Qi Martial Realm First Level

Yang Chen ate early the next day and hurried to Spiritual Field No. 8. After inspecting the field, he immediately threw himself into training.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

On the morning of the third day, Yang Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, drenched in sweat. He summoned the panel:

[Realm: Quasi-Martialist, Punching Force: 970 kilograms]

After training all day yesterday, his punching force had surged by 54 kilograms. He was now only one step away from breaking through to the Qi Martial Realm.

Closing the panel, Yang Chen took out a Qi Strength Pill and swallowed it.

The medicinal power spread, and that familiar tingling numbness swept over him once more.

Half an hour later, Yang Chen's entire body shuddered as an unfathomably mysterious feeling rose in his heart.

With a thought, he immediately summoned the panel:

[Realm: Qi Martial First Level, Punching Force: 1005 kilograms]

"I broke through!"

At this moment, although he had long expected that he would break through this time, Yang Chen still found it hard to contain his excitement when it truly happened.

This was the Qi Martial Realm. It meant that, from this day onward, he had formally set foot upon the path of martial arts and become a true martial artist.

Sixteen years old, Qi Martial First Level, with a punching force as high as one thousand kilograms—back in his previous life, that would have been a miracle.

After patiently waiting for the medicinal effect to be fully absorbed, he immediately rose to his feet and walked to the wooden post in the corner. Luo Wang had left this post behind for familiarizing oneself with newfound strength after a breakthrough.

With burlap wrapped around his fists, he threw a clean, decisive punch!

Bang!

The wooden post did not move in the slightest. Yang Chen was not surprised. His fists turned into afterimages as dense, fierce gusts of punching wind surged forth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of impact continued for a full five minutes before finally stopping. Yang Chen wiped the sweat from his brow, his bright, spirited eyes fixed on his fists.

"Sure enough, after stepping into the Qi Martial Realm, the strength throughout my body has become much more condensed!"

A punching force of 999 kilograms and one of 1,000 kilograms seemed to differ by only a single kilogram, but the gap was actually enormous. The former's strength was like a heap of loose sand; when 999 kilograms of force was thrown into a punch, being able to produce 600 kilograms of destructive force was already exceptionally good.

But after breaking through to the Qi Martial Realm, one's strength condensed. A punch of 1,000 kilograms began with 800 kilograms of destructive force.

The gap between them was immense.

This was precisely why 1,000 kilograms was called the threshold of a martial artist, while 999 kilograms of punching force still made one a Quasi-Martialist.

A quarter of an hour later, Yang Chen's emotions gradually settled.

Breaking through to the Qi Martial Realm was worth celebrating, but not worth being proud of. Not to mention those farther away—among the disciples of his own batch alone, quite a few had higher cultivation than him. And these were only the new disciples of District Eight. Nineteenth Servant Peak had ten districts in total; how many people were stronger than him?

Furthermore, the entire Sun Moon Sword Sect had thirty Servant Peaks. There were simply too many people with higher cultivation than his.

And these were only the new disciples of his batch. If all Labor Disciples were counted, his meager cultivation was truly not worth mentioning. What was more, above the Servant Peaks were the Outer Sect disciples—and above the Outer Sect?

This world's stage was vast.

What Yang Chen needed to do now was train, train, and train again!

Having gathered his thoughts, Yang Chen flopped onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.

Over the following days, Yang Chen maintained the most comfortable rhythm. Other than his two daily inspection duties, he spent all his remaining time training and sleeping.

There was no pointless socializing, much less any conflict.

Even when he met the thick-browed youth from the second floor again—the one with whom he had once exchanged sharp words—they merely acted as though they did not see each other, and the conflict did not escalate.

In those peaceful days, time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, the day for the monthly task assessment arrived, meaning Yang Chen had already been in the sect for a full month.

That afternoon, after completing his inspection duty, Yang Chen locked up his wooden hut and headed briskly toward the residential area.

A month had passed, and Yang Chen had grown considerably taller. He now stood five chi four cun tall. Apart from the slight childishness still lingering on his face, his build had already surpassed that of some disciples.

As he walked back, Yang Chen did not forget to summon the panel:

[Realm: Qi Martial Second Level, Punching Force: 2570 kilograms]

Over the past month, Yang Chen's strength had increased tremendously. He was no longer too far from the Qi Martial Third Level.

Naturally, this was thanks to his daily diligent training, but it also could not have happened without the support of Spirit Crystals.

During this time, he had already bought seven bottles of Qi Strength Pills through Wang Feng. He also ate Fierce Beast Meat every day without interruption. Now, only eleven Spirit Crystals remained in his pocket.

The expenditure could not be called small, but the results were exhilarating.

During this period, he had taken note of quite a few people. Even after a month, many disciples were still Quasi-Martialists, with a long road yet to travel before becoming true martial artists.

Most of these people came from humble backgrounds, with poor foundations. Without Spirit Crystals to support them, they also had to complete arduous tasks.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Yang Chen returned to the residential area. The first thing he did was head straight for the dining hall.

After eating his fill, he did not return to his wooden hut. Instead, he went to the place where he had first collected his supplies.

Three days ago, he had received notice that the first task review would be held here today at 6:45 p.m.

"Old Yang!"

Yang Chen had only just approached when he heard a familiar voice. Following the sound, he saw Zhu Xi.

Over the past month, Zhu Xi had changed as well. He had grown thinner and taller, looking like a bamboo pole. Then there was his strength—according to him, he was no longer far from the Qi Martial Second Level.

Yang Chen was not surprised. When Zhu Xi had entered the sect, his clan had also given him Spirit Crystals, allowing him to pull ahead of the others during the early stages of the Qi Martial Realm.

"Old Zhu, you're here pretty early today."

At some point, the way they addressed each other had changed. Yang Chen had found it a little awkward at first, but over time, it had come to sound rather pleasant.

It meant their relationship had grown closer, which was actually beneficial to both their families.

Yang Chen was not a direct-line core figure in the Yang Family, and Zhu Xi was much the same. Still, neither of them was insignificant; their elders held a certain degree of influence within their respective clans.

The two great families stood side by side in Fulong County, and clashes of interest had never been rare. But Fulong County was not home to only the Zhu and Yang Families. If the two of them could serve as a link and facilitate cooperation between their clans in certain areas, everyone would be happy to see it.

Zhu Xi laughed. "You just love holding on to what happened before."

"If I remember correctly, you overdid your cultivation three days ago too. It's only been three days—can that really count as before?"

Faced with Yang Chen's teasing, Zhu Xi waved his hand helplessly. He had not expected his sense of time to become so muddled—either he cultivated past the time or slept past it.

"Let's not talk about the past. Today's the task review. I heard there's some major announcement too, though I don't know whether it's true."

"Where there's no wind, there are no waves. Since rumors have spread, there's a certain chance it's true. The question is, what major event could it be?"

Yang Chen spoke slowly. Over the past few days, he had also caught scattered snippets while eating in the dining hall. No one knew exactly what it was, only that Lin Chuan, the steward of Section Eight, would be coming today.

The more Yang Chen learned about Lin Chuan, the more reverence he felt.

Contrary to what he had imagined, Lin Chuan was not someone whose potential had been exhausted and who had been sent down to serve as a steward.

Lin Chuan was an Outer Sect disciple, and an outstanding one among them. He was only twenty-eight, yet his strength was extraordinarily formidable. He was a prominent figure in the Outer Sect, and it was said that he stood just one step away from advancing into the Transcendent Realm and entering the Inner Sect.

To many on Labor Peak, Lin Chuan was the greatest figure they would ever see in their lives.

As the two chatted, more and more Labor Disciples arrived nearby.

When the time reached 6:45 p.m., Wang Kui and the other two overseers arrived first. "Everyone, line up in order and welcome Steward Lin!"