Legacy

The next morning.

The sky above Military Floating Land No. 17 remained a stifling iron gray, but the atmosphere in the entire Recruit Camp was completely different from the day before.

News of last night's underground Black Boxing Arena—where the recruit camp had scored a decisive victory and the winners took all—spread like wildfire to every corner.

The veterans, who usually looked down on the recruits and treated them as easy targets for amusement, had collectively gone quiet today. When they crossed paths with these recruits, now standing tall and proud, they deliberately averted their eyes.

As the epicenter of this storm, Jiang Yue had raked in a massive fortune last night, making him the undisputed big spender in the Recruit Camp.

However, Jiang Yue had no intention of hoarding it. Boosting his immediate combat power was the real priority.

As for Shen Qing, with that generous infusion of points to keep him afloat, he was sent to the military's advanced Medical Pod overnight and treated with the extremely costly Specialized Bone-Mending Repair Fluid.

In just one night, his broken and twisted arms had been reconnected. Though his face was still a bit pale and his arms were wrapped in fixed bandages, he had basically regained his mobility.

Inside the training room.

Jiang Yue sat cross-legged on the cold alloy floor, holding a thumb-sized, dark red crystal in his hand.

It was an Exotic Beast Blood Essence, similar in appearance to the one he had bought before.

Unlike coarse Exotic Beast meat, this was a pure energy crystal formed by draining the beast's entire vital essence and condensing it through military purification. The violent blood energy contained within was far greater than an equivalent weight of Exotic Beast meat.

An ordinary Quasi-Martial Artist, when absorbing such a Blood Essence, had to soak it in a special buffering solution and guide it in slowly, strand by strand.

If they dared to swallow it whole like a candy, the raging heat and energy would instantly burn through their internal organs!

But Jiang Yue didn't hesitate. He tilted his head back and swallowed the heat-radiating Blood Essence directly into his stomach.

He already had experience swallowing them before, and now that his traits had advanced, it was even less of a challenge.

The Blood Essence's energy, which would have rampaged wildly inside a normal body, was instantly suppressed and then crushed at a terrifying speed, transformed into the purest life foundation, and pumped violently into every limb and bone.

Jiang Yue closed his eyes. He didn't go punch a testing machine, but he could clearly feel his body undergoing a shocking, hidden transformation.

Under the nourishment of the vast blood energy, his muscle fibers didn't become bloated. Instead, they contracted and tightened, as if forged and twisted into thick steel cables.

A deep, tingling numbness spread from his bones, like ten thousand ants gnawing—the physiological feedback of his bone density skyrocketing.

But what surprised him most was the Skin Membrane covering his entire body.

Jiang Yue slowly opened his eyes and pressed his forearm.

The Skin Membrane on top was tough, no longer like skin, but more like a protective layer made of special material.

"Not far from the upper limit of a Quasi-Martial Artist..."

Jiang Yue clenched his fists, feeling the surging, destructive power between his knuckles. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Not far."

Though he had no specific numerical test, he had a strong intuition that his current power foundation had already stepped into a terrifying depth, and a true qualitative change could come at any moment!

Whoosh—

Jiang Yue let out a long breath of hot, turbid air, stood up, and pulled open the heavy airtight door of the Extra Training Room.

The moment he stepped out, Jiang Yue was slightly taken aback.

There, in the corridor outside, stood Shen Qing, his arms still wrapped in fixed bandages, standing as straight and still as a javelin, waiting silently. He had no idea how long he had been there.

Seeing Jiang Yue emerge, this usually aloof and eccentric martial arts fanatic, whose eyes held nothing but the way of combat, actually took a half-step back, bent at the waist, and gave Jiang Yue a deep bow.

"Last night... thank you." Shen Qing's voice was hoarse, but it carried an unmistakable sincerity.

He knew very well that if Jiang Yue hadn't stepped up as the final, decisive fighter last night, he would have lost all his points and, without timely high-level medical treatment, been reduced to a complete cripple.

Jiang Yue hadn't just saved his life and preserved his martial arts future; he had also allowed him to keep his dignity as a martial artist in front of the veterans.

Facing Shen Qing's grand gesture, Jiang Yue's expression remained calm. He simply said, "We each got what we needed. I stepped in because I had my eyes on the pile of points on the house's table. We're even now. Don't dwell on it."

With that, Jiang Yue prepared to walk past him.

Shen Qing straightened up, shook his head, and fixed his gaze on Jiang Yue. Suddenly, he threw out a topic: "Aren't you curious where I got that striking technique I used in the ring last night?"

Jiang Yue stopped and turned to look at him.

Shen Qing took a deep breath and confessed, "I'm not from one of those noble families in the capital that hoard top-tier potions and vast resources. My ancestors came from an 'Ancient Martial Arts sect' passed down from the old era."

"After the Great Crusade Era began, the Exotic Beasts descended, and Gene Ascension became the mainstream for all of humanity."

"Ancient Martial Arts, because they took too long to master, relied heavily on individual talent and insight, and couldn't be mass-taught in the military, were eventually sidelined by the military's highly efficient gene evolution system."

A trace of desolation and unwillingness flashed in Shen Qing's eyes. "My family's legacy has been in decline ever since."

"But I refuse to accept that this ancient martial art, a killing technique passed down for thousands of years, should just die out! I want to prove, in real life-or-death combat, that Ancient Martial Arts, combined with a high-level physical foundation, can unleash destructive power beyond common sense!"

Jiang Yue listened quietly, saying nothing.

The decline of Ancient Martial Arts wasn't because they were weak, but because they didn't fit the rhythm of war.

"Last night, from the sidelines, I only recited the formula to you once."

Shen Qing's gaze at Jiang Yue grew increasingly intense, even carrying a hint of fervor. "You hadn't even practiced it, yet in that split second of life and death, you perfectly channeled your power and executed a textbook 'Inch Power'!"

"Your comprehension, and your absolute control over your own body—you're the most terrifying monster I've ever seen in my life!"

Shen Qing took another deep breath and solemnly extended his olive branch: "You have a profound, beast-like physical foundation—that's your advantage—but you lack the exquisite striking techniques to channel that power."

"Relying on brute strength alone, in the upcoming Monthly Grand Exam, you'll easily be at a disadvantage against those noble scions who've mastered killing moves."

"To repay your life-saving grace, and to keep this ancient martial art from being lost to this era..."

Shen Qing straightened his back abruptly, speaking each word with deliberate weight: "I am willing to pass on to you, without reservation, the entire combat system of my family's inherited Ancient Martial Arts—the Inch Power, Combat Footwork, and Blood Energy Circulation Technique."

To impart the forbidden secrets in full!

This was a monumental opportunity that countless recruits in the camp wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Shen Qing took a deep breath. His face, still pale from his freshly healed broken bones, now turned profoundly solemn.

He looked at Jiang Yue and solemnly revealed the hidden truth of his family's legacy:

"The true name of this Ancient Martial Art I cultivate is—the [Six Harmonies Method]."