Free Web NovelChapter 112: Chapter 105: Before the Encirclement
The next morning.
The window was open, letting in waves of cool air. Bright sunlight, accompanied by a gentle breeze, streamed through the window and fell upon Su Xing.
Su Xing flexed his right arm, and muscles as hard as marble bulged into an exaggerated curve. The golden sunlight shone upon them, giving him the dangerous air of a leopard.
He exhaled.
Su Xing stood before a mirror, his eyes scanning his own body.
He was shirtless. He slowly ran a hand over his own muscles, which were as dense and defined as the gnarled roots of an old tree. Even through his skin, he could feel their terrifying power.
He clenched his right fist.
A current of air suddenly enveloped his clenched fist, causing it to vanish from sight.
Su Xing could feel that the power within him was countless times stronger than before!
The airflow hovering over his arm was like the product of several "White Blades" combined. Each invisible current of air was several times more powerful than a single White Blade had been!
Su Xing dismissed the "Qi Sword Aura" and murmured,
’With my current strength, I should be able to gain the upper hand against the Vice Bishop, right?’
He casually grabbed a white short-sleeved shirt and pulled it on, then picked up his phone to order some takeout before heading out of the Sword Hall.
He needed to test just how much stronger he had become before coming back to eat.
...
Ten minutes later, Su Xing stood on the hill he always used for testing.
After numerous tests and battles, the hill was now covered in craters. There was barely a single intact rock face left. Su Xing stood there alone, squinting slightly against the bright sun.
He couldn’t find a suitable reference object here to compare his "Qi Sword Aura" and "White Blade Aura."
However,
who said you had to strike something to test a sword skill?
Previously, Su Xing had tested the power of his Sparrow Sword by having it clash with Myriad Swords Return. That experience had given him a new idea for testing his Sword Techniques.
All he needed to know was how much stronger the new technique was compared to its predecessor. He could just have the two techniques clash directly; there was no need to find another reference object.
With this in mind, Su Xing found two similar-looking branches, holding one in his left hand and one in his right.
The branch in his left hand suddenly vanished, shrouded by a faint, rapidly swirling current of air. The branch in his right hand, meanwhile, was coated in a layer of White Blade—extremely thin, brilliantly bright, and exceptionally sharp.
Since Su Xing was right-handed, his right hand was naturally much stronger than his left.
However, the massive difference in power between the Qi Sword Aura and the White Blade Aura made this slight advantage in physical strength completely negligible.
Su Xing assumed a striking stance.
Then, he viciously swung the two branches together!
BOOM!
The immense force instantly detonated the airflow, and a violent shockwave erupted outward!
The air, violently compressed by the approaching branches, transformed into terrifying, high-pressure currents that spread out in all directions as visible, transparent ripples!
From within these transparent ripples, the sound of space itself shattering—CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!—could be heard intermittently!
Amidst this terrifying roar, the two branches finally clashed!
Su Xing felt a sudden numbness in his right hand. The branch coated in the White Blade didn’t last for even a second. The White Blade on it shattered instantly, and then the branch itself was annihilated, as if he had never been holding it at all.
’So strong...’
Su Xing couldn’t help but marvel.
This test, pitting his left hand against his right,
allowed him to immediately feel that the Qi Sword Aura was about five to six times more powerful than the White Blade Aura. And this was with the Qi Sword Aura at only Lv. 1; the gap would certainly grow even larger in the future!
Suppressing his excitement, Su Xing tossed away the remaining branch and fixed his gaze on the system panel once more.
Both his Spirit Sword and Qi Sword Aura were now Tier 4. It was time to consider raising a Sword Technique to Tier 4 as well, to maintain a balanced upgrade progression between his Sword Technique, breathing rhythm, and stance.
Su Xing stared at the system panel for a long time, feeling a bit conflicted.
Before, he would have upgraded Myriad Swords Return without hesitation. But now that he had Sparrow Sword, Myriad Swords Return had dropped in priority, forcing him to reconsider which Sword Technique would give him the greatest boost.
Star-Piercer and Willow Catkin could be eliminated first.
One was a control-type Sword Technique; even at Tier 4, it would only be effective against Tier 4 opponents, which wasn’t particularly useful for his current combat level.
As for Willow Catkin, it was a Body Technique. While very useful, it didn’t directly increase his combat power, so it could only be a secondary option. That left Mountain-Sunderer, Myriad Swords Return, and Sword Shatter.
Su Xing mulled it over and tentatively decided to prioritize upgrading Mountain-Sunderer.
Sword Shatter was a burst-damage type of skill, so there was little point in upgrading it first. It would be more meaningful to level it up after his base stats were higher.
With that, Su Xing confirmed his next upgrade path. He would focus on Mountain-Sunderer. Unlike Myriad Swords Return, which had strict conditions for maximum damage—requiring multiple white swords to hit simultaneously—Mountain-Sunderer dealt extremely high damage with a very simple trigger. A single thrust was the entire technique, making it the best choice for Su Xing at present.
Having decided on his next upgrade path, Su Xing let out a breath and turned to head back to the Sword Hall.
Just then, Su Yu’s voice appeared in his mind again, his tone grave:
"Brother, the organization has new intel. Catastrophe leaves his home around 4 PM every day. The organization has decided to take him down at that time tomorrow."
’Goes out around 4 PM?’
Hearing Su Yu’s words, Su Xing was suddenly curious how the organization had discovered this. He took out his phone and typed:
"What does the Catastrophe High Priest do when he leaves at 4 PM every day?"
"Does the Spiritual Sect have regularly scheduled meetings like our special organizations do?"
Seeing Su Xing’s message, Su Yu fell silent for a moment before replying:
"Our investigation found that Catastrophe deeply loves his wife and daughter. He always picks them up from school and work. Four in the afternoon is when he leaves to pick up his daughter."
’So that’s how it is.’
Su Yu’s answer was completely unexpected. Su Xing had always seen the Spiritual Sect as villains who did nothing but evil, but even villains had families and friends.
"After Catastrophe is dead, what will the organization do with his wife and daughter?"
Su Xing typed, his curiosity piqued.
"It depends. If the family knows nothing, the organization will keep the truth from them."
"If the family knows, or was even involved, they’ll be treated as criminals."
Su Yu replied after a moment’s thought.
"For the operation against the Catastrophe High Priest, did the organization assign you to participate?"
"Of course not."
"After all, I’m only Tier 3. Participating in a mission like this would just be suicide."
Su Yu said with a hint of resignation. As the enemies he faced grew stronger, his own weakness became more and more apparent.
But there was nothing Su Yu could do about it.
After all, no matter how talented you were, leveling up took time, accumulation, and experience. It wasn’t like he had a system from a novel.
"I understand."
Su Xing continued to type.
He then chatted a bit more with Su Yu, learning that Liu Ming had come out of seclusion. After Su Yu went silent, Su Xing put his phone back in his pocket.
He continued on his way back to the Sword Hall.
As he walked, he thought,
’Should I participate in this operation against Catastrophe?’
Finally, Su Xing came to a conclusion. There was a high chance that Catastrophe still had a blessing. If the Vice Bishop were to show up this time, that possibility would be even greater!
’If I want to get stronger...’
’I, Su Xing, absolutely cannot miss this operation.’
However, he didn’t need to take the initiative like before. He could hide nearby and observe the situation first. If a good opportunity presented itself, he would strike.
If it wasn’t necessary,
then he could just pretend he was never there.
Having figured this out,
Su Xing’s pace quickened. He soon returned to the Sword Hall and began his workday.
...
The next day, in the afternoon.
"Alright, students, class is dismissed."
"Goodbye, Coach Su!"
As he spoke, many students began to leave. However, a few curious ones remained. They glanced at their watches and asked:
"Coach Su, how come we’re ending so early today?"
"Yeah, it’s only a little after three."
"Usually, we’d only be halfway through the lesson by now!"
Many students cast curious glances his way. Since their parents usually picked them up, Su Xing ending class exceptionally early meant they couldn’t leave the Sword Hall right away.
"Hehe, Coach Su isn’t going on a blind date, is he?"
"I heard that men Coach Su’s age are always getting pressured to go on blind dates."
Yu said with a mischievous grin.
Ever since Su Xing had punished him, he had gone through a period of good behavior, but recently he was starting to get restless again, always saying whatever came to mind.
"No way!"
"I heard Coach Su is only 22. That’s still young, right? Why would he be going on blind dates already?"
Su Xing tidied up the training hall a bit, then walked over to the gossiping students and said with a smile,
"I’m going to see an old acquaintance."
"That’s why we’re ending early. Don’t you guys complain about class all the time? Why aren’t you happy about it now?"
"Is it a man or a woman?"
Sensing some juicy gossip, Yu immediately asked. Su Xing glanced at Yu, thought for a moment, and said,
"A man. He probably has enough muscle to make two of you."
"..."
Hearing Su Xing’s words, Yu’s expression changed instantly, as if a rather unpleasant image had popped into his head.
He couldn’t help but glance at Su Xing’s own muscular physique before his face grew solemn. He silently made the sign of the cross over his chest, lamenting to himself,
’Why did he have to be gay...?’
Of course, Su Xing had no idea what he was thinking. He simply asked Lu Anning to look after his students, then left the Sword Hall, hailed a taxi, and headed for his destination.
