Extraordinary Body

Hu Yi, his face flushed red, raised his wineglass high and shouted, "Come on, everyone, let's toast Zhou Leng, winner of the 'Zhou Leng Progress Award'!"

Feng Wenhao sat beside Hu Yi, and beside Feng Wenhao was an empty chair.

On the other side of the empty chair, Xu Qingjin picked up a glass filled with beer, stood with a smile, and handed it to Zhou Leng.

"This was prepared for you."

Zhou Leng took it, raised it toward everyone, and said, "I was late because I'd just finished seeing someone off. I'll punish myself with a drink."

With that, Zhou Leng drained the glass in one go.

"Come, come, come, we've all been waiting for you." Hu Yi swayed slightly as he walked over, put an arm around Zhou Leng's shoulder, and led him to the empty seat.

Xu Qingjin also sat down beside him. On her other side sat a female classmate she was close to.

Before Zhou Leng, the bone plate, bowl, and chopsticks were arranged neatly.

Mo Hai sat at the head of the table and smiled. "All the commendations have been handed out. We have nothing more to say to you—just this."

As he spoke, Mo Hai gave him a thumbs-up.

Most of them had drunk enough for their faces to turn faintly red. Even the classmates who had not drunk were more stirred up than usual. They nodded softly together, their eyes bright and glistening.

Zhou Leng poured himself another glass of beer, rose to his feet, raised it in a circle toward those around him, and said, "Thank you all for looking after me these past days. This drink represents my gratitude. May the friendship between us classmates last forever!"

As he spoke, Zhou Leng drained the second glass in one gulp.

Then Zhou Leng raised a third glass and said, "For this final drink, I wish that no matter what road each of you takes, you'll flourish more and more and only get better!"

After speaking, Zhou Leng finished the third glass and sat down.

The way his classmates looked at him grew even warmer.

Xu Qingjin whispered beside him, "You're very happy today."

Zhou Leng nodded.

Everyone exchanged polite conversation for a while before Mo Hai said, "Just now, we all talked about how we felt after school started. Zhou Leng, what do you have to say about these days of military training?"

Zhou Leng thought for a moment and said, "I don't know what it was like for you elsewhere, but my strongest impression at the Martial Arts Gym was that our gym didn't really feel like a school. It felt more like training reserve Martial Guards or reserve soldiers."

"These past few days, all the students at the gym and I have changed noticeably. In the past, we relied more on teachers, parents, and the school."

"But as we cursed the instructors and cursed the gym every day, we gradually realized that cursing was useless. This world doesn't bend to our will. No matter how ruthless the instructors and the gym are, can they be crueler than Devil Sirens? So our mindset changed quickly."

"Yesterday was the final day of military training, and it was especially obvious. Everyone's gaze had become steadier. Curse as they might, they didn't slack off in their training. Overall, we've matured a great deal mentally."

"Yes, that's exactly the feeling. Zhou Leng summed it up better." Feng Wenhao nodded.

Mo Hai sighed. "It seems Martial Arts Gym students and Martial University students really are different. While you were gone, Feng Wenhao and several other classmates told us about the gym students' military training, and it had us jumping at every word. Even Martial University students aren't put through anything that harsh. Students outside Martial Universities are still at the ordinary military-training stage, mostly marching in formation and goose-stepping, with very few field drills."

"Military academy students are even harsher, right?" Zhou Leng asked.

"Of course." Mo Hai said, "Several students from the elite class got into military academies. After school started, aside from their names appearing on the Freshman Ranking, they were basically impossible to contact. We roughly calculated that the military-training intensity for Martial University students is about five times that of non-Martial Dao students. Martial Arts Gym students go through twice that of Martial University students. Military academy students go through at least twice that of Martial Arts Gym students."

"More or less." Zhou Leng had seen the training process for Ru University freshmen, and it was far less intense than that of Martial Arts Gym students.

"How are things over at Yunhua? Did Zhang Xinglie say anything?" Mo Hai asked.

All the classmates looked at Zhou Leng curiously.

Only then did Zhou Leng realize that this was what they truly cared about, so he told them some of what he had heard from Zhang Xinglie.

"Yunhua and Jinjing are completely different from us."

"Before school even began, Martial University students took part in high-intensity intensive training, with innate guidance, pills every day, and Meat Medicinal Diets."

"After school started, the military training wasn't especially intense, but their individual training was extremely demanding. Aside from a handful of students who slacked off, more than ninety percent were exceptionally self-disciplined."

"Zhang Xinglie said that only after entering Yunhua Martial University did he understand that his past effort and talent could only be considered passing."

"At Yunhua, Zhang Xinglie was probably around the upper-middle tier. He had already begun routine weight training with 500 kilograms and no true qi. Classmates a notch stronger than him started at no less than 800 kilograms, and they were all pushing toward 1,000."

Everyone sighed in amazement.

Feng Wenhao said, "Could we put it this way? The upper limit of our strength is only part of their daily training routine? Maybe we can't even reach that?"

"That's exactly it." Zhou Leng looked at Mo Hai again. "What about that Shanhe Yuan?"

Mo Hai gave a bitter smile. "He's practically become a legend at West Sea Martial University. The ordinary Martial Dao gym we use isn't suitable for him. He went straight to train at the Faculty Martial Arts Gym, and even the routine weight training of Force-Generating Stage experts can't compare to his."

"As expected, he's a real beast."

"His only flaw is poor true-qi control. But with that strength and that vast sea of true qi, when he fights, what need is there for control? He can just charge in head-on. A Body-Refining Stage teacher sparred with him. Shanhe Yuan threw a punch, the teacher blocked with both arms, and with a crack, both arms were pulverized—not fractured, pulverized."

The classmates gently shook their heads.

"The Giant Bloodline is truly savage. Humans can't compare at all," Feng Wenhao said.

But Mo Hai said, "Don't think that way. Humans are generally inferior physically, but intelligence and acquired learning can make up for every kind of weakness. Our teacher said that Giants have an advantage before the Grandmaster level, but after reaching Grandmaster, humans can make up the difference. Do you know why?"

"Extraordinary Bodies?" Zhou Leng asked.

"Right. Those Grandmasters will do everything they can to cultivate one of the four Extraordinary Bodies—qi, blood, physique, and strength—or even cultivate all of them. A Grandmaster who has mastered the Physical Extraordinary Body is only a notch weaker in pure fleshly body than a Giant of the same rank. They won't be at an absolute disadvantage, and with true qi and Body-Refining techniques, a tiny number can even overtake them."

Feng Wenhao sighed. "No wonder in some battle videos, Human Grandmasters and Martial Saints tear demons apart with their hands and trample Dragons beneath their feet."

"Unfortunately, the methods of cultivating Extraordinary Bodies have yet to be made public."

Mo Hai said, "It can't be helped. First, methods for cultivating Extraordinary Bodies are scarce. Second, they're highly dangerous. Third, no complete system has been established. And fourth, perhaps the competition is fierce—if one person obtains something, another person loses out. So the martial clans and great families that hold the information keep it hidden away."

"Hopefully, in future Ten Realms Wars, humanity can obtain more Golden Light Crystals and unlock more cultivation systems after opening them."

"Thanks to those mysterious Golden Light Crystals, otherwise humanity's Martial Dao system could never have developed this quickly."

They chatted for a long while.

Seeing that the time was about right, Zhou Leng secretly sent Feng Wenhao a message.

Feng Wenhao immediately stood up and said that it was getting late, that there was something at home, and that he would take his leave first.

Zhou Leng also brought Xu Qingjin along, and the four of them left together.

Mo Hai watched the room door slowly close, his gaze darkening. He raised his glass to the remaining classmates and said, "Tonight, we won't go home until we're drunk..."

On the street, Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin walked ahead, chatting.

Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao followed behind, their faces bright red, arms slung around each other's shoulders as they staggered along.

Every so often, the two of them looked at Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin ahead of them, wearing lewd, mischievous grins.