Detecting Blood Qi

Chen Lie did not bicker with his younger sister; after all, from the perspective of a normal person on Blue Star, his behavior was indeed unreasonable.

Missing a "Blood Essence Value Sprint Class" that cost over a thousand Star Dollars per session—if that didn't make him a spendthrift, what did?

"I really didn't have the time. You go ahead and train with your classmates; I have some things to attend to, so I'm leaving first."

With that, Chen Lie turned and walked out of the martial arts hall.

Chen Xingyao stood with her hands on her hips, looking indignant, but she did not chase after Chen Lie.

After all, with several classmates present, she didn't want to make a scene or become the butt of a joke.

"Uh, Yaoyao, how can you have that attitude toward your own brother?"

At this moment, Li Xianyu asked from the side.

"It was my mother who signed us both up for the 'Blood Essence Value Sprint Class,' and he's already missed it several times, so I couldn't help but lecture him a bit," Chen Xingyao said.

"Blood Essence Value Sprint Class?"

Li Xianyu was puzzled. Did a powerhouse at the senior's level really need to sign up for such a childish training course?

However, thinking about how the senior frequented places like the Sunlight Group and interacted with figures like the Pearl of the Eight Provinces, Zhao Jinglan, skipping class didn't seem like such a big deal by comparison.

"Come on, come on, let's stop talking about this and go practice together."

With that, a group of girls from the elite class pulled Chen Xingyao and Li Xianyu toward the training room.

Chen Xingyao practiced combat arts, while Li Xianyu practiced the Cloud Smoke Steps.

After an afternoon had passed, the group of girls gathered to leave the martial arts hall and head home.

As they walked past a Blood Essence Detector, Li Xianyu suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Eh, Yuyu, why did you stop?"

The girls behind her noticed Li Xianyu standing still and couldn't help but ask.

"I... I want to test my blood essence value again," Li Xianyu said.

"Huh? Didn't we just have a unified test a few days ago? Could it be that your blood essence has improved again?"

Li Xianyu shook her head and said to her classmates nearby, "Wait for me, I'll be right back."

Recalling that Teacher Qu had judged a few days ago that her blood essence value would soon break 1, Li Xianyu suddenly wanted to know if her blood essence had increased.

It was just that she had only focused on practicing the Cloud Smoke Steps for the past few days and hadn't done any other training, so it was very likely her blood essence had remained stagnant.

Li Xianyu stepped into the cabin of the Blood Essence Detector and began the test.

After a beam of light scanned her, the Blood Essence Detector began to broadcast the results.

"Beep. Detection complete. Blood essence value: 0.98 cal."

Upon hearing the result, Li Xianyu felt a jolt in her heart.

She hadn't trained at all these past few days, so how could her blood essence value have risen on its own?

No wonder the instructors in class always emphasized that mastering a martial art would lead to a rapid surge in blood essence value.

Stepping out of the detector cabin, Li Xianyu saw her classmates looking at her in shock.

"Yuyu, how did your blood essence value increase so much? Wasn't it 0.91 cal just a few days ago? You're almost at 1 now!"

Li Xianyu said, "It's because I mastered a C-grade martial art, which is why my blood essence value was able to rise so quickly."

"You learned a martial art? So mastering a martial art really can make your blood essence value surge! By the way, was this martial art taught to you by that sister of yours in the Elite Class? That's amazing!"

Hearing this, Li Xianyu looked at Chen Xingyao with a complex expression.

She found that Chen Xingyao had a stiff face and looked quite unhappy.

Li Xianyu thought about it and realized it made sense; after all, when two people who had always been rivals suddenly saw one pull ahead, anyone would feel unhappy.

However, if it were possible, she would rather trade places with Chen Xingyao; Chen Xingyao was the one sitting on a gold mine without knowing how to use it.

After parting ways with her classmates, Li Xianyu returned home.

Upon arriving, she found both her parents were there.

"Mom, Dad."

"Yuyu is back? How was Teacher Qu's Cloud Smoke Steps guidance class?"

Li Xianyu's mother asked upon seeing her.

Li Xianyu tilted her head slightly: "Mom, I have good news to tell you. My blood essence value has reached 0.98 cal. I'll be able to break 1 cal soon and start using Blood Essence Fluid!"

"What? Wasn't your blood essence measured at 0.91 just a few days ago? How did it get to 0.98 so fast? Is this for real?"

Li Xianyu's mother was a bit skeptical.

"If you don't believe me, look, I got a certificate from the Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall. I just tested it at the hall, and it can even be checked on the Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall's official website!"

As she spoke, Li Xianyu handed the certificate to her mother to see.

After reading it, Li Xianyu's mother couldn't help but ask: "How did your blood essence value suddenly rise so much?"

Li Xianyu immediately explained, "A few days ago, when I went to sign up for the Cloud Smoke Steps Guidance Class, I ran into the older brother of one of my classmates.

He told me that for just 100,000 Star Dollars, he could tutor me and help me master the Cloud Smoke Steps to the point of effortless application."

"Wait, are you saying that instead of signing up for Teacher Qu's Cloud Smoke Steps Guidance Class, you gave that classmate's brother 100,000 Star Dollars to teach you?"

At this moment, Li Xianyu's father suddenly interrupted her.

"That's right," Li Xianyu said.

"Preposterous! To think he would even swindle a student's money. Come on, Yuyu, let's go find him together and get that 100,000 Star Dollars back."

Li Xianyu's father, who had been sitting in front of the living room coffee table, slammed his hand down and stood up abruptly.

"Dad, can you please let me finish first?"

Watching her father's hot-headed reaction, Li Xianyu couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.

Li Xianyu's mother also chimed in, "That's right, sit back down and let Yuyu finish what she has to say."

"Go on, Yuyu, ignore your father."

Li Xianyu nodded and continued, "My classmate's brother isn't actually much older than me. We are both students at the Provincial Key High School, so he counts as my senior.

Mom, you don't know how amazing this senior is. He demonstrated the Cloud Smoke Steps in front of me, splitting into over a dozen afterimages. Even the instructors at the martial arts gym haven't reached that level, which is why I handed over the 100,000 Star Dollars right then and there.

And guess what happened? The senior only tutored me for two days—no more than five hours in total—and he already had me practicing the Cloud Smoke Steps with complete ease."

"Really?" Li Xianyu's mother found it hard to believe.

Mastering a C-rank martial art in two days was simply a fairy tale.

"Of course it's true. Under the senior's guidance, I could feel my footwork improving by leaps and bounds every single moment.

It's precisely because I mastered the Cloud Smoke Steps that my blood essence value was able to increase so much all of a sudden."

"So, are you saying this classmate's brother is even more impressive than your older sister?"

Li Xianyu's mother couldn't help but ask. Since they were both students at the Provincial Key High School, how much of a difference could there really be? After all, her own eldest daughter was among the top tier of the elite students.

"How could my sister compare to the senior? I suspect that this senior of mine might be even more powerful than the members of the Provincial Youth Genius Group!"

"Impossible!" Li Xianyu's father asserted immediately upon hearing this. "The only people more powerful than the Provincial Youth Genius Group are other members of the same group. But out of the twenty or thirty million teenagers in the entire Dongchuan Province, how many actually make it into that group?

Members of the Dongchuan Provincial Genius Group enjoy preferential access to the province's martial arts resources; why would they covet your 100,000 Star Dollars?"

"Hmph, I saw with my own eyes that Zhao Jinglan, the president of the Sunlight Group—the 'Rising Star of the Business World and Pearl of the Eight Provinces' seen on TV—was incredibly respectful toward the senior. Can members of the Provincial Youth Genius Group do that?"

Li Xianyu's mother was puzzled and asked, "What exactly did you see? Tell Mom in detail."

"The day before yesterday, the senior took me to the Sunlight Group to handle some business, and that's when I learned he was a guest of honor for the president.

Zhao Jinglan personally hosted us right there in the Sunlight Group's cafeteria.

In the middle of it, a member of the Provincial Youth Genius Group named Xu Yuanhao wanted to meet with Zhao Jinglan. Her assistant even urged her to see him, saying that Xu Yuanhao was a seed for a Grandmaster and a member of the Xu Family.

But Zhao Jinglan refused outright, saying that being a seed for a Grandmaster didn't guarantee one would actually become one, and that she was busy hosting the senior and had no time to see Xu Yuanhao."

After Li Xianyu finished speaking, her parents looked at each other, both seeing the disbelief in the other's eyes.

"Then why didn't you invite this senior home for a meal?" Li Xianyu's mother asked.

"I did, but the senior refused because he is too busy. I feel like the five hours he spent tutoring me in the Cloud Smoke Steps were squeezed out of his incredibly packed schedule," Li Xianyu said.

"According to what you're saying, your classmate's aptitude must be very high as well, right?"

"Our blood essence values have always been about the same. But today I noticed that her relationship with her brother is quite poor. She probably hasn't been tutored by the senior much, otherwise, her blood essence value would have left me in the dust long ago."

"That is strange. Mom hasn't heard your sister mention anyone that impressive in the Elite Class either."

Li Xianyu's mother was very puzzled.

She didn't doubt for a second that her precious daughter would lie to her. If even the president of the Sunlight Group, Zhao Jinglan, was willing to humble herself to befriend him, then his martial arts aptitude must be truly heaven-defying.

"Regardless, I only mastered the Cloud Smoke Steps because of the senior's guidance. As for my sister? She can only teach me some basic combat techniques."

Li Xianyu curled her lip.

People shouldn't be compared. She used to think her sister was amazing, but after meeting Chen Xingyao's brother, she only felt that her sister was disappointing, only able to show off in the Elite Class.

"True. In that case, your progress in blood essence will accelerate significantly. Your father and I will order some Blood Essence Fluid for you immediately. Let's strive to break through a value of 3 and join the Elite Class as soon as possible!"

Li Xianyu's mother encouraged her.

On the other side, Chen Lie returned home and found that his mother, Feng Yuelan, was also there.

Seeing Chen Lie, Feng Yuelan said, "Chen Lie, you need to step up your training. If your blood essence value doesn't break 3 and get you into the Elite Class within a month, you have to listen to Mom and start taking the Blood Essence Fluid."

"I know."

Chen Lie nodded, not showing the elite student ID to his father.

Because his progress in blood essence was too contrary to the common sense of Blue Star and exceeded the inherent understanding of its citizens, his mother certainly wouldn't be able to accept it. Therefore, Chen Lie planned to wait for a while and find a suitable opportunity to confess to his mother later.