August 31.
In a room.
A handsome young man with bright eyes and clear brows was bare-chested, constantly moving through a series of stances.
Though he was still a boy, the lines of his body were remarkably well-proportioned, his muscles firm. Rather than looking childish, he seemed full of heroic spirit.
"Rumble!"
Suddenly, the boy clenched his fist and punched.
The sound of his punch exploded!
All the boy's energy and spirit seemed to be contained in that single punch as it shot straight forward, carrying the crushing pressure of thunder!
"Boom!"
A deep rumble of thunder suddenly rang out.
Faintly, it seemed as though sound waves rippled through the air.
Rattle, rattle!
The next moment, the curtains several meters away swayed as if affected by the sound waves.
Even the window shuddered, creaking loudly.
"So strong."
Jiang Ye lowered his stance and stood still, looking at the "destruction" he had caused.
Even from several meters away, he could affect the window without touching it.
If he landed a punch like that on someone, it would be enough to damage their internal organs.
"The Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist really is a killing technique."
Jiang Ye let out a long breath and looked at his status panel.
--Low Martial Achievement System-- [Constitution: Mortal Body (Class B)] [Endowment: Original] [Cultivation Methods] Star Martial Cultivation Method: Great Accomplishment (59%) Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist: Not Yet Initiated (99%) [Achievements] Martial Arts Grandmaster, Friend of the Ancestor, Martial Arts Grandmaster, Red Face Seeks the Way, Clairaudience, Gale Step [Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder] First Layer --
This month, he had already spent all thirty thousand yuan he'd earned from the trial.
Every day, he practiced Martial Arts Dietary Supplement.
And the results were plain to see.
Not only was the Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist close to reaching the entry level, but his Star Martial Cultivation Method had also improved by nearly 20%.
"My goal is to reach Perfection in my Cultivation Method before the end of the first semester of senior year." That was the target Jiang Ye had set for himself.
As for the Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist? He could only let fate take its course.
He might be making rapid progress now, nearly reaching the entry level in just a month.
But the further he went, the harder it would get. In particular, after reaching Great Accomplishment, he would need time to grind away at it.
The Star Martial Cultivation Method was the best example.
Besides, the Eight Divisions Thunder Sound Fist had now reached 99% progress and hit a bottleneck. Even breaking through to the entry level was proving quite difficult.
"Bottlenecks are hard to overcome through practice alone."
Jiang Ye sighed inwardly. "Only a sudden epiphany can get me over this hurdle, but..."
An epiphany? Such an opportunity couldn't be sought, only chanced upon.
His talent had its limits. Unless his comprehension improved dramatically once again, he could only rely on time and hard work.
"Big brother!"
Jiang Ting's voice came from outside the door.
"Coming."
Jiang Ye walked out of his room and looked at little Jiang Ting. "What's up?"
Jiang Ting was holding a basin of water and smiling sweetly. "Big brother, I'm going to wash your feet. Hurry and sit down."
"Wash my feet?"
Jiang Ye eyed the basin of foot-washing water strangely. "Why are you washing my feet? If you need something, just say so."
Jiang Ting looked a little embarrassed. "It's homework from school. We're supposed to wash an elder's feet."
"Go wash Mom and Dad's," Jiang Ye said.
"No, I want to wash Big Brother's." Jiang Ting huffed. "Big Brother is an elder too!"
Jiang Ye understood. The little girl was embarrassed to wash her parents' feet, but she was very close to him.
He glanced at the time. It was already late at night. His father was working the night shift, and his mother should be asleep too.
"For assignments like this, you're supposed to do it for Mom and Dad. Don't slack off."
Jiang Ye lectured her. "I'll let it slide this time. Go ahead and wash mine."
He sat down.
"Mm-hmm, I know. Big Brother's the best."
Jiang Ting immediately squatted down with a grin and began washing his feet.
She didn't do it perfunctorily, either. Her fair little hands earnestly rubbed Jiang Ye's feet.
"Big Brother, remember to bring me something tasty when school starts tomorrow," Jiang Ting said as she washed, gazing up at him expectantly.
"You little rascal." Jiang Ye shook his head with a smile. So that was what she was after.
But just as he was about to reply,
several lines of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[You have achieved a new achievement: Upper Realm Saintess, serving you of her own accord] [Title unlocked: Saintess as Servant!] [Reward: Comprehension Metamorphosis: Having been nourished by the Saintess, your comprehension has increased by 50%] --
Even though he was already used to the system springing surprises on him, Jiang Ye still couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
Saintess as Servant?
System, you've got to be kidding!
She's my little sister!
Who could've imagined that Jiang Ting washing his feet would count, by the system's standards, as her becoming his servant?
"Upper Realm Saintess?" Jiang Ye looked at the words.
According to the system, Jiang Ting had become a Saintess from the Upper Realm?
"Is it because of her Martial Embryo Sacred Body?" Jiang Ye wondered. "But why call it the Upper Realm? Is it because this constitution exceeds the limits of the Low Martial World?"
He thought of the system's earlier assessment of Jiang Ting's constitution.
He felt that was very likely.
"But this Low Martial Achievement System can unlock this kind of achievement too?" Jiang Ye was surprised.
Most of the achievements he'd unlocked before had been related to his strength.
Even when he'd exploited bugs, they'd still been closely tied to his strength.
But this time was clearly an exception.
"Saintess as Servant should count as a social achievement, right?" Jiang Ye mused.
It reminded him of certain online games he'd played in his previous life.
There were all sorts of achievements.
Progression, lifestyle, social, combat, exploration...
If he could unlock social achievements, then perhaps there were plenty more waiting to be discovered.
"Damn it, there isn't even a beginner's guide. Are you trying to make things difficult for me, Fat Tiger?"
Jiang Ye couldn't help complaining.
Ever since he'd activated the system, he'd had to figure out every feature by himself.
If only there were a manual. He wouldn't have had to struggle so much.
Jiang Ye shook his head and looked at the reward again.
"Comprehension increased by 50%?"
When he saw the reward, his eyes lit up.
His cultivation speed might improve dramatically once again.
By the time Jiang Ting finished washing his feet, it was nearly midnight.
Jiang Ye didn't continue practicing. Instead, he entered the Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder and began another round of tempering in the illusion.
The next day.
September 1, the first day of school.
Ancheng Third Middle School.
A tense atmosphere hung over the school as every class prepared for the start-of-term assessment.
After arriving at school, Jiang Ye didn't go straight to class for the assessment.
Instead, he headed to the office early.
A stunningly beautiful young woman sat at a desk, dressed in a white skirt and white stockings. She looked aloof and unworldly.
It was Chen Zilu.
"The exam's about to start. What are you doing here?" Chen Zilu asked as Jiang Ye walked in.
Jiang Ye took out a box of cake and smiled. "Teacher, happy birthday."
Chen Zilu froze for a moment, her lovely eyes shifting to the cake box in surprise. "You knew?"
She had never told Jiang Ye when she was born.
"I guessed." Jiang Ye chuckled. "You gave me your V-chat number."
Chen Zilu looked at him in surprise, then accepted the box of cake. "Thanks. That was thoughtful."
"It's only right." Jiang Ye grinned, then hurried back to the classroom for the assessment.
"This guy..." Chen Zilu pressed her soft red lips together.
Then she opened the cake box and glanced inside, a smile appearing on her pretty face.
It was the thought that counted.
The cake wasn't expensive, but it made her feel even more warmly toward Jiang Ye.
Chen Zilu closed the cake box again, carefully locked it away in a cabinet, then got up and left the office.
Meanwhile,
Jiang Ye walked out of the office and stared intently at the status panel before him.
After a moment, he sighed. "Giving a gift doesn't unlock an achievement?"
In many games, giving gifts to a female friend could unlock a social achievement, as long as their favorability was high enough.
That was one of the reasons Jiang Ye had come early to give Chen Zilu a cake.
But unfortunately,
the system didn't display a new achievement this time.
Still, although Jiang Ye was disappointed, he didn't dwell on it.
After all, it had only been an experiment.
Chen Zilu had always treated him well. It was her birthday, and giving her a cake was perfectly reasonable even if he hadn't had any other reason.
Besides, it could help raise her favorability.
"Time to take the exam."
Jiang Ye took a deep breath and strode toward his classroom.
In senior year, every assessment was extremely important.
So even the start-of-term assessment used a system of cross-class proctors.
The proctor for Class Nine was a burly man with a full beard.
"The start-of-term assessment begins now!"
The bearded teacher said in a deep voice, "Everyone, come up one at a time for testing!"
Below the platform, Wen Yuehui looked at Jiang Ye and asked quietly, "A Ye, did you pass the trial?"
"I did." Jiang Ye nodded without hiding it.
"Really? Congratulations." Wen Yuehui was quite surprised. The school's trials were very difficult.
Given Jiang Ye's strength, passing the trial must have been incredibly challenging.
"I heard there's a bonus of tens of thousands for passing the trial," Wen Yuehui thought with a sigh. "The gap between A Ye and me is definitely even bigger now."
Because he was close to Jiang Ye, he didn't want to fall too far behind him.
Jiang Ye didn't mind.
After the summer trial, he felt little pressure about the assessment.
Still, he really wanted to see whether his current strength was enough to place in the top hundred in his grade.
Chen Zilu had told him that the top hundred in the grade received scholarships.
Before long, it was Jiang Ye's turn.
He walked up to the Punch Force Tester, adjusted his stance, then suddenly threw a punch.
"Boom!"
A dull thud rang out.
After testing his punching power, Jiang Ye didn't linger. He turned and headed for the silver-white treadmill.
This assessment would test punching power and speed together.
"Thump~!"
On the treadmill, Jiang Ye's legs became a blur as he sprinted.
Only a moment later did he finally stop.
By then, the whole class had fallen silent, staring at the electronic board up front.
"Jiang Ye." Xu Sisi was watching intently too.
As the one Jiang Ye had overtaken for second place, she was very concerned about his results.
This assessment would also let her find out whether she'd managed to reclaim second place over the summer.
Before long, Jiang Ye's punching power and speed results appeared on the screen.
"Punching power: 960 kilograms"
"Speed: 19.1 meters per second"
Before you continue