Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Sever White Line Lv. 1

"Yu, summer break’s finally here. How about I take you out to eat tonight?"

After seeing Teacher Li leave, Su Xing stood up, gave Su Yu a pat on the shoulder that landed with a THWAP, and said with a smile.

The blow made Su Yu’s body tilt like a roly-poly toy about to fall over before he wobbled right back up. He couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

"Bro, you’re way too strong!"

Su Yu’s body had been enhanced by Sequence Energy, making it quite strong. If a normal person’s physique was a one, he was at least a two. But even so, that pat from Su Xing had still sent a jolt of pain through him. If Li Yu hadn’t confirmed that Su Xing wasn’t a Sequenced yet, Su Yu would have never believed it.

Su Xing said with a smile:

"Haha, I’ve been practicing my swordsmanship a lot lately. My strength has definitely increased."

"So, what do you say? You in?"

"I’d better not. I have a ton of summer homework this time. I should go back and get started. I’ll think about other things after I finish my assignments."

Su Yu shook his head,

and stood up from his chair.

Su Xing gave his younger brother a surprised look and asked in astonishment:

"Didn’t you always used to put off your homework until the very end of summer break?"

"This isn’t like you."

"I was just immature before. I’m about to start a tutoring program, and I don’t want to be left in the dust by the other students there."

Su Yu picked up the backpack he had left at his side, stood up, and took a few steps. Then he suddenly remembered this wasn’t his home and turned his head to ask:

"Bro, where am I staying?"

"You’re Su’s younger brother, so I’ll call you Yu. Yu, just head out of the training hall and turn right. It’s the fourth room from the end of the hall. That’s the guest room. You can stay there."

The Hall Master silently took a sip of tea,

then quietly chewed the chrysanthemum flowers that had flowed into his mouth and swallowed them. A bitter, clean fragrance spread across his tongue.

"Okay, thank you, Hall Master."

Yu glanced at the Hall Master, who was still chewing on the chrysanthemum, and nodded. With his backpack on, his footsteps echoed—TAP TAP TAP—on the floor as he gradually disappeared from Su Xing and the Hall Master’s sight.

"Get some rest tonight! Don’t overdo it!"

Just as Su Yu was about to disappear from view, Su Xing suddenly raised his hand and shouted.

"Got it!"

With Su Yu gone, silence fell.

Su Xing also picked up the chrysanthemum tea before him and took a small sip, then spat the flower that came with it back into the cup. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The Hall Master suddenly spoke up. "Did you notice?"

Su Xing turned his head, asking in confusion, "Notice what?"

The Hall Master took another sip of tea and said quietly, "Your brother’s body is very strong, but it shows no signs of training."

"What’s wrong with that?"

"You may have become quite proficient in Swordsmanship after a month of practice, but your ability to read people is definitely not on my level. There’s something wrong with your brother’s situation... It’s like some unknown power is strengthening his body from within. It doesn’t look like the result of physical training."

"Take the force of that pat you just gave him. You might not have felt it, but if it were one of your swordsmanship students, they probably would have been knocked to the ground. Your brother, however, just tilted for a moment and bounced right back."

"Is Yu naturally gifted with Divine Power?"

"No."

Su Xing replied,

His heart sank.

Thanks to the Hall Master’s reminder, he immediately realized that something unusual must have happened to his brother.

Before he went to the mental hospital,

his brother had been a well-behaved kid, but you could never say he was a particularly good student. He was always catching colds, running fevers, and getting sick. If not for that, his parents wouldn’t have had to worry every day.

But now...

Not only were his grades so good that a teacher was making house calls for him, but his health was also much better than before. Although these were all good things, they made Su Xing’s heart pound with unease.

’This kid...’

’Don’t tell me he has a system, too.’

"But you don’t need to worry too much. I just wanted you to be aware of it."

"Before my master died, he told me that some people are born in perfect harmony with heaven and earth. Once they reach a certain age, a miraculous power will naturally awaken within them. Perhaps your brother is one of those people."

The Hall Master drained his tea in one gulp and continued:

"However... according to my master, people like that completely disappeared around the time of the Zhu Family. The last extraordinary person to be in harmony with heaven and earth lived several hundred years ago."

"So don’t overthink it. Maybe my eyes were just deceiving me."

After speaking, the Hall Master casually picked up a sword, scooped up a pot of tea, and staggered toward his room, stepping left with his right foot and right with his left. His white beard floated about as if he were drunk on cheap wine.

Su Xing sat where he was, mulling over the Hall Master’s words.

He couldn’t help but feel... that these words sounded just like some of the novels Su Xing had read in his past life. Tropes like the revival of Spiritual Qi, the advent of Sequences, or the countdown to a dual-world transmigration.

’Is the world really undergoing some kind of change that I don’t know about? Have I been left behind by the tide of the world’s evolution?’

A faint blue light flickered in Su Xing’s eyes.

He stared intently at the panel in front of him, slowly stood up, and pulled out his most trusted longsword from the side. He swung it through the air twice, creating two whistling hums.

No.

Su Xing would not be left behind by the world.

He would use the sword in his hand to show everyone...

...who was the strongest.

’System, add the point!’

[Sword Saint Job System]

[Name: Su Xing]

[Age: 22]

[Profession: Sword-Hand, Sword Hall Coach]

[Job Skills: Blade Strike Lv. 6 (Maxed), Thrust Lv. 5 (125/1000), Stance Lv. 3 (12/250), Breathing Rhythm Lv. 5 (450/1000)]

[Sword Dao Points: 1]

As Su Xing’s thought concluded,

the Sword Dao Point on the panel in his vision instantly dropped to zero.

The [Job Skill: Blade Strike Lv. 6 (Maxed)] entry suddenly blurred. Su Xing could vaguely see the two words for "Blade Strike" twitching and twisting frantically, as if they were going mad and transforming into something else.

The two words instantly became three, the transformation happening so fast it was over in the blink of an eye.

HUM!

The ring of a sword suddenly echoed in Su Xing’s mind.

At the same time, the blurry text on the system panel sharpened.

[Congratulations on advancing from "Sword-Hand" to "Swordsman"]

[Congratulations, your Job Skill "Blade Strike Lv. 6" has advanced to "White Line Strike Lv. 1"]

[Sword Saint Job System]

[Name: Su Xing]

[Age: 22]

[Profession: Swordsman, Sword Hall Coach]

[Job Skills: White Line Strike Lv. 1 (1/2000), Thrust Lv. 5 (125/1000), Stance Lv. 3 (12/250), Breathing Rhythm Lv. 5 (/1000)]

[Sword Dao Points: 0]

Before Su Xing could even ponder what "White Line Strike" was, his head felt like it was about to split open. An intense pain spread from the inside out, as if a massive flood of information was pouring into his brain, forcing a pained grunt from his lips.

Su Xing’s brow furrowed as he pressed his right hand firmly against his temple, trying to ease the pain. After more than a minute, he finally let out a heavy breath.

’That really hurt.’

Su Xing had never felt anything like this during his previous breakthroughs.

Just now, a small figure had appeared in Su Xing’s mind, relentlessly practicing the "Blade Strike." Countless years seemed to pass as the figure trained the move to utter perfection, finally comprehending the new Sword Technique: "White Line Strike."

The sensation was so real it was as if Su Xing had experienced it all himself, as if he had truly practiced "Blade Strike" for years before finally comprehending "White Line Strike." All the various Swordsmanship skills and key movements were integrated into his very being, drop by drop, without reservation.

"This feeling of rapid improvement..."

"It’s truly intoxicating."

Su Xing murmured, clutching the sword in his hand in a daze.

But in the next second, an intense, gnawing hunger struck him.

’This is bad!’