Promoting Righteousness

Qin Fen: Ordinary Person

Martial Arts: Galloping Horse Strength/Rudimentary Understanding (0/10)

Righteous Qi Value: 1

Qin Fen stared blankly at the transparent Panel before him, completely baffled.

His Righteous Qi Value had changed from 0 to 1.

He had gained Righteous Qi Value for no apparent reason?

And what use was this Righteous Qi Value?

Could it be added to his martial arts?

At the stir of Qin Fen's thoughts, the Galloping Horse Strength in the Martial Arts section faintly glowed.

Martial Arts: Galloping Horse Strength/Rudimentary Understanding (1/10)

As Galloping Horse Strength changed on the Panel, Qin Fen's body gave a slight shudder. His blood and qi surged, and a mysterious force abruptly emerged within him, causing his strength to soar.

It was like when Martial Arts Teacher Zhou Wu had channeled force into his body during class today.

Only, having foreign force enter the body was extremely painful. If mishandled, it could even injure the body.

This mysterious force, however, caused no harm at all.

Not only was there none of the pain of force entering his body, it felt exceedingly comfortable—warm and soothing.

Memories containing a small amount of understanding toward the moves of Galloping Horse Strength emerged in his mind.

The mysterious force in his body, along with the memories that had appeared from nowhere of understanding Galloping Horse Strength's moves, lasted only an instant before vanishing, leaving Qin Fen unbearably frustrated.

"Qin Fen, what are you spacing out for?"

Chen Bo raised a hand and patted Qin Fen on the shoulder.

"What is it?"

Qin Fen came back to his senses.

"The driver said the school bus's spark plugs are too old and it won't start. It has to be towed to a repair shop before it can be fixed, so we'll have to take the bus home ourselves. What were you thinking about just now? You were completely lost in thought."

Chen Bo said.

"Nothing. I didn't bring any money. Why don't we run home? We can train our stamina too."

Qin Fen said.

"Sure. One bus ride costs five yuan—that's enough for two hours at an internet café."

Chen Bo nodded.

The two of them slung their backpacks over their shoulders and jogged along the sidewalk.

It was rush hour in the city. Every intersection had traffic lights, and the cars lurched forward and stopped again and again.

They jogged all the way, moving faster than the four-wheeled cars.

Only once they reached the national highway did the road become clear.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived in Xisha District.

But they still had another ten-odd minutes to go before reaching home.

Xisha District was part of the old city, without Lucheng District's towering buildings.

The houses here were all rather old, and the roads were nowhere near as broad as those in Lucheng District.

It was already past six, and the sun had set.

There were still streetlights along some of the main roads, but some narrow alleys did not even have a single lamp.

All of a sudden, from the corner of his eye, Qin Fen spotted two shirtless, tattooed young men at an intersection dragging a student in a school uniform into a dark alley. The student's mouth was covered, and they could not make a sound even if they wanted to call for help.

"Qin Fen, we'd better not meddle. These hooligans are like dog-skin plasters—once they latch onto you, they'll cling to you for dear life, causing trouble every other day. It's endlessly irritating."

Chen Bo had seen it too and spoke in a low voice.

Xisha District was an old district. Not only were its urban facilities the most outdated, but public safety had never been particularly good. The people living here were not wealthy, while hooligans and pickpockets often loitered nearby.

Naturally, these hooligans did not dare target rich people.

So they could only set their sights on ordinary people.

Fights, brawls, robberies, and the like happened from time to time.

By the time the police arrived after receiving a report, the hooligans would already have vanished without a trace. Besides, some of them were not even eighteen, their robberies involved only small amounts of money, and they had not harmed anyone.

Even if they were caught, they would only be detained and educated for a few days.

So long as no one died, even when reports came in, such trivial chicken-feather matters were usually handled perfunctorily.

A martial artist should promote righteousness, assist the government in sweeping away crime and evil, safeguard public order, slay Aliens, and build a safe, stable, harmonious society together. It would be one thing not to encounter such a situation, but how could I turn a blind eye after seeing it?

Qin Fen could not help recalling what Martial Arts Teacher Zhou Wu had said in class today.

In this society, most people judged matters by whether something was "worth it" or "not worth it."

Few were willing to stand up for someone unrelated to themselves.

But practicing martial arts was not just about strengthening the body. It was also about strengthening one's will.

When faced with injustice, one had to dare to step forward and promote righteousness.

Of course, if one wanted to step forward, one also had to know one's limits. Personal safety came first; one could not act rashly.

If he were facing not ordinary little hooligans, but criminals wielding weapons, then all Qin Fen could do was call the police.

These hooligans might be fine with fighting, brawling, petty theft, and pilfering, but asking them to kill someone? They would never dare.

"What are you doing? Let that student go!"

Qin Fen did not foolishly rush over to fight the hooligans head-on. Instead, he raised his voice and shouted.

At Qin Fen's shout, passersby on the road who had been looking down at their phones or flirting with their lovers were drawn to the commotion. Following Qin Fen's gaze, they looked toward the dark alley entrance.

The two hooligans seemed to be novices. Seeing this, they panicked somewhat, released the student, and ran for their lives.

Righteous Qi Value +2

Qin Fen saw that 2 points of Righteous Qi Value had appeared on the Panel.

Righteous Qi Value, add it to Galloping Horse Strength.

Qin Fen silently said.

Galloping Horse Strength on the Panel blurred, then became clear again after a breath.

Martial Arts: Galloping Horse Strength/Rudimentary Understanding (3/10)

As Galloping Horse Strength changed on the Panel, Qin Fen's body shuddered slightly and his blood and qi surged.

That mysterious force emerged within him again, circulating according to the cultivation route of Galloping Horse Strength and increasing his strength.

At the same time, memories containing a small amount of understanding toward Galloping Horse Strength's moves emerged in his mind.

This time, it lasted several seconds longer than before, but it still vanished quickly, making Qin Fen's heart itch with frustration.

"Righteous Qi Value can actually... actually increase martial arts proficiency!"

With Galloping Horse Strength improved, Qin Fen confirmed that Righteous Qi Value could indeed be used to increase martial arts proficiency.

In that case, as long as he found a way to gain Righteous Qi Value, he could directly increase his martial arts proficiency. Without bitter training, he could reach an extremely high realm.

This seemed to be a shortcut leading to the pinnacle of martial arts.

"How can Righteous Qi Value be obtained?"

Qin Fen could not help pondering how to gain Righteous Qi Value.

The first time, he had pushed the school bus from the middle of the road to the roadside and gained 1 point of Righteous Qi Value.

This time, he had stopped two little hooligans from committing a crime against a middle school student and gained 2 points of Righteous Qi Value.

From these two instances, it seemed that as long as he did good deeds, he could obtain Righteous Qi Value.

"Qin Fen, Qin Fen, why are you spacing out again? What are you thinking about?"

Chen Bo patted Qin Fen on the shoulder and asked in surprise.

"Did you stay up all night reading dirty little books, or are you thinking about some girl?"

As he spoke, Chen Bo could not help revealing a lewd grin.

"Get lost. My house doesn't have any dirty little books."

Qin Fen and Chen Bo joked and roughhoused all the way to the residential area where they lived.

Jingle Garden Residential Area sounded like a nice name.

But West Street District was part of the old city. Every residential compound there was over thirty years old, and the apartment buildings looked somewhat dilapidated.

"See you tomorrow!"

Once inside the residential area, Qin Fen and Chen Bo waved goodbye.

Qin Fen lived in Building A, while Chen Bo lived in Building B.

"Why is the elevator broken again?"

Seeing the maintenance sign placed before the elevator doors, Qin Fen could only take the stairs instead.

His home was on the twenty-sixth floor. He sprinted up the stairs, taking five steps at a time like a swift leopard. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the second floor.

Third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor...

In less than thirty seconds, Qin Fen had already reached the tenth floor.

He could not help slowing down. Ahead of him was an elderly man in his seventies, carrying a sixty-kilogram sack of rice on each shoulder—a total of one hundred and twenty kilograms—as he climbed from the first floor to the tenth.

Yet the old man did not have a single bead of sweat on his forehead. He climbed one step at a time, each stride steady and firm.

This was the physical fitness of people two hundred years after the Spiritual Energy Resurgence.

For an old man in his seventies, carrying over a hundred kilograms up more than ten floors was not difficult.

"Qin Fen, school's out?"

The old man even greeted Qin Fen.

"Yeah, Grandpa Liu. Let me help you!"

Qin Fen said.

Then he stepped forward and took the two sacks of rice from Grandpa Liu's shoulders.

Grandpa Liu lived on the twenty-fifth floor, directly beneath Qin Fen's home.

Even with one hundred and twenty kilograms of rice on his shoulders, Qin Fen's speed was unaffected. He moved as swiftly as if flying, reaching the twenty-fifth floor ahead of Grandpa Liu and setting the two sacks outside the door.

Righteous Qi Value +1

Joy appeared in Qin Fen's eyes.

Helping Grandpa Liu carry rice had indeed earned him Righteous Qi Value.

Although it was only one point, it gave Qin Fen a direction for obtaining Righteous Qi Value.

Righteous Qi Value could increase Galloping Horse Strength's proficiency, allowing his cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds in a short time.

Righteous Qi Value, add it to Galloping Horse Strength.

Qin Fen silently said.

Galloping Horse Strength on the Panel blurred, then became clear again after a breath.

Martial Arts: Galloping Horse Strength/Rudimentary Understanding (4/10)

As Galloping Horse Strength changed on the Panel, Qin Fen's body shuddered slightly, his blood and qi surged, his tendons and bones suddenly became somewhat tougher, and his strength increased considerably.

The same familiar feeling, the same familiar flavor.

"Qin Fen, you've worked hard. Come sit at my place and have some fruit."

Not long afterward, Grandpa Liu arrived at the twenty-fifth floor and took out his key to open the door.

"Thank you, Grandpa, but there's no need to trouble yourself. My parents will be home from work soon, and I still need to cook."

Qin Fen waved his hand, politely declining Grandpa Liu's kindness, then swiftly ran up to the twenty-sixth floor.

"What a good child."

Grandpa Liu watched Qin Fen's retreating figure and nodded with a smile.