A Genius's Way of Training

After Chen Lie left, seeing that it was still early, Li Xianyu continued practicing at the Martial Arts Hall.

Using the center of the Drill Ground as her starting point, she performed a full set of Cloud Smoke Steps by herself.

With her Cloud Smoke Steps improving rapidly, she seemed to sense its true essence. It was as though she had become a wisp of green smoke, a drifting cloud, weaving back and forth across the training ground.

After completing the set of Cloud Smoke Steps, Li Xianyu was stunned. "I actually performed an entire set of Cloud Smoke Steps perfectly?"

It seemed that she had truly brought this C-Rank Martial Art to the beginner level.

She had practiced for more than half a year before this and had only barely counted as an outsider. Without an instructor guiding her, it had been impossible for her to perform the entire set of Cloud Smoke Steps. Even with a teacher beside her, mistakes had constantly cropped up during practice, leaving her halting and disjointed.

Yet after just two hours of Chen Lie's guidance, she could now perform the entire set of Cloud Smoke Steps alone without a single mistake.

Had Chen Xingyao's brother passed his own training insights on to her?

Her improvement was visible to the naked eye. Was this how geniuses trained? As expected, it was nothing like a fake genius like her—the kind her parents, teachers, and classmates always talked about.

Such obvious progress filled Li Xianyu with even greater motivation. She kept practicing Cloud Smoke Steps, hoping to improve further.

However, without Chen Lie's guidance, she could no longer enter that divinely inspired training state from earlier. Still, she was becoming increasingly proficient in Cloud Smoke Steps.

Just as Li Xianyu was immersed in practicing Cloud Smoke Steps and unable to pull herself away, she suddenly heard a voice.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Li Xianyu hurriedly stopped practicing and looked toward the source of the voice.

A short-haired middle-aged man was watching her, lightly applauding.

"Instructor Qu?"

Li Xianyu's expression tightened as she immediately recognized him. He was Qu Xinyou, the instructor for the Cloud Smoke Steps Guidance Class she had wanted to enroll in yesterday.

"Oh, so it's student Li Xianyu. I was just wondering who had managed to practice Cloud Smoke Steps to such a refined level."

Upon seeing Li Xianyu's face, Qu Xinyou nodded slightly.

"Hello, Instructor Qu."

Li Xianyu greeted him respectfully.

This Instructor Qu, Qu Xinyou, was a mentor for the Elite Class at a provincial key high school and worked part-time as an instructor at Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall.

Li Xianyu only knew that Teacher Qu was her sister's mentor in the Elite Class. Because of her sister, she had enrolled in Teacher Qu's fragmented Cloud Smoke Steps Guidance Class sessions more than once.

"A few days ago, your sister came to me for a letter of recommendation for the Cloud Smoke Steps Guidance Class. Yesterday, I was wondering why you hadn't brought the letter to enroll in my Cloud Smoke Steps Guidance Class. So it turns out you had secretly trained Cloud Smoke Steps to this level on your own.

"That makes sense. Now that you've basically grasped Cloud Smoke Steps, I'm afraid there isn't much I can teach you even if you came to me.

"It seems your talent is even a little stronger than your sister's," Qu Xinyou said.

"Thank you for the praise, Instructor Qu." Li Xianyu nodded slightly.

Qu Xinyou asked again, "So, what's your Blood Qi Value now?"

"The school measured it recently. It was 0.91 Ka."

Qu Xinyou nodded repeatedly. "I watched from the side for a while. You only just grasped Cloud Smoke Steps, didn't you?"

"Yes."

Qu Xinyou said, "Now that you've grasped a C-Rank Martial Art, your Blood Qi Value will definitely advance by leaps and bounds in the near future. Train diligently during this period, and make sure you keep up with your nutrition. If my judgment is correct, your Blood Qi Value will definitely break through 1 Ka within ten days.

"When you get home, have your parents immediately prepare the Blood Essence Fluid and supplements you'll need after your Blood Qi Value breaks through 1 Ka. Strive to enter the Elite Class before winter break.

"If you don't have an Elite Class mentor in mind by then, how about enrolling under my name when you advance to the Elite Class?"

Break through 1 Ka within ten days? Enter the Elite Class before winter break?

Li Xianyu was somewhat dazed. Had her Blood Qi Value really started improving so much faster?

Her parents' plan for her had been to break through 1 Ka within two months after the start of the winter term, then break through 3 Ka and enter the Elite Class before the end of the second semester of her first year. That plan had already put her under tremendous pressure. She had never dared imagine that she could advance ahead of schedule.

"Oh, all right. I'll think about it. Thank you, Instructor."

Qu Xinyou nodded. "It's getting late, and the Martial Arts Hall will be closing soon. Practice for a little while longer, then go home. Improvement in Cloud Smoke Steps cannot be achieved overnight, especially for someone like you who has already initially grasped the footwork."

"All right." Li Xianyu nodded.

After offering Li Xianyu a few more instructions, Qu Xinyou left the Drill Ground of the Martial Arts Hall.

After Qu Xinyou left, Li Xianyu continued practicing Cloud Smoke Steps.

She thought that since she had only just started, she needed to practice more while the iron was hot.

After practicing for a while, Li Xianyu checked the time and found that the Martial Arts Hall was nearly closing, so she decided to head home.

When she reached the main entrance on the first floor, she suddenly recalled what Qu Xinyou had said: mastering a C-Rank Martial Art would raise one's Blood Qi Value. Unable to resist, she turned around and walked toward the Blood Essence Detector inside the Martial Arts Hall.

Her teachers and parents had all told her not to measure her Blood Qi Value too frequently, or it would affect her mindset. It was best to test once a month. It had been less than five days since her last measurement, and she had not trained at all during those days. Under normal circumstances, her Blood Qi Value could not possibly have increased.

But remembering what Qu Xinyou had just told her, she decided to try once. It was only one test. Even if her Blood Qi Value had stayed the same, it probably would not affect her mindset.

She entered the cabin of the Blood Essence Detector, and the machine began emitting light as it scanned Li Xianyu's body.

Before long, the scan was complete, and the result began to play.

"Beep. Test complete. Blood Qi Value: 0.94 Ka."

When the cabin of the Blood Essence Detector opened, Li Xianyu was completely dumbfounded.

"0.94 Ka? How did my Blood Qi Value suddenly increase by so much?"

After stepping out of the Blood Essence Detector's cabin, Li Xianyu stared blankly at the striking red numbers above the machine.

After all, even if she trained intensely for three consecutive days until she was exhausted every day, she might not gain 0.01 Ka in Blood Qi Value. Besides, at her age, her body could not withstand the burden brought by three days of high-intensity training.

Her Blood Qi Value had clearly just risen to 0.91 Ka, yet without training, it had reached 0.94 Ka again within just a few days.

More importantly, the increase of 0.03 Ka was only the beginning.

Was this the Blood Qi Value feedback that mastering a C-Rank Martial Art brought to the body?

She thought of how she had mastered a C-Rank Martial Art after receiving less than two hours of guidance, then thought of how the senior who had guided her was her classmate's brother.

With a brother like that, wouldn't Chen Xingyao be able to receive this kind of guidance all the time?

"Chen Xingyao, you really are lucky."

She and Chen Xingyao were indeed close classmates. They usually studied and trained together; otherwise, she would not have asked Chen Lie to help her wait in line.

But beneath the surface, they were also fierce rivals. Their academic results were at the same level, and when people spoke of the top two students in the Key Class, they meant the two of them. Even when they broke through the 0.9 Ka threshold, they had only been one day apart.

They were said to be the top two of the Key Class, but neither of them wanted to fall behind and become second place.

Now, she had mastered a C-Rank Martial Art after two hours of guidance, and her Blood Qi Value had surged. Yet Chen Xingyao had always received this kind of guidance, but her Blood Qi Value was still only on par with hers.

Li Xianyu could not help suspecting that Chen Xingyao's natural talent was actually not that impressive. Perhaps it was only because she had a brother who could guide her martial arts training that her Blood Qi Value could keep pace with Li Xianyu's?

After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Li Xianyu drifted home in a daze.

When she entered, Li Xianyu saw her older sister, Li Muge, standing in front of the Practice Room.

"Yuyu, you're back? Didn't you want to learn Combat Arts a few days ago?

"Your sister has been busy these past few days and couldn't spare the time, but I'm free today. Come on, I'll teach you in the Practice Room."

The moment she saw Li Xianyu, Li Muge walked up to her.

Her muddled thoughts instantly cleared. Li Xianyu rolled her eyes at Li Muge and pursed her lips. "Combat Arts is the only thing you know."

With that, Li Xianyu returned to her room without even looking back.

"Huh?"

Li Muge looked utterly bewildered.

She was a top student in the Elite Class. In the past, her younger sister had always respected her and often clung to her for guidance in martial arts training. Why did it feel like her sister was looking down on her today?