Chapter Thirteen: Special Training and the Advanced Battle Skill, Thunderous Rage Strike

"Sit!"
"Pour yourself some water."
Upon entering the office, Chu Cheng immediately saw his homeroom teacher, Duan Yuqin, sitting behind the desk. Beside her was Liu Weifei, who was curiously sizing him up, and spoke directly:
"You awakened your talent at level ten?"
Chu Cheng wasn't surprised the teacher knew. After all, he'd caused quite a stir back in Blade Town—the teacher couldn't possibly be unaware. He nodded and replied,
"Yes."
"What kind of talent is it?"
"Uh, I suppose it's a tank type."
It was obvious the homeroom teacher and Assistant Liu's eyes both lit up at this. Duan Yuqin asked,
"Can we have a look?"
He nodded,
"Of course."
With that, he opened his attribute panel, sharing only the effects of his talent.
Option One: Spatial Refraction LV1. Forms a crystalline spatial barrier around the body, absorbing 30 points of all damage and reflecting it to up to ten enemies within a 30-meter radius.
Note: Reflected damage is pure, ignoring both physical defense and magical resistance, and is dealt in full.
Note: The talent can be toggled freely and reflection targets can be controlled.
Note: This talent cannot be dispelled or sealed; its priority is at the domain level.
After reading, both of them glanced up, seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes.
"This talent..."
"Is truly excellent!"
At that moment, Duan Yuqin looked at Chu Cheng with obvious warmth—the gaze a teacher reserves for an outstanding student. After a brief contemplation, she said,
"At the end of the month, don't return immediately. Stay in town for a while longer."
Chu Cheng's eyes brightened and he nodded earnestly,
"Alright."
This was an unmistakable hint of special treatment—a privilege usually reserved only for the class's most exceptional students.
At the end of the month, when the teachers' group went to wipe out the Black Sails Pirate King, the elite students from each class would follow. While they weren't capable of taking on the Pirate King himself, they could still gain a great deal of experience and pick off some minor bosses.

This explained why most students hovered around level eleven or twelve, while the class leader, Wang Weilong, had reached level fourteen. Tagging along for bonus experience, doing it a few more times, and the gap naturally widened.
"Fishing, more fishing."
In the days that followed, Chu Cheng spent his time at the docks, fishing every day.
With all the dungeon bosses and monsters cleared out, and no important storylines remaining, there was little else for his classmates to do. Most started picking up various support professions.
The three most common support skills were fishing, first aid, and cooking. Of these, fishing required the least investment—a rod and some bait, nothing more. Naturally, it was the most popular, and every morning the docks were crowded with students at their lines.
One day, he suddenly received a message from his homeroom teacher, with an attachment.
"Here's a list—see if you need anything. According to school policy, I have the authority to let you pick one for free. Additional choices are two gold each. Remember, don't spread this around."
Opening it, Chu Cheng's spirits soared. It was a list of skills—all of them essential for various melee classes.
Clearly, this was another special favor.
Though skills occasionally appeared for sale on the campus network, the selection was random, and since everyone was a student, no one could farm the dungeon's final bosses to obtain powerful skills.
But it was different for teachers. Every month, they'd clear a round of dungeon bosses, greatly increasing their chances of acquiring rare skills.
These items generally remained with the teachers, not reclaimed by the school, and were reserved as rewards for exams or as special privileges for promising students.
Having awakened his talent as the third in the class, and such a powerful one at that, Chu Cheng had clearly been marked for focused development by his homeroom teacher.
For teachers, performance always mattered—how many students they could send to top universities determined their records.
While the era no longer had the 985 or 211 universities, there were still elite higher education institutions, including those comparable to Tsinghua or Peking University.
Training up even one such student brought immense benefits to both the school and the teacher—a true win-win.
Chu Cheng didn't hesitate, carefully reviewing the skills and soon settling on one.
Leap Shock LV1 (Intermediate): Charge for one second, leap up to fifteen meters, and land, dealing 75 + Strength x3 physical damage to all enemies within a three-meter diameter at the point of impact. All affected enemies are slowed by 30% for three seconds. Cooldown: two minutes.
Note: Requires Constitution 20, Strength 20, Agility 20, and a melee class.
This was a skill combining mobility and soft control—useful both for chasing and escaping.
He sent his choice to the teacher, who quickly replied:
"Not picking another?"
Chu Cheng replied honestly,
"I don't have the money."
Duan Yuqin was silent for a moment before responding:

"This is the only free benefit."
"But if you have money later, you can choose again."
"Thank you, teacher."
Ten minutes later, the Leap Shock scroll arrived. He immediately chose to learn it.
At a thought, the scroll shattered into light and merged into his body. As expected, a glowing orb burst forth in his mind, radiating countless streams of light.
Chu Cheng opened his panel and watched as the lights converged, flowing into the newly learned Leap Shock. The skill transformed into a nameless orb of light, which slowly took shape after a dozen seconds, reemerging with a new, imposing name—Thunderous Wrath Strike.
Thunderous Wrath Strike LV1 (Advanced): Charge for one second, transform into a bolt of lightning and leap up to thirty meters, landing to deal 200% of your maximum attack as physical damage to all enemies within a six-meter diameter at the point of impact, stunning them for two seconds. Stamina cost: 200. Cooldown: three minutes.
"Magnificent!"
It wasn't the skill itself that was amazing, but his golden finger.
It seemed that every skill or specialty he learned would be enhanced by the glowing orb in his mind.
Intermediate skills cost between two to five gold, depending on their type and effect, while advanced skills were worth at least twenty gold—an absolute bargain.
The power of Thunderous Wrath Strike scaled with his attack, and its range was formidable. After accounting for defense, any monster below level ten would be instantly slain.
Well...
The damage wasn't particularly high.
But that hardly mattered—the skill's value lay in its mobility and control, not its raw damage.
With the skill in hand, Chu Cheng immediately left town, heading north along the coast to his usual training grounds.
Spotting two level-five Black Sails pirates gathered ahead, he bent his knees and began to charge. Threads of lightning rose from his feet, and after a short second, a thunderous boom sounded as a lightning-wreathed figure blasted upward like a cannonball, crashing down in the distance.
"Boom!"
The ground shook, a violent shockwave blasted out, shredding weeds, rocks, and trees in the area. The pirates were, of course, obliterated.
"Excellent!"
After that, a deep, thunderous rumble echoed along the coast at regular intervals, like muffled thunder.
Only when his stamina was exhausted did he finally return.