Chen Mochuan

October 8, 2666, Star Calendar. Songjiang Province, Antu City.

Before the dawn light had broken, the only sound in a bedroom at the Star Lake Residential District was the steady breathing of a teenager.

"Beep, beep, beep—" A sharp alarm clock shattered the silence.

Chen Mochuan reached out to silence the alarm set for 4:30 AM. Without a hint of attachment to his warm bed, he nimbly rose and pulled on his school uniform.

The house was very quiet; his parents were away on business, and no one was there to prepare breakfast for him in advance.

After washing up, he took bread, milk, and a few bags of instant beef from the kitchen, watching the Songjiang Province morning news as he ate.

"Yesterday, the 23rd World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament concluded successfully. Our nation's martial artist Wu Kong has claimed the championship..."

Although he had already seen this news yesterday, Chen Mochuan still stared intently at the high-spirited Wu Kong on the screen, his eyes shining with longing.

"Early this morning, a large number of fierce beasts appeared on the outskirts of Qingyan City in our province, attempting to attack the city... The garrison discovered them in advance and intercepted them, successfully scattering the beast horde... There were no civilian casualties in this incident..."

Since it concerned a neighboring city, Chen Mochuan paid a little attention, but didn't think much of it.

Such major events were for the government to handle; it wasn't a high school senior's place to worry about them.

Once the news finished, he finished his breakfast and put on his backpack to head out.

Jogging the whole way to warm up, he arrived at Eighth High School at exactly 5:30 AM.

Entering the teaching building, his eyes were met with motivational banners everywhere.

"Endure hardship to achieve success; the day of glory will come! Rise with the rooster to dance with the sword; now is the time to reach for the stars!"

"Burn the boats and break the cauldrons to fight for every sunrise and sunset; fight with your back to the river, and strive until you have no regrets!"

"Struggle for one thousand days in high school to harvest eighty years of future!"

Passing the banners, Chen Mochuan went straight upstairs, verified his identity, and entered the exclusive training ground for the senior martial arts key class.

After consuming a vial of blood-qi supplement, he began his specialized training using the equipment.

An hour later, the students of the key class arrived one after another, each throwing themselves into their morning exercises.

"Chen Mochuan, come here for a moment."

Chen Mochuan, who was immersed in his training, turned at the sound of his name. He saw his homeroom teacher, Han Zhen, standing at the entrance of the training ground beckoning to him, before turning to walk away.

There was no time to change his sweat-soaked shirt; Chen Mochuan grabbed a towel, wiped his face and arms briefly, and hurried to follow.

Vague whispers of "blood-qi value too low" and "tail-ender" drifted from behind him, but he didn't care.

Walking into the office, Han Zhen picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. "Take a look at this first."

Chen Mochuan took the paper and saw it was his monthly exam report card, with a striking red line marking his results.

His martial arts technique proficiency and academic subjects were his strengths, ranking 1st and 6th in the grade, respectively.

However, due to his low blood-qi value, his overall physical fitness score only ranked 256th in the grade.

Affected by this, his simulated combat score on the school's battle network only reached 72nd in the grade.

This resulted in a less-than-ideal total score, placing him at 70th—the very bottom of the key class—and 75th in the grade.

Han Zhen said, "Your grade ranking has dropped another 4 spots. At this rate, it is basically impossible for you to get into the Thirty-Six Elite Schools next year."

Chen Mochuan had expected this and nodded calmly. "Teacher, I understand."

"Don't be discouraged. Your mastery of the Foundation Building Fist and Root-Solidifying Stance has always been 1st in the grade, which proves your hard work hasn't been in vain."

"Keep up this momentum. If you can reach the perfection level in both techniques before the college entrance exam, there might still be a turning point."

As he spoke, Han Zhen pulled open a drawer and took out a small notebook with worn edges.

"These are the fist technique training notes from an outstanding graduate from two years ago. Take them back and look through them; perhaps you'll find some inspiration."

"Thank you, Teacher!" Chen Mochuan took the notebook with both hands solemnly.

He hadn't expected the teacher not only to refrain from criticizing him but to provide extra help. He was moved, and just as he was about to say something more, he was interrupted.

"No need for pleasantries. If you can get into the Thirty-Six Elite Schools, that is the greatest support for my work... Alright, I still have to prepare for class, go back to your morning training."

Han Zhen waved his hand and sat down at his desk.

Seeing this, Chen Mochuan thanked him sincerely once more, gently closed the door, and left.

After the door closed, Han Zhen sighed.

He knew that Chen Mochuan had slid from 3rd in the grade as a freshman to his current ranking because his blood-qi value was growing too slowly, but there was nothing he could do about it.

However, he had never thought of giving up on this student; he had seen the boy's diligence and effort over the past two years with his own eyes.

Regardless of his grades, he remained calm and unhurried, always the first to arrive and the last to leave, never slacking in his academic or martial arts studies.

It was this very temperament that made Han Zhen value him so highly.

At nine o'clock last night, after Han Zhen finished calculating the monthly exam results and passed the training ground on his way home, he discovered that Chen Mochuan was still practicing his fist techniques.

One had to realize that after the monthly exams ended that afternoon, the school had uncharacteristically let the seniors leave early. Other students had already gone home to rest, yet only he remained, persisting in his training.

Thus, a moved Han Zhen had specifically gone home to find that notebook.

"I hope this helps him; a student like that shouldn't be buried."

Leaving the office, Chen Mochuan gripped the notes in his hand tightly, feeling the warmth of his homeroom teacher's concern.

I cannot let the teacher down... though, my Spirit Devourer should be awakening soon.

With a flicker of his thoughts, a translucent golden screen unfolded before his eyes.

[Spirit Master: Chen Mochuan]

[Status: Qi and Blood Full]

[Spirit Talent: Spirit Devourer (Awakening - 99%)]

[Qi and Blood Value: 2.92]

[Techniques:]

[Root-Solidifying Stance: Proficient (96%)]

[Foundation Building Fist: Proficient (97%)]

This golden screen, visible only to Chen Mochuan, had appeared over two years ago when he first enrolled in Eighth High School.

Through exploration, he discovered that the screen was not a "system" that allowed him to add points and grow stronger like in novels, but rather a tool that monitored his physical state in real-time, providing a clear understanding of himself.

Even so, Chen Mochuan did not feel disappointed.

Being able to observe every tiny bit of progress and knowing that his efforts were not in vain became his mental motivation, supporting him as he practiced diligently day after day.

At the same time, the real-time status monitoring allowed him to scientifically arrange his training intensity, avoiding injuries caused by overtraining.

Because of this, he stood out among the martial arts students in his freshman year, surging to third place in his grade within just two semesters.

But just as his sophomore year began, a new message suddenly appeared on the screen:

[Spirit Talent: Spirit Devourer (Awakening - 0%)]

Everything has spirit. Since spiritual energy surged in the year 2012 of the Star Calendar, over the past six hundred years, the bodies of the people on Blue Star have undergone some unknown, deep-seated development, hiding a special talent known as a "Spirit Talent."

There are many types of Spirit Talents: some can strengthen the physique, some grant super memory, some enhance sensory acuity...

However, Spirit Talents are deeply hidden within the human body; they show no signs before awakening, and the opportunity for awakening is different for everyone and elusive, so the vast majority of people never awaken one in their entire lives.

Among the thousands of students at Eighth High School, only a handful have awakened a Spirit Talent.

Now, that opportunity had fallen upon him.

But the awakening process of [Spirit Devourer] was extremely slow, increasing by about 1% every four days, with full awakening expected to take over a year—far exceeding the longest recorded awakening time of two months found online.

Not only that, but after the awakening began, his appetite increased significantly, while his Qi and Blood growth became abnormally slow, as if his entire body was providing nutrients for the Spirit Talent to awaken.

This directly affected his martial arts grades, causing his ranking to drop from third to fifth, then tenth... until he slid to the bottom of the elite class.

Yet, as a transmigrator, he was more mature than his peers and knew well that this age was the golden period for laying the foundation of martial arts, so even with his physical abnormality, he never wasted a moment of time.

Yes, Chen Mochuan is a transmigrator.

He came from Earth and was living his second life on Blue Star.

Perhaps he missed drinking the Meng Po Soup during his reincarnation, as he clearly retained the memories of his past life.

The end of his previous life stemmed from an act of chivalry: while out for a night run one day, he jumped into an artificial lake to save someone, only to be tightly entangled by the drowning person, eventually exhausting his strength and drowning.

When he opened his eyes again, he had been born on the martial arts-revering Blue Star, becoming a newborn baby in the Hua Nation.

In this life, as a transmigrator, both his parents were alive, and while his family was not wealthy, it was warm and happy.

Taking one last look at the [Awakening - 99%] message on the panel, Chen Mochuan put away the screen and returned to the martial arts arena to continue his morning practice.