Chapter 40: Seven Skills part 1
The eighteen testing mannequins switched to Grade Five mode.
As Jin Taichu channeled more source energy into the weapon, the attack values grew stronger and stronger. Ultimately, the maximum power of the first skill’s “Sword Qi Circle” reached a value of 30.
Even though it was an area-of-effect skill, at Grade Four, it had achieved a value equivalent to a Grade Five single-target attack.
Such a value was something that even Grade Five mass-produced area-of-effect weapons might not necessarily achieve.
Of course, Jin Taichu was only able to reach this level because, as a Grade Eight ability warrior, the source energy within his body was abundant. Had it been a Grade Four warrior, they absolutely could not have achieved such test results.
Once the first skill’s testing concluded, Jin Taichu began testing the second skill.
The method for testing the second skill was a mobility test.
The staff added movement devices to the mannequins. Once the test began, the eighteen mannequins would move in an irregular, unpredictable pattern.
Jin Taichu activated the second skill.
The pleasant voice of the announcer reached the audience: “The second skill of this source weapon has been temporarily named ‘Tracking Sword’ by our team.”
“Its method of attack is to first designate a target. As long as sufficient source energy is channeled into the weapon, the ability warrior can ignore the target and focus on other things. For the duration that follows, the skill will not dissipate until the ‘Tracking Sword’ strikes its target. Once it successfully hits, a massive amount of source energy will be released instantly to deliver a fatal blow.” After a pause, the announcer added, “The ‘Tracking Sword’ has strong obstacle-avoidance capabilities. Out of the eighteen mannequins, it will consciously avoid the others to strike only its designated target. This prevents any waste of source energy.”
As the announcer explained, the crowd watched as a golden sword qi chased after one specific mannequin. During this process, the other seventeen mannequins, under manual control, attempted to interfere. However, each time, the Tracking Sword precisely bypassed them and continued its pursuit of the target mannequin.
The announcer’s voice continued: “The greatest strength of this skill is that once it is released, one no longer needs to worry about that specific target.”
Following the commentary, the second skill, Tracking Sword, finally bypassed all obstacles and launched a direct attack on the target mannequin.
In the next moment, the struck mannequin broadcast the attack value in a mechanical voice.
[ -68 ]
A Grade Four source weapon, with its second skill ‘Tracking Sword,’ had achieved an attack value of 68 in Grade Five mode with just a casual strike. This was significantly higher than the output of the first area-of-effect skill.
The bullet chat was flying across the screen.
[ So basically, as long as I have this skill, I only need to worry about inputting source energy, and I can ignore everything else while it consciously hunts the target! ]
[ I’m imagining it now—if this ability can be released multiple times simultaneously, then if I’m in a one-on-ten situation, can I just release the skills and then go do my homework in peace? ]
[ I think that’s theoretically possible? ]
Amidst the sea of questions, Jin Taichu released the second skill for a second and third time.
These two attacks reached values of 70 and 72 in Grade Five mode, respectively.
One had to admit, this was an incredibly attractive skill. According to the people in the live stream, it was a “god-tier” skill that didn’t require effort and possessed its own consciousness.
Next, testing began for the third skill.
The announcer continued the explanation: “The third skill is temporarily named ‘Consecutive Swords’ by us.”
“’Consecutive Swords’ is a single-target skill. Once the inscription is lit, many sword qi are formed in a short period and burst out instantly, with their attack values stacking.”
Following the announcer’s words, Jin Taichu used the third skill.
True to its description as a skill that stacked damage in a short burst, when the first sword qi hit the mannequin, the value was only 17 in Grade Five mode. However, in an instant, the second, the third…
With a large amount of sword qi stacking in a short time, the value directly hit the Grade Five upper limit of 99.
The announcer said, “The advantage of the second skill, Tracking Sword, is its autonomous consciousness, while its disadvantage is that it consumes quite a bit of source energy.”
“The third skill, Consecutive Swords, does not possess autonomous consciousness like the second skill. However, the output value of this skill is stronger. In our tests, its attack value occasionally enters the Grade Six range. Most importantly, the source energy required for this skill is less than half of what the second skill needs. it is very energy-efficient yet possesses formidable attack power.”
The bullet chat began to spam the screen again.
During this process, Jin Taichu tested the third skill twice more, both times exceeding Grade Six values.
As the test records for this source weapon were forwarded by countless people, more and more users joined the stream. The viewership was increasing at an extremely rapid pace.
Jin Taichu began the test for the fourth skill.
The announcer gave the routine explanation: “Compared to the vast majority of source weapons, the design of this weapon in this regard is truly ingenious. According to the masters of the Source Weapon Association, this method also maximizes material savings. Its fourth skill is temporarily named ‘Tracking Consecutive Swords’ by us.”
“It is a combination of the second skill, Tracking Sword, and the third skill, Consecutive Swords.”
“Its effect is that the sword qi of Consecutive Swords is dispersed and triggered in the manner of Tracking Sword. It can attack multiple people at once, making it an area-of-effect skill.”
While the announcer explained, Jin Taichu had already utilized the fourth skill. His targets were the eighteen high-speed moving mannequins.
The announcer continued: “This skill setting is very clever. As an area-of-effect skill, the targets for each sword qi are interconnected; they will consciously attack the target closest to them.”
As the explanation went on, streaks of sword qi struck the mannequins.
The mannequins provided the attack values.
The announcer continued: “Compared to the single-target second and third skills, the output value of the fourth area-of-effect skill is relatively lower, ranging between Grade Four and Grade Five. However, without a doubt, after using this skill—if the strength gap is large enough—one really can ignore the battle and go do their homework, just as some in the chat suggested.”
“Additionally, do you all remember ‘Wuhua,’ which was previously appraised by the Source Weapon Association? Because ‘Wuhua’ has a passive skill effect, all its skills avoid allies. While this source weapon does not have that specific passive, its second and fourth skills only attack their designated targets, which also prevents them from hitting teammates!”
After the fourth skill test ended, it was the turn of the fifth.
The fifth skill was also an area-of-effect skill, temporarily named “Myriad Swords Released” by the organizers.
The name was chosen because at the moment the inscription was ignited, the sword qi would be limitless, scaling with the source energy provided by the ability warrior. As long as there was enough energy, it really could form ten thousand sword qi, or even exceed that number.
When most source weapons possessed similar large-scale area-of-effect skills, the inscriptions might suffer a short circuit. However, “Myriad Swords Released” performed exceptionally well in this regard. The inscription’s stability was extremely high; unless the physical engraving was damaged, it would not short-circuit.
After the fifth skill test concluded, the announcer said, “Now we shall test the sixth skill, which is also the final skill of this source weapon.”
“As everyone might expect, the final skill is absolutely the strongest skill of a source weapon. This one is no exception. The sixth skill is a single-target attack and its most powerful offensive move!”
“Our side has temporarily named it: ‘Sky-Breaking Sword’.”
“The name is indeed a bit chuunibyou, but there is a reason for it.”
“As everyone has seen, this source weapon is a very pure offensive-type weapon. It has no defense, no buffs, and no escape skills. It is truly a singular, pure attack-type source weapon. And its final skill…”
As the announcer spoke, the audience saw Jin Taichu use the sixth skill, Sky-Breaking Sword.
At first, they saw a light sword that was a blend of white and gold. Then, they watched with their own eyes as the sword grew larger and larger…
Big, bigger, massive…
The announcer’s voice reached everyone’s ears: “Many masters from the Source Weapon Association have said that this source inscription shouldn’t actually be a Grade Four inscription. However, due to the limitations of the source materials, its grade remains at Grade Four. If higher-grade materials were used, its grade would definitely see a significant leap.”
“Its uniqueness lies in its incredibly strong inclusivity. According to our appraisal, as the ability warrior channels source energy into the inscription, the energy flows through all the inscriptions, forming a large energy reservoir. Ultimately, it is funneled into the final skill, the ‘Sky-Breaking Sword.’ Just like now, look at its size; it has transformed from a point of light into something dozens of meters tall.”
The many live-stream drones flapped their little wings, filming from a distance to perfectly present the light sword before everyone’s eyes.
Through the stream, everyone felt that compared to the light sword, both the testing mannequins and the tester controlling it appeared extremely tiny.
The announcer’s voice reached the audience again: “According to our tests, in this specific trial, the maximum output of the final ‘Sky-Breaking Sword’ has directly reached the peak value of Grade Six.”
“Yes, you heard correctly. The output of the second and third single-target skills of this weapon were only at Grade Five, but the sixth skill directly reached the peak of Grade Six!” After a pause, she continued, “Because of its massive size, its destructive range is very wide. In that sense, it can also be considered a range-destruction skill.”
“Hearing this, everyone should now understand why, among so many source weapons in the preliminaries, this Grade Four weapon was the only one to break through and be selected as one of the ten strongest. It is because its attack power is truly formidable.” Its flaws were equally obvious: every skill required a massive amount of source energy to support it.
If this weapon could just consume a little less energy, it might have been the highest-quality weapon of the entire preliminaries.
Following the announcer’s words, Jin Taichu utilized the strongest strike.
In an instant, the light sword slashed down—
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