Train Courage Before Training Martial Arts

The battle between Qin Fen and Shi Jian had long since spread among the new students.

The students who had cultivated Jing Li and entered the Martial Arts Class were especially interested in this battle.

Among this year's new students, Qin Fen and Shi Jian were the first to cultivate Jing Li. Whoever won would become the top freshman and earn the respect of all the new students.

Being the top freshman was equivalent to being the leader of all new students.

Humans were social creatures. No matter where they went, they formed groups.

Once a group was formed, it needed someone to take the lead.

Only with one voice could everyone pull in the same direction. With divided opinions and everyone fighting on their own, they would be nothing more than a disorganized rabble.

Of course, to become the leader of all new students, one had to possess the ability to convince the others. Once Qin Fen defeated Shi Jian, his strength alone would be enough to subdue every new student.

"Whether I can defeat Shi Jian, you'll find out tomorrow."

Qin Fen smiled mysteriously and did not reveal that he had broken through to the Second Realm of Jing Li.

"Smiling so mysteriously... it looks like you're confident of victory."

Chen Bo did not press further.

The two arrived at the cafeteria. After eating, they continued training.

An hour later, they left the school.

Sunday, October 4th.

By seven in the morning, quite a few students had already taken their seats in the Martial Arts Hall's arena.

The school's Martial Arts Hall was enormous. Besides its many training rooms, it also had a large arena.

It was specifically used for competitions. Every year, the school prepared a substantial prize fund for internal arena matches. Martial Arts Students from Senior One, Senior Two, and Senior Three could all participate, and the venue could accommodate every student in the school watching the matches.

However, only Senior Two and Senior Three students generally participated in the internal arena matches.

Senior One freshmen had only just cultivated Jing Li. How could they possibly be a match for their upperclassmen in Senior Two and Senior Three?

At 7:10, Qin Fen arrived at school.

Inside a lounge by the arena, Teacher Zhou Wu explained the rules of the match to Qin Fen.

"Qin Fen, your match with Shi Jian will use the simplest arena match rules. Victory goes to whoever knocks down their opponent and leaves them unable to fight within the allotted time, or sends them off the arena." Zhou Wu said.

Qin Fen nodded to show that he understood.

At the same time, Qin Fen felt both excited and nervous.

This was different from sparring. It was a genuine combat match, and quite a few students were watching from the spectator seats.

With his strength, defeating Shi Jian would not be a problem.

But with the moment at hand, he still felt somewhat nervous. This was due to his lack of combat experience.

Some people had no problems at all during ordinary training.

But once they stepped onto the arena, the pressure got to them. They became terribly nervous, suffered stage fright, performed disastrously, and could not even display the strength they showed in regular training.

It was like learning to drive. With an instructor beside them, they practiced just fine.

But when taking the test alone, the pressure and nervousness made them repeatedly mess up.

The first step in competing was controlling one's emotions.

That was why a true Martial Artist had to remain calm in the face of danger, keeping a straight face even if Mount Tai collapsed before them.

Qin Fen took a deep breath and quickly suppressed his nervousness.

Seeing this, Zhou Wu nodded and said, "Train courage before training martial arts. For a martial artist, innate talent and aptitude are certainly important, but courage is even more important. Poor talent can be made up for with resources, but if a person lacks courage, then no matter how high their martial arts cultivation is, if they are terrified in the face of danger and think only of running away, they are still useless.

"You must understand that humanity's true enemies are those Aliens, the incomparably savage and violent Otherworldly Creatures."

"I understand."

Qin Fen nodded.

The countries of Blue Star vigorously promoted martial arts and revered powerful martial artists because only martial arts powerhouses could contend against those savage and violent Otherworldly Creatures.

The many competitions held by countries around the world were also meant to increase combat experience and temper courage.

So that when one encountered an Alien, they would not be so frightened that they could not move their legs.

This was only a small internal school match. There was nothing to be nervous about.

The World Martial Arts Tournament was the true grand stage.

Its stadium could hold hundreds of thousands of people. The crowds were vast, their cheers shook the heavens, national leaders from every country attended in person, and the matches were broadcast through television and online platforms. Tens of billions around the world watched.

Those qualified to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament were all Martial Artists at the highest level in their respective countries.

Training martial arts meant training courage, which could strengthen one's will.

As the saying went, great skill bred great courage. With powerful strength, one's courage naturally increased as well.

However, such courage was merely outward bravery born from relying on great martial power.

Take Qin Fen, for example. Knowing that his cultivation was higher than Shi Jian's and that victory was assured so long as nothing unexpected happened, he had quickly calmed down. This was confidence brought by his powerful strength, courage born from relying on martial power.

If the reverse were true—if he were weaker than Shi Jian yet could still calm down quickly and fear nothing in his heart—that would be true bravery and true courage. On his future martial path, he would cut through thorns, break through towering waves, and fear no hardship or obstacle.

Such true bravery required enduring all kinds of trials and gradually improving.

People born with great courage were far too rare.

Seeing Qin Fen calm down so quickly, Zhou Wu nodded. Qin Fen's mental fortitude was quite strong. He reached out and patted Qin Fen on the shoulder. "Relax. Treat this as a simple spar. Keep control of your breathing rhythm, don't let your breath become disordered, and adjust your mental state as well. Build up that feeling of hot blood surging and battle intent overflowing."

Qin Fen listened attentively.

Everything Zhou Wu said came from experience.

Whether it was a sporting event or a martial arts competition, competitors needed guidance from their coaches.

In some crucial matches, pressure of all kinds made certain competitors nervous. They inevitably lost their composure, their minds temporarily went blank, and that was when coaches needed to counsel them and help them adjust their mental state.

Therefore, for some competitors, having a good coach was incomparably important.

If they could not adjust their mental state before the match began and entered the competition while nervous, it would affect their performance. In severe cases, they might not even be able to bring out one-tenth of their strength and skills, leaving them able only to take a beating.

Following Zhou Wu's instructions, Qin Fen began adjusting his mindset and warming up.

Looking through the lounge window, he could see the arena outside and the spectator seats.

There were already seventy or eighty people seated in the stands.

Those who had come to watch were all Senior One freshmen. Whether they had cultivated Jing Li or not, they all wanted to witness the splendor of martial arts and see the birth of the number one freshman in the Senior One Martial Arts Class.

He had heard that the Principal, vice principal, and other school leaders would also come to watch.

Qin Fen and Shi Jian could be said to possess the greatest talent among the freshmen and were the most likely to be admitted to Martial Arts University. Therefore, the school leaders attached great importance to both of them.

"The Principal is here."

More than ten minutes later, Zhou Wu spotted Han Siyuan in the VIP section of the spectator area.

Qin Fen and Shi Jian left their lounges at the same time and headed toward the Competition Area.