Someone Was Looking for Trouble
Purple Lightning Bamboo was a Lightning Element Blood Spirit. Through the Blood Refining Technique, the Blood Qi he had cultivated before could be converted into power with a Lightning Element attribute.
This power was Origin Force!
Half a day passed, and the sky gradually darkened. Mu Qing suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of blazing-white lightning flickered briefly in his deep, dark pupils.
"Crackle!"
Mu Qing stood up and opened his palm. A wisp of blazing-white lightning danced at his fingertips, giving off a heart-stirring aura.
"I've finally converted all my Blood Qi into Origin Force. I haven't cultivated any martial skills yet, but I'm already not afraid of opponents at Wang Haixuan's level!" Mu Qing was exhilarated. He could hardly wait to fight Wang Haixuan and see whose Blood Spirit was stronger.
He drew the lightning Origin Force at his fingertips back into his mind, then put away his dad's golden communications device.
Since Purple Lightning Bamboo existed in his mind, his Origin Force was stored there too. Normally, people stored their Blood Spirits and Origin Force in their dantians.
"According to Dad, I gained the Purple Lightning Bamboo Blood Spirit through a Blood Spirit Potion. If I can truly awaken my own Blood Spirit in the future, I'll have two Blood Spirits and two kinds of Origin Force!"
Mu Qing felt a faint sense of anticipation, but he couldn't help feeling puzzled as well.
The Blood Spirits awakened by people in the Federation varied. It was said that only members of certain lineages had a chance of awakening their lineage's inherited Blood Spirit.
Take the Wang Family in Hangzhou City, for example. Their inherited Blood Spirit was an ancient Hunting Rifle wreathed in flames. The Wang Family head and Wang Haixuan had both awakened the Flame Hunting Rifle.
However, some direct descendants of the Wang Family awakened other Blood Spirits too. It was said that Wang Haixuan's older sister had awakened a Blood Spirit completely different from his.
"Dad said the Blood Spirit inherited through my bloodline is Mad Shark. Could he and I belong to some lineage?" Mu Qing furrowed his brow.
Of course, given the precious Blood Spirit Potion and all his dad's unusual behavior over the years, Mu Qing had grown accustomed to his mysterious father. He even suspected that his dad might be a powerful Federation Martial Artist.
He took a deep breath and went to the Strength Tester in the Cultivation Room, eager to try it out.
He had just broken through and gained a Blood Spirit. After swallowing three Crimson Ginseng roots, his hunger had vanished, and he felt full of strength.
Mu Qing drew on the Origin Force in his mind and gathered his strength for several seconds. Faint sparks seemed to flicker over his fist.
Suddenly, he threw a punch. He was several times faster than at Blood Qi Fourth Rank, and his arm seemed to turn into a bolt of lightning as it cut through the air.
A muffled boom rang out. The Strength Tester in the Cultivation Room trembled slightly as the numbers on its screen jumped rapidly, finally settling on a figure.
1,134 kilograms!
With Origin Force boosting it, more than a ton of strength poured from Mu Qing's fist. This was the power of Blood Qi Fifth Rank!
"Just as I thought. After reaching Blood Qi Fifth Rank, Origin Force can boost me to more than a ton of power." Mu Qing's face lit up. It was hard to believe he now possessed such strength and had caught up with the school's top students.
That all-out punch had drained all the Origin Force in Mu Qing's mind. To unleash a ton of force with every casual movement, he would probably have to become a Martial Practitioner first.
"Ugh."
Coming back to himself, Mu Qing suddenly noticed a foul stench rising from his body. Black sweat had seeped from all over him—the impurities his body had expelled after breaking through.
"Forget it. I'd better go back to the dorm and take a shower." Mu Qing frowned. He still wanted to get used to his Blood Qi Fifth Rank strength, but his sticky skin was unbearable.
On his way back to the dorm, Mu Qing opened his communications device again and logged into the school website.
The Blood Refining Technique was a cultivation method that didn't offer much of a boost to one's strength. With only two days left before the mock exam, Mu Qing's Blood Qi Fifth Rank cultivation meant his results wouldn't be too bad, but he still wanted to break into the top ten.
Mu Qing had only recently reached Blood Qi Fifth Rank, and he needed a potion like the Blood Refining Potion to increase his Origin Force. At least half the space in his mind remained unfilled.
He remembered that West Lake High School had six hundred top students alone, all of whom had awakened Blood Spirits. Some ordinary students had broken through too, bringing the total at Blood Qi Fifth Rank to about eight hundred. Standing out among so many people would be incredibly difficult.
At present, the only way to rapidly increase his strength was to cultivate martial skills.
Like lineage cultivation techniques, martial skills could only be cultivated after awakening a Blood Spirit. Before awakening theirs, students could only slowly draw out the power in their bloodlines and strengthen their bodies. Once they awakened their Blood Spirits, they could use all kinds of powerful martial skills.
At West Lake High School, all low-level martial skills were free. But even the top students had to pay for intermediate and advanced martial skills, and they weren't cheap.
"Dad put a hundred thousand Huaxia Currency into my account last time. I've kept it there without spending any of it. Who knew it'd come in handy!" Mu Qing's lips curled up as he swiftly opened the martial skills section of the school website, skipped past the low- and intermediate-level skills, and headed straight for the advanced ones.
"Triple Flame Blade, five hundred thousand Huaxia Currency."
"Light Healing Chant, three hundred thousand Huaxia Currency."
"Shadow Wave, seventy thousand Huaxia Currency."
"Wood Dragon Entanglement Technique, one hundred and ten thousand Huaxia Currency."
One technique after another appeared before Mu Qing. The price tags beside them were enough to put them out of reach for most students.
"Good grief. Everything in the advanced martial skills section costs at least fifty thousand. Most are between a hundred and two hundred thousand." A bead of cold sweat appeared in Mu Qing's palm. It was lucky his dad had given him a hundred thousand last time; otherwise, he couldn't even afford one martial skill.
There were plenty of martial skills, but most clearly weren't suitable for Mu Qing. His Purple Lightning Bamboo Blood Spirit had a Lightning Element attribute, so he naturally needed to find Lightning Element martial skills.
He filtered the options on the screen, and in the blink of an eye, Lightning Element martial skills appeared before him.
"Three Thousand Lightning Arts, six hundred thousand Huaxia Currency."
"Lightning Dragon Art, one hundred and thirty thousand Huaxia Currency."
"Thunderstorm Fist, ninety thousand Huaxia Currency."
"Lightning Flash Step, seven hundred thousand Huaxia Currency."
There were quite a few advanced martial skills with a Lightning Element attribute, but they were all expensive. After Mu Qing filtered out those priced above a hundred thousand, only a handful remained.
"Hey, look! Isn't that Mu Qing? Why does he look so bedraggled?" As Mu Qing carefully browsed the martial skills, a student nearby recognized him.
Although the sky had grown dim, crystal orbs floated overhead throughout West Lake High School, radiating blazing-white light like tiny suns and illuminating the entire campus.
West Lake High School was divided into four districts: East, South, West, and North. Mu Qing was one of the top students in the East Campus and was fairly well known there. He was the boyfriend of Song Yalan, the school belle everyone admired, and he was a top student too. It was hard not to recognize him.
"It really is!" Another student recognized Mu Qing. The boy wore a green training uniform, and his Blood Qi surged as wisps of Origin Force aura escaped from him.
His name was Song Qing, a top student who had broken through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank.
Beside him were two pretty junior girls, both at Blood Qi Fourth Rank.
"Mu Qing used to be a real standout. I didn't expect him to fail to break through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank. I heard his girlfriend, Song Yalan, ran off with someone else recently. Looks like it's true—he's completely lost his mind. He's no match for me now!" Song Qing shook his head and spoke to the two junior girls beside him. Seemingly showing off his cultivation, he moved, and a Black Iron Sword flashed behind him, displaying the strength of his Blood Qi Fifth Rank.
"Wow! Senior Song Qing is amazing!"
The two junior girls cried out in admiration, their eyes full of reverence. Even the students around them looked on enviously.
Anyone who awakened a Blood Spirit before the College Entrance Exam would pass the entrance trial without incident and become a Federation Martial Artist ahead of time. Their future would be limitless!
It was said that just over eight hundred people across West Lake High School had reached Blood Qi Fifth Rank. That might sound like a lot, but it was actually very few for the whole school. For instance, out of the East Campus's tens of thousands of students, only a little over a hundred had reached Blood Qi Fifth Rank.
"Senior Song Qing, I heard Senior Mu Qing used to be one of the best among the top students. Surely he wasn't only at Blood Qi Fourth Rank?" one of the junior girls asked curiously.
The top students all knew that Mu Qing had never managed to break through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank. But unless ordinary students made a point of looking into it, what they heard was usually vague.
"Whether he's at Blood Qi Fifth Rank or not, I can just check for myself, can't I?" Song Qing chuckled. He reached out and smacked the junior girl's pert bottom, drawing an indignant squeal from her, then burst out laughing and walked toward Mu Qing.
Song Qing was close to Wang Haixuan among the top students. In other words, he was one of Wang Haixuan's lackeys.
After all, Wang Haixuan was the young master of the Wang Family, one of the four great families in Hangzhou City. His resources were enough to help several people break through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank, so naturally, many people followed him.
By contrast, although Mu Qing had been strong in the past and few people at his level could match him, no one had ever chosen to follow him. In many people's eyes, the Wang Family was a colossal force with many Federation Martial Artists backing it. Faced with Mu Qing and Wang Haixuan, most people would side with Wang Haixuan.
Song Qing knew about Mu Qing's relationship with Wang Haixuan. If he taught Mu Qing a lesson, he might be able to get some precious medicinal herbs from Wang Haixuan.
"Mu Qing!"
Wearing a green training uniform, Song Qing blocked Mu Qing's path. Waves of Blood Qi surged from his body, mingled with the aura of Origin Force.
The Black Iron Sword floated behind him. Although it was a Blood Spirit, it was solid and real, gleaming with the luster of steel as a keen, cutting aura radiated from it.
"Hmm?"
Mu Qing had been completely focused on choosing martial skills. Only when he sensed someone blocking his way did he look up at Song Qing.
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