Shangyang Sword

"Lu Chenzhou, get up on the wooden posts and try Flying Step."

Lu Chenzhou, who had been practicing alone, was suddenly called out by Shi Ruyu.

Quite a few students had already tried it before.

Old Zhang had performed the best. His comprehension was average, but his cultivation was the highest; relying on his formidable physical conditioning, he had lasted two minutes. Du Men came next. His Swallow Return Fist, which excelled in agility, had reached Minor Accomplishment. His fist art realm was high, so comparatively speaking, his movement skill was better.

Lu Chenzhou did not hesitate. He leaped onto the wooden posts.

His body began to sway along with the rocking posts.

Shi Ruyu's voice entered his ears.

"Don't panic. Imagine that you're a sea swallow. Use both arms to maintain balance, keep your core as steady as a chicken's head, boldly step forward, and maintain coordination throughout your body!"

Lu Chenzhou silently recited the essentials of the mnemonic and stepped out.

A minute later, a wooden post shook him down to the ground.

"Not bad. You lasted a minute."

Shi Ruyu affirmed him.

Among the students present, only Du Men and Old Zhang had surpassed one minute.

"Everyone, keep practicing."

Class was over, and she turned to leave.

Having witnessed their senior sister's prowess, the students admired her even more.

"So nice. When will I ever reach Seventh Stage?"

"If I can set foot in the Transcendent Realm in this life, I'll be satisfied."

Lu Chenzhou replayed Shi Ruyu's movement skill in his mind.

"Senior Sister truly is impressive. She has not been under the hall master's tutelage for long, and she probably hasn't studied Sea-Skimming Body for long either, yet she can already use it to teach us."

The night was deep when he left the martial hall.

Building 3, Shihu Garden, 2802.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Li Xianghua and Lu Guoping discussing something.

"Dad, Mom, you're back."

"Mm. Your mother was worried about you being out there."

"I'm an Entry Stage Martial Warrior. What could happen to me? You two should just enjoy yourselves."

Li Xianghua scrolled through the news, looking somewhat anxious as she said:

"A Level Five Void Calamity is right there at Tai Lake... sigh."

Lu Guoping comforted her.

"Relax. The central authorities have already sent people over. It'll be fine."

Lu Chenzhou added:

"Mom, even experts of the Sixth Shackles-Breaking Realm have arrived. Didn't you see the videos in the Lineage group chat? Figures like them are no different from the immortal gods of legend. Nothing will happen."

If a natural-disaster-level Void Calamity truly erupted, worrying now would be useless.

This thing was like an earthquake. What could they do?

At most, they could move to another city for a while.

Lu Guoping continued:

"Anyway, our whole family will keep a close eye on the news from now on. If there's even the slightest stir, or if the country tells us to evacuate or something, we'll rent a place in another city. A tree dies when moved, but a person thrives when moved. If our jobs and home are gone, then they're gone!"

"I'll have my older brother keep watch too. People in government offices are well informed."

"Oh, come on. He works at the Culture and Tourism Bureau, not the Void Suppression Bureau."

"That's still better than nothing."

As his parents chatted, Lu Chenzhou returned to his bedroom.

No matter how stormy the outside world became, cultivation came first.

In the current world situation, there was no country safer than Great Xia. As long as he became a Martial Artist, most problems would be solved as easily as splitting bamboo, and he could go wherever he wanted.

After one hour and three minutes of painful stance training,

Lu Chenzhou looked at the Martial Dao Tree.

Dragon-Tiger Heaven Stance: Second Aperture (46%) → Second Aperture (48%)

"The Shangyang Acupoint isn't much harder than the Zhongchong Acupoint. I can still make six percent progress a day, but it originally took three hours. Now it takes three hours and nine minutes. In the future, I'll inevitably have to spend even more time on the Heaven Stance."

The Heaven Stance was simple when one called it simple, and difficult when one called it difficult. Too many people fell at the hurdle of perseverance. With their level of effort, they were not even qualified to contend for the upper limit of talent.

"No matter what, I can ensure that I open one aperture every half month in the early stages. At this speed, I'm already no worse than those with medium-grade roots. After entering university, there will be better teachers and more martial arts resources. My aperture-opening speed still has plenty of room to rise.

"By comparison, Du Men can be considered a lower-grade-root cultivator who trains diligently and has decent comprehension. Yet after studying Dragon-Tiger Heaven Stance for two years, he has only opened five apertures. Senior Sister Li has opened three apertures, while the club president has it the worst—he has also studied it for two years, yet has opened only two apertures."

It was not that Qin Zheng was stupid. He fished for three days and dried nets for two.

Li Linling, at the very least, had worked fairly hard before her senior year of high school.

Stance training truly was too bitter. If one could not practice every day and open the apertures in one burst of momentum, the apertures would return to a state of Chaos over time, making all that training equivalent to wasted effort.

"Martial arts are like rowing a boat against the current: if you do not advance, you retreat!"

Lu Chenzhou compared himself with the other students.

He discovered that he was actually quite impressive.

Looking at it this way, thirty apertures did not seem like much.

With the Martial Dao Tree, the future was promising!

Ji Xuantong had medium-grade roots and entered martial school at five, yet he had only become a Martial Artist when he was nearly thirty. Lu Chenzhou had hopes of doing so earlier than the hall master. In the future, he would surely break even more shackles.

"Azure Heaven Dragon King!"

Lu Chenzhou looked at the poster.

In his heart, he secretly took the Dragon King as his goal.

Time flew by.

Tai Lake was sealed off, and no one knew when it would reopen.

From afar, one could still see the Blue Light Curtain enveloping heaven and earth.

Gradually, the people of Su City returned to their normal lives. Just as Qin Zheng had predicted, housing prices in Su City, including the Inner City, inevitably fell. Some wealthy people had already moved away from Su City, settling in cities with top-tier Wuda.

Although prices had fallen, there were still not many people buying homes.

Li Xianghua and Lu Guoping had completely abandoned the idea of buying a house as well. If the Level Five Void Calamity erupted, there would be no difference between living in the Inner City or outside it. Buying property now was simply water in the brain.

Of course, there were also those trying to buy at the bottom, waiting for housing prices to rebound so they could make a fortune.

If the Void Calamity passed, that was indeed possible.

But it had nothing to do with the Lu family. That was a game for the rich.

The greatest benefit this earthshaking event brought Lu Chenzhou was that he could take martial arts supplements without interruption. His monthly supply had gone from one box to two.

The old couple had given up on buying a home.

They were now counting on Lu Chenzhou making something of himself so they could live in the university family housing.

That was true class ascension. The people around them would all be relatives of experts and even Martial Artists, and their channels of information would be beyond anything ordinary people could compare to. Just thinking about it made the old couple happy.

February 18th, before dawn.

As the east broke into light, the people of Su City were still asleep.

On the rooftop, Lu Chenzhou had already finished practicing the Heaven Stance.

He looked toward his right index finger and felt a clear, comfortable sensation. It was so wonderful that he felt the pain of practicing the Heaven Stance over the past half month had been nothing.

He looked at the Martial Dao Tree.

Martial Skills

Basic Fist Art: Perfection (Fistheart Without Regret)

Black Tiger Fist: Mastery (30%)

Sea-Skimming Body: Initiation (15%)

Cultivation Methods

Dragon-Tiger Heaven Stance: Second Aperture Opened

"I've gained a great deal these past few days. Sea-Skimming Body has reached Initiation, and the Shangyang Acupoint has opened as well. Ordinary deafness, toothaches, and throat illnesses will no longer afflict me. My Blood Vitality should have increased a little too, and I've laid a solid foundation for future True Skill cultivation."

While training normally, Shi Ruyu would tell the students about some Wuda experts.

She said that Pingjiang Martial University had a Martial Grandmaster named Shangyang Sword—Duan Lingyu. He specialized in a unique martial art that condensed True Qi before releasing it through the Shangyang Acupoint. When clashing with an opponent, the True Qi could instantly destroy their five viscera and six bowels. With a single finger, he could even pierce through steel plates that required a heavy sniper rifle to break.

A Martial Grandmaster was a martial arts powerhouse who had broken the Second Shackles.

Innate True Qi was their hallmark.

Physical destructive force like cutting gold and severing jade was merely the most basic display of True Qi's power. In terms of conventional firepower, Martial Artists were absolutely no match for modern weapons.

Its most important function was that it could restrain Void Entities!

Void Entities had complex compositions. Some could be destroyed by modern weapons or other technological means, but more of them were ethereal spirit bodies untouched by artillery fire.

Martial Artists had always been the main force in fighting Void Entities.

"Tonight, it's time to go to the hall master and learn the third stance training method."

Next would be the Guanchong Acupoint on his right ring finger.

Night.

Flying Swallow Martial Hall, Blood Vitality Testing Room.

A girl with an oval face, dressed in training clothes and wearing a ponytail, was smoothly performing the Basic Fist Art. She was petite, yet could still be called delicate and curvaceous.

After finishing, the girl stood barefoot.

Blood Vitality: 4.44. Congratulations, you have reached the Eighth Stage standard.

The girl sighed faintly.

"After the Transcendent Realm, it really does become strenuous."

She walked out of the testing room.

A tall boy was already waiting outside.

"You can use it now. Sorry to keep you waiting."

After speaking, the girl headed toward the martial arts room.

Lu Chenzhou glanced back. This girl was probably of medium-grade roots. She was only a few years older than him, yet she was already Eighth Stage—more outstanding than even Shi Ruyu.

But... her legs were not as long as Shi Ruyu's.

Lu Chenzhou withdrew his gaze. He was not discouraged by someone else's excellence; the road of martial arts was still long. After completing the Basic Fist Art, the tester's voice sounded.

Blood Vitality: 1.60. Congratulations, you have reached the Second Stage standard.

"Compared with before opening an aperture, it has risen by 0.04 out of nowhere."

Lu Chenzhou left the testing room with great satisfaction.

There were still three and a half months until the examination. He estimated that Black Tiger Fist would reach Minor Accomplishment by the end of next month. This sort of primary fist art was the real major source of Blood Vitality growth. By then, he could open another one or two apertures. Reaching 1.73 Blood Vitality would not be a problem.

In half a year, he had risen three stages in a row.

This speed was enough to demonstrate his talent to the school.

He was now completely confident about entering Wuda.

Arriving at the martial arts room, he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Lu Chenzhou entered and found a girl sitting opposite Ji Xuantong.

It was the very girl from earlier.

When the girl saw Lu Chenzhou, she stood up.

"Dad, teach your class. Don't delay someone else's lesson."

"Mm. This is a core student of our martial hall, named Lu Chenzhou."

Upon hearing this name, Ji Feiyan looked seriously at the boy.

"Father, this is the junior brother you mentioned, the especially hardworking one?"

"That's right. Half a year ago, he had not even reached the Entry Stage. After coming to our martial hall for a few months, he is already Second Stage." Ji Xuantong wore a pleased expression.

"Wow, Dad, you're pretty impressive."

"Not really. Stop being glib. Learn more from your junior brother's work ethic. With your roots and comprehension, you should at least reach Ninth Stage before graduation, right?"

"You make it sound easy, Dad. Weren't you only Seventh Stage when you were my age?"

"My conditions back then cannot compare with yours!"

"I don't care. Hehe."

"Forget it. Go chat with your junior sister and get familiar with her."

"Okay."

After Ji Feiyan left, the martial arts room fell quiet.

Ji Xuantong said:

"This is my daughter, Ji Feiyan. She is currently studying at Dragon City University. You can call her Senior Sister Ji. She is also the first true disciple I have accepted."

Lu Chenzhou's expression shifted slightly, and he smiled.

"I saw Senior Sister in the testing room just now. At such a young age, she has already reached Eighth Stage Blood Vitality—I was utterly amazed. So she is your daughter, Teacher. That explains everything."

Today was Monday, and the new book rankings had reset. This book also received a trial recommendation round, so it urgently needed monthly votes and follow-up reads to charge the new book rankings. If it fails one round of PK, later recommendations may be cut off. Therefore, follow-up reads and monthly votes are crucial to this book. It has only been out for a week and has already passed fifty thousand words. Old Tian has given it everything, so please, everyone, do not stockpile chapters! Thank you!