thefictionvixens Chapter 10 Appreciation
Chapter 10 Appreciation
Although he only slept for four hours, the deep sleep mode of Xingyuan Touxi allowed Wang Xing to get nine and a half hours of rest.
Wang Xing got dressed and quietly pushed open the door.
The door to the next room was closed. He leaned closer and listened; his mother's even breathing could be heard through the crack in the door.
"Mom came home late at night, which is a bit late, so she must have been working overtime again."
Wang Xing glanced at the work schedule on the wall, which was covered in scribbles and had several times changed in red pen. The original 24-hour shift system had been modified by his mother to 30-hour shifts with 15 days off.
"My mom worked over twenty consecutive all-night shifts and didn't get home until midnight... Unlike me, she can't get efficient rest and deep sleep..."
Wang Xing felt a pang of sadness, but didn't stop.
He felt sorry for him, but all he could do was sit at home and sigh.
Failing to get into the mecha university would be the biggest disappointment I could ever make to my mom.
Wang Xing put on his shoes, gently closed the door, and went downstairs.
At four in the morning, Chengdu was still shrouded in the tranquil night, the streets as quiet as another world.
The orange streetlights cast their glow on the empty streets, and occasionally an unmanned taxi would glide across the intersection, its headlights leaving a white trail in the darkness.
Wang Xing took a deep breath of the crisp, early morning air: "Recently, there have been bone-cracking dog incidents in Chengdu, making the night dangerous... but I've been in the habit of training at four in the morning since I was in high school."
Spring, summer, autumn, winter, sunshine, rain, overcast skies, snow—it never stops.
Because of his deep sleep, Wang Xing woke up very early. At first, he did this to avoid waking his mother. Later, he and Rongcheng, who was sleeping at 4 a.m., became very close friends.
After running for more than half an hour, Wang Xing stood at the entrance of the mecha training ground of Rongcheng No. 2 High School.
"Beep..." Wang Xing swiped his student card, the door slid open silently, and he went inside.
The school's mecha training room is normally open at six in the morning, but the gatekeeper has known Wang Xing for a long time and turns a blind eye to it, never stopping him.
Wang Xing turned on the lights, walked to the center of the arena, and summoned his mech.
"Click, click—"
The sound of metal meshing echoed in the empty training room as the Tiger Generation I was fully deployed, its battle swords springing out.
"Today, let's further refine the three forms of the Breaking Army Formation!"
The Three Forms of Breaking Army is a standard A-level military sword technique. It abandons fancy moves and focuses on fierce and lethal strikes, making it most suitable for actual combat.
All sword techniques on Blue Star are divided into four realms: Subtlety, Minor Success, Major Success, and Perfection. Wang Xing's Three Forms of Breaking Army have long passed the Subtlety stage and are stuck on the path from Minor Success to Major Success.
Minor mastery is proficiency, the ability to skillfully apply one's skills in actual combat without conscious thought; the body moves the blade automatically. Major mastery, on the other hand, is mastery, the blade moving with the mind, striking with effortless precision.
As for the final stage of perfection... Wang Xing is still some distance away.
"Zangetsu—!"
Wang Xing gave a low shout and drew his battle sword.
The Three Forms of Breaking Army: the first form splits the mountain, the second form cuts off the flow, and the third form cleaves the moon... Wang Xing is currently focusing on Cleaves the Moon.
The blade flashed in the training room lights, drawing a dark golden arc as it slashed diagonally upwards from the lower right to the upper left, like an inverted crescent moon.
"Swoosh—!" The blade sliced across the neck of the humanoid target, leaving a deep dent.
"Not fast enough."
Wang Xing frowned.
The Moon Slash is the most difficult move to master. The first two moves, "Mountain Splitting" and "Flow Cutting," are both linear attacks, whether vertical or horizontal. But the Moon Slash has no fixed form; it can be used to chop, slash, thrust, or even spin... offering even more variations.
Wang Xing steadied himself and drew his sword.
Slaying the Moon.
Sheath the sword.
Slaying the Moon.
Sheath the sword.
Each slash followed the same trajectory, but with each strike, he subtly adjusted the angle of his wrist, the rotation of his waist and hips, and the shift of his weight in his feet.
Fifty dollars.
Seventy cuts.
One hundred dollars.
After countless cuts, Wang Xing suddenly had a subtle feeling that the entire power transmission chain was a little smoother than before.
But that tiny difference made the blade speed a fraction of a second faster.
At this moment, a line of small blue characters appeared in Xingyuan's breath.
[Sword Technique: (Second Tier 90% → 91%)]
"Your swordsmanship has improved too!"
A smile appeared on Wang Xing's lips.
The upgrade in his swordsmanship was entirely within his expectations.
"If I master the Three Forms of Breaking Army swordsmanship, my swordsmanship should be able to break through to the third tier first..."
"My swordsmanship must break through to the third level before the school entrance exam in September!"
"Keep practicing!"
…………
at the same time.
The roar of an engine came from the school gate. A domestically produced Tank brand off-road vehicle with camouflage paint drove into the school, its tires rolling over the ground, and it came to a stop silently downstairs at the training ground.
The car door opened, and Lü Yun got out of the driver's seat.
Another person got out of the passenger seat. He was much stronger than Lü Yun, with dark skin and shoulders as broad as a door. He exuded a rugged aura of someone who had been through many battles.
The burly man was none other than Lin Xishan, Lu Yun's former comrade-in-arms and now a major instructor in the Western Theater Command!
"Old Lu, congratulations! I never expected you to do so well as a teacher after leaving the army. You've gotten into the Yuanpei Class as a mentor. At this rate... you'll be the head teacher of the Yuanpei Class next year, the director of academic affairs in three years, and the principal in ten!"
Lin Xishan patted Lü Yun on the shoulder, his voice rough.
"Come on, life in the army was much better."
Lu Yun smiled, a hint of nostalgia for his military career flashing in his eyes: "But watching these kids grow up is also very meaningful... It's a pity you only came to Chengdu this time to scout out the school's training grounds and mecha classrooms to prepare for the troops' propaganda, and couldn't stay long... Otherwise, we would have had a good drink and a chat."
"It's okay, we'll have plenty of time to catch up on the day of the presentation a month from now."
Lin Xishan added, "But let me make this clear, I'm not just here to catch up with you on the day of the presentation... I can't let any promising talents slip by."
"Know."
As they were talking, they suddenly stopped and looked at the training ground not far away.
The windows on the third floor were now blaring with training lights.
"Why are the trial arena lights on?"
Lin Xishan glanced at his watch, his face full of surprise: "4:40 AM, and there are still people training in the training grounds at this hour?"
Lu Yun was also full of doubts. That training ground was the exclusive training ground for the class he led.
"Let's go take a look."
The two walked quickly to the ground floor of the training ground, pushed open the glass door of the training building, and went up the stairs to the third floor.
Looking through the corridor window, one could see a dark gold Tiger-type mech practicing its swordsmanship.
The swordsmanship was fierce and powerful, expansive and sweeping, skillful yet composed...
The familiar Tiger-style mech made Lü Yun blurt out:
"Wang Xing!"
"The Third Form of Breaking the Army, Slaying the Moon!"
Lin Xishan didn't recognize Wang Xing, but he recognized his swordsmanship and couldn't help but exclaim, "Judging from this, this student probably started practicing at four in the morning. The dedication, the ruthlessness..."
"Old Lu, is he your student?"
A hint of appreciation appeared in Lin Xishan's eyes.