"Come on! Put some force into it!"
Lin Mu looked into her eyes and said at once.
Chu Miaomiao froze slightly. "Put some force into it?"
"Yeah!"
"Do what?"
"Make your move! How else am I supposed to see how strong you are?"
Chu Miaomiao came back to herself. "All right!"
She let out a light breath, and an aura surged from her body. With a flash of movement, she charged toward Lin Mu.
Facing her assault, Lin Mu remained exceedingly calm.
His figure shifted continuously, and he easily dodged several of her attacks.
Chu Miaomiao was panting from exhaustion.
But she did not stop. She persisted for more than twenty minutes, only stopping when Lin Mu told her to.
A system notification sounded in Lin Mu's mind.
He looked at Chu Miaomiao, countless thoughts surfacing within him.
"Get up!"
"What is it?"
"Do you know what's wrong with you?"
Chu Miaomiao shook her head.
"Your Movement Technique is quite good, but many parts lack precision. For the next hour, I'll guide you." Lin Mu said.
"Mm!" Chu Miaomiao nodded.
Lin Mu took a bamboo rod from the side. "Begin! First, use your Movement Technique."
Chu Miaomiao moved, but before she had taken more than a few steps, Lin Mu's rod struck her.
Smack!
Pain shot through her.
Chu Miaomiao could not help letting out a delicate cry.
"Your arc is too wide. Pull your hips in!"
"Yes!" Chu Miaomiao adjusted her posture.
Smack!
Another sharp sound rang out.
"Your ankle force is wrong!"
Smack!
"Your left hand is too high!"
Smack!
"The curve of your chest is too wide!"
"Ah! How am I supposed to fix that?!"
"..."
After roughly an hour, Chu Miaomiao had quite a few wounds on her body, and the way she looked at Lin Mu held a little more pitiful charm.
Lin Mu's guidance was indeed useful.
In such a short time, she had discovered many of her own problems.
But Lin Mu was far too strict.
And he hit far too hard.
She was nearly at her limit.
Still, she knew very well that advancing as a martial artist was not so simple.
If Li Yan could endure it, what reason did she have not to?
"The hour is up. Go back and cultivate!" Lin Mu said at that moment.
"Mm!" Chu Miaomiao nodded and turned to leave.
Lin Mu let out a light breath, adjusted his condition, and quickly entered cultivation.
Time flowed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.
During this period, aside from helping Li Yan and Chu Miaomiao cultivate, Lin Mu spent most of his time cultivating in the Cultivation Room.
In just over ten days, he had successfully cultivated all three Martial Skills, and his overall attributes had changed significantly.
"Name: Lin Mu." "Blood Qi Value: 2.78 points." "Skills: Fist Technique (Black Iron Grade 56%), Movement Technique (Black Iron Grade 97%), Blade Technique (Black Iron Grade 19%)." "Cultivation Art: Five Hearts Facing Heaven Art (Minor Success 65%)." "Martial Skills: Dragon Roar Fist (Mastery), Flowing Dragon Steps (Mastery), Dragon's Thousand-Mile Stride (Beginner 99%), Immovable Rock Golden Body (Beginner 77%), Berserk Strike (Beginner 59%)." "..."
Compared with before, his Blood Qi Value had increased by 0.88, his Fist Technique skill by 16%, his Movement Technique skill by 40%, his Blade Technique skill by 19%, the Five Hearts Facing Heaven Art by 13%, and Dragon's Thousand-Mile Stride by 76%...
Feeling these changes, a trace of satisfaction appeared on Lin Mu's face.
He knew that, based on these numbers, he absolutely had a chance of reaching a Blood Qi Value of 7.0 in two months.
"It's just that the expenses are a little too high!"
Lin Mu thought to himself.
Although he had the six hundred thousand Chu Miaomiao had given him, the one hundred thousand from the Duel Hall, and the hundred thousand or so he had saved before, after cultivating during this period, he had less than two hundred thousand left in hand.
That was because he now consumed one and a half portions of D-grade Supplies every hour.
The cost was around seven thousand five hundred.
Cultivating seven or eight hours a day meant sixty thousand.
That was with restraint. If he used C-grade Supplies, the expenses would be even more terrifying.
"Although I have the system's help, and one cultivation session is worth hundreds or thousands of my previous ones, I'm still far too lacking in resources!"
Lin Mu thought silently.
His two disciples each had ten to twenty thousand in daily living expenses, with cultivation resources counted separately.
Compared to them, he was dirt poor.
But he had no choice. Born into this kind of family, he could only rely on his own hard work.
"I still need to make money!" Lin Mu thought to himself.
He had not participated in a match for some time.
Given his current situation, he still could not do without Virtual Duels.
Just as he was about to head into the virtual space, his phone rang.
Lin Mu took out his phone. It was his best friend calling.
"Hello!"
"Why haven't you come yet?"
"What?"
"The Monthly Examination! Are you not planning to take the Martial Arts Exam?"
Lin Mu came back to himself.
Although he had taken a long leave from his teacher, he had to take the Monthly Examination.
Because missing more than two Monthly Examinations in a row would result in his Martial Arts Exam qualification being revoked.
"I'll be there right away!" Lin Mu said.
"You're really careless!" Huang Da could not help saying.
Lin Mu hung up and quickly left the Virtual Duel Hall.
Half an hour later, he arrived at school.
He had not been to school for an entire month. Seeing the place again stirred some emotions in him.
It was as though he no longer belonged to this school.
When he entered the classroom, familiar faces filled his view.
When everyone saw him, they all greeted him politely.
Although Lin Mu was a poor student, not many people looked down on him.
That was because everyone was more focused on themselves.
Their homeroom teacher, Li Yu, walked in. Her gaze swept across the room as she immediately said, "This Monthly Examination will simulate the Martial Arts Exam format. There is some danger involved, so those who do not wish to participate may choose another method."
As soon as her words fell, the expressions of quite a few people present changed noticeably.
Li Yu did not waste words and directly played a display on the Virtual Screen. "This Monthly Examination will take place in the wilderness. The martial artists from the Ministry of Education have cleared the area in advance and released many low-level Fierce Beasts there!"
"Your task is to hunt these Fierce Beasts. If you don't wish to participate, say so in advance and follow the previous Monthly Examination procedure."
For a moment, fear appeared on some people's faces.
Fierce Beasts!
The common enemy of all humanity.
They were born of heaven and earth, possessing immense strength from the moment they were born.
At the same cultivation level, even two or three martial artists might not be a match for a single Fierce Beast.
More importantly, fighting them carried a risk of death.
Though they were all low-level Fierce Beasts and Second-Order Martial Artists would be protecting them, many people still did not want to take the risk.
The Martial Arts Exam was just around the corner. What if something happened?
Noticing the expressions on her students' faces, Li Yu frowned slightly.
She had expected this outcome long ago.
But seeing it for real still disappointed her somewhat.
Human martial artists were not flowers grown in a greenhouse. They would need to go to the battlefield in the future.
If they continued to act so timidly, how could they ever defend their homes and country?
She let out a light breath and said slowly, "As long as you participate in this Monthly Examination, you'll receive one Low-Grade Healing Potion. If you place in the top ten, you'll receive fifteen portions of C-grade Supplies. And if you take first place, you'll receive fifty portions of C-grade Supplies..."
Before you continue