Jiang Shu

The start of senior year always came especially early.

Jicheng Fifth High School.

Jiang Shu first jogged two laps around the track, then walked into the covered corridor. After regulating his breathing for several minutes, he settled into a firm Horse Stance, his body rising and falling ever so slightly like waves.

The sky was still dim, and a thin layer of unthawed ice remained on the lake before the corridor.

"Martial Dao... what did it truly take to step into the realm of Martial Dao?"

Jiang Shu murmured inwardly. In his previous life, he had suffered from a serious illness and lain bedridden, dying young before he even reached thirty. Therefore, in this life, ever since he had broken through the Mystery of the Womb three months ago and awakened his special ability, he had intended to walk only one path—martial arts.

Only by claiming great power for oneself could one truly take control of one's own fate!

His wandering thoughts swiftly drew back. Jiang Shu imagined himself as a bowl of muddy water: once it became still, the impurities settled, and the water turned clear.

This was the One Bowl Water Method he had gained in his previous life. Used alongside the Horse Stance, the two complemented each other perfectly, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

When rising, his toes clawed tightly like chicken talons; his legs tensed, his waist lifted, and his abdomen drew in.

When lowering, his toes relaxed like duck webs; his legs loosened, his waist sank, and his abdomen expanded.

Between each rise and fall, a red sun rose beyond the distant mountains.

Warm sunlight, together with the cold wind of the first month, struck Jiang Shu's hair, which had already grown past his ears.

Beneath that thick hair, sweat steamed, while his bulging temples went unseen by anyone.

By the time Jiang Shu finished his stance practice, returned to the dormitory for a shower, and came back out, the dormitory's wake-up alarm had only just rung.

Small groups of students also gradually began making their way into the campus through the school gates.

He strolled through the campus, his hearing sharp and his vision clear, catching every word of his classmates' conversations.

"One pen, one lamp, one night, one miracle. Yesterday nearly worked me to death. I really want to switch to being a martial arts student. I heard all they had to do every day was practice stances, and they could do whatever they wanted the rest of the time. Us? Morning self-study at seven, evening self-study until nine-thirty. We ate worse than pigs, slept later than dogs, and woke earlier than chickens."

"Jealous? Who but poor students would become Martial Arts Students? Didn't the homeroom teacher say it? This so-called martial arts track is really just the country testing the waters with College Entrance Examination reforms. The schools Martial Arts Students could enter were basically all vocational colleges. How could they compare to us future bachelor's degree students?"

"You can't say that either. As long as you sense the Blood Qi within your body, you can apply for exemption from the exam and enter a bachelor's university. If you can circulate your Blood Qi, that's even more incredible—you can go straight to a Key University! How many Key Universities did our school have? And if you go one step further, an Academy..."

"Heh, do you think the Horse Stance is some peerless martial art? It's just foundational training! Foundational training that won't turn you into a superhero even after you get started. Go look at those martial arts gym coaches—each one pounds sandbags like they're amazing, but how many of them have achieved minor mastery in the Horse Stance, with bulging temples? They hung up a sheep's head but sold dog meat. In reality, it's still that same modern fighting stuff, not true Martial Dao! Better buckle down and memorize your books, little-town test grinder."

"Pah, what's wrong with being a little-town test grinder? Get into a bachelor's university, graduate, and find a stable, respectable job. That's the dream of countless people. You should be content."

In November of Mystic Star Calendar 2026, the upper echelons of the Xia Kingdom issued a decree: regardless of whether they studied the sciences or humanities, high school students could switch to becoming Martial Arts Students and practice the Horse Stance.

Anyone who achieved minor mastery in the Horse Stance and sensed their own Blood Qi could directly enter any bachelor's university without taking an exam.

Yet at the major high schools, aside from students who had never had any hope of getting into a bachelor's university and planned to slack off at vocational college, almost no one chose the martial arts track.

They were already in senior year. No one would gamble with their future.

Some freshmen who had just entered high school, however, faced less academic pressure. Driven by curiosity and interest, they began watching the Horse Stance videos released by the Education Bureau, fantasizing that one day they might achieve minor mastery in the Horse Stance and enter university directly without taking the College Entrance Examination.

Jiang Shu passed through the crowd, went up to the fifth floor, and knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

His homeroom teacher, Old Yan, called out. Jiang Shu pushed the door open and entered, finding Old Yan continuously tapping at his keyboard, seemingly organizing materials for the new term.

"Jiang Shu, what brings you here?"

Yan Dehou looked up, somewhat surprised.

Jiang Shu's grades were average within the class. If he worked harder and had some luck, he might even get into a bachelor's university.

Students at that level often had very little presence in class. They might not enter the office even once in an entire semester. Yan Dehou did not know why Jiang Shu had come over of his own accord this time.

"Teacher Yan, I'm here to apply for a leave of absence."

Jiang Shu went straight to the point.

Ever since taking up martial arts, his thoughts had become increasingly crystal-clear. He simplified complexity in all matters.

"A leave of absence? Did something happen at home?"

Forgetting the work in his hands, Yan Dehou frowned slightly. He even stood up at once and asked with concern.

"No. I'm preparing to switch to the martial arts track. For the final semester, I plan to practice the Horse Stance at home on my own."

"A martial arts student... this..."

At the words "martial arts student," Yan Dehou fell silent, all the countless words of persuasion catching in his throat at once.

Last November, the school leaders had organized a meeting. The content of that meeting was simple: as long as a student voluntarily applied to become a martial arts student, homeroom teachers were not allowed to obstruct them in any way and had to approve the request immediately.

"Jiang Shu, why don't you think it over a little more? With your grades, if you make one final push, you still have hope of getting into a bachelor's university. Besides, even if you switch to the martial arts track, you still have to take the College Entrance Examination. Unless you reach the level of sensing Blood Qi, you can't truly enroll without taking the exam..."

"Teacher Yan isn't asking you to attend classes and do homework like the other students. Come listen in whenever you have time, and do some practice papers when you can. If you really end up taking the College Entrance Examination, at least your mind won't be completely blank. Preparing for both academics and martial arts is actually quite good. There's still time before the College Entrance Examination, so making such a rash decision..."

There were no other teachers in the office at the moment, so Yan Dehou could not help speaking up. He had taught and educated students for over twenty years. Extremely traditional in outlook, he hoped every student under his care could smoothly enter a university they were satisfied with.

In his eyes, this so-called martial arts track and Horse Stance training were not a true great path, but more like taking a dangerous shortcut.

If the applicant had truly been a bottom-ranking poor student, that would have been one thing.

But Jiang Shu clearly had hope of making a run at a bachelor's university.

"Teacher Yan, my mind is made up."

Without further words, Jiang Shu handed over his application form. He had looked into the relevant procedures. As long as it involved a martial arts student, the school would directly approve it.

This alone proved that the Martial Dao of this world was far from as simple as his classmates believed.

"All right."

Yan Dehou looked repeatedly at Jiang Shu, then at the signatures under the parents' section of the application form.

With a long sigh, he could only hope that this leave of absence was a decision his student had made after the utmost consideration.

"Thank you, Teacher Yan."

"If there's nothing else, how about you return to the classroom first, Jiang Shu? I'll talk to the classmates later, and we can hold a little farewell ceremony. After all, you've been together for over a year. There must be feelings there."

"No need. It's only a leave of absence. We'll meet again."

After simply declining Old Yan, Jiang Shu turned and left.

After breaking through the Mystery of the Womb, the consciousness from his previous life had taken the lead. In this world, aside from the parents who had given birth to and raised him, and his younger sister who had grown up with him, no one else could truly stir even the faintest ripple in his heart.

Besides, he had already been thirty in his previous life.

Living a second life, his mind was even more mature than it had been then. What could he possibly talk about with a group of high school students who had yet to enter the world?

There were more and more students on campus, chattering like sparrows.

In the classroom, some students had already begun furiously copying their winter vacation homework.

Jiang Shu did not choose to pack the pile of books in his desk. Instead, he left the teaching building and returned to the empty dormitory.

A semi-transparent Panel appeared in his mind:

Jiang Shu—

Great Jing Dynasty Language/Writing: Beginner (926/1000)

Horse Stance: Minor Mastery (526/1000)

Two Worlds Travel Countdown: 00:00

"I waited three months, yet the Xia Kingdom still hasn't released a true Martial Dao cultivation method. Even though the Panel confirms every attainment permanently, the Horse Stance progresses more slowly the further I go."

"By the time the College Entrance Examination arrives, I'll probably only reach major mastery—circulate Blood Qi, and enter a Key University without taking the exam."

"Getting into a Key University would already put me ahead of over ninety percent of the students at Fifth High School. But with Mom and Dad being so supportive in this life, why shouldn't I strive for an Academy!"

"The Great Jing Dynasty has eighteen provinces, two hundred and seventy prefectures, and thousands of county towns. Any random county town has a martial artist in the Viscera Training Realm stationed there. As long as I have enough silver, I can join a county town martial arts school and learn martial arts!"

Jiang Shu recalled all the information he had gathered in Pingling County. He did not know how the realms of Martial Dao on Xuanxing would be categorized in the future, nor how Martial Dao would be cultivated.

But he knew the three realms of martial artists in Pingling County of the other world, within the Great Jing Dynasty.

Skin Polishing. Bone Tempering. Organ Refining.

He clearly remembered the words spoken by a storyteller as he snapped his folding fan shut:

"Martial artists of the Viscera Training Realm have force that enters the viscera, and live beyond two full cycles of sixty years!"

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