22: Knife Mantis Martial Arts Hall

If the competition starts then, it will attract a large number of First Year students from the six major districts.

The competition will be fierce, after all, it's within one city.

There are simply too many excellent Beastmasters.

Due to the excessive number of registrants in previous events,

the organizers had no choice but to add a restriction.

That is, only students whose Beastmaster level is above 8 can participate.

This blocked many people who intended to join for the fun of it.

Only then did the number of participants return to normal levels.

"Hasn't the start date not been confirmed yet?"

The Fengdu Hatchling Cup currently has no registration news.

Otherwise, it would have spread throughout his class already; how could he not know?

Bai Sheng smiled, revealing an expression that implied, 'You know.'

"It's almost time; it starts next Monday."

"The organizers will begin setting up registration channels."

"I also heard it from someone in class yesterday."

Hearing this, Lin Shu realized that someone within the organizing committee had connections.

That's how he knew the competition's opening time in advance.

The news was naturally true.

"Oh, I see. That's pretty good."

"I'm also very interested in this competition."

Lin Shu definitely wouldn't miss the Fengdu Hatchling Cup.

Not to mention it's a great training environment.

Just its rewards alone are very generous.

Although the rewards for this year's competition haven't been announced yet,

based on previous years, they should be quite similar.

"Yes, as long as you're from Fengdu City,"

"I don't think any New Bird Beastmaster would refuse the Fengdu City Cup."

Bai Sheng echoed Lin Shu's statement, showing an expectant look.

This could also be considered a sense of regional belonging.

"We'll sign up together then; just don't run into me."

"Otherwise, you'll have a tough time."

Immediately after, Lin Shu joked.

Bai Sheng, hearing this, looked a bit helpless.

"Hey, if I really run into you, there's nothing I can do."

"I'll just have to consider myself unlucky."

"But don't celebrate too early; there's still some time."

"It's not like I can't surpass you."

"Haha, then I'll be waiting for you to defeat me!"

The two laughed heartily.

Then, Bai Sheng changed the subject, as if he had thought of something.

"Lin Shu, have you heard of the Praying Mantis Martial Hall?"

Praying Mantis Martial Hall?

Information flashed through Lin Shu's mind, but he found no trace of it in his memory.

He shook his head.

"I haven't heard of that place."

Bai Sheng paused, seemingly recalling the scene of Lin Shu's little mantis returning from its training at the Praying Mantis Martial Hall and then soundly beating his Heaven's Thunder.

But he continued nonetheless.

He wasn't that kind of person; the stronger Lin Shu's Beastmaster was, the greater the sense of accomplishment he would gain after defeating him.

"That's not strange; after all, the Praying Mantis Martial Hall is relatively niche, so it's normal not to have heard of it."

"The Praying Mantis Martial Hall is a place where Mantis Beastmasters learn swordsmanship."

Mantis learning swordsmanship?

While such a combination seemed strange, upon closer thought, it was quite reasonable.

"The founder of the Praying Mantis Martial Hall inherited a set of swordsmanship from his family."

"Later, he modified it and developed a set of swordsmanship suitable for mantises to use."

"Of course, it's not just mantises."

"As long as the Beastmaster is humanoid and wields weapons similar to swords with both arms, they can try it."

Hearing this, Lin Shu became somewhat curious about the Praying Mantis Martial Hall.

He wondered what it would look like for a mantis to use swordsmanship.

As if sensing Lin Shu's curiosity,

Bai Sheng took out his phone, and after some fiddling,

handed it to Lin Shu.

"Here, take a look."

"These are some videos taken inside the Praying Mantis Martial Hall."

His attention shifted to the video screen.

Lin Shu clicked to play the video.

The image immediately appeared.

What came into view was a Shadow Mantis, completely black.

It was the same species as the night.

The mantis closed its eyes, like an old monk in meditation.

Its breathing caused its chest to rise and fall rhythmically.

In an instant, the mantis opened its eyes.

Its eyes were full of sharpness and danger.

He saw its forearms swing, slowly but powerfully.

Then the speed of its arm movements became increasingly fast.

The movements were almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Only specks of light and shadow appeared.

This looked like flashing sword light.

The camera slowly zoomed out, revealing a pillar made of refined iron.

The mantis suddenly struck, arriving in front of the pillar in a flash of lightning.

Its sharp forelimbs, like flashing white rays, brought forth bursts of air-breaking sounds.

Its movements were clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

This style of swordsmanship had been practiced countless times, reaching a state of perfection.

"Crack!"

A crisp and sharp sound rang out, and the iron pillar was actually cut in half.

The mantis turned its head away, no longer looking, a scene that had the demeanor of a wuxia master.

At this point, the video ended.

Handing the phone back to Bai Sheng, he couldn't help but say,

"Very powerful swordsmanship."

This was Lin Shu's feeling after watching it.

Clean, decisive, and a fatal strike.

This is what Shadow Mantis needed.

And it was the most important thing.

"Of course! Do you know?"

"That strike just now, it had no energy fluctuations."

"That is to say, it was done entirely by physical strength."

Without using energy.

If this swordsmanship originally had only minor advantages,

then now this swordsmanship was terrifying.

It was already like this without energy.

What would happen if energy was added?

For a moment, Lin Shu's thoughts surged.

Bai Sheng looked at Lin Shu, who was in a mental battle.

He found it very interesting; he had completely reeled this guy in.

He didn't keep him in suspense any longer.

Bai Sheng told him everything he knew.

"I know you really want to learn this swordsmanship."

"However, this swordsmanship has a very high threshold."

"Is it expensive?"

If the tuition wasn't enough, Lin Shu could only sell the rewards from the monthly exam a few days ago.

To gather enough funds.

"No, this threshold refers to learning."

"This Hall Master doesn't accept just anyone; the Beastmaster's Talent needs to be high enough. If you can master the swordsmanship he teaches within ten days,"

"you can continue to learn the subsequent swordsmanship. Otherwise, even if you have money, he won't teach you the remaining swordsmanship."

Hearing this, a curve appeared at the corner of Lin Shu's mouth.

Isn't this just walking right into it?

If it were money, it might make Lin Shu a bit difficult.

But when it came to learning speed, Lin Shu had no fear.

If he really couldn't learn it, adding points could solve the problem.

Noticing Lin Shu's expression, which was very confident,

Bai Sheng was somewhat puzzled, then he thought of something. According to his observations, the mantis's skill proficiency was very high.

Its learning Talent would naturally not be too bad; he must be quite confident.

"Don't get too happy too soon; there's still a difference between skills and swordsmanship."

"Don't think that just because you learn skills quickly, swordsmanship will be the same."

Bai Sheng still couldn't help but remind him.

"Don't worry, I haven't."

"I just smiled because I thought of something happy."

"Alright then, if you really want to go and learn it,"

"it's best to take a week off. That way, you can learn swordsmanship better and more focused."

Hearing this, Lin Shu was very grateful.

His relationship with Bai Sheng was shallow.

Yet he could still help him like this...