Sunny was heading toward the Ancient Martial Hall. His schedule was full, since the next day he would be fighting his next competitor.
Wanting to prepare properly, Sunny checked the system to see who his opponent would be.
To his shock, the name displayed was Feng Li.
Sunny frowned.
He couldn't understand how the system had matched him with Feng Li. From the fights he had watched, Feng Li was clearly a formidable fighter. His sonic abilities and battle awareness made him extremely dangerous.
After thinking for a moment, Sunny opened the Ancient Martial Arts skill store and bought two skills:
Sonic Blade
Luck Manipulation
Even though he knew mastering a skill in one day was nearly impossible, he still decided to try.
Soon, he met his tutor, Sanctifier Zen, who helped him train Sonic Blade.
Zen wasn't a master of sonic attacks, but he knew the basic principles. For about an hour, Zen demonstrated how Sonic Blade worked while Sunny carefully practiced.
Eventually, they decided to spar.
Zen enhanced his Sonic Blade using his weapon, forming a vibrating wheel of sound that strengthened the attack.
Sunny supported his own Sonic Blade with his mental abilities.
The fight began.
Sunny attacked first.
He gathered the surrounding sound in the air and condensed it into a blade. It wasn't very strong yet, but it was at least visible.
He rushed toward Zen.
Sunny thought Zen hadn't created his own blade, so he swung forward, planning to land a serious hit.
But suddenly Zen sidestepped.
At the same moment, Sunny felt a sharp vibration across his body.
A thin wound appeared.
Zen calmly explained,
"I made my blade invisible."
Sunny finally understood. Zen's sonic blade existed, but the vibration was hidden from sight.
After several more exchanges, Zen managed to give Sunny a few bruises before ending the training.
Still, Sunny had learned something important.
Sonic Blade could change shape.
It could become different weapons depending on the user's control and focus.For Sunny, who had powerful concentration, this was extremely useful.
After getting healed, Sunny returned home and began practicing Blade Cutter and Luck Manipulation using his private holographic training system.
The simulation started.
At first, he selected Level 1, believing that was still his level.
The creatures appeared and rushed toward him.
Sunny activated:
Focus Sense
Mental Push
Calm Mind
He used Dashing Spear and quickly defeated the monsters.
The fight was surprisingly easy.
Suspicious, Sunny chose Level 3.
This time the battle was completely different.
The creatures regenerated extremely quickly.
Even his spear attacks couldn't kill them permanently.
Sunny activated Blade Cutter, using his body like a blade.
Suddenly something inside him awakened.
His hand sharpened like a sword and his body hardened like steel.
He cut down several creatures.
But they kept regenerating.
Seeing the danger, Sunny activated Luck Manipulation.
When a creature attempted to stab him, Sunny focused on a simple thought:
"I remain alive."
Strangely, the creature's attack barely missed him.
Another monster tried to crush him.
Again, it missed by a tiny margin.
Sunny realized something important.
Luck Manipulation influenced probability according to his thoughts.
But while he was analyzing the ability, he lost focus.
A creature struck him down.
The simulation ended.
When Sunny checked the results, he was shocked.
He had defeated 80% of the monsters before dying.
Satisfied with the progress, Sunny decided to rest before tomorrow's match.
Later that night, Serena came to visit him, pale and strangely hungry.
After a long conversation—and a passionate moment between them—Sunny finally slept.
The next morning, Sunny arrived early at the Ancient Martial Hall.
His match was the first fight of the tournament.
When he stepped into the arena, he noticed something surprising.
The number of spectators was twice as large as before.
Many people were talking.
One spectator laughed.
"This guy can't defeat Feng Li."
Another said,
"He barely survived his last fight."
What the spectators didn't understand was the truth.
Feng Li wasn't here to humiliate Sunny.
He wanted to push Sunny's hidden power to shine.
He believed Sunny had enormous potential, and this fight was the perfect chance for everyone to see it.
Suddenly—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The arena speakers roared.
The match had begun.