A New Idea

After moving around a little, Chen Yu found his body even lighter than he had imagined. Even through his sneakers, he could feel the tips of the thumbtacks beneath his feet and adjust his force according to the direction of their points.

The sharp tips that had once seemed so dangerous now felt as flat as the ground. He could even shift his center of gravity on them—something Chen Yu had never dared imagine before.

After performing several moves in a row, Chen Yu's eyes widened. Not bad. This mana burn was worth it. But if possible, let's not make it this exhausting next time.

Ma Daqiang, standing nearby, had been about to help Chen Yu, but when he saw him moving as lightly as a swallow atop the thumbtacks, he could not help saying, "Brother Chen, you're amazing. Those three days of grinding weren't for nothing! Tell me honestly, are you working this hard because you want to get into one of the White Jade Capital's seventy-two top universities?"

"With my Grades, I wouldn't even dare dream of it. My goal is the archaeology program at Heavenly Origin University."

Standing on the thumbtacks, Ma Daqiang dodged one of Teacher Zhao's sneaky low kicks. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I remember archaeology is pretty leisurely. Why are you grinding so hard if you're going into that major?"

"You think I want to grind? If I don't grind now, I'll only be watching other people grind from a security booth later! If I want to avoid grinding in the future, I have no choice but to grind now!"

Seeing Chen Yu's righteous expression, Ma Daqiang sincerely praised him. "Brother Chen, you really are talented. I'll go easy on you during sparring later. I promise not to attack any vital areas."

"If you dare get serious, don't even think about copying my homework again."

"Godfather, don't be like that."

After half an hour in horse stance, Chen Yu exhaled a breath of foul air and actually found himself wanting more.

The horse stance complemented the Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound. Even without using mana, he could feel his muscles writhing as his strength slowly increased. He probably had nearly a hundred jin of force now.

If this continued, he would likely reach Qi Refining, Seventh Layer within a year. Then he would have a much better chance in the National College Entrance Examination.

After seeing that everyone had recovered, Teacher Zhao casually pulled over a student and said, "All right, the practical segment begins now. You began cultivating at six years old, and it has been eleven years already. Your foundations are very solid, so I won't go into that. Some of you have cultivators in your families. You should know what the practical exam tests, right?"

"I do!" A petite girl immediately raised her hand. "I know!"

Watching the girl bounce around like a hamster, Teacher Zhao helplessly turned his head away and asked weakly, "Does anyone else know?"

When no one else responded, Teacher Zhao could only say, "Liu Qing, you answer."

The little girl jumped up excitedly and said, "The practical exam tests your ability to respond to moves and break them down. The examiner will attack, and the examinee must dismantle the move and Counterattack. Lasting three exchanges earns a passing grade, five exchanges is excellent, and seven exchanges gets full marks."

"Well said. Sit down. Don't get so excited next time."

"Teacher, you should ask me questions like this next time! I'm the class monitor. It's my duty to answer my classmates' questions!"

"Sit down!"

After making Liu Qing sit down, Teacher Zhao continued, "Just as Liu Qing said, the practical exam tests your ability to dismantle moves and Counterattack. Physical fitness is the foundation for getting high scores, but don't place all your hopes on that. The examiners are all experts at Qi Refining, Tenth Layer. Their physical fitness is even stronger than mine. This portion tests adaptability and comprehension. Chen Yu, come here."

Ignoring Liu Qing's displeased gaze, Chen Yu walked uncertainly up to Teacher Zhao. Teacher Zhao said, "I'll take a stance in a moment. You attack, dismantle my move, then Counterattack. Don't worry, I won't be fast. You'll be able to react."

With that, Teacher Zhao slowly assumed a stance. It was the most basic Straight Punch.

Though it was only a Straight Punch, it was not so simple.

Because it was a level-ten Straight Punch.

According to the martial arts regulations issued by the Cultivators' Committee, every martial skill could be divided into ten levels.

The first nine levels could be reached with enough effort, but level ten was Great Perfection. The movements carried a hint of martial rhythm, while the connected muscles and methods of exerting force were flawless. It was exceedingly rare.

Teacher Zhao's movements were slow, but that sluggish motion carried an unavoidable momentum, filling people with despair they could not resist.

Just seeing the movement, Chen Yu felt overwhelming pressure bearing down on him. Yet within that avalanche-like fist momentum was a sliver of life.

Staring at it with difficulty, Chen Yu took a long while to find that opening. His mind raced, and he finally found a tiny way to dismantle the move before barely managing to do so.

But dismantling the attack had blocked most of his paths of retreat. His Counterattack afterward was limp and powerless, and Teacher Zhao's fist hung before his eyes, about to descend.

Closing his eyes, Chen Yu prepared to take the punch head-on. To his surprise, Teacher Zhao had already changed his fist into two fingers and lightly tapped Chen Yu's forehead.

"Not bad. Your level-nine Straight Punch is the real deal. Your foundation is solid too, so keep working hard. The examiner won't use such terrifying moves during the National College Entrance Examination. All techniques will be restricted to level five, but there will be variations and hidden moves. All right, pair up and spar. Start with the simplest attacks. Remember, be slow at first. Only by going slowly will you have enough time to think. Once you understand everything clearly, speeding up will become much easier."

With Teacher Zhao's guidance, Chen Yu and the others quickly found the knack and began sparring in pairs.

Though their movements were slow, they still could not defeat their opponents unless they thoroughly understood the basic principles behind every technique.

Chen Yu's opponent was naturally Ma Daqiang.

At first, he worried whether he could beat him. But once they actually began, he discovered that a Body Cultivator without a brain really was no different from a big dumb brute.

After a few exchanges, Ma Daqiang was panting from exhaustion, his mind a complete mess. He lay on the ground and refused to get up.

"I can't do it anymore. I can't fight. I don't get this tired when I spar with people in the Dreamscape."

"Who do you spar with?"

"The kids from Sunflower Kindergarten next door! I can maintain a ninety percent win rate!"

"...So you still lose ten percent of the time? How do you lose to little kids?"

"Don't underestimate little kids! Once you become a little kid, you'll understand how I feel."

Chen Yu looked helplessly at Ma Daqiang, feeling that eighty percent of the other boy's brain had probably evaporated. Nothing he said made any sense anymore.

But after thinking about it carefully, Chen Yu realized that Ma Daqiang had always seemed rather illogical when he spoke.

After class, Chen Yu was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

He had been in high school for nearly a year, but today was the first time he had felt the joy of cultivation. He wanted to experience it a little longer.

So he asked Ma Daqiang for some Dreamscapes related to actual combat, eagerly explored them for a while, then exited in disappointment.

He had not found anything good.

Most of the free ones were crudely made. Once inside, all he could do was wildly throw random punches, and he lost interest after playing for a while.

The paid ones were too expensive, and most were region-locked for confidentiality. Students outside the city could not use them.

"Isolationism is no good. Wait, I think I've got an idea."

Looking at his Positive Emotion, which was still slowly increasing, Chen Yu felt an idea taking shape.