The next day, 6:50 a.m.
Morning light seeped through the folds of the blinds, weaving a shifting net of light across the beige bedsheets. The shadows of the old ceiling fan mingled with it, and the patches of light danced softly with the turning blades.
Fang Qingyu crawled out of bed, cutting off the evil alarm before it could ring.
He stood by the window and gazed at the distant steel skyscrapers.
April was almost over. The rainy season should be ending soon, right?
He grabbed his Training Uniform, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left.
As he came down the stairs, his body felt unusually light. For a short while after improving, the difference between the new day and yesterday was especially obvious.
It was incredibly addictive.
And Fang Qingyu experienced it every day.
7:10 a.m.
Chenfeng Martial Hall.
Fang Qingyu took a deep breath and walked into the training hall. He had to give it everything today.
He was still 17 experience points short of becoming a Martial Arts Apprentice.
He could level up today. He did not want to wait until tomorrow.
A martial artist fought for every moment!
As usual, Instructor Qin finished arranging the other students, then stood to one side with his thermos of goji berry tea.
Watching Fang Qingyu train, he could not help recalling all his experiences from so many years of teaching.
He had met plenty of hardworking people.
But most of them gave up after training for less than two days.
After seeing no results at all, they would start backing down.
In other words, they had only been enthusiastic for three minutes.
But Fang Qingyu was different.
From the very first day he came to learn martial arts, he had shown a stronger work ethic than the others.
He was even willing to accept harsh training.
That was actually quite rare.
If someone else had been struck twice by him, they probably would have complained already.
Moreover, his passion for martial arts grew stronger by the day, as if he had an internal combustion engine inside him.
Every morning after waking up, he fired himself up first.
Bang. Bang. Bang!!
Fang Qingyu had no idea what Instructor Qin was thinking. Right now, he was staring intently at the scrolling text on his Job Panel.
Your occupation, "Martial Arts Apprentice," gained 1 experience point. Your occupation's Basic Skills, "Hidden Dragon Stance," gained 2 experience points. Your occupation's Basic Skills, "Basic Fist Technique," gained 2 experience points.
Watching the few experience points remaining before he leveled up, he completely forgot about the passage of time.
Fang Qingyu's temples throbbed. Beads of sweat rolled down his chin and smashed onto the floor.
His body was exhausted to the extreme.
He was almost out of strength.
But Fang Qingyu merely panted heavily in silence and welded himself back in front of the stance frame.
The principles of the Basic Fist Technique formed automatically in his mind. His bandage-wrapped, bleeding fist struck the center of the target before his consciousness could react.
The impact made his teeth ache. The soft flesh inside his mouth, clenched between his back teeth, began to bleed, but the pain instead cleared his blurred vision by several degrees.
The muscles in his calves began to spasm uncontrollably. His sweat-soaked leg wraps felt as heavy as lead.
Fang Qingyu simply leaned his center of gravity forward, driving the weight of his entire body into his fists.
The dull thuds of knuckles repeatedly colliding with cowhide melded together, mixed with his heavy breathing through his nose, weaving an airtight net through the empty training hall.
Instructor Qin had already begun to frown slightly at the side. Something felt wrong.
Usually, although Fang Qingyu trained desperately, he knew that a body exhausted to its limit was no longer suited for further training.
Why was he acting like he did not care about his life today?
He was just about to step forward and forcibly stop him.
Fortunately, Fang Qingyu stopped on his own at that moment.
Although falling sweat had already obscured his vision, the golden words on the panel remained dazzlingly clear.
Congratulations. Your occupation, "Martial Arts Apprentice," has reached Lv. 2. The following Advancement Skill options are available for Martial Arts Apprentice. 1. "Mountain Breaker": Release force in an instant with a punch, increasing maximum striking power by 5%. 2. "Layered Force": Hit the same point three times in succession, increasing cumulative damage by 8%. 3. "Bloodrage": Upon activation, physical attributes reach their peak and all attributes increase by 5% for 10 seconds.
"Whew."
Fang Qingyu only glanced over them.
His heart immediately began to bleed.
Damn it. Couldn't I have all of them?
What he lacked most right now was an offensive method. Mountain Breaker focused on explosive power in an instant, while Layered Force focused on gradually building toward an explosion. Both would be extremely useful in actual combat.
But when Fang Qingyu shifted his gaze to the third option,
his resolve immediately wavered.
Isn't this a little too mystical?
The first two offensive skills could still be explained as some kind of special force-generating technique.
But is this third skill injecting adrenaline from a distance?
"What are you thinking about?"
Instructor Qin had already walked over to Fang Qingyu's side and finished examining him.
He was merely exhausted, with some scraped skin on his fists. It was not serious. Seeing Fang Qingyu still staring blankly ahead, Instructor Qin waved a hand in front of his eyes.
"Oh, oh, it's nothing, Instructor Qin."
Fang Qingyu came back to his senses and tried to wave his hand, only to discover that he no longer had the strength to lift it.
The next second,
a wave of heat suddenly erupted inside his body.
He was already drenched in sweat, but now even his skin turned bright red.
Instructor Qin's eyes widened at the sight.
Without saying a word, he turned and sprang to his feet, rushing toward the door.
A moment later, he returned with a crystal tube filled with blue liquid and hurried to Fang Qingyu's side.
He pinched Fang Qingyu's mouth open and poured all the liquid inside.
About ten minutes later,
Fang Qingyu slowly woke up.
"Instructor Qin?"
When he turned his head, he saw Instructor Qin looking intensely envious.
"You really hit the jackpot, kid."
Instructor Qin stared at him for a long while before forcing the words out through clenched teeth.
"?"
Fang Qingyu was somewhat confused and tried to get up from the floor.
The moment his hand pressed against the ground,
he instantly noticed the changes in his body.
He immediately opened the panel and looked at his basic information panel.
Strength: 11.1 → 12.6 Speed: 9.9 → 11.9 Physique: 11.0 → 12.7 Will: 10.9 → 13.5
"Hiss."
Fang Qingyu stared at the numbers, his pupils shrinking.
All four attributes had skyrocketed!?
"Do you know how many meridians the human body has in total?"
Instructor Qin slowly stood up beside him as well. The tone of his voice made Fang Qingyu's teeth ache.
"Eight?"
Still shocked, Fang Qingyu answered instinctively.
He had only ever heard the idiom "the eight extraordinary meridians."
"Fourteen."
"And you just opened one."
"Huh?"
Fang Qingyu froze as he listened.
"What do you think Qi Hao and the others have been doing since they were children, laying a foundation for their bodies?"
Instructor Qin gave an example Fang Qingyu knew.
"They have been eating Medicinal Cuisine, practicing stance work, and training their fists since childhood—all to open their meridians."
"But you..."
"In a little over ten days, you accomplished what it took others ten years to do."
As Instructor Qin spoke, he genuinely grew envious.
If he had Fang Qingyu's luck, why would he fear failing to cross the martial artist's natural barrier?
But then he thought of the way Fang Qingyu trained as if his life depended on it.
His heart calmed down slightly.
"Come on. Try your striking power again."
Fang Qingyu was still thinking about what Instructor Qin had said. At those words, he immediately followed him.
The fatigue from training had vanished completely after that wave of heat appeared. His entire body seemed to possess inexhaustible strength.
He raised his right hand and slammed it toward the screen.
Bang—
143 KG!!!
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