Big Dipper Club

It wasn't until one day that Lin Xiuwen suddenly showed up at his rented apartment after ten that night.

Zhang Shuai had been studying his Introduction to Philology course when Lin Xiuwen arrived in the middle of the night. He was very surprised, and naturally couldn't help having some unusual thoughts.

Holding Lin Xiuwen close, he kissed her for a long while and was just about to carry her to the bed.

But Lin Xiuwen said seriously, "Zhang Shuai, don't. I came because there's something important I need to tell you!"

Seeing her serious expression, Zhang Shuai asked in confusion, "What is it that you had to come tell me in the middle of the night?"

"First, tell me how your research on the Small Heavenly Cycle Art is going."

Zhang Shuai said bitterly, "I haven't made much progress. I keep feeling there's too little information I can use. The writing in the cultivation manual is practically an entirely new language. With so little information, it's hard to decipher."

Lin Xiuwen said gently, "Don't rush. Take your time. Maybe I can help you!"

Zhang Shuai looked at her in surprise. "You can help me? You're not a philology major, so how could you help? And I'm not bragging, but even though I've only been studying for a little over two months, there probably aren't many students at your whole university who know more about philology than I do..."

Lin Xiuwen believed him. She didn't think he was bragging. After all, Zhang Shuai had a photographic memory. How could he not learn quickly?

"I came today to tell you something. Starting tomorrow, I'm leaving school to join the 749 Bureau!"

Zhang Shuai's eyes widened in shock. "You're going to the 749 Bureau?"

"That's right. I joined the school's Big Dipper Club two months ago and started practicing Big Dipper Long Fist. In the past couple of days, I realized that I might have developed a sense of qi, so I told my uncle-in-law about it. He's the school's vice principal, and he took it very seriously. He contacted the 749 Bureau directly. This afternoon, someone from the Bureau came to the school and secretly tested my abilities..."

"You passed the test?"

"Yeah. A 749 Bureau officer asked if I wanted to join the Bureau for further training. I agreed. A car will come to pick me up first thing tomorrow morning!"

A storm raged in Zhang Shuai's heart. He'd learned about the 749 Bureau from the USB drive belonging to the Japanese spy. He knew it was where the Dragon Kingdom secretly trained cultivators. He never expected that his girlfriend would be going there too.

It took Zhang Shuai a while to speak. "We have a cultivation manual. We can decipher it and cultivate on our own. That way, we'd be free. If you go to the 749 Bureau, you'll have to follow their rules. How is that as free as cultivating by yourself?"

"I've thought about that. I think joining the 749 Bureau could be good for us. Maybe they've already fully deciphered the Small Heavenly Cycle Art, or maybe they have other cultivation resources we don't know about. Once I'm there, I might be able to get you the manual sooner so you can start cultivating."

Zhang Shuai fell silent. Lin Xiuwen was right. The strength of one person could never compare to that of the state. He could sense that Lin Xiuwen's mindset had changed since before the semester began. Perhaps practicing Big Dipper Long Fist and discovering how much stronger she'd become had given her a fervent desire to seek the Dao and cultivate immortality as soon as possible.

"Xiuwen, what do you mean by a sense of qi?"

"It's like feeling a mysterious warmth inside my body. Whenever I start running or exert myself, that sensation lets me unleash astonishing speed and strength. In today's test, I ran the hundred meters in 8.56 seconds, breaking the world record..."

A hundred meters in 8.56 seconds? That was nowhere near as fast as Zhang Shuai. He could run it in under five seconds now.

Both of them had undergone changes that pushed the limits of the human body because they practiced Big Dipper Long Fist. The state was promoting Big Dipper Long Fist on a massive scale. It probably wasn't just about getting the whole population in shape; it might also be a way to select people with the potential to cultivate immortality.

But if they were both practicing Big Dipper Long Fist, why was Zhang Shuai stronger than Lin Xiuwen?

Zhang Shuai thought it might be because he could charge himself with electricity.

Whatever the reason, since Lin Xiuwen had chosen to join the 749 Bureau, Zhang Shuai could only respect her decision. He himself had no intention of joining. When he'd first come from the countryside to Qingshui City, he'd been bullied and gotten into a fight that landed him at the police station. But the officers' attitude toward him and the way they'd handled the matter had left him deeply dissatisfied, souring his opinion of all government departments.

He had a fire burning inside him. Even without joining the 749 Bureau, he could cultivate immortality by himself—and he wouldn't be any weaker than her!

The next day, Lin Xiuwen slipped away from campus without a word. From then on, Zhang Shuai devoted himself entirely to deciphering the Small Heavenly Cycle Art.

That morning, Zhang Shuai arrived at the multimedia classroom ten minutes early to attend Professor Wang Songlin's Introduction to Philology lecture.

As usual, he chose a seat in the last row. Two male students in front of him were chatting.

Zhang Shuai had sharp hearing, and he overheard them by chance.

"Haitao, have you heard? The school's Big Dipper Club is recruiting. Are you going to sign up?"

"I'm not eligible. You have to be able to perform all seventy-two moves of Big Dipper Long Fist in one continuous sequence to join. I can only do the first thirty-six. I can't do the last thirty-six at all."

"Same here. I can't do the last thirty-six either. What a shame. I heard the Big Dipper Club has great benefits and tons of beautiful girls. After New Year's, members can even go to Beijing University for an exchange event on Big Dipper Long Fist, and the club covers the travel expenses!"

"I just wonder why the school cares so much about Big Dipper Long Fist. Shouldn't studying be our priority?"

"Big Dipper Long Fist is no ordinary martial art. Haven't you seen the news online? A girl's body changed after she started practicing it. She can lift a hundred-kilogram weight with one hand, and she can run a hundred meters in under ten seconds. She's already broken the women's sprint world record."

"Of course I saw it. You mean that internet celebrity, Feng Chunzi? She gained a million followers with a video of herself lifting a hundred-kilogram barbell with one hand, and a bunch of media outlets reported on it. But I don't believe the news. There are way too many fake stories these days."

"It shouldn't be fake, right? The General Administration of Sport sent people to witness the woman's hundred-meter sprint and one-handed barbell lift, then posted an official confirmation on Weibo that Feng Chunzi's results were real. Surely they wouldn't fake that?"

"Anyway, I won't believe it. A woman lifting a hundred kilograms with one hand? You couldn't make me believe that."

"Don't believe it? Then have you heard about Li Feng from our student union? He's incredible now. His hundred-meter time is supposedly under nine seconds, and his physical strength is absurd."

"I've been wondering about that. For the past month or two, I keep hearing these unbelievable stories. Have these people really changed because of practicing Big Dipper Long Fist? Is it really that miraculous?"

"Haven't you noticed how the government has been promoting Big Dipper Long Fist? Every university has a Big Dipper Club now. And it's not just universities—elementary, middle, and high schools, vocational schools, factories... Everyone's practicing it. If the country is putting so much effort into promoting Big Dipper Long Fist, don't you think it's because it has miraculous effects we don't understand?"