"I want to cultivate all of the school's B-grade martial arts!"
Ning Chuan said.
Su Yun blinked. "..."
Had she misheard?
Seeing no reaction from Su Yun, Ning Chuan thought she hadn't heard him clearly. He raised his voice and repeated, "Teacher Su, I want to cultivate all of the school's B-grade martial arts!"
"I heard you. Stop shouting!"
Su Yun waved a hand, relieved.
The young man before her was rather arrogant when it came to martial arts, but his character was decent enough.
"I can't grant that request."
Putting her thoughts aside, Su Yun shook her head and spoke.
She went on to explain, "It's not that I disagree. Qingshan No. 1 High School has a rule: each student can learn at most three or four martial arts. After all, each Martial Seal can only pass on its art a limited number of times."
Hearing this, Ning Chuan thought back. Sure enough, he remembered that rule.
Normally, three or four martial arts were enough for a student to cultivate during three years of high school.
The original owner, for instance, had barely used his martial art slots, focusing almost entirely on Savage Bull Force in hopes of raising his raw strength as much as possible.
Su Yun thought for a moment, then reminded him, "You chose Gale Step in the second semester of your second year, and you came to me to receive Flash Thunder Slash a few days ago."
"Then I'll choose two more B-grade martial arts."
Ning Chuan spoke regretfully, taking it for granted that he could choose four martial arts.
Su Yun sighed, somewhat reluctant.
It wasn't that she begrudged him the martial arts; she was mainly worried about holding back Ning Chuan's future.
In her view, since Ning Chuan had mastered Flash Thunder Slash to the Minute Subtlety Realm, he should focus on his breathing technique for now and increase his raw strength.
If he could advance to Awakening Stage Five before the college entrance exam, he would have a chance at a prestigious university.
However, Su Yun worried that if she refused, Ning Chuan might make an excessive demand.
With no other choice, she agreed.
"Two it is, but I'm going to the martial arts building with you!"
"No problem."
The two left the office, crossed most of the campus, and entered the martial arts building.
It was noon, and there were few people in the building.
Ning Chuan had been here once before and wasn't curious, so he headed straight for the top floor, where the B-grade martial arts were kept.
The top floor was deserted.
A row of bulletproof glass display cases stood in the center, divided into more than thirty compartments.
Each compartment held a square metal block slightly larger than an adult's fist.
Those metal blocks were "Martial Seals," a medium for storing martial arts.
Many martial arts couldn't be clearly described in words. They possessed a certain artistic conception that could only be passed down through Martial Seals.
"What kind of martial arts are you planning to choose?"
Su Yun asked.
Ning Chuan pondered for a moment. "I can already fight above my level, so I want to pick a body-tempering martial art to strengthen my defenses."
"Good!"
Su Yun's beautiful eyes lit up. She nodded and said, "Body-tempering martial arts have always been difficult to cultivate, but once you achieve some success, they'll benefit you for life!"
"What about the other one?"
She pressed.
Ning Chuan rubbed his chin. Rather than answer immediately, he fell into thought.
He was torn between two types of martial arts.
One was a movement technique.
Although he had Gale Step, its grade was ordinary. It was an E-grade martial art, the lowest rank.
If he had a powerful movement technique, then once his realm improved, he could combine it with the B-grade Flash Thunder Slash and push his strength to an extraordinary level!
The other option was a combat martial art.
Compared with a movement technique, it certainly wouldn't do much for Flash Thunder Slash, but it would still greatly improve his strength.
"As for the second martial art..."
Ning Chuan exhaled softly and made up his mind. "I'll choose a combat martial art!"
"The martial arts portion of the college entrance exam is different every year, but most of the time, head-on combat is unavoidable. To earn more points, I can put my need for a movement technique aside for now. Gale Step hasn't reached perfection yet, after all, so it still has plenty of room to grow!"
Ning Chuan knew that, at this stage, his priority was still the college entrance exam.
As long as he got into a top university, or even Galaxy University, martial arts wouldn't be a problem.
Besides, Gale Step was progressing rapidly and would serve him well for quite some time.
Choosing a combat martial art was more appropriate.
"Good choice!"
A smile appeared on Su Yun's pretty face. She was very satisfied, and her somewhat tense heart settled down.
She had come to the martial arts building with him because she was worried that a single epiphany might have blinded Ning Chuan, leading him to choose two more saber techniques.
Now it seemed she had worried too much.
A quarter of an hour later.
Ning Chuan had made his choices.
For his combat martial art, he chose the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art, famous for its ruthlessness and unpredictability.
When used, its tricky moves could strike from angles the enemy never expected, making them impossible to guard against. Its inherent destructive power was also immense. Once cultivated successfully, it could easily shatter every bone in a target's body, hence the name Thousand Bones!
For his body-tempering martial art, he chose Vajra Body, which had nine layers in total.
Once cultivated to perfection, the body would become incomparably tough, impervious to bullets and unafraid of firearms.
However, Ning Chuan had another reason for choosing Vajra Body.
It was an incomplete martial art. In its complete form, it had eighteen layers and was an S-grade martial art.
If he had the chance to complete it in the future, he could advance even further!
"What martial arts have you picked?!"
Su Yun's red lips twitched, and she glared hard at Ning Chuan, feeling she had been happy too soon.
"Vajra Body and the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art are powerful, yes, but a martial art's power is directly tied to its difficulty. As one rises, so does the other. These are among the very best B-grade martial arts, and for the sake of greater power, they're incredibly abstruse-even more so than ordinary A-grade martial arts!"
After scolding him, Su Yun softened her tone and tried to persuade him. "You can't blindly pursue the power of martial arts. Looking at the overall picture, you should choose something else."
"How about Steel Body and the Thirty-Six Iron-Blood Forms?"
Su Yun explained, "They're both military martial arts. Used together, one plus one is greater than two. There are tutorials online, too, so it'll be easier to turn them into strength of your own."
"I won't change them!"
Ning Chuan raised his head forty-five degrees, his expression resolute, and declared proudly, "Only the weak fear difficulties and shrink away from them!
"The strong must face difficulties head-on and dare to raise their sabers against those stronger than themselves!"
Faint black lines appeared on Su Yun's fair forehead when she heard that.
The strong were indeed unafraid of difficulties, but what the hell made someone at Awakening Stage Four strong?
She had been wrong before.
Ning Chuan had definitely gotten an extraordinarily inflated ego because of his epiphany with Flash Thunder Slash.
"Fine, choose them if you want!"
Su Yun ground her teeth and said with some resentment, "Just don't regret it later!"
With Flash Thunder Slash at the Minute Subtlety Realm as a foundation, Ning Chuan would get into a university one way or another. It would do him good to suffer a setback while he was young, making the road ahead easier to travel.
With that thought, Su Yun called over the martial arts building's administrator, opened the compartments, and took out the two Martial Seals.
"Go on."
The building had transmission rooms where students could receive martial arts.
"Thank you, Teacher Su."
Ning Chuan smiled, accepted the Martial Seals, and walked into a nearby transmission room.
Receiving a martial art from a Martial Seal was simple: place it against the forehead, and the martial art stored inside would flow into the brain.
Before long, Ning Chuan had received both martial arts. He then summoned the system interface.
A translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
[Realm]: Awakening Stage Four [Savage Bull Force]: Proficient (progress: 25%) [Gale Step]: Skilled (progress: 7%) [Flash Thunder Slash]: Subtlety (progress: 3%) [Thousand Bones Slaughter Art]: Basic (progress: 0%) [Vajra Body]: First layer (progress: 0%)
Ning Chuan noticed that the realm listed after Vajra Body in the final entry differed from those of the other martial arts.
That was only natural.
Body-tempering martial arts were somewhat special. They placed greater emphasis on improving the body's basic defenses, so the general realm classifications didn't apply to them.
However, as a branch of martial arts, their relative progress presumably wouldn't differ all that much.
I've only just started cultivating these two martial arts, so I can't judge their cultivation speed yet. I'll check again tonight.
Ning Chuan unlocked the door and walked out of the transmission room.
Su Yun was waiting for him outside.
After returning the Martial Seals to the administrator, the two went downstairs and left.
"Teacher Su, treat me to a meal!"
As they walked, Ning Chuan grinned and said, "I'll definitely cultivate hard and get into a good university!"
Ning Chuan had no ulterior motive; he simply wanted to save the cost of lunch.
He wasn't planning to sell the Silver Blood saber, and he was very short of money at present.
Until he found something else valuable, he would save whatever he could.
"Sure. There's a restaurant on the commercial street outside the school that tastes pretty good."
Su Yun thought for a moment and agreed readily. Ning Chuan's restraint in not making arbitrary demands earlier had given her a much better impression of him.
After scoring a free lunch, Ning Chuan returned to the classroom.
There were three academic classes that afternoon.
Math, physics, and chemistry.
All were very important.
Not only were they tested on the college entrance exam, but they were also highly beneficial to martial arts.
The creator of Flash Thunder Slash held a doctorate in physics and had once said himself that without aerodynamics, there would be no Flash Thunder Slash faster than a thunder beast.
Furthermore, the Nuclear Explosion Divine Fist, one of the Federation's supreme martial arts, had nearly exacting requirements when it came to physics.
To cultivate it, one had to understand the principles of nuclear fusion and nuclear fission.
Otherwise, one couldn't even get started.
Of course, mastery of math, physics, and chemistry didn't make one strong, but for anyone seeking to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, it was an extremely important foundation.
To a certain extent, martial arts and knowledge such as math, physics, and chemistry were all expressions of the search for the universe's true meaning.
Thanks to his predecessor's solid academic performance, Ning Chuan didn't find studying too difficult.
Ring, ring, ring...
It was break time.
Ning Chuan closed his book and raised his head to loosen his neck. He noticed his classmates pointing at him and talking in hushed voices.
Ning Chuan was already used to the sight.
Too many people had witnessed him slay the thunder sparrow at the training grounds that morning.
He had become famous.
"He's only at Awakening Stage Four, but he managed to kill the thunder sparrow. Ning Chuan's Flash Thunder Slash must be at a terrifyingly high realm. It's a B-grade martial art!"
Many students marveled, envious.
Ma Hai was displeased at the sight. He snorted and scolded them, "You're overestimating him!
"The thunder sparrow isn't as hard to kill as you think.
"It isn't a ferocious beast, and its intelligence is extremely low. Its dive may be fast, but as long as you time your saber strike right, you can kill it without even using a martial art!"
As he spoke, Ma Hai strode over to Ning Chuan and looked down at him, asking in an interrogating tone, "Do you think I'm right?
"What realm is your Flash Thunder Slash at? Has it reached the skilled realm?!"
Ning Chuan looked at Ma Hai and feigned confusion. "Why have you changed your tune? Didn't you say before that I hadn't even gotten started with Flash Thunder Slash?"
"You..."
Ma Hai's expression stiffened, but he quickly said coldly, "Cut the crap. Answer me!"
"If you want to know so badly, why don't you experience it yourself?"
A cold light flashed in Ning Chuan's eyes. He gripped Silver Blood's hilt and rose, swinging his arm to slash.
Martial cultivation was about keeping one's thoughts and intentions unimpeded.
If he could beat someone, there was no need for empty talk!
"Boom!"
A deafening thunderclap erupted from his body.
Ning Chuan unleashed Flash Thunder Slash!
A streak of silver light flashed, illuminating the classroom. Accompanied by thunder, it was as if lightning had sprung from empty space!
Ma Hai had never expected Ning Chuan to dare strike first. He saw only a flash before his eyes, and by the time he reacted, a saber was already resting against his neck.
The blade felt cold and menacingly sharp, raising goosebumps on his skin.
"Now, what realm do you think I'm at?!"
Ning Chuan grinned at Ma Hai, his teeth gleaming white.