The Stars Are Calling, Fifth Realm?

The chubby kid rattled on endlessly, spittle flying everywhere.

Li Qingshan quietly took a step back. Once he finished speaking, Li Qingshan gave a slight nod.

"Alright, time to begin today's lesson."

"Huh?" Cao Shaoyu froze, his excitement instantly vanishing as he said miserably,

"Do we really have to do broadcast calisthenics?"

"What do you think?"

A faint smile rested on Li Qingshan's lips as he held the machete across his chest.

Cao Shaoyu shuddered and no longer dared to bargain. He obediently walked to the center of the classroom and spread his limbs.

However, compared to the talent he had displayed in Lost-Trace Steps yesterday, today's performance could only be described as unbearable.

The chubby kid's movements were loose and sloppy. Forget getting started—he could not even meet the basic requirements.

Li Qingshan's brow furrowed deeper and deeper before he interrupted in a grave voice.

"Stop! Is this how they teach you at school?"

Before the age of fifteen, New Continent screened for Martial Artist talent using the Third Realm of The Stars Are Calling as the standard.

Although PE teachers at elementary and middle schools were not as skilled as Wan Keshan, they could not possibly be this perfunctory.

"What the teachers taught was too difficult, and they said it could temper the body, but it actually had no effect at all."

Cao Shaoyu muttered under his breath, cautiously glancing at his coach.

"If you practice like that, it'd be strange if it had any effect!"

Li Qingshan shook his head without looking too deeply into it.

He had recalled that before his transmigration, the original owner of this body had also treated The Stars Are Calling as nothing more than broadcast calisthenics and had barely managed to get started.

In truth, that was the norm.

The Stars Are Calling was easy to learn but difficult to master. Without reaching the Second Realm and mastering Force-Exertion Stage techniques, one simply could not experience its body-tempering effects, much less stir students' enthusiasm for training.

Faced with thousands of students, PE teachers in elementary and middle schools could not supervise every student as closely as a Martial Arts Class could.

"Alright, start over. I'll correct you one move at a time."

Li Qingshan stepped forward with his machete, signaling for the chubby kid to begin practicing.

The scabbard occasionally tapped at his limb joints, correcting his movements.

Two hours later, the 108 movements were finally complete. Cao Shaoyu collapsed onto the floor, baring his teeth in pain.

Li Qingshan nodded, fairly satisfied.

Though he had not yet gotten started, it was clear that Li Qingshan's earlier guess had been right. Cao Shaoyu truly was talented.

But the little fatty would not act without a reward in sight, and The Stars Are Calling took too long to show results, so he had never put much effort into it.

"Coach, what are we practicing tomorrow?"

Cao Shaoyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked expectantly,

"Can we switch to Lost-Trace Steps?"

"Of course." Li Qingshan shot the little fatty a sidelong glance, smiling without quite smiling.

"After you complete Body Tempering tomorrow, I'll reward you with an hour of movement technique training. I won't charge you overtime fees."

"Coach, I was wrong! Pretend I never said that!"

Cao Shaoyu jolted, scrambling and rolling as he dashed for the door.

"I'm heading back to school first."

Before he even reached the doorway, however, he tripped and fell.

Li Qingshan shook his head and stepped forward to help him up, asking curiously,

"You live at school?"

"My parents work in the provincial capital and only have time to come back on weekends. Usually, I stay in the school dorms."

Cao Shaoyu looked utterly unconcerned, without the slightest awareness that he was a left-behind child.

But Li Qingshan did not find him pitiful either. Yesterday, this "left-behind child" had bought 120,000 worth of lessons in one go.

With an extra 120,000 on his card, Li Qingshan no longer had to worry about Nutrient Solution for the time being, and his life settled into a routine.

Every day, he traveled back and forth between three places: school, the gym, and home.

The proficiency of The Stars Are Calling steadily rose at a rate of roughly thirty points a day.

His Body Tempering progress likewise climbed slowly but surely.

Day after day...

One month later, inside the Martial Arts Space.

Roar!

Wolf Venom let out a savage roar, its fangs gleaming with chilling light.

A hundred meters away, Li Qingshan rested the tip of his saber against the ground, a smile on his lips.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll kill you once to celebrate!"

Man and beast charged at each other.

In the blink of an eye, they crossed a hundred meters, claws and machete colliding.

Bang!

After one strike, Wolf Venom swiftly twisted around and pounced again.

Li Qingshan's gaze sharpened. Rather than using Lost-Trace Steps to circle behind it as he had before, he directly swung his arm.

Whoosh!

The blade tore through the air with an unceasing howl, growing faster and faster.

In but an instant, the machete itself vanished into the wind, leaving behind only an endless stream of blade shadows.

"Wind Shadow Blade at mastery—the blade light becomes shadows!"

The blade shadows filling the sky descended like a net.

Wolf Venom's outstretched claws were instantly knocked back by the blade shadows, and wounds covered its forelimbs.

Roar!

Wolf Venom howled unwillingly and pounced again.

Yet the blade shadows were impenetrable. It had no way to break through and instead suffered slash after slash across its body.

Blood flew alongside the blade shadows, while Wolf Venom's roars grew weaker and weaker.

In less than a minute,

Wolf Venom's massive body suddenly went limp and collapsed onto the ground. Blood streamed from its wounds, forming a pool beneath it.

The blade shadows filling the sky abruptly vanished.

Li Qingshan sheathed his saber and stood before the pool of blood. Looking at the dying Wolf Venom, he revealed a satisfied smile.

"I finally managed to kill you head-on."

Over the past month, his Body Tempering progress had long surpassed 18/100, reaching the Body Tempering Second Stage.

Although his speed and punching force still could not compare to Wolf Venom's, with the mastered Wind Shadow Blade, he could now kill it head-on.

However, that was not why he was "celebrating" today.

Watching Wolf Venom breathe its last and its corpse turn back into a statue, Li Qingshan willed himself out of the Martial Arts Space.

In the classroom, Cao Shaoyu was drenched in sweat as he practiced Body Tempering.

Compared to a month ago, the chubby kid had shed a layer of fat, and his movements had become incomparably standard. He had officially gotten started.

"A great teacher produces outstanding students!"

Li Qingshan smiled smugly, his gaze falling upon the illusory panel.

[Li Qingshan]

[Realm: Body Tempering 20/100]

[Technique:

Thirty-Sixth Broadcast Calisthenics Routine—The Stars Are Calling 1/3000 (Mastery)]

[Martial Skills: Lost-Trace Steps 276/3000 (Mastery), Wind Shadow Blade 5/3000 (Mastery)]

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

[Available Time: 150 days]

[Time Flow Rate: 1:10]

"The Fourth Realm of The Stars Are Calling, Muscle Rhythm?"

Li Qingshan lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, carefully recalling the information that had flooded into his mind when the technique had leveled up.

"Use breathing to draw upon the heart's power, sense the nerves hidden within the muscles, and gain control of muscle contractions."

"Whenever force is exerted in each movement, simultaneously stimulate the nerves in the corresponding area and make the muscles tremble."

The contents in his mind had not changed from what Wan Keshan had explained before.

But unlike before, when he had only half understood,

the instant The Stars Are Calling leveled up, he had completely "comprehended" it. His body instinctively learned how to do it.

"With the panel and the Martial Arts Space's time acceleration, I'm basically a budget version of someone with heaven-defying comprehension."

Li Qingshan smiled in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the technique section.

[The Stars Are Calling 1/3000 (Mastery)]

"Didn't they say there were only four realms? Why is the progress bar still there?"

Beginner, proficient, expert, mastery, and perfection—these were the five realms classified by the panel, as well as the real world's classification of martial skill realms.

But The Stars Are Calling was different.

When Wan Keshan had first explained the technique, he had specifically mentioned that The Stars Are Calling had only four realms.

Li Qingshan had always assumed that techniques differed from martial skills.

Yet now, The Stars Are Calling at mastery was no different from Lost-Trace Steps and Wind Shadow Blade. All of them required 3,000 proficiency points.

"Could The Stars Are Calling also be raised to perfection? Is there a Fifth Realm?"

The thought flashed through his mind, and Li Qingshan's eyes gradually lit up.

Every time the technique leveled up, its Body Tempering efficiency doubled.

Over two months in the Martial Arts Class, his Body Tempering progress had increased by eleven points.

Now that The Stars Are Calling had reached mastery, his Body Tempering efficiency had doubled. Even if advancement became harder later on, he was confident he could reach the Body Tempering Third Stage within a month.

If The Stars Are Calling could still be raised to perfection, doubling Body Tempering efficiency once more...

His Body Tempering speed would become absolutely terrifying!