The longer Zhao Mu fought, the stronger he became.
His attacks grew sharper and more precise with every exchange, yet his strength showed no signs of declining. On the contrary, the Spirit Power within his body was being consumed at an astonishingly slow rate.
Jiang Jiu couldn't understand it.
If it had been any other Battle Rank 6 Spirit Power User, their Spirit Power would have been exhausted long ago, forcing them to end the battle.
What he didn't know was that Zhao Mu's Spirit Power reserves were more than three times greater than those of an ordinary Battle Rank 6 Ability User.
Meanwhile, the Combat Technique Puppet continued retreating.
Its movements were beginning to show flaws, and it could no longer block every attack with perfect precision.
Beep! Beep!
The puppet suddenly emitted a mechanical sound before jumping backward and ending the fight.
"You have defeated me."
Its electronic voice echoed through the training room.
Zhao Mu lowered his weapon and let out a long breath.
This battle had been the most evenly matched and exhausting fight he had experienced so far.
Yet it had also been the most exhilarating.
He understood why the Combat Technique Puppet had admitted defeat.
The puppet belonged to the Guardian-class Ember Remains category and was constructed from exceptionally valuable materials.
Its physical durability even surpassed A-grade alloy.
If it had been a normal human opponent, Zhao Mu's overwhelming strength would have long since broken their stance and knocked their weapon from their hands.
Since the puppet's purpose was to simulate combat against carbon-based lifeforms, it automatically judged itself defeated once its combat effectiveness dropped below a certain threshold.
Zhao Mu glanced at the latest proficiency notification.
Hegemon's Formation-Breaking Halberd
Intermediate Battle Technique
Proficiency: 235
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said,
"Let me take a short break. Then we can continue."
The puppet lowered its head and entered standby mode.
---
In the monitoring room, Jiang Jiu felt his eyelids twitch.
He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.
Without hesitation, he operated the monitoring system and clipped the footage of Zhao Mu's battle against the Advanced Combat Technique Puppet.
Then he immediately sent the video to the three instructors of the New Recruit Camp, copying all three principals.
As the Training Ground supervisor, Jiang Jiu was responsible not only for managing facilities but also for identifying talented recruits.
And he knew one thing for certain.
After watching this video, none of those six people would be sleeping peacefully tonight.
---
Just as he expected, the instructors and principals immediately opened the message.
Normally, Jiang Jiu was a quiet and reserved individual.
If he sent a formal report, it meant something important had happened.
The moment the video began playing, everyone saw Zhao Mu select the Advanced Difficulty Combat Technique Puppet.
Their expressions changed instantly.
"This kid has gone crazy!"
"How dare he challenge an Advanced Combat Technique Puppet?"
"Unless someone has cultivated an Intermediate Battle Technique to near perfection and possesses an incredibly solid foundation, they have no chance against something like that."
"Even among the current trainees of Qingfeng Camp, only a few monsters from the Green Kill Squad could achieve such a feat."
"And they spent years training to reach that level."
"But Zhao Mu?"
"He has only been here for a month!"
The room filled with doubt and disbelief.
Nevertheless, they continued watching.
They wanted to see how long Zhao Mu could survive.
Fortunately, the recording was lengthy enough to show the entire battle.
One of the principals stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"If he managed to last more than five minutes, that alone would be remarkable."
"What exactly is he relying on?"
"His Ember Remains?"
That was everyone's first assumption.
However, they quickly realized Zhao Mu hadn't used any Ember Remains abilities.
His only weapon was a C-grade alloy training halberd.
The battle continued.
As the recording progressed, the expressions of the six viewers became increasingly strange.
Then came shock.
Complete shock.
"He can actually fight it evenly!"
"No..."
"He's gaining the upper hand!"
"What?!"
"How did he force the puppet to surrender?"
Everyone stared at the screen in disbelief.
Every movement Zhao Mu made was flawless.
His Battle Technique flowed naturally.
His halberdsmanship was sharp, efficient, and beautiful.
The massive halberd moved through his hands with the agility of a lightweight sword.
One of the principals narrowed his eyes.
"An Intermediate Battle Technique..."
"It seems Bu Yanhuan taught him quite a lot."
At that moment, many things suddenly made sense.
As the disciple of the famous Valkyrie Bu Yanhuan, it wasn't unusual for Zhao Mu to possess Battle Techniques outside the Military Department's official database.
More importantly, this identity provided a perfect explanation for any advanced techniques he revealed in the future.
Even so, defeating an Advanced Combat Technique Puppet remained astonishing.
After a moment of thought, the principal opened a communication channel.
"What do you think of Zhao Mu's performance?"
The message was directed toward the two vice principals:
Han Chongshan and Fang Qingyu.
---
Han Chongshan remained silent for a few moments before finally speaking.
"Even if he was personally taught by Bu Yanhuan, reaching this level is extraordinary."
"The monsters on the battlefield value foundations far more than ordinary people realize."
"Zhao Mu's foundation is almost perfect."
He paused before sighing.
"Unfortunately, his Spiritual Talent is too weak."
"His ceiling has already been decided."
Although Zhao Mu had reached Battle Rank 6, the senior staff of Qingfeng Camp were experienced enough to immediately recognize what had happened.
He had advanced by consuming Spirit Sources.
Overusing Spirit Sources was essentially a method of overdrawing one's future potential.
Because Zhao Mu's primary profession was expected to be that of a Jinhai Master rather than a frontline combatant, most people hadn't paid much attention to it.
That was also why his special enrollment privileges allowed access to high-quality Ember Remains materials while denying him access to official Intermediate Battle Technique databases.
However, today's performance changed their perspective.
What exactly was this kid trying to become?
Han Chongshan sighed again.
"It's a shame."
"If he possessed an A-rank Talent instead of an E-rank Talent, then with this foundation and combat skill, he would almost certainly qualify for the Green Kill Squad someday."
The Green Kill Squad was Qingfeng Camp's most elite combat unit.
Its members were the strongest warriors produced by the academy.
They enjoyed special privileges, avoiding ordinary military assignments and only participating in critical operations.
Producing even one Green Kill Squad member from a batch of recruits was considered an achievement.
Two members were rare.
---
However, Fang Qingyu held a different opinion.
The vice principal adjusted his black-rimmed glasses.
His hair was meticulously combed back and gleamed under the room's lights.
"That may not be true."
"Have you forgotten Marquis Changfeng?"
Han Chongshan raised an eyebrow.
Fang Qingyu continued calmly.
"I believe that if Zhao Mu receives proper cultivation, he could become stronger than Spirit Power Users of the same rank."
Han Chongshan smiled.
"Perhaps."
"But do you know how many resources that would require?"
"The resources needed to cultivate a single E-rank Talent Ability User could instead produce three A-rank Talents and ten B-rank Talents."
He shook his head.
"From a practical perspective, that investment simply isn't worthwhile."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)