After explaining the rules of the Martial Trial, Zhang Biao spread his large hand. "Additionally, besides Firearms, every cold weapon is allowed! The only rule in this fight is that there are no rules!"
"In principle, you may not bring your own weapons, but you may pick anything you like from Qingfeng Camp's Armory!"
The moment he finished, the huge doors of the storerooms at the edge of the Training Ground slid open.
Rumble—!!
Rank upon rank of perfectly maintained weapons were revealed to the Trainees.
Zhao Mu's eyes burned; these standard-issue arms were leagues better than the battered relics his family used.
No wonder Bu Yanhuan had forbidden him to bring his own.
"You have ten minutes to choose your weapons! Then enter the trial ground."
Rumble—!
The crowd surged toward the Armory, each trying to secure a suitable weapon and claim good terrain inside the trial ground first.
Inside, Zhao Mu found a dazzling array of every sort of arm.
Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks—common, obscure, even bizarre weapons he had never heard of—all were present.
But every blade was dull.
Clearly, even though Qingfeng Camp allowed killing in the trial, the goal was elimination, not mutual slaughter.
The lethal rule existed only so Trainees would hold nothing back.
"An unsharpened edge may be worse than a blunt crusher."
Zhao Mu lifted a long saber, glanced at it, and set it back on the rack.
The alloy blade weighed about eight catties.
Fine for an average adult, but far too light for him now.
"If they're all blunt, I might as well pick the heaviest."
He bypassed the popular swords and headed deeper.
There, the polearms waited.
An alloy staff—twenty catties, Carbon Fiber and metal, tough and resilient.
An Alloy Spear—steel head, alloy shaft, thirty catties, flexible yet lethal.
Great sabers, Serpent Spears, and more were also on display.
He hefted the spear, but even thirty catties felt light; the Armory had been stocked for ordinary Trainees, not someone with his freakish strength.
Still, the spear was king of arms and handy in open battle; lacking better, he would take it.
Then, at the farthest corner, a colossal alloy weapon caught his eye.
"Hmm? What's that?"
He walked over; his gaze brightened.
"A Fangtian Halberd!"
It was a great halberd, its head spear-sharp yet flanked by huge crescent axe-blades.
Zhao Mu stared, eyes blazing.
Others passed by; for them a spear or staff was heavy enough—nobody reached for the back-row giants.
This would be a day-and-night slog, not a short duel.
Carrying too heavy a weapon would drain stamina fast.
They couldn't channel spirit energy to boost muscle for twenty-four hours straight.
Even on spirit-energy battlefields, few ever wielded a Fangtian Halberd.
Only a matchless mighty general can bear it!
That was the verdict on the heavenly halberd.
Seeing Zhao Mu linger, they snickered, "A ceremonial toy more than twice a spear's weight—who'd be stupid enough?"
"Looks scary, but it's useless. Bet he just wants to show off."
Yet Zhao Mu set the Alloy Spear aside and wrapped his fingers round the heavenly halberd.
Clank!
The whole rack shook as the weapon came free.
Unused for so long, the movement drew every eye.
"No way—that guy Zhao Mu actually took the heavenly halberd?"
"Let him be; he wants to swagger. Wait till he has to haul it up the mountain—he'll be crying!"
"Theory giant, practical dwarf—zero common sense."
Zhao Mu ignored the chatter.
The instant the Fangtian Halberd settled in his grip, he knew—it suited him perfectly.
Fifty catties: the steel head alone over thirty, and the shaft proportionately heavy.
But with his Strength stat at 155, already into the second stage, Innate Divine Strength, he could bench-press over three hundred catties.
Fifty catties felt just right.
The crowd waited for him to feel the weight and sheepishly put it back.
Instead, he slung the heavenly halberd across his back and returned the spear to the rack.
Stunned silence followed.
"Is… is he born with divine strength?"
"Hmph, just showing off. I can carry fifty catties too—but can he swing it fast? Slowness equals death."
No one understood, and Zhao Mu couldn't be bothered to explain.
With his main weapon chosen, he added a Short Bow of two-hundred-catty draw, a quiver of twenty short arrows, and a waist sash hiding ten Flying Knife.
Close, mid, and long range—all covered.
He strode out of the Armory toward the Xiuyun Mountain trial ground under a hail of puzzled stares.
The three weapons together weighed over sixty catties—unthinkable for most Trainees.
Zhang Biao stood at the gate; seeing the weapon on Zhao Mu's back, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"The heavenly halberd? This kid…"
He watched Zhao Mu enter, not mocking like the others, but slowly curling into a meaningful smile.
"Not simple at all."
He had seen Zhao Mu fight at the gate of Yuwu No. 2 Middle School—lightning-fast, decisive, a seasoned veteran of real combat.
Such a man would never make such an obvious mistake in weapon choice.
There could be only one explanation—his strength truly sufficed to wield the weapon said to belong solely to matchless mighty generals.
"The heavenly halberd… in Qingfeng Camp it's usually just a strength-training prop for Trainees. Never thought today someone would actually carry it into battle."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)