The Competition Begins

Qingshan Nature Reserve.

Li Changqing stood bare-chested, his muscles like steel forged a hundred times over. Within his dantian, his vitality embraced the core and returned strength. With a thought, he broke that force down into countless fine strands, sending it through the fascia across his muscles and from his dantian to his fingertips.

Bang!

His ten fingers flicked in rapid succession, the force piercing the air before him and setting off sharp explosions.

His vitality passed beyond his body, invisible force cutting through the air. The rock wall fifteen steps away suddenly exploded, leaving ten neat, deep holes in its hard surface.

Each hole was exactly five centimeters wide—not a fraction more, not a fraction less.

Just then, shaken by the force he released, several fallen leaves drifted down from the branches.

Li Changqing's eyes lit up. He raised his right hand again, his five fingers pressed together into a palm.

Within his dantian, his vitality moved with his will. His muscles and fascia trembled in unison as a powerful force surged out from his body.

It struck a delicate fallen leaf directly.

Bang!

The force passing through his body drove the leaf fiercely into the rock wall.

Yet the leaf, which even a child could tear apart with a light tug, remained completely intact beneath that terrifying force and slowly drifted to the ground.

Crash—

On the rock wall behind it, however, a clear palm print had been left behind, with stone chips crumbling down like tofu dregs.

Li Changqing's control over the force within his body had already reached perfection.

It could be as heavy as a violent storm, or as light as a gentle breeze brushing one's face.

Stillness and motion, yin and yang.

All followed his will.

He looked inward at himself.

Unity of Heaven and Man (Tai Chi): 100%

Universe Breathing Technique: 100%

Tai Chi Fist, Thunder Division: 100%

Vitality Concentration: 65%

Over the past week, Li Changqing had not only raised both his fist art and breathing technique to maximum proficiency, but also broken through the limits of his vitality twice.

He had never expected that, despite his current vitality already far surpassing the peak of the Lower-Rank Martial Artist level, there would still be room for improvement.

Within his dantian, his vitality coiled around itself in an embracing-core state. Its surface had completely solidified, faintly giving off a subtle golden sheen.

Li Changqing was certain that once his Vitality Concentration reached 100% again, the vitality within his body would completely transform from liquid into solid.

"Could the legendary golden core be the completely solidified vitality within a martial artist's body?"

Li Changqing did not understand. Over the past few days, he had looked through quite a bit of information, yet he had not found a single case like his own.

After reaching the ninth star of the Lower-Rank Martial Artist level, the sign of perfected vitality was being able to unleash the Ten-Step Divine Fist. This was also the limit of a Lower-Rank Martial Artist—or rather, the limit of the human body.

To keep breaking through, one could only shift the focus from vitality to will. The cultivation of Mid-Rank Martial Artists was the cultivation of spiritual power.

Their vitality, however, did not undergo any qualitative change from that of Lower-Rank Martial Artists.

Only after becoming a High-Rank Martial Artist, beginning to absorb psionic energy, and truly unifying vitality and spirit to give birth to one's own divine abilities—

Could vitality break through its shackles and continue to rise.

Yet Li Changqing realized that he had not felt the existence of a bottleneck at all.

In fact, once his Vitality Concentration reached 100% again, he had a strong premonition that he would not reach the end of vitality.

There was a great chance that his vitality would undergo an entirely new transformation, bringing him to a new starting point.

The golden-core-like substance spinning within his dantian was proof of that.

There had never been any record of solidified vitality appearing within the dantian of a Lower-Rank Martial Artist.

After steadying his emotions, Li Changqing shook his head.

Things would work themselves out when the time came. Besides, being able to keep increasing one's vitality was a privilege that ordinary martial artists only gained after stepping into the High-Rank realm.

Who would not want their vitality to have no limit?

And once Li Changqing entered the realm of Mid-Rank Martial Artists, the vitality and spiritual power he could raise at the same time would produce a terrifying chemical reaction.

Overflowing vitality could nourish the spirit; at the same time, spiritual power could in turn spur the growth of vitality.

Raising both at once would bring double the benefits.

He walked beneath a locust tree and picked up the leaf that had fallen to the ground earlier.

Pure Yang Sword Art

The conditions for cultivation had not yet been met.

A vast amount of knowledge kept flowing through his mind. This was the knowledge Li Changqing had obtained from that Psionic Stone Tablet last weekend.

But he was unable to cultivate this martial art left behind by Lü Dongbin. As for what condition he lacked, Li Changqing had no clue.

Looking at the locust tree before him, he pinched a leaf between two fingers.

With a single breath.

Li Changqing entered the state of Unity of Heaven and Man.

His masterful Tai Chi technique perfectly transmitted the force throughout his body into the palm holding the leaf.

His breathing resonated with the locust tree.

The direction of its grain, the tree's breathing, its most vulnerable points.

They all surfaced in his mind.

He adjusted his mind, completely merging as one with nature.

Now!

His blood and qi, half like a golden core, began to rotate. The Yin-Yang Qi had already transformed into a perfect Tai Chi Yin-Yang Fish, and immense power erupted.

Bang!

The fragile leaf sliced straight into the locust tree.

Li Changqing held his breath and focused, his gaze fixed on the leaf.

Even though he had done his utmost and used every method at his disposal, the leaf was on the verge of shattering after colliding with the hard locust tree.

A leaf barely a millimeter thick was simply too fragile.

Without using blood and qi to reinforce it, even if he forcibly cut through the trunk, the leaf itself would be practically ruined.

Li Changqing bent down and picked up another tender leaf of the same kind.

But this time, he directly condensed his blood and qi into a core, keeping it all coiled within his Dantian.

Not a trace leaked out.

He used nothing at all. He even deliberately disrupted his breathing rhythm and withdrew from the state of Unity of Heaven and Man.

Then, facing the locust tree, he gave it a casual, gentle tap.

Crack—

The frail, tender leaf easily embedded itself more than halfway into the locust tree.

The cut was smooth and neat, as though the locust tree had naturally been that way from the start.

The tender leaf, so delicate that it would shatter at the slightest touch, was lodged in the trunk. Even the tiny burrs along its edges were clearly visible.

It was completely unharmed.

Pure Yang Sword Art (Pseudo): 7%

"Phew—" He exhaled a breath of stale air.

This was a sword art Li Changqing had comprehended on his own through repeatedly reading the Pure Yang Sword Manual.

Although he had only imitated the form of the Pure Yang Sword Manual.

It had neither spirit nor intent.

Yet the effect still far exceeded Li Changqing's expectations.

Even what he had failed to achieve after entering Unity of Heaven and Man and using Tai Chi Force to Invert Yin Overturn Yang.

The Pure Yang Sword Art accomplished with such ease.

This was a difference in essence.

Even the scraps left behind by an Earthly Immortal were far superior to the martial arts Li Changqing had created himself.

"If I truly begin cultivating the Pure Yang Sword Manual, just how strong will I become?"

He still remembered the carefree verse Lü Dongbin had swiftly recited within that consciousness grotto-heaven.

By chance, in play, I wielded the Flying God Sword, And shattered Zhongnan's foremost peak.

With a flick of the hand, mountains crumbled and seas split.

At least on television, none of the Psionic Users Li Changqing had seen were capable of reaching that level.

Ring-ring—

His wristwatch alarm went off.

It was five in the afternoon.

At seven tonight, the Youth Cup's round of sixteen would officially begin.

As Rong City's highest martial arts arena for fighters under thirty, the Youth Cup's main tournament schedule was exceptionally tight.

Today, all matches from the round of sixteen through the semifinals would be completed.

Only the final was qualified to occupy an entire day.

The venue would also have government-funded spiritual energy healing equipment. As long as the injuries were not too severe, they could be healed in a short time.

Li Changqing picked up the phone.

"Hello, Grandpa Chen. Today's the Youth Cup Round of 16. Don't miss it again."

"You brat, you finally remembered to call this old man?" Chen Danqing's voice carried a smile.

"Who would've thought this old man had misjudged you? You reached the lower-rank peak in a month of cultivation. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I've never seen anyone like you before."

"What do you mean, finally remembered? I texted you before, but you wouldn't come."

"Hmph, you brat, you're not being honest." Chen Danqing snorted twice before changing the subject. "Kid, are you confident you can win this competition?"

"Of course."

"Then this old man has to see for himself what exactly you're made of, reaching the lower-rank peak after cultivating for just one month."

"Grandpa Chen, don't be late."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Changqing hung up.

After one last glance at his wristwatch, he shot off toward Rong City.

Sun Sheng should have returned by now, right?

Seven in the evening.

The Youth Cup Group A matches were all held in Rong City's dedicated martial arts arena.

The Bashu Province Provincial Competition had once been held here. It was a martial arts venue built to the highest standards.

It was nothing like those temporary setups in ordinary stadiums.

The entire martial arts arena could hold twenty thousand spectators at once, and the massive screens overhead allowed every audience member to clearly see each movement made by the martial artists.

"Dear viewers, today marks the annual Youth Cup Round of 16 elimination matches in Rong City.

"However, this year's Youth Cup is a little different. I'm sure everyone has seen the footage of that Rong City genius, Li Changqing, fighting in Group B, right?"

This time, aside from the host, three martial artists had been invited to the commentary desk.

Tang Cheng was among them.

"Teacher Tang Cheng, as a guest commentator for the Group B matches, could you predict this year's Youth Cup rankings for us?"

Tang Cheng smiled faintly.

"The Round of 16 contestants are undoubtedly all geniuses of Rong City. Making predictions is a difficult matter."

"However, I'm quite certain about the champion."

"Oh? Could you tell us who you think will be the champion?"

Tang Cheng settled into his seat and said with great confidence, "Naturally, it will be Rong City's genius, lower-rank peak martial artist Li Changqing."

The director promptly switched the feed to the audience stands.

A banner dozens of meters long, bearing the three characters of Li Changqing's name, was unfurled neatly by the crowd.

The moment the crowd saw themselves on the screen, they erupted with excitement.

"Li Changqing! Undefeated in every battle!"

"Li Changqing! Undefeated in every battle!"

In just a few days, while Li Changqing had still been cultivating in the mountains, a fan support group had already formed for him in Rong City.

"It seems that Teacher Tang Cheng isn't the only one who thinks highly of Li Changqing. The audience does too."

"However..." At this point, the host suddenly shifted gears and said with a mischievous grin, "Teacher Tang Cheng, everyone online says you're a jinx. Throughout your commentary on the Youth Cup Group B matches, every contestant you favored seemed to have been eliminated in the end."

At that, Tang Cheng's face twitched.

But he quickly regained his composure.

"That's perfectly normal. After all, the one who proved me wrong was Rong City's genius, Li Changqing. But in the face of absolute strength, no one can prove me wrong."

"Now that contestant Li Changqing has reached the lower-rank peak, no one in this Youth Cup will be his opponent."

The host smiled. "Then let us wait and see."