Entry Level

Before dawn.

Chen Xia practiced the Seven Injuries Fist in his room.

The Seven Injuries Fist had twelve practice diagrams, depicting various stances: throwing a single punch or a double punch, turning around, crouching, and more. There were twelve diagrams in all.

Each stance was paired with a different breathing pattern and method of circulating energy. Chen Xia had committed every aspect of the training to memory.

After this period of intense practice, Chen Xia had become quite proficient.

At that moment, the Primal Qi in his body was tempering him and nourishing his Five Viscera, strengthening his physique.

While practicing the Seven Injuries Fist, Chen Xia also trained in saber techniques. There was a saber in his room, made of high-quality steel and issued by the Patrol Inspection Office. It was part of the standard equipment set, paired with an electric baton. As it happened, ordinary members of the Patrol Inspection Office weren't issued firearms or anything like that.

Chen Xia had never used the saber in his hand to hurt anyone. But when he swung it, the force of the Seven Injuries Fist behind his movements made the blade whistle through the air with fearsome power.

Before breaking through to the Eighth Stage, Chen Xia had been at the Seventh Stage of Ningyuan and already possessed a certain degree of Martial Force. Now, though, his attacks were much faster and fiercer.

The saber technique he practiced wasn't an advanced art. It was simply the Patrol Inspection Office's basic military saber form, teaching fundamental skills like horizontal chops, vertical chops, and diagonal slashes.

The blade flashed as Chen Xia immersed himself in his training.

He focused on the Seven Injuries Fist, with the basic military saber form as a supplement.

Another seven days passed.

A voice rang out in his mind.

[Seven Injuries Fist (Entry Level)]

The Seven Injuries Fist had advanced to Entry Level. As Chen Xia continued to practice, his cultivation deepened.

The faint Primal Qi in his body gradually grew in quantity. Through the circulation of the Seven Injuries Fist, this energy had transformed into a special form of Seven Injuries Inner Strength.

"According to the description of the Seven Injuries Fist, once I have enough Seven Injuries Inner Strength in my body, I'll be able to injure an enemy's internal organs with my bare hands."

"But I don't have enough energy yet. I still need to build it up!"

Chen Xia tried throwing a punch. The energy surged to his shoulder, but could go no farther. There simply wasn't enough of it.

The Seven Injuries Fist's power lay in this Inner Energy, which could harm both the user and the enemy. It had a serious flaw, however, so it was classified as a low-grade Inner Method and wasn't considered a very high-level art.

Now that Chen Xia had reversed its flaws, once he mastered it, he would be able to injure his enemies at will without suffering any harm himself.

With its destructive power and ability to nourish the Five Viscera, the reversed Seven Injuries Fist would be stronger than ordinary Superior Grade Inner Methods once he mastered it.

He dared to make that judgment because he had looked things up online. Ordinary Superior Grade techniques couldn't take someone at the Seventh Stage of Ningyuan and advance him to the Eighth Stage in less than a month, much less let him continue improving so quickly afterward. But the Seven Injuries Fist could.

Superior Grade Inner Methods cost hundreds of thousands at a minimum, and the better ones could run over a million. People outside the wealthy classes simply couldn't afford to practice them.

And that was only for the basic martial arts. The body-tempering techniques and Martial Skills that came later were even more expensive.

To possess a Superior Grade Inner Method made Chen Xia exceptionally well-equipped by the standards of the lower classes.

Moreover, among techniques of the same grade, Inner Methods were more expensive than Martial Skills. That was because they formed the foundation of a person's physical strength.

So Chen Xia was quite satisfied with the Seven Injuries Fist.

As he trained, Chen Xia thought again about what had happened at his second aunt's house.

He wondered what would become of his cousin.

Still, he had done all he could. There was nothing more he could do.

That day, he'd been able to sense his uncle's attitude. His uncle had clearly felt Chen Xia hadn't handled things well.

But his uncle had no idea that, if not for the incident in which Chen Xia's deputy captain position had been given to someone else, stirring the Chief Captain's sympathy, the Chief Captain wouldn't have sent word on their behalf at all. They'd already been lucky.

Chen Xia wasn't going to explain all that.

Sometimes, even after helping someone, going out of your way and begging favors from everyone you knew, you still might not earn their gratitude once it was over.

Thankfully, at least Chen Xia hadn't come away empty-handed. His second aunt had given him fifty thousand yuan.

He'd planned to return the money at first, but then he reconsidered. His family needed the money, and he really had helped them. He had every right to accept it.

He also knew his second aunt wouldn't take it back. So Chen Xia didn't dwell on the matter. After accepting the money, he gave forty thousand to his mother to ease the family's financial strain. He planned to use the remaining ten thousand to invest in himself.

When he had some free time, he planned to visit a shop and see if he could buy some potions with side effects. Ideally, he'd break through to the Ninth Stage of Ningyuan in one go and become a martial artist.

He already felt that he wasn't far from breaking through.

This had been the period of fastest growth in Chen Xia's life, and his confidence was steadily swelling.

"The Seven Injuries Fist is only at Entry Level, and I'm already close to becoming a martial artist. If I master this technique, my cultivation will reach even greater heights."

A smile appeared at the corner of Chen Xia's mouth.

Martial arts were generally divided into Entry Level, Minor Completion, Major Completion, and Perfection.

Different techniques and levels of cultivation produced different levels of strength. And a practitioner's own strength couldn't be judged by their technique alone.

In general, a martial artist's overall strength was what mattered.

At the very least, if Chen Xia faced someone at the same Eighth Stage, even if that person had mastered a technique, they might still be no match for him as long as they were at the same level of strength.

He glanced at the time. It was almost eight, so he finished his training.

"Mom, I'm heading to work."

His morning training was over, and it was getting late. Chen Xia called out to his mother, then pedaled off on his bicycle.

He didn't go straight to the Patrol Inspection Office. Instead, he went to a martial arts hall a kilometer away.

Finding an empty corner, he slammed three consecutive punches into a target.

The target clanged with each blow.

"960 kg!" "958 kg!" "966 kg!"

"I'm almost at 1,000 kg!"

Chen Xia glanced at the readings and clenched his fist.

Although the world was now saturated with spiritual energy and people were generally stronger, an ordinary person who didn't train in martial arts could only punch with about 160 kg of force.

So his results were quite impressive.

With Chen Xia's skill and speed, he could kill two or three armed criminals outright before they could get close.

Against ordinary people without weapons, his results would be twice as high.

Of course, Chen Xia wasn't about to get cocky. There were plenty of experts in this era, and compared to them, these numbers were nothing special.

For Chen Xia himself, though, this was already an excellent rate of growth. In the past, he'd felt nervous during some Patrol Inspection Office arrests, worried that someone might get hurt or killed. Now that his strength had increased so much, he'd be much more composed if he faced a similar situation again.

"Not bad-looking..."

As he passed a mirror on the martial arts hall's wall, Chen Xia took a closer look at himself and noticed that his eyes had become more lively. His physique had also grown slightly sturdier.

He was tall and slim. He used to joke that he was a scrawny runt, but now he was a little more muscular and looked much more vigorous.

Although he was twenty-eight, his fair skin and upright, well-defined features gave him the look of a teenager. It was hard to tell his exact age. He'd looked a little haggard before, but now he seemed younger.

There was a hint of muscle beneath his clothes. It wasn't exaggerated, but he looked strong and healthy.

"After work, I'll go buy some more potions and see if I can reverse their effects. I've still got ten thousand yuan. I wonder if that'll be enough."

Muttering to himself, Chen Xia straightened his clothes and left the martial arts hall.

"Patrol Inspector Chen, heading out?"

"Yeah. I'll come again next time."

"Great... you're always welcome!"

The owner of the martial arts hall greeted him warmly as he left, and the other people training there all said hello too.

Chen Xia was only a low-ranking member of the Patrol Inspection Office, but once he put on that uniform, people outside still treated him with respect.

At the very least, he was a patrol officer for this part of Xingou Street. No one in their right mind would go looking for trouble with him.

Of course, Chen Xia also had a membership card at this place. He wasn't there to take advantage of anyone.

His card only covered the basic practice facilities, not services like instruction from a coach. He couldn't afford those anyway. But the facilities were enough for him to test his strength.

After leaving the martial arts hall, Chen Xia climbed onto his bicycle and finally headed to work.

But when he entered the Patrol Inspection Office today, he found the place outside buzzing with activity. A crowd had gathered.