Breakthrough to Second-Tier!

Yu Qianqian had a fairly good impression of Ye Li.

Though they had only just met, Ye Li was the first person who had shown no resentment after being set up by her.

That made Yu Qianqian regard him as her friend deep down.

So, once she came back to her senses, she immediately rushed over from the third floor, afraid that the three of them would be too ruthless with Ye Li.

After all, Ye Li was only at First-Tier Level Five. No matter how good his temperament was, it would be difficult for him not to suffer at the hands of the three.

But at this moment, everything before her made Yu Qianqian doubt her own eyes—

Inside the training room, Ye Li stood there with a calm expression, his back straight and his black eyes icy cold.

Around him, Liu Yangde's two lackeys lay sprawled on the ground, their breaths weak as they remained utterly motionless.

As for Liu Yangde himself, he had just been violently blasted away by Ye Li's punch and had fainted on the spot.

He had clearly been beaten into a serious condition.

"..."

A wave of intense shock surged through Yu Qianqian's heart.

In less than a minute, he had severely injured two First-Tier Late Stage martial artists and one First-Tier Peak martial artist. What kind of terrifying strength was that?!

He couldn't possibly be First-Tier Level Five. His true strength was likely close to Senior Jiang's!

In Yu Qianqian's impression, only Senior Jiang Qingzhu could possibly accomplish something like this.

But who was that?

She was a genius martial artist acknowledged throughout all of Linhai City. Not only had she broken through to Second-Tier before graduation, even her Breathing Technique was an S-rank technique passed down through her Lineage for generations.

Even among all the Martial Arts High Schools in Ying Province combined, Jiang Qingzhu's strength would absolutely rank among the best.

And Ye Li... was merely a substitute who had just joined the School Team.

At that thought, Yu Qianqian's heart shook violently.

An unconscious hint of fear entered her gaze as she looked at Ye Li.

If he could instantly defeat Liu Yangde, then he could certainly instantly defeat her as well.

Thinking of her earlier worries, Yu Qianqian inexplicably found it a little amusing.

After noticing her gaze,

Ye Li turned around, nodded politely, then gestured toward the three people on the ground and asked,

"How should this be handled?"

"...Easy."

Yu Qianqian calmed the turmoil in her heart and explained, "They were the ones who came looking for trouble first. Even if you beat them severely injured now, they can only endure it themselves."

"Because in a situation like this, the school won't hold you responsible."

"Is that so?" Ye Li's eyes lit up.

This really was a high-martial world.

If this had happened at a high school in his previous life, they would probably have punished both sides equally.

He thought for two seconds, then asked,

"So as long as someone wants to cause trouble for me, I can retaliate however I want?"

"This..."

Yu Qianqian hesitated before answering, "As long as you don't go too far, it should be fine."

"I see." Ye Li nodded, then looked at the three on the ground and asked,

"So we can just leave them here?"

"Of course not." Yu Qianqian said, torn between laughter and tears.

"We need to call the Guidance Teacher to handle this, but I can help you with that. If you have something to do, go ahead and get to it."

Ye Li thanked her and got up to leave.

Just as he stepped out of the training room, Yu Qianqian called after him again. "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"Go ahead."

"Senior Jiang... our captain, will speak with you sometime over the next two days according to the rules, to get a preliminary understanding of your situation."

"I understand." Ye Li nodded and turned to leave.

Yu Qianqian watched the direction in which the youth vanished, muttering absentmindedly,

"Another monster has arrived..."

Returning to the third floor,

Ye Li entered his training room and casually shut the door.

The sensation that he was about to break through grew increasingly distinct.

He had originally been just one step away from Second-Tier. After another battle, the true qi within him had not diminished but increased instead, and his aura had become somewhat chaotic.

It wasn't that he couldn't break through now. He simply hadn't found a suitable Breathing Technique yet, which left him feeling somewhat uneasy.

Forget it. Since things had come to this, he would break through first.

Though the Breathing Techniques in the school's Book Repository were not of high grade, Breathing Techniques could be changed midway, so he could make do with one for now.

At worst, he could switch once he found a suitable one.

Ye Li sat by the bed and summoned the panel.

[Severely injured a First-Tier Peak young martial artist. Malice Points +1000!]

[Detected Liu Yangde's confidence collapsing. Malice Points +500!]

[Detected the three of them developing intense fear toward you. Malice Points +1500!]

[Current Malice Points: 4700]

"Quite a harvest."

The corners of Ye Li's lips curled slightly upward.

Though it could not compare to the windfall from Shen Lian, it was still his greatest gain aside from that.

It should be enough for him to break through to Second-Tier.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, slowly closed his eyes, and immersed his mind in the panel.

[Current Level: First-Tier Level Nine Peak (Perfected)]

[Ding!]

[This cultivation objective has been set to "Break through to Second-Tier." Beginning cultivation...]

[The Second-Tier Jade Tendon Realm gradually fused abundant true qi with the meridians, tendons, and bones, thereby increasing the power of one's qi and blood.]

[Over the past two days, you have continuously trained your martial skills. Nearly twenty years of painstaking effort have already granted you perfect control over the true qi within your body, so this task naturally achieved twice the result with half the effort...]

[Buff acquired: Cultivation Speed Boost 50%!]

[You began using true qi to strengthen your meridians and nourish your qi and blood, but because you lacked a Breathing Technique to replenish true qi in time, the process proceeded rather slowly...]

[Negative Buff acquired: Cultivation speed reduced by 20%]

[Negative Buff acquired: Emotion—Restlessness]

The instant the text appeared on the panel, Ye Li truly felt a surge of restlessness arise in his heart.

That surprised him somewhat.

However, that thread of restlessness did not affect him much. After all, Ye Li was simply adding points in the most plain and unadorned manner.

[Cultivation accelerating...!]

[Through unrelenting effort, you finally strengthened a portion of your meridians. Your qi and blood surged accordingly, and you successfully broke through to Second-Tier Level One!]

[Your punching power has greatly increased...]

[Your reaction speed has greatly increased...]

[...]

[Cultivation complete!]

[Evaluation: This cultivation proceeded as naturally as water flowing into a channel and did not consume much of your mental energy. Malice Points consumed: 200]

As the final line of text appeared, clear cracking sounds suddenly rang from Ye Li's tendons and bones.

Immediately afterward, some of his meridians completed their transformation in an instant, emitting a jade-like luster as they nourished the qi and blood throughout his body.

Ye Li's aura surged dramatically.

Surging true qi coursed through his body. Compared with a few minutes ago, its total amount had increased severalfold, while even his qi and blood instantly recovered to their peak state.

The exhaustion caused by the earlier battle was swept away at that moment.

"Whew—"

Ye Li exhaled a mouthful of white vapor. The moment he opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashed from them.

He raised his palm and circulated his true qi.

A wisp of ethereal white vapor rapidly billowed from his fingertips, quickly spreading beneath his flesh. From afar, it gave off a semi-transparent appearance.

Heavenly Dipper Void-Treading Technique.

At last, he could fully unleash the power of this Second-Tier Martial Skill.

By Ye Li's estimate, when he had exerted this martial skill with all his strength yesterday, he could barely neutralize half the force behind an attack from a martial artist of the same tier.

But now, with a mere thought, he could neutralize at least seventy percent of an attack from a martial artist of the same tier!

Seventy percent damage reduction—he was a true head-on brawling monster.

From now on, no matter which Second-Tier Martial Artist wanted to trade blows with him face-to-face, they would have to pay in blood!

"I'm charging full speed down the path of a brute..."

Ye Li looked at the white vapor rolling over his palm with some emotion.

With every breath, the true qi he had consumed began to slowly recover.

Now, his true qi no longer had to recover solely through rest; he could restore it through breathing.

Though it was not as efficient as a Breathing Technique, this was precisely one of the hallmarks of a Second-Tier Martial Artist!

"Back when I played games, I thought regenerating health through breathing was ridiculous. Now that I'm regenerating mana through breathing myself, it feels perfectly normal."

Ye Li casually dispersed the white vapor in his palm and said with a light laugh.

Feeling all the changes within himself,

he finally confirmed that he had entered the martial artist's Second-Tier, the Jade Tendon Realm!

If he encountered Liu Yangde's group again now, Ye Li was confident that even without using the Heavenly Dipper Void-Treading Technique, he could defeat all three of them within half a minute!

Next, it was time to begin preparing for a Breathing Technique.

Otherwise, every future level-up he added would most likely come with a [Cultivation speed reduced by 20%] Negative Buff.