Mu Qing

In the Federation Era, Hangzhou City within the borders of Huaxia.

The West Lake shimmered with rippling light, and strands of sunlight cascaded down, forming a faint halo upon the water's surface.

From time to time, massive black shadows would streak beneath the depths of the West Lake. They would flip their enormous bodies, leap dozens of meters into the air, and crash back down, kicking up layers of giant waves.

Each of these massive shadows was actually a hundred meters in size!

Yet, the residents living by the West Lake had long since grown accustomed to these giant shadows.

These were Cosmic Fierce Beasts, monster beasts tamed by Federation martial artists. They were born in the cosmos and lived in the oceans of Earth. It was rumored that the Cosmic Fierce Beasts at the bottom of the West Lake had all been captured and tamed by a terrifying Federation martial artist, and they would not harm the residents of Hangzhou City.

Ever since the Cosmic Fierce Beasts invaded Earth, the various nations of the world had united to establish the Federation Headquarters. Every urban district had erected tall city walls to defend against the beasts, and from then on, these districts transformed into massive cities.

Beside the West Lake stood a sprawling school, which gathered all the students from across Hangzhou City.

With the College Entrance Exam approaching, all the senior students at West Lake High School were becoming tense, intensifying their cultivation. The wealthy students even consumed precious medicinal herbs to cultivate Blood Qi, all sharing a single goal: to pass the College Entrance Exam trials.

The College Entrance Exam was incredibly cruel. To stand out and become a Federation martial artist, one had to awaken a Blood Spirit before the exam, and the condition for awakening a Blood Spirit was reaching the fifth stage of Blood Qi.

From freshman to senior year, as long as a student's aptitude wasn't too poor, their cultivation had generally reached the fourth stage of Blood Qi.

As the College Entrance Exam neared, the top students at West Lake High School had all broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi and awakened their Blood Spirits.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a training room within the senior district, a youth wearing a weighted training suit weighing several hundred jin was continuously throwing punches at a sandbag. Waves of fist wind erupted, and the immense power caused the sandbag to tremble as if it were about to burst at any moment.

This was the power of the fourth stage of Blood Qi; the blood within his body boiled, and a single punch could deliver eight hundred jin of force!

"Mu Qing, how does it feel? Any signs of a breakthrough?"

A figure walked into the training room. This person was burly and also wore a training suit, but an aura was faintly radiating from his body, as if surging Blood Qi were erupting and coalescing into a Golden Lion.

This was the fifth stage of Blood Qi! The realm of awakening a Blood Spirit!

"Ling Fei?" Mu Qing stopped his movements and looked back, discovering that the person who had arrived was his best friend, Ling Fei. Both of them were top students at West Lake High School.

With only one month left until the College Entrance Exam, basically all the top students at West Lake High School had broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi and awakened their Blood Spirits. Some wealthy ordinary students had also successfully broken through by relying on consuming precious medicinal herbs.

Ling Fei had always been a top student, and although his family background was average, he was the first to awaken a Blood Spirit.

Among all the top students, only Mu Qing had yet to break through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi. This not only caused the students and teachers at West Lake High School to question him, but rumors even spread that his previous rapid progress in cultivation was due to taking banned drugs.

"Still nothing." Mu Qing glanced at the Golden Lion formed by Blood Qi behind Ling Fei, a flash of envy appearing in his eyes, before he shook his head. "I've consumed countless precious medicinal herbs during this period and tempered my body every day, but my cultivation remains at the peak of the fourth stage of Blood Qi, with no sign of a breakthrough at all."

"That's impossible..." Ling Fei rubbed his chin and said, "The money your old man gave you to buy herbs is enough for three people at the fourth stage of Blood Qi to break through, not to mention your talent isn't bad either."

As Mu Qing's best friend, Ling Fei naturally knew his situation: his father was wealthy, and his talent was excellent, ranking among the best of the top students.

"The mock exam is in a few days. I heard the top ten will be rewarded with Blood Refining Potion; perhaps you can rely on the potion to break through to the fifth stage," Ling Fei said after pondering for a moment.

Blood Refining Potion was developed by Federation scientists. It could refine the blood within the body and force it to boil; it generally had an eighty percent chance of allowing a person to break through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi.

Such a potion sold for a full one million on the market, which was not something an ordinary student could access.

It was evident that the school had invested great effort into this College Entrance Exam, aiming to outperform the schools of other cities.

"Forget it." Mu Qing shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't worry, with your strength, you're much stronger than other fourth-stage students. When the time comes, I'll give you all the beasts I've hunted, and you'll definitely be able to rank in the top ten!" Seeing Mu Qing's expression, Ling Fei thought he was worried that his strength wasn't enough to compete with those top students.

"Really, no need. Let me have some peace and quiet for a while," Mu Qing sighed. After politely declining Ling Fei, he walked out of the training room.

In fact, Ling Fei didn't know that Mu Qing had already used Blood Refining Potion long ago. Not only that, he had even consumed top-tier Blood Refining Potion worth five million on the market, yet he still hadn't broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi.

In total, the value of the potions Mu Qing had consumed alone exceeded ten million.

Even he himself was surprised; he had never seen his father work, yet he didn't know why he had so much money to buy Blood Refining Potion, or even how he could get his hands on the top-tier Blood Refining Potion that was extremely rare on the market.

"Mu Qing."

Just as he stepped out of the training room, a wave of fragrance wafted over. A figure blocked Mu Qing's path. It was a girl wearing a short skirt, with delicate features, long hair cascading like a waterfall down to her shapely buttocks, and fair skin.

The person who arrived was one of the ten school beauties of West Lake High School, Song Yalan.

She was also... Mu Qing's girlfriend.

Mu Qing's expression was somewhat complex. Although she was his girlfriend, in reality, ever since he failed to break through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi and couldn't keep up with the progress of the top students, she had gradually stopped contacting him and had even hinted at breaking up several times.

Rumor had it that recently, Song Yalan had been getting quite close to Wang Haixuan, who was also a top student.

"Is there something?" Mu Qing's eyes turned cold, as the girl's recent actions had left him with no affection for her whatsoever.

"Have you still not broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi?" Song Yalan's beautiful eyes flickered, as if she didn't dare to meet Mu Qing's gaze, and she asked in a soft voice.

Mu Qing was not moved by Song Yalan's gentle tone. He remained expressionless; he had completely seen through this school beauty. She appeared gentle and considerate on the surface, but in reality, she was a vain person.

"No!" Mu Qing waved his hand and said impatiently.

Hearing that Mu Qing still hadn't broken through, Song Yalan's gaze shifted, and her tone lost its usual gentleness. "Mu Qing, I don't think we're suitable anymore. With the College Entrance Exam approaching, I don't want to put too much thought into emotional matters, so... let's break up."

"Bullshit!" Before Mu Qing could reply, a roar came from not far away. A surging aura erupted, and Ling Fei was seen moving as fast as a flying bird, arriving beside Mu Qing, his eyes filled with hostility as he looked at Song Yalan.

A Golden Lion condensed from Blood Qi suddenly appeared, floating behind Ling Fei, flickering in and out of existence.

"I must have been blind to introduce you to Mu Qing! Song Yalan! If it weren't for the many medicinal herbs Mu Qing gave you, do you think you could have reached the fourth stage of Blood Qi and become a top student so quickly? Now that you've finished using Mu Qing, you're immediately discarding him to go cling to Wang Haixuan's leg?" Ling Fei's eyes were filled with fury as he shouted.

Ling Fei was the one who had brought Mu Qing and Song Yalan together, and since he never expected Song Yalan to be this kind of person, he felt extremely guilty toward Mu Qing.

"Hmph! Ling Fei, let me tell you, I'm not afraid of you anymore. Whatever Mu Qing gave me, Wang Haixuan can give me ten or a hundred times over. Even the things he couldn't give me, Wang Haixuan can!" Song Yalan's expression was a bit ugly, but she didn't show any weakness. Her Blood Qi surged within her body, and a small Azure Little Tree suddenly appeared behind her back, with specks of morning light floating around it, as if a mysterious power were emerging.

The power of the Blood Spirit Azure Tree spilled over her proud figure, blue light flickering. The students of West Lake High School in the distance all focused their gazes on her; this feeling of being the center of attention and infinitely glorious left her fascinated.

"Blood Qi stage five?"

Mu Qing and Ling Fei exclaimed in surprise, exchanging a glance. Both of them knew Song Yalan's talent and cultivation level; the fact that she could break through to Blood Qi stage five was likely due to the resources provided by Wang Haixuan.

Wang Haixuan was the son of the head of the Wang Family in Hangzhou City. With massive cultivation resources and decent talent, he was considered one of the strongest among the top students.

In particular, Mu Qing had defeated him many times in simulated battles. Now that Mu Qing's cultivation was stuck and unable to break through to stage five, while the other had broken through early, he naturally tried every possible way to deal with Mu Qing.

"Enough..." Watching Ling Fei and Song Yalan confront each other, their auras constantly clashing, Mu Qing suddenly spoke up.

His eyes were pitch black, flashing with a hint of cold light as he stared at Song Yalan's face, which carried a trace of arrogance, and said, "Since you want to break up, then let's break up. I'm afraid Wang Haixuan is nearby, waiting to see me make a fool of myself."

Mu Qing took a deep breath. He didn't feel too heartbroken, perhaps because they hadn't been dating for very long and he hadn't invested too much emotion into it yet...

"Hahaha! Mu Qing, I didn't expect you to understand me so well." A burst of arrogant laughter came, and a tall youth walked over with large strides. His Blood Qi surged, coalescing into an ancient Hunting Rifle with clusters of flames entwined around it.

As a member of a prominent family in Hangzhou City, the Blood Qi on Wang Haixuan was incredibly solid. Clearly, he had long since broken through to Blood Qi stage five and had completely stabilized at this realm.

A terrifying aura surged toward Mu Qing, and the scorching heat rolled forward. Wang Haixuan used the aura of his Blood Spirit to press down on Mu Qing, wanting to give him a show of force.

Before awakening his Blood Spirit, Wang Haixuan was no match for Mu Qing and had never won a battle against him.

Now that he had awakened his Blood Spirit, and Mu Qing was still at Blood Qi stage four, he naturally wouldn't let any opportunity to suppress Mu Qing pass by.

Under that scorching aura, Mu Qing couldn't help but take a step back. He felt as if the blood in his body was about to stop flowing, his lips turned dry, and his skin felt like it was about to crack.

Possessing a Blood Spirit versus not possessing one—the difference in strength was vast!

"Hmph!"

Seeing this, the Golden Lion formed by Ling Fei's Blood Qi let out a roar and stood in front of Mu Qing, golden light blooming as it blocked the powerful aura for him.

"I'll let you off this time, but I don't believe Ling Fei will be by your side forever. Just you wait!" Wang Haixuan was still quite wary of Ling Fei, who was the first among all the top students to awaken a Blood Spirit. He glared viciously at Mu Qing, then wrapped his arm around Song Yalan's slender waist and walked away into the distance.

"Mu Qing, are you alright?" Ling Fei retracted his Blood Spirit and looked at Mu Qing.

"I'm fine, let's go back to the dormitory." Mu Qing shook his head to indicate he was fine, though his hands were trembling slightly.

Today, he had thoroughly experienced the feeling of not having enough power. Even though he didn't care at all about Song Yalan's departure, being suppressed by Wang Haixuan's aura made him feel extremely uncomfortable!

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