Charging

Losing to Li Mengxue didn't feel shameful to him at all.

He had beaten her many times before, so losing once now was no big deal.

Chen Mo didn't care much about winning or losing.

When he sparred with Jiang Tao, he had lost countless times.

Even now that he had the System Panel, he wasn't invincible—he could still lose. As long as it wasn't a life-or-death battle, he didn't mind.

There were only two things he couldn't lose: a life-or-death fight, and a battle against a fierce beast.

Chen Mo glanced at the time. The sparring session was over, but he didn't leave.

He still hadn't collected the coaching fee!

Even though Li Mengxue was a great beauty, that didn't mean he'd let her freeload.

Chen Mo pondered how much he should ask from her.

Too little, and he'd be shortchanging himself; too much, and he feared Li Mengxue might refuse.

Forget it, he'd start with an outrageous price and let her haggle down.

Seeing that Li Mengxue wouldn't stop anytime soon, Chen Mo opened his System Panel to check his cultivation progress.

[Host: Chen Mo]
[Talent: Diligent Heaven Rewards (One effort, one gain; once proven, forever proven)]
[Realm: Sixth-grade Martial Disciple (Dantian shattered) Vitality Value: 68 Spirit: 161]
[Cultivation Method: Basic Stance Training Major Accomplishment (57/500) Visualization Method Beginner (32/1000)]
[Martial Techniques: Basic Fist Technique Minor Accomplishment (42/200) Basic Saber Technique Perfection (46/1000) Basic Movement Technique Minor Accomplishment (85/200)]
[Special Skill: Spiritual Perception Beginner (79/500)]
[General Proficiency Points: 0]

His Spirit had increased by 1 point—gained from using the Visualization Method to recover his Spirit during rest, which also boosted its proficiency.

Basic Saber Technique proficiency had increased by 20 points, Basic Movement Technique by 30, and Spiritual Perception by 12.

Through this sparring session, Chen Mo had also identified his weaknesses.

In the coming days, he would prioritize raising his Stance Training realm to improve his Vitality Value.

Once his daily Stance Training hit its limit, he'd switch to saber practice. His Movement Technique would slowly improve alongside his saber proficiency, so it didn't need dedicated training.

Every night, he'd cultivate the Visualization Method to enhance his Spirit.

As for Basic Fist Technique, Chen Mo ignored it for now—he'd only consider it after his Basic Saber Technique broke through to the next realm.

He also needed to practice Flying Dagger.

"Forget the Flying Dagger—there's no room at home to train anyway!"

"Might as well switch from Flying Dagger to Flying Needle, or Flying Toothpick. More concealable, and it strikes more silently."

Chen Mo made up his mind: whichever was cheaper, he'd train.

So naturally, it was Flying Toothpick.

With enough proficiency, once he unleashed it with a force of a thousand kilograms, it would surely hit a fierce beast or enemy in the eye.

Recalling his training time at school, Chen Mo frowned slightly—it wasn't enough.

At school, he couldn't train all day.

The school also scheduled cultural classes, covering subjects like history, martial theory, and the Abyssal Fierce Beasts compendium.

Cultural knowledge accounted for 20% of the Martial Examination weight, while martial realm and martial techniques each made up 40%.

Martial realm was essentially measured by Vitality Value.

Half the day went to cultural classes, and the remaining half to practical combat training.

During practical combat, the teacher's guidance took up a small portion of the time, leaving the rest for independent cultivation.

Of course, geniuses got some perks.

Chen Mo thought about his own situation. News about his Dantian would eventually spread, and he wasn't sure what the school's stance would be.

But regardless of the school's position, he would keep training—he had to get into a Martial University.

Only by attending a Martial University could he access more cultivation resources and techniques.

There were few techniques on the open market, and they were outrageously expensive—Chen Mo knew this well.

No matter what, for Monday's small test, Chen Mo decided to hold nothing back. They'd find out sooner or later anyway.

Before word of his shattered Dantian got out, he could at least milk some free resources.

Suddenly, Chen Mo sensed someone approaching. He snapped back to attention and saw Li Mengxue walking over to him.

"Li Mengxue, have you consolidated your sword technique realm?"

"Mm!" Li Mengxue beamed with a happy smile, her cheeks flushed—whether from finishing her sword practice or from excitement, he couldn't tell.

"Thank you, Chen Mo! If not for your guidance, I would have spent a lot more time breaking through my swordsmanship to Perfection."

"Spare me the verbal thanks—just pay me the coaching fee!" Chen Mo was not one to be polite. Helping someone break through a realm took effort and mental energy, so of course he wanted compensation.

"Fine! I'll get my phone and transfer the money to you."

Li Mengxue didn't see anything wrong with Chen Mo's approach. If he had refused payment, it would have made her overthink, feeling like she owed him a favor.

The two weren't that close—why would Chen Mo waste his effort guiding her for nothing?

She also wasn't in the habit of freeloading.

Chen Mo followed along; his phone was also in the Rest Area.

Li Mengxue grabbed her phone and walked up to Chen Mo:

"Add me as a friend, and I'll transfer the money to you."

"Sure!"

After adding the friend, Chen Mo said, "Since we're schoolmates, just transfer me—"

Before he could finish, he saw a message pop up on the friend interface: "Li Mengxue transferred 100,000 yuan."

The Young Lady really was generous. He was going to ask for 50,000, but Li Mengxue had sent 100,000 instead.

Chen Mo didn't say anything more and directly accepted the payment.

"Got the money!"

"Good to hear!" Li Mengxue looked up at Chen Mo. "By the way, Chen Mo, how's your fist technique? How about you coach me in Basic Fist Technique? Same fee—100,000!"

"Uh, to be honest, I'd love to say yes, but I don't have the ability. My fist technique is still at Minor Accomplishment."

Chen Mo shook his head. 100,000—he was tempted, really wanted to agree. More money meant faster cultivation.

But considering the potential danger, he felt improving his strength was more important. Raising his fist technique wouldn't boost his combat power much.

"Oh." A flicker of disappointment passed through Li Mengxue's eyes. "Forget it, then."

When she booked him at noon, she had done a little digging into Chen Mo's past. She knew his talent was originally average, but a few days ago, something unexpected happened, and he suddenly displayed a Perfection-level Basic Saber Technique.

Maybe danger had forced him to stop hiding, or maybe he had suddenly had a breakthrough.

That was just her guess—she hadn't investigated deeply. After all, Chen Mo wasn't anyone important to her.

Asking him to coach her in fist technique was also a way to see if he was hiding something else, but his refusal left her unable to guess.

"Li Mengxue, if there's nothing else, I'll be going." Noticing it was already six in the evening, Chen Mo didn't want to linger.

"Mm, go ahead. I'll book you again for sparring when I have time."

"Alright! See you."

"See you."

Leaving the training room, Chen Mo instinctively glanced around. Seeing no scions of major families, he quickly dashed to the stairwell and went down the stairs.

If those big-family heirs set their sights on him, his peaceful days would be over.

Li Mengxue felt nothing about Chen Mo's departure. After replenishing her energy, she resumed practicing her swordsmanship.