with all the points he had.

He needed to save some Fury Points, anyway. Without thinking much, he directly upgraded it to the Assimilation tier.

After spending the five thousand Fury Points, he felt his muscles react and saw the animation in his user interface. Xiang Ning couldn’t wait to try this new skill out.

Coincidentally, Li Zimo sent a voice message. “Have you made your selection yet? Enter Room 0731 when you’re ready, you’ll be able to cultivate your new skill.”

“Alright, I’ll be there shortly.” Xiang Ning closed the library window and opened his interface, searching for Room 0731 under Training Mode.

Doge & Chacha's Thoughts

New technique lets goooooooooooo.