Points, Cheat!

(Leave your brains here. Dear readers, please do me this favor.)

Dongfang Yueming walked along the broad avenue leading to the academy, his steps three-tenths faster than ever before. Sunlight poured down over the shops lining both sides of the street and the bustling crowds, but he had no mind for such mundane sights.

Suddenly!

Two figures shot past him like arrows loosed from a bow, the fierce wind in their wake ruffling his bangs.

They were two young men dressed in fitted martial attire, their temples slightly bulging and their eyes bright and piercing. They strode like dragons and tigers, radiating a fierce, vigorous aura utterly unlike that of ordinary people!

"Martial artists..." Dongfang Yueming's gaze sharpened, and an indescribable heat welled up in his heart.

In this world, martial artists were the privileged class! They possessed greater strength and higher status, and could fight the increasingly numerous ferocious mortal beasts outside the city. Even more... the legendary Grandmasters could live for two hundred years! What an enviable level of existence that was!

But he clenched his fists, and the fire in his chest burned even brighter. Envy? No! It was more than envy!

He, Dongfang Yueming, was not from this world! He was a transmigrator! More importantly, he had a cheat! A system called "Point Allocation." Simple and direct, it let him instantly raise his proficiency in cultivation techniques and martial arts as long as he had "points"!

One point a day! Ever since he transmigrated, he had hoarded them like the stingiest miser, never wasting a single one! Now, he had accumulated a full thousand points! A thousand points! Enough to bring any ordinary martial art to its pinnacle in an instant!

And yet, how stifling it had been! How stifling those past days had been! In this world, people guarded their martial arts like treasured old brooms; they were not common goods sold on every street corner. With no connections and no family background, he had a heaven-defying cheat, yet could not lay his hands on even the most basic Body Tempering technique! It was like sitting on a mountain of gold with nowhere to spend it!

But today! Everything would change!

Today was the first day of term at the United University Martial Arts Academy! It was an institution established by the dynasty to train martial artists from the lower classes and fight the beast tides! Here, he would come into contact with genuine martial arts for the first time! The longing and points he had accumulated over a thousand days and nights would finally have a place to be put to use!

At the thought, Dongfang Yueming could scarcely suppress the wild roar in his heart. He quickened his pace, nearly breaking into a run! Excitement! Indescribable excitement filled every cell in his body!

"Creak-"

He pushed open the heavy doors of the martial arts hall, and a wave of noise washed over him. In the vast classroom, hundreds of young people who shared his dream of the Martial Dao had already gathered, their faces full of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.

"Have you heard? Once you become an official martial artist, you get a monthly stipend from the dynasty and never have to worry about food or clothing!"

"More than that! If you become an Inner Force martial artist, you can join the elites of the City Guard Army, or even be recruited by a great clan!"

"Hmph, how shortsighted! The Martial Dao is a long one! Body Tempering, Qi Refining, Inner Force, Grandmaster... if you're lucky enough to reach the Grandmaster realm, live more than two hundred years, and look down upon all beings, that's true freedom!"

Amid the noisy discussion, someone could not help reminding them, "Stop aiming for the clouds! We're all commoners' children. We're lucky enough just to get into the Martial Dao Academy. The most urgent thing is to complete Body Tempering! Didn't you read the introduction? The foundation of a martial artist begins with Body Tempering!"

The words were like a bucket of cold water, bringing quite a few people to their senses before turning into a series of quiet sighs.

"Yeah, that's true... those children of great clans have had medicinal baths and personal instructors since they were little. They've probably already achieved minor success in Body Tempering, haven't they?"

"What about us? We're only just starting today... we're already ten years behind!"

"Can we catch up..."

Discouragement began to spread.

Just then!

The light at the entrance dimmed slightly, and the once-noisy martial arts hall fell instantly silent. A pin drop could have been heard!

Everyone involuntarily held their breath, their gazes turning as one toward the entrance.

A woman walked in.

She wore a form-fitting martial outfit of fiery red, outlining her breathtaking curves to perfection. Her face was stunningly beautiful, her skin fairer than snow, but her phoenix eyes were sharp as blades, and her red lips were pressed slightly together, giving her a heroic bearing and an intimidating air that warned strangers to keep their distance.

She walked forward step by step, her high-heeled martial boots making crisp taps against the solid floor. Each step seemed to fall upon everyone's heartbeat.

Beautiful!

Glamorous!

Powerful!

Those were the words that instantly sprang to everyone's mind. Even Dongfang Yueming stared in a slight daze, but it was soon replaced by even stronger anticipation-this woman had to be their Martial Dao instructor!

The woman walked to the front of the classroom and swept her sharp gaze across the room. The invisible pressure made every student unconsciously straighten their back.

Without a single wasted word, she spoke in a cool voice that carried an unquestionable force:

"My name is Qin Rushuang. I'll be your Martial Dao fundamentals instructor for the coming year."

With a wave of her fair hand, hundreds of thin booklets flew unerringly before each person as if they had come to life.

"This is the Skin Tempering Art. The first step of Body Tempering is to temper the skin. You have one month!"

Qin Rushuang's gaze abruptly turned fierce:

"Within one month, stir your qi and blood and reach the beginner stage of skin tempering! Anyone who can't-"

She paused, then said with absolute finality:

"Get out of the Martial Dao Academy on your own! The Martial Dao has no room for trash!"

When her words fell, the entire martial arts hall went deathly silent!

Dongfang Yueming picked up the thin Skin Tempering Art booklet and felt the coarse texture of the paper, while his heart pounded like a drum!

It was here! It had finally come!

His gaze burned as though it would bore through the booklet!

A thousand points had long been itching to be spent!

The beginner stage of skin tempering? One month?

Give me one second, and that'll be enough!