True Solution of the Sword Dao

Otherwise, if the trial site were easily discovered, it would be impossible to grow and expand.

Placing the trial site in a concealed location and setting up a teleportation gate to enter the trial is the only way to achieve optimal security measures.

At this moment, Lin Fei deeply realized the trouble of insufficient space evolution degree.

"Setting up a spatial teleportation point..." a flash of realization crossed Lin Fei’s eyes. The Swordsmanship Club, although increasingly vast, brought him an ever more insipid power, utterly unhelpful. However, it was undeniable that among his subordinates’ several forces, the Swordsmanship Club, especially the current club, had the most members.

And this space trial in front of him could lead these seasoned students, who had a certain foundation in swordsmanship, to gain strength beyond ordinary people.

However, to address this, the content of the trial had to be resolved first.

A complete plan and layout instantly emerged in Lin Fei’s mind.

**************

Ping City Swordsmanship Headquarters

Inside a quiet room.

The entire room was pitch black, with black walls, black floors, and a black ceiling. There were no windows, only a square skylight on one side, through which a stream of bright light formed a beam hitting the center of the floor.

A beautiful woman, dressed in a black silk practice outfit, sat quietly before the beam, her eyes firmly closed, as if in meditation or perhaps resting.

Behind her on the wall, a huge banner with the character for "sword" in black on a white background quietly hung.

On the huge white silk cloth, there was just one character—sword.

It was strikingly conspicuous!

Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes; a flash of gold vanished as quickly as it appeared in her bright, clear eyes.

"Trial?" she muttered, slightly frowning.

Click!

The door on the right side of the quiet room slowly opened.

"Sister in Gold," a woman dressed entirely in plain white stood at the door, softly calling out.

The woman in gold continued sitting, her face showing a contemplative expression, ignoring the woman at the door. After a moment, she finally stood up.

She straightened her black practice outfit and stood barefoot in front of the beam.

"Ruoruo, come in," she said softly.

The woman in white at the door took off her shoes, entered wearing only white socks, then gently closed the door.

The entire quiet room was once again isolated from the outside world.

"How many branches does the Swordsmanship Club have now?" the woman in gold asked.

"Three, with a total of 1,256 members," Xu Ruoruo reported precisely, "That’s the number we quickly increased to after lowering the prices, including the members from the swordsmanship academies we manage."

"Out of these thousand-plus people, how many are genuinely interested in Sword Dao and can stick with it?" the woman in gold asked indifferently.

"I and several instructors have observed and compiled statistics, about two hundred people are extremely fond of swordsmanship. These individuals come from well-off families; either bureaucrats or the exceedingly wealthy. Some even from gang-affiliated families. They don’t care about tuition or whether their future prospects could make money. This group is the most likely to become key members of the swordsmanship core. However, these people are not just from Ping City and the surrounding cities. Most are from out of town, attracted by our fame. Many of them view swordsmanship as a way to discipline their will," Xu Ruoruo had clearly prepared thoroughly.

"Over two hundred people..." the woman in gold murmured, "Very good, possibly influenced by that incident at the hotel a while ago?"

"Indeed," Xu Ruoruo nodded. Some time ago, when President Lin Fei’s sister was involved in a conflict, she had intervened, severing over a dozen handguns with a single sword stroke, a scene that obviously ignited a fervent interest and aspiration among the disillusioned youths.

The resulting viral publicity and benefits were beyond Xu Ruoruo’s expectations.

Especially the recent influx of these two hundred-plus members, mostly young people with strong minds and big ambitions. They were highly malleable, eventually following the paths arranged by their families, acquiring various statuses and identities. Some would be official figures, some heirs in business, leaders in the underworld, or professionals in regular occupations.

Under such circumstances, if they could completely win over this group, using the Swordsmanship Club as their bond to form a substantial collective, it would definitely be a great boost for the covert development of the club’s potential forces.

Most crucially...

A slight ripple appeared in the woman in gold’s eyes.

The Extinction Holy Hall, projecting an avatar and soon starting trials that would grant ordinary people special abilities tied to the Extinction Holy Hall, was a method that perfectly matched the expansion of the Swordsmanship Club.

If these people, by day, were of various identities, yet by night, wielded special and formidable powers as swordsmanship masters, then such a network of forces, such a development model, would covertly gather ordinary people into a power no force could underestimate. This was the critical moment for the Swordsmanship Club to escape its awkward position.

"Immediately give me the files on these two hundred people. Then have your team bring everyone together within a week. This is the time to change their fates, and the time for our Swordsmanship Club to completely transform!" the woman in gold declared resolutely.

"Okay," Xu Ruoruo nodded heavily.

"Also, prepare to start expanding the branches. The Tower of the Dark Night is encroaching, and with the people from the Fire God Cult around, plus the upper Five Stars selection, it’s quite chaotic—it’s also our chance to expand."

"Yes," Xu Ruoruo said, "I’ll notify the other Chief Instructors right away."

*****************

Ping City Swordsmanship Club

"Hey, Qi Yinglong!"

A young boy dressed in a white swordsmanship uniform frowned and turned around.

"What’s up, Fang Hai?" His voice was faint.

Behind him, another boy in a white swordsmanship uniform jogged over.

Both had just finished a collective training session at the main Swordsmanship Club.

The area was filled with other trainees who had participated in the collective training. Being trained collectively by the main club meant that the trainees were recognized for their potential and ability, and it also meant that all expenses were completely covered.

Qi Yinglong and Fang Hai had met during the training. Originally, Qi Yinglong was just a street thug who hung out with a few buddies and ran some small video arcades, having dropped out of school to mess around every day. Initially, he had enrolled in the nearby Swordsmanship Club with the intention of learning some basic swordsmanship to show off.

Unexpectedly, once he joined, the footwork, attack techniques, and fighting points taught there significantly helped him stand out in two subsequent gang fights.

Since then, he had vaguely realized that this Swordsmanship Club was not ordinary.

Moreover, he observed that the street where the Swordsmanship Club was located used to be under the control of another boss, a thug called Eight Jin who was much stronger than him. But since the opening of the Swordsmanship Club, Eight Jin, who used to wander around his territory every day, had simply disappeared. His younger brothers said that it seemed he was reassigned elsewhere.

The opening of the Swordsmanship Club faced no interference whatsoever. Whether it was the legitimate or illegitimate forces, it had all green lights.

This realization piqued Qi Yinglong’s interest.

Indeed, he was intrigued.

He sensed the approximate power of the Swordsmanship Club—able to allow both legal and illegal forces in Ping City to yield like a green light—such an organization must have an exceptional leader behind it. If he could become a part of this force, he saw an opportunity for a meteoric rise!

So, his training in swordsmanship became even more diligent. That led him to stand out and be selected as a trainee for this session.

Fang Hai jogged over to Qi Yinglong’s side.

"How is it? Any gains?" he asked with a smile. "Anyway, I’ve mastered that ’One Sword View of the Sea’ move. It’s damn stylish. I practiced it for three hours at home yesterday. Just this move!"

Qi Yinglong nodded slightly without saying a word, just listening.

Fang Hai was the first friend he’d made here, and the last. The only one.

The training session had a very high number of trainees, seemingly a couple hundred.

The multi-story building of the main Swordsmanship Club was constantly bustling with trainees in white uniforms. Just the swordsmanship room he was in had over forty people.

Among the others, as he observed, there were about a dozen like him—local small-time ruffians and tough girls—seemingly with the same intentions as him: to rise up the ranks through the Swordsmanship Club. For now, their tuition and board were all covered for free, and if they wished, accommodation could also be provided with just a registration, exemplifying the benefits and privileges of a high-level student.

Therefore, it’s understandable for these delinquents without a steady income to join the club.

But besides them, most were trainees like Fang Hai.

Fang Hai’s father was a director of a conglomerate in the provincial capital of Fengyang, and his mother owned several beauty salon chains. He was quite wealthy. Fang Hai was also destined to inherit his parents’ wealth. Growing up without a care in the world.

Like him, most of the other trainees were either children of officials above a certain level or extremely wealthy families. Each one carried an air of arrogance, exuding a self-centered pride.

However, Fang Hai was an exception. He completely lacked any sense of superiority from his family background, and instead, he was very friendly with the outstanding Qi Yinglong. He always initiated their meetings, and it had been that way for the two weeks of training.

That was also the reason Qi Yinglong was willing to associate with Fang Hai. Although Qi Yinglong aspired to climb higher, he had his own pride. He disdained the idea of using sycophancy to advance and wanted to achieve his goals through his own strength and effort. That was his principle.

Fang Hai, by Qi Yinglong’s side, could talk about anything under the sun, very talkative. Sometimes Qi Yinglong wondered if Fang Hai didn’t care who was beside him, as long as someone listened to him talk, he was satisfied.

The two of them walked towards the elevator exit like the other trainees.

"All trainees, please wait a moment." Suddenly, a deep male voice came from behind them. "There is an urgent message."

The speaker was their instructor for this session, a man in his fifties named Chen Yifei—his face bore traces of a tough life, and besides the sharpness typical of swordsmen, he also had a very stable demeanor, obviously settled by life’s experiences.

Chen Yifei put down his phone, looking at the many students who had stopped in their tracks because of his words.

"A directive from the main club has come, the following students in this training session will be added to the core group. Everyone return here for now, wait while I read the list," Chen Yifei said calmly. His confidence was strong, even when facing the young masters and ladies before him, he remained composed, a confidence gifted by the Swordsmanship Club. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)