He's Hard to Judge

"Should be over now, right?"

All the students stared wide-eyed as Li Qingshan walked over with his blade lowered, yet they could not relax.

His white martial arts uniform was soaked in blood and clung tightly to his skin, outlining his muscles clearly.

The machete in his right hand was covered in filthy blood, droplets falling from its tip and forming a trail of red across the floor.

His handsome face was long obscured by blood and grime, and a bloodthirsty smile hung from the corners of his parted lips, making him look especially savage.

Liang Mingyu's face filled with terror as he staggered back several steps.

"Y-you, what are you doing?!"

Li Qingshan was baffled and shot him a glance.

But that casual glance looked entirely different in Liang Mingyu's eyes.

Blood ran down Li Qingshan's forehead, passing over his brows and leaving two streaks of red.

Beneath those dark-red bloodstained brows, an icy gaze fell upon him like a blade, instantly shattering his courage.

Liang Mingyu's knees gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, crying out:

"Don't come over!"

Huh?

Li Qingshan was stunned. He looked innocently at Wan Keshan.

"Trash! If you've got no guts, then get the hell out of the Martial Arts Class!"

Wan Keshan's furious shout jolted Liang Mingyu awake.

Looking at the silent Liang Mingyu and Liu Jingya, who was still unconscious on the ground, he had already struck both of them from his list.

Fear was not shameful, but if they did not even have the courage to face it, they were not qualified to remain in the Martial Arts Class.

"Teacher, the knife."

Li Qingshan held out the handle and handed the machete to Wan Keshan.

Wan Keshan frowned.

The blade had been pulled from Wolf Venom's innards. It was covered not only in blood, but all kinds of filth as well, and gave off a foul stench.

It was not just the machete. Even Li Qingshan standing before him smelled absolutely awful.

In the end, he could only wave his hand.

"Fine, keep the knife. Class is over for today. Go wash up properly in the restroom."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Li Qingshan's face lit up. Without the slightest disgust, he grabbed the machete and ran toward the restroom.

Once Li Qingshan left, the breath the students had been holding finally eased.

Looking at Wolf Venom's mangled corpse, discussions gradually rose, and the atmosphere grew livelier.

At that moment, Feral Beasts no longer seemed so frightening.

Because Li Qingshan was even more frightening!

The chatter grew increasingly noisy.

Yet Wan Keshan had no intention of stopping it. His gaze swept across the excited faces, and a satisfied smile appeared.

Although The First Martial Dao Lesson had been cut short by Li Qingshan, its purpose had already been achieved.

In fact, the results were even better than before!

Yu Lei looked toward the direction Li Qingshan had disappeared in, then withdrew her gaze.

She walked up to Wan Keshan, pursed her lips, and said:

"I let you down, Uncle."

Hong Qian stood behind Yu Lei. Hearing that, his entire body trembled as his eyes darted back and forth between her and Wan Keshan.

Wan Keshan's face twitched, and he said sternly:

"At school, call me Teacher!"

After saying that, he looked at the two of them, his tone softening somewhat.

"For your first time facing a Feral Beast, being able to withstand the pressure and face its ferocity head-on means you both did very well."

Although Yu Lei was his niece, she had never seen a Feral Beast before either.

Compared to the Martial Arts Classes of previous years, their performance would definitely rank among the best.

"Teacher, then what about Li Qingshan?"

Hong Qian looked much better, but he wanted even more to know how the teacher evaluated Li Qingshan.

"Li Qingshan..."

Wan Keshan pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"He's hard to judge."

He had never seen someone like Li Qingshan in his entire life. How was he supposed to evaluate him?

Inside the restroom,

Steam filled the single-person shower stall.

Li Qingshan stood quietly beneath the showerhead, letting the water wash over him as he focused on the panel.

[Li Qingshan]

[Realm: Body Tempering 9/100]

[Technique:

Thirty-Sixth Broadcast Calisthenics Routine—The Stars Are Calling 8/1000 (Mastery)]

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

[Available Time: 1 year]

[Time Flow Rate: 1:10]

The Martial Arts Space had already been unlocked, and at the moment of unlocking, the relevant information had appeared in Li Qingshan's mind.

The Martial Arts Space was a mysterious space meant for cultivation. It automatically recorded projections of every monster that died by his hand.

The newly unlocked Martial Arts Space was only Lv1. Its experience and available time were equal, and both had to be gained by hunting monsters.

However, consuming available time would not affect the Martial Arts Space's experience.

Within the Martial Arts Space, his consciousness projection would not expend physical stamina, allowing him to fight freely and hone his martial skills.

After a monster projection was killed, it could reform again without any cost.

It was not limited to martial skills. Techniques could also be cultivated within the Martial Arts Space.

Although he would only be cultivating with a projection, meaning his physical Body Tempering progress would not increase, the improvement in technique proficiency would remain unaffected.

"More importantly, there is no physical stamina consumption in the Martial Arts Space!"

Li Qingshan's eyes shone as he silently calculated.

Every time he practiced The Stars Are Calling, he had to give it his all, and each session took an hour.

With his previous stamina recovery speed, he could only practice twice a day.

Over two days, he could practice four times, increasing his technique proficiency by only 1 point.

But if he practiced in the Martial Arts Space,

he could practice continuously for twenty-four hours. That was 6 points of proficiency per day.

And there was also a difference in the flow of time between reality and the Martial Arts Space.

With a 1:10 time flow rate, one day in reality meant ten days in the Martial Arts Space!

"In other words, if I stayed in the Martial Arts Space for an entire day, I could gain 60 points of proficiency?"

At that thought, Li Qingshan's breathing quickened.

From 1 point every two days to 60 points in a single day—a difference of a full 120 times!

In just over half a month, he could raise the Mastery-level The Stars Are Calling by another level!

That meant his cultivation efficiency would double again!

From an ordinary high school student at the beginning of his transmigration to the current top student among the martial arts freshmen, he had relied on steadily raising his technique level through effort.

In fact,

Li Qingshan suspected that not a single person in the entire class had cultivated The Stars Are Calling to Mastery.

After all, even Zhao Hongzhou had consumed quite a few bottles of nutrient solution, let alone Yu Lei, Hong Qian, and Liang Mingyu.

Yet even so, Li Qingshan, who had never drunk a single bottle of nutrient solution, still surpassed them all.

"Teacher Wan said he saw a sliver of hope in me for reaching the New Continent. Could it be because he saw my technique level?"

Li Qingshan seemed to realize something.

Wan Keshan had the records of every student. He surely knew Li Qingshan came from public support, and combined with his test results, it would not be hard for him to figure that out.

"Right now, it's only a sliver of a chance. But what if my technique rises another level, or even two?"

For a moment, Li Qingshan's thoughts ran wild.

But the cold words on the panel quickly pulled him back to reality.

[Available Time: 1 year]

"No, just one year of available time definitely isn't enough to raise it another level."

Each time The Stars Are Calling leveled up, its cultivation efficiency increased exponentially.

But the difficulty of leveling up increased in the same way.

From Beginner to Proficient, then Proficient to Mastery, it had taken Li Qingshan two full years.

If the Martial Arts Space had not appeared, it would take at least another three years to fill the current Mastery progress bar.

As for raising it another level?

Li Qingshan did not know what the next level's progress bar would look like, but his remaining available time was definitely not enough.

"Hunt monsters to obtain cultivation time for the Martial Arts Space, while also increasing the Martial Arts Space's experience."

"But where am I supposed to find monsters?"

"Forget it. Even one Wolf Venom isn't something I can handle right now. Thinking too much is pointless."

Li Qingshan rubbed his temples and emptied his mind.

He closed his eyes and quietly felt the water flow over his body.