Potions and Fighting Basics (F-rank)

Violence was the foundation of living beings.

Law and morality restrained the spread of violence, but after nuclear missiles took flight and destroyed the old world's order, violence emerged anew and spread unchecked.

"And the essence of fighting, martial arts, and the Savage Martial Arena is to replace the efficient violence of technology with the inefficient violence of individuals, thereby settling conflicts and disputes."

"That is why there are no rules in the Savage Martial Arena. Fighting techniques developed for the Savage Martial Arena are killing techniques meant to kill!"

Guo Yu had a thorough understanding of both the Savage Martial Arena and fighting techniques.

Fierce Martial Arts fighters trained not to strengthen their bodies or improve their health, but to win and to kill.

Some Fierce Martial Arts fighters even took drugs before entering the arena and during their daily training, trading years of their lives for fighting power.

Thus, in the first lesson, Guo Yu taught human anatomy and weak points.

"A kick to the groin. Anyone with a normal body can't take it, male or female."

"An eye gouge. It looks dirty, but it's remarkably effective."

"The solar plexus and kidneys. Human abdominal muscles are thin and offer weak protection, and the vital internal organs lie beneath them. An ordinary fighter can't withstand a full-force blow there."

"The back of the head. The brain is the body's control center. Once it's shaken, a series of negative effects will follow, including loss of balance."

Xia Lin was eager to learn.

He liked this stuff.

The next day, Li Wenzhang still didn't show up at the martial arts school.

The others at the school were a little puzzled. Whatever else one might say about him, Li Wenzhang put in the effort.

He rarely missed two days in a row.

But that still had nothing to do with Xia Lin... Well, at least it didn't seem to.

Today's lesson was a fighting lesson.

"Sanda, boxing, jujitsu, and ground fighting."

"Your physique already meets the requirements."

The nine points of strength Xia Lin had displayed before were a sign of exceptional talent, so Guo Yu let him skip the process of building muscle strength and move straight on to proper fighting lessons.

"Let's start with Sanda. I'll teach you some simple moves and techniques, along with the key points for actual combat."

Guo Yu took his stance, demonstrating fighting moves as he explained them.

Xia Lin imitated him and learned, serious and focused.

After teaching him for half an hour, Guo Yu had Xia Lin practice the moves on his own while he went over to the other students.

The North Wind Martial Arts School was a top-tier fighting school. Though it occupied only the bottom rung of the Fierce Martial Bout Arena, it still stood above other conventional fighting schools.

It had plenty of students, so Guo Yu couldn't give Xia Lin private lessons.

Besides, some of the basics were quite simple. Fighting was about practice and talent; instructors and teachers didn't matter all that much.

At least, that was how it was at the North Wind Martial Arts School.

Xia Lin didn't mind not receiving one-on-one instruction.

He carefully recalled the moves the instructor had taught him and began practicing them methodically.

He was stiff at first, but Xia Lin soon got the hang of it.

With every attribute above twelve points, Xia Lin's physical condition had already surpassed the limits of an ordinary person. He also had no weak points, which meant his coordination was excellent.

He was a quick learner as well, so naturally, he made rapid progress.

An hour later, when Guo Yu returned to Xia Lin's side, he found that Xia Lin's punches and kicks were already looking quite proper.

Guo Yu nodded in satisfaction.

"A promising prospect."

Xia Lin seemed to have a talent for fighting, and a considerable one at that.

That was the foundation for entering the arena.

But nine points of strength really were a little low...

He hadn't noticed that Xia Lin's attributes had grown.

I wonder how well he'll adapt to the potions.

If he adapts well, he might have what it takes to compete with Li Wenzhang.

"Take a break."

Guo Yu spoke up, interrupting Xia Lin's engrossed training.

As soon as Xia Lin stopped, he felt an immense wave of exhaustion sweep over him.

He looked at Guo Yu, panting, and heard him say, "Time to take your medicine."

Xia Lin raised an eyebrow, interested.

In this Ash Zone, drugs were an indispensable part of martial arts.

In Fierce Martial City, martial arts could be roughly divided into three schools.

Traditional Martial Arts, New Martial Arts, and Mechanical Martial Arts.

Traditional Martial Arts were traditional martial arts that took a long time to cultivate. It took more than a decade just to build a solid foundation. After that, everything depended on what kind of master you found. Only if your master had few rules could you obtain the core of Traditional Martial Arts: breathing techniques. If your master had many rules, the path would be difficult.

This model of passing skills from master to disciple had long since been left behind by the times. In the new era, martial arts had regained their former glory, and Traditional Martial Arts had gradually begun to rise, but New Martial Arts, born of the new era, had developed even faster.

New Martial Arts were a modern form of martial arts that used potions to strengthen the body and relied on techniques such as Sanda and boxing.

With the help of powerful potions, New Martial Arts practitioners could rapidly strengthen their bodies and gradually become inhuman.

And with their extraordinary physical abilities behind them, combat techniques such as Sanda and boxing were not much less effective than Traditional Martial Arts.

Most importantly, New Martial Arts produced fast results.

As a result, New Martial Arts had become widespread. Seventy percent of the fighters in the Savage Martial Arena followed the New Martial Arts path, and the North Wind Martial Arts School was also a New Martial Arts school.

The final school, Mechanical Martial Arts, was a further evolution of New Martial Arts.

It relied primarily on mechanical modifications, with drugs playing a supporting role, to transform fighters into partially or even entirely mechanized monsters.

The Savage Martial Arena Committee was still debating whether Mechanical Martial Arts practitioners were qualified to enter the Savage Martial Arena, and had reached no conclusion.

But under the current rules, the Savage Martial Arena did not prohibit fully mechanized people from entering.

However, there were few Mechanical Martial Arts practitioners in the lower-level Savage Martial Arena matches, so there was no need to discuss them for now.

Returning to the subject of New Martial Arts potions, there were two syringes in Xia Lin's hands.

One was colorless and transparent, and cool to the touch.

"This is a stamina recovery potion. It can quickly restore your stamina, allowing you to train more effectively and for longer."

Guo Yu began to explain, though Xia Lin didn't need him to go on about it.

The Ash Zone System had already provided an assessment.

[Item: Stamina Enhancer (D-rank).]

[Effect: Quickly restores stamina after injection.]

This was a product of the Ash Zone, the kind that could be taken in and out.

His gaze shifted to the other syringe.

It was as scarlet as blood, like a ruby.

Ignoring Guo Yu's explanation, Xia Lin looked directly at the item's attributes.

[Muscle Strength Growth Agent (C-rank): After injection, permanently increases the strength attribute by 1 point within one month (cannot exceed the attribute limit). The speed at which the medicine is absorbed varies from person to person, but it will take no longer than one month and no less than half a month.]

Tsk, tsk, tsk... I thought these potions were supposed to be amazing. This is all they can do?

They were slow to take effect and couldn't break the limit.

Compared to the attribute gains from Backstab, this was entirely dispensable to Xia Lin.

"Inject them, then continue training."

"Inject the little red one first, then the stamina recovery potion."

Xia Lin followed Guo Yu's instructions.

Though he looked down on the muscle strength growth agent, it had no side effects, so he might as well use it.

After taking the medicine, he continued training.

Xia Lin was focused and diligent.

In terms of attitude, Xia Lin was undoubtedly excellent.

That counted in his favor.

Unfortunately, with Li Wenzhang above him, no matter how focused and diligent Xia Lin was, he would still miss out on the North Wind Martial Arts School's Savage Martial Arena spot.

Then, three days later, news reached the North Wind Martial Arts School.

"Li Wenzhang? Dead!?"

Guo Yu stood before the school head, his face full of shock.

The school head, a retired Fierce Martial Arts fighter, nodded grimly.

"He's dead. The circumstances of his death were extremely strange... Sigh..."

He sighed heavily and continued, "I had high hopes for Li Wenzhang. Now that things have come to this, the most important thing is..."

"To find the next Fierce Martial Arts fighter."

"In ten days, North Wind will go up against the Ori Group, and the outcome will be decided in the Savage Martial Arena. Now that Li Wenzhang is gone, I need you to find a Fierce Martial Arts fighter who can enter the arena within ten days."

"You only have ten days."

Guo Yu looked troubled, but he still nodded and accepted the task.

After all, it was his job.

At that moment, Guo Yu naturally thought of Xia Lin.

Meanwhile, Xia Lin was resting in the martial arts school's lounge, a look of delight on his face.

After three days, he had finally mastered a new skill.

[Fighting Basics (F-rank)]