Lin Ye's movements didn't attract much attention at first.
Inside the virtual combat classroom, dozens of students were scattered about. The glint of blades and the flash of sword shadows filled the air, accompanied by the whistle of fists, as everyone familiarized themselves with their chosen weapons.
Li Jun had chosen the sword. He was currently clumsily imitating the forms from the instructional video. It wasn't his first time practicing, but if something wasn't a good fit, it just wasn't a good fit.
His movements were stiff and uncoordinated. Before long, he was panting from exhaustion.
'Damn, this is way harder than I thought!'
He snuck a glance at Lin Ye and saw his deskmate tirelessly practicing the most basic Staff Skill movements over and over.
Simple, tedious, and dull.
Li Jun shook his head. 'Swinging a sword is still cooler,' he thought.
But Li Jun could clearly tell that Lin Ye's movements were much smoother than his.
And faster, too.
Time slowly ticked by.
「One hour later.」
The sounds inside the classroom had noticeably thinned out.
Many students' forms were starting to lose their shape. Beads of sweat dotted their foreheads, and their breathing grew heavy.
The Virtual Space consumed Spiritual Power, and the fatigue from this consumption was even more draining than physical exhaustion.
Seeing that most of the students could no longer keep up with this high-intensity training…
Chen Meng finally announced—
"Take a ten-minute break!"
The head teacher's voice rang out, and to most, it was music to their ears.
As if granted amnesty, the students all stopped what they were doing. Many even plopped right down on the floor, gasping for air.
Li Jun was utterly exhausted, sprawled on the ground. His brain felt like mush.
He subconsciously looked toward Lin Ye again.
And then, he froze.
Lin Ye hadn't stopped.
He was still standing in that open space, his long staff cutting through the air again and again.
WHOOSH—!
The wind from the staff whistled with a unique rhythm.
His movements were so precise they seemed measured with a ruler. Every exertion of force, every turn of his body, was perfectly accurate.
Li Jun was in a bit of a daze.
'Why does it feel like Lin Ye's movements haven't slowed down at all? If anything, they've gotten faster?'
It was as if he wasn't expending energy, but accumulating something.
"This guy… doesn't he get tired?" Li Jun muttered to himself.
Gradually, the other students' gazes were also drawn to Lin Ye.
They didn't understand what they were seeing, but they were deeply shocked.
Murmurs began to spread. Lin Ye, that average, usually invisible student in class.
Was actually in the spotlight for once.
Of course, Lin Ye wasn't trying to be high-profile on purpose.
For one, with the system's blessing, these Staff Skill techniques were like genuine basic attacks.
They required no thought, no complex skills.
He could execute them as smoothly as flowing water.
On the other hand, the quest wasn't complete yet, and he was very curious about the effects of "Staff Stance."
Chen Meng stood on a high platform, his gaze sweeping across the entire area.
Most of the students were resting. The few top students were merely performing mental visualization to recover their energy.
Only Lin Ye, the one who had chosen the Staff Skill, was still training.
Chen Meng's brow furrowed slightly.
He knew Lin Ye was under a lot of pressure.
To meet the standard in just two short weeks… even Chen Meng himself thought it was impossible.
But ignoring one's physical limits to force oneself through harsh training was a great taboo in the way of martial arts.
Overdoing it was as bad as not doing enough; it could easily damage one's foundation.
Just as he was about to shout at Lin Ye to stop, the words caught in his throat.
Because he realized something was off about Lin Ye's condition.
He wasn't just toughing it out.
Lin Ye's eyes were slightly closed, his expression focused. His entire being was immersed in a wondrous state, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.
The long staff in his hands seemed to have come alive.
Every swing carried a natural, seamless momentum.
A horizontal sweep, like a blizzard rolling in, carried an indomitable dominance.
A thrust, like a venomous dragon striking from its lair, was simple yet fatal.
A smash, like Mount Tai crashing down, was filled with a primitive, violent aesthetic.
These were clearly the most basic of basic moves, yet in Lin Ye's hands, they evolved a heart-pounding sense of pressure.
[Ding! You have completed 2,000 standard Staff Skill movements!]
[Quest "Ancestor of Hundred Weapons" has been completed!]
[You have obtained: Skill Point +1!]
[You have unlocked the exclusive passive skill: Staff Stance!]
[Staff Stance Level 1 (Passive): When you wield a long-handled weapon, each of your attacks will accumulate "Momentum." When "Momentum" reaches its peak, you can actively release it to enter different combat stances and gain powerful buffs.]
[Currently unlocked stances:]
[Heavy Staff Style: Upon entering this stance, each of your strikes will channel all your Qi and Blood. They will be powerful and heavy, dealing 120% damage with a chance to cause a stun effect.]
[Flourish Staff Style: Upon entering this stance, your strike speed will be greatly increased, but damage will be reduced to 50% of the base value. It becomes easier to find an enemy's weaknesses and launch targeted attacks.]
[Chaotic Staff Style: Upon entering this stance, your attacks will become unpredictable and without form. You will have a chance to land a critical hit. Current critical hit chance: 5%.]
[Remark: Shatter the high heavens, be wantonly arrogant.]
The moment the system prompts sounded in Lin Ye's mind,
Lin Ye also stopped his movements.
He felt that with the introduction of Staff Stance,
his understanding of the entire Staff Skill martial art had risen to a new level.
After reading through the three Staff Stance postures, Lin Ye felt like he was playing Dark Souls.
'It has that exact same vibe.'
At that moment, in the eyes of the onlookers,
Lin Ye's movements came to an abrupt halt.
The previous storm-like practice had ceased, but now, he exuded an even greater sense of pressure than before.
An invisible momentum, with him at its center, silently spread outward.
Inside the virtual classroom, the once-noisy chatter strangely died down at this moment.
Everyone's gazes involuntarily converged on Lin Ye.
Li Jun's jaw dropped, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
In a rare moment, Lin Ye was actually giving him the same feeling as their "teacher".
That's right, just like Chen Meng, Lin Ye seemed to have changed.
Li Jun's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.
'Is this the same fucking deskmate who I play games with, the one who was always talking about becoming a security guard after graduation?'
'We agreed to be slackers, so why does it look like you've been secretly grinding on the side?!'
Not far away, the relaxed and carefree expressions on the faces of several top students, who were also resting, had vanished.
They might not have been able to discern the deeper intricacies, but they could feel the change in his aura.
It was something that could only be born after integrating a martial art into one's very bones through day after day of arduous practice.
'But we've never seen Lin Ye show any kind of proficiency in Staff Skill before!'
On the high platform, Chen Meng's gaze narrowed.
His previously furrowed brow was now completely smooth, replaced by a hint of astonishment.
As a veteran official Martial Artist who had been on the battlefield and experienced countless battles, Chen Meng had a very keen eye.
What Lin Ye was currently demonstrating was more valuable than anything he had seen from any of the top students under his tutelage.
'It seems like this kid, by some lucky coincidence, has stumbled into the state of "Intent Harmony"?'