Improvement

Thinking of the spirit-energy-infused meat medicinal diet and the glistening braised pork, Zhou Leng swallowed, his stomach seeming to churn with flames.

"Want to stay at my place for a few days?" Zhou Leng pointed toward the city.

Big Yellow looked toward the city and froze for a few seconds. As if remembering the days of being bound by a dog leash, it backed away three steps and shook its head hard.

Zhou Leng crouched down and vigorously kneaded the dog's face with both hands as he said, "Things haven't been peaceful outside lately. You're not allowed to leave the village, understand?"

Big Yellow's mouth hung open, its eyes vacant and its face bewildered.

Zhou Leng said coldly, "Stop pretending you don't understand. If you dare run off outside, I'll break your dog legs!"

Big Yellow's ears drooped, and it tilted its head pitifully.

Its pair of dog eyes rolled lightly.

Zhou Leng patted Big Yellow on the head and rose. "I'm leaving. I'll come see you in a few days."

"Woof woof..." Big Yellow wagged its tail, picked up its steel food bowl in its mouth, and began making the rounds through the village.

Zhou Leng slung his hiking backpack over his shoulders and jogged all the way, enduring his hunger.

When he passed a small supermarket, his stomach roiled like rivers and seas, and his body trembled.

Zhou Leng hesitated for a few seconds, then entered the supermarket and headed straight for the high-energy supplement drink shelf.

He glanced at the price. One bottle cost one hundred yuan.

A drink assassin.

Zhou Leng silently left, bought four bags of Morning-Training Powder from a nearby shelf, poured them into purified water, and drank it all. The burning sensation in his stomach eased slightly.

After leaving the supermarket, Zhou Leng jogged slowly. Once he had finished warming up, he took out his phone and looked at the timer screen.

"True Qi Minor Accomplishment, Third Heaven. I feel much stronger. Hopefully, this time my qi-running can break three and a half minutes!"

Zhou Leng started the timer, circulated his true qi at full force, and sprinted with all he had.

The farther he ran, the more relaxed Zhou Leng's expression became.

"Whew..."

Zhou Leng's true qi ran dry. He stopped the timer and looked at the time.

Four minutes and eighteen seconds.

Zhou Leng checked it over and over.

Yesterday, it had been three minutes and ten seconds.

In a single day, his qi-running time had increased by one minute and eight seconds.

If he had possessed this level of physical fitness during the physical exam, his citywide ranking could have risen by at least twenty thousand places.

His best result half a year ago had been three minutes and fifty-five seconds.

Four minutes and eighteen seconds was far beyond his expectations.

Zhou Leng lightly touched his abdomen, faintly sensing that his true qi had undergone a subtle change.

Or perhaps it was merely an illusion, because his Martial Path Perception was not very clear.

Zhou Leng turned and looked toward Xiaoru Village on Ruge Mountain, shrouded in white mist.

The white mist seemed much thinner than it had been yesterday.

Zhou Leng continued his slow run, pondering the Mysterious Forest and the Frost Giant Tree as he ran.

Gradually, a plan formed in his heart.

Although he kept feeling that he had forgotten something, it did not seem important.

After returning home, Zhou Leng rushed straight to the storage cabinet and found the emergency food.

Energy bars, compressed biscuits, luncheon meat, chocolate, and more. He wolfed down half of it all in one go before stopping.

After eating, a faint trace of hunger still remained.

Zhou Leng decisively stopped eating.

Knock knock knock...

A knock sounded at the door.

"Xiao Leng, time to eat." Li Linhan urged him from outside.

"Coming."

Zhou Leng went next door.

Meat medicinal diet, an entire chicken stewed with numbing pepper, plus two vegetable dishes.

Zhou Leng ate in huge mouthfuls.

Since Zhou Leng said nothing, Li Linhan did not ask a single extra question.

After Zhou Leng turned and left, Li Linhan wore a thoughtful expression.

This kid's inner cultivation had clearly improved. It seemed he was about to recover.

Back home, Zhou Leng circulated his cultivation to refine the meat medicinal diet.

In less than three minutes, Zhou Leng finished his cultivation.

His body absorbed the medicinal diet's power, completely dispelling his hunger. His whole body felt warm, as though he were soaking in a hot spring.

Zhou Leng rushed downstairs, found an empty spot in the residential complex, and began practicing the Wave-Stacking Palm.

With slow movements and without using true qi, Zhou Leng performed all eighteen forms of the Wave-Stacking Palm.

Parting the Waves, Autumn River Sweeps Across, Rushing Tide Strikes Shore, A Boat Crossing the Sea...

He struck quickly and practiced slowly, every detail appearing clearly.

After slowly completing one set of the Wave-Stacking Palm three times, Zhou Leng focused his expression and began practicing it at normal speed.

Quick strikes, quick practice, unruffled in the face of danger.

After finishing three rounds of rapid palm techniques, Zhou Leng slowly withdrew his power, a faint joy rising between his brows.

The Wave-Stacking Palm had advanced from Minor Accomplishment, Ninth Heaven, to Minor Accomplishment, Tenth Heaven.

Next, Zhou Leng practiced the Mountain-Punching Fist, Cloud-Flying Leg, Eight Trigrams Step, and Wandering Cloud Movement one by one.

After finishing, he used the National Divine Ability Martial Path Perception and discovered that all his external martial arts had advanced by one Heaven.

Zhou Leng went upstairs and returned home, sat at his desk, and opened his Martial Dao notes.

He glanced at yesterday's record, then picked up his pen and wrote.

July 8,

Cloudy turning clear.

I. Realm.

Blood Qi Realm, Qi-Nourishing Stage.

II. Divine abilities.

1. Racial divine ability: Seed of True Qi.

2. National divine abilities: Everlasting Legacy. Martial Path Perception. United Will Forms a Fortress. Medicinal Supplementation.

III. Martial arts:

1. Internal cultivation: Mystic Tide Art - Minor Accomplishment, Third Heaven. +2.

2. Fist technique: Mountain-Punching Fist - Proficiency, Third Heaven. +1

3. Palm technique: Wave-Stacking Palm - Minor Accomplishment, Tenth Heaven. +1

4. Leg technique: Cloud-Flying Leg - Proficiency, Fifth Heaven. +1

5. Footwork: Eight Trigrams Step - Minor Accomplishment, Ninth Heaven. +1

6. Movement technique: Wandering Cloud Movement - Proficiency, Seventh Heaven. +1

IV. Four Extraordinary Bodies.

Qi: Mortal Qi.

Blood: Mortal Blood.

Body: Mortal Body.

Strength: Mortal Strength.

V. Martial Will.

No perception.

VI. Combat awareness.

No perception.

Zhou Leng lightly clenched his fist and looked at the green wristband on his left wrist.

After the Martial Examination, he could go to the hospital and have it removed.

Having just advanced, Zhou Leng did not dare waste time. He sent Mo Hai another message to request leave, then walked to the cushion in his room and sat in meditation to cultivate the Mystic Tide Art.

Zhou Leng sat cross-legged on the cushion, circulated the Mystic Tide Art, and his Inner Vision Like a Painting unfolded.

After a moment, Zhou Leng vaguely felt that the Mystic Tide Art seemed different, yet his Martial Path Perception could not detect anything.

Deep-blue true qi flowed through his body. Zhou Leng let his intent follow the qi, casting the stray thoughts that surfaced behind his mind.

The Mystic Tide True Qi of Minor Accomplishment, Third Heaven, had become thicker and moved faster.

Zhou Leng remained seated for a long time, cultivating repeatedly and consolidating his hard-won improvement.

It was not until noon, when the gradual-tide alarm rang, that Zhou Leng finally rose.

A faint hunger surged within him.

Zhou Leng checked the refrigerator and began making lunch.

Duck stewed with potatoes, stir-fried cabbage, and steamed rice.

He had clearly eaten so much in the morning, yet he was hungry again so quickly at noon.

Two whole ducks, seven large potatoes, half a cabbage, and half a pot of white rice.

After eating, Zhou Leng feared he had not gotten enough nutrition, so he took two multivitamin tablets.

Zhou Leng touched his bulging stomach.

His body really was getting better.

After soaking mixed grains for the evening, Zhou Leng played on his phone for a while, then took a nap.

After the nap, Zhou Leng took "Zhao Dongjun's Collected Works, Volume One" from the bookshelf, went to the living room, and began reading slowly.

"Zhao Dongjun's Collected Works" had five volumes in total.

The first volume recorded the growth of this Martial Saint, including portions of his memoirs.

The second volume contained his notes, insights, speeches, interviews, and miscellaneous writings on Blood Qi Realm martial arts.

The cover of "Zhao Dongjun's Collected Works, Volume One" in Zhou Leng's hands had yellowed, its pages loose from being flipped through who knew how many times.

Zhou Leng had copied this book out stroke by stroke.

Once he felt that lunch had digested somewhat, Zhou Leng cultivated the Mystic Tide Art again.

Two hours slipped by in a flash. Zhou Leng went downstairs and ran to Dragon Roam River Park, where he practiced the Wave-Stacking Palm, Eight Trigrams Step, and other external martial arts in an empty place, continuing to consolidate the fruits of his cultivation.

It was not until the sun sank in the west that Zhou Leng ran home.

At No. 8 High School, starlight shone over the Martial Dao training ground.

The students of Class Three left one after another after finishing their cultivation. Four students selected for the Martial Dao advanced class chatted as they walked back.

Among them were Martial Dao committee member Mo Hai and movement-technique committee member Xu Qingjin.

As they chatted, the topic turned to the students of Class Three.

Xu Qingjin asked, "Did Zhou Leng take leave again today?"

Mo Hai sighed. "Yesterday he said he was looking for a dog. Today he said he was cultivating at home. I don't know what's going on."

"Could he have given up? You all saw his qi-running on Friday. His body swayed, his legs trembled, and he still hasn't recovered."

"The biggest pity in our class is Zhou Leng. He's always had drive. Even while sick, he never gave up. Even senior brother Zhang Xinglie praised him."

"The real pity is that he cultivates the Mystic Tide Art too."

"What do you mean?"

"Of the people who cultivate water-element martial arts, nine out of ten want to fight their way back into West Sea Demon City and drive out the Sirens. But now, his Martial Dao path will probably be cut off."

"Yeah. We people from Ru City can't say it's one hundred percent, but at least ninety percent of us are holding in one breath, determined to retake West Sea Demon City."

"Among us Ru City people, either our elders retreated from the direction of West Sea Demon City, or our relatives and friends died there. How could anyone not hate the Sirens?"

"Zhou Leng has both. Since he was little, he wanted to fight back into West Sea Demon City, so he cultivated desperately. But then he was harmed by demons, and now his Martial Dao path..." Xu Qingjin could not continue.

"What was his ranking after the physical exam?"

"Seventy-three thousand something," Xu Qingjin answered.

"The Martial Examination only tests internal cultivation true qi. Even if his internal cultivation gives him a slight edge and he performs beyond his limits, it'll still be hard for his total score to enter the city's top five thousand. Martial University is hopeless."

"What about a supplementary admission spot?"

"Don't the teachers say it every day? We ran into the postwar baby boom, and there are too many examinees this year. Besides, supplementary spots are like special-talent admissions—one radish, one hole. Without a heaven-reaching method, it's difficult. My mom asked around. She said that in previous years, if I failed to get into West Sea Martial University, getting a supplementary spot would not have been hard. But if I fail this year, even she can't do anything. I can only fight hard on my own."

The other three nodded. Mo Hai's family had some connections, so his words carried considerable weight.

"His Martial Examination results should be enough for an Affiliated Martial Academy, right?"

"If he performs beyond his limits, there's hope. Or he could pull some strings. In recent years, the martial academy system has been placed under the Martial Guard Department. Its prospects are no weaker than ordinary Martial Universities. If my parents hadn't mapped out a direction for me, I'd also want to attend an Affiliated Martial Academy and focus on Martial Dao."

"What a pity..."

"The four of us need to work hard and strive to get into Martial University together!"

"Alright!"

The voices of Class Three's four Martial Dao advanced students rang especially clear across the Martial Dao training ground at night.

After dinner, Zhou Leng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed.

In his mind, he repeated the forms of the Wave-Stacking Palm and other external martial arts over and over.

Mind Training.

Before long, Zhou Leng's mind went numb and his vision turned white. He had no choice but to stop and collapse onto the sofa.

After resting for a while, he laid out his training mat and practiced the Wave-Stacking Palm, Eight Trigrams Step, and other external martial arts again and again.

After his training, he fell peacefully asleep.

Early Monday morning, Zhou Leng returned home after his morning training. From the open door of apartment 702 came Li Linhan's voice again.

"Come eat breakfast with me. The thing your third brother sent you has arrived."

"Alright. I'll come over after I shower."

Not long after, Zhou Leng entered Li Linhan's home.

On the table were meat medicinal diet, curry beef brisket, stir-fried rapeseed, cold cucumber salad, and half a pot of mixed-grain rice.