Chapter 19: The True Storm Slash

A month passed swiftly, and the one-month evaluation period was almost upon them.

……

In the early morning, Loran awoke from his sleep. Before even opening his eyes, he could feel the breeze drifting in through the window. With just a thought, restless wind sprites rushed toward his arm, which lay outside the blanket, bringing a refreshing coolness. Even the slight movement of his fingers caused elemental wind energy to gather into swirling vortices dancing between them, creating a sensation like silk gliding over skin.

He got up, washed up, ate breakfast, then grabbed his steel sword and headed for the training ground.

More and more students arrived, and soon all twenty-odd members of Class Seven had gathered. Shortly after, Instructor Haimu strode into the training ground, his broad figure imposing as he gripped his broadsword. With a calm, concise tone, he said, “Today is the assessment. Mikelah, prepare to record the results. Anyone who fails will be immediately placed on the list for elimination from Class Seven!”

“Yes, Master Haimu!”

Smiling, Mikaela nodded, took out a pen from the pouch on her chest, and opened the notebook she was holding in her arms.

……

“Trainee No. 1, Caroline.”

Instructor Haimu stood at the center of the training ground, hands resting on his longsword, his gaze calm. “Begin your assessment.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

Caroline gently raised her hand and drew her sword—a slender rapier, its blade appearing no wider than a thumb, yet shimmering with rippling light along the edge, clearly no ordinary weapon. As a noble from Leixi County, she naturally possessed her own personal blade. Stepping forward to a solid stretch of river valley black rock, the girl let out a soft cry. Immediately, wisps of stardust energy erupted from her arms, rapidly transforming into wind-elemental force that surged into the rapier. With a sudden sweeping motion, she slashed sideways!

“Clang!”

A soft sound rang out as the slender sword swept past. The next second, Blackrock slowly split into two pieces, its cross-section unthinkably smooth.

“Passed the test.”

Haimu nodded, signaling Karoline to return to her position, then continued, “Next, trainee number two: Lucus.”

From among the group of trainees, a tall youth stepped forward, gripping a steel sword of suitable size. He took his stance before another piece of riverbed blackrock, lowered his body slightly, and erupted with a surge of star source energy—slightly weaker than Karoline’s. In an instant, the star source energy transformed into wind elemental power surrounding the blade. Grounding his stance, he channeled strength from his legs up through his waist and into both arms. With a “peng!” he swung the sword downward in a powerful slash. A metallic clang echoed as the blackrock split down the middle—though barely, and the steel sword itself now bore three noticeable nicks.

Instructor Haimu frowned and said, “Passed the test. Next, Trainee No. 3, Evel!”

Avery stepped forward, her long flaxen hair braided into tiny intricate plaits that gave her a delicate appearance. Holding a slender sword similar to Carolyn’s, she stood before the Black Rock Valley. A gentle breeze blew, lifting the hem of her academy dress and outlining the graceful contours of her maturing figure, causing a group of boys to involuntarily gasp in awe.

Activate Stellar Source Power! Draw sword! Split stone!

Avery’s movements flowed seamlessly like drifting clouds. The instant she severed the rock, her blade was already sheathed. Her one-handed stone-splitting technique was even more elegant than Carolyn’s, and even Hemu nodded in approval, his eyes gleaming with admiration: “Excellent. You’ve passed the test!”

At once, Caroline’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, showing her displeasure. She and Evel were the two most outstanding girls in class, unmatched in both beauty and strength. Yet in every aspect, Evel managed to hold her own against her, which made the highly competitive Caroline, who had always strived to be the best since childhood, feel somewhat uncomfortable inside. Such rivalry among young girls was inevitable.

……

Then, Instructor Haimu called out names again, one by one, having the students participate in the assessment.

“Student No. 16, Lian Lin!”

“Yes, Instructor…”

A frail少年 stepped forward, holding a steel sword, standing before the thick black rock, his eyes revealing faint anxiety. Clearly, he lacked confidence. With a light shout, he unleashed his star source energy, but the glow was very dim, seemingly only at the first level. As wind elemental power surged onto the blade, he slashed fiercely!

“Clang!”

The steel sword only cut halfway through before it could go no further.

“Unable to pass the assessment!”

Instructor Haimu frowned.

Immediately, the boy looked terrified and said, “Instructor Haimu, I… I don’t want to die…”

Haimu smiled calmly. “No one is going to kill you. Pick up your sword. After class, Mikaela will take you to report to the Knight Camp. Your starforce is a bit weak, but your strength is good. You might become an outstanding apprentice knight. You’ll receive training there just the same. Dismissed.”

“Yes… Thank you, Instructor!”

“Um.”

It seemed that this youth named Lian Lin was also someone who had gone through the three trials. Having witnessed the brutality of the first three days at the blood-colored prison, he felt that elimination meant facing the danger of death, and even his voice trembled slightly.

Haimu continued, “Number 17, Munde!”

From the crowd stepped forward a tall and burly youth named Munde, gripping a heavy broadsword. A confident smile played on his lips as he deliberately shot a challenging glance toward Luolan before striding toward a nearby block of Heigu Valley black rock. With a fierce shout, he filled his body with stardrift energy—energy that even Luolan, after a month of training, could clearly recognize as third-level初级星源力. The stardrift energy quickly transformed into blades of wind, surging into his sword. Munde swung horizontally with full force!

“Clang!”

Once again, the black rock was severed by a single strike—but only just. A distinct sword mark ran through the center of the break, while the cross-section behind it appeared somewhat rough and jagged. Clearly, Munde’s control over wind elemental power wasn’t sufficient to cut through the rock in one clean stroke, so midway through the swing he’d resorted to raw stardrift strength to force the blade through. Still, this counted as passing the test.

“Passed the evaluation!”

Haimu nodded and said, “Next, number 18, Luolan!”

“Yes!”

Luo Lan stepped forward with her steel sword, passing by the returning Mond. Seeing Mond’s lips curled into a mocking smile, he quietly lowered his voice and said, “Can’t wait to see you make a fool of yourself,废物!”

“Hmph!”

Loran ignored him, walking straight to a solid piece of Heigu Valley rock. Gripping his sword in his right hand, he slightly furrowed his brow. As his will stirred, wind elemental energy from the surrounding air wildly surged toward his right hand and flowed into the steel blade. In an instant, the edge of the sword was covered with a frost-like layer of wind elemental energy.

In an instant, a group of students were stunned—

Lucas wore a look of shock: “Did you see that…? Lorain didn’t even activate his Stellar Force. How is it possible to control the power of wind elements without using Stellar Force?”

Caroline couldn’t help but smile: “This guy is quite interesting.”

Elvira’s lips curled upward into a beautiful smile.

Rodney remained calm and indifferent, as if he had seen nothing, his emotions completely unchanged.

The most shocked was undoubtedly Munde, who had just mocked Lorain, now wearing an expression of utter disbelief: “This… this can’t be possible! Could this kid be some freak from the Mystic Sea?”

At that moment, Lorain raised his sword and brought it down in one fluid, decisive motion. With a sharp “clang” and a flash of sparks, the heavy two-handed blade, swung effortlessly with just one hand, became a streak of cold light slicing straight through the thick River Valley Blackrock. The cut surface was incredibly smooth—by both result and form, his execution was far more elegant than even Caroline’s or Evelyn’s, let alone comparable to Monty’s performance.

For a moment, everyone was stunned speechless.

“Passed the test. Next, number 19, Rodney!”

……

Before Instructor Haimu had even finished speaking, Rodney had already stepped forward. The instant he approached the Black Rock in the valley, star energy surged violently within his body, its radiance surpassing even that of Evel and Caroline. His sword flashed across in one clean, decisive strike. With a “peng” sound, the black rock split cleanly in two. At the same time, as the sword aura swept through the air, a fist-sized vortex of wind exploded outward with a sharp “shua,” creating a loud noise!

“Hmm?!”

Instructor Hai Mu couldn’t help but frown slightly, then smiled and said, “So it actually has a storm effect now—impressive… The genius of the Ceci family truly lives up to the name!”

“Thank you, Instructor!”

Rodney bowed, then returned to his position with sword in hand.

Haimu continued the assessment. Two more students subsequently failed, and in the end, three trainees were eliminated from this evaluation and sent entirely to the Knight Camp for apprentice knight and squire trials.

“So…”

Instructor Haimu smiled slightly, stepped forward, and said, “Children, don’t think for a moment that you’ve truly mastered Storm Slash. Even if you can achieve what you just saw, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re strong. You’ve only just entered the threshold. Now, let me show you the true power of Storm Slash!”

As he spoke, Haimu murmured softly, his body continuously unleashing stellar energy. He suddenly slashed his sword forward with a loud “peng!” The wind elemental force swirling around the blade grew incredibly intense, instantly shattering a solid Heigu black rock into fragments. Immediately after, another “peng” echoed as the sword light shot forth like a whirlwind, forming a raging storm nearly three men tall that rampaged forward, obliterating three more black rocks in succession with thunderous booms, leaving behind a deep trench stretching about twenty meters across the ground. That single slash was as if it had unleashed a devastating tempest!

“My God…”

A group of students stared in stunned silence, unable to utter a word.

Sir Haimu was very pleased with the students’ reaction and smiled faintly, “Storm Slash is far more than just a simple sword technique. When mastered to perfection and combined with high-rank Stellar Energy, it can produce power rivaling that of forbidden spells. In the past, one Awakener unleashed a single Storm Slash that triggered a genuine destructive storm, wiping out an entire army. That is the true potential Storm Slash should possess. Learning has no limits—what you’ve achieved so far is merely the first step. Keep striving!”

At once, when the students looked at Hai Mu again, their eyes were filled with admiration and awe. Hai Mu was far stronger than anyone had imagined!