External Martial Arts

This energy was of extremely high quality, quickly restoring Chu Kuang to his peak state and even greatly enhancing his potential.

The medicinal effect of the Source Energy Potion had activated the deep cells within his body, temporarily greatly increasing the potential of his bone structure, almost as if it had been temporarily raised to the Upper Third Grade Bone level.

This enhancement could assist apprentices in completing their breakthrough into the Mortal Transformation Realm. It was also highly beneficial for bringing Basic Internal Martial Arts to completion, greatly reducing the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks.

However, once the medicinal effect of the Source Energy Potion was exhausted, those activated deep cells would fall dormant again. He had to seize the time and swiftly break through the bottleneck of Basic External Martial Arts.

Knowing time was precious, Chu Kuang immediately immersed all his focus into cultivating Basic External Martial Arts.

Basic External Martial Arts had a total of thirty-six forms. It had been created by the human race through integrating body-forging methods from countless races, and was a foundational method refined again and again. It was therefore extremely strenuous to cultivate; an ordinary person would be exhausted after practicing a single set.

After taking the Source Energy Potion, Chu Kuang felt as though the strength within his body was inexhaustible.

He performed three consecutive sets of Basic External Martial Arts. Not only did he not feel strained, he instead felt increasingly relaxed and proficient, and there was even a trace of seamlessness in his movements.

Finally, after completing his ninth round of Basic External Martial Arts, Chu Kuang suddenly felt enlightened. The once difficult Basic External Martial Arts became completely fluid, and in his hands, it even carried a hint of a grandmaster's bearing.

"Success!"

Chu Kuang took a deep breath and completed another round of Basic External Martial Arts as smoothly as flowing clouds and running water. He immediately felt the skin, flesh, meridians, blood, and bones throughout his body undergo an ultimate transformation.

At last, amid a series of crackling sounds from his bones, he slowly withdrew his technique and stood where he was before sensing the panel within his mind.

Name: Chu Kuang

Race: Human

Life Level: Level 5.1

Realm: Body Forging Completion, Pebble Body; Organ Refining Major Success

Bone Structure: Average Fourth Grade

Comprehension: Superior Seventh Grade

Physique: Mortal Body

Cultivation Method: Basic External Martial Arts Completion 0/3...

"Life Level 5.1."

"Pebble Body."

Chu Kuang was not surprised by the increase in his Life Level. His gaze fell upon the words "Pebble Body."

Body Forging was divided into four levels: Pebble Body, Mysterious Iron Body, Barbaric Bronze Body, and Adamantine Body.

Basic External Martial Arts could at most cultivate the Pebble Body, with a Life Level cap of only 5.5. Combined with Basic Internal Martial Arts of the same level, it could raise one's vitality to Level 7.

The success rate of charging into the Mortal Transformation Realm with Level 7 vitality was pitifully low. Even if one broke through by luck, it would basically be impossible to advance any further. That was why Xu Yue had urged Chu Kuang to cultivate an advanced method as soon as possible.

Chu Kuang's Iron Armor Technique and Jiang Feng's Brute Ox Technique were both merely beginner advanced cultivation methods, but both could cultivate the Mysterious Iron Body.

The Mysterious Iron Body had a vitality cap of around Level 6.5. Combined with internal martial arts of the same level, one could reach Level 8 vitality.

Breaking through into the Mortal Transformation Realm with Level 8 vitality would greatly increase the chances of success, and it would also broaden one's future potential considerably.

Beyond that were Intermediate Cultivation Methods and advanced cultivation methods, which could cultivate the Barbaric Bronze Body and Adamantine Body.

The Barbaric Bronze Body had a Life Level of 7.5, while the Adamantine Body had a Life Level of 8.5. Combined with internal martial arts of the same level, one could even reach Life Levels 9 and 10. However, usually only elites from Key Classes had any hope of cultivating them.

The minimum standard for a First-Order Mortal Transformation Realm martial artist was roughly Life Level 11.

"Basic External Martial Arts is only meant to lay a foundation. Its specialty is a stable foundation and avoiding damage to the muscles and bones during training. It has no additional effect on tempering the body."

Chu Kuang murmured inwardly. He understood that if he wanted to cultivate a stronger Mysterious Iron Body, he would still need to rely on an advanced method like the Iron Armor Technique. With that thought, he opened Basic External Martial Arts with his mind.

Basic External Martial Arts Completion 0/3: The Compendium of External Martial Arts, easy to learn but difficult to master. It is the most suitable cultivation method for humans to build a foundation.

Attached Trait: Compendium of External Martial Arts [Gold].

Compendium of External Martial Arts [Gold]: All external martial arts are readily grasped. When cultivating any external martial arts whose realm does not exceed that of Basic External Martial Arts, cultivation speed increases tenfold, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks decreases tenfold.

"Ten times the cultivation speed for external martial arts, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks is reduced tenfold as well?"

Chu Kuang's heart shook slightly. He could not help clenching his fists, clearly unable to conceal his excitement.

With the tenfold cultivation speed for external martial arts, along with the reduced difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks, his cultivation speed in external martial arts would probably surpass even those with Upper Third Grade Bone, perhaps not losing out even to those with Top-grade Bone Structure.

Top-grade Bone Structure was exceedingly rare. There was only one such person in all of Tian Heng Third Middle School. That person was the undisputed number one student at Tian Heng Third Middle School, and even among peers in Tian Heng City, he was a top-ten genius.

As for Earth Grade Bone Structure beyond that, such people were top geniuses even across the entire Tian Yuan Galaxy.

"In two months, a spot in the top hundred should no longer be a problem."

Chu Kuang settled his mind, then noticed the 0/3 after Basic External Martial Arts. He immediately focused his thoughts and tapped it, quickly gaining some understanding.

Basic External Martial Arts had already reached completion, but if he could cultivate one each of beginner, intermediate, and advanced body-forging methods, and bring all of them to completion, then he could allow Basic External Martial Arts to enter the Break Limit realm.

"Break Limit... breaking through one's limits. Is this the realm beyond completion?"

Chu Kuang pondered inwardly. He had heard of Break Limit before, but only truly peerless prodigies could achieve it. Among the high school students of Tian Heng City, only a few managed it each year.

Once one completed a Break Limit cultivation method, it was almost equivalent to obtaining a ticket to the Three Top Universities.

He withdrew his focus and immediately began cultivating the Iron Armor Technique. He discovered that his cultivation speed for the Iron Armor Technique this time was incredibly fast. After cultivating for only a short while, he had already brought the Iron Armor Technique to the Minor Success stage.

Iron Armor Technique Minor Success 1%.

"So fast."

Chu Kuang was slightly delighted. He roughly understood why the Iron Armor Technique had progressed so quickly. It was not only related to the golden trait, but also to the realm of his Basic External Martial Arts.

After all, after bringing Basic External Martial Arts to completion, his understanding of external martial arts had reached an almost grandmaster-level realm. Naturally, cultivating the lower-level Iron Armor Technique now gave him a commanding view.

"At this rate, the Iron Armor Technique will reach Major Success within ten days."

Chu Kuang murmured inwardly and looked at the Iron Armor Technique's trait again.

Iron Armor [Blue]: Armor protects the body, impervious to blades and spears. The defensive power of the Iron Armor Technique increases by twenty percent.

"The Iron Armor trait only increases it by twenty percent, not the thirty percent I expected."

"It seems traits that increase combat power do not have figures as exaggerated as traits that increase cultivation speed. Of course, it may also be related to the strength of the cultivation method. I'll know after trying stronger methods in the future."

Chu Kuang ended his cultivation and felt overwhelming hunger again. Only then did he realize that he had cultivated until dawn, and the energy from the Source Energy Potion had gradually faded away.

He hurriedly took out two bottles of Nutrient Solution and drank them. Only then did he feel his condition improve considerably.

Nutrient Solution was the foundation of the development of human martial civilization, and also one of the keys to humanity's rise.

This was because Nutrient Solution was extracted from several tons of staple foods such as potatoes, rice, corn, wheat, beef, and pork, with the essence of dozens of pounds of highly nourishing medicinal ingredients such as ginseng, lingzhi, deer antler, and fleeceflower root added to it.

The energy contained in a tiny bottle of Nutrient Solution was no less than that of several cows.

Martial arts training depended thirty percent on effort, seventy percent on talent, and another ninety percent on medicinal supplements. Without enough Nutrient Solution, martial arts training could truly kill a person.

Fortunately, he had been born in this good era. With humanity's current technological level, staple crops could already yield tens of thousands of jin per mu.

They could even conduct large-scale soilless cultivation of staple crops and medicinal herbs in space near stars, driving the cost of these Nutrient Solutions to extremely low levels.

Yet even so, one bottle of Nutrient Solution still cost one hundred Federal Coin, and one hundred Federal Coin was enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for a year.

After all, Nutrient Solution supported the livelihoods of millions. Father Chu and Mother Chu's current jobs were also tending the farms that cultivated these staple crops.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors."

"Too bad I can't get the Scholarship anymore."

Chu Kuang murmured, feeling envious that the school gave Jiang Feng an additional ten bottles of Nutrient Solution every month. In fact, the school had always provided Nutrient Solution allocations for the Top Students in class. Chu Kuang had received them for a time during middle school as well.

Unfortunately, after entering high school, he had never again ranked in the top ten of his class. Naturally, he no longer received any Nutrient Solution.

"Only two bottles of Nutrient Solution remain."

After drinking the Nutrient Solution, Chu Kuang looked at the final two bottles in the storage cabinet, and his brows furrowed slightly.

After Basic External Martial Arts reached completion, there would be no bottleneck before his vitality reached Level 5.5, but he needed to consume a large amount of Nutrient Solution to reinforce his foundation.

The remaining two bottles of Nutrient Solution alone could not possibly raise his Life Level to 5.5.

With that thought, he stood up and left the martial arts room. He came to his parents' door, considering asking them for money to buy Nutrient Solution, but then heard an argument.

"There's only one hundred thousand left at home, and you used it to buy a Source Energy Potion?"

"What about your hand? Tell me, do you still want to treat your hand or not?"

Mother Chu's voice was somewhat hysterical, carrying a sobbing tone.

The man's voice was very calm, yet he spoke with firm resolve. "Regrowing a severed limb costs one million. It's simply beyond what we can afford."

"Besides, unless we find a rare healing treasure in the Dark Domain, ordinary limb-regrowth surgery cannot restore my foundation. I still won't have a chance to break through into the Mortal Transformation Realm."

"The eldest is still young. He needs this opportunity more than a cripple like me."

"But what about Chu Yu?"

Mother Chu's voice trembled as she spoke in anguish. "Chu Yu will enter middle school in the second half of the year. He'll also begin learning martial arts, and the resource consumption will only grow greater from then on."

"Without the savings we've accumulated over the years, with the eldest and second both training, the Nutrient Solution they consume every year alone will crush us."

"I know." The man's voice was like an enraged lion's as he spoke decisively. "Then I'll go to the Dark Domain!"

"Are you insane?!"

After a fierce argument, perhaps afraid of waking the two children, the voices of the two people in the room gradually lowered.

Only the woman's quiet sobs and the man's heavy breathing echoed through the air, stifling and oppressive.