Li Yuan

Chapter 1: Li Yuan

September, 2042, Seven Star Calendar. Xia Country, Jiangbei Province, Jiang City.

A city known as a furnace, where most of the year was either winter or summer. Early September was precisely the height of the heat.

Guanshan District No.1 High School.

On the back blackboards of every classroom in the Grade 3 teaching building hung fairly similar banners: "No struggle, no fight—Grade 3 is wasted." "Fight through one year of spring, summer, autumn, and winter; strive for a lifetime without regrets." "If Grade 3 doesn't go ruthless, how can you stand firm?"...

Yet one classroom on the east side of the first floor was exceptionally large, nearly a thousand square meters. Unlike an ordinary classroom, it had no desks or chairs. One side held a great many cold weapons—sabers, spears, swords, staffs, and more. The other side contained numerous special instruments, as well as a special track paved with dark-red metal.

This was the martial arts class's training hall.

At that moment, more than a hundred students were standing in stances and practicing, performing different movements.

Some resembled apes, some flying birds, some fierce tigers... Their vigor, energy, and spirit were all excellent.

"Its root lies in the feet, it first rises from the legs, the waist is the Dominator, and the strength of all limbs is united and formed at the fingertips..." A burly middle-aged man in a black martial arts uniform walked among the ranks.

His face was cold and stern, he stood nearly two meters tall, and his voice boomed like a great bell. His tiger-like gaze fixed on every student.

The most eye-catching thing was his right arm: a silver metal arm, seamlessly joined to the severed limb and as nimble as a living one.

"By rights, these should be the essentials of the Basic Cultivation Method that you mastered in Grade 2. And what happened? Now that you're in Grade 3, every last one of you is standing your stances all slack and loose." The burly man berated them. As he walked, a casual slap from his metal arm would knock a sweat-drenched student flat. "If your stance is steady, your center of gravity is hard to shift. The Basic Cultivation Method is the foundation of martial arts!"

"One day of boxing practice brings one day of skill; one day without practice leaves a hundred days empty. From what I see, you took half a month off over summer break and completely let yourselves go, not practicing at home at all."

"You're already in Grade 3, and you still want to relax? You're ordinary-class students to begin with, and you haven't awakened your spirituality. If you still don't work hard, how will you get into a martial arts university?"

"Even if you aren't planning to take the martial arts university route and are going the academic route instead, martial arts scores still account for 30%..." The burly man continued to berate them.

Yet this group of students barely dared breathe, practicing with even greater seriousness.

"Report."

"Report." More than ten voices suddenly rang out one after another from the classroom door. A group of students in martial arts uniforms appeared there.

"The second group that went for spirituality testing is back?" The burly man glanced toward the door.

Then his sharp gaze fell upon one student among them.

The student was nearly 1.8 meters tall and wore a crew cut. At first glance, there was nothing particularly remarkable about him, but upon closer inspection, one would notice that his head was held high, his body upright, and his spine perfectly straight. Even standing casually, he gave off an unshakable feeling.

Clearly, this student had integrated the Basic Cultivation Method's principle of "the crown of the head must be held lightly upward, the tailbone must sink and hang downward" into his everyday walking, sitting, and standing.

He had truly reached the state where the body followed the heart, and when intent arose, spirit carried it forth.

This level of martial arts attainment surpassed every student in the classroom who was standing in stance.

"Li Yuan, how did it go?" The burly man looked at him.

The nearly hundred students standing in stance could not help sneaking glances at the student named Li Yuan.

"Teacher Xu, I didn't awaken it." Li Yuan calmly shook his head, showing no disappointment.

The burly man frowned at that.

Li Yuan was the student in his class with the greatest hope of awakening Martial Arts Spirituality.

"Even Li Yuan failed?"

"In the Grade 2 final exams, his martial arts score had already charged into the top thirty of the year. His physical fitness had reached Level 6 at the time, and he must be even stronger now. Yet he still didn't awaken Martial Arts Spirituality?"

"Awakening Martial Arts Spirituality is really hard!" The nearly hundred students standing in stance were all secretly shocked.

Nowadays, throughout Xia Country and even the entirety of Blue Star, there were two paths for selecting talent—academic courses and martial arts cultivation.

All students began learning the Basic Cultivation Method from junior high onward, taught uniformly by the state, and cultivated martial arts.

Guanshan District No.1 High School had more than two thousand Grade 3 students, divided into twenty classes.

Yet there was only one martial arts Elite Class. All the others were ordinary classes.

The martial arts Elite Class had over sixty students, each and every one of whom had awakened Martial Arts Spirituality. The top fifty martial arts scores in the year were often dominated by them.

For Li Yuan, an ordinary-class student, to charge into the top thirty in martial arts scores was astonishing.

"What about the rest of you? Did anyone awaken spirituality?" The burly man's gaze swept over the others.

Silence filled the room.

"Come in first." The burly man was not surprised.

In truth, those able to awaken Martial Arts Spirituality usually succeeded in Grade 1 of high school, or even in junior high.

Awaken it in Grade 3? The hope was very slim!

The burly man had only placed his hopes on Li Yuan to begin with. He waved his hand. "Third group, go to the martial arts building for spirituality testing."

Boom~

One row of students standing in stance had long since developed sore legs and aching feet. Hearing this, they hurriedly got up and rushed out of the classroom.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan's group returned to their positions and began standing in stance again.

"Brother Yuan, Xu Ban seems a little disappointed." Beside Li Yuan, a classmate with short, figure-eight-shaped facial hair and a rather mature appearance muttered, "But you, Brother Yuan—your spirituality test result just came out, and you're not disappointed at all?"

"Stop talking."

"Keep practicing. Cultivating the Basic Method for four hours a day is foundational training." Li Yuan spoke calmly. He had guessed the result long ago, so naturally he was not disappointed.

"Four hours?" The mature-looking boy muttered, "No wonder you're the second biggest grind king in our class."

Li Yuan smiled at that and ignored him. He lightly closed his eyes and stood in his place. As his legs bent slightly, his bearing abruptly changed. He was like a boulder, and that unshakable quality around him grew even stronger.

"The Rock Cultivation Method." The many movements of this cultivation method surfaced in Li Yuan's mind.

He had long practiced those movements tens of thousands of times, knowing them by heart.

In this era, martial arts flourished.

The Seven Great Basic Cultivation Methods, openly available from the Seven Star Alliance to all citizens of the Seven Great Planets, had no distinction of high or low—only whether they suited someone or not.

Whether wealthy magnates and nobles or common people, everyone who cultivated martial arts began with the Basic Cultivation Method.

Rock Cultivation Method was precisely the cultivation method Li Yuan had chosen.

He had cultivated it for more than five years.

Every Basic Cultivation Method could greatly stimulate the human body's potential, continuously improving one's physical fitness and even fully awakening spirituality.

Forget Li Yuan, whose physical fitness had not yet reached Level 7.

Even ranked martial artists whose physical fitness surpassed Level 9 continued practicing the Basic Cultivation Method.

"Huff!"

"Huff!"

Every Basic Cultivation Method contained thirty-six cultivation movements, as well as a specialized breathing method that complemented them.

Li Yuan's breathing was sometimes rapid and sometimes long, coordinating with his limbs' movements until faint sounds began to arise from within his body.

Sinews and bones rang in unison!

This feels so good. Li Yuan immersed himself in cultivation.

He could feel the sinews, bones, and muscles throughout his body being continuously stimulated, growing stronger and tougher.

This was the evolution of life.

In this era, even ordinary youths had the hope of breaking the world sprinting records from a century ago.

What they relied on was cultivation methods.

It's a pity I didn't make it into the top twenty of the year in the last final assessment. Otherwise, besides the five-thousand-yuan scholarship, I could have received some blood-and-qi medicinal solution this semester too. Li Yuan's thoughts drifted. With more blood-and-qi medicinal solution, my physical fitness would improve faster, and it could ease some of Uncle and Auntie's financial burden.

Li Yuan was an orphan. His uncle and aunt had raised him.

His uncle worked for a state-owned enterprise, while his aunt was a teacher at a junior high school.

By rights, such a family might not have been wealthy, but they should have lived fairly comfortably.

Yet Li Yuan had been weak and sickly since childhood. To treat his illnesses, his uncle and aunt had spent a great deal of money.

Later, following a doctor's advice, his uncle and aunt had invested heavily in Li Yuan's martial arts cultivation from junior high onward, spending even more on him than on their own children.

Fortunately.

Li Yuan's talent was decent, and he cultivated with exceptional diligence. He had tested into Guanshan District No.1 High School in the high school entrance exams. After entering high school, his grades continued to rise. He entered the top hundred of the year in Grade 2, then charged into the top thirty in the Grade 2 final assessment.

This greatly delighted his uncle and aunt.

But martial arts cultivation valued talent, and it required money even more.

Especially after his physical fitness reached Level 6, food originating from the Star Realm, medicines and medicinal meals to replenish blood and qi, special equipment, and everything else required for further physical improvement were all bottomless money pits.

Compared to the other students in the top thirty of the year, Li Yuan's external conditions were quite ordinary—one could even call them poor.

Still, Li Yuan understood in his heart that his uncle and aunt had already done everything they could to support him.

There were younger siblings at home as well. He could not ask for more.

But it's been six times.

Since the first year of junior high, I've taken one spirituality test every year, and I've failed every time. Li Yuan thought. If the spirituality hidden within my body could awaken, I'd get a 10% bonus to my exam scores. I could directly charge into the top ten of the year.

And once Martial Arts Spirituality awakens, I can receive a state subsidy too.

Whether one had awakened Martial Arts Spirituality was the single most important indicator for judging a person's martial arts talent across all of Blue Star and even the Seven Great Planets.

Yet Li Yuan had never managed to awaken Martial Arts Spirituality.

Over the years, fewer than five students from this school have gotten into the Five Great Prestigious Schools. Li Yuan silently considered it. With my current grades, getting into an ordinary martial arts university won't be a problem.

But if I want to get into one of the Five Great Prestigious Schools, without awakening spirituality, the hope is extremely slim.

Xia Country had a population of nearly two billion and twenty-four provinces. Every province had a martial arts university that only recruited students within that province. That was the goal of most students aspiring to martial arts.

The Five Great Prestigious Schools, meanwhile, were five elite martial arts universities established by Xia Country that recruited students nationwide.

Students at ordinary martial arts universities received no small amount of cultivation resources, but had to rely more on themselves.

As for every student at the five elite martial arts universities, the state poured vast resources into them.

Only by receiving state resources and cultivation can my martial arts path go farther. In the future, I can become a ranked martial artist like Teacher Xu—or even stronger than Teacher Xu. Li Yuan silently repeated to himself.

His goal for the college entrance exams was the Five Great Prestigious Schools.

Yet the five elite martial arts universities also had exceptionally high score requirements.

One step at a time. There are still nine months until the college entrance exams. Li Yuan quietly practiced, with fewer and fewer distracting thoughts in his heart.

Not long afterward, waves of noisy commotion came from outside the classroom. More than ten students from the third group returned to the doorway, all with a trace of excitement on their faces.

"Teacher Xu, Wan Xiao awakened spirituality."

"Teacher Xu..." Before the burly man could ask, many students had already cried out impatiently.

The classroom immediately exploded into an uproar.

"Wan Xiao awakened Martial Arts Spirituality?"

"Is he going to the Elite Class?"

"I heard Elite Class students can begin cultivating advanced cultivation methods ahead of time." Most students could not help revealing envious looks.

Only those who awakened Martial Arts Spirituality could enter the Elite Class.

Otherwise, even someone like Li Yuan, who had charged into the top thirty of the year, could only remain in an ordinary class.

"Wan Xiao?" Li Yuan opened his eyes and could not help looking toward the classroom door, at the burly figure with a faint flush on his face.

He stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, with an incredibly muscular build, like a bear. His arms were astonishingly thick, though his face still carried a trace of youthfulness.

He was precisely the only other student in the class besides Li Yuan whose martial arts score ranked in the top hundred of the year—Wan Xiao.

"Li Yuan." The excited Wan Xiao seemed to notice Li Yuan's gaze. He looked over at Li Yuan and smiled.

Li Yuan smiled as well.

In martial arts scores, Li Yuan was better than Wan Xiao.

In family circumstances, Wan Xiao was much better off.

As the two best students in the class, Li Yuan and Wan Xiao seemed to compete often for scholarships, but their relationship was quite good.

Friendship between classmates was often very pure.

"Damn! Brother Yuan didn't awaken, but that dog-bear Wan Xiao did. He really stepped in dog shit." The mature-faced boy beside Li Yuan could not help muttering. "That means his martial arts score, with the spirituality bonus, is nearly catching up to yours, Brother Yuan."

Wan Xiao's nickname was Dog Bear.

Li Yuan laughed softly. "Old Zhou, are you jealous?"

The boy speaking was named Zhou Qi. Because his body hair was thick and his appearance mature, his nickname was "Old Zhou."

He had been Li Yuan's junior high school classmate. They had tested into Guanshan District No.1 High School together, then been assigned to the same class.

After five or six years, they could be called true brothers.

"Jealous my ass." Zhou Qi whispered, "My academic scores are enough to get into a key university. I take martial arts classes mainly to exercise. I can't stay a skinny dog forever—what if I can't even keep up with Lingling in the future?... I'm just speaking up for you."

Li Yuan smiled.

Zhou Qi's physical fitness was average, still a little short of even Level 4. But his academic scores were excellent, ranking in the top fifty of the year.

State resources were limited. After all, martial arts universities could only admit a minority of students.

Most students ultimately entered different universities based on their academic scores.

"Wan Xiao has good physical fitness. It's perfectly normal for him to awaken Martial Arts Spirituality." Li Yuan smiled. "Besides, the college entrance exams are competition among Grade 3 students across the whole province and even the entire country. It's not just a competition between Wan Xiao and me."

Wan Xiao's awakening of Martial Arts Spirituality only made Li Yuan happy for him.

More than sixty Grade 3 students at their own school had awakened Martial Arts Spirituality. Looking across the entire province, the entire country... there were simply too many.

Rather than worry about others, it was better to improve oneself. Li Yuan had understood this truth since childhood.

Wan Xiao's successful awakening greatly stimulated the other students. Those who had not yet been tested began to feel a little anticipation.

The fourth group, the fifth group... failure, failure.

In the end, after all of Class 2, Grade 3 had been tested, only Wan Xiao had awakened Martial Arts Spirituality.

Once all the students had returned to the classroom.

Teacher Xu, broad and burly, swept his gaze over them and said in a low voice, "All right. Today's basic cultivation ends here. Stop."

Rustle~

Rustle~ Immediately, all the students stopped. Many had long since developed sore, weak legs.

Yet under Teacher Xu's stern pressure, no one dared lie down on the floor.

The Basic Cultivation Method consumed a great deal of physical strength.

Although Grade 3 students generally had physical fitness at Level 4, most still found two straight hours of cultivation strenuous.

"It's a good thing that some students can awaken Martial Arts Spirituality. Those who failed, don't be discouraged."

"The January Adjustment Exam and the April Unified Exam will each be followed by another spirituality test organized by the school."

"Before the college entrance exam, there will also be a nationwide unified Spirituality Test."

"As long as you awaken Spirituality before the college entrance exam, your martial arts scores will receive bonus points." Teacher Xu said in a deep voice, "But remember, exam scores are the foundation. Only if your base score is high enough will the bonus points matter."

"Even in the Elite Class, not everyone can get into a martial arts university."

"How do you get good scores? Through hard work!"

"Take Li Yuan. Even without Spirituality bonus points, his martial arts score can still exceed eight hundred, surpassing more than half the Elite Class students." Teacher Xu rebuked them, "And I needn't say more about how hard he works."

Most of the students could not help looking toward Li Yuan, their eyes largely filled with admiration.

Li Yuan's diligence in training was somewhat famous throughout the entire senior year.

"Brother Yuan, Xu Ban is making people resent you again," Zhou Qi muttered quietly beside him.

Li Yuan smiled helplessly.

Ever since his martial arts scores had broken into the top hundred of the year, he had grown accustomed to being "someone else's child."

Teacher Xu, whose full name was Xu Bo, was the martial arts homeroom teacher for Li Yuan's class and one of Guanshan District No.1 High School's only two special-grade martial arts teachers.

As far as Li Yuan knew, Teacher Xu's physical fitness had already surpassed Level 15. Even among ranked martial artists, he was considered quite formidable. He had originally been a martial artist in the military, only coming to teach at Guanshan High School after retiring due to an injury.

One had to know that once physical fitness surpassed Level 9, one entered the ranks of ranked martial artists, whose status in society was extremely high.

Ordinary adults generally only had physical fitness around Levels 5 to 6.

"You are at the stage where your physical fitness is rapidly improving, and senior year is the year that decides your fate." Teacher Xu continued lecturing. "You absolutely must not slack off."

"Now, take a half-hour break. After that, I'll conduct Martial Arts Technique assessments one by one." Having finished his lecture, Teacher Xu turned and left.

"Ah?"

"A technique assessment?"

"We're going to get brutally beaten by Xu Ban again. I bet you won't last three moves."

"Like you can last three moves against Xu Ban?" The students murmured among themselves, all rather excited.

A strange glint likewise flashed through Li Yuan's eyes.

Blue Star, and even the Seven Great Planets, had always faced the threat of war, and powerful martial artists played an important role.

Therefore, it was a shared consensus that everyone should train in martial arts.

Within human society, top martial arts experts held an extremely lofty status.

Students like Li Yuan and the others especially idolized powerful martial artists.

Xu Bo was already one of the top martial arts experts that students like Li Yuan could encounter in real life.

"Brother Yuan, technique assessments are your strong suit." Zhou Qi was excited.

"You should think about yourself first. I watched you practicing your stance just now—you haven't made much progress compared to last semester." Li Yuan smiled. "Later, don't let Xu Ban knock you flat with one swing of his staff. That would be embarrassing in front of Peng Lingling."

Peng Lingling was Zhou Qi's unrequited crush.

Zhou Qi's expression stiffened, and he said awkwardly, "I'm not planning to apply to a martial arts university anyway. Lingling won't care."

Inside the classroom, every student took out their weapon from the weapon lockers behind the classroom's weapon racks.

Afterward, they each put on their protective gear.

In this era, every high school student was uniformly issued one or two unsharpened cold weapons by the state, mainly sabers, spears, and shields. A small number chose axes, halberds, swords, and the like.

As for weapons such as hammers, battle-axes, hooks, forks, whips, and maces? Hardly any students chose them.

Among cold weapons, sabers and spears were the mainstream for training.

The Martial Arts College Entrance Exam had a base score of one thousand points, composed of physical fitness, Martial Arts Technique, and academic scores, weighted at 50%, 40%, and 10% respectively.

If one awakened Spirituality, there would be additional bonuses.

Therefore, technique assessments were extremely important and the highest priority of students' daily training.

If one merely had good physical fitness, one could not get into a martial arts university.

Whoosh!

Li Yuan likewise took his weapon from his personal weapon locker: a black spear nearly three meters long and weighing around five kilograms.

It was called a spear, but its spearhead was merely decorative, making it more like a long staff. After all, it had been issued by the state and was only meant for training, not actual combat.

"Whoosh!"

Li Yuan gripped the shaft and casually flicked it into a thrust.

Swish! The spear tip stabbed into empty air, faintly creating the sensation of tearing through the wind, causing the expressions of the students beside him to change slightly.

With Li Yuan's strength, even without an edge, a single flicking thrust was enormously powerful.

"In our class, only Li Yuan can handle a spear like that."

"When Li Yuan holds a spear, why does it feel like I'm facing Xu Ban?" The students whispered among themselves, their gazes filled with envy and admiration.

Quite a few students in the class practiced spear techniques, but most were unwilling to train with such a long spear.

An inch longer, an inch stronger.

But the longer the spear shaft, the harder it was to control.

A weapon was something one had to steep oneself in and train with for a lifetime. What suited oneself was best.

"First in technique! Brother Yuan scored 356 points on his Martial Arts Technique assessment in the second-year final exams. He was the only one in the entire year to score over 350." Zhou Qi grinned. "Even Xu Ban has said that Brother Yuan's spear techniques are very solid."

Many students could not help nodding.

Without Spirituality bonus points, and with physical fitness that was not the very best, how else could Li Yuan's martial arts scores have charged into the top thirty of the year?

It was because his spear techniques far surpassed those of his peers.

In the individual subject of Martial Arts Technique, Li Yuan was universally acknowledged as first in the year.

Very soon.

Xu Bo, broad-backed and thick-waisted, casually carried a long staff as he reentered the classroom.

His gaze lingered a little longer on Li Yuan.

"For this assessment, I'll follow the college entrance exam standards."

"Take it seriously. Treat every assessment as the college entrance exam, and when the real exam comes, it will be nothing more than another assessment." Xu Bo's voice was deep. Carrying the long staff, he looked exceedingly stern.

"By student number, in reverse order, one at a time."

"Number 112, Zhou Qi."