Third Grade Arrives

August 20th. Over these past three days, Lu Hao did not rush to break through. Instead, he spent his time practicing basic blade techniques. Just after reaching the peak of the second rank, Lu Hao had felt his control over his vitality becoming unstable.

If he had continued to force a breakthrough, he might have seen his mastery of vitality drop from the level of a trump card. Climbing up is difficult, but falling back down is incredibly simple.

Therefore, to ensure his combat power rather than just his realm, Lu Hao practiced his blade for three days. Whenever his vitality was exhausted, he would use Slaughter Points to recover it. After all, learning from past experiences, the Slaughter Points would depreciate anyway, so he might as well use them to master his vitality.

After three days of practice, Lu Hao's control returned to its pre-breakthrough state—higher than the level of a trump card, but not yet at the level of an ultimate move.

That evening, under his mother's supervision, Lu Hao began his breakthrough. This time, the breakthrough required expanding the meridians of his sternum and vertebrae.

After consuming one second-rank Organ Protection Pill and one second-rank Bone Tempering Pill, Lu Hao began the process.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

Bai Qiuyao watched from the side. She didn't worry about Lu Hao failing; given his current vitality, a breakthrough was inevitable. Coupled with Lu Hao's past performance, she felt no anxiety.

Bai Qiuyao was currently debating whether to tell Lu Hao about the Earth Cave now. Generally, one would learn about the Earth Cave upon reaching the high stage of the third rank.

After all, reaching the high stage of the third rank means the entire skeleton has been tempered and vitality flows smoothly, allowing one to easily utilize the body's full vitality. Only then is a martial artist truly recognized by the martial arts world as a pillar of strength.

It also counts as having the ability to protect oneself in the Earth Cave, unlike first or second-rankers who are easily killed.

However, based on Lu Hao's current strength, he would likely be able to deal with high-stage third-rank enemies the moment he broke through. While he might not be able to kill them, he could certainly hold his own.

Four hours later, Lu Hao successfully broke through to the third rank. There were now 11 days left until the start of school.

Lu Hao opened his eyes and glanced at the panel.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vitality: 93/480 cal]

[Spirit: 68/339 Hz]

[Storage Space: 1000 cubic meters]

[Slaughter Points: 0]

His vitality had surged by 51 calories, and his spiritual power had increased by 25 hertz. Roughly speaking, one meridian increased his vitality by one calorie, and two meridians increased his spirit by one hertz.

Just the act of clearing the meridians provided such a massive boost; it was no wonder that reaching the peak of the third rank could push vitality up to a thousand calories.

Lu Hao sensed his control over his vitality. Fortunately, it remained at the level of a trump card. His mother could erupt with nearly a hundred calories of vitality in a single strike; against anyone below the middle stage of the third rank, she could take them out in one hit.

As for high-stage third-rankers, if he encountered one who had mastered their vitality, he could put up a fight and perhaps even secure a kill. But if he ran into a high-stage third-ranker who also possessed a trump card, he would have to retreat.

If he were to face a martial artist who hadn't mastered their vitality, he could even contend with or potentially kill a fourth-ranker. After all, a fourth-ranker who hasn't mastered their vitality, despite having high levels, can still only erupt with about a hundred calories of power, which isn't much different from Lu Hao.

One piece of good news is that most low-to-mid-rank martial artists currently faced by humans in the Earth Cave have not mastered their vitality. They advanced purely due to exposure to extremely high energy levels, so they lack that specific control.

If Lu Hao were to go down to the Earth Cave now, killing one or two fourth-rankers shouldn't be a problem. If he added the third strike of the Blood Battle Mad Blade and erupted with full power, he might even be able to clash with a fifth-ranker.

However, if he didn't have Slaughter Points to replenish himself after such a clash, Lu Hao would be finished.

Therefore, Lu Hao's current strength is equivalent to a high-stage third-ranker who has mastered their vitality, capable of killing fourth-rankers in the Earth Cave.

That is the fourth rank! If he could kill one, the amount of Slaughter Points he would gain might be enough to push him directly into the middle stage of the third rank.

Lu Hao wiped away some non-existent tears from the corner of his mouth.

"Hao'er, how is it? Did something go wrong with the breakthrough?" Seeing Lu Hao staring blankly, Bai Qiuyao thought something had gone wrong.

"No, it's just that my vitality increased quite a bit, and some of it is a little out of control."

"That's normal. Go take a shower first, then come to the sofa. I have some things to tell you," Bai Qiuyao said. She intended to tell Lu Hao about the Earth Cave now; he would find out sooner or later, and knowing now would allow him to prepare early.

"Alright, I understand."

As he spoke, Lu Hao walked into the bathroom. As for what Bai Qiuyao wanted to talk about, if nothing went wrong, it would be the truth about the Earth Cave and his older brother's death. After all, Lu Hao had reached the third rank, and he would encounter this information at school soon anyway.

Although Lu Hao knew most of the information regarding the Earth Cave, he wasn't clear on some of the finer details, so he could take this opportunity to learn more.

After washing up, Lu Hao felt that he had grown taller again, from 182 centimeters to 184. It seems bone tempering really can make you grow.

When he arrived at the sofa, his mother was already sitting there with a stack of paper documents in front of her.

"Hao'er, you've always felt that your father, your brother, and I were hiding something from you. Now that you've reached the third rank,"

"And your strength is not weak, you are qualified to know the meaning of being a martial artist and the truth about this world."

Bai Qiuyao said, then handed the documents to Lu Hao. She looked at him with a complex expression; after all, from this moment on, Lu Hao would be exposed to this cruel world.

Lu Hao picked up the documents and began to read.

In the year 1303, the first clearly recorded Earth Cave entrance was discovered.

The second Earth Cave entrance appeared in Xiwei 450 years ago.

Starting in 1920, the third Earth Cave entrance appeared, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.

In 1921, the Capital Martial Arts Club was established, and martial artists officially stepped onto the front lines, because only the vitality of a martial artist could be utilized within the Earth Cave; all other energy sources were rendered useless.

To date, Hua Nation has opened a total of 22 Earth Cave entrances.

Lu Hao looked through the history of the Earth Cave recorded in these documents, which also explained some theories regarding the caves. Some of them, in Lu Hao's view, were correct, while others contained quite a few errors.

For instance, the claim that Abyss martial artists cannot be killed on the surface and will resurrect after death is false; it is a ruse concocted by the True Kings of the Forbidden Zone to trick personnel in the Outer Region into desperately attacking humanity.

The so-called resurrection is nothing more than the True Kings grasping a sliver of the deceased martial artist's origin, relying on this sliver to restore them with the aid of life essence.

After reading through all the data, Lu Hao's understanding of the Abyss became much clearer than it had been before.

"How about it, Hao'er? Do you now understand why the status of martial artists is so high? It is because it is forged with flesh and blood. Your father is currently guarding an Abyss entrance, which is why he cannot return, and as for your brother, he also died in the Magic City Abyss; it was not the work of the Evil Cult."

"I had already guessed as much, though I didn't expect the enemy to be the Abyss. I originally thought it might be aliens or something. Hmph, I believe that one day we will surely be able to eradicate the Abyss."

Aliens were the original body's guess, so it is not an exaggeration to call it Lu Hao's guess.

"Mom doesn't care about any of that. I just want you to be healthy and safe. I know I can't stop you, but if you go to the Abyss, you must be twelve times more alert. Be careful, careful, and even more careful."