The Five Tiers of Blood Vitality

The moment she got home, Chen Xingyao eagerly chased after Chen Lie.

"Hey, Chen Lie, that stuff you said earlier about having the potential to become a Grandmaster and making a late surge—it was all a lie, wasn't it?"

Chen Lie glanced at his sister. "How do you know I was lying?"

"Still trying to deny it? It's not like I wasn't there when you went to train at the martial arts hall yesterday. If the hall master had inspected the students, there's no way I wouldn't have known. Come clean—why did you lie to Mom and Dad?"

Chen Lie fell silent for a moment before saying, "I really wasn't lying. Someone did say I had the potential to become a Grandmaster. It's just that person wasn't from Blue Star, but an important figure from beyond the stars."

"Someone from beyond the stars? Go fool a ghost!"

"Believe it or not, but don't tell Mom and Dad about this."

After saying that, Chen Lie merely shrugged and walked away, leaving Chen Xingyao with a face full of uncertainty.

She knew her brother well. If Chen Lie had loudly argued with her just now, she would have been certain he was lying. But instead, he had simply given that bland explanation and left, making her strangely inclined to believe him.

Could her brother really have some kind of pseudo-nutrient-saturation physique? Had he been held back all these years?

"Impossible!"

Chen Xingyao hurriedly shook her head. Someone from beyond the stars? As an ordinary citizen of Blue Star, she only knew that Blue Star had entered the interstellar age within the last century or so, and that martial civilizations far more advanced than Blue Star did exist beyond the stars. Other than that, she knew absolutely nothing about the outside universe.

Even if some important figure from beyond the stars had really come to Blue Star, there was no reason for them to appear in East River Province, one of Blue Star's bottom-ranked provinces.

Could it really be just to declare that Chen Lie had the potential to become a Grandmaster?

That evening, the family of four had dinner at home.

While eating, Chen Gequn grew more worried the more he thought about it. "Chen Lie, didn't you eat a little too much today? Even if a Grandmaster made that assessment, those were still highly nutritious foods loaded with supplements. How about this? I'll take you to a physician for a checkup tomorrow."

"No need, Dad." Chen Lie shook his head. "I can feel the nutrients that had built up in my body starting to dissolve. By the time you come back next time, I guarantee I'll give you a huge surprise."

"I'm not asking for any huge surprise. When I come back next time, I'll be satisfied if your blood vitality can break through 1," Chen Gequn said.

"Breaking through 1 is too low a goal. How about this? Before you come back next time, I guarantee I'll enter the elite class."

The moment Chen Lie finished speaking, Chen Xingyao gave a cold snort. "Bragging!"

Chen Gequn did not pay attention to Chen Xingyao. Instead, he said to Chen Lie, "Don't push yourself too hard, either. Training needs a balance between work and rest. But before your blood vitality breaks through 1, you can't slack off. Dad has already asked someone to order Blood Vitality Essence for you. Now we're just waiting for your blood vitality to break through 1. If you need any supplements while training, tell your mother right away."

Chen Lie nodded and lowered his head to continue eating.

The next day, Chen Gequn left home early for work in a neighboring province, while Chen Lie also headed to East River Martial Arts Hall first thing in the morning.

His mother, Feng Yuelan, had enrolled him and his sister in a thirty-five-day blood vitality sprint course. Although there were only ten classes, they could use their student IDs to train at the martial arts hall throughout those thirty-five days. After all, their combined tuition had come to nearly twenty thousand Star Credits.

After entering the martial arts hall, Chen Lie found a private training room.

Taking off his shirt, Chen Lie began practicing the Basic Body-Tempering Technique, performing the nineteen movements of its first form.

The nutrients that had accumulated in his body yesterday began dissolving rapidly.

As he performed the nineteen movements of the Basic Body-Tempering Technique's first form in sequence, Chen Lie felt as though every cell in his body had come alive, crazily devouring the nutrients.

After completing the first form, Chen Lie immediately began practicing the second.

The second form consisted of twenty-seven movements. Chen Lie moved his body and performed all twenty-seven in sequence, feeling his body temperature rise rapidly from thirty-six degrees to over forty degrees.

At the same time, the cells in his meridians became intensely active. The instant the nutrients in his body were absorbed, they were converted into blood vitality.

Nearly two hours later, the nutrients accumulated in Chen Lie's body had been completely used up, and his body temperature returned to normal.

Although he had not measured it, Chen Lie instinctively felt that his blood vitality had soared.

Leaving the private training room, Chen Lie immediately went to the blood vitality testing machine.

After entering the machine's testing chamber, beams of light began scanning him. Before long, the test was complete, and the machine announced the result.

"Beep. Test complete. Blood vitality: 2.31 Cal."

Once the test was complete, Chen Lie stepped out of the testing chamber. Hearing the result, he did not find it surprising.

It rose by nearly 1 Cal. The speed of my blood vitality growth has already completely surpassed Blue Star's standard progression tiers.

The blood vitality advancement standards established by Blue Star's authorities were divided into five stages.

The first stage was before one's blood vitality broke through 1. This was the hardest stage. No supplements or medicines could be used; one could only improve blood vitality through personal training.

After blood vitality broke through 1, one entered the second stage. By using a bottle of Blood Vitality Essence and training for several days, one could raise blood vitality by 0.4 to 0.6 Cal. If one's family was well-off, they could begin consuming small amounts of supplements and gain even more blood vitality.

The third stage began after blood vitality broke through 3. One could start eating exotic beast meat for the first time. By eating half a jin of exotic beast meat every day for a month and training diligently, one could increase blood vitality by roughly 0.9 to 1.1 Cal.

The fourth stage began after blood vitality broke through 5. One could take medicinal baths for the first time. Ten consecutive days of medicinal baths could raise blood vitality by roughly 1.4 to 2.1 Cal.

As for why the effects of medicinal baths varied so greatly, the main reason was that the medicinal baths used by wealthy families contained all sorts of rare and precious herbs, while those from poor households could often only use the minimum required ingredients.

From this stage onward, the gap between rich and poor would gradually become apparent. The wealthy could enjoy all kinds of precious supplements, while the poor could barely maintain even a basic nutritional supply. Their disparity would only grow wider from here.

The fifth stage began after blood vitality broke through 10 Cal. At that point, the body's functions had improved drastically. As long as one did not abuse them, one could frequently use various supplements and medicines. Blood vitality growth would enter the fast lane, like a bird soaring freely through an open sky.

For an ordinary martial arts student to pass through all five stages, it would cost at least a million Star Credits. Therefore, even slightly impoverished families would not let their children pursue the martial path, because they simply could not afford it.

I need to find a way to make money.

Unlike others, Chen Lie possessed the Central Galactic Empire's profound body-tempering technique. As long as he had enough nutrition, his blood vitality could rise in a straight line.

Not a single genius on Blue Star had ever been unable to improve their blood vitality due to a lack of nutrition.

In this life, Chen Lie did not want to rely on his family anymore. Besides, he knew full well how far his family's savings could support him.

"Se... Senior, wait a moment."

Chen Lie returned to the training room, put his shirt back on, and was about to leave when he suddenly heard a crisp young voice behind him.

Turning around, Chen Lie saw a girl around fourteen or fifteen years old, delicate and lovely as a carved doll.

Seeing the questioning look in Chen Lie's eyes, the girl quickly said, "Hello, Senior. My name is Li Xianyu. I'm in the key class of first-year high school, and I'm classmates with Chen Xingyao. We've met before, in the martial arts hall's first-floor lobby the afternoon before yesterday."

Chen Lie thought for a moment, then nodded. "Do you need something?"

"It's like this—I'd like to ask Senior for a favor." Li Xianyu said, "My family had me sign up to learn a C-rank martial art called Cloud Smoke Step. But the instructor for its guidance course, Instructor Qu, is a famous teacher. His classes are highly sought after, and you need a letter of introduction to enroll. But I left mine at home. So I wanted to ask Senior to help me hold my place in line while I go home and get it."

Hearing this, Chen Lie became interested. He nodded and asked, "How many classes does this Cloud Smoke Step guidance course have? What happens if you can't learn it within the scheduled classes?"

Li Xianyu found the question a little strange, but she still answered, "The Cloud Smoke Step guidance course has twelve classes in total. Anyone enrolling in it should already have some foundation, and with a famous teacher guiding them, they'll always gain something. It's unlikely that they won't learn anything at all."

"Oh." Chen Lie nodded. "Then for you personally, after these twelve Cloud Smoke Step classes, could you master the martial art to the point of using it freely?"

Li Xianyu hurriedly shook her head. "My blood vitality hasn't even broken through 1 yet. How could I possibly train a C-rank martial art to the point of using it freely? I'd be lucky just to grasp the basics."

"How much is the tuition for this Cloud Smoke Step guidance course?" Chen Lie asked.

"Just under two hundred thousand Star Credits, but it's close," Li Xianyu replied.

At that, something stirred in Chen Lie's mind. Keeping his expression calm, he said, "I have a B-rank martial art called Phantom Step. It's also a footwork technique, and I can teach you to use it freely within three days. I don't want your two hundred thousand Star Credits. I'll only charge you one hundred thousand. What do you say?"

"Huh?"

Li Xianyu was stunned. Was Chen Xingyao's brother trying to sell her a martial art?

But hadn't Chen Xingyao said that her brother's blood vitality was not much higher than hers? What the hell did he know about a B-rank martial art?

"Heh, no need, Senior. My blood vitality is too low, and B-rank martial arts are too profound. I probably wouldn't be able to learn it. If it's inconvenient for you, I'll ask someone else to help me line up."

With that, Li Xianyu turned to leave.