A nearby instructor blinked.
"Young man, do you mean 4th layer Spirit Opening?"
"Yes."
The instructor looked at Elder Su.
"Elder, his realm is 4th layer?"
Elder Su's eyes remained on Qin Yuan.
"It is."
The instructor hesitated.
"For a first combat evaluation, a 2nd layer or 3rd layer simulant may be safer. The fourth-layer units have real impact force. Even with suppression settings, broken bones are possible."
Qin Yuan said, "Fourth layer is fine."
Several youths exchanged looks.
The blue-coated youth from earlier smiled wider.
"Oh, he is confident."
"Or crazy."
"Maybe he thinks being calm makes him strong."
"Honestly, I respect the attitude. I also want to see him get folded."
The silver-glasses girl frowned harder.
"That is ugly of you."
The young man shrugged.
"Ugly? Maybe. But everyone is thinking it."
Elder Su did not stop Qin Yuan.
She only asked, "Weapon?"
"Sword."
The instructor gestured toward a weapon rack.
"Training-grade or real edge?"
"High Common Rank sword."
That made more people look over.
A High Common Rank weapon was not divine treasure, but it was already far beyond ordinary training gear. For an apprentice alchemist entering a casual evaluation, it was excessive.
The instructor hesitated again.
"You are sure?"
Qin Yuan nodded.
The instructor brought over a slim sword in a black sheath.
"This is a High Common Rank association practice sword. Cloudline Steel. Reinforced edge. Spirit Qi conducting grade is decent. It will not shatter under 4th layer impact."
Qin Yuan accepted it.
The sword was much better than the mission blade he had used before.
Lighter.
Cleaner.
More responsive to Spirit Qi.
The hilt fit his hand with just enough weight to stabilize his wrist without slowing him down.
Sword Mastery Talent stirred faintly.
Qin Yuan drew the blade.
A clean silver light slid out.
The hall quieted a little.
Not because the sword was impressive.
Because Qin Yuan's hand was steady.
Too steady.
He stepped onto the platform.
A transparent barrier rose around it.
The selected robot stood on the other side.
Its body was human-shaped, roughly six feet tall, with smooth black armor plates over its chest, arms, and legs. Blue formation lines lit across its joints. Its crystal eyes opened with a cold glow.
A mana-screen appeared above the stage.
SPIRIT-COMBAT SIMULANT 4-S.
MODE: MARTIAL CULTIVATOR.
REALM OUTPUT: SPIRIT OPENING, 4TH LAYER.
COMBAT STYLE: WIND ATTRIBUTE CLOSE-RANGE MARTIAL ARTS.
SAFETY LIMIT: STANDARD APPRENTICE PROTECTION.
Elder Su looked at Qin Yuan.
"Do you need the safety limit lowered?"
The hall went quiet.
That was not a normal question.
Qin Yuan thought for a moment.
"No need."
Some people laughed under their breath.
"At least he is not that crazy."
"Yeah, because he knows he might get smashed."
Qin Yuan did not care.
The robot's body lowered slightly.
Spirit Qi activated.
Wind swept across the stage.
The robot's aura burst outward in a pale-green wave, pushing dust away from its feet. Air whistled around its arms as if invisible blades were forming along its fingers.
The barrier trembled faintly.
Several younger apprentices took half a step back.
"That pressure is pretty strong."
"Of course it is. Fourth-layer combat unit. These things hit like actual sect disciples."
"Think he regrets it?"
"He hasn't moved."
"Fear, obviously."
On the stage, Qin Yuan stood motionless.
His black clothes barely fluttered.
His sword hung loosely at his side.
The robot's aura washed over him.
Qin Yuan blinked once.
Weak.
That was his honest reaction.
Not completely useless.
But weak.
Compared to his improved foundation, his Body Opening strength, his upgraded Spirit Sense, his Danger Perception, and the life-and-death pressure he had felt against beasts, this robot's aura did not feel like a storm.
It barely felt like a breeze.
He studied the flow of wind Spirit Qi around the robot's legs.
Stable.
Efficient.
But predictable.
Qin Yuan's mind settled.
For the start, he only wanted to test reaction speed.
The robot moved.
Its first step cracked against the stage.
Wind exploded beneath its feet.
To most apprentices, it looked fast.
A black blur crossed ten meters in an instant, palm raised, Spirit Qi spiraling across its fingers. The attack came toward Qin Yuan's chest, not fatal under safety limits, but strong enough to blast him back.
Several watchers inhaled.
"He's not dodging!"
"Move!"
Elder Su's gaze sharpened.
Qin Yuan watched the robot approach.
Too slow.
The thought was calm.
Not prideful.
Just factual.
With even half his talents active, the movement looked stretched out, like a slow picture dragged across glass.
The robot's shoulder rotated.
Its wrist angle shifted.
The wind around its palm compressed.
Qin Yuan saw the impact point before the attack arrived.
He did not use his sword.
He did not circulate Spirit Qi.
He simply lifted his left hand.
His hand shot forward.
The movement was so sudden that the noise around the stage died instantly.
For a split second, the watching youths could not process what happened.
Qin Yuan's palm struck the robot's wrist.
Not hard.
Not flashy.
Just exact.
The wind around the robot's hand scattered as if someone had cut the support line beneath it.
Then Qin Yuan's fingers closed around the robot's metal wrist.
The robot stopped.
Completely.
Its forward momentum vanished.
Its arm trembled.
The stage beneath Qin Yuan's feet cracked faintly, but his body did not move.
The robot's blue eyes flickered.
The hall fell silent.
A young body cultivator near the front stared with his mouth half-open.
"He… caught it?"
Someone beside him whispered, "With one hand?"
"That is a combat robot. Do you know how much joint force those things have?"
"Body cultivators avoid catching them directly unless they are trained for it."
"He is an alchemist."
The blue-coated youth no longer smiled.
The silver-glasses girl slowly pushed her glasses higher on her nose.
Elder Su's eyes deepened.
Qin Yuan studied the robot for another second.
The machine tried to adjust pressure.
Its shoulder joint rotated.
Its other hand began to rise.
Qin Yuan let go.
Casually.
The robot instantly jumped backward, landing several meters away.
Wind Spirit Qi erupted again.
This time, its aura rose to peak 4th layer.
The platform's air pressure changed.
The robot's feet slid into a lower stance.
Its arms spread.
Lines of wind gathered around its body, twisting into sharp arcs.
The mana-screen updated.
COMBAT INTENSITY INCREASED.
MARTIAL SKILL PREPARING.
WIND-SPLITTING CRESCENT PALM.
A true martial skill.
Not a basic attack.
The wind around the robot compressed into a crescent-shaped wave, bright and sharp. The platform floor hummed as the skill locked onto Qin Yuan.
"Now he has to dodge."
"Can he?"
"Catching one attack does not mean he can deal with a martial skill."
The robot thrust both hands forward.
The crescent of wind shot across the stage.
It tore the air apart with a screaming sound.
Qin Yuan finally circulated Spirit Qi.
A faint current moved through his meridians.
His foot pressed against the ground.
Wind burst beneath him.
Not from the robot.
From him.
His body blurred.
To the weaker apprentices, he vanished.
Even several 6th layer Spirit Opening, Mana Opening, and Body Opening youths failed to clearly follow his movement.
One moment, Qin Yuan stood before the wind crescent.
The next, he appeared beside it.
His sword rose.
A casual slash cut down.
There was no grand light.
No roaring technique.
Only a clean silver line.
The wind crescent split apart.
Its Spirit Qi structure collapsed instantly.
The martial skill scattered into dust-like fragments of light.
Before the robot could adjust, Qin Yuan took another step.
He appeared in front of it.
His sword turned sideways.
He slashed with the flat of the blade.
Bang!
The robot flew backward like a broken kite.
Its body smashed into the edge of the barrier, bounced once, and crashed off the combat stage boundary.
The platform screen flashed.
MATCH ENDED.
SPIRIT-COMBAT SIMULANT 4-S RING OUT.
WINNER: QIN YUAN.
No one spoke.
The silence was almost funny.
Qin Yuan lowered his sword.
Notifications appeared in his vision.
Combat Talent Experience +8.4
Sword Mastery Talent Experience +6.7
Reaction Speed Talent Unlocked.
Reaction Speed Talent Experience +5.1
Body Control Talent Experience +4.8
Spirit Qi Burst Movement Experience +3.6
Wind Pattern Observation Experience +2.9
Qin Yuan read the lines once.
Then dismissed them.
Useful.
Not enough.
But useful.
Outside the stage, an older elder in gray robes slowly stroked his beard.
"This child…"
Another elder frowned.
"His movement was not ordinary. That burst step had no wasted Spirit Qi."
"He used the sword like he was correcting the martial skill itself."
"Can he fight above his minor realm?"
"Can? Did that look like a question?"
The gray-robed elder's expression became serious.
"He fought too casually. That is the problem. I cannot tell where his limit is."
Elder Su remained quiet.
She had expected Qin Yuan to have some combat talent.
After all, his foundation had risen, and someone with his level of comprehension would not be completely useless in battle.
But this was different.
A young alchemist showing decent self-defense was normal.
A young alchemist casually suppressing a 4th layer combat robot with physical reaction, movement speed, and clean sword control was not normal.
Especially when he looked like he had used the robot to measure himself rather than to prove anything.
Elder Su suddenly remembered his question.
Does the association have a place to practice combat?
Not "Can I learn combat?"
Not "Can someone teach me?"
Not "Can I try?"
He had asked for a place.
As if he only needed a suitable environment.
Her gaze sharpened.
Qin Yuan stepped off the platform.
The surrounding apprentices instinctively moved aside.
Some looked shocked.
Some embarrassed.
Some jealous.
Some excited.
One young man forced a laugh.
"Not bad. For an alchemist."
His friend whispered, "Bro, shut up."
Qin Yuan did not even glance at him.
He walked to Elder Su and returned the association sword to the instructor.
"Thank you for lending it."
The instructor accepted the sword with a complicated expression.
"You are… welcome."