Martial Arts Was a Money Pit

"Could my talent be exceptionally high?" Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

He could not help thinking of the final note on the Divine Palace Panel: "Contains some kind of unawakened Higher Spirituality."

Li Yuan trusted the Divine Palace Panel's detection. It had never been wrong over the past year.

It should be more reliable than Teacher Xu Bo's speculation.

The information Teacher Xu Bo had revealed today had also given Li Yuan more ideas.

Previously, although Li Yuan had searched the Virtual Network many times, his permissions had been insufficient, leaving much information beyond his reach.

"My talent is high? I possess the Mind Divine Palace—perhaps that is a kind of talent too." Li Yuan silently mused.

Over the past hundred years, numerous cultivation methods had gradually been opened to the public. With the advancement of technology, Human Civilization had also produced great numbers of martialists.

And among those peerless martialists who could soar through the skies and burrow through the earth, who could survive even a nuclear blast, whose path to growth had not been filled with legend?

Li Yuan did not believe the Mind Divine Palace he possessed would be some exception.

"Teacher, then what should I do?" Li Yuan asked proactively.

He was very smart. Since Teacher Xu Bo had specifically called him over, it certainly was not just to offer a few words of encouragement.

"Persevere." Xu Bo looked at Li Yuan. He had originally wanted to say "follow the proper steps," but changed his wording at the last moment.

Seeing Li Yuan's surprise, Xu Bo continued, "Your rate of improvement is already very fast. There is no need to be overly anxious about not awakening Martial Arts Spirituality. With your grades, getting into a Martial Arts University will be easy."

"With normal training, at most two or three years from now, your physical fitness should reach Level 10.0."

"Once you become an Entry-Level Martialist, Advanced Cultivation Methods will no longer be a shackle binding you."

"Perhaps in the future, you may even create an Advanced Cultivation Method exclusively suited to yourself." Xu Bo smiled.

"Create a cultivation method?" Li Yuan could not help asking, "Can I?"

"Haha, what do you mean, can you or can't you?" Xu Bo laughed. "How old are you? When you are young, there are infinite possibilities."

"Even the founders of the Three Martial Halls—when they were young, who knew they would achieve such accomplishments?" Xu Bo smiled at Li Yuan. "The founders of the Three Martial Halls are too far away, but do you not even have the ambition to surpass me?"

"My physical fitness is only Level 19."

Li Yuan held his breath.

Ever since Xu Bo had become his homeroom martial arts teacher, Li Yuan had always regarded him as his goal.

Only now did he learn of Xu Bo's strength. His physical fitness had actually reached Level 19.

No wonder he was a special-grade martial arts teacher.

"Let's talk about something practical." Xu Bo looked at Li Yuan. "Although you have not awakened Martial Arts Spirituality, your physical fitness and Martial Arts Technique are both quite good. Taking your family circumstances into account as well... I will apply to the school for Third-Class Financial Aid for you."

"Third-Class Financial Aid?" Li Yuan's eyes lit up.

Martial arts cultivation devoured resources.

Therefore, from the first year of high school onward, the state awarded all kinds of bonuses and subsidies to students with outstanding Martial Arts Scores.

As a provincial key high school, Guanshan District No.1 High School received more state funding than ordinary high schools.

In every major unified examination, students ranking among the top hundred in their grade in Martial Arts Score received extra rewards.

The top fifty received two thousand Blue Star Coins.

The top thirty received five thousand Blue Star Coins.

The top twenty, on top of the rewards for the top thirty, received two additional Basic Qi and Blood Potions.

The top ten, on top of the rewards for the top twenty, were additionally assigned an independent martial arts training room.

Those were examination rewards.

Financial aid was even more special. It depended on both academic performance and family circumstances, and one also needed a teacher's recommendation to have any hope of receiving it.

Very few people received financial aid.

"You have improved considerably, but your Martial Arts Score is still only in the top thirty of the grade. Applying for Second-Class Financial Aid or above would be quite difficult." Xu Bo said, "But there is still hope for Third-Class Financial Aid. Of course, even if it is approved, it is not much money—just twenty thousand. Do not think it is too little."

"Thank you for your trouble, Teacher." Li Yuan was immensely grateful.

Twenty thousand? That was equivalent to two months of his aunt's salary.

All the scholarships he had received since starting high school did not even add up to twenty thousand.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Li Yuan followed up.

"You do not need to do anything. Just train seriously and get good scores." Xu Bo waved a hand. "Go eat. Once the application is approved, I will let you know."

"Yes." Li Yuan left. As he exited, he casually closed the door behind him.

Xu Bo watched Li Yuan leave.

"That kid, did he think I was after some benefit?" Xu Bo shook his head with a smile.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly.

The man built like an iron tower revealed a trace of pain at that moment.

"Time to take medicine again?" Xu Bo endured the pain and headed toward the Physiotherapy Room.

Walking out of the Office Building.

"Good." Li Yuan could not help clenching his fist, finding it hard to suppress the joy in his heart.

Before entering the office, he had guessed that something good was coming.

But he had not expected it to be this good.

"Teacher Xu had never mentioned these matters before. Was it because my past performance was decent, but he felt I was not outstanding enough?" Li Yuan thought to himself. "Did my performance today finally qualify?"

Li Yuan had read many books.

In some stories, many seniors liked to promote their juniors.

But the prerequisite was that the junior was worth promoting.

"If I myself am not hardworking enough, not outstanding enough, then even if opportunity comes my way, I will miss it." Li Yuan silently reminded himself.

"Should I send a message to the family group?" The thought had barely surfaced in Li Yuan's mind before he suppressed it.

Whoosh!

Just then, a gust of wind blew past, making Li Yuan even calmer.

"No rush."

"Teacher Xu is a special-grade teacher, but he is not part of the school's management. Even if it works out, the application will probably take some time." Li Yuan thought to himself. "If it does not work out, then I will have celebrated for nothing."

"I should wait until the financial aid actually arrives before telling Uncle and Auntie."

"Right, I cannot tell the other students about this either." Li Yuan had already thought it through. "Teacher Xu called me over separately and had Wan Xiao leave first. He probably did not want the others to know."

"If the school wants to publicize it, then I will wait until the school announces it."

His experiences over the years, coupled with the books he had read, had taught Li Yuan that "matters succeed through secrecy and fail through loose tongues."

If something had not yet landed, do not proclaim it everywhere.

"Eat first." Li Yuan regained his calm and ran toward the cafeteria.

Guanshan District No.1 High School had more than six thousand students, so its cafeteria was very large.

Li Yuan had just entered the cafeteria.

"Brother Yuan, over here." Zhou Qi was already squatting in the distance and calling out to him. Together with Wan Xiao, Yan Zhou, and more than ten other boys, he had claimed two large tables and was eating.

Li Yuan smiled and walked over.

The boys in the class loved gathering in groups for meals.

"Brother Yuan, your two nutritional meals." As Zhou Qi ate, he pushed two specially prepared meal boxes toward Li Yuan.

"Whose card was used? Yan Zhou's?" Li Yuan asked with a smile as he sat down and began eating.

"I told you, I'm paying back what I owe." Yan Zhou smiled.

"The breakfasts I brought you were only hot dry noodles, eggs, and soy milk. They did not even add up to fifty." Li Yuan shook his head. "My two nutritional meals cost one hundred and fifty."

With so many boys present, the prices of their meals varied greatly.

For example, ordinary meals with two meat dishes and two vegetables, or three meat dishes and two vegetables, cost less than twenty per serving.

That was what Zhou Qi, Yan Zhou, and the others ate.

Since they attended Cultural Courses at night and would not be engaging in intense exercise afterward, they expended less physical energy.

But for someone like Li Yuan, who still had high-intensity martial arts training at night, ordinary food was not enough. Over time, it would leave his qi and blood depleted.

He had to eat the cafeteria's specially prepared nutritional meals, but they were much more expensive.

One serving cost seventy-five, and Li Yuan needed two.

More accurately, Li Yuan's three regular meals cost nearly three hundred every day.

That was at least eight thousand Blue Star Coins a month.

And that was still far from enough to support Li Yuan's regular cultivation. From time to time, he also had to consume all kinds of expensive qi-and-blood potions and supplements.

If physiotherapy was included, his monthly spending was an astonishing figure.

This was only because Li Yuan was a student and could train in the school's Martial Arts Classroom all the time. Cold weapons for training, sandbags, grounds for practicing spear techniques, and the like were all fully available.

The effects could not compare with an independent martial arts training room, but the school's Martial Arts Classroom had the advantage of being free.

If he went to a legitimate martial arts gym in society? Rental fees were calculated by the hour, something ordinary families simply could not afford.

Martial arts was a money pit. That was no empty saying.

That was also why Li Yuan was so eager to get into one of the Five Great Prestigious Schools.

Because by this point in his martial arts cultivation, his uncle and aunt were already finding it difficult to keep supporting him.

Walking out of the cafeteria.

"Brother Yuan, we're heading to the Cultural Building. See you tomorrow." Zhou Qi and Yan Zhou said to Li Yuan.

"Okay." Li Yuan nodded.

Students in this era had to study Cultural Courses every morning and undergo martial arts cultivation every afternoon, beginning from their first year of high school.

At night? Students chose for themselves, depending on the path they wished to take.

There were only twenty-nine Martial Arts Universities in all of Xia Country.

But there were more than a thousand Culture Universities nationwide.

For those applying to Martial Arts Universities, their cultural exam scores would be converted and account for 10% of the total.

For those taking the cultural course path, their Martial Arts Scores would be converted and account for 30% of the total.

Although students only decided whether to pursue martial arts or the cultural path when filling out their applications, the vast majority began emphasizing one direction from their first year of high school.

Li Yuan returned to the Martial Arts Classroom.

Looking around, fewer than ten people remained in the classroom, leaving it empty and spacious.

Some students of Class 2, Grade 3 had chosen to focus on Cultural Courses. This was also the choice of most students.

"Getting into a Martial Arts University truly is difficult." Li Yuan thought to himself.

Jiangbei Province had more than a million National College Entrance Examination candidates every year.

Its only Martial Arts University, Jiangbei Martial Arts University, enrolled fewer than ten thousand students annually—less than 1% of all examinees.

Even as a provincial key high school, Guanshan District No.1 High School rarely had more than a hundred students admitted to Martial Arts Universities each year.

The sky had not yet darkened.

Most of the dozen or so people in the classroom were chatting with one another.

There was no teacher supervising martial arts cultivation at night. It all depended on self-discipline.

"Li Tianyou." Li Yuan's gaze swept toward the figure in one corner of the classroom.

The boy was around 1.8 meters tall, with somewhat gaunt features. Wearing a martial arts uniform, he trained silently and seriously in the Basic Cultivation Method.

He was not affected in the slightest by the chatter around him.

The beads of sweat on his forehead showed that he had already been training for some time.

"What a grinder!" Li Yuan inwardly sighed. "As expected of the class's number one grind king."

Without disturbing the others.

Li Yuan took out his spear from his weapon locker, chose a bright, open area in the classroom, and began practicing his spear technique.

Why was he not practicing the Basic Cultivation Method?

Because Li Yuan woke up after three every morning and came to the school, where he trained the Basic Cultivation Method alone for over two hours in the empty Martial Arts Classroom.

Then, at nearly six, he went to the cafeteria for breakfast before heading to the cultural classroom for self-study.

In the afternoon, he trained the cultivation method with everyone else for another two hours.

The best arrangement was to practice the cultivation method for four hours a day, split into two or three sessions. This had been established through repeated experiments by numerous powerful martialists.

The evolution of life, the tempering of the body's muscles and bones, recovery, and growth—all required time.

Too much was as bad as too little.

Li Yuan could use all his remaining time to study spear techniques and movement techniques.

Two hours later.

The dismissal bell echoed through the campus. The students in the classroom had already left one after another. Apart from Li Yuan, who was still practicing his spear technique, only Li Tianyou remained, practicing his blade technique.

Suddenly.

A message visible only to him popped up within Li Yuan's field of vision.

[Your spear technique realm has risen from Third Stage 36% to Third Stage 37%]

(End of this chapter)