Righteous Qi Value +1

"What exactly was the use of this Panel?"

Qin Fen stared at the intangible Panel before him, visible only to him, and fell into deep thought.

The Martial Arts column had originally displayed nothing, but after he learned Galloping Horse Strength, it had appeared on the Panel.

Could this Panel merely record the progress of the martial arts he cultivated?

And that Righteous Qi Value—how was he supposed to obtain it?

What would change after he obtained it?

Qin Fen pondered the purpose of the Panel.

The other students also sat quietly in their seats.

Martial arts was the final class of the day.

Once the bell rang, school was over.

Yet no one moved about. They were all carefully experiencing the sensation of strength entering their bodies.

Having witnessed the wonders of martial arts, no one wanted to remain ordinary. They all wanted to become martial artists.

Several minutes later, people gradually began leaving their seats, slinging on their backpacks, and walking out of the classroom.

These were the first batch to receive the transmitted strength. They had more or less absorbed and digested the sensation of strength entering their bodies. Next, they only needed to practice more after returning home until they cultivated strength.

Qin Fen gave up studying the Panel and continued experiencing the sensation of strength entering his body.

However, after being interrupted by the bell, the effect of trying again was much worse.

Another ten minutes passed, and only a dozen or so people remained in the classroom.

"Qin Fen, Qin Fen, hurry up! The school bus is about to leave."

At that moment, Qin Fen heard someone calling him.

Outside the classroom door, a slightly chubby boy waved at him.

"Coming, coming!"

Qin Fen grabbed his backpack and headed out of the classroom.

"Qin Fen, the Martial Arts Teacher taught us Galloping Horse Strength today. We can finally practice martial arts."

At the mention of martial arts, Chen Bo, the slightly chubby boy, could not hide the excitement on his face.

This was the Great Martial Era.

Whether from television, their parents' words, or even common knowledge in society, they all understood one fact: martial artists were the mainstream of this world, the people standing at its very pinnacle.

Learning knowledge in the liberal arts could still allow one to survive in modern society.

But compared with martial artists, it came with almost no privileges at all.

Whether a nation had powerful martial artists standing guard had become a measure of that nation's strength.

To serve as a national leader, one had to possess formidable martial strength.

Otherwise, one could easily be assassinated by enemy agents.

Even the key officials within government agencies could only be martial artists.

More importantly, only martial artists could fight Aliens and safeguard world peace.

Two hundred years ago, Spiritual Energy Resurgence began. Humanity absorbed Spiritual Qi to cultivate martial arts and gained extraordinary power.

At the same time, cruel and violent Aliens appeared throughout heaven and earth.

Aliens were savage by nature and fed on humans.

Aliens were not creatures of Blue Star, but terrifying beings from another world.

Blue Star had experienced Spiritual Energy Resurgence because it had accidentally connected to an unknown world. Spiritual Qi had poured from that other world into Blue Star, and Aliens were the terrifying creatures that lived there.

In short, there were countless kinds of Aliens, strange and grotesque in every imaginable way. If ordinary people encountered an Alien, the best thing they could do was flee. Some firearms could only injure low-level Aliens; high-level Aliens could only be dealt with by martial arts experts.

Thus, martial arts experts stood high above, looking down upon all living beings, possessing countless privileges.

Ordinary people, meanwhile, languished at the very bottom of society. The two were simply beyond comparison. Unless there was truly no possibility at all, so long as they had even the slightest hope, they would not choose to become ordinary people and then live a numb life for the rest of their days.

Once one became a martial artist, it was like becoming the top scorer in the College Entrance Examination two hundred years ago—bringing glory to one's ancestors.

Wealth, beautiful women, status, and power would come one after another, all within easy reach.

"One month. Only if we cultivate strength within one month can we enter the Martial Arts Class and cultivate martial arts. And only by entering the Martial Arts Class can we hope to get into a Martial Arts University and become a martial artist admired by all. This is our only chance to change our fate."

"You're right. Ordinary people like us can only change our fate by getting into a Martial Arts University and becoming martial artists. Then we can let our parents live in a big house, so they won't have to work so hard. We can have servants attending to us every day, and if we get sick, we can go to the best hospitals."

"Let's work hard together and get into the Martial Arts Class."

Qin Fen and Chen Bo encouraged each other.

They had been classmates for six years in elementary school and three years in middle school. They also lived close to each other, in the same residential complex. They had entered Thirteen Middle School together, only to be assigned to different classes.

Soon, the two of them went downstairs and boarded a school bus.

Yang City was one of the six county-level cities under Donghai City. It had six major districts: Longwan District, Lucheng District, Jinan District, Wenjiang District, Jiangkou District, and Xisha District.

Among them, Longwan District and Lucheng District were the most prosperous. Most martial arts schools had been established in those two districts.

Qin Fen and Chen Bo lived in Xisha District, and the ride took half an hour.

If they took the urban-rural public bus, the fare was five yuan. A round trip each day cost ten yuan.

They both came from ordinary families. Their parents only earned three thousand yuan a month, and spending more than two hundred yuan each month on transportation was truly painful.

Fortunately, the school had more than twenty school buses, which picked up and dropped off students who lived relatively far away every day.

Spiritual Energy Resurgence had occurred in 1820, and it was now 2020.

After two hundred years of development, although countries around the world placed greater emphasis on the development of martial arts, technology had also advanced tremendously. Some scientists had invented countless great things that made life more convenient for ordinary people.

For example, cars, airplanes, mobile phones, computers, and so on.

These things had not existed two hundred years ago.

More than ten minutes later, the school bus was full. Everyone had a seat, and it was not overloaded.

"Everyone, sit properly and don't fool around."

Once everyone was aboard, the school bus driver closed the doors, fastened his seat belt, and started the bus.

Soon, the bus drove out of the school gates and onto the bustling street, where traffic flowed without end.

Everyone took out their phones and idly browsed the news.

Qin Fen did the same.

Suddenly, a small pop-up window appeared on its own.

Latest news: The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament will be hosted by Dragon Ascending Nation.

"Hahaha, our country is finally going to host the World Martial Arts Tournament!"

"With our country's strength, we qualified to host the World Martial Arts Tournament long ago."

"Hmph, Dragon Ascending Nation is the greatest nation in the East. We have billions of people—we are not some tiny little country with only tens of millions of people. How can we allow Western nations to push us around?"

"Once the World Martial Arts Tournament is successfully held, our country's influence in the world will surpass Western powers such as Great Plum Nation, Flying Eagle Nation, and Westland Nation. We'll have a greater voice internationally."

"..."

At once, discussion erupted throughout the school bus.

Everyone wore proud expressions.

When the nation prospered, its people were blessed.

The world was far from peaceful. Because cultivation resources were limited, countries were locked in open and covert struggles.

Especially in certain small northern countries, wars raged year-round over resources. Their people were displaced, living from one day to the next. They did not even know whether, after falling asleep tonight, they would see tomorrow's sun.

Dragon Ascending Nation was the greatest nation in the East.

In terms of overall national strength, it could rank among the top three in the world.

Therefore, living in Dragon Ascending Nation was incomparably fortunate. There was no need to worry about war breaking out.

The World Martial Arts Tournament gathered the foremost martial arts experts from every country.

Winds and clouds converged, heroes battled for supremacy.

If one could make a name for oneself at this martial arts tournament, one could become wildly famous overnight and be known throughout the world.

The World Martial Arts Tournament had originally been proposed and organized by Western powers, held once every ten years.

For the first few editions, only Western countries played among themselves. Later, as nations increasingly valued martial arts, they began signing up one after another to compete, exchange with martial arts experts from other countries, learn from one another, and improve together.

Thus, Western nations had always held the initiative.

For twenty consecutive World Martial Arts Tournaments, Western nations had taken turns hosting them.

Dragon Ascending Nation was no weaker than Western nations.

Yet never having hosted the World Martial Arts Tournament had always been a thorn in the hearts of Dragon Ascending Nation's people.

At every World Martial Arts Tournament, they had to travel abroad to compete. Only a small number of wealthy people could attend in person, watch martial arts experts from different countries contend for supremacy, and feel the fiery passion of martial arts and the majestic, miraculous power beyond the ordinary.

Ordinary people could only watch through online broadcasts and could not witness the matches with their own eyes. Even if they won the championship, there would still be a trace of regret.

If the World Martial Arts Tournament were held in Dragon Ascending Nation, the people could personally witness the splendor of martial arts experts from every country.

Hearing all the students discussing Dragon Ascending Nation hosting the World Martial Arts Tournament, the school bus driver also revealed a proud expression. Only when the nation was strong would the people's standard of living rise along with it.

In some small northern countries, war raged year-round. How could they have the stability and harmony of Dragon Ascending Nation?

Just then, a little boy suddenly darted into the road from the roadside.

The school bus driver immediately slammed on the brakes, and everyone in the bus involuntarily lurched forward.

Fortunately, the school bus had not been traveling fast, only around forty kilometers per hour, and it stopped in time.

The little boy's parents were terrified. They immediately ran into the road, picked him up, and carried him away from the middle of the street.

"Driver, what happened?"

A student asked.

"A naughty little boy suddenly ran into the road. Luckily, nothing serious happened."

The school bus driver answered, then restarted the stalled vehicle.

However, after several attempts, the bus still would not start.

"It seems the bus has malfunctioned and can't be started. We won't know the exact problem until we inspect it."

The school bus driver said.

At this moment, vehicles behind the school bus, unaware of what had happened, kept honking.

Qin Fen turned around and saw through the rear window that many vehicles had already stopped behind the school bus.

"Driver, it's rush hour right now. To avoid causing a large-scale traffic jam, how about we push the school bus to the roadside first, then slowly inspect it?"

Qin Fen suggested.

"That's the only way. Be careful, all of you. I'll stay in the bus and control the steering wheel."

The school bus driver stuck his head out the window, looked at the growing stream of traffic behind them, and agreed with Qin Fen's suggestion.

Besides Qin Fen and Chen Bo, three students got off the bus with them. Together, they went behind the school bus and slowly pushed it more than ten meters, moving it to the safe area at the far right side of the road.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a flash of white light streaked past his eyes.

Righteous Qi Value +1