Exchanging for Martial Arts: Heaven-Splitting Three Forms!

"Martial arts?" Old Wang froze, then laughed. He looked at Lin Ming as if he were some kind of monster.

"You brat... is killing Mutated Beasts really the only thing in your head? You don't even know this?"

Lin Ming shook his head honestly. "I never had the chance to learn about it before."

His words were half true, half false. In this life, he had been living under his second uncle's roof. Being able to learn the three most basic martial arts was already the limit; anything more advanced was beyond even his dreams.

In this high-martial world, most martial arts were monopolized. Even martial arts high schools could only teach the most basic techniques.

Old Wang, Old Black, and the others exchanged glances, seeing helplessness and a trace of understanding in each other's eyes.

Judging by Lin Ming's age and his previous performance, he was most likely a martial arts exam candidate with no real background. It made sense that he had never come across such information.

"Simple!" Old Wang pointed at the black wristband on his own wrist, identical to Lin Ming's.

"Just use this! Open it up and select 'Merit Exchange.' It's got everything inside! Food and drink, weapons and ammunition, genetic potions, cultivation resources, martial arts manuals... as long as you have enough merit, you can exchange for anything!"

"Merit?" Lin Ming raised his wrist. The screen lit up, displaying [ID: 731. Merit: 10087. Status: Minor injuries (recovering)].

A little over ten thousand—this was the number he had earned through eight bloody battles over three days.

"That's right, this!" Old Wang leaned closer and pointed at the screen. "Tap here, yes, this icon..."

Under Old Wang's guidance, Lin Ming clumsily operated the standard-issue military wristband and entered the exchange interface.

A dazzling virtual list, neatly divided into categories, appeared before his eyes.

[Daily Supplies], [Weapons and Armor], [Medicine and Provisions], [Genetic Potions], [Cultivation Resources], [Martial Arts Manuals], [Special Items]...

Lin Ming directly selected [Martial Arts Manuals].

The list refreshed, densely packed with martial arts names, descriptions, ratings, and prices.

From the lowest F-rank Detailed Basics of Fist and Footwork (10 merit), to E-rank Swift Footwork (100 merit), D-rank Wind-Piercing Blade Art (500 merit), and C-rank Blood-Burning Secret Art (2,000 merit, note: has side effects)... all the way upward.

Starting from B-rank martial arts, the prices rose sharply.

Profound Ice Palm (B-rank, price: 20,000 merit)

Flame Blade Technique (B-rank, price: 20,000 merit)

Wind-Chasing Archery (B-rank, price: 20,000 merit)

A-rank martial arts generally cost over one hundred thousand merit, and there were very few of them. Many were marked "(Out of Stock)" or "(Approval Required)."

For S-rank and above, there were only a scant few names in the entire list. The long string of zeroes after them made one dizzy, and nearly all of them were grayed out and unavailable.

Lin Ming's gaze swept rapidly across the list before finally stopping on an entry somewhat above the middle.

[Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Fragment)]

Rating: B-rank

Price: 10,000 merit

Description: A fragment of an ancient martial art passed down through the ages. Only the first form, "Mountain Splitter," remains. Its movements are broad and forceful, carrying the might to split the heavens, fierce and unmatched. It places extremely high demands on the practitioner's physical strength and vitality.

Note: This is a fragment. Subsequent forms are missing. Cultivate with caution.

Status: Available for exchange

The price was exactly ten thousand merit, and he had just enough. This seemed to be the cheapest B-rank martial art!

"Found one you like?" Old Wang poked his head over. When he saw where Lin Ming's gaze had settled, his lone eye suddenly widened.

"Heaven-Splitting Three Forms? A fragment? Kid, don't tell me you've got your eye on this?"

Old Black, Mute, and Bitter Melon also gathered around. Once they saw it clearly, they all frowned.

"Kid Lin, listen to this old man's advice," Old Wang said, his tone turning serious.

"This thing has been sitting here for years, and I've never seen anyone exchange for it. Why? Because it's a fragment! There's only one move! Spending ten thousand merit on a B-rank martial art with only one move—and one that demands such absurd physical strength at that—is a huge loss!"

Old Black also shook his head. "Yeah. Add a little more, and you could buy a complete B-rank martial art. Or trade it for genetic potions to strengthen yourself. Wouldn't that be more practical?"

Bitter Melon analyzed it with a worried expression. "And look at that note: 'places extremely high demands on physical strength and vitality.' People like us, dancing around the gates of hell every day, where are we supposed to get the spare resources to build up our bodies enough to cultivate this thing? If you can't master it, those ten thousand merit will have gone down the drain!"

Mute said nothing, but he shook his head vigorously to show his disapproval.

Their advice was practical. Ten thousand merit was a number many people could not save up even by risking their lives.

Exchanging it for a fragmentary move with an uncertain future and an extremely high cultivation threshold was, in anyone's eyes, an exceedingly unwise gamble.

Lin Ming silently looked at the description, especially the words "carrying the might to split the heavens, fierce and unmatched," and something stirred in his heart.

Just as he weighed the pros and cons, hesitating over whether to choose a safer, complete B-rank martial art instead—

The cold, mechanical system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Detected a repairable martial art: Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Fragment)]

[Consume 1,000 Kill Points to perform an initial analysis and restoration deduction on the fragment, completing the full force-generation method and deeper intent of the second form, Wave Severing. There is also a certain chance of deducing clues to subsequent forms. Restore?]

Lin Ming's heart shook violently!

The system could repair martial arts?!

If he had the complete Heaven-Splitting Three Forms, just how powerful would it be?

In only an instant, Lin Ming made his decision.

"I'll exchange for this." He raised his head and looked at Old Wang and the others, his tone calm but leaving no room for doubt.

"You..." Old Wang opened his mouth, but when he saw that familiar calm and decisiveness in Lin Ming's eyes—the kind that could not be changed—he knew he could not talk him out of it.

He sighed and slapped his thigh hard. "Fine! You brat have your own mind! Exchange for it, then! Damn it, you earned that merit by risking your life. Spend it however you want!"

Seeing this, Old Black and the others could only shake their heads with bitter smiles and stopped trying to persuade him.

They had seen Lin Ming's stubbornness and madness. Once he set his mind on something, not even ten Mutated Beasts could drag him back.

Lin Ming no longer hesitated. He selected [Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Fragment)] on the wristband screen and confirmed the exchange.

[Ding! 10,000 merit consumed. Item Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Fragment) has been ordered.]

[Notice: Exchanging for B-rank or above martial arts and cultivation manuals requires identity verification by a logistics armory specialist before personal delivery. Estimated delivery time: within 12–24 hours. Please wait patiently.]

The merit on the wristband screen instantly cleared to zero, becoming a glaring "0."

Almost at the exact moment Lin Ming completed the exchange—

South River Base City, the inner city's core district, the logistics department of Guard Army Headquarters, Martial Arts Manual Management Division.

A tall woman in a fitted dark green Guard Army uniform sat behind a gleaming alloy desk, processing the constantly refreshing stream of data on the light screen before her.

She appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four. Her features were exquisite as a painting, but there was not the slightest trace of softness between her brows. Instead, she gave off a blade-like sharpness and heroic vigor.

Her long black hair was tied into a crisp high ponytail behind her head, revealing her smooth forehead and slender neck.

A silver star gleamed brightly on her epaulet—major rank. At her age, it was dazzling.

Her name was Su Yunwan, one of the most outstanding members of her generation in the Su Household. After graduating with exceptional results from China's foremost martial academy, she had volunteered to come to the frontline base city for experience. She was currently responsible for the scheduling and management of part of the logistics department's martial arts resources.

Suddenly, a secondary light screen before her automatically popped up, displaying a highlighted exchange notification.

[Exchange Item: Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Fragment)]

[Exchanger ID: 731]

[Exchanger Affiliation: Nanjiang Bastion Seventh Entrance, Vanguard Reserve Camp (Death Squad)]

[Merit Consumed: 10,000]

[Status: Confirmed, awaiting delivery.]

"Hmm?" Su Yunwan's slender brows lifted slightly as she stopped working.

A fragment of Heaven-Splitting Three Forms? How many years had this thing been gathering dust in the logistics armory?

Ever since she had taken over this work, no one had touched it.

Every martial artist with even a little common sense knew that exchanging for an obscure fragment with only one move and harsh cultivation requirements was an extremely poor bargain. With those ten thousand merit, there were countless better things to do.

Vanguard Reserve Camp? Death Squad?

A flicker of surprise passed through Su Yunwan's beautiful eyes.

Desperadoes from that sort of place had a hundred times harder time earning merit than ordinary people. Every single point was soaked in blood and sweat, so they ought to budget even more carefully. How could someone be so "out of their mind" as to exchange for this?

Was it a mistaken operation? Or... was there really something special about it?