Sword Light (Happy Dragon Boat Festival!!)

"Why... do you study martial arts?"

There was still some time before class. Fang Xing looked at Xia Long and habitually began to zone out again, recalling the scene from their first martial arts class.

Back then, Xia Long had stood in the exact same spot, his voice thunderous:

"Because you are reserve soldiers. One day, you will go to the battlefield and fight those Evil God Kin to the death... You study martial arts to stay alive!"

"Remember that, then train hard! Train like your lives depend on it!! Only then will you have a chance to survive in the future!!!"

"Your background means you are destined to lack the resources needed for career paths such as Mecha Pilot or psychic... Martial arts require the least investment and offer decent prospects. They are your best choice for evolution!"

"Before graduation, I expect every one of you to reach the Second Realm of martial arts and master an A-Rank Martial Art. Otherwise, once you reach the battlefield, you'll be throwing your lives away. There is no second possibility!"

That blood-soaked cruelty had instantly dragged Fang Xing into reality.

And now, Xia Long began teaching as well. "Most Evil God Kin possess mental Contamination. Even the lowest Lower Servants can unleash mental shocks... At first, the Federation's fleets and Mecha Pilots suffered greatly. The Federation's mental hospitals were filled beyond capacity during that period... But later, we discovered that the Martial Will produced after the human body evolved through martial arts could resist this type of mental Contamination... While it is difficult for you to enter the Courage Realm as adults and gain a trace of Artistic Conception Power, the Federation has developed many Martial Arts that can use hypnosis to grant low-realm martial artists nearly identical power. That is how A-Rank Martial Arts came about..."

Fang Xing's teeth ached as he listened below.

Martial arts! It was touted as the evolution path in the Blue Star Federation with the lowest resource investment and highest return, but in truth, it was a cannon-fodder path!

There were actually many ways to resist the mental Contamination of Evil God Kin. But whether it was an alchemist's medicine, a psychic's mental talismans, psionic armor, or specially modified mechas, none were things someone burdened by debt like him could hope for.

For Biochemical Humans like himself, there was only one path: study martial arts! Then head to the front lines and hack at Vassal Races with a blade!

If they survived for several years, they might have a chance to retire alive.

Of course, the Federation had not entirely cut off the paths available to Biochemical Humans.

After all, Biochemical Humans were not all that different from Natural Humans. They, too, possessed limitless potential.

The Fang Xing of the past had sat here in order to get into university and successfully postpone his Military Service!

According to Federal Law, once someone was admitted to university, they could receive a scholarship and defer their Military Service until after graduation!

It was said that many of the Federation's "Martial Saints" and "Martial Gods" had taken this very path.

University entrance exams...

They're difficult. Extremely difficult! Even Xia Long subconsciously believes there won't be a single university student among us... After all, one of the most basic requirements for getting into university is reaching the Third Realm of martial arts—Rough Jade—before graduating high school!

The three realms of martial arts were the First Realm, "Skin and Flesh"; the Second Realm, "Tendons and Bones"; and the Third Realm, "Rough Jade"!

A martial artist who reached the Rough Jade Realm would return their body to the Innate state. The qi of their Five Viscera would become perfectly unified, automatically repairing all hidden injuries. Their inner and outer circulation would become incomparably perfect, allowing them to live to one hundred and twenty without illness or misfortune!

Fang Xing sighed inwardly, then watched Xia Long's movements ahead.

Xia Long was currently assuming a stance, the spine on his back trembling like a great dragon.

"Today's lesson: first, hold the Great Dragon Stance for thirty minutes, then practice the Military Body Boxing Twelve Forms with me..."

"There's not much to say about the Great Dragon Stance. It is the best stance exercise for the First Realm—Skin Refinement. After countless simulations by the Federation's supreme Smart Brain, the Omniscient Brain, it has reached the 'perfect' level. It trains the skin and flesh throughout the entire body without missing even the slightest part... You must not stand like a dead post. Your body must move as your intent moves. Imagine your torso as a great dragon, your spine as Dragon Bone, and your limbs as dragon claws... It is best not to practice the Great Dragon Stance for more than an hour a day. Students with the means can buy D3 Nutrient Solution from the store..."

Xia Long explained in great detail, but inwardly, he sighed. The cheapest D3 Nutrient Solution cost 5,000 Star Dollars per dose. Ordinary Biochemical Human students would likely find it difficult to afford over the long term.

But there was nothing to be done. The Federation's resources were limited, and martial arts were already the cheapest and most accessible career evolution path.

Unless they displayed a certain degree of talent, they were not worth an investment from the school or from him.

Inhale... exhale...

Fang Xing calmed himself and assumed the posture of the Great Dragon Stance. A familiar feeling immediately surfaced in his heart, as though he had already practiced this stance exercise for a long time.

Without realizing it, he slowed his breathing. In his mind, he visualized a towering giant dragon, and the bones of his spine began to tremble faintly, one by one.

In this state, he felt the skin membrane all over his body pulse, tingle, ache, and itch... all kinds of strange sensations surged through him, while his muscles began to heat up.

Hold on! Hold on!

It was not every day that one transmigrated, much less came into contact with such Transcendent Power. Fang Xing gritted his teeth and persevered.

After who knew how long, he suddenly felt all strength drain from his body. His vision darkened, and the feeling of having reached his limit flooded through him.

It was like suddenly running out of strength during a long-distance run. Not even the slightest bit of force could emerge from his body anymore...

Have I reached my limit? I'm not going to faint, am I? Will they have to carry me to the Infirmary? That would be humiliating...

Just then, as Fang Xing's consciousness drifted hazily, he seemed to return to that night when he had stayed up reading a novel.

A Sword Light seemed to appear before his eyes. Beneath that single slash, worlds seemed to be born and perish one after another...

This is... what I saw when I transmigrated?

Why do I think it was a sword, rather than blade light? Or some other kind of radiance?

Beneath that Sword Light, something terrifying seemed to have been suppressed...

Fang Xing had no time to think further. He watched as the Sword Light descended and transformed into two spheres of light, one red and one white.

The two spheres chased each other like two fish, and also like a Red-White Taiji Diagram.

Suddenly!

BOOM!!!

The red and white radiance collided, and terrifying brilliance annihilated everything!

The Red-White Taiji Diagram abruptly shattered. Then... a faint fluorescent glow appeared before his eyes:

Name: Fang Xing

Age: 16

Profession: Martial Artist

It was a very simple panel. When Fang Xing's consciousness moved to the Martial Artist profession, several subcategories opened beneath it:

First Realm: Skin and Flesh (Skin Refinement: 21/100)

Military Body Boxing Twelve Forms: 55/100 (Beginner)

Great Dragon Stance: 67/100 (Beginner)

...

What kind of game panel is this? Is this my Golden Finger? It seems related to the scene I witnessed during my transmigration?

Fang Xing's heart stirred. Then... all sorts of insights concerning the Great Dragon Stance emerged. He suddenly felt strength return to his limbs and bones, like a channel on the verge of drying up being filled with fresh water, preventing him from fainting immediately.

That's right... Although I fully inherited the original owner's mental and muscle memory, there was still a difference when I actually used them. My mind knew it, and my hands knew it too... but they didn't cooperate or coordinate, so my skills had regressed...

But now that this Attribute Panel has appeared, once I have mastered something, it is mastered forever. Proficiency can only increase; it cannot decline...

Only now have I truly taken over everything the original owner possessed, even his martial arts...

If only I could add points...

Fang Xing was a little too greedy, but no matter how hard he searched, he could not find an option to add points. He could only let it go for the time being.

"Alright, thirty minutes are up."

Several minutes later, Xia Long gave the order. The students who had been holding their stances all breathed sighs of relief. Liu Wei even collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

Fang Xing was doing fairly well. His legs only felt slightly weak, nowhere near the point of needing to lie down.

"A Xing, your stance exercise seems to have gotten better. You secretly trained extra at home last night, didn't you?"

Seeing that his fellow sufferer had not fallen over, Liu Wei could not help teasing him.

"This is my normal level!"

Fang Xing replied, breathing heavily, though he added inwardly, It's just Fang Xing at his absolute peak...

A person's condition could be good or bad, but with the Attribute Panel locking it in, his condition would always remain at its peak!

To Liu Wei, it looked as though Fang Xing had improved again.

"Heh, your stance exercise is indeed a little better than mine, but that might not be true for what comes next." Liu Wei smiled and climbed to his feet.

Xia Long roared as well, "Don't lie down! You're in the perfect state right now. Get up and train! Military Body Boxing Twelve Forms, first form—Bow Stance Cannon Fist!"

Fang Xing's spine bent like a bow, the great tendons in his body like bowstrings. The five fingers of his right hand came together, and his knuckles actually crackled. He imagined his body as a great bow, firing his fist outward.

Pa!

When he threw the punch, the air ahead gave a muffled bang, startling Liu Wei beside him.

"A Xing, how did you... get so good?"

Seeing quite a few students in the class produce a punch sound, the lines of Xia Long's face softened slightly. "Good... The Ancient Fist Canon says, 'A Cannon Blast Worth Ten Thousand Gold.' If you can produce that sound, then in ancient times, every one of you would have been a Ming Jin Warrior, capable of fighting ten men alone! But it isn't enough! Far from enough!"

"Why is this first form, Bow Stance Cannon Fist, called Cannon Fist? The bow stance is merely the beginning. Imagining your body as a great bow is merely the start. Next, you must imagine yourselves as cannons, using the 'heart fire' to ignite your Qi-Blood gunpowder and firing your fists like cannonballs!"

As he spoke, Xia Long threw a punch.

BOOM!

It was the same Bow Stance Cannon Fist, but it was as though a cannonball had exploded in the air. Fang Xing felt pain shoot through his eardrums, and even his heart seemed squeezed, making his chest feel tight. That punch probably contains no less than twenty years of skill... I can't block it...

Xia Long withdrew his fist and stood tall. "Only when you can throw a true Cannon Fist—when a cannon blast is worth ten thousand gold—will this form count as minor mastery. The key lies in 'heart fire': use the heart as the driving force to circulate Qi-Blood..."

As he spoke, Xia Long walked behind a student and casually pressed a palm against the center of his back.

The student's face instantly flushed red. He swung out a punch. Though it did not produce a cannon blast, the crisp sound was clearly several degrees louder.

This kind of hands-on instruction is beyond anything a projection can offer... Though it seems only students who can produce a sound get this treatment...

As Fang Xing was thinking, Xia Long had already arrived behind him, placing five fingers against the center of his back. "Punch!"

Fang Xing immediately felt a wave of heat in his chest, as if gunpowder had been ignited and was desperately searching for an opening through which to erupt.

"Hah!"

Fang Xing gave a low shout and threw a punch, then felt his entire body go weak.

"Not bad. Pay attention to your footwork next time..."

Xia Long offered a brief pointer before walking toward another female student.

Fang Xing sat directly on the ground, gasping for air, but inwardly, he was somewhat excited.

His consciousness entered the Attribute Panel and found the subcategory for Military Body Boxing.

Military Body Boxing Twelve Forms: 56/100 (Beginner)

"Proficiency increased by one point?"

"If I did that a few dozen more times, could I bring Military Body Boxing to the limit of Beginner and enter the next stage?"

"But if I did that a few dozen times, my body wouldn't be able to take it..."

Feeling the soreness in his arm, Fang Xing shook his head inwardly.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

At the very bottom of the Attribute Panel, a strange new symbol appeared.

The rune seemed composed of twisted lines, faintly forming the outline of a mirror.

When his consciousness settled upon it, a new line of text appeared:

Gate of Heavens: 1/100 (Capturing)