Late-Night Home (Please Vote and Follow)

Late-Night Home (Please Vote and Follow)

"Up to 37% already?"

"Before I could even clearly feel it myself, the Divine Palace Panel had already detected it with precision." Li Yuan's eyes brightened slightly.

The Divine Palace Panel could not directly improve Li Yuan's martial cultivation.

But its greatest benefit was that it fed back Li Yuan's efforts and progress in the form of data.

Like a progress bar.

Absolute positive reinforcement.

Everyone wanted success. It was just that many people feared their efforts would bear no fruit.

With the Divine Palace Panel, he could clearly see his own improvement, giving Li Yuan even greater motivation to train.

Training was grueling.

"But the rewards of training are immense." Li Yuan suddenly exerted force. The spear in his hand blurred as it shot forward.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Shrill whistles faintly exploded through the air, forming one hazy spear shadow after another.

"Martial cultivation is about trying again and again to break the limits of life. It really is exhilarating." Li Yuan sharply withdrew his spear and smiled.

More than a century ago, before cultivation methods had become widespread, when there had only been traditional martial arts, even ordinary people became addicted to working out.

Let alone High Martial Arts cultivation.

Li Yuan thoroughly enjoyed the process of his body growing stronger without end.

Exhausting, but exhilarating.

"Li Yuan, your spearwork is really incredible." A voice full of heartfelt admiration suddenly rang out.

Li Yuan turned and smiled. "Tianyou, your saber technique isn't bad either. I remember your Martial Arts Technique score was 312 today."

Li Tianyou stood nearby. His face was lean, but his eyes were bright.

"I can't compare to you." Li Tianyou smiled, standing straight as a spear.

"It's nine already. Everyone else has left." Li Yuan swept his gaze around. "You're not going home yet?"

The Ministry of Education stipulated that morning self-study began at seven, while evening self-study ended at nine.

Six school days a week.

Perhaps the counties and smaller cities under its jurisdiction were even more fiercely competitive, but as a key high school in the provincial capital, they naturally had to enforce the rules strictly.

"I'll train a little longer," Li Tianyou said.

"Alright." Li Yuan smiled. "I'm heading back first."

"Mm." Li Tianyou nodded.

Li Yuan placed his spear in the weapon cabinet and walked out of the classroom.

As he watched Li Yuan leave,

the smile vanished from Li Tianyou's face. He murmured to himself, "Why can't my saber technique be as formidable as Li Yuan's spearwork?"

"It'd be great if I could awaken Martial Arts Spirituality too."

In Class 2, Grade 3, Li Tianyou's martial arts grades remained steadily among the top five. Occasionally, he could rank third, but there was still a certain gap between him and Wan Xiao, let alone Li Yuan.

Shaking his head and suppressing the many distracting thoughts, Li Tianyou picked up his saber and continued earnestly practicing his saber technique.

Outside lay the long night.

Most classrooms had already turned off their lights.

Only this Martial Arts Room remained lit. Li Tianyou had always been lean, but at this moment, he looked somewhat lonely.

Night had fallen over Luoyu Street.

Only after training for an entire day, until his clothes had been soaked through with sweat, did Li Yuan board the driverless No. 517 tram.

There were few passengers aboard.

In an era when the Virtual Network was highly developed and material goods were abundant, most people completed their work online.

Even for offline jobs, most workers had already gotten off work and returned home.

"...In late August, relevant national departments and the Xia Country branch of the Starry Sky Martial Hall launched a joint operation, successfully exterminating the Star Realm aquatic races in the Xiang River basin of Jiangbei Province. However, a small number still escaped. Residents in areas along the river are advised to remain alert..."

"Next, war reports concerning Luo Bu Sea, the Level 2 Star Realm in Beijiang Province, and Ausyue Sea, the Level 2 Star Realm on Firefly Planet..."

The electronic display above the driverless tram continuously broadcast the latest news.

Li Yuan sat in a single seat and pushed open the window. Wind streamed in through it as he watched the street scenery flash past outside.

It felt wonderful!

"Charge forward toward both the starry sky and love. Star Sea World reminds you: Spring Eye Station has arrived." The arrival announcement suddenly sounded, pulling Li Yuan's thoughts back to reality.

"Star Sea World really runs a ridiculous number of ads." Li Yuan secretly shook his head.

He got off the tram.

Just over ten meters away stood the entrance to Li Yuan's residential complex—Wanhua Platinum Mansion.

The complex had a grand name, but its buildings were quite ordinary. Compared to the new neighboring complex, Xiongchu Heaven and Earth, it even looked somewhat run-down.

"Welcome home, resident." A gentle female voice sounded.

Li Yuan passed through facial recognition and entered the complex.

There were not even security guards at the entrance, only two intelligent robots standing in the distance.

The complex was filled with eleven-story mid-rise buildings.

Because of the long-term threat of war, skyscrapers had not been permitted for decades. Most buildings were around ten stories tall, with none exceeding eighteen floors.

Though Wanhua Platinum Mansion was more than twenty years old, it had been maintained fairly well overall.

Li Yuan's home was in Building Two, Unit Two.

"Xiao Yuan, school's out?" An elderly couple was jogging around the complex's greenway.

"Yeah. Grandma Sun, you're exercising again?" Li Yuan replied with a smile.

Though this was a commercial residential complex, most of those who had bought homes here back then were employees of the same state-owned enterprise, who had received discounted prices.

In a sense, this place counted as an employee welfare housing complex.

And after so many years,

many of the residents knew one another.

"Grandma Sun and the others are nearly ninety, yet they're still so healthy. They haven't even bought a home robot." Li Yuan inwardly sighed. "According to the books, more than a century ago, the average lifespan was only seventy or eighty."

Because cultivation methods had become widespread, barring accidental deaths, the average lifespan on Blue Star had surpassed one hundred years. In Xia Country, it was closer to one hundred and ten.

Those who became rank warriors had even more astonishing lifespans.

Li Yuan had just reached the bottom of his building.

"Brother?" A delighted girl's voice called from nearby.

"Brother~" A boy's voice followed.

Thump, thump, thump. A boy and a girl of around twelve or thirteen, both dressed in loose martial arts uniforms, jogged over from the shadows in the distance.

"Qianqian, Muhua." Li Yuan smiled. "Why aren't you home yet?"

The girl was pretty and lively, with fair skin and an exceptionally bright pair of eyes.

The boy's face was still youthful, but he was nearly as tall as Li Yuan, standing half a head taller than the girl.

Li Qianqian and Li Muhua.

They were the fourteen-year-old twin children of his uncle and aunt, both in their second year of middle school.

"Brother, we just got back from the Martial Arts Room." Li Qianqian smiled as she wrapped herself around Li Yuan's arm and swayed it.

Li Yuan nodded with a smile. "How was it?"

Every residential complex had a public sports center. This was explicitly mandated by the state: government-funded, managed and operated by the property management, and open to residents free of charge.

"Not great. There were too many people, and nowhere to train," Li Muhua said, shaking his head.

"At your age, you should focus on building foundations. Practice your stances more and study the cultivation methods more." Li Yuan said, "Especially you, Muhua. You've already awakened Martial Arts Spirituality, so don't be too hasty in training."

Li Muhua had very high martial arts talent.

Li Qianqian's talent was much poorer, but her academic grades were quite good.

"Mm." Li Muhua nodded. Then he seemed to remember something. "Brother, I remember your school was testing for Martial Arts Spirituality today, right?"

Li Qianqian looked at Li Yuan as well.

"Didn't succeed." Li Yuan shook his head mildly, seeming unconcerned.

Li Qianqian and Li Muhua exchanged a glance.

"Brother, don't lose heart. Even if you haven't awakened Martial Arts Spirituality, you can still get into a martial arts university." Li Qianqian giggled. "Let's go home first. Mom was just messaging me, asking when we'd be back."

"Little brother, go pick up the package from the property office."

Li Qianqian tugged on Li Yuan's sleeve, intending to head toward the elevator.

"Sis, I picked up the package last time. This time it's your turn." Li Muhua looked helpless.

"Good little brother—"

"Qianqian, go with Muhua." Li Yuan patted Li Qianqian on the head.

"Brother!!"

"Click." The door opened.

"Mom, Brother came back with us," Li Qianqian shouted before she had even entered.

"You're all back?"

A voice came from inside the apartment.

Li Yuan followed his younger cousins in. Entering last, he swept his gaze across the room. The apartment was not small.

Four bedrooms and one living room, one hundred and thirty square meters.

It was obvious that the furnishings and decorations were somewhat old.

"Uncle, Aunt." Li Yuan saw his uncle and aunt emerge from a bedroom. His aunt wore long-sleeved pajamas and no makeup.

His uncle had put on some weight and had dark skin, but he was neatly dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and athletic shoes clearly meant for going out.

"Yuan." His aunt smiled when she saw Li Yuan.

"Qianqian, you two go back to your rooms and wash up. Your father and I need to discuss something with your brother," his aunt instructed.

"Okay."

"Brother, don't open my package. I want to open it myself later." Li Qianqian dragged Li Muhua away. After dropping the package, they slipped into their room.

In the living room,

only Li Yuan and his uncle and aunt remained.

"Uncle, are you going on another business trip?" Li Yuan asked quietly. He had already spotted the large suitcase in the living room.

His uncle worked for a state-owned enterprise in civil engineering construction, constantly traveling around the country. Business trips were commonplace.

"Yeah. I just got the notice this afternoon." His uncle nodded.

"Where are you going that it's so urgent?" Li Yuan asked.

A flicker of hesitation crossed his aunt's face.

"What's there to hide? Xiao Yuan's grown up now." His uncle smiled instead and looked at Li Yuan. "The Northern Frontier."

"So urgently, and to the Northern Frontier too." Li Yuan froze at first, then seemed to realize something. His expression turned slightly tense. "Luo Bu Sea, the Level 2 Star Realm?"