The Battle Art Room

Just as they stepped out of the Office, a Club Member came over and relayed the message Zhuang Xuan had asked them to pass on.

Upon hearing it, Xue Hang and Su Yi exchanged a glance, both seeing the other's speechlessness.

He was heading down to the Underground Cave just like that?

It was so hasty that Su Yi found it hard to understand.

Xue Hang, however, understood somewhat. Neither he nor Zhuang Xuan had been down to the Underground Cave before, but they had long been prepared. They simply had not reached Third-Rank High Stage yet, which was why they had not gone down.

He was not some useless coward too afraid to cultivate. Though Xue Hang did not get along with Zhuang Xuan, he still acknowledged that much.

It was true that martial artists were not drafted until they reached the Mid Grade realm.

But at a Martial University, if you had reached Third-Rank High Stage and still had not gone down to the Underground Cave, that was unacceptable. In the eyes of the school, your classmates, and even your instructors, it was a disgrace!

That was why some people remained stuck at Third Grade Mid Stage, and it was usually difficult to tell.

Who could know whether someone was deliberately holding back or truly had not broken through?

If he wanted to go, then let him go. Maybe he really was too ashamed to face anyone.

Then let the blood of those Underground Cave brats wash away the face he had lost today!

Once he killed enough, it would no longer count as anything shameful—merely a few weathered traces from a hero's past.

Xue Hang was also considering whether he should enter the Underground Cave himself. If Zhuang Xuan died, then so be it. But if he did not die, would he not mock Xue Hang to death?

Before long, the two walked out of the Martial Arts Club's gates.

Xue Hang said, "I'll transfer Zhuang Xuan's 200 Credit Points to your Martial Arts Certificate later. As for the bets below the stage, excluding the two others who bet on you to win, I made another 300 Credit Points.

"I'll give you half. That makes 350 Credit Points in total. Remember to check it later."

"Ah! Senior Brother, that—"

Before Su Yi could finish, Xue Hang cut him off. "Enough. Be more straightforward like a man. I only won by riding your coattails in the first place. That's it—I've got things to do too!"

With that, he ignored Su Yi, turned around, and headed back into the Martial Arts Club.

Su Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry. There were even people who rushed to shove money into his hands.

Su Yi scoffed inwardly at Xue Hang's talk of riding his coattails. Xue Hang had used his own Credit Points as the wager, and Su Yi truly had not intended to take any of it.

If he had not been involved himself, he might even have wanted to place a bet.

Well, if Xue Hang insisted on giving it to him, then he would accept it.

After leaving the Martial Arts Club, Su Yi headed straight for the Battle Art Room.

He had been craving the Battle Art Room for a long time!

Building 3, South District.

Battle Art Room.

Few people could enter the second floor of the Battle Art Room, while the first floor had no real restrictions.

Su Yi handed his Martial Arts Certificate to the person in charge at the front desk. The man casually took it without looking up, but the moment he flipped it open, his eyes lit up.

Su Yi?

He raised his head for a look, and sure enough, it was Su Yi!

Smiling, he said, "Isn't this this year's top newcomer? So, which Combat Method are you here to borrow?"

The question made Su Yi feel a little awkward. It was not because of the title of top newcomer—he did not care what people called him.

The key was that ordinary students came here with a clear purpose, usually to find a Combat Method recommended by their instructors. He had long since cultivated a Mid Grade Combat Method, and Wu Kuishan had not recommended any new Combat Method to him.

Perhaps Wu Kuishan believed that two Combat Methods were enough for the Third Grade realm, and that it would be better to reach Fourth Grade quickly and cultivate High Grade Combat Methods.

Su Yi had not come for just one Combat Method.

He wanted them all.

Su Yi scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly, "Can I study inside? I cultivated a Mid Grade Combat Method long ago. I just want to take a look at some other Combat Methods. Is that alright?"

The person in charge of the Battle Art Room paused, then asked, "What kind of Combat Method are you looking to study?"

I want to look at them all.

Su Yi shouted inwardly, but his expression did not change in the slightest. "I plan to look at Leg Techniques and Fist Techniques first."

"Fist Techniques are in the third row, Leg Techniques in the fourth."

The person in charge said this as he registered Su Yi's Martial Arts Certificate.

After thanking him, Su Yi walked into the Battle Art Room.

He looked around. As expected of decades of accumulation—there were more than twenty rows of books.

Even though every Combat Method came with extensive materials, there should still be several hundred Combat Methods here!

He first went to the shelf for Fist Techniques and began flipping through the materials.

Broken Jade Fist!

The first page contained the name of the Fist Technique, along with an introduction.

Written by Magic Martial Academy instructor—Guan Xingde.

A graduate of Magic Martial Academy's Class of '67, he stayed on as faculty after graduation.

He was Sixth Grade Mid when he created this method, making it a Mid Grade Combat Method!

Guan Xingde... Su Yi seemed to have heard that name before.

When he was little, he seemed to have overheard some instructor mentioning it in passing.

Guan Xingde had died in battle!

The memory was too distant, and Su Yi could not be certain. Shaking his head, he continued reading the theoretical explanations and breakdown of the combat method below.

In essence, Mid Grade Combat Methods were all broadly similar. The only difference was in the techniques for exerting force through explosive bursts of Blood Qi.

Since Su Yi had already learned a Mid Grade Combat Method, he could skip some of the knowledge he was already familiar with.

An hour later, Su Yi finished reading the entire combat method and happily set the book down.

He turned and began looking through other combat methods.

The Book of Knowledge's restoration progress jumped directly from 4.65% to 5.1%.

Just like the previous two Mid Grade Combat Methods, it had increased by 0.45%.

However, after finishing the second fist-based combat method, Su Yi's heart sank slightly.

5.32%.

The increase had been cut in half.

Just as expected! Su Yi thought. He knew it would not be that easy.

Combat methods of the same type did not differ greatly, so there would not be much knowledge to absorb either.

Forget it. He had expected this already.

Su Yi walked straight to the next counter, the one for Leg Technique combat methods.

He began flipping through the combat methods.

5.64%.

It had risen by 0.32%.

Could this be because he had practiced Leg Techniques before?

Leg Techniques and movement techniques had things in common; only the aspects they emphasized were different.

If that was the case, Su Yi felt somewhat powerless.

If he kept reading combat methods for a while and the absorbed knowledge reached a certain amount, would the restoration progress stop increasing altogether?

After reading several basic fist-and-kick combat methods in succession, Su Yi decided to take a look at weapon-based combat methods.

He did not choose sword techniques. Instead, he turned his attention to blade techniques.

Bloodburst Mad Blade!

A blade technique created by Zhang Dingnan!

Bloodburst Mad Blade was different from the Falling Blossom Sword. The Falling Blossom Sword had many sword moves, but its core lay in explosive bursts; sometimes, a single move could directly unleash one's Blood Qi and decide victory or defeat.

The meaning of Bloodburst Mad Blade was clear from its name alone.

It was a savage blade technique that continuously erupted with Blood Qi.

There were seven slashes in total, each more explosive than the last. By the seventh slash, it was life or death.

After all seven slashes were unleashed, no matter how much Blood Qi one possessed, it would all erupt with the final slash.

It was actually somewhat easier to cultivate than the Falling Blossom Sword.

Its final move, the Seven Slashes as One, was comparable to a perfected Falling Blossom Sword.

It was impossible to say which combat method was stronger or weaker; it was simply a matter of personal suitability.

It still depended on the person using the combat method. Blood Qi, Meridians, internal organs, bones, skin—different factors produced different explosive combat methods.

The true essence of combat methods lay in controlling one's Blood Qi.

About an hour later, Su Yi finished reading the combat method materials.

6.09%!

That was another increase of 0.45%.

Su Yi's eyes brightened slightly. It seemed he needed to first read more combat methods of different types.

After reading four combat methods in a row, Su Yi's mind felt somewhat exhausted.

The knowledge recorded in the Book of Knowledge required Spiritual Power.

Although Su Yi's Spiritual Power was now close to 600, he still could not quite endure it, especially since he had used Spiritual Power during his spar with Zhuang Xuan.

He returned to his dormitory and began resting to recover his Spiritual Power.

Aside from sleeping and resting, low-grade martial artists had no other way to restore Spiritual Power. Only at the stage of Essence Blood Unity could one nourish Spiritual Power with Blood Qi—cheaters excluded, of course.

Su Yi did not have a cheat-assisted recovery method like Fang Ping.

His was only a minor cheat. As everyone knew, minor cheats didn't count as cheating.

So Su Yi hadn't cheated; he had relied entirely on himself.

Six in the evening.

After resting for nearly two hours, Su Yi was awakened by a knock on the door and opened his eyes.

Though he had not rested for long, his Spiritual Power had recovered considerably. At the very least, he no longer felt as exhausted as before.

He lazily opened the door. Wu Duoduo was standing outside.

Seeing Su Yi looking as though he had only just woken up, Wu Duoduo became a little flustered.

She truly hadn't known Su Yi would be resting at this hour. This was dinnertime!

Had she disturbed Senior Brother's rest? Would Senior Brother get angry with her?

Nervously clutching the corner of her clothes, Wu Duoduo lowered her voice apologetically. "Sorry, Senior Brother. I didn't know you were resting."

Leaning against the doorframe, Su Yi lazily waved a hand. "Junior Sister, is there something you need help with?"

Wu Duoduo lightly bit her lip and said softly, "I was about to go to the cafeteria for dinner. Senior Brother, would you like to come with me?"

Su Yi was rather surprised. With Wu Duoduo's shy personality, she was actually inviting him?

Come to think of it, he had barely eaten anything all day.

Su Yi nodded. "Sure. Let's go together."

After locking the door, they went downstairs to the cafeteria together.

Demon City Martial University had many cafeterias. There were three in the Dormitory Area alone.

On the way there, things were much the same as before. Most of the time, Su Yi spoke while Wu Duoduo listened.

But Su Yi was gradually getting used to it. That was simply her personality.

It was not something that could change overnight. Once they spent more time together, she should grow more comfortable.

As they talked, the two arrived at the Second Cafeteria.

Magic Martial Academy's cafeterias were lavish, not the sort with crude four-person tables connected to their seats.

There were no waiters here to take orders, though. Instead, it used a self-service model.

The food looked quite good, and the first-floor cafeteria was free.

Su Yi did not linger on the first floor at all, instead taking Wu Duoduo straight up to the second floor.

The second floor charged for meals, and customers could order dishes, including medicinal cuisine that greatly helped replenish Blood Qi.

Since this was his first time treating his Junior Sister, being stingy would not do.

After finding a table, Su Yi gallantly pulled out a chair and gestured for Wu Duoduo to sit.

Wu Duoduo's face flushed scarlet with embarrassment, and she hurriedly lowered her head and sat down.

As soon as they were seated, a waiter came over with a menu.

Taking the menu, Su Yi asked attentively, "Junior Sister, is there anything you can't eat?"

"N-No."

Hearing her voice, faint as a mosquito's buzz, Su Yi did not expect Wu Duoduo to order.

He casually picked several signature dishes, then ordered a few after-meal desserts girls liked.

While they waited for the food, the blush on Wu Duoduo's face still had not faded.

Su Yi was somewhat bewildered too. He had not done anything, had he? It was merely ordinary courtesy.

From the end of dinner until they returned to the dormitory, Wu Duoduo did not say a word.

The moment they reached the second floor, she hurried into her room and shut the door.

All she left behind was a single "Goodbye, Senior Brother," echoing down the corridor.