Apocalyptic Sequence

Chapter 4 Apprenticeship at the Martial Arts School

The social atmosphere of the Eastern Empire Federation is very martial.

Thanks to this, while martial arts schools in Nanjing can't be said to be everywhere, they are certainly as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Choosing a good martial arts school became a problem that troubled Lu Fan.

Fortunately, Lu Fan, as a modern internet addict, is best at collecting information on the internet.

He immediately opened Dianping (a Chinese review platform) and selected from the top-rated martial arts schools.

Soon, Lu Fan selected the three martial arts schools with the highest overall ratings, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Storm Martial Arts Academy: Primarily teaches boxing, specializing in resolving everything with fists. It offers the most affordable apprenticeship fees; ordinary peripheral disciples only need to pay 2,000 yuan to learn boxing from the master for a month.

Leiya Martial Arts School: Primarily teaches physical cultivation techniques and specializes in teaching people how to use physical techniques to achieve longevity and health. The fees are moderate to high. The outermost anonymous disciples need to pay a membership fee of 5,000 yuan to be eligible to study for one month.

Fuling Knife School: Primarily teaches Tang Dynasty knife techniques. The basics are relatively simple, but further improvement depends heavily on individual talent. It starts easy and progresses to more difficult techniques. Moreover, the tuition is the most expensive of the three schools. Ordinary students need to pay a membership fee of 30,000 yuan to be eligible to join Fuling Knife School and become an unofficial disciple on the outermost perimeter.

Which one to choose?

Lu Fan had a plan in mind. He first ruled out physical health techniques, since he didn't learn martial arts for health reasons, because zombies wouldn't compete with you in terms of lifespan.

Secondly, you can choose between Storm Martial Arts School and Fortune Knife School.

After a moment's consideration, Lu Fan chose the Fuling Knife Hall.

Although the fees at this school are high, the sword techniques it mainly teaches perfectly suit Lu Fan's needs.

Fighting zombies hand-to-hand might sound cool, but it's still very dangerous. Even though he's taken a virus antibody drug and isn't afraid of the virus's contagiousness, zombies have teeth and will bite people on their own.

Using a knife can reduce the risk to some extent.

The difficulty of killing a zombie with a single blow is definitely less than the difficulty of smashing its head with a single punch.

Most importantly, the ancestral sword techniques of Fuling Sword Hall are easy to learn but difficult to improve later, which is perfect for Lu Fan.

Because he has the help of the player panel, once he successfully gets the basics down, he can use experience points to improve. It couldn't be more perfect. It's truly a martial art made for him.

Aside from being expensive, Fuling Knife Shop has no other drawbacks.

Lu Fan had just taken out 300,000 yuan in online loans, so money was the last thing he needed.

"Choose Fukurei Knife School!"

Lu Fan immediately went out, used a mobile app to call a Didi, and followed the information on the map to the most bustling downtown area of ​​Jinling City.

After getting out of the car, you'll see the Fuling Knife Club's grounds right in front of you.

What comes into view is an extremely luxurious hall. Behind the revolving glass doors, a crystal chandelier hangs from the magnificent ceiling. The lamps are made of hundreds of exquisitely cut crystals strung together. The floor is made of a single piece of warm and smooth white marble, which has been polished and refined by craftsmen. It reflects the image of every traveler who enters the hall.

There were also young waiters at the entrance responsible for parking; in terms of decoration and facilities, it was no less than a five-star hotel.

Lu Fan stepped into the hall and came to the reception desk.

The pretty young woman in charge of reception, upon seeing Lu Fan's plain attire, did not show the expected disdain. Instead, she asked him very politely and courteously:

"Sir, how may I help you?"

Although Lu Fan's clothes were ordinary, it didn't mean he was poor. These days, service staff who judge by appearance are outdated.

In high-end venues, the quality of service personnel is generally not too bad.

Jokes about being discriminated against because of one's clothing only exist in short dramas or novels.

"I would like to apply for an apprenticeship."

Lu Fan got straight to the point and stated his purpose directly.

"Sir, our apprenticeship program costs 30,000 yuan per month. After payment, you can participate in courses and enjoy personal guidance from renowned teachers..." The waitress spoke eloquently, about to continue her sales pitch, when she saw Lu Fan take out his phone and quickly scan the QR code to transfer the money.

"Ding! Alipay has received 30000 yuan!"

That's so straightforward!

The waitress was stunned. Thirty thousand yuan was no small sum; it was equivalent to several months' salary for her. The fact that the other party paid so readily meant that they didn't care about the thirty thousand yuan at all.

As expected, he's a hidden rich kid; his family's financial situation is definitely not bad... The waitress became even more diligent, and was glad that she hadn't judged him by his appearance. Indeed, these days, you can't tell someone's family background just by their clothes.

"Sir, please follow me into the museum."

"My name is Hu Mei, you can just call me Xiao Mei."

Hu Mei diligently led Lu Fan inside, and the two walked along the corridor, where Hu Mei introduced him to the knife shop.

According to Hu Mei's introduction, after paying the membership fee, Lu Fan has become an external student (an unofficial disciple) and can participate in the daily teaching of the knife school.

刀馆授课在上午8点到11点，下午2点到5点，以及晚上的7点到10点。

Each lesson lasts about three hours, during which at least one renowned instructor is present at the knife-making studio.

Above the master instructors are the head instructor and two deputy head instructors, all of whom are masters of swordsmanship and occasionally come to the swordsmanship school to teach courses.

However, to participate in their courses, one must at least become a formal disciple, also known as a nominal disciple.

This is something that money alone cannot achieve; one must at least possess exceptional swordsmanship talent and be favored by a renowned master, who will jointly recommend one as a formal disciple.

During their conversation, the two had already arrived at the locker room.

Lu Fan changed into a martial arts uniform, came out of the changing room, and followed Hu Mei to the martial arts room at the end of the room.

Inside the martial arts room, a renowned master was already instructing his disciples.

Groups of disciples, all dressed in martial arts uniforms and each holding an unopened standard longsword, practiced their swordsmanship diligently in front of wooden dummy dummies under the supervision of their master.

Seeing Hu Mei bring in a newcomer, a few disciples shifted their attention to look Lu Fan up and down, while the rest of the disciples did not turn their heads and focused on training their own swordsmanship.

The apprenticeship fee at Fuling Knife School is not cheap; it costs 30,000 yuan for a month of training.

Even if they can afford the tuition, the stubborn children from wealthy families who come to Fuling Knife School to learn are often there with a certain degree of sincerity.

I want to learn martial arts properly, so I won't waste time worrying about others.

That's why, after observing for a while, the few people who were observing quickly looked away.

The disciples in the martial arts room displayed an astonishing enthusiasm for learning, and the air was filled with the sound of weapons whistling through the wind.

The renowned teacher in charge of instructing everyone stepped forward and looked Lu Fan up and down, saying:

"New guy, did you learn martial arts before?"

"No, I have absolutely no martial arts background."

Lu Fan shook his head and answered the other party truthfully.

"A complete newbie..."

The renowned teacher shook his head and then said, "My name is Lei Yun, you can just call me Brother Yun."

"Next, I will teach you a basic beginner-level sword technique called the Black Tiger Sword Technique."

"If you can master this sword technique within a month, I will make an exception and recommend you as a formal disciple, qualified to learn the Fuling Sword Technique, the Fuling Sword Hall's trump card."

Study hard, and I believe you will benefit greatly.

After saying that, Lei Yun went to the shelf next to him and took down a long sword.

Then Lei Yun came to the wooden dummy and loudly reminded him, "When practicing swordsmanship, the most important thing is to chop. I will first teach you how to gather the strength of half your body to make a slash, as well as the footwork to coordinate with swordsmanship. Watch carefully—"

Clang!

Lei Yun's knife instantly transformed into a heavy slash, striking the wooden dummy hard.

In an instant, sawdust flew everywhere.

"Remember my footwork, and the power I generate when I chop with my sword..."

Lei Yun stepped forward, tossed the long sword in his hand to Lu Fan, and then personally instructed him on how to generate power from his waist, how to twist his body, and the corresponding footwork.

Clang!

Lu Fan imitated Lei Yun, swinging his sword and slashing repeatedly.

However, it is easy to see but difficult to learn. Despite Lei Yun's smooth and flowing movements, which seem very easy and simple, when it came to actually trying it himself, Lu Fan either applied the wrong force or made a mistake in his footwork, and he was never able to replicate the essence of Lei Yun's sword strike.

Seeing this, Lei Yun secretly shook his head, believing that Lu Fan did not have outstanding talent in martial arts.

So, after teaching Lu Fan for a quarter of an hour, he sent him off to practice on the wooden dummy under the pretext of self-study.

Then Lei Yun turned and went to the other apprentices to supervise their sword practice.

Lu Fan was not discouraged. It was expected that he would not have martial arts talent. However, there was one crucial thing that Lei Yun did not know: he had a player panel.

Once you've mastered the basics, even the most difficult skills can be learned through experience points.

With this in mind, Lu Fan practiced that strike diligently.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With each strike aimed at the wooden dummy, Lu Fan's movements gradually became more precise.

This scene, witnessed by Lei Yun from afar, made him secretly shake his head. Lu Fan's learning progress was too slow; he had the aptitude of an ordinary person and no outstanding martial arts talent.

As expected, martial arts geniuses are not so easy to find.

Finally, about an hour later...

As Lu Fan was about to unleash that strike, a sudden inspiration struck him.

Clang!

This strike had a hint of artistry, but it was still far from being as powerful as Lei Yun's.

But it was this one strike that caused a change in Lu Fan's stats.

[Hint: Through diligent practice, you have mastered the Black Tiger Blade Technique (Lv.1)!]

Successfully grasped the concept!

Lu Fan's face lit up with joy, and he quickly focused his mind on it.

A progress bar (0/100) appeared at the end of the Black Tiger Blade Technique.

This is the experience value for the Black Tiger Blade Technique. You need to accumulate 100 experience points to upgrade to Lv.2.

Lu Fan discovered that all his skills, even the highest-level Chinese language skill (Lv.4), were currently at 100 experience points to level up.

In other words, the experience bar will not increase if the skill level is low.

"Maybe I need to reach Lv.5, or even a higher level, before the experience bar starts to increase?"

Lu Fan silently guessed that this was good news for him.

Because the 300 experience points I have are enough to upgrade the Black Tiger Blade Technique to Lv.4.

With that in mind, Lu Fan no longer hesitated and poured all 300 experience points into the Black Tiger Blade Technique.

[Notification: You have consumed 100 experience points, and your Black Tiger Blade Technique has reached Lv.2!]

[Notification: You have consumed 100 experience points, and your Black Tiger Blade Technique has reached Lv.3!]

[Notification: You have consumed 100 experience points, and your Black Tiger Blade Technique has reached Lv.4!]

--boom!

A whole host of swordsmanship knowledge inexplicably surfaced in Lu Fan's mind. At the same time, his mastery of swordsmanship was also improving rapidly, as if it were an instinct, and the ability to hone his skills through countless trials was becoming integrated into himself.

A few seconds later, when the boost ended, Lu Fan let out a long breath.

The next moment, he swung his long sword and unleashed a barrage of sword techniques at the wooden dummy.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each strike precisely hit the vital points of the wooden dummy. At the same time, Lu Fan's feet did not stop. He moved with exquisite steps, his whole body like a dancing elf, soaring proudly in the storm of swordsmanship.

The scene was so loud that it attracted the attention of everyone nearby.

Lei Yun, in particular, was completely stunned when he saw Lu Fan's swordsmanship and footwork.

What... what is this?!

Black Tiger Saber Technique...Mastered!

Lei Yun stared wide-eyed, almost unable to believe what was happening before his eyes.