The Stars Are Calling, Prey!

Night.

Linjiang Road, Star River Bar.

The music was deafening, dazzling lights splashing wantonly through the dark space.

Dancers' Projections twisted in midair, scantily clad.

Beneath their illusory bare feet, figures swayed and bobbed their heads, venting to their hearts' content.

The smells of smoke, alcohol, and sweat mingled with hormones, fermenting in the enclosed space.

"It's been a month, and I'm still not used to this smell."

Li Qingshan, dressed in a security uniform, frowned as he passed along the edge of the crowd and arrived at the bar's entrance.

Li Qingshan let out a long breath and lightly pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe I should find another job. There are plenty of part-time opportunities anyway."

"But I'm entering the Martial Arts Class tomorrow, so I need to see how they arrange things first."

"It wasn't easy saving up 60,000 Star Coins. Who knows how long it'll last?"

60,000 Star Coins was no small sum. After all, his rent was only 1,000 a month.

But compared to martial arts cultivation, even the lowest-grade Nutrient Solution cost 3,000 a bottle. This bit of money was undoubtedly a drop in the bucket.

"Good thing I have a cheat!"

A grin spread across Li Qingshan's lips as he looked at the illusory screen.

[Li Qingshan]

[Realm: Body Forging 9/100]

[Technique:

The Thirty-Sixth Set of Broadcast Gymnastics—The Stars Are Calling 7/1000 (Mastery)]

[Function: Martial Arts Space] (Locked)

The final line, [Martial Arts Space], was still gray and white, locked.

However, the technique proficiency alone had already benefited Li Qingshan greatly.

As long as he worked hard, there would be gains.

In just two short years,

The Stars Are Calling had gone from Beginner 53/100, crossed the Proficient rank, and reached Mastery.

An increase in technique proficiency would not directly raise his Body Forging progress.

But it represented cultivation speed.

With every upgrade, the effect increased exponentially.

At the Mastery level, The Stars Are Calling cultivated at least eight times faster than it had at the Beginner level.

Body Forging was a major realm, divided into ten levels. It was the only path to becoming an official Martial Artist.

At [Body Forging 9/100], he was already close to Body Tempering First Level.

This was the result of Li Qingshan's efforts over the past two years.

And now,

he was confident that he could reach Body Tempering Second Level within half a year.

Moreover, as his technique proficiency increased, he would only grow faster and faster.

"I wonder what functions [Martial Arts Space] actually has, and what conditions are needed to unlock it."

Just as Li Qingshan was pondering, a slender hand reached out from behind and rested on his shoulder.

"Hey, handsome. Why are you all alone? Want to have a drink with your big sister?"

Li Qingshan stepped forward, avoiding the hand on his shoulder, then turned to look at her.

She was a woman in her twenties. She held a wineglass in her left hand, while her right remained extended.

She had long, wavy purplish-red hair, a pretty face, and unfocused drunken eyes.

Below her neck, a patch of snowy white was especially eye-catching.

Li Qingshan gave it a glance, swiftly withdrew his gaze, and said seriously,

"Ma'am, if you want a drink, you can go to the bar. I'm security. I have to work."

"A security guard can still be handsome!"

The woman smiled dreamily and stepped forward again.

"You're so young, handsome. Didn't you come work here just to make money?"

Li Qingshan's retreating steps slowed.

Indeed, even the lowest-grade Nutrient Solution cost 3,000 a bottle. 60,000 Star Coins would not last long.

The woman's eyes lit up, and she struck while the iron was hot.

"Handsome, name your price. Your big sister is very generous."

Generous?

Li Qingshan's eyes lit up, then he abruptly shook his head.

No, he could not fall into depravity!

But after looking her over from head to toe, his gaze sweeping past the minefield once more,

he... hesitated.

Maybe it wasn't impossible?

In the end, Li Qingshan raised one finger at her, his face full of conflict.

"Ten thousand? Easy—"

The woman smiled brightly and raised the Communicator on her wrist, about to transfer the money.

"What ten thousand? One million!"

Li Qingshan took a deep breath and made up his mind.

"One million, and I'll have a drink with you."

Ten thousand could only buy three bottles of Nutrient Solution. What use was that?

Besides, this was his first time drinking with a customer!

Faced with Li Qingshan's expression of marching bravely to his death, the woman rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"One million for a drink? Are you crazy?"

"Didn't you say you were generous?"

Li Qingshan smacked his lips, somewhat regretful.

He had been working part-time at the bar for a month. It was not as though no one had approached him before, but he had always firmly refused.

This time, he had wrestled with himself for quite a while before deciding to take a gamble for the sake of martial arts.

"Ah!"

Li Qingshan sighed and continued dutifully standing guard.

As the night deepened, the clamorous music gradually softened, and the crowd dispersed.

Li Qingshan changed clothes and exited through the side door.

Outside was a dimly lit alley.

When he reached the mouth of the alley,

Li Qingshan halted. Three figures ahead were blocking his path.

"Drink, I want more to drink~ Hic~~"

The drunken woman was being held up by two yellow-haired men, her feet dangling off the ground.

But the two yellow-haired men were unsteady on their feet as well. The three of them, linked together, swayed like a clothes rack buffeted by the wind.

"They're already this weak, and they still came out to pick up a corpse?" Li Qingshan shook his head and laughed.

He had seen these two yellow-haired men two or three times. Every time, they were doing the same thing.

Hearing his voice, the two yellow-haired men hurriedly stopped, turned around, and stared at Li Qingshan with guarded expressions.

"Kid, don't meddle in other people's business."

One of them deliberately displayed his bare arm, where an evil dragon tattoo with flapping Wings covered the skin.

"That lizard is too ugly. I suggest you get a different one."

Li Qingshan glanced at it disdainfully and walked straight ahead.

The two yellow-haired men immediately put on a fierce front to hide their fear and prepared to make a move.

"Move aside, please. You're blocking the way."

As the words fell, his palm pushed against one man's shoulder.

The two yellow-haired men, along with the woman held between them, all swayed and involuntarily stumbled toward the wall beside them.

By the time they came back to their senses,

Li Qingshan had already left the alley and was standing beside the bus stop sign.

Just then, a bus pulled in, and its front doors opened.

Li Qingshan took one step aboard.

First, he was only a security guard.

Second, he was off work.

"The vehicle is departing. Please hold on to the handrails and do not walk around."

Li Qingshan sat by the window and looked toward the alley entrance.

The two yellow-haired men visibly relaxed. The woman between them hung her head, her purplish-red wavy hair especially conspicuous.

"I wonder who's the hunter and who's the prey?"

The vehicle swayed as it slowly drove away...

Screech!

A piercing brake sound rang out, and the wheels stopped turning.

"The vehicle has arrived. Please exit through the rear door."

Li Qingshan stepped off the bus and ran toward the residential complex in the distance.

The complex he rented in was neither new nor old, and its surroundings were decent. There was a small park nearby, furnished with quite a few exercise facilities.

As he ran, the scenery along the way entered Li Qingshan's eyes, making him sigh again.

"Is this really the Interstellar Era?"

Whether it was the exercise facilities or the complex's amenities, none of them seemed particularly high-tech.

Even the residential environment was much the same as Blue Star in his previous life.

"Is the gap between Old Continent and New Continent really that great?"

The thought flashed through his mind, then was cast aside.

Sooner or later, he would learn the answer.

Li Qingshan's rented home was a typical one-bedroom apartment. The living room was utterly empty, without a single piece of furniture.

After entering, Li Qingshan headed straight for the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out two one-kilogram chunks of beef.

The beef had been stored for a week, yet it was still rosy in color, its meat firm and springy.

"Good thing preservation technology has at least improved."

Li Qingshan opened the packaging, tossed the beef into plain water, and sprinkled in a little salt.

Half an hour later, once the beef was fully cooked, Li Qingshan fished out one chunk, rinsed it cool under cold water, and began gnawing on it.

The taste was truly nothing to write home about, but he did not care.

After wolfing down the beef in a few bites, Li Qingshan returned to the living room and stretched his body.

The Stars Are Calling consisted of 108 movements, and none of them was difficult.

As long as an Ordinary Person had sound limbs, they could perform all of them in sequence. That was the foundation of its identity as "Broadcast Gymnastics."

But as a Body Forging technique, The Stars Are Calling's true characteristic was that it was easy to learn but difficult to master.

At the Beginner level, one only had to imitate the movements and complete all 108 to strengthen the body.

To achieve a Body Forging effect, however, one had to master the Force Generation principles of every movement. On the Status Panel, that was reflected as the Proficient rank.

As for the current Mastery level, the focus lay in breathing.

With heavy breaths, Li Qingshan curled his toes tight, twisted his waist and hips, and raised his right arm.

His muscles bulged layer upon layer, extending all the way to his wrist. Veins emerged from the back of his hand and ran straight to his fingertips.

At the Beginner level, this had merely been a simple "hip twist and arm swing" movement. Now, it had become incomparably difficult.

As time passed, he completed all 108 movements.

Li Qingshan relaxed his body. His clothes were already soaked through, sweat streamed down his forehead, and white vapor rose from above his head.

Ignoring his physical exhaustion, Li Qingshan rushed into the kitchen, grabbed the remaining chunk of beef, and began gnawing on it.

After finishing the beef, Li Qingshan finally let out a breath and looked at the Status Panel.

The Stars Are Calling 7/1000 (Mastery) → The Stars Are Calling 8/1000 (Mastery)

A single practice session was not enough to increase his Body Forging progress, and the rise in proficiency was not solely due to this one session either.

"Two practice sessions a day, one point gained every two days. Does that mean I need to complete four sessions to gain one point of proficiency?"

Ever since reaching Mastery, Li Qingshan had been calculating the pattern behind proficiency gains at this level. Now, he could more or less confirm it.

However, he was not satisfied with this result.

"One point every two days, with 992 points of proficiency remaining. Wouldn't that take nearly 1,800 days?"

"Hiss! Five years!"

Li Qingshan sucked in a cold breath, suddenly feeling that the road ahead stretched endlessly.

"No, I overlooked the increase in Body Forging progress."

His gaze swept over the Status Panel, and Li Qingshan's spirits rose.

"In another six months, I should be able to raise my Body Forging to 20/100, which is Body Tempering Second Level."

"The stronger my body becomes, the better my stamina will be and the faster I'll recover. By then, I'll be able to practice more than twice a day."

"The two complement each other. Maybe two or three years will be enough."

The time had been cut in half, yet Li Qingshan showed little joy. His gaze drifted toward the refrigerator.

"I should buy some Nutrient Solution and give it a try."

In the end, what limited his progress was his body's recovery speed.

If he recovered quickly enough, he could train three, four, even five times a day right now, and his Body Forging progress would improve even faster.

Unfortunately, before Mastery, all kinds of meat had been enough to replenish what his body needed.

But now, his stomach could not hold any more food, and his digestion could not keep up either.

"Nutrient Solution..."

Li Qingshan swiped across his Communicator, looked at the 60,000 Star Coins in savings, and let out a helpless sigh.

What limited him was not Nutrient Solution, but poverty.

Without realizing it, Li Qingshan thought of that head of purplish-red wavy hair and curled his lip.

"She's already reduced to freeloading, yet she still pretends to be generous with me."

In the suburbs, on the second floor of an abandoned construction site.

The concrete floor had been soaked in blood. Dark-red stains wound and intertwined, outlining a bizarre pattern.

Beside it, two desiccated corpses knelt upright, gaunt and withered, their skin clinging tightly to their bones without a trace of flesh or blood beneath.

A breeze passed through, sending countless yellow hairs drifting up from the corpses' scalps and scattering in every direction.