Innate Force (Third Update—Please Vote and Keep Reading)

School had been suspended, and Lu Chenzhou benefited from it.

He only needed to take online classes and work through practice problems at home. He could spend all his remaining time practicing boxing and stance work. His goal was to condense the Shaochong Acupoint before April.

Eighteen days remained!

For safety reasons, he had switched his martial arts hall visits to daytime, squeezing them in bit by bit outside his online class hours. Everything depended on the results of Pingjiang Martial University's June examination. If he succeeded, he could transfer directly from Culture High School to Wuda Affiliated High School, attend classes step by step, and enter a martial university through the college entrance examination.

He could give up the academic curriculum.

Of course, that did not mean giving up learning altogether.

Martial arts schools also offered corresponding martial arts knowledge courses, such as "History of Martial Arts," "Pharmacology," and "Ancient Scripts," all related to martial arts. This was the age of technology; an illiterate who could not recognize a single character could not realistically practice martial arts either.

Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.

"Come on, Chenzhou. Let's spar."

The Du Men incident had stirred Qin Zheng up once again. His family was already making arrangements to move to another city, while he himself was once again declaring that he would work hard at martial arts. Lu Chenzhou had grown used to Qin Zheng's periodic bouts of soaring ambition.

"Swallow Passing Without a Trace!"

Qin Zheng was rather chuunibyou; he even shouted the name of his move while sparring.

He called it boosting morale!

Lu Chenzhou's expression did not ripple in the slightest. He evaded with a backward Skimming Step from Sea-Skimming Body, then took three steps as two and unleashed Black Tiger Subduing Demons!

This was a crashing punch, fierce and powerful.

Bang!

Qin Zheng flew backward and crashed onto the padded mat.

"Ow..."

He got to his feet and looked at his chest, red beneath his protective padding.

"Are you almost Third Stage already? That hurt so much."

He felt somewhat despairing. He truly could no longer catch up to Lu Chenzhou.

Half a year ago, this guy had still been a complete rookie.

Now, every gesture and movement carried the air of an expert.

"No, I'm still a little short."

Lu Chenzhou leaped onto the wooden stakes and resumed practicing Sea-Skimming Body while performing Black Tiger Fist. It consumed a great deal of stamina, but this was a time when every second counted. He only needed to drink some supplements and rest well after returning home. What did exhaustion matter? He had ignored even the suffering of Heaven Stance. With the opportunity granted by the Martial Dao Tree, he had to seize it properly!

"Bro, you're really about to reach Third Stage?"

Hearing Lu Chenzhou say he was only a little short, Qin Zheng felt disheartened.

Could this guy have been secretly boxing and crazily grinding away whenever he was not studying...? That rate of improvement was jaw-dropping.

"Du Men is here."

Someone shouted, and everyone turned toward the entrance. A resolute-looking figure walked in with a bag slung over his back. It was Du Men, who had not come to box for a week.

Many people had assumed Du Men had been frightened senseless after being attacked by a Void Entity.

Or that he would never dare step out of his home again, living in constant fear.

There were such cases in reality. Some people had gone mad because of Void Calamities, and society had even developed therapists specializing in helping Void Calamity victims emerge from their shadows.

Without experiencing a Void Calamity oneself, it was impossible to truly empathize.

As the big brother of the group, Old Zhang asked:

"Junior Brother Du, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Thank you all for your concern during this time."

"It's good that you're fine. Survive a great disaster, and blessings are sure to follow!"

"Yeah. I saw a news story recently about someone who encountered a Void Calamity in deep mountain wilderness. He fled in blind panic and stumbled into a mountain god temple, where a Martial Artist cultivating in seclusion saved him. Not long afterward, that man awakened a Martial Bone Dao Fetus!"

Everyone's warm concern moved Du Men deeply.

"By the way, I've taken a leave from school. From now on, I'll focus entirely on practicing boxing at the martial arts hall. If anyone needs a training partner or someone to spar with, come find me."

Du Men suddenly said.

Old Zhang was surprised.

"What happened to you? You said you were fine, so why did you suddenly take leave from school?"

Qin Zheng was equally puzzled.

"Yeah, bro, I remember your grades were pretty good... Even a lousy student like me hasn't given up on myself. Bro, you can't just abandon yourself."

Du Men said firmly:

"In ancient times, the Overlord smashed his cauldrons and sank his boats! I've figured it out. What I truly seek is the martial path. If I can't get into Pingjiang Martial University next, I'll have no heart left for studying. And if I do get in, academic studies will matter even less!"

Lu Chenzhou rather admired Du Men's boldness.

He could not do that for now... because his family was poor. Du Men's family might not compare to Qin Zheng's, but it was still far beyond Lu Chenzhou's. Du Men had too many paths of retreat.

Lu Chenzhou could never do something on a momentary rush of passion.

Life held too many unforeseen twists. He was his parents' pillar.

After welcoming Du Men back, everyone resumed their usual boxing practice.

"Junior Brother, I practiced some at home too. Let's spar a little."

Du Men sought out Lu Chenzhou again.

"All right, Senior Brother."

The two exchanged fists and kicks atop the wooden stakes, their blows snapping and crackling.

In the end, Lu Chenzhou was still the more skilled and kicked Du Men off. His vitality and blood were not far from Third Stage now, and the gap between him and Du Men was narrowing.

Du Men did not lose heart this time.

The terrifying Void Entity had failed to crush him. Nothing else could!

To some extent, his temperament had also undergone tempering. In the old days, some Martial Artists soared after suffering great setbacks and upheavals for much the same reason.

After boxing, Lu Chenzhou sat beside Du Men to rest.

After hesitating for a long while, he finally asked:

"Senior Brother, I want to ask you something, but I'm afraid of reopening your wound."

"You want to ask about the Void Entity, right? Go ahead."

"Mm. You saw a Void Entity with your own eyes. Can you recall any details or other signs from before and after you encountered it? It'll help me take precautions and be prepared."

Things like Void Entities appeared and vanished like ghosts.

Other than the people involved, there was rarely any eyewitness evidence.

Du Men recalled the terror of that day and truthfully recounted his experience to Lu Chenzhou. His body trembled even as he spoke.

At last, he warned him:

"Junior Brother, if you encounter a Void Entity, listen to me—run if you can. It isn't something on the same level as us... Until one becomes a Martial Artist, all are ants."

He was Third Stage too, and he had taken the initiative to attack.

Yet after flailing wildly, he could not even see the Void Entity's shadow, much less harm it. Ordinary physical attacks simply could not hit that ghostly thing.

The reason the hall master had been able to strike it was because of that azure-blue fluorescent power. Du Men had asked the hall master about it, and this was a method possessed only by those who had achieved the First Shackle Breakthrough:

Innate Force!

Force had an ethereal form but no tangible substance. It originated from the True Skill cultivated by Martial Artists, lay hidden within the dantian, circulated throughout the body via the meridians and acupoints, and could be unleashed through martial techniques and special weapons. It could touch and seize Void Entities, inflicting harm upon them!

After breaking the second shackle, it transformed into Innate True Qi.

True Qi was even more powerful, and ordinary Void Entities fled from it as though avoiding the plague.

After learning about the situation from Du Men, Lu Chenzhou also felt more assured. The Void Entity that had attacked him that night had not seemed very strong; the hall master had killed it in a single blow.

Just as the information he had researched said, many Void Entities were not all that lethal. Some even needed to rely on petty tricks such as illusions and mind control to kill people. They only seemed helplessly unstoppable because ordinary Martial Warriors and firearms could not touch them.

Of course, that was easy to say.

If Lu Chenzhou saw one, he would definitely choose running as the best strategy.

Third update! Please keep reading, vote monthly tickets, and send recommendation tickets!