Cultivation

Qin Nansheng soon arrived at the Magic Martial Academy Logistics Exchange.

By chance, he ran into Li Changsheng, who had just exchanged for some pills and was about to leave.

After greeting each other, they went up to the person in charge. "Old Chen, help me customize a sword—Longquan Style, 1.1 meters long, made of C-Grade alloy."

"A sword? Nansheng, who are you having this customized for? If I remember right, your kid isn't that old yet."

The instructor in charge of the exchange was named Chen Bo'an, a Sixth Grade martial artist.

Chen Bo'an asked in confusion. Qin Nansheng only had one child, who should not even be ten this year.

Qin Nansheng replied with a cheerful grin, "It's for Su Yi, Mingjie's kid. He broke through to martial artist after his Third Bone Tempering."

Su Yi? Chen Bo'an had met him once. Though he did not interact much with Su Mingjie, they were instructors at the same school, so he knew a little about him.

Besides, after Su Yi achieved his Third Bone Tempering some time ago, Qin Nansheng had not made a great fuss about it, but he often bragged before acquaintances that he had taught a Third Bone Tempering student.

As a result, many instructors at the school had learned of this genius and were considering how to take this talented student under their wing.

But Qin Nansheng gave no response, saying he would let Su Yi make his own choice, and so the matter was left at that.

And now, barely ten days later, he had already broken through?

Chen Bo'an frowned. "You're getting him a C-Grade alloy sword just after he became a martial artist? Nansheng, aren't you spoiling him a little too much?"

It was only at the Fourth Grade Realm that one began choosing C-Grade weapons. What use would a First Grade Martial Artist have for one?

Qin Nansheng looked utterly helpless. "It's what he wants. He says he wants one that will last longer. I originally didn't plan to agree, but then I thought about it—he did achieve his Third Bone Tempering. Cultivating through the Lower Three Grades won't take him long, so I agreed."

Fine then. Since Qin Nansheng had considered it, Chen Bo'an said no more.

"C-Grade alloy is forty Credit Points per kilogram. For a 1.1-meter Longyuan Style sword, it should be 7.5 kilograms—three hundred Credit Points. I won't charge you the customization fee. Come pick it up in five days."

"Also, get me twenty Second-Grade Qi-Blood Pills and ten Body Tempering Pills."

"Second-Grade Qi-Blood Pills are twenty Credit Points each, so twenty come to four hundred Credit Points. Add the three hundred Credit Points for ten Body Tempering Pills, and that's one thousand Credit Points altogether."

After totaling up the resources Qin Nansheng wanted to buy, Chen Bo'an looked surprised. "These are all for Su Yi? Second-Grade Qi-Blood Pills, Body Tempering Pills... Good lord, does he temper his bones that slowly?"

That should not have been the case. Chen Bo'an truly could not understand why Su Yi, who had achieved Third Bone Tempering, would need these pills.

"No, he's very fast. In the three days since his breakthrough, he's already successfully tempered two foot bones."

"What? Then why are you buying all this?"

Two foot bones in three days? What kind of speed was that? Even if foot bones were not large, it should not have been possible to go that fast.

Even for someone with Third Bone Tempering, one bone in three days was already incredibly fast.

Chen Bo'an looked as though his entire worldview had been shattered.

Li Changsheng, who was standing nearby and had yet to leave, could still accept it. No matter how fast bone tempering was, it only concerned the Lower Three Grades. A martial artist still had to speak with combat strength.

With such rapid cultivation, he definitely had not trained any Battle Arts.

Qin Nansheng fully understood the expression on Chen Bo'an's face. He said slowly, "Mingjie and his wife's deaths had a deep impact on Su Yi—or rather, they became an obsession for him.

I promised him before that I would tell him everything once he reached the Third Grade, so..."

The atmosphere immediately grew much heavier. Though Qin Nansheng did not finish, everyone understood what he meant.

Chen Bo'an silently nodded.

"That's fine too. But he still can't neglect Battle Arts. If he only cultivates Qi-Blood without cultivating Battle Arts, then even if he reaches Third Grade, there'd be no point in going there."

At that, Qin Nansheng perked up. Holding up two fingers, he said with obvious pride, "In two months, he not only achieved Third Bone Tempering, but also reached Major Achievement in Basic Sword Technique, Minor Achievement in Leg Technique, and Minor Achievement in Fist Technique."

"What?"

The two of them could no longer remain calm. They knew Su Yi had been stuck at Second Bone Tempering for two months before breaking through.

But they had never heard that he had also trained so many Battle Arts during that time.

A person's energy was limited. How could he temper bones and train Battle Arts so quickly at the same time?

Qin Nansheng said with a sigh, "He has very high talent for sword techniques. He reached Major Achievement without much training. What a pity he refuses to learn the saber. Sabers are so good—fierce and domineering."

At first, they had intended to teach Su Yi the saber, but he preferred the sword because Su Mingjie himself had practiced swordsmanship.

Most Battle Arts had principles in common. If he had such talent for sword techniques, his saber techniques should not have been bad either.

That made Li Changsheng somewhat unhappy.

The saber was good, so the sword was not?

Learning the sword was far better—graceful and elegant. More than half of Magic Martial Academy used swords.

Unlike you saber-learning blockheads, a whole pack of reckless brutes.

Still, such an excellent seedling for the sword path made even Li Changsheng, who had never taken in a new student, feel a little tempted.

Should he try leading a class of new students?

"Nansheng, how about letting that kid take me as his master?"

"You? Forget it."

Qin Nansheng shot the supremely confident Li Changsheng a look of disdain.

Li Changsheng was certainly strong, but his personality wasn't suited to teaching students.

That disdainful look nearly broke Li Changsheng's defenses. He snarled, "What kind of look is that? Am I not strong enough?"

His Longevity Sword was famed far and wide. As a Fifth Grade, he had fought Sixth Grades, suppressing countless people until they could not lift their heads.

"Your strength is decent, but have you ever taught students? With your personality, how could you possibly settle down and teach?"

How could Qin Nansheng trust Li Changsheng? The man spent practically all his time in the Underground Cave and had never taught a student to this day. Letting him teach Su Yi—wouldn't that be setting the kid up for failure?

"Nansheng, that's not right. Everyone has a first time teaching students! How do you know I can't teach? A genius like this should be entrusted to me. I guarantee I'll train up a Little Longevity Sword for you to see."

"We'll talk about it later. He can decide for himself whom he wants to choose."

Qin Nansheng did not care about Li Changsheng's reaction. He took the pills, swiped the card, and left directly.

Having received the pills, Su Yi naturally learned that Li Changsheng wanted to take him on as a student.

Hearing Qin Nansheng complain that Li Changsheng was unsuited to being a teacher and that he absolutely could not choose him, Su Yi silently nodded.

Li Changsheng truly was unsuitable. Su Yi's targets were Huang Jing and Wu Kuishan.

Huang Jing had already broken through to Grandmaster and was now the Dean of the Weapon Academy. He probably did not have any spare energy to take on disciples.

Wu Kuishan was still at Sixth Grade Peak, and there had been no news of his breakthrough. However, according to the original work, it should be soon.

Su Yi had also learned from Qin Nansheng that Wu Kuishan should still be serving as a freshman mentor this year.

What puzzled Su Yi somewhat was that he remembered Wu Kuishan seeming to have broken through to Grandmaster first. Never mind—perhaps he had remembered wrongly, or perhaps things had changed because of the butterfly effect.

Time always passed quickly during cultivation. In the blink of an eye, it was April 29th.

Over these past few days, with resources piled upon him, Su Yi's bone tempering had reached 30 bones.

He only needed to finish tempering the remaining thigh bones to complete One-Limb Tempering.

He had successfully broken through to martial artist on the 8th, and by the 11th, he had only tempered two foot bones. Yet now, in 19 days, Su Yi had tempered 27 bones, including the comparatively difficult kneecaps and long shin bones.

The remaining thigh bones should take another two or three days.

Name: Su Yi

Realm: First Grade Martial Artist

Qi-Blood: 226 Cal/285 Cal

Mentality: 284 Hz/336 Hz

Bone Tempering: 30 bones (90%), 1 bone (45%), 175 bones (30%)

Knowledge: Basic Cultivation Method—Tempering Method {Optimization +2}; Horse Stance {Optimization +1}—Battle Reality Realm; Basic Fist Technique—Minor Achievement;

Basic Leg Technique—Minor Achievement; Basic Sword Technique—Major Achievement {Optimization +1};

...

Energy: 992 points

Damage Status: 3.75%

Using Body Tempering Pills truly had a huge effect. His physical strength had increased considerably, and even before completing the tempering of one limb's bones, his Qi-Blood had reached 285 Cal.

In 19 days, he had used 11 Second-Grade Qi-Blood Pills, 5 Bone Tempering Pills, and 10 Body Tempering Pills.

Sure enough, taking shortcuts required burning money. He would have to ask Uncle Qin to help him buy more Body Tempering Pills.

With 520 Credit Points, at this rate, tempering all his Lower Limb Bones would cost more than thirty million in total.

The remaining cash should only be enough to support his cultivation up to Third Rank.

The terrifying expenditure made Su Yi's scalp tingle.

On the other hand, his energy accumulation had increased considerably. He could gain more than forty energy a day now. It seemed the school's publicity was indeed quite effective.

After finishing his cultivation, Su Yi went to the nearby Artificial Lake again to practice treading water.

His Stake Standing was about to break through. From repeatedly falling into the water because he could not find his center of gravity at first, Su Yi's control over his balance had grown increasingly deft.

"Splash."

Distracted for a moment, Su Yi fell into the lake once again.

Ignoring the people in the distance watching for entertainment, he continued practicing.

More than an hour later, Su Yi finally reached the Void Standing Realm.

Taking a step and leaping, he trod on the air, soared upward by borrowing its force, landed on the shore, then turned and left.

That night.

Su Yi went to Qin Nansheng's to collect Body Tempering Pills. Qin Nansheng spent nearly half an hour encouraging him, then stuffed a bottle of Second-Grade Qi-Blood Pills and the completed sword into Su Yi's hands before forcibly shoving the Su Yi who wanted to refuse out the door.

Looking at the already closed door of Qin Nansheng's home, Su Yi could only carry the pills and Dragon Abyss Sword home.

After organizing the pills and weapon, Su Yi began packing his clothes. Although Detection Point No.1 was not far from home, going back and forth would delay his cultivation too much. Besides, the school had arranged unified lodging and meals.

From the physical examination at Detection Point No.1 to the Specialty Exam on the 10th, it would take quite some time.

The Martial Arts College Entrance Exam was nothing more than a breeze to Su Yi.

What mattered was what it represented: a ticket into Martial Arts University.

Though he refused to settle for an ordinary life and had embarked on the path of a martial artist, how could there not be fear lurking deep in his heart?

This was Su Yi's weakness, and he knew it well himself.

After all, he had never lived through any of it. Even if he knew what the plot held ahead, what use was that? Without the courage to act, everything was empty talk.

What was more, Fang Ping's rise was still more than a decade away. Who knew how things would develop over those ten-plus years?

The unknown was what terrified people most.

Besides, this was not a world where knowing the plot would automatically be useful. Without strength, one could gain nothing.

Perhaps he might let his guard down during a mission and be killed in return. Or perhaps, after reaching Third Rank, he might grow overconfident, enter the Underground Cave, and die inside.

Su Yi was afraid of death too. Who wasn't?

He only wanted to live—to live well by relying on himself.

Without the Book of Knowledge, Su Yi would at most cultivate to Third Rank, attaining a sufficiently lofty status without needing to risk his life.

Who knew whether this world would truly unfold according to the original plot? He trusted only his own strength.

If he could possess strength like the Sun God's, then even if this world were destroyed, so what?

He could still venture into the chaos and seek out other planets of life.