Chapter 11

The 'smart ring watch' Li Yuan wore on his hand was similar to early mobile phones but with more powerful functions, capable of light screen projection and detecting physical conditions, but it could not connect his consciousness to the virtual network.

And the virtual network pod was an electronic device that every household in this era possessed.

Only by using it could one connect their consciousness to the virtual network.

Its appearance was similar to early space capsule game consoles.

"Iris authentication!"

"Consciousness connecting." Li Yuan lay in the pod's chair and put on the neural connection device, the cold metal touching his scalp.

His consciousness instantly connected to the virtual network.

That is, the Blue Star Virtual Network!

The seven planets were separated by a vast starry sky, so the virtual networks of each planet were relatively independent... at least Li Yuan didn't have the authorization to access the virtual networks of other planets.

Whoosh!

Li Yuan's consciousness had already descended into a special space.

As long as he was willing, he could leave at any time.

"The virtual network, although it can connect consciousness, still has a sense of unreality and cannot achieve 100% realism," Li Yuan thought to himself: "Not to mention achieving a one-to-one replication by completely scanning body data like in some novels."

"Virtual things can never replace reality."

But regardless, a virtual network with a realism level as high as 70% was already incredibly magical.

In the decades since its birth, the entire human civilization had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Many options appeared in Li Yuan's field of vision:

Learning Space (Virtual School/Classroom/Laboratory/Library/Martial Arts Room...)

Virtual Cities (Jiangcheng/Jingcheng/Hacheng/Sucheng...)

Social Space (Music/Making Friends/Destiny/Games...)

Business (Virtual Mall/Real Estate/Hotel Booking)... a massive number of options.

The vast majority of options were in color, representing that they could be selected to enter.

But there were also a few options that were gray.

For example: Adult Series (Forbidden for minors)

Li Yuan had just turned seventeen not long ago and was not yet an adult.

"Enter personal study room." Li Yuan was familiar with the process and went directly into his personal study room.

He began to review his academic knowledge.

Theoretically, students' academic course learning could be completed entirely through online teaching, but the virtual network could never achieve 100% realism.

Moreover, real matter was the hardware and the foundation of all virtual things.

Therefore, places like schools, office buildings, and administrative halls still existed in reality, and students still had to go to school.

Of course, most office work, academic exams, and company interviews were already completed online.

And for student self-study, if one was self-disciplined enough, the efficiency online would actually be higher.

Li Yuan was the type who was extremely self-disciplined.

After one hour of high-efficiency self-study.

"The total score for academic subjects is 1000 points. I got 658 points in the second-year final exam. In this third year, I'll strive to reach 700 points," Li Yuan muttered to himself: "I just hope not to fall too far behind."

Everyone's energy is limited.

Li Yuan was quite talented in martial arts, and he had a good grasp of spear techniques.

Before he came into contact with the mental divine palace, his spear technique was already at the second stage, which showed his aptitude.

But in academic learning, his talent was indeed average; he couldn't keep up with Zhou Qi, Yan Zhou, and the others, and he spent very little energy on it.

Not to mention that he couldn't even score 700 points now.

Even if he did score 700 points, he would still be in the middle-to-lower tier at the Guanshan District First High School.

This was only because Li Yuan's learning efficiency had improved over the past year as his mental power level increased, leading to an improvement in his academic grades.

Otherwise, Li Yuan wouldn't even have much confidence in reaching 700 points in the college entrance exam.

"An all-rounder?"

"Where are there so many all-rounders? What I need to do is to fully exert my strongest point; one trick is enough to conquer everything!" Li Yuan had a very clear understanding of himself.

Why did he want to take the path of a full-time martial artist?

First, because he loved it enough.

Second, after awakening the mental divine palace, Li Yuan asked himself, his hope of achieving great success in martial arts was much higher than taking the academic route.

Past three in the morning.

"Time to go to school." Li Yuan stepped out of the virtual network pod.

He put on his bag.

Without disturbing his aunt or his younger siblings, he quietly left home.

Driverless trams and subways operated 24 hours a day, but after midnight, the interval between each trip was very long.

Therefore, Li Yuan often chose to—run to school.

He also treated it as a warm-up exercise.

The streets after three in the morning, except for streetlights and the occasional passing vehicle, were completely empty.

Passing by the 'Fuwei Noodle Shop' at the corner, he could see the owner had already gotten up and started preparations.

"Boss, good morning." Li Yuan greeted him with a smile.

"Out for a night run again? Be careful." The owner, wearing work clothes, stood up and greeted Li Yuan with a smile.

They met often.

They didn't know each other's identities or names, but after a long time, they had become familiar 'strangers'.

In twenty minutes, Li Yuan ran to school.

He scanned his face to enter the school.

Entering the classroom, the lights came on.

"First, practice the basic cultivation method for two hours." Li Yuan stood in a corner of the classroom, calmed his heart, and quickly entered the stance-training state.

His posture was like a rock, coordinating his breathing technique with the thirty-six movements.

He began a new day of training.

Establishing the Foundation, Rock Breaking and Mountain Collapsing, Standing Firm as a Pillar, Earth-Shattering, Hard-Hitting Vajra, Mountain Standing and Abyss Still... the thirty-six movements were essentially evolved from the "Rock Fist Technique".

It was further divided into practice methods and combat methods.

In fact, the effort Li Yuan spent on the "Rock Cultivation Method" even exceeded that of his spear technique.

"Spear technique can be pondered slowly."

"But my martial arts aptitude is destined to be difficult to awaken in a short time, and none of the seven high-level cultivation methods are suitable for me," Li Yuan thought to himself: "Then, I must continue to practice the 'Rock Cultivation Method'."

"Even after becoming a martial artist, I will likely still be practicing this cultivation method, so I must study the 'Rock Fist Technique' diligently," Li Yuan thought very clearly: "The higher the realm of the fist technique, the higher my body's training efficiency will be."

Physical fitness is the cornerstone, while spear and movement techniques are the weapons that exert that physical fitness.

"Moreover, spear, movement, and fist techniques are essentially a combination of body and mind; progress in one martial arts skill will also lead to faster progress in other skills."

Time passed.

Li Yuan practiced tirelessly, over and over again. Gradually, waves of subtle heat seeped from his waist dantian into his entire body, being devoured and absorbed by his tendons, bones, and muscles.

The basic blood-Qi medicinal liquid he had taken a few hours ago was gradually exerting its effects.

His muscles were becoming firmer, his bone strength was further improving, and his internal organs were filling and strengthening... only crazy training could ensure the medicinal liquid's effects were not wasted.

Li Yuan practiced tirelessly.

In his mind, the famous quote from the first martial arts powerhouse of human civilization, 'Dongfang Ji', surfaced involuntarily:

"What is martial arts?"

"Martial arts is not about surpassing others; martial arts is pouring all your blood and passion into it, training day and night, practicing sixteen hours every day, persisting for a hundred years, and when you look back after another hundred years, you will find that you are martial arts!"

"Martial arts is me."

Past four in the morning, the sky was not yet bright.

"Boom!" A smart off-road vehicle drove in from the school gate.

It parked automatically.

A figure like an iron tower and a black-clad woman with a stunning figure stepped out of the car.

The two walked toward the office building.

"Iron Tower, is this the school you're at?" The black-clad woman had a tough face, her gaze as sharp as an eagle's, scanning the entire campus along the way: "This is the first time I've come to see you since you retired."

Xu Bo smiled rarely: "You're really in a rush this time; passing through Jiangcheng, you can only stay for four hours."

"I'm here specifically to check your medication situation," the black-clad woman glanced at him: "Otherwise, with the mission being so tight, I wouldn't have stopped in Jiangcheng at all. Let's go, take me to your physical therapy room; I'll give you a preliminary check first."

"If your nerve injury has worsened, the director and the others will have to find another way for you."

Suddenly, the black-clad woman stopped in her tracks.

"A student here to practice at school so early? Seems like they're practicing quite well; the basic cultivation method is almost at the Great Completion stage, right? Their control over their body is very high," the black-clad woman said with slight surprise.

Her gaze looked toward a spot not far away.

In the entire third-year teaching building, only one classroom on the first floor was lit.

Through the window, one could see a student focusing on practicing fist techniques.

Every move and stance was like a rock standing on the earth, giving people a sense of being unshakable.

"Li Yuan?" Xu Bo, beside her, frowned slightly: "Coming to school to practice at just past four."

"Can his body take it?"

In training, too much is as bad as too little.

In Xu Bo's view, ensuring sufficient sleep, rest, diet, and therapy was the only way to train efficiently.

"Look at his spirit and energy; his blood-Qi is full and his spirit is abundant, he seems to have rested very well," the black-clad woman smiled: "Iron Tower, you know him, is he your student?"

"He is my student," Xu Bo looked at Li Yuan, thoughtful.

"Let's go, let's go to my martial arts room first."

(End of chapter)