Martial Artists Do Not Die from Gunfire and East Wind Divine Fist!

[Fighting Basics (F-rank) (growable): Passive skill. A basic martial arts skill. Once you have mastered this skill, you will learn martial arts skills faster and gain a slight increase to the effects of all martial arts skills you possess.]

[Growable: Through years of practice, you can stimulate this skill to evolve again, raising its rank.]

[Note: You have not changed to a martial arts class, so Fighting Basics can only grow as far as Martial Arts Mastery (A-rank).]

That was how classes like martial arts and immortal cultivation worked: skills could be mastered through learning.

Through practice, fortuitous encounters, guidance from renowned masters, and so on, existing skills could even evolve again and rise in rank.

Fighting Basics was the foundational skill for martial arts classes.

Fighting Basics (F-rank) → Fighting Introduction (E-rank) → Fighting Specialization (D-rank) → Martial Arts Introduction (C-rank) → Martial Arts Specialization (B-rank) → Martial Arts Mastery (A-rank).

There was no need to discuss anything beyond that.

An Ash Zone Walker could only have one class, and Xia Lin's class was Indeterminate Shadow. He could not change to a martial arts class, so Fighting Basics was of little use to him.

Much less could the skill advance any further.

The moment the skill entered Xia Lin's skill list, Unstable Mutation took effect, and the skill mutated!

In his skill list, the description of [Fighting Basics] rapidly warped, and even the skill's name blurred.

About three seconds later, a new skill replaced Fighting Basics and appeared before Xia Lin's eyes.

[Martial Artists Do Not Die from Gunfire (mutated): Passive skill. Greatly reduces the damage dealt to you by technology-based weapons and items!]

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Xia Lin smacked his lips.

"That's a little disappointing."

First of all, the skill did not say just how great the reduction was, and Xia Lin currently had no way to test it.

Second, the skill was of no help to Xia Lin right now.

His main quest was to enter the Savage Martial Arena, and there were few Mechanical Martial Arts fighters in the arena, leaving little room for the skill to be of use.

The skill had also replaced the two benefits of Fighting Basics:

Faster learning of martial arts skills and improved effects for martial arts skills.

Even so, Xia Lin chose to keep the mutation.

The skill might not seem very useful in this Ash Zone, but in the real world and other Ash Zones, Martial Artists Do Not Die from Gunfire was clearly more useful than Fighting Basics.

An open attack was easy to dodge, but a hidden one was hard to guard against.

Xia Lin still could not withstand bullets.

This skill was worth keeping.

Just then, the door to the lounge was pushed open, and Guo Yu walked in with a grim expression.

He looked up at Xia Lin and could easily see the slight curl of his lips and the ferocity buried deep in his eyes.

Could Li Wenzhang have been killed by this kid?

The thought surfaced in Guo Yu's mind, but he dismissed it himself.

Impossible. How could that be?

He doesn't have the strength, and he doesn't seem to have a reason to kill him either...

Then he remembered how Xia Lin had kept muttering about the Savage Martial Arena... Well, it seemed he did have a reason...

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Li Wenzhang was dead. That was settled.

The North Wind Martial Arts School desperately needed its next Fierce Martial Arts fighter. That was the reality.

And with talent scarce at the North Wind Martial Arts School, Xia Lin was the first choice now that Li Wenzhang was gone.

The one and only.

"You've always wanted to enter the Savage Martial Arena... Now's your chance."

Xia Lin stood up in feigned surprise, his face full of excitement.

Guo Yu did not mention Li Wenzhang's death, nor did he want to know whether Xia Lin was the one who had killed him.

He simply continued in a businesslike tone, "I can see you've already grasped the basics of fighting. Now I'll teach you the North Wind Heavy Punch directly."

"Ten days. You only have ten days."

"Learn the North Wind Heavy Punch within ten days, absorb the little red vial, and score over 10 on the punching force machine. Only then will the North Wind Martial Arts School's spot in the Savage Martial Arena be yours."

Without meeting those conditions, Xia Lin would not stand a chance in the Savage Martial Arena. He would just be throwing his life away.

In that case, he might as well not go.

With that, Guo Yu turned and left, with Xia Lin following behind.

The two made their way into the training hall, where Guo Yu stopped and spoke.

"The North Wind Heavy Punch is our school's trump-card fighting technique."

"This technique requires you to exert force with your legs, waist, and fist simultaneously, producing an explosive effect that greatly increases the power of your punch."

"But the key isn't how you exert force. It's how quickly you build it up and release it."

Exert force at three points, combining them into one.

That was important, but it was not the key.

In the Savage Martial Arena, no idiot would stand still like a wooden dummy and watch you build up power.

Thus, the speed at which you built up power determined whether you could use the North Wind Heavy Punch in actual combat.

"Let's start with how to exert force."

Guo Yu began a detailed explanation.

Xia Lin watched and learned with his full attention.

He soon discovered that the North Wind Heavy Punch was really simple...

All he had to do was exert force at three points, break down the movements, and practice them step by step.

Once he had mastered the technique of exerting force at all three points, all that remained was prolonged practice to increase his speed.

Although he no longer had Fighting Basics, he would not forget the theoretical knowledge.

This allowed Xia Lin to grasp the basics extremely quickly.

After just two hours of training, Xia Lin could already complete all the movements of the North Wind Heavy Punch within five seconds and deliver a blow that exceeded the upper limit of his Strength attribute.

And so, skill get!

[North Wind Heavy Punch (E-rank) (growable): Consumes 1 Spirit point. No cooldown. Build up power in the legs, waist, and arm to deliver a heavy punch that exceeds your attribute's upper limit. This skill can grow to a maximum of B-rank.]

On his retina, the North Wind Heavy Punch's attribute description rapidly warped.

A new mutated skill appeared before his eyes.

Xia Lin, who was rehydrating in the lounge, suddenly spluttered and sprayed the liquid out.

The liquid in his mouth splashed all over the floor.

He coughed, a look of shock spreading across his face.

"Wait, that's possible too! That's possible, that's possible!!?"

[East Wind Divine Fist (mutated): Passive skill. Every punch you throw summons an East Wind Missile to strike the point where your fist lands. The missile's explosive payload depends on the force of your punch.]

"That's! Possible! Too!?"

Unstable Mutation: Dear, why wouldn't it be?

A busy day drew to a close.

It was time for the North Wind Martial Arts School to close as well.

Xia Lin walked out of the school and looked up at the sky.

The sky was already pitch-black, but the city lights illuminated the darkness.

Crowds thronged the busy streets, and multicolored holographic billboards brought the city's nightlife to a boil.

The glittering nightlife had nothing to do with Xia Lin.

He pulled up his hood, went to the bus stop, and boarded a bus, intending to return to his apartment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a man sneaking along behind him.

Xia Lin's lips curled into a cruel smile.