Chapter 95: Breaking Through to Apprentice—Half-Step Great Swordsman!
Chen Yu, Long Aotian, Zhuge Jing, and Sero ran as if their lives depended on it.
Every few moments, Sero would raise his hand to open a spatial door, drastically cutting down the distance and speeding up their escape.
"Chu He is coming!" Chen Yu, bringing up the rear, kept his Observation Haki fully expanded, sensing the disturbance behind them.
On a distant hillside, a streak of white lightning was closing in at breakneck speed.
Chu He's voice projected from behind them, carrying clearly over the distance. "Chen Yu! You guys have some serious nerve. You really intend to blow up the training camp?"
Chen Yu glanced back. Chu He had already caught up; he was barely ten meters away.
He immediately skidded to a halt and shouted to Long Aotian, "I'll stall him! You guys keep going!"
Without wasting another word, Chen Yu spun around and drew his sword, Ace. His muscles instantly pulled tight as he entered his Dragon-Human Hybrid Form in a split second.
"Captain Chu, I'd like to request a lesson in swordsmanship!"
Chu He, knowing Chen Yu's capabilities well, abruptly raised his suppressed power level to the Practitioner rank (Tier 4).
"Shigure: Swallow Reversal!"
Zheng!!
A beam of blue sword energy shot forward explosively. Chen Yu didn't even see how Chu He drew his blade, but purely on instinct, he swung his own sword to intercept it.
SCREECH—
The collision between the sword energy and Ace produced a tooth-aching sound of grinding metal.
Chen Yu's muscles bulged, and the blade of Ace hummed violently in his palm. The scales covering his body were scraped by the residual sword energy, leaving several white scratch marks.
The terrifying impact plowed Chen Yu backward, dragging his feet through the earth for dozens of meters before he barely managed to stabilize his stance.
In the next second, Chu He's figure appeared right in front of him like a phantom.
His longsword, Shigure, whistled as it thrust toward Chen Yu's heart. "Swordsmanship isn't just about brute force, you know."
Chen Yu's pupils contracted. He instinctively raised his arm to block, but Chu He's sword suddenly changed trajectory. The spine of Chu He's blade struck precisely against the flat of Ace.
Clang! A crisp sound rang out.
Chen Yu felt a clever, spiraling force travel down his blade. His wrist was knocked uncontrollably to the side, leaving his chest wide open.
"Don't look down on your seniors."
Chu He's sword tip stopped exactly one inch from Chen Yu's throat, radiating a bone-chilling cold.
"You possess many abilities, and they are all very strong. Any single one of them would make you a prodigy."
"But power... can make a person lose their way."
"I've seen your sword moves. They are powerful, yes, but they aren't pure."
"Pure power is true power."
As soon as the words fell—
An invisible wave of sword energy passed through Chen Yu's body and erupted violently behind him, shredding everything in its path.
Viewed from the sky, a section of the dense forest had been abruptly "shaved" bald.
"Alright, lesson over," Chu He sheathed his sword and placed a hand on Chen Yu's shoulder. "Let's drop the plan to bomb the training camp, yeah?"
"The equipment in there is pretty expensive, after all."
Chen Yu's eyes were unfocused. The scenes of the brief exchange were replaying rapidly in his mind.
"So that's how it is... I understand now." Chen Yu slowly closed his eyes. The aura of his Dragon-Human form quietly receded, and his muscles relaxed, replaced by an unprecedented sense of tranquility.
"Mm, good." Chu He turned, not intending to chase Long Aotian and the others.
After all, those two didn't have explosives on them, so they couldn't possibly—
Chu He's movements suddenly froze. Right!
He finally realized where that sense of dissonance came from. None of them were carrying explosives, so how were they going to bomb the camp?
The only person capable of turning into a dragon and unleashing a 'Blast Breath' to nuke the base was the one who stayed behind to cover the retreat?!
"Chen Yu, you..." Chu He turned back to look at Chen Yu and froze again.
He could sense a shift in Chen Yu's aura.
"You... you broke through? You're an Apprentice (Tier 3) now?"
"Just like that?"
[Rank: Trainee (Tier 2) Peak → Apprentice (Tier 3) Low]
[Physique: 7,999 → 10,000]
[Spirit: 7,111 → 9,999]
[Observation Haki: Lv 2/5 | Mastery: 79/100]
(Current Effect: Sense auras, perceive weaknesses. Range: 300 meters. Exclusive Trait: Premonition.)
(Next Level Unlock: Range increases to 900 meters radius, Exclusive Trait enhanced, perception precision increased.)
[Armament Haki: Lv 3/5 | Mastery: 9/100]
(Current Effect: Defense amplification, Ryuo (Flowing Sakura) — flowing Armament capable of projecting force and causing internal destruction.)
(Next Level Unlock: Significant defense boost, permanent 'Black Blade' style coating state.)
[Conqueror's Haki: Lv 2/5 | Mastery: 10/100]
(Current Effect: Influence radius of 300 meters, can cause slight physical damage to objects, suppresses Devil Fruit abilities to a certain extent.)
(Next Level Unlock: Conqueror's Infusion/Coating.)
[Swordsmanship: Lv 3 | Mastery: 69 → 99/100]
(Current Effect: Sword Energy.)
(Next Level Unlock: Great Swordsman — Sword Energy projection (Flying Slashes), external emission.)
[Equipped Sword: Ace | Repair Status: 25/100]
[Taijutsu - Dragon Claw Fist: Lv 3/5 | Mastery: 99/100]
The next second, Chen Yu snapped his eyes open. With a slight turn of his wrist, Ace traced a fluid arc in the air.
There was no brute force behind it, no roaring battle cry. Only the resonance between the heart and the sword.
"Slash."
With a soft command, a silvery-white slash detached itself from the blade, flying like a stream of light toward a distant boulder.
As the slash tore through the air, it emitted a faint whistling sound. The trees along its path were severed instantly, their cross-sections smooth as mirrors.
The forest got another bald spot.
Chen Yu held his sword. Although his breathing was slightly unstable, his eyes were shining with terrifying brightness.
He had broken through. The evolution of his Kendo had allowed him to smash through the bottleneck of the Trainee peak.
Chu He's pupils shrank to pinpoints, his face filled with disbelief. It took him a long while to squeeze out a sentence: "You kid... you really are a freak of nature!"
"I give you one pointer, and you jump straight to Great Swordsman?"
"Not a Great Swordsman yet, but I've mastered the Flying Slash." Chen Yu grinned, resting Ace on his shoulder. "Captain Chu, round two?"
...
"Yo? Old He, you good or what?" Su Qingyu spoke into her earpiece while swinging her sword, wrapped in purple light, to freeze a group of students in place.
The rest of the Silver Fox Squad had also successfully pinned down their respective targets.
The only radio silence was from Chu He's side.
After a long pause, Chu He's voice finally came through the headset: "No good. Chen Yu is an absolute monster."
"???"
The entire Silver Fox Squad froze.
Su Qingyu was the first to react. "What? What did he do this time?"
"He broke through to Apprentice (Tier 3)," Chu He said, his voice sounding a bit rushed.
"Okay, breaking through during combat is standard genius behavior, isn't it?" Su Qingyu asked, confused.
"Yeah, but the main issue is... he's a Half-step Great Swordsman now." Chu He sounded like he was panting slightly. "I can't hold him down at Tier 4 (Practitioner) anymore."
"!!!"
Holy crap. Great Swordsman?
What a beast!
Chu He possessed SS-grade Kendo talent, and it took him years to reach Half-step Great Swordsman.
Chen Yu awakened his ability... what, a little over a month ago?
(To be Continued)
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