He Was Hard to Judge

"Should be over, right?"

All the students stared wide-eyed as Li Qingshan sheathed his knife and walked over, yet they could not let out the breath caught in their throats.

His white martial arts uniform was soaked in blood, plastered to his skin and outlining every contour of his muscles.

The chopping knife in his right hand was covered in filthy blood. Drops of blood trickled from its tip, forming a crimson line across the floor.

His handsome face had long been obscured by blood and grime. A bloodthirsty smile curled at the corner of his lips, making him look exceptionally savage.

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

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

Li Qingshan was baffled and shot him a glance.

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

Blood streamed down the other man's forehead, following the edges of his brows and leaving two bloody streaks.

Beneath those dark-red blood brows, an icy gaze swept over him like a blade, shattering his courage in an instant.

Liang Mingyu's knees went weak, and he dropped to the ground, begging:

"Don't kill me!"

Li Qingshan was stunned. Looking utterly innocent, he turned to Wan Keshan.

"Trash! If you don't have the guts, then get the hell out of the Martial Arts Class!"

Wan Keshan's furious roar jolted Liang Mingyu awake.

Looking at the silent Liang Mingyu and Liu Jingya, who still had not woken up on the ground, he had already crossed both of them off his list.

Fear was not shameful, but if they did not even have the courage to face it, they had no right to remain in the Martial Arts Class.

"Teacher, the knife."

Li Qingshan held out the handle and offered the knife to Wan Keshan.

Wan Keshan frowned.

The blade had been pulled from Wolf Poison's internal organs. It was covered not only in blood, but all kinds of filth, and it gave off a nauseating stench.

Not just the chopping knife—even Li Qingshan standing before him smelled rather unforgettable.

In the end, he could only wave his hand.

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

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Li Qingshan's face lit up. Without the slightest hint of disgust, he grabbed the chopping knife and ran toward the Rest Room.

As Li Qingshan left, the breath the students had been holding finally escaped.

Looking at Wolf Poison's mangled corpse, discussions gradually broke out, and the atmosphere began to grow lively.

At that moment, Fierce Beasts no longer seemed quite so frightening.

Because Li Qingshan was even more frightening!

The discussions grew increasingly noisy.

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

Although the First Lesson of Martial Arts had been ended early 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 vanished in, then withdrew her gaze.

Walking up to Wan Keshan, she pressed her lips together and said:

"I let you down, Uncle."

Hong Qian stood behind Yu Lei. Hearing that, his entire body jolted, his eyes darting back and forth between Yu Lei and Wan Keshan.

Wan Keshan's face twitched as he said sternly:

"At school, call me Teacher!"

After saying that, he looked at the two of them, and his voice softened somewhat.

"For your first time facing a Fierce Beast, being able to withstand the pressure and confront its might head-on means you both performed very well."

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

Placed among previous Martial Arts Classes, their performances would absolutely have ranked among the best.

"Teacher, then what about Li Qingshan?"

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

"Li Qingshan..."

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

"He was hard to judge."

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

Inside the Rest Room,

Steam filled the single-person shower stall.

Li Qingshan stood quietly beneath the showerhead, letting the water wash over him as he focused his attention on the Status Panel.

[Li Qingshan]

[Realm: Body Forging 9/100]

[Technique:

The Thirty-Sixth Set of Broadcast Gymnastics--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 the moment it was unlocked, the relevant information surfaced in Li Qingshan's mind.

The Martial Arts Space was a mysterious space used for cultivation. It would automatically record the Projections of all monsters 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 obtained by hunting monsters.

However, consuming Available Time would not affect the Martial Arts Space's experience.

Within the Martial Arts Space, his consciousness Projection did not consume stamina, allowing him to fight as freely as he pleased and temper his Martial Techniques.

After a Monster Projection was killed, it could reform again without any cost.

Not only Martial Techniques, but techniques could also be cultivated within the Martial Arts Space.

Although it was only a Projection cultivating, and his physical Body Forging progress would not increase, the improvement in technique proficiency would not be affected.

"More importantly, there's no stamina consumption in the Martial Arts Space!"

Li Qingshan's eyes gleamed as he calculated in secret.

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

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

Over two days, four practice sessions could only raise his technique proficiency by 1 point.

But if he practiced in the Martial Arts Space,

he could train continuously for twenty-four hours. That meant 6 proficiency points in a single day.

Moreover, reality and the Martial Arts Space had different Time Flow Rates.

With a 1:10 Time Flow Rate, one day in reality meant ten days in the Martial Arts Space!

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

At that thought, Li Qingshan's breathing quickened.

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

He only needed a little over half a month to raise The Stars Are Calling at the Mastery level by another tier!

That meant his cultivation efficiency would double once again!

From an ordinary high school student at the beginning of this lifetime to the "number one in the class" among these new martial arts students, he had relied on steadily raising his technique level through hard work, bit by bit.

In fact,

Li Qingshan suspected that no one else in the entire class had trained The Stars Are Calling to Mastery.

After all, even Zhao Hongzhou had drunk quite a few bottles of Nutrient Solution, not to mention Yu Lei, Hong Qian, and Liang Mingyu.

Yet even so, Li Qingshan, who had never drunk a single bottle of Nutrient Solution, still stood above them all.

"Teacher Wan said he saw a sliver of hope in me for reaching 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 certainly knew Li Qingshan came from a Publicly Supported Background, and combined with his test results, it would not have been difficult to see that.

"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 raced wildly.

But the cold words on the Status 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."

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

But the difficulty of leveling up did the same.

From Beginner to Proficient, then from Proficient to Mastery, Li Qingshan had spent a full two years.

If not for the Martial Arts Space, filling the current Mastery Progress Bar would take at least another three years.

As for raising it another level?

Li Qingshan did not know what the next Progress Bar would look like, but his remaining Available Time was definitely insufficient.

"Hunt monsters to gain cultivation time for the Martial Arts Space, and at the same time raise the Martial Arts Space's experience."

"But where am I supposed to find monsters?"

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

Li Qingshan rubbed his temples and emptied his mind.

Closing his eyes, he quietly felt the water stream over his body.