Lingbo Microsteps

About half an hour later, Su You felt that every cell in his body had reached its limit. At that moment, they all seemed to be shouting, "Ah, I can't absorb another drop!"

Su You opened his eyes, got up, and moved around a little. He immediately felt a series of discomforts. His strength had increased far too quickly—by at least two thousand kilograms, he estimated—but this had also greatly reduced his control over his body.

"Heh, got a good deal and still complaining!" Su You mocked himself. He got dressed, left home, and went to his small training room, where he began practicing the basic fist techniques, move by move.

Physical fitness was only one factor affecting combat strength. Control over one's body was just as important. There were plenty of treasures that could rapidly improve physical fitness, but combat techniques and experience could only be strengthened through repeated practice and trial.

It took about two hours before Su You finally stopped. After resting for a while, he gathered his consciousness in the Consciousness Sea once again.

What should I buy? There was no need to consider items. The items he could get for nine hundred Merit Points were fairly ordinary; at most, they would probably only be useful up to the advanced apprentice level—the War God Rank on Earth.

Su You took stock of himself. I already have the Eight-Nine Profound Art. Next, I'll get some techniques and a movement skill.

"Complete edition of Lingbo Microsteps. Price: 600 Merit Points." After browsing for a while, Su You selected this movement manual.

Although it was a little expensive, the technique combined rapid movement with dodging and evasive footwork, making it quite good value for the price.

The only tricky part was that learning Lingbo Microsteps required some familiarity with the I Ching. For Su You, however, that was just right.

When he had first transmigrated, he hadn't been very familiar with most of the plot of Swallowed Star, but he did remember some of its most important events.

He certainly hadn't forgotten something as momentous as the Earthlings having been altered by powerful beings. So, not long after transmigrating, he had begun studying ancient texts from Huaxia Country.

Although his state of mind hadn't changed at all, he had still gained a fairly deep understanding of ancient texts such as the I Ching. At the very least, he had no problem practicing Lingbo Microsteps.

Soon, more than a thousand footprints threaded with green lines appeared in Su You's mind. Each was labeled with words such as "Guimei" and "Wuwang." These formed the training diagrams for Lingbo Microsteps.

Su You glanced at his remaining three hundred Merit Points and decided not to buy any more techniques.

For now, a basic sword technique was just about enough. Besides, the ordinary sword techniques in the mall might not be any better than those on Earth, while the more powerful ones were mostly very expensive—far beyond what he, a poor man, could afford.

After obtaining the training diagrams for Lingbo Microsteps, Su You had his mother handle the paperwork to withdraw him from school the next day. For the following few days, he practiced diligently, and his movement skills improved at a fairly impressive rate.

With the college entrance examination approaching, Tang Yongqing had come to see him much less often these past few days. Su You couldn't help but feel relieved.

On the morning of June 1, 2053, Su You finished breakfast with his parents in their little dining room, left the residential quarter, and boarded the subway.

A little over an hour later, Su You arrived at the entrance to a quiet residential quarter. A line of soldiers, armed with live ammunition, stood guard there.

The residential quarter was called Guanglan Residential Quarter. Most of the warriors from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Tianjin City lived there, and Tianjin City's Extreme Hall was also located within the quarter.

Su You went to the window of the guardhouse. At a glance, he spotted a short, thin old man inside.

"Hello, my name is Su You. I'm here to take today's Quasi-Warrior Assessment."

The thin old man looked at Su You in surprise, then said with a smile, "Not bad, coming to take the Quasi-Warrior Assessment at such a young age. Here, let me check your ID card and advanced student certificate."

Su You smiled and handed them over. The old man took them and swiped them over a nearby device. Su You's information immediately appeared on the monitor in front of him.

"Only seventeen? The younger generation is impressive!" The thin old man exclaimed, then called to the soldiers nearby, "Take him inside!"

The residential quarter's electric gates opened automatically. One of the soldiers stepped over to Su You and began explaining what he needed to keep in mind after entering.

Su You took back his ID card and advanced student certificate, nodded to the thin old man in thanks, then entered the residential quarter with the soldier and headed toward the Extreme Hall.

The Extreme Hall stood tall in the center of Guanglan Residential Quarter. Everywhere else, detached villas lined the grounds, homes for warriors and their families.

Soon, Su You reached the lobby of the Extreme Hall. A young woman hurried over to greet him. "Sir, you're here for the Quasi-Warrior Assessment, right? Please have a seat over there. The assessment will begin promptly at ten this morning."

Su You nodded and headed straight for the sofas nearby. Four people were already sitting there, though they didn't seem to know one another very well. Some were reading the magazines on the table, while others rested with their eyes closed.

Him? Among the four people taking the assessment, Su You spotted a "familiar face": the young man with swollen eyes whom he had seen with Fang Jingxue by the stairwell the other day.

The Martial Dao Mall's activation had caused an immense amount of cosmic energy to flood into his Consciousness Sea, greatly enhancing his memory. He could now remember things after seeing them just once, which was why he remembered this man despite having met him only briefly.

Nearby, Wang Xingle had his eyes closed, thinking about where he would go to have fun after the assessment. Suddenly, he heard someone beside him say, "A newcomer's here. He looks pretty young, too."

Wang Xingle opened his eyes and immediately recognized Su You. He gave a cold snort. "He's probably just here to see what it's like!"

The other three looked at him in surprise, then nodded to Su You as he came over. Su You smiled, sat down, and waited quietly.

Time passed, and soon it was ten o'clock. Five more people had arrived in the meantime, bringing the total number of candidates for this Quasi-Warrior Assessment to ten.

Just then, a man wearing a black training uniform walked over. He surveyed the group and spoke directly:

"It's ten o'clock. The Quasi-Warrior Assessment is about to begin. Follow me. Once we get upstairs, remember to behave and don't cause trouble. Understood?"

"Understood!" All ten answered respectfully, then followed the man in the black training uniform into the elevator.

The eleven of them took the elevator straight to the sixth floor. As soon as the doors opened, Su You saw an enormous training hall.

More than ten people had already gathered there. Li Da, the head of the Lubei District Extreme Martial Arts Hall, was among them. He was looking at Su You with a smile, his eyes full of encouragement and anticipation.