The group thus arrived at the teaching site for the Ancient Martial Arts class in a bizarre atmosphere.
There was no traditional dojo or classroom here.
Before them was an open forest clearing.
In the center of the clearing, a Portal emitting a soft white light floated steadily.
Inside the portal were flowing lights and shadows, swirling and shifting, making it impossible to see clearly.
Teacher Chen Jing was already waiting there.
She wore a well-tailored black martial arts suit, her long hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her entire being was like an unsheathed sharp sword, valiant and heroic.
"Is everyone here? Get ready, we are going in."
Chen Jing was concise and to the point.
Lin Qingyue looked around. There were actually about 50 students taking this elective course; its popularity wasn't low.
What made her feel comfortable was that the composition of professions here was notably diverse.
There were Berserkers wielding giant axes, and Archers carrying longbows on their backs.
There were even a few spellcasters wearing robes and holding staves, just like her and Su Wan. With curious expressions, they were poking at the Portal's Display, trying to analyze its energy composition.
"Yeah, this is very Tianshu."
Lin Qingyue gave a mental thumbs-up.
Here, a Priest learning spear techniques or a Mage practicing physical combat wasn't news at all, and no one would cast strange, probing glances.
This inclusive atmosphere that encouraged students to "pull stunts" was one of the reasons she had chosen this university.
"Everyone, enter the Dungeon."
At Chen Jing's command, the students walked into the gate of light one after another.
Lin Qingyue only felt her vision blur before the solid ground beneath her feet instantly turned into a soft meadow.
This was a vast forest.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and plants, carrying a hint of cool dampness.
Not far away, a few "Tusked Boars" around level 25 were rooting in the ground for food.
The environment was stable and the Monsters were relatively docile; it was indeed an excellent venue for practical combat.
Chen Jing clapped her hands, the crisp sound drawing everyone's attention.
"Ancient Martial Arts is not about making you give up your class characteristics to become a warrior."
"Its Core is to teach you how to utilize your strength more efficiently and precisely."
As she spoke, she walked slowly towards a Tusked Boar that was rooting in the dirt.
Sensing the threat, the boar snorted two thick puffs of air from its nostrils, lowered its head, and turned its massive body into a runaway meat tank, charging fiercely at her!
"For example, like this."
Facing hundreds of pounds of impact force, Chen Jing suddenly dropped low, like a fallen leaf gliding close to the ground, and slipped into the blind spot of the boar's charge at an inconceivable angle.
She didn't take it head-on, nor did she even clench her fist.
She merely extended her right hand, fingers spread wide, and casually pressed against the side of the boar's neck as it sped past.
The image of that instant was filled with a bizarre sense of incongruity.
At the exact moment of contact, Chen Jing's wrist executed a tiny deflection.
The movement was like a helmsman gently turning the rudder of a ten-thousand-ton ship with a single finger.
"Squeal—!"
Under the inertia of its charge, the ferocious boar involuntarily flipped half a circle in mid-air, then smashed heavily onto the ground, four legs pointing at the sky, kicking up a massive cloud of dust!
It let out a shrill, mournful cry, struggling, but its four hooves were limp and unable to exert any strength; it had already lost its combat ability.
Subduing the enemy in a single move, without the slightest hint of exertion.
"For all living beings, the transmission of all force has its own trajectories and nodes."
Chen Jing retracted her hand, continuing her explanation in a calm voice.
"Find them, use them, and you can overcome a great force with minimal effort."
"For spellcasters, this means you can better control your body's balance and maintain your aim while casting on the move. For physical classes, this means every one of your attacks can cause maximum destruction."
Lin Qingyue listened with rapt attention.
Deep within her eyes, countless streams of data flashed wildly.
The myriad of combat details from the [Millelith Spear Techniques] and Shenhe's spear technique [Dawnstar Piercer] instilled by the System were now being deconstructed and illuminated one by one alongside Chen Jing's explanation.
Countless fragments of knowledge regarding spear techniques were connected by an invisible thread, constructing a complete and clear theoretical framework.
'So that's how it works!'
It suddenly dawned on her.
What the System had given her were the perfect "standard answers."
She knew how to use them, and she used them well, but she hadn't known why she should use them that way.
It was just like a gamer who had learned a powerful combo from a guide, but didn't understand the underlying logic behind the attack hitboxes, hit stun, and the startup and recovery frames of their skills.
And what Chen Jing was doing now was opening up this black box, thoroughly breaking down all the "game mechanics" inside, and presenting them to her bit by bit.
She was completely captivated by this feeling of transformation from "knowing the how" to "knowing the why."
This was a precious treasure that could not be obtained by relying solely on the System; it was a crucial step in truly making the Skills her own.
"Alright, that concludes the theory. Next up, free practice."
Chen Jing pointed toward the level 28 "Stone-Armored Lizards" deep within the forest.
"Your targets are the Stone-Armored Lizards. The requirements: you are not allowed to simply rely on Skills and brute force to crush them. Try to use the techniques I just taught you in your fights. I will be observing each and every one of you."
As her voice faded, the students immediately scattered, each searching for a target.
Lin Qingyue did not take out her indestructible staff, [Beloved].
That thing came with a built-in armor-piercing effect, which would interfere with her comprehension of force.
Walking over to the weapon rack beside the Dungeon entrance, she took down a completely ordinary, standard-issue White Ashwood Spear.
The spear shaft felt slightly heavy in her hands, bearing the tough, resilient texture unique to white ashwood.
No enchantments, no special effects—just a simple iron-headed wooden pole.
This was the most suitable practice tool.
She took a deep breath, her gaze locking onto a Stone-Armored Lizard sunbathing on a rock.
Sensing her killing intent, the lizard immediately raised its keratin-plated head. Its body, covered in rocky scales, tensed up as a threatening hiss escaped its throat.
Lin Qingyue was in no rush to attack.
She simply recalled Chen Jing's movements from earlier, lowered her stance slightly, and assumed a basic spear-wielding posture.
The spear's center of gravity perfectly aligned with her body's central axis.
At this moment, she felt as if she had become one with the earth beneath her feet.
"Hiss~!"
The Stone-Armored Lizard lost its patience. Its four limbs thrust off the ground violently, turning into a gray blur as it lunged forward, the sharp teeth in its wide-open mouth flashing with a chilling light.
Lin Qingyue did not dodge or evade.
Teacher Chen Jing's movements replayed in her mind.
It wasn't about fighting force with force, but rather going with the flow and using the opponent's strength against them.
In the exact moment the lizard was about to pounce upon her, she moved.
Taking a quick, shifting step, her body evaded the lizard's bite by a hair's breadth, the foul wind even ruffling the tips of her hair.
At the same time, the shaft of her spear hovered close to the ground like a suddenly appearing stumbling block, precisely wedging itself right underneath the Stone-Armored Lizard's forward-charging left front claw.
"Off you go!"
She let out a soft shout, gathered strength from her waist, and fiercely pried the spear in her hands upward, following the lizard's forward momentum!
The high-speed sprinting Stone-Armored Lizard's center of gravity instantly slipped out of control.
The massive inertia of its forward charge was completely redirected by this pry, transforming into an irresistible tumbling force.
"Hiss—?!"
The Stone-Armored Lizard let out a confused, miserable cry, tracing an awkward parabola in mid-air. With all four feet facing the sky, it crashed onto its back with a heavy "smack," hitting the ground so hard that it was left completely dizzied and seeing stars.
Lin Qingyue did not stop.
With a flick of her wrist, she withdrew the spear like a swimming dragon and, following the momentum, stepped forward into a lunge.
The heavy tail of the spear whistled as it tore through the air, smashing down heavily onto the relatively soft neck exposed by the overturned lizard!
"Crack."
A crisp sound of bone breaking rang out, and the battle was over.
The entire process was filled with the aesthetic of calculation, without a single wasted movement, as efficient as a precise killing machine.
Exhilarating!
Feeling the subtle vibrations coming from the spear shaft, a surge of extreme gratification rose in Lin Qingyue's heart.
This feeling of precisely dismantling an enemy through calculation and skill was far more interesting than simply crushing them with brute force.
She began to immerse herself in this training, and one Stone-Armored Lizard after another fell to her spear.
The White Ashwood Spear in her hands also went from feeling unfamiliar at first to becoming increasingly smooth and responsive, as if it were an extension of her arm.
Not far away, Chen Jing took all of this in.
She had originally worried that a genius student like Lin Qingyue would look down on basic training.
But now it seemed she had worried for nothing.
Not only was this girl exceptionally talented, but her mindset was also terrifyingly composed.
She was actively breaking down her already-formed combat instincts, using the clumsiest method to rebuild her foundation bit by bit.
This kind of temperament made Chen Jing appreciate her far more than her abnormal strength did.
Just then, the entire forest suddenly fell silent.
The wind stopped.
The chirping of insects also vanished.
An invisible pressure slowly descended.
The corpses of the cleared Stone-Armored Lizards turned into specks of light and dissipated, but new monsters did not spawn as usual.
Behind a dense thicket of bushes, the ground began to tremble slightly.
Two points of crimson red light slowly lit up.
Immediately after, a behemoth far exceeding the size of its kind parted the bushes with its appendages and slowly stood up.
It was a giant beetle nearly three meters tall, covered entirely in a thick carapace resembling Black Jade, with a ferocious single horn growing from the top of its head.
[LV35, Elite, Blacksteel Rhino Beetle]
A fierce and tyrannical aura spread out like a wave, causing the surrounding freshmen to pale in fear and subconsciously step back, preparing to form a formation to respond.
Chen Jing was just about to speak up to warn everyone.
However, she saw that instead of retreating, Lin Qingyue actively stepped forward to meet the threat head-on.
There was not the slightest hint of tension on the girl's face.
On the contrary, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and her eyes danced with the excited gleam of a chess player who had finally found a worthy opponent.
She slightly raised the White Ashwood Spear in her hand, aiming its unadorned tip straight at the elite beetle from a distance.
Chen Jing's lips moved, but ultimately, she remained silent.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she chose to hold the line a short distance away, ready to intervene and assist at a moment's notice.
She was also quite curious.
She wanted to see how this monstrous new student, who had only just grasped the basics of Ancient Martial Arts, would use the most ordinary training spear to pry open the hard shell of an elite monster renowned for its defense.