So what if it's difficult?

The next day, afternoon martial arts class.

Inside the Martial Arts Hall, students were each practicing their strikes and kicks. After completing his basic Stake Training and several adaptive rounds of the Mountain-Suppressing Fist, Lin Ye began attempting to practice the basic footwork of the Lost Track Steps he had learned from the official website.

Because the Lost Track Steps emphasized the interweaving of reality and illusion, with every step containing both "solid steps" and "empty steps," and because he had only just begun practicing, his movements were quite stiff. Consequently, his strange footwork while practicing in the hall was rather eye-catching.

Lin Ye was completely unaware of this. Relying on the extreme control over his body's muscles brought about by his perfected-level fist technique and mastery-level Stake Training, he was exploring the nuances of the Lost Track Steps bit by bit.

Not far away, Zheng Huai, who was patrolling and guiding other students, paused slightly as his gaze swept over Lin Ye.

"He's started practicing footwork?"

Zheng Huai glanced over, his mind clear. For one, he assumed that Lin Ye would eventually use the D-rank martial arts borrowing privilege from the Key Cultivation Program; for another, he felt that since Lin Ye's Rolling Stone Fist was already at the mastery level, reinforcing his movement technique to address his shortcomings for the college entrance exam was a wise move.

However, when he carefully identified the slightly clumsy trajectory of Lin Ye's footwork, his brows couldn't help but twitch.

"This footwork... shifting between reality and illusion, dodging and lunging, could it be the 'Lost Track Steps'?"

Zheng Huai had been teaching for many years; while he couldn't claim to know the characteristics of every D-rank martial art in the school's armory by heart, he could clearly identify most of them.

Within the school's armory, the Lost Track Steps could be considered one of the most notoriously difficult D-rank movement techniques. Because it placed extremely high demands on the practitioner's sense of space, mental power, micro-control of blood-qi, and rhythmic talent, many martial artists in the early Blood-Qi Realm found their progress to be slow.

"This kid... why did he choose this one?"

Zheng Huai felt a mix of amusement and frustration, even finding it hard to keep a straight face. Just as he wanted to walk over to warn Lin Ye about the difficulty of this footwork, he stopped his movement.

He suddenly remembered that the borrowing privilege for D-rank martial arts in the cultivation program only allowed for one, and if he walked over now to tell Lin Ye that the Lost Track Steps were too difficult and advised him against it, it would serve no purpose other than to add unnecessary pressure.

"Fine, since he chose it, let him forge his own path. Perhaps with his temperament and previous rate of progress, he might just be able to crack this tough nut. At most... I'll find an opportunity later to offer a few pointers on the common principles of movement techniques under the guise of discussion."

Watching Lin Ye's earnest yet slightly clumsy attempts, Zheng Huai sighed inwardly, feeling that he needed to find a chance to help him. However, he wasn't particularly skilled in movement techniques himself, let alone the most difficult D-rank martial art, so he could only offer simple guidance.

He couldn't do much more than that.

However, that evening, after finishing his meal, Lin Ye arrived at an open space next to the Martial Arts Pavilion to continue pondering the Lost Track Steps.

Compared to the afternoon, his footwork now seemed a fraction more fluid, and he had a deeper grasp of that "interweaving of reality and illusion" sensation.

After another clumsy practice session, the panel appeared.

[Lost Track Steps · Entry (1/300)]

Finally, he had reached the entry level.

Lin Ye exhaled slowly. In an instant, a wealth of insights regarding the Lost Track Steps flooded his mind, giving him a more profound understanding of the technique—such as how steps must be synchronized with breathing, how body tremors were a method for measuring space, and the need to grasp spatial orientation in real-time.

However, when he looked at the panel, he suddenly realized that the difficulty of the Lost Track Steps was greater than basic martial arts like the Rolling Stone Fist; it required 300 proficiency points just to reach the entry level, and presumably, subsequent levels would require even more.

Just then, a familiar figure passed by. Class monitor Li Weiwei had just finished dinner and was planning to walk it off when she saw Lin Ye pondering his footwork in the open space.

"Lin Ye, are you practicing new footwork? Is this...?"

Li Weiwei came from a martial arts family, so her eye for talent was naturally sharp. Furthermore, the Lost Track Steps had distinct characteristics, and after taking a few more looks, she had her suspicions.

Hearing this, Lin Ye stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said candidly, "The Lost Track Steps."

"It really is the Lost Track Steps?!"

Seeing Lin Ye admit it, Li Weiwei's clear eyes widened slightly, a trace of surprise flashing across her face. "You really borrowed the Lost Track Steps?"

"Yeah, I read the introduction and thought it was suitable, so I borrowed it."

"Is there a problem?"

Lin Ye nodded, not feeling that there was anything inappropriate about borrowing the Lost Track Steps.

Li Weiwei opened her mouth, then hesitated. She was sensitive and immediately shared concerns similar to Zheng Huai's. If she said directly, "This footwork is very difficult, you might get half the result with double the effort," it might dampen Lin Ye's enthusiasm too much, which didn't befit her role as class monitor.

After all, Lin Ye had already begun practicing.

Furthermore, she was well aware of the cultivation specifications provided by the school: only one D-rank martial art could be borrowed, and it could not be exchanged.

Seeing Lin Ye looking at her, she began weighing her words, trying to figure out how to gently remind him without hurting his feelings.

"Lin Ye, what are you two doing?"

"Don't tell me you're chasing the class monitor?"

At this moment, a rather hearty voice cut in. Lin Ye looked over to see Zhang Zhen.

Zhang Zhen happened to be passing by and, seeing Li Weiwei talking to Lin Ye, he wandered over, his gaze shifting between the two.

"Zhang Zhen, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Li Weiwei glared at Zhang Zhen. "I was just watching Lin Ye practice his footwork, so I was curious and came over to take a look."

"Footwork, huh."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhen had a sudden realization. "I remember now, I caught a glimpse of it this afternoon, it was quite unique."

"Yeah, the Lost Track Steps."

Lin Ye nodded.

"Oh, the Lost Track Steps... wait, what did you say? The Lost Track Steps?"

"The footwork you're practicing is the Lost Track Steps?"

Hearing Lin Ye say this, Zhang Zhen finally reacted, looking quite surprised.

"Is there a problem?"

Lin Ye was puzzled; why were both of them reacting so strangely?

"It really is that one."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhen's voice rose slightly, carrying a hint of disbelief and a touch of amusement. "Not bad, Lin Ye, going for a high-difficulty challenge right out of the gate? Among the D-rank footwork techniques in our school, Lost Track Steps is notorious for being difficult to master. It has incredibly high requirements for spatial awareness and mental power. Many people spend ages practicing it without even getting through the door, eventually having no choice but to switch to something else."

"Why did you choose this one?"

Lin Ye was slightly stunned upon hearing this, not expecting such a reputation.

The manual had mentioned it was difficult, but he truly hadn't known it was "notorious for being difficult to master."

When he was choosing, he had only thought about what fit his needs and hadn't considered that aspect at all, nor had he delved into the training difficulty of this martial art.

However, he quickly regained his composure.

Difficult?

With the Proficiency Panel, no matter how hard it was, there was a clear progress bar. Even if entry required 300 proficiency points, 300 was just 300; he would just accumulate it bit by bit. It was nothing more than spending a little more time and effort.

He had full confidence in his own patience and the reliability of the panel.

"Is that so?"

"I didn't really compare them at the time; I just felt it was suitable, so I chose it."

Lin Ye's tone was calm, showing no ripples. "Difficult things have their own ways of being practiced."

Zhang Zhen was choked up by Lin Ye's calm demeanor, recalling how he had once wanted to practice it himself, only to be stopped by his elders at home.

They had explicitly told him he wasn't cut out for practicing Lost Track Steps.

Damn!

"Fair enough, difficult things have their own ways of being practiced."

"What suits you best is the best."

Li Weiwei smiled slightly at Lin Ye. While her eyes signaled Zhang Zhen to stop talking, her tone was gentle and supportive. "Footwork training cannot be rushed; it's important to grasp the 'intent' of that movement. If there's anything you don't understand, you can... well, we can all exchange ideas."

She had originally wanted to say "you can ask me," but considering the difficulty of Lost Track Steps, she felt that would be overestimating herself, so she changed her words on the fly.

"Thank you, Class Monitor."

Lin Ye nodded in acknowledgment. Seeing that Li Weiwei had spoken, Zhang Zhen found it hard to say anything else, so he pursed his lips and left.

"Mm, keep it up."

Li Weiwei nodded, then turned and walked away, leaving the open space quiet once again.

Lin Ye watched their retreating figures, understanding in his heart that the difficulty of Lost Track Steps was likely indeed beyond the ordinary.

But so what?

He had a cheat!