Gunshots

Leaving the Gymnasium.

Xu Jie and the other two were unusually excited, their mouths never stopping the whole way.

"Strong! Way too strong!"

"Brother Wang Teng, are Advanced Martial Apprentices all this strong?"

"To ordinary people, Advanced Martial Apprentices are indeed quite strong."

Wang Teng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled before replying calmly.

"Haha, fantastic! With you looking out for us from now on, no one will dare bully us!" Xu Jie laughed.

"Brother Wang Teng, do you think I can become as strong as you someday?" Yu Hao secretly clenched his fists and asked enviously.

"Train hard. Becoming an Advanced Martial Apprentice isn't difficult," Wang Teng said.

Bai Wei said nothing beside them, but her gaze kept drifting to Wang Teng from time to time, and a sweet smile appeared at the corners of her lips.

The four parted ways at the school gates and went home to find their mothers.

On his way home, Wang Teng kept wondering why Li Rongcheng had been so weak.

This wasn't him showing off. He genuinely felt that Li Rongcheng was far too weak!

As he drove along the road and watched the vehicles speeding past beside him, realization suddenly dawned on him.

Speed!

That was right—speed!

Of all martial arts under heaven, only speed was unbreakable!

His speed far surpassed Li Rongcheng's, so Li Rongcheng's attacks had seemed far too slow in his eyes.

So slow that he had used only two moves to knock Li Rongcheng unconscious.

The speed attribute on the Attribute Panel wasn't very intuitive. Wang Teng had kept picking up attributes to improve himself, yet had never actually tested just how fast he was.

Today, he had suddenly erupted, and Li Rongcheng had been left utterly unable to fight back!

That evening, after Wang Teng returned home and finished dinner, he headed to the Polar Star Martial Arts Academy to train, picking up attributes to improve himself.

Over the next few days, his life remained uneventful.

During the day, he attended classes and picked up attributes to improve his Liberal Arts knowledge. Every now and then, he even teased his icy beauty of a deskmate, living a wonderfully satisfying life.

Moreover, after several days, his Liberal Arts had improved rapidly. If he took an exam now, he was confident he could score over ninety.

That level was more than enough. He had no intention of becoming some Liberal Arts top scorer!

Besides, compared to before, it was worlds apart.

Every evening, without fail, he went to the Polar Star Martial Arts Academy to check in and train, picking up attributes to improve his martial cultivation.

By now, all his martial attributes had long surpassed the limits of an Advanced Martial Apprentice.

Comprehension: 51

Physique: 121

Strength: 1356

Speed: 632

Combat Skills: Basic Fist Technique (Subtlety), Basic Footwork (Subtlety), Basic Sword Technique (Subtlety), Basic Saber Technique (Subtlety)

Knowledge: Basic Subjects (Perfect Score)

The limits of an Advanced Martial Apprentice were a physique of 100, strength of 1000 kg, and a hundred-meter sprint in four seconds.

Now, all of his attributes had exceeded those limits.

He had specifically tested his speed before. He had already reached the level of two seconds per hundred meters, much faster than the speed limit of an Advanced Martial Apprentice.

It might look as though the difference was only two seconds, but many people might not complete that leap even after three to five years.

Just think about how difficult it was to break the world records of those hundred-meter champions from his previous life, and the difficulty became clear.

Combined with Subtlety-level Basic Footwork, he could practically crush opponents who were also Advanced Martial Apprentices.

Here, it had to be mentioned that all of Wang Teng's Basic Combat Skills had already reached the Subtlety level.

What was Subtlety?

As the name implied, it meant meticulous to the finest detail, another step beyond Perfection.

Just how powerful were combat skills at the Subtlety level?

A simple example would do.

When facing the same attack, Perfection-level Basic Footwork would need to evade by more than half a meter.

But Subtlety-level Basic Footwork could skim right past the opponent's attack without losing a single hair, with the distance between them not even exceeding a few centimeters.

The difference between the two could only truly reveal itself in actual combat.

It could be said that Wang Teng's current strength was only one step away from becoming a Formal Martial Warrior.

Once he cultivated Primal Force, he would become a Formal Martial Warrior.

That Friday, after class ended, Wang Teng went home as usual.

As he drove along the road and gazed at the scenery beyond the car window, he was thinking about how to obtain a Primal Force Cultivation Method.

At his current stage, he was called a Quasi-Martial Artist. Once he cultivated Primal Force, he could complete a qualitative transformation.

However, Primal Force Cultivation Methods were not common goods like Martial Apprentice Basic Combat Skills and Practice Gymnastics, which anyone could learn.

The teaching of Primal Force Cultivation Methods had always been under strict control.

One option was to enter university through the Martial Arts Examination. That offered the greatest freedom.

Another was to apply at a Martial Arts Hall for the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment. Once one passed and their identity was deemed clear, the Martial Arts Hall would teach them a Primal Force Cultivation Method.

That way, they became a Martial Warrior affiliated with the Martial Arts Hall, effectively tied to the same boat as it.

Or they could become an appendage of certain Lineages. If they earned the other party's trust, they might also be taught a Primal Force Cultivation Method, though it was practically the same as signing a deed of sale.

The Martial Arts Examination would only come after the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, and he would still have to enter university before he could study it. That would take too long, so he would not consider it for now.

Apply at a Martial Arts Hall for the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment?

No, no!

Wang Teng knew his own situation best. How long had he even been practicing martial arts, and he was already about to become a Martial Warrior? If someone with ill intentions set their sights on him, trouble would never end.

Then... become an appendage of a Martial Warrior Lineage?

Forget it. He was a Rich Second Generation, after all. Becoming someone's bootlicker would be far too degrading.

Boom!

As he was thinking, an explosion suddenly sounded ahead.

Thick smoke billowed into the air.

For some unknown reason, the intersection ahead was blocked. The car in front of Wang Teng suddenly stopped, apparently after rear-ending another vehicle.

Although Wang Teng reacted extremely quickly and immediately hit the brakes.

The distance was too short. His car surged forward from inertia and crashed into the rear of the vehicle ahead with a bang.

Beep beep beep!

Bleep bleep bleep!

In an instant, car horns and alarms sounded into one chaotic din.

The scene was a mess for a time.

This stretch of road was completely paralyzed.

Wang Teng frowned and had no choice but to get out of the car to see what had happened.

He still had to get home for dinner.

"What's going on?"

"Damn it, what the hell are you doing? My car's wrecked!"

Drivers poked their heads out of their cars one after another, curses rising without end.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several sharp sounds rang out, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

"Gunshots!"

Wang Teng's heart jolted. I definitely didn't hear wrong. Those were absolutely gunshots!

A robbery in broad daylight?

Or a kidnapping?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Then, he suddenly saw several people charging toward him at high speed.

"That kind of speed—they're Martial Apprentices!"

Wang Teng made his judgment, then hurriedly stepped aside. He had no idea what was going on, so it was best to mind his own business.

Unfortunately, just because he did not want to meddle did not mean trouble would not come looking for him.

As those people were about to pass him, one man with a scar across his face suddenly shouted.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" his companion asked.

"The cops will be here soon. Running like this leaves us too passive. Grab a hostage and negotiate with them."

As Scarface spoke, he reached out and grabbed Wang Teng.

Wang Teng was just about to resist when Scarface raised his other hand, pressing a gun against his head. "Behave yourself, or I'll blow your head off with one shot!"

Like a blade against his back!

The intense sense of mortal danger made Wang Teng's scalp explode. Blood rushed faster through his entire body, his heart stalled slightly, then began pounding wildly.