Martial Sense

Jiang Feng stared fixedly at Chu Kuang's retreating back. He decisively used his Smart Wristband to apply for an Interest-Free Loan, then bought a Source Energy Potion.

Originally, Jiang Feng had planned to use that money after securing a spot in the Top 100 in Grade.

He would enter the Dark Domain and use its source energy to push his Brute Ox Technique to completion. That way, he could remain firmly in the top two of the class in his second year and continue receiving the most resources in class.

But now, even his place in the Top 100 in Grade was becoming unstable. The immense sense of crisis forced him to take this risk.

After more than half a year of cultivation, most Top Students' external martial arts were nearing Great Accomplishment. The next month or so would be a period of rapid advancement for the top students of the first year. By the Final Exam, the number of students whose external martial arts had reached Great Accomplishment would at least double.

By then, even if Jiang Feng's Brute Ox Fist broke through to Great Accomplishment, he probably would not be able to hold onto a place in the Top 100 in Grade.

"With the help of a Source Energy Potion, my Brute Ox Fist will definitely reach Great Accomplishment, and my Life Level can break through to Level 6.0 ahead of schedule."

"Then I'll have a chance to enter the top thousand of the Tian Heng Ranking Tournament. As long as I make the top thousand, the Source Energy Potion I bought with the loan can also help my Brute Ox Technique reach completion during the Dark Domain Expedition."

"..."

"Chu Kuang, nice one."

"Jiang Feng usually acts so full of himself. Who would've thought he couldn't even last three moves against you?"

As soon as Chu Kuang returned to his spot, Zhang Ming came over dramatically.

The corners of Chu Kuang's lips curled slightly as he calmly said, "He isn't weak. Unfortunately, he ran into me."

Chu Kuang had won this battle easily because the gap in their strength was indeed substantial.

Although Chu Kuang's Life Level was only 5.8, the boosts from the Great Accomplishment Iron Armor Technique and completed Basic External Martial Arts were enormous. The completion of his Basic Spear Technique and Basic Movement Technique had also greatly increased his strength.

Combined with the effects of his traits, winning this battle had naturally been effortless.

Not to mention Jiang Feng—even if he faced Li Xiong from No. 1 High again, Chu Kuang was confident he could defeat him within thirty moves.

Life Level is the foundation, like a tree's trunk. Spear techniques and movement techniques are methods, like its branches and leaves. Only when the two complement each other can a tree flourish.

With a calm toss, Chu Kuang sent his spear onto the weapon rack. Then he said evenly, "I'm going to study martial arts, so I won't waste any more words on you."

After seeing Zhang Ming off, Chu Kuang opened the two movement technique manuals and began examining them.

As top-tier movement techniques, Blood Battle in All Directions and Thousand Jun Formation Breaker were both extraordinary. The former had twelve levels, corresponding respectively to the Apprentice, Transcendent Mortal, Extraordinary, and Divine Treasury realms, with three levels in each realm.

The latter had nine levels, corresponding respectively to the Apprentice, Transcendent Mortal, and Extraordinary realms.

Once cultivated to their limits, both movement techniques had even higher-level advancement arts. However, those were beyond Chu Kuang's reach for now.

As for Blood Battle in All Directions and Thousand Jun Formation Breaker, what Chu Kuang had obtained were not the complete versions. They were merely the first volumes of the techniques, roughly equivalent to elementary martial arts.

To obtain the subsequent volumes, Chu Kuang first needed to cultivate the first volume to completion.

Moreover, beginning from the fourth volume, they would no longer be free to learn. He would need to pay credits or spend money to purchase them at university.

"Let's see what makes these two manuals so exceptional."

Chu Kuang focused and comprehended Blood Battle in All Directions and Thousand Jun Formation Breaker. With the golden trait Basic Movement Technique Compendium, granted by completing Basic Movement Technique, he quickly cultivated the first volumes of both martial arts to the Nascent Stage.

The instant the two techniques reached the Nascent Stage, a flash of surprise appeared in Chu Kuang's eyes.

Blood Battle in All Directions: Created in his youth by the seventh-generation Human Emperor, Di Yin. He once relied on it to slay seven Divine Sons of alien races in a single battle, terrifying the heroes of all races.

Trait included: Heavenly Gifted Martial Sense.

The instant he saw the introduction to this movement technique, Chu Kuang's pupils contracted sharply.

Ever since humanity entered the age of the stars, there had been no concept of an imperial clan among humans. Yet every human was qualified to contend for the title of Human Emperor.

The Human Emperor could command all humanity and held a status even more exalted than those lofty gods. Yet becoming the Human Emperor was almost as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Especially as humanity grew stronger and stronger, the difficulty of becoming Human Emperor only increased.

To become the Human Emperor of an era, one had to defeat every opponent of the same rank across all humanity, fight until the Myriad Kings of humanity were utterly convinced, and only then could one become the publicly recognized Human Emperor of the era.

And the Myriad Kings were no ordinary rabble. They were true kings at the pinnacle of their realms, each capable of defeating alien gods despite being of a lower rank.

The Yan Yuan Human King, who had terrified the alien races of the Sirius Civilization, was merely one of the kings in humanity's Hall of Myriad Kings.

Human Emperor Di Yin was precisely such an unmatched Human Emperor. He rose to prominence more than ten thousand years ago and was once humanity's supreme ruler. Now, he had long since entered the realm of gods and was one of the few humans most likely to become a saint.

"I never expected Blood Battle in All Directions to have such an astonishing origin."

Chu Kuang was shocked, but he continued reading the trait.

Heavenly Gifted Martial Sense, White: Heavenly Gifted Martial Sense. When cultivating Blood Battle in All Directions, reaction speed, insight, and perception gained from the technique are all increased by ten percent.

"What a powerful effect."

Chu Kuang murmured, unable to stop a hint of delight from appearing on his face.

Blood Battle in All Directions truly deserved to be called a top-tier movement technique. It did not emphasize speed, positioning, or evasive ability, but it possessed three special abilities.

Reaction speed would greatly increase Chu Kuang's response time, allowing him to handle every kind of battle with greater ease.

Insight could increase the chance of seeing through the truth and falsehood of an enemy's moves, preventing others from deceiving his senses and exposing openings.

Perception, on the other hand, was an intangible sixth sense. It allowed Chu Kuang to detect unseen killing intent, greatly reducing the odds of a successful ambush. It could even warn him in advance before danger arrived.

"Reaction speed, insight, and perception. Combined, even without the speed and agility of other movement techniques, they can still find the most direct way to defeat enemies and protect oneself."

Chu Kuang took a deep breath. The three special abilities granted by Blood Battle in All Directions were already formidable, and with the trait's enhancement, they were enough to elevate his combat instincts to an unbelievable level.

As long as his physique and strength were powerful enough, Blood Battle in All Directions would become one of his trump cards for defeating enemies.

With that thought, Chu Kuang looked at the Thousand Jin Formation Breaking Art.

Thousand Jin Formation Breaking Art: Created by the Po Jun Human King. It is the fiercest and most forceful movement technique, cultivating an unstoppable momentum. Trait included: Strength Through a Thousand Armies.

Strength Through a Thousand Armies: Burn all crimson blood to break a thousand armies. Thousand Jin Formation Breaking Art's speed increases by ten percent, and its formation-charging power increases by ten percent.

After reading the introduction to Thousand Jin Formation Breaking Art, Chu Kuang's heart trembled slightly.

This Thousand Jin Formation Breaking Art also had no simple origins. He did not know much about the Po Jun Human King, but there was no doubt about the technique's power.

This movement technique emphasized charging forward without turning back. Even when surrounded by a host of enemies, even when facing thousands upon thousands alone, one had to use one's own strength to pierce through the enemy formation and take the enemy commander's head from amidst ten thousand troops.

Therefore, Thousand Jin Formation Breaking Art was not only astonishingly fast, but also extremely difficult for enemies to stop with traps or other methods.

If the technique had any weakness, it was that it required a powerful physique. Otherwise, forcing one's way into an enemy formation was practically no different from courting death.

"No wonder Teacher Xu said I need to push Iron Armor Technique to the Break Limit before I can barely bring out this movement technique's true power."

Chu Kuang murmured to himself and immediately began focusing on comprehending the two manuals.

With the help of the tenfold trait, Chu Kuang cultivated the two movement techniques quickly. In just one afternoon, he brought both of them close to the Minor Accomplishment Stage.

After school that evening, he first went to Lin Shuyao's home and worked as a tutor for over an hour.

This time, Lin Shuyao gave him another three hundred yuan and had him give Lin Shuya an additional Basic Movement Technique lesson.

"Nine hundred yuan a day. I owe her more and more favors."

After accepting the money, Chu Kuang walked home, unable to help feeling somewhat emotional.

When he arrived home, he planned to share the good news with his parents. Yet he found that only Mother Chu and Chu Yu were waiting for him today. Father Chu had unexpectedly not come home.

"Where's Dad?" Chu Kuang asked.

"To earn more money to support you two, your father found a new job recently. He probably won't have much time to come home for a while."

Mother Chu spoke calmly, but there seemed to be a trace of unease deep in her eyes.

Chu Kuang's heart sank, and he could not help asking, "Where did he go to work?"

"At a Star Farm. It's not easy to make the trip back and forth."

Mother Chu repeated the excuse she had prepared long ago, though a thread of unease still lingered in her heart.

Star Farms were located at the edges of stars, where they could absorb large amounts of stellar fusion energy to cultivate plants. Most of the staple ingredients used in the Nutrient Solution they consumed came from Star Farms.

However, such farms were far from Tian Yuan C Star, and there was generally only one break every few months.

Chu Kuang did not ask any more questions. He vaguely guessed something, but there was nothing he could do now.

His father had a resilient temperament. Even if Chu Kuang wanted to do something, he probably would not be able to persuade him to return.

I need to become stronger.

Chu Kuang murmured inwardly, his resolve growing firmer.

"..."

Over the next several days, Chu Kuang continued cultivating in earnest while steadily consolidating his ranking and charging forward.

About three days later, Chu Kuang reached rank 867 in the Tian Heng Ranking Tournament.

Two days after that, Chu Kuang killed an opponent in the Virtual Training Ground whose external martial arts and spear technique had both reached Great Accomplishment. The Gold-Splitting Spear successfully broke through to the Great Accomplishment Stage, while his Life Level reached 6.0 after he absorbed more than a hundred Nutrient Solutions.

Gold-Splitting Spear, Great Accomplishment 1%. Trait included: Gold-Splitting.

Gold-Splitting, Purple: The edge of splitting gold can shatter stone and cleave gold. The upper limit of the Gold-Splitting Spear's power increases by fifty percent.

Looking at the Gold-Splitting Spear that had entered the Great Accomplishment Stage, Chu Kuang slowly took a deep breath, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.

With a flick of his wrist, he shook the great spear. A golden sharpness immediately emerged from its tip, and an invisible edge cracked the bluestone slabs of the Virtual Training Ground.

"Great Accomplishment Beginner Martial Arts can increase strength by 1 to 1.2 times. Although my Gold-Splitting Spear has only just entered Great Accomplishment, with the trait's enhancement, its increase is a full 1.5 times."

"Such a strength increase may not compare to a completed Gold-Splitting Spear Technique, but it has already surpassed the limits of the Great Accomplishment Stage."

"Now, I may have a chance to challenge the top six hundred."