A Certificate Once Earned, Earned Forever!

The afternoon classes were much the same as the morning's, still focused on cultivating The Stars Are Calling. Wan Keshan moved among the students, patiently offering guidance.

Combined with their earlier conversation in the office, Li Qingshan could clearly sense that Wan Keshan placed particular importance on the Body Tempering Realm.

That was because the next half year of classes would all focus on The Stars Are Calling.

This cultivation technique was the foundation of Body Tempering. Wan Keshan seemed to hope that every student could raise it by another level within half a year.

After class, all the students sprinted toward the cafeteria. Even Yu Lei and Hong Qian were no exception.

After wolfing down two trays of food, Li Qingshan patted his stomach in great satisfaction.

"Doing my two daytime cultivation sessions at school will save me quite a bit on food, and it won't delay me from going home and using Nutrient Solution to continue tempering my body at night."

Six Body Tempering sessions a day made him three times as efficient as before.

The Body Tempering Second Stage, which he had previously estimated would take half a year to reach, now required only two months.

Still, Li Qingshan did not think that was fast.

If Wolf Venom Projection were not blocking his path, he would already be happily grinding proficiency.

Once The Stars Are Calling reached the fourth level, his cultivation efficiency could double again.

"An enemy who blocks my path deserves nothing less than death!"

Li Qingshan's gaze turned fierce. After greeting Zhao Hongzhou and the others, he hurried home without stopping.

Downstairs in the residential complex,

It was already evening. There were many people out walking after dinner, while children ran about and played freely.

It took Li Qingshan quite some effort to find an open patch of grass.

His fingers tapped rapidly across his Communicator.

Soon, a light screen popped up, displaying cultivation materials for Lost-Trace Steps.

The materials included illustrated explanations and video lectures, all extremely detailed.

Half an hour later,

Li Qingshan had finished reading everything and fell into thought.

"Turning and shifting within a square inch."

Those eight words were the central principle of Lost-Trace Steps.

The foundation of Lost-Trace Steps was a set of footwork patterns.

As long as one could complete the entire set without pausing, one would be considered "initiated."

"Proficient" and "mastered" required one to know the footwork by heart until it became bodily instinct.

When the instructor in the video reached this point, he deliberately added an aside.

Training Lost-Trace Steps to "mastered" provided an additional boost to the speed test in Body Tempering assessments.

That was not hard to understand. The speed test involved shuttle runs, and turning and shifting were precisely Lost-Trace Steps' specialty.

When Li Qingshan saw that, Yu Lei was the first person who came to mind.

"Yu Lei must have practiced Lost-Trace Steps too. Otherwise, even with her advantage on flat ground, she couldn't possibly be so lopsided in her strengths."

As for the "great accomplishment" realm Li Qingshan was most looking forward to,

the instructor only offered one suggestion: actual combat!

The "great accomplishment" realm had already transcended the scope of mere footwork. Practice alone was useless.

Only amid actual combat, under the stimulation of danger,

could one sense danger before it arrived and evade attacks in advance, thereby reaching great accomplishment.

"Even a basic movement technique becomes rather unfathomable when trained to great accomplishment!"

Li Qingshan exclaimed in admiration.

Great accomplishment was already "unfathomable"; the higher completion realm was even somewhat mystical.

In the video, the instructor only said one sentence at the end.

"Comprehend the Mystery of a Square Inch, and completion will come naturally."

Li Qingshan seriously suspected that the instructor himself had probably never reached "completion."

"Luckily, I don't lack actual combat." Li Qingshan sighed in relief, then suddenly froze as he realized something.

"No, I don't need actual combat to gain insight at all. With the panel, whether it's great accomplishment or completion, I just need to grind enough proficiency."

At that thought,

Li Qingshan became energized and began attempting the basic footwork.

As long as he recorded Lost-Trace Steps on the panel, he could enter the Martial Arts Space to cultivate it.

The sky gradually darkened, and the elderly walkers and children slowly returned home.

"Grandma, look at that big brother. He can't even walk properly!"

The little girl tugged on the old woman's clothes and stopped, pointing toward the lawn some distance away.

"Ranran, don't be rude!" the old woman scolded her granddaughter, then looked in the direction of the little hand.

There, a young man staggered about with strange steps, falling to the ground after only a few paces.

He immediately got back up, stomped furiously in place, and started again.

The little girl clapped happily and said excitedly,

"Grandma, that brother's posture is so funny! I want to learn it too."

"You are absolutely not allowed to learn that!"

The old woman's expression changed. She scooped up her granddaughter and hurried home.

An hour later, the staggering figure finally stopped.

"Damn, this footwork is completely against human nature!"

It was supposedly a set of footwork, but not only was every step unrelated to the others, they even went in completely opposite directions.

He had clearly just stepped forward, yet the very next step required him to turn around. It utterly defied bodily instinct.

It took him more than an hour just to complete it once successfully.

Still shaken, Li Qingshan looked at the panel.

[Li Qingshan]

[Realm: Body Tempering 10/100]

[Cultivation Technique:

Thirty-Sixth Broadcast Calisthenics Routine—The Stars Are Calling 10/1000 (Mastered)]

[Martial Skill: Lost-Trace Steps 1/100 (Initiated)]

[Function: Martial Arts Space Lv1 (1/100)]

[Available Time: 1 year]

[Time Flow Rate: 1:10]

"Thank goodness. I finally got initiated."

Li Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief and headed home.

On the way, he changed his footwork and tried twice more.

Though his movements were still clumsy, he did not fail again.

Once the panel recorded it, a certificate once earned was earned forever.

For anyone else, succeeding only once would be nowhere near enough to count as initiation.

After returning home,

Li Qingshan opened the insulated case and took out a bottle of Nutrient Solution, drinking it.

He then walked to the center of the living room and began his Body Tempering cultivation.

It was not until late at night that he finally completed four Body Tempering sessions, fully exhausting the Nutrient Solution's effects.

Dragging his exhausted body, Li Qingshan fell onto the bed and closed his eyes.

His cultivation had only just begun.

When he opened his eyes, the familiar circular platform came into view.

Unlike last night, Li Qingshan did not turn to face Wolf Venom. Instead, he immediately began moving his feet and practicing Lost-Trace Steps.

Roar!

The howl drew nearer and nearer. In less than three seconds, the gaping maw was before him.

Li Qingshan's expression did not ripple in the slightest. Following the principles of the footwork, he continued into the next step.

His fine head was smoothly delivered into Wolf Venom's mouth.

Bang!

Like a watermelon bursting apart.

In the bedroom, his eyes opened and closed.

Li Qingshan returned to the Martial Arts Space and stepped forward, continuing the unfinished footwork from before.

Roar!

After dying more than twenty times, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and looked at the panel.

[Lost-Trace Steps 1/100 (Initiated)] → [Lost-Trace Steps 2/100 (Initiated)]

"Thankfully, death interrupting me doesn't affect proficiency gains. As long as I complete the whole set once, I gain one point of initiation proficiency."

Li Qingshan tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to force out a smile.

But after being devoured by Wolf Venom again and again, he simply could not smile.

"Wolf Venom..."

In the darkness, Li Qingshan murmured in a low voice before closing his eyes once more.