Mountain Training

Early morning.

Rong City East Gate Station.

"Qingshan Nature Reserve." Li Changqing opened his phone and checked the route.

"Forty kilometers away. That's really a bit far."

A hundred years ago, the radiation pollution caused by the reckless use of nuclear weapons during the Third World War had nearly brought Blue Star's biosphere to collapse.

Fortunately, with the discovery of psionic technology, humanity had barely managed to keep the ecosystem from crumbling by harnessing psionic power.

After the war ended, nature reserves of all sizes had been built across the world to mend this scarred and battered homeland.

Yesterday, Grandpa Chen had told Li Changqing that the army's breathing technique had been designed with warfare in mind. It had unique benefits for strengthening the body, but it was difficult to use to aid cultivation. Using it for too long could even damage the body.

It could not be maintained as a constant state like certain other breathing techniques.

If he wanted to complete his transformation as soon as possible and step into the ranks of Martial Artists, the best method was to train in nature reserves across the land and attempt to break through his shackles.

Psionic energy was active in such places, making them the best locations for martial arts training.

Li Changqing arrived at the ticket window. "Hello, I'd like a ticket to Qingshan Nature Reserve."

"ID card."

The ticket clerk took Li Changqing's ID card and scanned it through the machine.

Beep beep—

"Sorry, sir. Today's sightseeing quota is already full."

"Full? This early?" Li Changqing was confused.

"Isn't it only ten in the morning?"

The clerk patiently explained:

"It's like this, sir. Qingshan Nature Reserve is Rong City's 5A-rated nature reserve. Not only does it house first-class protected animals such as Chinese alligators and golden snub-nosed monkeys, it is also home to the national treasure, the giant panda. Generally speaking, if you don't reserve in advance, it's nearly impossible to get a ticket."

The moment he heard the words "giant panda," Li Changqing knew he had miscalculated.

To prevent destruction, nature reserves imposed monthly visitor quotas. They could not possibly be fully open to the public.

Giant pandas had already been national treasures in the Old Era. Over the century after the war, their status had soared higher and higher. Tickets to this place had to be ridiculously difficult to get.

"Then forget it." Li Changqing shook his head. Just as he was about to leave—

"Give me a ticket to Qingshan Nature Reserve."

Li Changqing chuckled. So I wasn't the only fool who didn't know to book online.

"Certainly, sir. Please take your ticket. The VIP passage is this way."

Li Changqing: ???

He abruptly turned his head, only to see the ticket clerk who had just refused him rise from her seat. Holding an exquisite card in both hands, she presented it to a young man standing at the window, then guided him toward the VIP passage.

"You have internal tickets too?" Li Changqing was unhappy.

It was already the year 2122. Why was the Blue Star government still running this kind of insider privilege?

"No, sir." The clerk continued smiling.

"Then what's with him?"

"You mean that gentleman? What he holds isn't a sightseeing ticket." As she spoke, a look of admiration unexpectedly appeared on the clerk's face.

"That gentleman is an apprentice at Jixing Martial Hall. He has completed the physical assessment and officially joined the Martial Artist reserve. Perhaps one day, he'll break through the limits of humanity and become a Martial Artist."

"By regulation, Martial Artists and Martial Artist Apprentices are qualified to enter any nature reserve for training."

"A Martial Artist reserve?" Li Changqing raised a brow. In his perception, that young man's vitality was merely somewhat enduring, nowhere near robust. At best, he was comparable to how Li Changqing had been when he tested at Chengtian Martial Arts School.

Lucky kid.

Considering that he himself had only missed the mark by a few seconds, it was reasonable enough that the other man had passed the test.

However.

"You're saying any Martial Artist or apprentice can enter?"

"Yes." The ticket clerk nodded.

"But you need to apply for documentation. You'll need proof of identity from a Psionic University or martial hall."

Li Changqing said no more. Kang Tianchen had no idea of his current strength.

The identity recorded for him at Chengtian Martial Arts School was merely that of a prospective candidate.

But Li Changqing was in no hurry. The Youth Cup Grandpa Chen had mentioned was just around the corner, and he still needed to make more preparations.

Li Changqing's goal was not as simple as defeating Jiang He and making an appearance.

Qingshan Nature Reserve.

"Chitter, chitter-chitter!"

On the ground, a little monkey sprinted for all it was worth, the commotion behind it making it scratch at its ears and cheeks in panic.

It darted and leaped through the forest. At last, a row of trees appeared before its eyes.

"Chitter!"

Overjoyed, the little monkey sprang upward with its slender body, leaping several meters into the air with incomparable agility.

It stretched out both arms, grabbed the vines hanging from a tree trunk, and vanished in a flash.

"That little fellow can really run."

The instant the monkey shot up the tree, Li Changqing squeezed out from between two saplings. Looking at the swaying vines before him, he shook his head.

"Still not fast enough."

As he spoke, he glanced at his wristwatch.

"One hour and twenty-five minutes? A little faster than I expected."

Failing to get a ticket did not mean Li Changqing had no way of getting here.

He had covered the forty-kilometer journey in just over an hour, nearly doubling the marathon record from the Old Era.

The moment he entered the forest, he spotted a little monkey at play. Wanting to test his agility and speed, Li Changqing tried to catch it.

Unfortunately, he had still fallen quite short.

He was deep within the nature reserve, far removed from the developed area where tourists gathered.

Here, almost no human had set foot for decades.

Psionic energy was active here, making it exceptionally suitable for martial arts cultivation.

"Let me take a look." Li Changqing held his phone in one hand while pushing aside the branches in front of him with the other.

According to the nature reserve map, his destination was just ahead.

He had arrived.

Pushing aside the obstructing twigs before him, he saw a small stretch of water nestled amid the mountains.

The two valleys sat at different elevations, and a babbling stream cascaded down from above, forming a small waterfall.

Below the waterfall lay a pool less than a meter deep. Farther ahead, the riverbed gradually widened, until the bottom could no longer be seen at all.

"This is the place."

A height of just over three meters was as easy as walking on level ground to him now. Li Changqing leaped down, then took off his shoes and tossed them, along with his backpack, to one side.

After thinking it over, he simply removed all his clothes, wearing only quick-dry underwear as he stepped into the icy mountain spring.

The temperature of flowing mountain water was very low, usually only a few degrees.

"Hiss—"

The sharp burst of sound startled the fish nearby into fleeing.

Li Changqing's skin visibly flushed red. He opened his mouth slightly.

Thick white vapor drifted out. At this moment, his body was as scorching as a furnace.

Military Breathing Technique, Proficiency: 65%

Chengtian Tai Chi Fist, Proficiency: 50%

"Let's begin."

With the breathing technique circulating, Li Changqing began practicing his fist techniques against the resistance of the current.

Tai Chi sought to use fist techniques to embody yin and yang.

It required a practitioner to become like water—without constant form, without fixed shape.

What better way was there to cultivate than in the flowing mountain waters?

After yesterday's breakthrough, Li Changqing's body had continued transforming each day.

The Twenty-Four Tai Chi Forms no longer posed any obstacle.

He completed an entire set of fist techniques.

Chengtian Tai Chi Fist, Proficiency: 60%

Military Breathing Technique, Proficiency: 75%

The results were remarkably obvious, far surpassing his previous intermittent practice of the fist technique.

Li Changqing closed his eyes, and his fist technique changed once more.

Continue!

Mighty vitality surged and roiled, while an invisible shackle blocked the road ahead.

Vitality Concentration: 99%.