Exotic Beast Meat

Everything that happened in the classroom went unnoticed by Chen Lie, who was lost in thought.

It was not until the dismissal bell rang that Wang Hui came over to Chen Lie and patted him on the shoulder.

"Chen Lie, what are you spacing out for? School's over. Want to play a couple rounds at the Virtual Experience Pavilion?"

Chen Lie stood up and shook his head. "No, I'm going home."

"Hey, wait! The blood qi test report from when we went to the Martial Arts Hall the day before yesterday is out. I'll give it to you."

As he spoke, Wang Hui handed Chen Lie a paper report.

Chen Lie took it and looked down. A set of figures leapt off the page.

Name: Chen Lie

Bone Age: 17

Blood Qi Value: 0.93 Ka

Strength: 2.89 Jun (43.35 kg)

After leaving the school, Chen Lie looked at the bone age of seventeen on the report, and his heart stirred. "I really came back..."

In his previous life, his martial arts talent had not been outstanding. It could only be considered average, and his Blood Qi Value had not broken through 1 until three months before the college entrance examination.

Even after his family spent a fortune buying him all kinds of expensive supplements, he had only barely managed to enter an ordinary provincial martial arts university. He did not become a First-Order Martial Artist until he was twenty-one.

Over just a few years of martial arts training, he had consumed several times the resources his younger sister had. He had nearly drained the family's wealth, turning them from a well-off household into one drowning in debt.

"This life will definitely not be the same!"

Chen Lie muttered to himself. The Blue Star where he lived was merely an insignificant planet in a remote star region under the jurisdiction of the Central Galactic Empire.

The Central Galactic Empire had been founded upon martial strength. Its Order Army roamed the stars, the surrounding barbaric races submitted, its dynasty endured, and its martial fortune flourished. Its territory encompassed more than ten thousand life-bearing planets.

Although Blue Star was under the Central Galactic Empire's jurisdiction, the development of its martial civilization was not even one ten-thousandth of the Empire's. Blue Star was simply too remote. It had only entered the interstellar age within the past century and was still at the initial stage of martial civilization.

In his previous life, Chen Lie's martial cultivation had reached the realm of a Ninth-Order Grandmaster, enough for him to travel proudly through the stars. That was why he had been fortunate enough to glimpse a dazzling corner of the Central Galactic Empire.

In his previous life, he had served as a steward in the Scripture Library of the Martial Arts Academy in Taia Star Province, one of the Central Galactic Empire's ten great star provinces. He had been responsible for organizing the academy's various martial arts texts.

His mind held martial arts knowledge that the Central Galactic Empire had developed countless tens of thousands of years ahead of Blue Star. Compared to the Empire's advanced martial civilization, Blue Star's martial arts were practically still in an uncivilized primitive age.

Those who could enter the Martial Arts Academy of Taia Star Province, even ordinary students, were the most exceptional geniuses from major planets. As for the academy's top students, calling them universe-level prodigies would not be an exaggeration.

And Chen Lie, with the memories of his previous life, was qualified to stand on the same starting line as those prodigies.

It was no exaggeration to say that on the path of martial arts, he only needed to put in a little effort to leave Blue Star's strongest martial arts geniuses far behind.

Following the route in his memories, Chen Lie returned home.

As soon as he pushed open the door and entered, the first thing Chen Lie did was look around at the placement of the furniture and appliances.

"It still looks exactly as I remember."

Chen Lie took two steps forward and saw his younger sister, Chen Xingyao, curled up on the sofa, watching experts explain martial arts on television.

"Chen Lie, you're back? Dinner will be ready soon. Go wash your hands first."

Chen Lie turned and saw a young woman in an apron. This was his mother, Feng Yuelan.

It had probably been seventy years since he had last seen his mother.

"Oh, got it, Mom."

Chen Lie suppressed the complicated emotions in his heart and went to wash his hands. By the time he came back out, his younger sister Chen Xingyao was already waiting at the dinner table.

Feng Yuelan brought the dishes and rice to the table one by one, untied her apron, and sat down as well.

"Chen Lie, did the results of your blood qi test at the Martial Arts Hall come out?" Feng Yuelan asked.

"They did. 0.93 Ka."

As soon as Feng Yuelan heard that, she said, "Still 0.93? Mom remembers that your Blood Qi Value was already 0.93 Ka when you tested at school last month, wasn't it?"

Chen Lie merely nodded and gave a quiet "Mm."

At that moment, Chen Xingyao, who had been eating, suddenly put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked at Chen Lie. "Then aren't you useless? It's been almost a month, but your blood qi hasn't even gone up by 0.01 Ka. You're a senior in high school, yet your Blood Qi Value is about to be overtaken by mine, and I'm only a freshman.

Mom, I think Chen Lie should just give up martial arts. Studying liberal arts would be fine too."

Feng Yuelan immediately glared at Chen Xingyao and scolded, "Watch your mouth, Yaoyao. Is that any way to speak to your brother?"

Chen Xingyao pursed her lips, unconvinced.

Feng Yuelan looked at Chen Lie with worry in her eyes, though she hid it well as she said, "It's all right. Your father and I discussed it. We'll buy some Exotic Beast Meat for you two. Exotic Beast Meat is very helpful for increasing blood qi. While it isn't as effective as Blood Essence Fluid, it won't leave any hidden dangers in the body."

When Chen Xingyao heard that, she immediately said, "Exotic Beast Meat? Isn't that really expensive? My classmates said that a pound of Exotic Beast Meat is selling for nearly twenty thousand Star Dollars now. It's also extremely scarce. Even if you have money, you might not be able to buy it."

"It's not that exaggerated. I'll have your father call in a favor and buy ten pounds to send over first," Feng Yuelan said.

As for Exotic Beasts, if he did not count the experiences of his previous life, Chen Lie had never seen a living one.

About seventy years ago, when Blue Star had first come into contact with interstellar civilization and acquired martial arts knowledge, Exotic Beasts had appeared alongside it.

The moment Exotic Beasts appeared on Blue Star, they destroyed more than a dozen human cities. Millions died because of them. Later, the military mobilized and quickly suppressed the Exotic Beasts.

At first, the people of Blue Star believed Exotic Beasts were a gift from heaven.

That was because Exotic Beast flesh and blood were incredibly valuable. Ordinary people could increase their blood qi by eating it, while the flesh of higher-level Exotic Beasts was a great tonic even for Martial Artists.

However, as time passed, the beast tides grew stronger and stronger. A few Exotic Beasts even began to appear that could threaten the lives of Grandmaster-level Martial Artists.

It was not until twenty years ago that Blue Star's human leadership finally began to take Exotic Beasts seriously, continually mobilizing troops and building defensive lines to resist their invasion.

According to the news, Exotic Beasts were constantly surging out from underground in the Kunlun Ruins, located in Blue Star's Northwest.

As Exotic Beasts gradually grew stronger and more difficult to hunt, their meat had become something with demand but no price on the market. Even through connections, ten pounds of Exotic Beast Meat would cost at least over a hundred thousand Star Dollars, nearly half the savings of a moderately well-off family.

"But Brother and I both have Blood Qi Values that are still too low. Wouldn't eating Exotic Beast Meat this early be too wasteful?

I heard that only when your Blood Qi Value exceeds 3 can you barely absorb the energy in Exotic Beast Meat," Chen Xingyao said.

Feng Yuelan sighed. How could she not know that giving the children Exotic Beast Meat now was wasteful? But the college entrance examination was drawing near, and her son's Blood Qi Value still had not reached 1. She could not help but worry.

At that moment, Chen Lie raised his head. "Mom, there's no need to rush to buy Exotic Beast Meat. I want to try a little longer."

"All right, then. Eat first."

Feng Yuelan nodded and agreed with Chen Lie, but she had already made up her mind. If Chen Lie's Blood Qi Value still could not break through at the next test, she would buy the Exotic Beast Meat no matter what.

After dinner, Chen Xingyao lay back down on the sofa in front of the television and continued watching experts explain martial arts.

"Yaoyao, what's your Blood Qi Value now?"

Chen Lie walked over to the sofa and asked Chen Xingyao.

Without even lifting her eyes, Chen Xingyao said, "0.91 Ka. What is it? Did hearing me say at dinner that my Blood Qi Value is about to surpass yours upset you? You usually never care about my Blood Qi Value."

Chen Lie nodded. Chen Xingyao was only fifteen, yet her Blood Qi Value had already passed 0.9. She might not be one in ten thousand, but she was certainly one in a thousand.

That was because martial arts training on Blue Star generally only began after the age of fourteen. Before fourteen, the bones and tendons in the body had not fully developed, and the body could not withstand intense training.

Only after fourteen could one begin cultivation and training, but even then, one could not train too intensely from the start. It could cause bodily damage and make it impossible to become a Martial Artist in the future.

Boys and girls of this age generally had Blood Qi Values below 0.3. Since they could not train too hard, their blood qi grew extremely slowly.

"I have a Body Tempering Technique here that's very helpful for increasing blood qi. Come on, I'll teach it to you in the Practice Room."

"You?" Chen Xingyao shot Chen Lie a disdainful look and shook her head. "Forget it. With that time, you should hurry up and raise your own Blood Qi Value.

Look how worried you've made Mom. Exotic Beast Meat isn't something people at our stage can use at all. Buying it would just be a waste."

Chen Lie shook his head. His Blood Qi Value was too low right now, so in his sister's eyes, his words carried little weight. Naturally, she did not take what he had just said seriously.

His decades of wandering through the stars in his previous life had taught him many things. When the strong spoke softly, their words could still strike like thunder. When the weak shouted themselves hoarse, people remained unmoved.