Effort is Useless?

[You have practiced Wind Thunder Fist once, triggering a 20x Critical Hit]

Xu Zhiming withdrew his fist.

He pulled out a phone with a yellowed transparent plastic casing.

It was still over ten minutes until six in the evening.

Slipping on a light gray jacket, Xu Zhiming walked out of the school.

By now, the Martial Arts Hall was already empty.

He glanced at his blood energy.

[Blood Energy: 8.43]

After fully refining the F-grade Azure Potion in his body, it had increased by another 0.2.

His level remained at seven, unchanged.

Xu Zhiming smiled.

After a day of punching, his body ached a little.

This was a sign that he was nearing his limit.

Over the course of the day, his blood energy had risen by over two points. In just a few more days, he would break through to ten.

Xu Zhiming took out his phone and looked down, calculating how much money he had.

22013.14.

The amount seemed decent.

But it was all the funds he had saved over the past two years.

An F-grade Azure Potion cost ten thousand per bottle. He could buy two.

Xu Zhiming thought for a moment and decided to buy one bottle of F-grade Azure Potion for now.

He would receive a bottle as a reward tomorrow, so he would first replace the one he had used at school.

Anyone who had studied the nine-year compulsory education curriculum knew.

F-grade Azure Potions were suitable for martial artists with blood energy below ten points.

Once blood energy exceeded ten points, F-grade Azure Potions had some effect, but not much.

For a Level Ten Martial Artist, F-grade potions completely lost their effectiveness.

Xu Zhiming packed up his clothes and walked off into the distance.

Not long after he left.

Students from the second and third floors also finished their day of training.

Walking at the front.

Was a short, stout male student with green-dyed hair and squinty eyes.

The boy looked at the students on the first floor, his eyes full of disdain.

Another boy walking beside him couldn't help but add a few words.

"Even if these people work hard, what's the point? What use is effort if you don't have talent?"

Xu Zhiming walked along the road.

His eyes scanned his surroundings.

A large screen on top of a shopping mall was playing a video of some powerful martial artist demonstrating techniques.

Or displaying the past battle records of certain famous experts.

"Breaking news! Three days ago, the seventh disciple of True King Wind Thunder, Level 63 Martial Artist Money Hand Qian Haoran, fought against Sakura Country's Level 69 Martial Artist, Three-Finger Demon Hand Kato Ei."

"Money Hand Qian Haoran wins."

The screen scrolled with images.

A vast blue ocean, a small island.

Two men stood in mid-air.

The black-haired man had a stalk of dog-tail grass dangling from his mouth, his entire body flickering with purple light, crackling with electricity, and lightning flashing in his eyes.

His right hand clenched lightly, and dozens of purple thunderbolts materialized out of thin air in the sky.

After the sky filled with thunder, the island sank into the sea, and the water's surface was covered with fish floating belly-up.

In the middle of the island, a martial artist with some reputation in Sakura Country lay charred black, wisps of green smoke rising from him, his legs twitching unnaturally.

The black-haired man did not look back.

The image zoomed in continuously, landing on the black training uniform the man wore, printed with two golden characters—Wind Thunder.

Xu Zhiming watched this scene.

One strike, and an island sank. This was the power of a high-level martial artist.

What man doesn't dream of the martial world?

His heart yearned for it.

In the future, he could achieve it too.

No, he could be even stronger.

But before that, he'd first collect the interest owed to him.

Now, with only three months until the Martial Arts Exam, many families were spending money to give their children a final push.

With three months left until the exam, every martial hall was going all out to recruit students.

This was this year's recruitment ad for Wind Thunder Martial Hall.

Wind Thunder Martial Hall was founded by True King Wind Thunder.

Many cities in Great Xia had Wind Thunder Martial Hall branches, known for high teaching quality and steep fees.

A basic membership at Wind Thunder Martial Hall cost ninety-eight thousand a month—not meant for ordinary people.

Xu Zhiming looked away and walked toward his destination.

He clearly remembered why he'd come to Mall City.

To check out Azure Potion, see if there was a suitable potion.

Xu Zhiming reached the entrance and saw a banner hanging above.

"Celebrating Lightning Extinguishing Hand's victory over Kato Taka—all potions at 99% off."

"Any senior high student who has reached the fourth level of Wind Thunder Fist can receive a small gift after passing the test."

Xu Zhiming lowered his head, the corners of his mouth lifting.

He got up and walked toward the clerk.

"Can I help you with something?"

Xu Zhiming pointed at the banner in the distance and spoke.

"It says senior high students at the fourth level of Wind Thunder Fist can get a small gift. What kind of gift is it?"

The clerk looked Xu Zhiming up and down.

He wore a gray hoodie, had a sturdy build, and stood well over 185 centimeters.

His smile was pleasant, his face still youthful.

"I can recommend a promising job for you."

Xu Zhiming raised an eyebrow. He didn't have time to work.

"How much?"

The female clerk gave a professional smile.

"Help a student at the third level of Wind Thunder Fist break through to the fourth level."

"If you succeed within a month, the reward is five hundred thousand."

"Even if you don't, you still get one hundred thousand."

Xu Zhiming decided to give it a try.

"Oh? Xu Zhiming? What are you doing here?"

Just then.

A voice came from behind Xu Zhiming.

Someone walked up beside him—Zeng Hao.

Their class monitor for Class Ten.

"Usually at this time, aren't you still at school practicing Wind Thunder Fist? What's different today?"

"Look at those potions in there. For people like us, buying even one bottle hurts for a long time."

"For rich people, they can drink them anytime. Hard work is useless against resources and talent."

Zeng Hao patted Xu Zhiming on the shoulder.

"I just saw someone carrying a case to buy potions. The gap in this world is too wide."

"For low-grade students like us, even working hard makes it tough to get into a martial arts undergraduate program."

Xu Zhiming smiled faintly.

Zeng Hao wasn't a bad person, but for some reason, he had none of a young man's drive—instead, he was like an old hand worn down by society.

Back in class, a student wearing Air Jordans and carrying an iPhone had questioned whether Xu Zhiming deserved his scholarship, saying it shouldn't go to him.

Zeng Hao had stood up and chewed that guy out.

It's just that he always had "hard work is useless" on his lips.

Xu Zhiming hoped that Zeng Hao would also agree with the theory that hard work was useless.

"Class monitor, you're only eighteen, how are you like some corporate slave, full of negative energy?"

"Today, I'll show you whether hard work is useless or not."

Xu Zhiming lightly patted Zeng Hao on the shoulder and said to the female clerk.

"I just recently trained the Wind Thunder Fist to the fourth level."

When Zeng Hao heard this, he was speechless.

The female clerk sized up Zeng Hao with her gaze and found him utterly stunned.

She guessed it might be true.

"Alright, I'll go ask the store manager for instructions."

Zeng Hao couldn't stay calm.

He looked at Xu Zhiming and couldn't help asking.

"Really? Your Wind Thunder Fist is at the fourth level?"

Xu Zhiming smiled and patted Zeng Hao on the shoulder.

"You'll know in a bit."

Xu Zhiming's mind conjured up each movement of the Wind Thunder Fist.

Over two years, he didn't know how many times he had practiced it.

Soon.

The female clerk walked up to Xu Zhiming, her eyes carrying a hint of apology.

"This student, the store manager has already left. Please come with us to the office inside."

"Perform the fist technique under the surveillance camera, and I'll send the video to the store manager for her to judge."

Xu Zhiming nodded and gestured for Zeng Hao to follow.

For over two years, Zeng Hao had said countless times that hard work was useless.

Today, he had finally caught his chance.

Zeng Hao was a bit skeptical.

He had never heard of any high school student with F-grade talent managing to train the Wind Thunder Fist to the fourth level.

So conflicted.

If it really was the fourth level, Xu Zhiming would prove with facts that hard work was useful.

If it wasn't the fourth level, then he could give Xu Zhiming a good, firm pat on the shoulder.

And say with deep meaning: See, I told you hard work was useless.

Zeng Hao thought about it and found it satisfying either way, but he still decided to go see.

Among all the people online, he had never heard of a senior in high school reaching the fourth level of the Wind Thunder Fist.

Not even those with A-grade or B-grade talent.

For people with connections, the Wind Thunder Fist had extremely low cost-effectiveness.

Cultivating a martial visualization method increased qi and blood much faster.

Those with good talent wouldn't train the Wind Thunder Fist; it took more time than other martial techniques.

He didn't believe Xu Zhiming was better than those with higher talent.

The two followed the female clerk, one after the other, into the office.

Inside the office, the space was empty.

The female clerk adjusted the surveillance camera, aimed it at Xu Zhiming, and smiled.

"Student, you may begin."

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