Qin Yan

Handsome Guys' Registration Desk.

Pretty Girls' Registration Desk.

March, Martial Calendar Year 2025. Xia Kingdom, Jianghai Province, Linhai City.

Linhai No.1 Senior High School.

Inside the senior-year teaching building.

Classroom after classroom was so quiet that only the soft scratch of pen tips against paper remained.

The students bent over their desks, writing furiously.

Sweat slid down from their temples, soaking one corner of their exam papers.

But on closer inspection, one would find that what they were feverishly writing was not mathematics, physics, or chemistry.

It was all kinds of martial arts theory—

Outline of Qi and Blood Enhancement, Chronicles of Martial History, Three Barriers of the College Entrance Exam...

Everything was related to "martial arts."

Behind the teaching building, a Gymnasium stood quietly.

It covered five thousand square meters, yet there were no spectator stands or tracks inside.

Only one wall was grimly lined with all manner of cold weapons—gleaming blades, chilling spear tips, swords and halberds standing in silence.

This was the training ground for martial arts students.

At that moment, nearly a hundred students stood in the posture of the Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar.

Their arms were raised high, their feet rooted to the ground.

Their training uniforms had long been drenched in sweat, yet not a single person dared slack off.

Everyone's gaze drifted, intentionally or otherwise, toward the burly, mountain-like figure at the front of the field.

"Your legs! How many times have I told you?

Your force needs to penetrate and sink! Are you stepping on cotton?"

Coach Gu Feng wore a stern expression as he pointed at one student's calf. "Let your qi and blood flow into the soles of your feet and take root like a tree! Again!"

"Your waist and abdomen are loose, and your force isn't reaching the ground! Your foundation is floating!"

"..."

He walked between the rows, his gaze sharp as lightning.

Not even the slightest mistake from the students escaped his eyes.

Until his gaze settled on the figure at the end of the formation.

It was a straight-backed youth, around six feet tall.

He could not be called handsome, but his features were well-proportioned and upright.

His movements were so standard that they looked like a textbook demonstration.

His arms were steady as boulders, his lower body sank like a mountain, and even his breathing carried a unique rhythm.

A nearly imperceptible trace of satisfaction appeared on Gu Feng's stern face.

"As expected of Qin Yan. Judging by that stance, his Stance Training has probably reached the Third Layer already, right?"

"Probably. Otherwise, Class Monitor Gu wouldn't be smiling."

"Still, it's a pity that Qin Yan developed too late.

Compared to the Elite Class, the gap in his qi and blood and Martial Arts Skill is still too great."

"And there are only three months left until the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam. It'll still be far too difficult for him to get good results in the exam."

Today, there was one and only one method for selecting talent in the Xia Kingdom and across all of Blue Star—the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam.

From their first year of high school onward, all students had to cultivate the foundational Stance Training uniformly taught by the state—the Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar. This stance had been developed by Xia Kingdom's greatest experts.

It had a total of five layers. The higher the layer, the more terrifying the efficiency of qi and blood tempering, making it most suitable for laying a foundation.

Other than Qin Yan, not a single student present had reached the Third Layer.

"Alright! That's it for today's Stance Training. Rest!"

Gu Feng's voice echoed through the Gymnasium.

The students looked as though they had been granted amnesty, their faces filled with the joy of relief.

They relaxed one after another, rubbing their aching arms and legs.

Gu Feng was the most senior coach at Linhai No.1 High School.

Not only did he teach Ordinary Class 1 in the senior year, he was also the coach of the Elite Class.

More importantly, he was a Martial Artist!

His instruction was strict, and none of the students present dared to be negligent.

All the students present began resting and relaxing.

Only Qin Yan remained in his standard posture, completely motionless.

"Yan Ge, you're working way too hard, aren't you?"

A boy came over and said between breaths, "Class Monitor Gu already called it."

"Two hours of stance training every day is basic practice."

Qin Yan smiled faintly. "Zhou Yuan, go rest first. I'll finish after another ten minutes."

Zhou Yuan had been in the same class as him for all three years of middle school.

After entering high school, they had also been desk mates for three years, and their relationship was very good.

"Alright, Yan Ge. I'll wait for you in the Skill Training Area."

With that, Zhou Yuan left.

"Nine minutes left."

Qin Yan continued standing in a straight-backed stance as sweat ran down his forehead.

Nine minutes later, Qin Yan slowly withdrew his stance and stretched his slightly sore muscles and bones.

"Two hours of spear practice in the morning, two hours of stance training. The first four hours of cultivation for today are complete."

Then Qin Yan focused his mind, and within his field of vision, a panel appeared that no one else could perceive—one that only he could see.

[Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar: Third Layer (87%)

Qi and Blood: 66 Cal

Spirit: 41 Hz

Spear Technique: Level One (66%)

Skill Points: 1

[Note: As long as you work hard, there will be rewards]

This panel had awakened half a month ago when Qin Yan had raised his Spear Technique to Level One.

At first, Qin Yan thought it was the "system" or "golden finger" mentioned in webnovels from the old civilization.

Later, after repeatedly confirming it, he discovered that it barely counted as half a golden finger.

Because it had never reacted to anything Qin Yan said.

It was also through a series of coincidences that Qin Yan figured out the purpose of this data panel.

As long as he practiced martial arts skills for a total of four hours every day.

Whether it was Stance Training or practicing Spear Technique or fist techniques, he could gain one Skill Point.

If he persisted for eight hours, he could gain two points.

Qin Yan had immediately done what he had seen in webnovels.

He tried adding points to his qi and blood, but nothing happened.

His Spirit value did not change in the slightest either.

Not until Qin Yan added one Skill Point to his Stance Training.

His Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar rose from second layer (57%) to second layer (67%).

He immediately understood the purpose of Skill Points.

After that, he cultivated for four to eight hours every day, obtaining one or two Skill Points daily.

It was not that he did not want to train harder.

It was simply that stance training and martial arts skills consumed a great deal of physical and mental energy. If he trained too long, he would be unable to endure it.

Even so, he had gained tremendously over the past half month.

His Stance Training had reached the Third Layer, and his Spear Technique had improved as well.

Coming back to himself, Qin Yan headed toward the skill training area on the other side of the Gymnasium.

"I'm about to get tortured by Class Monitor Gu again, Yan Ge. My life is miserable."

When Zhou Yuan saw Qin Yan approach, he handed him a bottle of water and said with a miserable expression.

Qin Yan took it with a smile. "Teacher Gu Feng is doing it for our own good.

Without him, our Martial Arts Skill wouldn't have improved this quickly."

"Besides, don't you want to get into Linhai Martial University?

With Teacher Gu's guidance, your Martial Arts Skill can at least pass Linhai Martial University's admission cutoff, right?"

Linhai Martial University was the only martial arts university in Linhai City.

Although it was not highly ranked nationwide, it was still a genuine martial arts university.

One had to know that students who could get into a Martial University had always been exceedingly rare.

More than ten million candidates took the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam across Blue Star every year.

Yet fewer than two hundred thousand ultimately entered the gates of a Martial University.

As the best high school in the city, Linhai No.1 High School had more than two thousand students.

Yet only one-tenth of them successfully entered a Martial University each year.

The road to a Martial University had always been a narrow log bridge.

"Yan Ge, I'm just saying. Getting tortured by Class Monitor Gu feels incredible."

"Just thinking about it has made my big spear hungry and thirsty."

A burst of subdued laughter rang out through the training hall, and the atmosphere relaxed somewhat.