Combat Grade

Biodata

Power Progression

Overview

Combat Grade is the first major threshold in vitality development. Reaching it requires 20 Vitality, causing a minor qualitative transformation of the individual’s life level. Combat Grade fighters gain substantially improved physical capability and can begin using Martial Arts Energy through martial methods such as Rock Skin. 7 36 37

Combat Grade encompasses fighters with 20 to 39 Vitality. At 40 Vitality, a practitioner enters Professional Grade, a realm that extends to 70 Vitality. 7 51

Many Patrol Bureau officers, gang fighters, and prominent fitness coaches remain at this level. It is also the baseline qualification for many security-industry positions. 7 38

Within Superpowered Bureau combat teams, even the weakest formal members are generally at the peak of Combat Grade, while more powerful members are Professional Grade or above. 260

Requirements

• Vitality threshold: 20 points. 7 36
• Martial guidance: A practitioner requires a martial method capable of guiding life energy through qualitative transformation; without the realm of Rock Skin, one cannot control this power or cross the twentieth-Vitality barrier. 31
• Resources: Progress requires substantial nutrition and training. The costs of maintaining and advancing after the breakthrough rise sharply. 38 39
• Combat technique: At Gold-Stone Martial Arts Hall, practitioners must firmly master the first level of the Seven-Style Combat Arts to break through Rock Skin. 14
• Time limit: Gold-Stone Martial Arts Hall requires ordinary disciples to reach Combat Grade and break through Rock Skin within three months; failing to do so usually means leaving the hall. 21 30

Characteristics

Physical Transformation

Crossing into Combat Grade enhances more than raw strength. The fighter’s physique, endurance, recovery, speed, reactions, and burst power all improve as part of the qualitative transformation. 37

• A newly advanced Combat Grade fighter generally exceeds 200 kg of punching force. 36
• Lu Chao’s burst speed is stated to reach at least 10 m/s upon advancing. 36
• After Combat Grade, each additional Vitality point can add roughly 7–8 kg of strength, but such gains become much harder to achieve. 48
• Combat Grade strength is sufficient to overpower opponents using basic civilian bionic prosthetics, though such encounters can still cause injury. 43 45
• Civilian prosthetics can imitate portions of Combat Grade performance, including Combat Grade-level speed and leg strength or punching force of roughly 300 kg. 26

Martial Arts Energy

Combat Grade fighters awaken Martial Arts Energy, a warm current flowing through tendons, blood, flesh, and meridians. It is a special force comparable in quality to life energy or genetic source from other development paths. 37

• Martial Arts Energy must be guided through combat arts rather than used freely. 31 37
• Its effects depend on the martial art practiced. 37
• Deeper energy reserves enable broader or more sustained applications. 37
• Along the Fighter path, Martial Arts Energy is the decisive measure of a practitioner’s effective combat strength; its qualitative changes can produce an instinctively noticeable presence to stronger observers. 107

Rock Skin

Rock Skin is the Gold-Stone Combat Arts method obtained after reaching Combat Grade. It concentrates Martial Arts Energy into a body part—primarily the hands—to increase the hardness and toughness of skin and flesh. 37

• Can make the hands briefly resistant to bladed weapons. 37
• Allows a fighter to withstand much of the impact from a civilian-grade bionic prosthetic. 45
• Can extend from the palms into the arms, but this consumes too much energy for most Combat Grade fighters. 37
• Broad arm coverage becomes barely manageable only at Professional Grade. 37
• It is not an absolute defense against weapons wielded by other combatants. 37

Social Status and Opportunities

Combat Grade marks the point at which a martial artist is considered genuinely established within Gold-Stone Martial Arts Hall. Fighters at this level receive core-disciple treatment and may obtain further instruction from Master Luo. 37

• Security work — Small and medium security firms offer Combat Grade fighters roughly 12,000–13,000 Alliance Credits monthly, 20 kg of Exotic Beast Meat, and quotas for Vitality Potions and Energy Supplements. 38
• Patrol Bureau — Combat Grade applicants who pass screening may become Level 3 Patrol Officers; selection considers strength and character, while internal and outsourced personnel receive priority among equally strong candidates. 38
• Sponsorships — Fighters may receive resources from boxing clubs or similar organizations, although such backing is generally reserved for those with recognized talent or potential. 39 40
• Martial arts tournaments — Tournaments aimed primarily at Combat Grade fighters can provide public exposure and possible corporate sponsorship, though participation may be limited by age and available hall slots. 50
• Martial arts hall status — Ordinary students who fail to reach Combat Grade within the hall’s three-month deadline may be expelled. 21 30
• Superpowered Bureau service — A Superpowered Bureau team may include large numbers of Combat Grade personnel assigned to intelligence collection, combat support, logistics, and weaponry duties under Professional Grade and Elite Grade leadership. 282

Limitations

• Combat Grade is only the first threshold; many fighters never progress beyond it. 7
• Training and ordinary supplements become far less effective after the breakthrough. 39 51
• Maintaining a Combat Grade physique alone requires considerable energy intake and resources. 38 39
• Basic prosthetic enhancements can imitate parts of Combat Grade physical performance, including speed, leg strength, and punching force. 26
• Combat Grade fighters remain vulnerable to stronger combatants and heavily enhanced opponents. 37 45
• High-quality combat weapons cannot be fully utilized by most Combat Grade Fighters; such equipment is better suited to Professional Grade or Elite Grade users. 177

Known Combat Grade Fighters

• Lu Chao — Reaches Combat Grade at 20 Vitality and learns Rock Skin; later rises to 22 Vitality and begins training the Second Layer Combat Technique. 36 37 38 48 49 51
• Shen Tianchen — Breaks through Rock Skin and Combat Grade shortly after reaching 19 Vitality; he is subsequently accepted as Gold-Stone Martial Arts Hall’s fourth true disciple. 24 30
• Senior Brother Xu — A Combat Grade disciple of Gold-Stone Martial Arts Hall who works outside the hall; he possesses 25 Vitality. 13 30
• Senior Brother Sun — A Combat Grade senior brother who supplements his resources through underground boxing-ring work. 39