There's Still Time, I'll Kill You Nine More Times!

"Lost-Trace Steps had finally reached mastery!"

Li Qingshan murmured softly, his gaze sweeping across the panel.

[Li Qingshan]

[Realm: Body Tempering 15/100]

[Technique:

Thirty-Sixth Broadcast Calisthenics Routine—The Stars Are Calling 52/1000 (Proficient)]

[Martial Skills: Lost-Trace Steps 1/3000 (Mastery), Wind Shadow Blade 112/1000 (Proficient)]

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

[Available Time: 335 days]

[Time Flow Rate: 1:10]

His Body Tempering progress had reached 15/100.

According to the previous tests, 9 points of progress counted as one stage.

He was only 3 points away from the Body Tempering Second Stage.

The Stars Are Calling had only gained a few dozen points of proficiency, which was not much.

On the other hand, because he had also practiced Wind Shadow Blade in the Martial Arts Space, it had been pushed straight to proficiency.

"Lost-Trace Steps needs 3,000 proficiency points to go from mastery to perfection?"

Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, though he was not too surprised.

Three thousand was a lot, but it was not outrageous.

His gaze continued downward before finally settling on the [Available Time] section of the Martial Arts Space.

Compared to when it had first been unlocked, the available time had decreased by thirty days.

"Thirty days! That means I only spent one month getting Lost-Trace Steps to mastery?"

Li Qingshan muttered, feeling somewhat dazed.

According to Wan Keshan, Lost-Trace Steps would take at least two years to go from beginner to mastery.

Of course, that did not mean he had become a martial arts genius.

In truth, the Martial Arts Space ignored physical exhaustion, and with Wolf Venom present, he had trained without rest or sleep the entire time.

When it was all added up, that one month had been no less than the two years Wan Keshan spoke of.

"I really worked too hard!" Li Qingshan sighed softly.

He might not qualify as a genius, but he could absolutely live up to the word hardworking.

In one month, he had covered a cultivation path that took ordinary people two years.

What was more, the Wolf Venom Projection had accompanied him throughout the entire training process.

Heaven knew how many times Wolf Venom had bitten him to death!

"Lost-Trace Steps has reached mastery. It's time for revenge!"

A vicious glint flashed through Li Qingshan's eyes. He clenched the hilt of his blade and shut his eyes.

When he opened them again, the familiar circular platform came into view.

Li Qingshan moved his feet, turned his body, and charged forward without hesitation.

"Wolf Venom!"

Roar!

Wolf Venom howled and leaped into the air.

The two raced toward each other, the distance between them shrinking rapidly.

Just as they were about to collide,

Li Qingshan moved his right foot and took a miraculous step.

In the blink of an eye, he was already behind Wolf Venom. He swung his blade backward.

Roar—urk!

Wolf Venom's roar rose sharply before cutting off abruptly.

After landing, it clamped its hind legs together and glared at him with blood-red eyes.

"Haha, looks like you've forgotten how you got here. Fine, I'll help you remember."

Li Qingshan laughed wildly, spun his blade in his right hand, and charged at Wolf Venom again.

Roar!

Wolf Venom roared furiously and pounced with its claws.

But the human who had been right in front of it a second ago suddenly vanished.

Excruciating pain came from its lower body again, followed by hateful laughter behind it.

"Hahaha, you're too slow!"

Wolf Venom slammed its limbs against the ground and sprang high into the air, pouncing behind itself.

But there was nothing behind it. It had missed again.

"Looking for me?"

The voice came from behind it, followed by another slash between its legs.

Bloodlight blazed in Wolf Venom's crimson eyes. It had completely gone mad.

Its limbs became blurs as it constantly shifted position, trying to find that hateful human.

Yet no matter how it changed direction, it could not find even a trace of him.

Only the repeated agony in its lower body reminded it that its opponent was right behind it.

Like a trapped beast making its final struggle, Wolf Venom darted about like a headless fly.

Behind Wolf Venom, Li Qingshan followed like a shadow, swinging his blade at an unhurried pace.

At that moment, he finally understood what the instructor in Lost-Trace Steps' instructional video had meant by, "Before the autumn wind stirs, the cicada already senses it."

Whether in speed or strength, Wolf Venom surpassed him by far. It was comparable to a Body Tempering Fifth Stage martial artist.

But combat was not simply a race of speed and numbers.

No matter how great your strength was, if you could not hit your enemy, it was useless.

Just like now,

Li Qingshan predicted every one of Wolf Venom's attacks in advance.

He did not need to be faster than Wolf Venom. He only needed to be in the right place ahead of time.

If it had been a Body Tempering Fifth Stage martial artist who knew martial skills, Li Qingshan might not have been able to respond so perfectly.

But Wolf Venom was only a Feral Beast. It acted entirely on instinct and could not possibly escape his predictions.

As time passed,

Wolf Venom's howls grew weaker and weaker, while its lower body became a bloody mangled mess.

Finally, with a squelch, the blade pierced its abdomen and its organs spilled out.

Wolf Venom shuddered violently and collapsed to the ground.

At the brink of death, that demonic figure finally appeared before its eyes.

"I said I'd kill you a hundred thousand times."

"Remember, this is only the first time. There are still 99,999 times left."

Li Qingshan held his dripping machete and watched Wolf Venom's corpse disappear.

At the same time,

A lifelike Wolf Venom statue, roughly two meters tall, appeared out of thin air at the edge of the circular platform.

With a thought from Li Qingshan, the statue vanished.

Roar!

The familiar howl rang out.

Li Qingshan turned around and licked his lips.

"There's still time. I'll kill you nine more times."

Half an hour later, Wolf Venom collapsed for the tenth time.

Li Qingshan tossed aside his machete, stretched his limbs, and began practicing The Stars Are Calling.

The Martial Arts Space ignored physical exhaustion.

Li Qingshan did not pause for a moment. He practiced one round after another until his mind truly could not endure any longer, then lay down where he was and slept.

After waking up, he got up and continued practicing.

Ding ding ding!

Buzz buzz buzz!

The alarm rang. Li Qingshan opened his eyes and looked over the panel.

[The Stars Are Calling 52/1000 (Proficient)] → [The Stars Are Calling 72/1000 (Proficient)]

"Twenty points in one night. At this speed, it'll only take a little over a month to reach mastery!"

Li Qingshan stretched lazily, feeling completely refreshed.

"Things are finally on track."

This had been his cultivation plan from the start.

That afternoon, at First High School.

After finishing a day of training, the Martial Arts Class students were wolfing down food in the cafeteria.

After clearing two trays, Li Qingshan took a sip of soup and looked at Zhao Hongzhou.

"Hongzhou, where have you been working part-time lately?"

Zhao Hongzhou's family was not well-off. He had always liked working to earn pocket money, and even after entering the Martial Arts Class, he had never stopped taking part-time jobs.

Zhao Hongzhou quickly swallowed his last mouthful of food and asked in surprise,

"Brother Shan, are you looking for a job?"

"I'm considering it." Li Qingshan nodded.

He had just paid the rent, leaving only a few thousand in savings. He only had twenty bottles of Nutrient Solution left as well. It was time to prepare for the future.

Yu Lei was sitting across from Li Qingshan. She raised her head in surprise when she heard that.

"You can still make time for that?"

After she went home and completed two rounds of Body Tempering each night, it was already ten o'clock.

Li Qingshan did four rounds of Body Tempering every night. He would not finish until after midnight at the earliest.

"Time can always be squeezed out..."

Yu Lei's expression darkened visibly. Li Qingshan quickly changed his wording.

"You can always save some."

Now that he could rest in the Martial Arts Space, he was not afraid of training late into the night.

"Brother Shan, I'm back at Yinghai Gym. Want to come with me?"

"Yinghai?"

Li Qingshan frowned slightly and asked in confusion,

"Didn't you say the pay was too low before? Why did you go back?"

Last year, he and Zhao Hongzhou had both worked at Yinghai Gym.

But the pay had been too low, so neither of them had stayed long.

"It's different this time. I'm not doing odd jobs."

Zhao Hongzhou grinned smugly and boasted,

"I'm a personal trainer now. Five hundred per session, two sessions a day."

"That much?"

Li Qingshan eyed Zhao Hongzhou suspiciously, looking him up and down.

If not for the innocent, youthful look still on his face, Li Qingshan would have suspected him of selling himself.

Zhao Hongzhou was still basking in his pride, but Yu Lei saw what Li Qingshan was thinking and said speechlessly,

"Don't get the wrong idea. The Martial Arts Class name is still good enough to fool people."

"Those parents of middle school students can't afford martial arts instructors, so they can only hire Martial Arts Class students."

"Even freshmen can do it?"

Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, feeling that the money was a little dishonest.

Those middle school students hired personal trainers only to practice The Stars Are Calling.

But this technique depended entirely on one's own comprehension. No matter how much a teacher explained, it might not be useful.

Just like their class,

A month had passed, and apart from him, not a single person had broken through to the third stage.

"Brother Shan, you don't want to go?" Zhao Hongzhou sensed Li Qingshan's hesitation and said regretfully,

"What a shame. You're the top freshman in Fallen Blossom City this year. You could ask for at least a thousand per session."

The moment he finished speaking,

Li Qingshan grabbed Zhao Hongzhou by the shoulder and forcibly pulled him to his feet.

"Move faster. Don't be late for work."