[Brain Storage]
"Lin Mo, out running again?"
"Yeah, Aunt Wang."
Watching his retreating figure, Aunt Wang could not help but sigh inwardly.
"Wang Cuihua, what are you sighing about?"
"Sigh, Lin Mo is the most diligent child I've ever seen. For more than ten years, he's been doing weighted long-distance runs every day. What a pity..."
"Stop staring. In this day and age, hard work alone isn't enough. Poverty breeds scholars, wealth breeds warriors."
The middle-aged man beside her sighed as well.
"If his parents were still alive, things might have been different."
"Sigh~"
Elsewhere, Lin Mo arrived at a spot in the park west of Huaihai Residential Area. He took off the 200-kilogram weighted backpack on his back and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
There was an old Blood Qi testing machine here.
With an uneasy heart, he stepped onto it.
[Beep! Blood Qi Value: 65.56 cards.]
A few seconds later, the number appeared on the tester.
"Sigh~"
Seeing the number before him, a trace of desolation flashed through Lin Mo's eyes.
After a full week of weighted training and bitter cultivation, his Blood Qi had only increased by 0.26.
There were just over three months left until the college entrance examination.
At this rate, breaking through 70 was simply impossible!
A Blood Qi Value of 70 was the passing line for entering Martial University.
It had already been eighteen years since he had transmigrated into this world of martial supremacy.
In this world, both of his parents had been martial artists.
But as though the plot had been set in stone long ago, before young Lin Mo could experience his parents' love or the warmth of a family—
His parents had died in a battle out in the wilderness, leaving him only a modest compensation payment.
Because he retained the memories of his previous life, it had not made him feel as though the sky had fallen.
He knew that if he wanted to survive in this world of martial supremacy, he had to become a martial artist.
From the age of three, he had cultivated relentlessly, never wasting a single moment.
But... the limits of his talent, coupled with those expensive potions, had finally forced Lin Mo to face reality.
Without outstanding talent or a wealthy family background, it was far too difficult to rise above the masses in this world of martial supremacy.
"Heaven rewards the diligent? That's all fucking bullshit!"
At that moment, even Lin Mo's resolve nearly crumbled.
Over the years, he had worked harder than anyone else.
When others cultivated bitterly, he cultivated bitterly too.
When others rested, he was still cultivating bitterly.
Yet his Blood Qi Value still could not compare to theirs.
It was not that all of them had better talent than Lin Mo. It was simply that some of their families had superior means.
One bottle of Vitality Potion could easily surpass all of Lin Mo's painstaking cultivation.
Poverty breeds scholars, wealth breeds warriors—there was not a single word wrong with that saying.
A single bottle of Vitality Potion cost over ten thousand. It was simply beyond what he could afford.
The compensation his parents had left behind was only enough to cover his daily expenses until adulthood. How could he possibly have spare money to buy Vitality Potions?
[Ding, effort will surely be rewarded. It is not that there is no reward; the time has simply not yet come.] [To protect the host's unwavering confidence and determination to become stronger, the system has activated ahead of schedule.] [Ding, detected that the host cultivated diligently. Today's 20-kilometer weighted run is complete. Critical hit triggered, obtaining a Hundredfold Return.] [Ding, Blood Qi Value +3.72 cards.] [Current Blood Qi Value: 69.28 cards.]
"What!"
The sudden mechanical notification made Lin Mo jolt all over.
"Hundredfold Return? My Blood Qi Value increased by 3.72 cards?"
Still stunned, Lin Mo stepped onto the Blood Qi tester again.
"Beep!"
The familiar sound rang out, and the number on the display had indeed jumped to 69.28 cards.
"Holy shit!"
In an instant, Lin Mo was overjoyed.
Based on his previous Blood Qi growth, a week of weighted training had only increased it by 0.26 cards. On average, that was merely 0.037 cards per day.
A hundredfold return really did come out to around 3.7.
"This is real!"
After confirming the truth, Lin Mo was wildly excited. The exhaustion from his 20-kilometer weighted run vanished without a trace.
He swept his gaze around, then ran over to an open patch nearby and began practicing Military Boxing.
This was the boxing technique taught at school.
Besides containing basic combat techniques, it could also slightly increase one's Blood Qi.
Moreover, the higher the practitioner's Blood Qi Value, the stronger this boxing technique's power became.
Even the smoothness with which it was performed differed.
"Eh!"
As he boxed, Lin Mo sensed something different from before.
The sudden increase of 3.72 cards in Blood Qi made his Military Boxing much smoother.
His teacher had once said that before one's Blood Qi Value reached 70, practicing this boxing technique would feel as though there were countless obstructions.
There would often be points where one got stuck.
The old Lin Mo had been exactly like that. He would pause mid-combination, completely lacking fluidity.
But now, after performing one full set of Military Boxing, he had only paused slightly at two points.
"Sure enough, the higher the Blood Qi Value, the smoother the boxing technique!"
Lin Mo's lips curved upward as he continued punching.
After one full set, the system notification he had imagined did not sound.
"Hm? What's going on? Was one round not enough?"
Lin Mo was puzzled, but he immediately began a second round of Military Boxing.
After finishing that round, the notification still did not sound.
"I refuse to believe it!"
Lin Mo did not lose heart. He had endured fifteen years already—what were a few rounds of Military Boxing?
So he practiced again and again, sweat once more pouring from his forehead.
Only after he had completed ten full rounds did the notification he had been waiting for finally sound again.
[Ding! You have deeply studied Mortal Grade Military Boxing. Critical hit triggered, obtaining a Ten Thousandfold Return.] [Ding! Your Blood Qi has increased by 50 cards.] [Current Blood Qi Value: 119.28 cards.] [Ding, your Military Boxing has evolved. You have obtained Mystic Hegemon Fist and mastered it to perfection.]
"Holy shit! Ten thousandfold?"
Seeing the system notifications, Lin Mo could no longer stay calm. He stood there as though turned to stone.
This time, he had actually triggered a Ten Thousandfold Return.
He had thought this system could only grant a Hundredfold Return. This was truly an unexpected delight.
It seemed that after he worked hard and cultivated bitterly, the multiplier he could trigger was random.
And after this return, his Blood Qi had directly increased by 50 cards.
As expected of a Ten Thousandfold Return—it was unbelievably powerful.
His Blood Qi Value had now broken past 100, reaching 119.28 cards.
Just moments ago, he had been worrying over whether he could break through 70.
Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, he had not only crossed the threshold of 70, but had also directly broken through the 100-card barrier.
What did 100 represent? It was the threshold for stepping into the ranks of martial artists.
At eighteen years old, reaching a Blood Qi Value of 70 cards was the minimum requirement for Martial University admissions.
Above 80, one could enter a fairly good Martial University.
Once one's Blood Qi Value crossed 90, one could enter a key Martial University and would already count as a quasi-martial artist.
And anyone who, at eighteen, could reach over 100 cards of Blood Qi and step into the ranks of martial artists was undoubtedly a genius—someone who would inevitably be fought over by the nation's top four Martial Universities.
Such people were not nonexistent.
But they were absolutely either from wealthy martial artist families or freakish prodigies blessed with exceptional talent.
Yet Lin Mo's talent was ordinary beyond ordinary. Clearly, he belonged to neither category.
"I never expected that I'd actually break through and become a martial artist."
The sudden surprise left Lin Mo unable to calm down for a while.
Only after a long time did he settle his emotions and look toward the system's final notification...
Before you continue