Three Great Martial Arts Gyms (Please Keep Reading)

Red Sky Martial Arts Hall

Even after midnight, the Virtual Room remained bustling. All one hundred virtual pods were still operating at high speed.

"I'm just one match away from advancing to Star Rank! Damn it!!" someone wailed, clutching their head as they came out.

"I was so close. What a shame. That was 500,000 Xia Guo Bi—think of all the resources that could buy," someone said unwillingly.

At the top floor was an office area spanning over a thousand square meters. Its overall decor was red and white, with martial arts emblems of crimson flames visible everywhere.

The floor was divided into dozens of work areas. Projections floated above the desks as dozens of men and women in red-and-white uniforms rapidly processed data.

In the central area, a Big Screen displayed the Red Rankings, its rankings visible to everyone.

"Manager Sun, as of midnight, a total of 108 people from Tianhai City have advanced to Star Rank in the Crimson Realm Arena."

A burly middle-aged man in a black suit, with a thick beard, stared at the Red Rankings while listening to the employee's report.

Manager Sun nodded and said,

"The number of people advancing to Star Rank is twenty higher than last year. That alone proves this year's geniuses are of good quality."

"The Tianhai Monthly Exam has ended, and so has the Star Activity. The major talents have now emerged."

"It's time for us to make our move and sign these geniuses, especially those who advanced to Star Rank. They are our main targets."

"With their strength, most of them are capable of signing A- or B-level contracts."

"Go ahead and organize the information. Starting tomorrow, everyone can take action. Begin with the A- and B-Rank Geniuses."

"Yes, Manager. We've already prepared everything. Most of these geniuses were evaluated long ago," the employee said with a nod.

Manager Sun looked at the Red Rankings and let out a breath.

"A new war for talent is about to begin. The next few months will be lively again."

The next day

"Ring-ring~"

"Class dismissed!"

"Lin Qi, Jiang Tao, Chen Zichuan, you three, come to my office."

Homeroom teacher Yan Hong looked at the three of them in the class as she spoke.

Lin Qi, Jiang Tao, and Chen Zichuan exchanged glances and immediately understood what this was about.

They stood up and followed Yan Hong to her office.

"Have a seat!"

The three sat separately on the sofa and quietly waited for Yan Hong to speak.

After calmly taking a sip of soda, Yan Hong said,

"Jiang Tao, Lin Qi, Chen Zichuan, the three of you made obvious progress in this Monthly Exam."

"So the school has decided to apply for higher Genius Loans for you."

Their eyes lit up as they waited for her to continue.

"Jiang Tao, you've entered the Top Ten of your grade. You can apply to upgrade from a First-Class Genius Loan to a Special Genius Loan."

"Hehe!" Jiang Tao laughed upon hearing that.

"Lin Qi, you showed the greatest improvement. You can apply for a Second-Class Genius Loan, and even a First-Class Genius Loan is possible."

"Chen Zichuan, you may only be able to get a Second-Class Genius Loan unless you can improve further in the Midterm Assessment."

Lin Qi and Chen Zichuan both nodded, unsurprised by this result.

To Lin Qi, whether it was a Second-Class Genius Loan or a First-Class Genius Loan, it was still a substantial sum of money.

Joy also appeared in Chen Zichuan's eyes. Right now, he relied entirely on the money from his Genius Loan to buy resources and improve his strength.

In the Red Realm, he was still a little short of having the strength needed to advance to Star Rank, so naturally, he could not receive the 500,000 Xia Guo Bi reward.

After leaving the office

Lin Qi and the other two walked down the hallway.

"A Special Genius Loan is exactly what I needed. I've almost used up my one million already, and a Special Genius Loan is worth a full three million Xia Guo Bi!"

"Subtracting the one million from before, there'll still be two million left. That'll be enough to last me a long time."

Jiang Tao looked excited, and Lin Qi knew why he was so happy.

According to Jiang Tao, half of the one million Xia Guo Bi had been spent on his younger sister, Jiang Miaoyin.

Her food, clothes, and living conditions had all been replaced with new ones.

Hospital examinations, recuperation, buying large amounts of resources to replenish the nutrients she had lost, and laying a solid foundation—none of that came cheap.

A beautiful figure appeared in Lin Qi's mind. She was a frail yet stubborn girl who made people feel protective of her, and she liked calling him Lin Qi Ge.

Lin Qi saw a reflection of his Old Mom, Fang Huiyi, in her.

"Buzz!"

After returning to his seat in the classroom, Lin Qi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw a deposit notification.

[Your Industrial and Commercial Card ending in xxx has received 500,000 Xia Guo Bi. Balance: 563,128 Xia Guo Bi!]

[Your Industrial and Commercial Card ending in xxx has received 500,000 Xia Guo Bi. Balance: 563,128 Xia Guo Bi!]

[Your Industrial and Commercial Card ending in xxx has received 500,000 Xia Guo Bi. Balance: 563,128 Xia Guo Bi!]

[Your Industrial and Commercial Card ending in xxx has received 500,000 Xia Guo Bi. Balance: 563,128 Xia Guo Bi!]

The Star Activity reward had arrived, and Lin Qi was secretly delighted.

Turning his head, he saw Jiang Tao also pull out his phone to check it.

"Qi Ge, the 500,000 has arrived!" Jiang Tao chuckled.

The corners of Lin Qi's mouth also lifted slightly. Now that the 500,000 Xia Guo Bi had arrived, he had enough money to buy resources.

Even if he could only get a Second-Class Genius Loan next, that was still 500,000 Xia Guo Bi. After deducting the 200,000 from a Third-Class Genius Loan, there would still be 300,000 left.

Adding that to the 560,000 he already had, he would have 860,000 Xia Guo Bi, close to one million. It would be enough to last him for quite some time.

At noon, after eating two Nutritional Meals and stopping when he was eighty percent full, Lin Qi returned to his Martial Arts Room.

After digesting for a short while, he began moving his body, preparing for his second training session of the day.

He took out two tubes of Qi and Blood Elixir and poured the crystal-clear red liquid into his mouth.

"Gulp~"

A few seconds later, warmth began spreading through Lin Qi's stomach, and a hot current flowed toward every part of his body.

Lin Qi looked at the remaining tubes of Qi and Blood Elixir and let out a breath.

"As my qi and blood value keeps increasing, my demand for resources is getting higher and higher if I want to maintain my rate of progress."

Qi and Blood Capsules had already been phased out by Lin Qi. He only bought some occasionally to eat like candy.

What he consumed most often was still Qi and Blood Elixir. He trained four times a day, and each session required two tubes of Qi and Blood Elixir.

That came to 120,000 Xia Guo Bi a month. On top of that, he often needed Spirit Refreshing Potion, which was another large expense.

Then there were meals and other purchases. After all that, only 30,000 Xia Guo Bi remained from his Third-Class Genius Loan.

Fortunately, the 500,000 Xia Guo Bi had arrived and kept up with his training expenses. Otherwise, his rate of progress would have stagnated.

"Phew~"

Bang! Bang!!

As he thought, his hands curled into claws. Force surged through his fingertips as his Tiger Claws suddenly struck out, whipping up gusts of wind.

Black Tiger Digs Heart!

White Tiger Offers Claws!

Angry Tiger Pierces Forest!

The six forms of Tiger Form Fist flowed continuously from his hands. Crisp cracks rang out from his body and reverberated through the air.

His entire body heated up, steam rising from him. Waves of heat spread throughout his body, as though a furnace were tempering his muscles.

The Qi and Blood Elixir was taking effect.

His Tiger Form Fist had already broken through to the Second Order and entered his bone marrow. He increasingly understood the essence of Fist Technique: intention as spirit, joints generating force, qi driving strength...

He had only known the theory before. Now, he was beginning to understand it. The muscles throughout his body coordinated their exertion, and Jin Force flowed through his bones and muscles.

He began to clearly sense the force of his punches.

His muscles moved violently as his qi and blood flowed and tempered him. The longer Lin Qi fought, the more vigorous he became.

He was like a fierce tiger hunting within the Martial Arts Room.

[Through training, your understanding of Tiger Form Fist has deepened. Fist Technique +1%]

[Through training, your qi and blood value has broken through. Qi and blood value +0.05]

[Qi and blood value: 8.2→8.25]

[Fist Technique: Second Order 10%→11%]

"Phew~"

Lin Qi looked at the improvements on the Panel, feeling delighted.

It was not only his qi and blood value that had improved, but also his Fist Technique. Practicing Fist Technique could train his body and improve his control over it.

Although his Spear Technique also improved quickly, it was not as fast as his Fist Technique.

And the higher his Fist Technique Realm became, the more it could also promote his Spear Technique Realm.

I hope my Fist Technique Realm can improve even faster. I can ask Teacher Zhang Cheng about that.

During the martial arts class that afternoon

After guiding one student, Zhang Cheng took a sip of water and checked the time. There were only around ten minutes left before class ended.

He cleared his throat and glanced around. Once he saw that everyone had finished washing up, he said,

"Everyone, stop what you're doing and gather here!"

The thirty-some students stopped moving and gathered around Zhang Cheng.

"There's still some time before class ends, so I have something to tell you."

Zhang Cheng wore a serious expression as he spoke. Everyone could tell that what he was about to say was very important.

"By convention, after the Tianhai Monthly Exam ends, martial arts teachers will explain the things Elite Class students need to pay attention to when signing with a Martial Arts Hall."

"Signing with a Martial Arts Hall?"

Many people's eyes lit up immediately. The atmosphere grew restless. This concerned everyone's future, so naturally, they all paid close attention.