Selecting a Martial Skill

Chapter 3: Someone is Looking for Trouble

The Purple Lightning Bamboo is a lightning-type Blood Spirit. Through the Blood Refining Technique, one can convert the Blood Qi cultivated previously into lightning-attribute power.

This power is Origin Force!

Half a day passed, and as the sky gradually darkened, Mu Qing suddenly opened his eyes. A trace of scorching white electric light flashed deep within his pitch-black pupils before vanishing.

"Crackle!"

Mu Qing stood up and opened his palm. A wisp of scorching white electric light danced at his fingertips, emitting an aura that made one's heart tremble.

"I've finally converted all my Blood Qi into Origin Force. Although I haven't practiced any martial arts yet, I am no longer afraid of opponents at the level of Wang Haixuan!" Mu Qing was filled with excitement; he was even impatient to have a fight with Wang Haixuan to see whose Blood Spirit was more powerful.

Withdrawing the lightning Origin Force from his fingertips back into his mind, Mu Qing tucked away his father's golden communication device.

Because the Purple Lightning Bamboo existed within his mind, his Origin Force was also stored there. It should be noted that most people store their Blood Spirit and Origin Force in their dantian.

"According to my dad, this Purple Lightning Bamboo Blood Spirit was obtained additionally through a Blood Spirit Potion. If I can truly awaken my own innate Blood Spirit in the future, I will possess two Blood Spirits and two types of Origin Force!"

Mu Qing felt a faint sense of anticipation, followed by a flicker of doubt.

Federation humans cultivate their bloodlines, and the Blood Spirits they awaken vary. It is rumored that only disciples of certain families have a chance to awaken their family's inherited Blood Spirit.

Take the Wang Family of Hangzhou City, for example. Their inherited Blood Spirit is an ancient hunting rifle wreathed in flame power. Both the head of the Wang Family and Wang Haixuan awakened the Flame Hunting Rifle.

However, there are also direct descendants of the Wang Family who awaken other Blood Spirits. It is rumored that Wang Haixuan's sister awakened a Blood Spirit completely different from his.

"Dad said the Blood Spirit inherited in my bloodline is the Mad Shark. Could it be that my dad and I belong to some family?" Mu Qing frowned deeply.

Of course, due to the existence of precious items like the Blood Spirit Potion and his father's unusual actions in the past, Mu Qing had grown accustomed to his mysterious father. He even speculated that his father might be a powerful Federation Martial Artist.

Taking a deep breath, Mu Qing walked over to the Strength Tester in the training room, eager to give it a try.

Having just broken through and awakened his Blood Spirit, and after consuming three Crimson Ginsengs, his hunger had completely vanished, and he felt filled with power.

Channeling the Origin Force in his mind, Mu Qing gathered his strength for several seconds. Wisps of electric light seemed to flicker across his fist.

Suddenly, he threw a punch. His speed was several times faster than at the fourth stage of Blood Qi, his arm appearing to transform into a bolt of lightning streaking through the air.

A muffled, heavy boom echoed out. The Strength Tester in the training room trembled slightly as the numbers on its screen flickered rapidly before settling on a single value.

1,134 kilograms!

With over a ton of force unleashed from Mu Qing's fist, bolstered by the aid of Origin Force, this was the power of the fifth stage of Blood Qi!

"As expected, after reaching the fifth stage of Blood Qi, the augmentation of Origin Force allows for an explosive force exceeding one ton." Mu Qing's face lit up with joy. It was hard to imagine that he, too, possessed such power today, once again keeping pace with the top students in the school.

This full-force strike had exhausted all the Origin Force in Mu Qing's mind. If he wanted to exert a ton of force with every casual movement, he would likely need to become a full-fledged Martial Artist first.

"Ugh."

Coming back to his senses, Mu Qing suddenly noticed a foul stench coming from his body. He realized that black sweat was oozing from his pores—impurities expelled from his body after the breakthrough.

"Forget it, I'd better head back to the dormitory to take a shower." Mu Qing frowned. Although he wanted to familiarize himself with the power of the fifth stage of Blood Qi, the sticky feeling on his skin was truly uncomfortable.

On the way back to the dormitory, Mu Qing opened his communication device again and logged into the school's official website.

The Blood Refining Technique is a cultivation method that doesn't provide a significant boost to combat strength. With only two days left until the Mock Exam, although Mu Qing's current cultivation at the fifth stage of Blood Qi meant his grades wouldn't be too poor, he still wanted to make a push for the top ten.

Now that Mu Qing had just broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi, he needed items 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 who had already awakened their Blood Spirits, and a portion of the ordinary students had also successfully broken through. There were nearly eight hundred people at the fifth stage of Blood Qi. Standing out among so many was undoubtedly extremely difficult.

To rapidly improve his strength, the only path currently available was to practice martial arts.

Like bloodline cultivation methods, martial arts require an awakened Blood Spirit to practice. Before awakening their Blood Spirits, students only slowly excavate the power of their bloodlines to strengthen their bodies. Once the Blood Spirit is awakened, they can unleash various martial arts with great power.

In West Lake High School, all low-level martial arts are free, while intermediate and high-level martial arts must be purchased out of pocket, even by the top students, and the prices are not cheap.

"Last time, Dad topped up my account with 100,000 Huaxia coins. I've been saving it and haven't used it yet. I didn't expect it to come in handy now!" Mu Qing curled his lips into a smile and nimbly opened the martial arts section on the school website, quickly skipping over the low and intermediate levels to head straight for the high-level martial arts.

"Triple Flame Blade, 500,000 Huaxia coins."

"Light Healing Chant, 300,000 Huaxia coins."

"Shadow Wave, 70,000 Huaxia coins."

"Wood Dragon Entanglement Technique, 110,000 Huaxia coins."

Lists of technique names appeared before Mu Qing, and the price behind each one was enough to make the average student despair.

"Good grief, the prices in this high-level martial arts section are all over 50,000, with most ranging from 100,000 to 200,000." Mu Qing felt a cold sweat on his palms. It was fortunate his dad had given him 100,000 last time, otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to afford a single martial art.

Although there were many martial arts, they were clearly not suitable for Mu Qing. His Blood Spirit, the Purple Lightning Bamboo, was of the lightning type, so he naturally needed to find lightning-type martial arts.

Filtering through the light screen, in the blink of an eye, various lightning-attribute martial arts appeared before Mu Qing.

"Three Thousand Lightning Arts, 600,000 Huaxia coins."

"Lightning Dragon Art, 130,000 Huaxia coins."

"Thunderstorm Fist, 90,000 Huaxia coins."

"Lightning Flash Step, 70,000 Huaxia coins."

There were quite a few high-level lightning-attribute martial arts, but the prices were on the expensive side. After Mu Qing filtered out everything over 100,000, only a few remained.

"Hey, look, isn't that Mu Qing? Why does he look so disheveled?" Just as Mu Qing was carefully selecting a martial skill, students nearby recognized him.

Although the sky had dimmed, crystal balls suspended in the air throughout West Lake High School emitted a brilliant white light, shining like miniature suns and illuminating the entire campus.

West Lake High School was divided into four campuses: East, South, West, and North. Mu Qing was a top student in the East Campus and was quite famous there; as the boyfriend of the school beauty Song Yalan and a top student himself, it was hard for people not to know him.

"It really is him!" Another student recognized Mu Qing. This person was wearing a cyan training suit, his Blood Qi surging, with an aura of Origin Force radiating from his body.

This person was Song Qing, a top student who had broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi.

Beside him were two innocent-looking junior girls, both of whom had reached the fourth stage of Blood Qi.

"Mu Qing used to be someone, but I never expected he wouldn't even be able to break through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi. I heard his girlfriend, Song Yalan, ran off with someone else recently. It seems to be true, given how soul-crushed he looks. He's no match for me at all now!" Song Qing shook his head and said to the two junior girls beside him, seemingly showing off his cultivation. He moved his body, and a Black Iron Sword flickered behind him, demonstrating his strength at the fifth stage of Blood Qi.

"Wow! Senior Song Qing is so amazing!"

The two junior girls exclaimed, their eyes filled with admiration, and even the surrounding students cast envious looks.

Awakening a Blood Spirit before the College Entrance Exam meant that, barring any accidents, one could successfully pass the exam trials and become a Federation Martial Artist early, ensuring a limitless future!

One had to know that there were only about eight hundred people in the entire West Lake High School who had broken through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi. While that might seem like a lot, it was actually quite rare for the school as a whole; for instance, out of the tens of thousands of students in the East Campus, only a little over a hundred had reached the fifth stage of Blood Qi.

"Senior Song Qing, I heard that Senior Mu Qing used to have outstanding cultivation even among the top students. He shouldn't only be at the fourth stage of Blood Qi, right?" one of the junior girls asked curiously.

Most top students knew the news that Mu Qing had been unable to break through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi, but for the average student who didn't pay special attention, the information they received remained ambiguous.

"Whether he's at the fifth stage of Blood Qi or not, why don't I go find out for us?" Song Qing chuckled, reached out to pat the junior girl's backside, which drew a playful pout, and then laughed loudly as he walked toward Mu Qing.

Song Qing was quite 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. The resources he possessed were enough to supply several people with the means to break through to the fifth stage of Blood Qi, so naturally, many people followed him.

Mu Qing, on the other hand, although he had been strong in the past and few of his peers were his match, had no one actively following him. In the eyes of many, the Wang Family was a behemoth with many Federation Martial Artists holding down the fort. Compared to Wang Haixuan, most people would choose to stand on Wang Haixuan's side.

Song Qing knew the relationship between Mu Qing and Wang Haixuan; if he taught Mu Qing a lesson, he might be able to get some precious medicinal herbs from Wang Haixuan.

"Mu Qing!"

Song Qing, dressed in his cyan training suit, blocked Mu Qing's path. Bursts of Blood Qi surged within his body, mixed with the aura of Origin Force.

That Black Iron Sword hovered behind him; although it was a Blood Spirit, it was extremely solid, gleaming with a metallic luster, and an aura of sharpness radiated outward.

"Hm?"

Mu Qing, who had been focused on selecting martial skills, only reacted after feeling someone blocking his way, and he looked toward Song Qing.

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