Qi Zhimu withdrew his gaze and calmly announced the start of the challenge competition.
The young girl whose name was called took a deep breath and stepped onto the high platform.
The sunlight was not yet too dazzling.
She squinted her eyes, and seeing the dense crowd around her, her heart rate quickened.
From the packed spectator stands, countless pairs of eyes were watching her.
Sweat involuntarily seeped from the girl's palm as she held the wooden sword.
"Good luck."
A palm lightly patted her shoulder.
Qi Zhimu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a certain magic that made one feel steady.
The girl took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.
That palm seemed to possess a calming power; she quickly adjusted her mindset and felt less nervous.
"I... I want to challenge Vanguard Mo Tingquan!"
As soon as she spoke, a man clad in silver armor rose into the air from the viewing area.
His foot stepped on a surveillance mechanical bird in mid-air to gain leverage for a flip, landing steadily three meters in front of the girl.
Sunlight fell on his shoulder guards, reflecting a momentary, blinding light.
Mo Tingquan smiled and nodded at the girl; with a grasp of his hand, a wooden training sword appeared.
"Please guide me...!"
The girl cupped her fists in salute and gripped the wooden training sword, her gaze quickly becoming focused, mixed with a hint of unformed, youthful sharpness.
Deafening cheers erupted from the spectator stands.
She knew that once the Vanguard made a move, she wouldn't last a single blow.
But at the very least, she wanted everyone to see the progress she had made over these past few days.
She held her breath for a moment, lowered her stance, and lunged forward, her wooden sword slashing diagonally upward.
It was a very basic move, but the speed wasn't slow.
Mo Tingquan sidestepped to avoid it, his own wooden sword remaining unswung.
The girl twisted her waist to change moves, slashing horizontally; this time he took half a step back, the blade grazing past his breastplate.
Seeing this, a wave of gasps rose from the audience.
Failing her initial attack, the girl's movements didn't stop as she launched a series of aggressive strikes.
She used every sword technique she had learned during practical training; though they were performed strictly by the book, the transitions were fluid.
Unknowingly, sweat trickled down from her temples.
By the fifth move, seeing the wooden sword slashing toward his helmet, Mo Tingquan finally moved.
The girl's sword swept out from the right; he raised his left hand and lightly tapped the blade with the back of his hand.
The wooden sword made a crisp sound, and the girl's sword path instantly veered off course.
Mo Tingquan's force wasn't heavy, but it was enough to make her lose her balance and stumble back two steps; by the time she managed to steady herself, her breathing had already become rapid.
"Just a little bit more."
The girl gritted her teeth and charged again.
This time she changed her rhythm, feinting with a strike before suddenly crouching for a horizontal sweep.
Mo Tingquan leaped to avoid it; the moment he landed, the girl had already used the momentum to rise, her sword tip thrusting straight toward his face.
This was the move she had practiced best.
Unfortunately, Mo Tingquan only slightly tilted his head, and the wooden sword grazed past his ear, while his own wooden sword was already pressed against the girl's throat.
The girl froze in place, panting heavily, realizing she had lost.
The rule was that hitting the Cloud Knight's helmet within three minutes counted as a victory, but it didn't say the Cloud Knight couldn't counterattack.
"Thank you for the guidance, Vanguard Mo Tingquan."
The girl didn't dwell on it and respectfully cupped her fists.
Her strongest move had failed; continuing to fight would be futile.
Presumably, the Vanguard had seen this and chose to end the battle.
The whole place was silent for a moment, then erupted in applause.
"Child, you are very good. If you join the army after your hair-pinning ceremony, you will surely achieve great things in the future," Mo Tingquan encouraged.
"Yes! I will!"
The girl bowed her head, turned, and walked off the stage; though she had lost, her back was held very straight.
After all, she had nothing to be ashamed of.
Qi Zhimu nodded slightly and read out the name of the second challenger.
The pace of the challenge competition quickened significantly after that.
The second match was a tall boy who chose another Vanguard.
The battle lasted only ten moves before the boy was defeated when his weapon was knocked away.
The third match was a short-haired girl.
This was a brilliant fight; the girl had clearly studied the sword habits of her chosen Vanguard, successfully predicting his moves three times in a row, coming within a hair's breadth of hitting the helmet.
Unfortunately, that hair's breadth remained uncrossed even after the three minutes had passed.
This showed just how difficult it was to defeat a Cloud Knight Vanguard.
The scorching sun gradually dipped toward the west, clouds began to gather, and a chill entered the wind.
Challengers came and went one after another; those who could last the full three minutes won thunderous applause.
Some, seeing their three strongest moves fail, chose to concede.
So far, all the challengers had ended in defeat.
This was normal.
The Cloud Knight Vanguards were battle-hardened warriors, while the challengers were merely students who had just finished their practical training.
The gap in strength was not something that could be filled by courage alone.
But many could see that many of the Vanguards were actually guiding the challengers through sparring, occasionally offering verbal pointers.
Half the sky had unknowingly turned overcast.
The wind whipped up dust on the training grounds, and faint thunder rumbled in the distance.
Another battle ended, and a glint of interest flashed in Qi Zhimu's eyes.
"The next challenger, Jingliu."
Jingliu stood up from the contestants' waiting area and walked onto the high platform.
She wasn't tall and had a slender build; her long blue-and-white hair, tied into a high ponytail, swayed gently in the wind.
Reaching the center of the challenge platform, Jingliu did not look at the Vanguard viewing area, nor at the spectators.
Her gaze fell directly on Qi Zhimu, her voice trembling slightly but carrying a hint of determination.
"I choose to challenge Guard Qi."
The whole audience was in an uproar.
Although the chief instructor was also a Cloud Knight Vanguard, everyone knew that Cloud Knight Vanguards were different from Strategists; martial arts reigned supreme, and being the chief instructor meant being the strongest.
Admirable courage!
Qi Zhimu's expression remained unchanged as he leaped casually.
With a thought, a wooden sword unsheathed itself and hovered beneath his feet, flying toward the center of the platform.
From a distance, this display of sword-kinesis to take the stage filled countless youths with yearning.
So elegant, so cool!
Meanwhile, almost all the other Cloud Knight Vanguards showed looks of astonishment.
That was truly just a wooden sword, not a famous weapon forged by the Department of Craftsmanship that could be controlled by divine sense.
There are many Cloud Knight Vanguards who could control flying swords, but an ordinary wooden sword?
No one could do that.
However, the countless students were currently almost entirely unaware of this.
Gazing at Qi Zhimu's calm face within the helmet, Jingliu took a deep breath and gripped her wooden sword, cupping her fists.
"Please guide me, Guard Qi!"
Just as Qi Zhimu nodded, Jingliu's sword tip arrived in the blink of an eye, without any flourishes.
He sidestepped slightly, and the sword grazed past his shoulder guard.
Jingliu twisted her wrist with the momentum, slashing horizontally at Qi Zhimu's neck, but he leaned back to avoid it as it passed close to his face.
She retreated a few steps to readjust her stance, her gaze wary.
Qi Zhimu did not take the initiative to attack; he hadn't even moved his feet.
No one felt this was inappropriate.
The opponents of the challengers who had managed to last three minutes before had almost all done the same.
Calmly handling Jingliu's offensive, a faint surprise flashed in Qi Zhimu's eyes.
It was quite unexpected.
He hadn't expected that a wealthy young lady born with a silver spoon in her mouth would become so proficient after just a few days of practical training.
It seemed she had practiced hard during her private rest time.