Training

"You're quite capable, aren't you?"

Yan Menglu looked at the student she had once considered the least troublesome with a headache. "You stirred up students from two classes to beat up a Martial Arts Student. I didn't even know when you became the boss of the preparatory students."

A brawl involving nearly a hundred people in the cafeteria had naturally blown up into a major incident.

But before security and the teachers arrived, Li Ye had shouted once and led everyone in the cafeteria away.

Still, simply running off was useless. In the end, Yan Menglu summoned him anyway.

"Do you know how serious this is? Fractures, spinal injuries, concussions—they've already been sent to the hospital. Even if he's a martial artist, he won't recover in less than three days."

Hearing that, Li Ye shrugged. "In his own words, just pay the medical bills. If there really has to be punishment, I stirred them up, and I threw the first punch. Punish me alone."

"Punish my ass!"

Yan Menglu cursed, "A Martial Arts Student comes to the preparatory cafeteria to insult people, and he thinks he's in the right? The school isn't run by his family. He's gone too far! At most, this counts as mutual fighting!"

"That Guo Chuming came back after killing one Ironclad Boar during the Long Mountain trial. He couldn't fight demons, so he came over to the preparatory side to strut around and throw his weight about. No matter who it happened to, no one could swallow that!"

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed something. Seeing the smile lingering at the corner of Li Ye's mouth, she asked irritably:

"Did you know from the beginning that this wouldn't become a big deal?"

Normal teenagers, especially those who had not entered the martial arts track, feared things like having their parents called and receiving disciplinary punishment. But Li Ye seemed completely unaffected.

That was why she had always felt this child was mature.

Li Ye truly did not care. Fights among martial artists were far too normal. This matter could not be weighed on the scales; if it was, the other side would be the one at a disadvantage.

He had originally thought he would at most take a disciplinary mark and pay some money. But after hearing Yan Menglu's words, it seemed he did not even need to worry about that much.

Before Li Ye could speak, Yan Menglu waved her hand. "You... forget it. No need to pay anything. A Break Through Dragon Gate came to the preparatory section to provoke people. If he couldn't win, couldn't he run? If he got hurt, it only meant his skills were lacking. Three days in the hospital can count as buying himself a lesson."

"There's no way you'll be punished. A Martial Arts Student comes to the preparatory cafeteria to provoke people, and the preparatory students get punished in the end? Do I have no shame? Does Old Yang from the martial arts track have no shame?"

Even if neither of them did, the principal certainly did!

She swept her gaze over the figures peeking their heads out from beyond the office window, then sighed.

"Go calm down your 'subordinates.' If you wait any longer, I think they'll turn the sky upside down."

"Thank you, Teacher."

Li Ye nodded and turned to leave the office. But before he went, he paused and said, "Teacher, about what I said yesterday... pretend I never said it."

"Hm?"

Yan Menglu froze. She wanted to say something else, but Li Ye had already left.

The students gathered outside the office, hoping to eavesdrop, surged over the instant they saw Li Ye emerge.

"Brother Ye!"

Deng Hao's neck had gone red. "Don't worry, I started this! I'll take all the compensation and punishment. I won't let you get dragged into it!"

"Punishment my ass!"

Li Ye laughed and cursed. "Old Yan said it's nothing. Eat what you should eat, drink what you should drink."

The moment he said that, all the students burst into cheers, their faces glowing red.

During that brawl, even the students stuck on the outermost edge, unable to squeeze in, had found a way to kick Guo Chuming once.

In the past, they had only heard of people getting beaten by Martial Arts Students and having no choice but to accept their bad luck.

Today had truly lifted their spirits. Most importantly, nothing had happened afterward.

Li Ye waved his hand. "Alright, why are so many of you gathered here? Scatter. You don't need to worry about retaliation either. Guo Chuming will be in the hospital for three days."

"What about after three days?" someone asked.

"Summer vacation starts in three days!" Jia Dong burst out laughing.

That set off an even greater wave of laughter.

After a while of boisterous noise, the crowd slowly dispersed. Some had not even finished eating, so they took advantage of the remaining time to grab another bite.

"I'm definitely going to Break Through Dragon Gate during summer vacation!"

Deng Hao clenched his fists. "Once I enter the martial arts track next semester, I'll settle the score properly with that Guo bastard!"

Jia Dong was tempted as well. He nudged Deng Hao with his elbow. "That master you mentioned this morning... is he reliable?"

Deng Hao said, "My physical test scores are the same as yours. The master said there's no problem. Even if you have to suffer a little more, if you want to try, I'll introduce you to him in a couple of days."

Li Ye knew about such masters. Unlike the unified instruction at martial arts schools, these masters provided private customized training, relying on their own experience to conduct intensive coaching.

But to seek out a master, one needed a foundation to begin with. Generally speaking, there was no need for someone who had merely passed the school physical test. At the very least, they needed an "excellent" rating or above.

And they were extremely expensive, starting at no less than a million.

Jia Dong was a rational person. His original thoughts had been the same as Li Ye's: there was absolutely no need to waste so much money. If one had the aptitude, fine; if not, then forget it.

After all, if one could not even break through in vitality and blood after entering a martial arts school, there would not be much progress afterward either.

Below Three Dragon Gate, there was essentially little difference from ordinary people. Once they entered society, who knew how many years it would take to earn that money back.

The main thing was that what happened at noon had provoked him. In the long run, it made no difference, but right now, it did!

After training martial arts for so long and suffering so much hardship, how could he let it all come to nothing just because it was said to be nothing!

Though he said he could barely afford martial arts school, his family was actually middle class. If they gritted their teeth, they could come up with the money.

The noon commotion quickly ended, and by the afternoon, they immediately threw themselves into training.

The morning had been for physical conditioning. What followed was pure body training.

From thirty-meter to hundred-meter obstacle crossings, they leapt over obstacles piled from sandbags, quickly jumped onto stakes, practiced standing on stakes before moving across them, then after an hour of training, freely worked on punching targets or wooden dummies.

For those not attending martial arts schools, the school's martial arts teachers specially taught some free-fighting techniques. Martial arts school students were left to do as they pleased.

Li Ye found a wooden dummy and assumed a bow stance, his legs not raised past the knee.

He first exhaled a long breath, then sharply drew one in. His strength sank into his legs and feet. His left foot twisted half a circle against the ground, and his right leg turned into a long whip, lashing fiercely into the wooden dummy.

Bang!

Under that tremendous force, even the specially made wooden dummy fixed in place trembled slightly.

After swinging out his leg, Li Ye swiftly changed his form. He stomped down hard with his right foot, twisted another half circle, and turned it into a vicious left-leg kick against the wooden dummy.

Bang!

With every kick, his stance had to be readjusted and shifted anew, in pursuit of the greatest possible effect from the Training Method.

After rapidly kicking out a hundred times, Li Ye drew back his leg and immediately sprang into the air. His legs switched back and forth as he kicked the wooden dummy seven times in succession. After landing, he settled once more into a bow stance, adjusted his breathing for only an instant, then leaped up again and kicked seven more times.

After practicing another hundred times, Li Ye quickly withdrew his legs, then stomped viciously against the ground. Borrowing that force, he shot forward and drove a fierce knee strike into the center of the wooden dummy. Using the dummy's resistance, he sprang back, spread his legs again, and charged forward once more.

His martial arts aptitude was average, and it was difficult for him to Break Through Dragon Gate. But his one advantage was that he learned moves quickly. The martial arts school techniques in his hands were not only standard, but could be developed according to his own body into styles suited to him, practically perfect.

Front kicks, chopping smashes, side thrust kicks, whip kicks, knee strikes, ground stomps, cross kicks, continuous kicks.

Every strike carried immense force and weight. He seemed to have gone mad, utterly disregarding his own body.

The sounds he made caused all the students training nearby to look over, secretly clicking their tongues in amazement.

Some recognized what he was doing and wanted to speak up to stop him. But when they saw Li Ye's focused expression, touched with a trace of ferocity, they did not dare step forward and could only watch.

Until he landed for the final time, the sole of his planted foot twisting in a wide arc as his body shifted from facing forward to facing behind. One leg shot out like a sword, springing forward and stomping fiercely into the wooden dummy.

Bang!!

The sound was even louder than before, even producing an echo.

Only then did he stand still and begin regulating his breathing.

"B-Brother Ye?"

Deng Hao's voice rang out behind him.

He turned around and saw Deng Hao and Jia Dong staring at him from behind, both wearing shocked expressions.

"Why did you suddenly start practicing like that? This isn't a martial arts school," Deng Hao asked.

That was the most orthodox martial arts school Training Method, stressing all-out effort and a berserk state, continuously strengthening the body and boosting vitality and blood through the method.

It was completely different from what the school taught. The school's methods were upright and balanced. At most, they drained strength; they would not damage the body.

With martial arts school Training Methods, practicing alone without specialized dietary supplements and supporting medicinal baths could damage one's body.

Although Li Ye had not practiced it as long as those at martial arts schools, his form was absolutely correct.

Jia Dong thought for a moment, then said tactfully, "Brother Ye, how about joining another martial arts school? If you don't think the leg techniques are good enough, the Natural Martial Arts School on my side is pretty good."

"It's fine. I'm just practicing casually."

Li Ye smiled and kicked twice more. "Nothing's wrong at all."

Under normal circumstances, one still needed to practice Training Methods at a martial arts school, because their specialized dietary supplements and supporting medicinal baths would ensure no hidden injuries were left behind.

But Li Ye no longer needed that.

The Qi Devourer's ability to precisely absorb the power of every morsel of food allowed him to control the amount, ensuring that he suffered no loss and retained no hidden injuries.

After lunch, according to his own quantified vitality and blood data, his vitality and blood had reached 80.19.

After an afternoon of training, including the Training Method, his vitality and blood reached 80.25.

Li Ye was very satisfied.

"Go rest. Class will start soon."

Li Ye patted both of them on the shoulder, and they left the training room together.

Only around twenty minutes later, the afternoon training ended. After another General Knowledge class, school was dismissed.

"Brother Ye, thanks for today. Dinner's on me tonight. Let's go eat."

Deng Hao grinned at Li Ye. "Afterward, we can get our feet massaged. I know a place where the top technician is a First Dragon Gate martial artist. You'll feel comfortable all over after a session!"

"Really?" Jia Dong's ears practically perked up. "Which place?"

"Just one spot. I'm treating Brother Ye," Deng Hao said. "It's expensive as hell. Even an ordinary foot massage costs 1,688."

Jia Dong raised an eyebrow. "What about the not-ordinary kind?"

"There's no such thing," Deng Hao said, rolling his eyes.

"You two go ahead. I still have something to do."

Li Ye smiled. "And besides, you're young. Go to places like that less often."

As he spoke, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left.

It was not that he minded. Having lived two lives, he did not care about such things. It was just that Huang Qingyi had arranged to meet him today last night, so he had to make the trip.