Monthly Exam Approaches

After resting for a moment in high spirits, Qin Yan left the gymnasium and headed home.

His steps were light along the way, as though a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

As he neared the residential complex, he spotted that familiar figure again from afar.

Qin Xiaoxi saw her brother too, and her large eyes immediately lit up as she jogged over to him.

"Qin Yan!"

Every night, without fail, his little sister waited for him to come home. It always touched the softest part of Qin Yan's heart, and the exhaustion of the day seemed to be healed in an instant.

"Xiao Xi, let's go home," he said softly, with a rare gentleness in his voice.

"Why are you so late today? Did you secretly do extra training again?"

Qin Xiaoxi leaned closer, wrinkling her nose and sniffing around him like a puppy. "You reek of sweat. Remember to take a bath when we get home."

"Alright, alright. I'll wash up as soon as I get in."

"More like it! Hurry up, Mom saved you a late-night snack. If you don't eat it soon, it'll get cold!"

Qin Xiaoxi skipped ahead to lead the way, her ponytail swinging merrily in the night breeze.

The siblings chatted and laughed as they walked home together.

After getting home, Qin Yan quickly washed up and ate. After briefly greeting his parents, he returned to his room as usual.

His family had long grown accustomed to it. Becoming a Martial Artist was simply too difficult.

Back in his room, once he shut the door, the calmness on Qin Yan's face was instantly replaced by excitement.

He hurried to his desk, took a deep breath, and slowly pulled open the drawer.

Inside, twelve bottles of dark crimson Blood Qi Potion lay neatly arranged, gleaming with an enticing luster.

Ten had been bought with the twenty thousand Huaxia Coins his father had given him, one had been bought with money his parents had scraped together this month by living frugally, and one had been saved from last month. Everything he had was here.

Success or failure would be decided in one stroke!

Without hesitation, Qin Yan grabbed a bottle, unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and gulped it down in several swallows.

As soon as the potion entered his stomach, it swiftly erupted into a blazing torrent within his body!

Qin Yan immediately moved to the center of the room and assumed his stance—his arms held up as if supporting something, his feet gripping the floor. The perfected Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar began operating instantly!

Buzz!

It was as if some floodgate inside him had opened. His blood qi surged at an unprecedented speed, frantically drawing in the potion's energy.

His skin visibly turned red at an alarming rate. Wisps of white steam rose from every pore across his body, and even the temperature in the room seemed to rise slightly.

This effect... is too powerful!

Qin Yan was stunned.

The absorption efficiency of perfected Stance Training was more than several times greater than the third level he had practiced before!

What had originally taken nearly an hour to barely absorb was now greedily devoured by his body in less than fifteen minutes!

After absorbing one bottle, Qin Yan could clearly feel his blood qi becoming more active and increasing. Yet when he checked the System Panel, his blood qi value remained at 67 Cal, without immediately breaking through.

That was normal. Increasing blood qi required accumulation. If growth could be seen so easily, the path of a Martial Artist would not be so difficult.

Without pausing for even a moment, Qin Yan picked up the second bottle of Blood Qi Potion and swallowed it again!

Another fifteen minutes passed, and the second bottle's medicinal power was fully absorbed. This time, the number on the System Panel finally changed—Blood Qi: 68 Cal!

It worked!

Qin Yan's gaze became incomparably blazing as it fell upon the ten remaining bottles of Blood Qi Potion in the drawer.

"Tomorrow is the Monthly Exam... Whether I can charge into the top ten of the grade and obtain that reward depends on you!"

He reached out and firmly grabbed the remaining potions.

This would be a sleepless night.

But it would also be the night Qin Yan broke free from his cocoon and soared, his strength surging tremendously!

The next day, Qin Yan walked out of his room refreshed and alert. There was not a trace of fatigue from staying up late in his eyes. Instead, they gleamed with restrained sharpness, while his aura seemed even more steady and profound.

As usual, he silently left home at four in the morning. His figure merged into the still-sleeping city, resolute and solitary.

After arriving at school and entering the empty gymnasium, he picked up his spear once more and began his morning training with complete focus.

Only after two hours of cultivation did he head to the cafeteria for breakfast.

50 Huaxia Coins vanished in an instant.

By the time he finished breakfast, it was nearly seven o'clock. The cafeteria gradually became livelier as students arrived one after another to eat.

"Yan Ge, you're here so early again."

Zhou Yuan carried a nutritious meal over and casually sat across from Qin Yan. Smiling, he said, "Yan Ge, did you secretly do extra training this morning? Is that why you came so early?"

Qin Yan smiled. "You figured it out."

"Hehe, how long did you train?"

"Two hours."

"Yan Ge, that joke isn't funny at all."

"I'm not joking."

"Alright then, Yan Ge. I believe you."

But Zhou Yuan's expression clearly showed that he did not believe a word of it.

Qin Yan: "..." He shook his head helplessly, knowing that such a thing really was hard for others to fully believe.

After finishing their meal.

The two left the cafeteria and followed the crowd toward the school's main athletic field.

Today was the day of the Monthly Exam, and the first event, the blood qi test, would be held on the athletic field.

The closer they got to the field, the more solemn the atmosphere became.

The road was almost entirely filled with hurried third-year high school students. Every face bore varying degrees of nervousness and anticipation.

There were quiet discussions, murmured self-encouragement, and friends patting one another on the shoulder in support.

When they arrived at the field, all they could see was a dense sea of heads.

Each class stood in its assigned area, their lines arranged fairly neatly.

"Qin Yan, over here!"

Following the voice, Qin Yan saw Lin Yang standing at the front of Class 1's line and waving at him.

As the class's top overall student, he naturally stood at the front.

The two quickly headed toward their class's line.

"Morning, Lin Yang," Qin Yan greeted him.

After greeting him, Qin Yan began chatting with Lin Yang.

"Qin Yan, do you see those ten big silver-gray things on the field?"

Qin Yan looked in the direction he pointed.

In the center of the field stood ten pod-shaped instruments with a distinctly high-tech design, lined up in neat rows.

Their streamlined bodies were silver-gray, their pod doors tightly shut. The words "Martial Arts Bureau Certified" were clearly printed on their sides. Behind each pod was a massive electronic display, its screen still dark as it awaited the activation of data.

"These are the latest version of the Qi-Blood Detection Pods."

Lin Yang's voice carried a hint of solemnity. "They're exactly the same specifications as the ones that will be used for this year's college entrance examination. The school is following the college entrance examination standards completely this time, so the margin of error is extremely small.

"When you're tested, you just need to lie inside and circulate your blood qi with all your strength. The final value will be displayed in real time on the screen behind it, where everyone can see it."

He paused, and a trace of barely noticeable nervousness entered his tone. "My blood qi was 78 Cal during the last test. I wonder how much progress I've made this time..."