Chapter 2: Hunyuan Zhuang Breakthrough (Requesting Follow Reads)

Tianhai City No. 2 High School, one of Tianhai City’s key secondary schools.

It gathers a large number of martial arts prodigies.

The entire campus covers an enormous area, with buildings in red-and-white style, surrounded by towering metal walls that separate it from the outside world.

Rows of classroom buildings rise within, and countless students in blue-and-white uniforms gather at the entrance, lining up in order to enter.

A row of burly security guards stand at the gate, each with piercing eyes, patrolling like bears.

“Is this No. 2 High? Surely all these are genius top students.”

“Son, study hard—our whole family depends on you!”

“...”

Freshmen just entering Grade 1, filled with curiosity, gradually filed into the school.

Lin Qi looked at the energetic new students and felt nostalgic; two years ago, he had entered No. 2 High as a late admission, just as naive as they were.

In his nostalgia, he followed the crowd into the school.

He parked his bicycle, walked confidently to the playground, found his class’s position, and prepared for the opening ceremony.

One hour later

The dull opening ceremony ended, and everyone returned to their classrooms—but not to ordinary classrooms.

Instead, they entered a vast, empty classroom over a thousand square meters, its walls lined with numerous common weapons: knives, spears, swords, and more.

In the corners, dozens of punching pillars over two meters tall and massively thick stood on soft mats.

After entering, the students of Class 3, Grade 12, quietly went to the changing room to put on loose martial arts uniforms and began training.

Some stood in static postures, others practiced fist forms.

Some moved like tigers leaping from mountains, others like cranes spreading wings, or monkeys swinging arms through air, or serpents coiling...

Some struck the punching pillars, producing crackling sounds.

Others even picked up knives, spears, and swords and swung them freely.

While training, they chatted casually, recounting their holiday joys; the air buzzed with a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere.

Lin Qi did not chat; he hid alone in a corner, swallowed a qi-blood capsule, then warmed up his body.

Warming up thoroughly before training prevents injury.

“My muscles are fatigued and sore everywhere—this has lasted for days. Why hasn’t it recovered?”

Lin Qi rotated his body, sensing the anomaly within.

“Look at you—all stiff muscles, weak punches. How long has it been since you trained?”

“You’ve wasted the entire summer vacation, yet still have the nerve to grin and joke here.”

A loud rebuke rang out through the crowd, drowning out all other voices.

Lin Qi looked over—it was a middle-aged man, nearly one meter eighty tall, with lean, muscular build, an ordinary face, and a clear scar.

He wore a white sports suit, his steps swift and commanding as he moved among the students.

A powerful aura radiated from him; the entire martial arts room instantly fell silent, as if frozen.

He was their Class 3 martial arts instructor—Wu Kang.

Responsible for martial arts instruction, he was a third-rank martial artist.

Wu Kang’s gaze was sharp, slicing across each student’s face as he sneered:

“Some of you haven’t even mastered your fist forms yet, and you dare practice weapons? You can’t even walk properly, and you want to run? Do you think you look cool?”

Those scolded immediately lowered their weapons in shame; only two or three ignored him, standing tall, gripping their weapons tightly.

Wu Kang placed his hands behind his back, surveyed the room, and spoke again, his voice booming like a bell.

“Why do you train in martial arts?”

“Because martial artists are the most promising profession in this world—they possess superhuman strength.”

“In a world invaded by disaster beasts, strength means safety, money, and status.”

“According to the latest social survey report, martial artists have the highest average income globally, far exceeding the second-ranked profession.”

“This is an era of universal martial arts training—everyone, from birth, must strive to become a martial artist; a hundred boats race, ten thousand soldiers cross a single-log bridge.”

“Only a small fraction will ever become martial artists.”

“And now is your golden period—the time when you progress fastest.”

“With your current attitude, how can you compete with others?”

After Wu Kang finished, the martial arts room fell utterly silent; the relaxed atmosphere vanished, replaced by heavy pressure.

“Begin class!”

Seeing the effect, Wu Kang continued:

“In the year 1999 of Martial Arts Era, another world invaded. Disaster beasts descended.”

“Our blue planet opened countless spatial rifts; disaster beasts burst forth from them, along with a supernatural force—Source Energy!”

“This was something our blue planet never had before.”

“Scientists discovered that when the human body absorbs Source Energy, it can break genetic chains, enabling bodily transformation and evolution.”

“Humans can now possess powers once seen only in comics, novels, and films—superhuman strength.”

“Ancient martial arts rose again, igniting a wave of human biological evolution.”

“Through joint research by all nations on the blue planet, they summarized nine martial gates, nine chains.”

“They divided martial artist realms into nine ranks. Each gate unlocked brings earth-shattering changes in power.”

“Source Energy is brutal; ordinary human organs cannot directly absorb it—only through food, or slow, year-long accumulation.”

“To help our martial artists improve power more scientifically and efficiently,”

“Our Xia Nation derived the Hunyuan Zhuang and Five Forms Fist from ancient health practices, techniques, and old fist styles.”

“Today’s first lesson: stand Hunyuan Zhuang—wake up your slack bodies completely.”

Wu Kang bellowed; fifty students quickly scattered and began standing postures.

“Hunyuan Zhuang was derived by our Xia Nation from countless ancient posture techniques—it has the broadest applicability and strongest effect.”

“The first martial gate is Muscle Training!”

“We must strengthen major muscle groups and comprehensively improve physical fitness.”

“Hunyuan Zhuang fully activates the body’s qi-blood, refining every single muscle without exception.”

Lin Qi threw himself completely into standing postures.

!

“Standing postures connect form, intent, qi, and force.”

“Emphasize light head suspension, relaxed shoulders and dropped elbows, chest tucked and back expanded, breath sinking, buttocks lifted and anus drawn in, five toes gripping the ground, qi sinking to the dantian...”

“It not only forges the body but also stretches tendons and bones...”

As Wu Kang explained, Lin Qi slipped into the state.

Having practiced standing postures for over a decade, he had long internalized Hunyuan Zhuang as instinct.

Breathing naturally, muscles relaxed, arms rounded, body unified, he felt the changes in his spine.

In moments, his body grew warm, then numb, then began trembling involuntarily.

“Drip.”

Sweat seeped out, continuously dripping onto the soft mat.

His body seemed to awaken, his qi-blood fully activated.

His spinal vertebrae protruded, like a thick tendon lifting.

This was the Dragon Bone—only visible when Hunyuan Zhuang is mastered.

At that moment, Lin Qi also felt a large hand resting on his back.

“You’ve studied standing postures for over a decade, yet some still haven’t grasped its essence—your lower body is unstable.”

“Look at Lin Qi’s posture skill—his is the best in this class.”

Wu Kang’s voice rang out again, his expression filled with approval.

His words instantly drew attention; students gathered closer, murmuring.

“No wonder he’s the foundational skills master—our class’s best at basics. His posture is textbook-perfect.”

“Every time I watch, it looks perfectly unified—flawless.”

Some marveled; others sneered.

“No matter how strong your basics, how beautiful your posture, it’s useless without enough qi-blood capsules or qi-blood tonics—your qi-blood value won’t rise.”

“For a martial artist, qi-blood value is everything.”

Meanwhile, Lin Qi was fully immersed in standing postures.

His entire body burned hot, drenched in sweat; qi-blood surged from his feet, rapidly flooding every corner of his body.

From local to whole-body, upper and lower connected as one; an invisible qi surged through him, smooth except for slight obstructions.

“Huh～”

Lin Qi suddenly widened his eyes and exhaled—a surge of power erupted.

A wave of heat rose.

【You achieved a breakthrough in Hunyuan Zhuang cultivation. Qi-blood value increased. Qi-blood +0.1!】

【Qi-blood: 5.2 → 5.3】

Lin Qi’s expression brightened; he stood up from the ground.

“Huh～”

Clenching his fists, waves of heat spread through every joint and muscle in his body, pulsing unevenly.

Finally, another breakthrough!

The higher the Pillar Art realm, the more efficient the body tempering.

Looking at the 5.3 blood qi value on his panel, Lin Qi felt exhilarated, his entire body like a furnace burning hot.

Blood qi value represents the strength of one’s blood and qi, and also signifies one’s realm.

The Nine Gates of Martial Path divide martial artists into nine ranks, while blood qi value provides a finer gradation.

It allows one to directly see the progress of body tempering.

Every single point of progress can be seen.

……

(End of Chapter)