Absolute Death Game

Xiao Buli was pondering this as he chose to challenge the Swordsman title.

Mu Zhiqi (Sword Saint), "Do you wish to challenge the Swordsman title? Let me see, you don't have a Swordsman occupation title yet, so you must start from the lowest level Swordsman. Defeat or draw with my disciple to gain the title. With each victory, you will earn another chance to challenge a higher-level Swordsman title until you fail.

Remember, during the duel, you can only use martial arts-related abilities, no underhanded or sneaky tactics. Besides, challenging for a Swordsman title also requires a fee based on the title level you're challenging. So, do you want to start the challenge now?"

System prompt: Do you want to start the Swordsman title challenge? Yes/No.

Naturally, Xiao Buli chose yes and followed Mu Zhiqi into the rear hall of the martial arts school's sparring ground, which resembled a swordsmanship arena. The ground was covered with grass mats, and a circle of NPC swordsmen of various colors sat around a circular space, with Mu Zhiqi standing on the opposite side of the arena.

As soon as he entered the arena, Xiao Buli found that all of his Magic Skills were unusable, and other special abilities like Taming Skills became ineffective too. Find more to read at empire

However, abilities like Emergency Dodge, Flying on Grass, Cloud Ascension Leap, and Internal Energy Infusion were not restricted, making it seem that these were also considered part of martial arts swordsmanship and were permitted for use.

Luckily, I learned the Flower Shifting Great Technique, Xiao Buli thought to himself. Otherwise, with only two or three usable skills, no matter how good I am, I wouldn't be able to show off any flair.

After paying ten silver coins for the challenge fee, he received a wooden sword and Practice Clothes.

Wooden Sword: A wooden one-handed sword used for practice, which doesn't have any real killing power, attack 1-1.

Practice Clothes: Common cloth attire used during practice, offering no substantial defensive strength, armor +1.

Seems I can only use these two items. It looks like my plan to overpower with equipment won't be possible, Xiao Buli thought as he equipped them, and then the challenge officially began.

The first to fight was just an ordinary white-named Swordsman, without even a name, simply called 'Longquan Swordsman.' Like him, he only had a set of Practice Clothes and a wooden sword. Quite fair indeed.

The two bowed to each other and saluted with their fists before the bout began.

The use of swordsmanship abilities is the same; once swordsmanship is activated and the left mouse button is pressed consecutively, the player's character will randomly execute different moves from the sword art to attack the enemy or deflect and parry based on the system's judgment.

This felt somewhat like the gameplay of "Assassin's Creed", but more complex, with higher demands on mastering the timing for both attack and defense during combat.

Xiao Buli was fairly familiar with the Gale Sword Skills, knowing that this set of sword skills was all about attack, with no defensive moves. So he launched an aggressive assault right away. His opponent seemed to be using a balanced sword art, though lower-grade.

Initially managing both offense and defense, after two rounds of exchanges, the Longquan Swordsman's health was dropping much faster than Xiao Buli's.

Seeming impatient, the Longquan Swordsman suddenly began to attack ferociously, which didn't startle but rather delighted Xiao Buli.

He used Emergency Dodge to avoid the brunt of the attack and exploited the lull in his adversary's swordplay to launch a Chain Sword Strike that locked his opponent in a rigid state, followed by an unrestrained combination of consecutive attacks that left his foe powerless to retaliate.

At the end of the combination, another Chain Sword Strike rained down three swift blows, quickly reducing the Longquan Swordsman's health to about a quarter. His icon immediately turned to a green border and he ceased his attacks.

"Your swordsmanship is superior, I've lost!" the Longquan Swordsman said as he saluted with his fist and limped out of the arena.

System prompt: Defeated the Longquan Swordsman, earned the Swordsman title. Do you wish to continue and challenge a higher-level Swordsman title for a fee of 20 silver coins?

Of course, the challenge continued. Xiao Buli sat down to meditate, recovering his physical strength, internal energy, and health points. This time, the opponent was an elite with a light blue name, but still without a name, simply called 'Advanced Longquan Swordsman.'

Xiao Buli didn't dare to underestimate this Advanced Longquan Swordsman; after all, he was an elite NPC. As soon as they clashed, he found his opponent's strength formidable. He couldn't gain an advantage in swordplay exchange and even got struck a few times, losing one-fifth of his health.

Xiao Buli quickly changed tactics, activating Flying on Grass, which immediately boosted his speed by thirty percent.

With the advantage in speed, he constantly moved around the elite, striking twice with rapid speed now and then, before quickly retreating without engaging in prolonged combat.

This Advanced Longquan Swordsman was not as rash as the previous NPC. He stood with his sword, rigidly defending, and even though he lost some health, he showed no signs of impatience, slowly pressing towards Xiao Buli, seemingly trying to corner him.

Seems a bit tricky.

While Xiao Buli was pondering, he realized that the situation was too urgent to be rushed. The opponent's health and striking power were both very strong. He could only wear them down. Just as he was about to be cornered, he suddenly launched an assault. The opponent blocked a few blows and was about to counterattack, but Xiao Buli once again retreated.

However, due to the limited space, he couldn't move back much. The high-level Longquan Swordsman seemed to see an opportunity, suddenly turned around, and the wooden sword in his hand swept across in a wide arc.

Floating Cloud Style!

This move was similar to Chain Sword Strike, an active attack skill. Next, Xiao Buli made a sudden Emergency Dodge and ended up behind his opponent.

He quickly swung the mouse to turn the screen—Chain Sword Strike! Swish, swish, swish, three consecutive strikes, and the high-level Longquan Swordsman's health instantly dropped to two-thirds. The high-level Longquan Swordsman, realizing what happened, panicked.

He immediately initiated an aggressive attack.

Heh, is that your composure? Xiao Buli already had a strategy to win, still fighting while retreating, gradually wearing down the health. With victory in sight, the high-level Longquan Swordsman lunged with a straight thrust—Riding the Wind Style.

Xiao Buli repeated the old trick, continued the Emergency Dodge, and as they passed by each other, the high-level Longquan Swordsman suddenly halted, adopting the Crane Stance, standing on one leg with arms swinging, and forcefully executed a 180-degree sharp turn on the spot. In the next moment, the glint of the sword in his hand flickered.

Ultimate Skills—Riding the Wind and Chasing Shadows! His body followed the motion of the sword, dragging out several afterimages heading straight for Xiao Buli.

The Emergency Dodge cooldown hadn't reset, and he was in an immobile rigid state. At the critical moment, Xiao Buli executed a Cloud Ascension Leap into the air, barely avoiding that powerful strike.

However, the high-level Longquan Swordsman didn't dawdle. Seeing his Ultimate Skills missed, he didn't turn back to continue the fight but instead cupped one fist in the other and said, "Your swordsmanship is superior, I have lost."

"I appreciate it." Xiao Buli typed hurriedly as he wasn't sure if the opponent could hear him amidst the chaos.

Next was the challenge against the swordsmanship master, and this time it was a named NPC.

Ye Feng—Swordsmanship Master.

Just by looking at his appearance, he was completely different from the previous two, and being a named character, he was also a high-level elite with a dark blue name. Xiao Buli immediately felt quite pressured upon seeing him.

Actually, if he could use all his skills, Xiao Buli was quite confident, about seventy to eighty percent sure of defeating the opponent. After all, his advantage now was the comprehensive nature of his skills—he could attack and defend, fight at a distance or up close, and even summon. But if he could only use swordsmanship-related skills, it would be difficult.

The opponent was, after all, a high-level elite, the equivalent of a mini-BOSS in a dungeon. Even without a BOSS template, it was not to be underestimated.

Although not very sure, Xiao Buli still felt it was necessary to give it a try.

Ye Feng stood with his sword poised, apparently very stylish, "You want to challenge me to earn the title of Swordsmanship Master? Hmph, you indeed have guts. But I won't draw my sword easily."

Could there be another quest, Xiao Buli wondered?

Ye Feng: "To challenge and earn the title of Swordsmanship Master, you must pay a fee of 30 silver coins."

Damn, and here I thought it was something serious. Xiao Buli thought to himself that these NPCs really were dead set on money, demanding payment for everything.

After paying the 30 silver coins, Ye Feng then leaped onto the stage. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)