Basic Body Tempering Art

The next morning, Feng Yuelan called Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao together.

"Chen Lie, I signed you and your sister up for a blood qi value intensive course.

It's a martial arts training course run by East River Martial Arts Hall, the largest martial arts hall in East River Province. There are ten classes in total, two per week, lasting thirty-five days. Even when there aren't classes, you can still train at the martial arts hall. Their training equipment is very comprehensive."

Chen Lie nodded, but Chen Xingyao said, "Mom, I've already signed up for a combat technique guidance class. How would I have time for this blood qi value intensive course?"

Feng Yuelan said, "I've worked it out. Your combat technique guidance class is only once a week, so it doesn't conflict with the blood qi value intensive course.

It's almost time. Hurry up and get going."

As she spoke, Feng Yuelan handed Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao each a bottle of nutrient solution and a nutrient bread.

Chen Lie accepted the nutrient solution and bread, then nodded.

Both of these were high-nutrition foods essential for martial arts students.

A nutrient bread retailed for 130 star credits. It weighed only one hundred grams, yet contained nutrients equivalent to two pounds of beef.

One bottle of nutrient solution contained 350 milliliters and provided nutrients equivalent to ten pounds of beef. It was also easier for the human body to absorb, but a single bottle cost more than a thousand star credits.

This alone showed how expensive it was to support a martial arts student. An ordinary family simply could not afford the expense.

Even though the Chen family was well-off, supporting two martial arts students, Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao, still put them under considerable pressure.

Not to mention that Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao's blood qi values had not yet reached 1 cal. Once their blood qi values broke through 1 cal, they could use all sorts of expensive supplements. That would be when the real money-burning began.

Chen Lie tore open the nutrient bread's packaging and chewed it.

After leaving home and walking several hundred steps, Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao boarded a flying bus together. After dropping in two star credit coins, they found seats and sat down.

The flying bus rose into the air. After flying for several minutes at a height of one hundred meters above the ground, it reached the stop Chen Lie and Chen Xingyao needed.

After getting off the flying bus, Chen Lie spotted a building covering roughly eight thousand square meters from afar. The enormous sign read: East River Martial Arts Hall, Changdong City Branch.

"Brother, I'm going in first. One of my classmates also signed up for East River Martial Arts Hall's blood qi value intensive course, so I won't be training with you."

Before Chen Lie could respond, Chen Xingyao jogged into the martial arts hall.

Chen Lie shook his head without dwelling on it, then entered the martial arts hall after her.

At the reception desk, Chen Lie saw a receptionist. He handed over his identification code and said, "Hello."

After scanning Chen Lie's identification code, the receptionist immediately said, "Hello. You're Chen Lie, right?"

Chen Lie nodded.

"This is your student ID. Your martial arts instructor is named Sun Jian. Instructor Sun's class starts at ten o'clock, so there's still over an hour. You can wait in the lounge inside, or you can go train in the martial arts training room first."

"Alright!"

Chen Lie accepted the student ID and headed straight into one of the martial arts hall's private training rooms.

Once inside the private training room, Chen Lie immediately searched through the memories in his mind.

He remembered that Tai'a Star Province Martial Cultivation Academy had a training art specially designed to introduce children to martial cultivation. It was called the Basic Body Tempering Art.

The Basic Body Tempering Art had twelve forms and one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six movements. It placed great emphasis on technique and could thoroughly convert nutrients stored in the body into blood qi.

Chen Lie also discovered that children in the Central Galactic Empire could practice the Basic Body Tempering Art at the age of six or seven without causing any harm to their bodies. Blue Star's body tempering arts, however, were far too crude. Training too intensely could easily leave hidden dangers in the body.

That was why martial cultivation on Blue Star could only begin at the age of fourteen. The bones of boys and girls under fourteen had not yet fully fused and could not withstand such body-damaging training arts.

Looking at this ordinary training art and comparing it with Blue Star, Chen Lie could not help but marvel. The Central Galactic Empire's martial cultivation was ahead of Blue Star by more than ten thousand years.

Of the Basic Body Tempering Art's twelve forms, the first form contained nineteen movements.

Chen Lie began performing the movements of the Basic Body Tempering Art's first form one by one.

When he reached the fifth movement, Chen Lie instantly felt his body temperature rise rapidly. He carefully observed his body and discovered that the nutrients stored within it were being consumed at a startling pace.

After completing all nineteen movements of the Basic Body Tempering Art's first form once, Chen Lie suddenly frowned.

A fierce wave of hunger swept over him.

"What's going on? Why do I suddenly feel so hungry?"

Chen Lie thought about it for a moment and understood.

"So these movements used up all the nutrients in my body. That's why I feel so hungry."

Ignoring the intense hunger in his stomach, Chen Lie performed the nineteen movements of the Basic Body Tempering Art's first form again.

After practicing the Basic Body Tempering Art for over an hour, Chen Lie could clearly feel the layer of fat on his body thinning rapidly. His face had visibly become thinner than before.

A while later, Chen Lie stopped moving and took a few deep breaths.

"No, I can't keep practicing. If I do, I'll probably be left with nothing but skin."

Chen Lie rested where he stood for a while before leaving the training room.

When he reached the lounge area, Chen Lie opened the nutrient solution he had brought from home that morning and drank it in one gulp. Only then did his body feel somewhat better, though the hunger in his stomach did not lessen in the slightest.

After less than two hours of practicing the Basic Body Tempering Art, Chen Lie could already feel that his blood qi strength had increased dramatically. As for how much his blood qi value had risen, he could not be certain. After all, in his previous life, he had never practiced such a profound body tempering art.

"Gather up!"

At that moment, a deep, gender-neutral voice suddenly rang out.

Seeing the students waiting for the intensive course quickly gather and line up in front of the training room entrance, Chen Lie walked over as well.

A middle-aged man stepped before the many students and began speaking.

"Students, I am your instructor, Sun Jian. Today is my first day teaching you.

As long as you work hard during this intensive course, I guarantee that every one of your blood qi values will improve to a certain extent.

So, if you have any questions about cultivation, feel free to ask me.

First, we'll conduct a preliminary assessment. I'll check your blood qi values. Everyone, line up in front of the blood qi testing device and have your blood qi tested one at a time."

After Instructor Sun Jian finished speaking, the intensive course students swarmed toward the blood qi testing device and formed a line.

The blood qi testing device used by the intensive course was more advanced than the school's. It could produce all the results with just a body scan.

Chen Lie also wanted to know how much his blood qi value had just improved, so he joined the line.

As the line ahead grew shorter and shorter, Chen Lie finally reached his turn.

"Once you enter the testing chamber, don't move. The device will scan you automatically," the staff member instructed.

"Alright."

After responding, Chen Lie entered the narrow cabin of the blood qi testing device.

Once the staff member closed the cabin door, a blue light scanned upward from Chen Lie's feet.

"Beep. Test complete. Blood qi value: 1.34 cal."

Chen Lie, inside the cabin, also heard the testing device announce the result and could not help but be startled.

A blood qi value of 1.34 cal. In less than two hours, it had increased by 0.4 cal?

The Central Galactic Empire's Basic Body Tempering Art was actually this powerful. It was almost equivalent to the effect of consuming a bottle of blood qi essence after one's blood qi value reached 1 cal.

After consuming a bottle of blood qi essence, one's blood qi value would not increase immediately. It still required several days of training to digest it. If it was not absorbed well, it might not even raise one's blood qi value by 0.4 cal.

Just as Chen Lie sank into thought, the blood qi testing device suddenly began flashing red.

"Warning! Warning! The device has detected a severe nutritional deficit in the test subject's body. Please stop training immediately and replenish nutrients as soon as possible to avoid bodily harm."

The blood qi testing device broadcast the warning three times in succession. The staff outside opened the cabin door.

As soon as the door opened, Chen Lie saw Instructor Sun Jian, dressed in training clothes, standing before the blood qi testing device.

"This student, what is your name?"

Chen Lie glanced at Sun Jian, thought for a moment, and said, "Chen Lie."

"Student Chen Lie, do you know that your body is suffering from a severe nutritional deficit?" Sun Jian asked.

Chen Lie nodded. "I know now."

Sun Jian said, "Your blood qi value has already broken through 1 cal, yet you're still suffering from nutritional deficiency. That means you've never used blood qi essence. In fact, even before your blood qi value broke through 1 cal, your nutrition was already failing to keep up.

After class today, take me to your home. Your parents are truly not paying enough attention to your martial cultivation. I must have a proper talk with them.

Insufficient nutrition will severely affect your martial cultivation progress. If your nutrition had always kept up, your blood qi value might have already broken through 3 cal by now."

"Please don't!" Chen Lie hurriedly waved his hands. "Instructor Sun, I know you're being responsible toward your students, but my situation is a little complicated. Let's forget about going to my home to speak with my parents."

Hearing this, Sun Jian immediately frowned. "I looked over your information. You're in your final year of high school, and there are only a little over two hundred days left until the college entrance examination.

You need to be responsible for your own future. If your nutrition continues to fall behind, your blood qi will improve very slowly."

"Thank you for your concern, Instructor. I understand."

Seeing this, Sun Jian could only shake his head and leave.