After a slight hesitation, Fang Zhou asked again, "Instructor Lu Hu, for ordinary human Combat Professionals, when a universal Apprentice Stage skill like [Brutal Strike] is raised to Instinct Proficiency, can it directly advance to its Black Iron Tier version, [Brutal Strike]?"

Lu Hu was slightly taken aback before he reacted, waving his hand. "How is that possible? Do you think everyone has monstrous Talent like you? Don't you know this basic fact? The vast majority of Professionals can't raise a skill to [Instinct] Proficiency. The Human Alliance divides the Skill Proficiency of Professionals into six levels—Beginner, Master, Skilled, Mastery, Perfection, and Instinct—precisely because most Professionals can only raise their skills to [Perfection] Proficiency.

"Of course, if they independently deduce a skill based on their own wisdom and accumulated knowledge, they can smoothly advance it to the Instinct level without any bottlenecks. Aside from that, very few can raise a skill's proficiency to Instinct. In that case, the vast majority of ordinary human Combat Professionals you mentioned could never possibly practice [Brutal Strike] to Instinct Proficiency, let alone directly advance it to the Black Iron skill, [Brutal Strike]."

Upon hearing Lu Hu's words, Fang Zhou immediately understood. I can only blame my own Talent for being so exceptional that I've never encountered the problem Instructor Lu Hu mentioned. I completely overlooked such a basic fact.

He frowned slightly, suddenly recalling the skills he often practiced but could never raise to [Instinct] Proficiency, such as [Calm and Relaxed] and [Resurrection of the Dead], which were not skills he had deduced himself. Presumably, it's precisely due to this limitation that the rate at which these skills improve has always been unsatisfactory compared to my Skeleton Series skills.

Lu Hu watched Fang Zhou fall deep into thought and chuckled. "So, do you understand why I praised this Mad Warrior Skeleton you summoned so highly? The fact that it commands several skills from the Golden Body Series of the Berserker Profession is secondary. The most crucial thing is that all the skills it commands are at Instinct Proficiency. The increase in combat effectiveness this provides is incredibly powerful."

Fang Zhou snapped back to reality, sighing to himself. It seems working in isolation is a dead end. I still need to consult with High Tier instructors like Su Xinyan and Lu Hu to better understand my future path of development.

He asked again, "Instructor Lu, based on what you've said, are there other universal skills for Combat Professionals you'd recommend?"

Lu Hu pumped his fist. "The [Brutal Strike] series I just mentioned is a universal skill for melee attacks. As for ranged attack skills, other than the attacks of an Archer, there are few good skills available for other Combat Professionals at the Apprentice Stage. Only after reaching the Black Iron Tier, condensing an Invisible Core, and generating Battle Qi can one learn a skill named [Battle Qi Slash].

"[Battle Qi Slash], similar to [Brutal Strike], also has a very complete advancement Skill Tree. At higher levels, you can even imbue it with various types of Energy Damage. Its power should not be underestimated; it's considered a nearly perfect mid-to-long-range attack skill."

Fang Zhou opened his memo and noted down the details of [Battle Qi Slash], then asked, "Anything else, Instructor Lu?"

Lu Hu thought for a moment before adding, "There's also an essential area-of-effect attack skill for Combat Professionals called [Vortex Strike]. It's also a Black Iron Tier skill that requires a large amount of Battle Qi to use. When using [Vortex Strike], a Combat Professional can rapidly swing their weapon in a circle around themselves, using the immense force from the rotation to inflict massive damage on a wide area of surrounding enemies. This is a common clearing skill used by Combat Professionals when swarmed by large numbers of weaker foes. Of course, the subsequent advancement paths for this skill are also very clear. At higher levels, it can be advanced into [Blade Storm] for enhanced damage, or into [Mountain-Overturning Sea-Overturning], which adds control effects."

After contemplating a bit more, Lu Hu looked at Fang Zhou and nodded confidently. "For attack-type universal Combat Professional skills, I recommend these three: [Brutal Strike], [Battle Qi Slash], and [Vortex Strike]. After all, I've always believed in quality over quantity when it comes to skills. No matter how many flashy skills you learn, your stamina and Battle Qi are limited. In the end, it all comes down to Skill Proficiency.

"As for defensive universal skills, to be honest, I'm not very familiar with them. If I had to recommend some, I'd suggest [Block] and [Battle Qi Shield]. There's a saying: 'Heaven is on the left, warriors are on the right.' In my view, a Combat Professional must always press forward, finding life by embracing death. The best defense is a good offense! Of course, the Commander—oh, Principal Su—often scolds me for this, saying I'm a reckless brute in battle. Fang Zhou, your combat style is different from mine, so there's no need to rigidly follow my example."

Fang Zhou glanced at Lu Hu. This instructor truly is a High Tier Berserker. I don't know how well he's trained his Golden Body Series skills, but his Blood Fury Series skills are surely honed to the peak of perfection.

For Fang Zhou, although his Skeleton Clone had learned the [Block] skill, its use had been infrequent. Thanks to his prudent combat style, he had almost never encountered any Undead Creatures that gave him trouble while grinding for levels in the Undead Realm. As a result, the proficiency of this defensive skill had only just reached [Perfection].

I wonder what the potential of the [Block] and [Battle Qi Shield] skills is. Thinking of this, Fang Zhou asked the question aloud.

Lu Hu laughed heartily. "Fang Zhou, you don't need to worry about the potential of these universal Combat Professional skills at all. As I said before, after being polished year after year by thousands of High Tier Combat Professionals, these universal skills all have very well-defined advancement paths. It's true for [Brutal Strike] and [Battle Qi Slash], and it's naturally true for [Block] and [Battle Qi Shield] as well.

"The Apprentice Tier [Block] skill can be advanced to the Black Iron Tier [Block and Counterattack]. And the [Battle Qi Shield] skill, much like [Battle Qi Slash], requires one to advance to Black Iron and condense Battle Qi before it can be used. Whether against Physical Attacks or Energy Attacks, close-range or long-range, these two defensive skills are quite effective."

Fang Zhou nodded, adding these two skills to his memo and listing them as must-learn skills for his Clone. He then looked at Lu Hu expectantly, his eyes signaling the instructor to continue sharing his training experience.

Lu Hu saw Fang Zhou's eager gaze and held nothing back. "Compared to other Professions like Hunters, Archers, and Assassins, traditional Warriors aren't known for a wide variety or frequent use of Displacement Skills. In my eyes, a Warrior's Displacement Skill should be used to achieve a decisive result in battle. Whether for a tactical retreat, adjusting strategic positioning, or rapidly closing in on an enemy, the [Charge] skill is sufficient.

"Like other types of skills, the Apprentice Tier [Charge] can be advanced to the Black Iron Tier [Heroic Charge], and it has various advancement paths later on. Even if you were to achieve the Legendary Crown, you could still advance [Charge] to [Legendary Charge]. At that point, there will be nowhere you can't Charge, from the heavens to the earth!"

Just then, a loud bang echoed across the training ground.

Lu Hu and Fang Zhou turned toward the sound. It was Ye Fan, who had once again used the Demon Hunter's signature skill, [Fallen Heaven Strike]. With that one move, he slew the last of the Abyss Little Inferior Demons that had been putting up a futile resistance. However, because he failed to control his landing force, Ye Fan fell heavily onto the corpse of the Abyss Little Inferior Demon, suffering some minor injuries.

Seeing this, Instructor Lu Hu said pointedly, "You see, Fang Zhou? One perfect skill is all it takes to dominate. Properly mastering the [Charge] skill is far more useful than having a flashy, impractical skill like Ye Fan's [Fallen Heaven Strike]."

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