Beginner Martial Arts Academy, Experience Point System

The sun had yet to rise.

The students of the Beginner Martial Arts Academy under the Jade Bone Sect had already woken up.

After washing up, they all left their shared sleeping quarters and headed to the training grounds.

Zhang Wan was one of them.

Though only nine years old, he moved with remarkable speed, his body agile and strong.

But it wasn't just Zhang Wan; at a glance, all the children his age around him were similarly robust.

Some children were exceptionally outstanding, not only towering over their peers by two or three heads but also possessing exceptionally sturdy physiques.

Zhang Wan blended in with this group of children, not standing out, just one of the ordinary members.

Soon, Zhang Wan arrived at the fifth training ground, used by the fifth-level students, and took his place in the Class E formation. Under the guidance of the martial arts instructor, they began practicing the "Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist."

The Beginner Martial Arts Academy had ten levels of students. Entry was at the first level, with one level gained each year. After ten years, regardless of whether they could break through to the Houtian Realm, they had to leave the academy.

Students who became Houtian martial artists could officially join the Jade Bone Sect and become outer disciples.

The rest, if they had performed well during their time at the academy, could become miscellaneous disciples of the Jade Bone Sect, handling various chores and continuing their cultivation within the sect.

Those who were even less capable could only return to the mortal world and strive for success in the mundane realm.

Each level of students was further divided into ten classes: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J. Sometimes, if there were too many students, additional classes like Z, Ch, Y, and M would be added.

Zhang Wan was a fifth-level Class E student and had been studying at the Beginner Martial Arts Academy for nearly five years.

Over these five years, Zhang Wan had learned a considerable amount of fundamental martial arts knowledge at the academy, but he had only learned one martial art: the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist.

This martial art was a commoner's technique. It didn't possess many offensive or defensive capabilities, but it was the foundational martial art for mortals stepping onto the path of martial arts!

If one couldn't cross the threshold and enter the Houtian Realm, they could only struggle in the mortal world. This single martial art would naturally be insufficient, and they would need to learn other offensive commoner martial arts for self-preservation.

However, during their time at the academy, they didn't need to distract themselves by learning other martial arts.

Compared to those offensive commoner martial arts, achieving the Houtian Realm was far more important.

Moreover, if the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist was practiced well, laying a solid foundation, even if one couldn't become a Houtian martial artist, learning other commoner martial arts would be effortless.

Under the guidance of Instructor Liu, the fifth-level Class E students practiced the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist three times. Their Blood Essence surged, and their faces were covered in sweat.

Zhang Wan and some of the students around him stopped to recover their strength.

But one person was still practicing the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist.

This person was Xu Hui, the most talented student in fifth-level Class E.

Though also only nine years old, Xu Hui had already completely comprehended the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist, and his Blood Essence had reached its peak, the limit for a mortal.

Instructor Liu had said that within a year, Xu Hui would break through the bottleneck and advance from a mortal to the Houtian Realm!

There were a few more students like Xu Hui among the fifth-level students, but all of them combined could be counted on one hand. These individuals were undoubtedly the rising stars among the fifth-level students, drawing the envy of many.

Even within the Beginner Martial Arts Academy, they had some reputation.

After all, not many could temper their Blood Essence to the mortal limit before advancing to the ninth or tenth level. Such individuals would be considered significant figures even among the outer disciples of the Jade Bone Sect in the future.

Naturally, they attracted attention.

Xu Hui seemed oblivious to his surroundings, immersed in the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist, trying to grasp that sliver of opportunity to break through the bottleneck.

The gazes the other students occasionally cast at Xu Hui were mixed with envy. Only Zhang Wan didn't have that emotion, but he concealed it well, appearing no different from the other students.

"Completely mastered the Ox Demon Body Tempering Fist and refined his Blood Essence to the extreme, he's truly impressive," Zhang Wan praised inwardly.

Although he was only nine years old, he possessed a past life and remembered everything from it. He was a person with latent wisdom.

Therefore, after entering the Beginner Martial Arts Academy at just over four years old and witnessing the capabilities of martial artists, Zhang Wan knew this was a path to the heavens. For five years, he had not slacked off for a single moment.

He was far more diligent than the other students, who were still somewhat naive.

Even so, he was still far behind Xu Hui, which made him feel the gap in their martial arts talent even more acutely.

However, he was only behind Xu Hui.

On the surface, Zhang Wan's progress ranked in the top dozen in fifth-level Class E, and among all fifth-level students, he was around the 100th position.

But in reality, Zhang Wan's progress only lagged behind a few rare geniuses like Xu Hui who had touched the mortal limit.

Due to his naturally cautious nature and the difference he felt from other children because of his latent wisdom, Zhang Wan didn't want to attract too much attention from the instructors. He had slightly concealed his progress, which was why he ranked in the top hundred among all fifth-level students.

He didn't attract attention, but his achievements were not surprising given his position.

"My aptitude among all fifth-level students can only be considered average, but combined with diligence, it's not difficult to surpass these students who are still naive."

"However, compared to those few whose aptitude far surpasses mine, it's still difficult to catch up."

"And aptitude is particularly important in the early stages of martial arts."

"Even if I'm ahead of most people now, due to the limitations of my aptitude, I'm very likely to get stuck before the Houtian threshold and be unable to break through," Zhang Wan knew this clearly.

Bottlenecks couldn't be broken through solely by diligence.

One either needed sufficient aptitude or the aid of heavenly treasures.

The former was something Zhang Wan lacked greatly, and the latter was difficult to obtain. Relying on himself to break through to Houtian had only a slim chance.

It wasn't much, but Zhang Wan wasn't discouraged.

The chance to reach the heavens with a single breakthrough was enough for Zhang Wan to relentlessly pursue it. Besides, he wasn't entirely without help.

As someone with past-life memories, he also possessed his own cheat, his golden finger.

A simple and straightforward Experience Point System.

This system had been bound to Zhang Wan since his birth.

Every day, Zhang Wan would randomly gain one to three experience points.

In the nine-plus years since his birth, Zhang Wan had accumulated seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-one experience points. He had only used five of them so far.

Seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-six points remained.

These experience points were the source of Zhang Wan's confidence!

After morning practice ended, Zhang Wan and a few classmates went to the mess hall to pick up the morning meal for Class E, Level 5. The other students headed to their classrooms.

The Beginner Martial Arts Academy had over ten thousand students, so they didn't all eat together.

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they would basically send people to the mess hall to pick up food and eat it in classrooms or training grounds.

The instructors and teachers did not eat with the students; they had their own exclusive mess hall.

At the same time, a small number of students could also enter the exclusive mess hall for instructors and teachers.

These students all had powerful backing and martial artist ancestors in their families.

The resources they enjoyed were far greater than those of ordinary students.

Also, due to the strict discipline and guidance from their martial artist ancestors, their Blood Essence progress was also quite good.

The formidable ones, like Xu Hui, had tempered their Blood Essence to the extreme, reaching the limit of mortals.

The less capable ones were all ranked within the top four hundred students of each level.

Only a handful of the untalented and dissolute ones ranked at the bottom.