Chapter 70: You Don

In the year 2045 of the Martial Dao Calendar, December 26th.

Tianhai No. 2 High School, Elite Class

Minutes before Martial Dao class began, Qiu Jie, bored, turned on the projector in the Martial Dao classroom and played the News Broadcast.

“As the year draws to a close, disaster beast incursions across the regions have become increasingly frequent, and the situation is grave.”

“In Cang Province, Shu Province, Beijiang Province...”

“On Beijiang Province this morning at four a.m., a large-scale disaster beast tide erupted, with a super-large spatial rift forming and coalescing into a Spatial Gate descending upon Blue Star.”

“Countless disaster beasts launched attacks; reports confirm the presence of a King-level (Ninth Rank) disaster beast, the Mountain-Moving Ape.”

“Beijiang Province suffered severe impacts; the Beijiang War Base was heavily damaged, but fortunately, several Eighth Rank martial artists joined forces to inflict heavy damage and drive them back to the other world.”

“Experts predict this battle will last a month.”

“To date, over a thousand martial artists have perished, including one Seventh Rank, eight Sixth Rank...”

Qiu Jie stared at the projection and sighed:

“This world isn’t safe. Beijiang Province suffers the worst—large-scale disaster beast tides happen every year, not just once or twice.”

“Not to mention all the other smaller and larger incursions—Spatial Gates seem to favor Beijiang Province.”

Zhu Yuqi shook her head:

“We’re not much better off. Our Cang Province borders the sea—disaster beast tides never stop all year round, and countless soldiers and martial artists die each year.”

“Countless families have lost parents; my distant uncle died just two years ago.”

“Breaking news: Recently in Quan City, a small Spatial Gate appeared at the city center, triggering a minor disaster beast tide.”

“With help from the local Martial Dao Hall, the Spatial Gate was sealed and the disaster beasts swiftly suppressed, with minimal losses.”

“All citizens of Cang Province are urged to remain vigilant—if you encounter a Spatial Gate, please call: ...”

Everyone silently memorized the number.

Lin Qi did the same. This was a Martial Dao world, not safe—he was still too weak and needed greater strength.

And lately, Cang Province wasn’t safe either.

He needed to warn his parents.

“Ding ding ding!!”

The class bell rang. Qiu Jie turned off the projector; everyone waited for the teacher.

A burly figure now entered the classroom, radiating an invisible aura that made others instinctively step aside.

Li Zhou strode confidently into the center of the group.

Lin Qi felt a powerful aura—he turned and locked eyes on Li Zhou.

Strange, Li Zhou’s aura had grown much stronger, like a wild beast.

Could it be...

A thought suddenly struck him.

Soon, others sensed Li Zhou’s change too.

Yu Jing widened his eyes and blurted out:

“Li Zhou, have you broken through?!”

Li Zhou grinned proudly: “I’ve been at 9.99 blood value for a month—wasn’t breaking through inevitable?”

Hearing Li Zhou confirm it, the class erupted in shock.

“No way, he actually broke through!”

“Li Zhou’s now a Second Rank Muscle-Strengthening martial artist—though we all expected it.”

“But we didn’t think it’d come this soon.”

“I’m only at 7.5 blood value—I might not even break through to Second Rank by the college entrance exam.”

“The gap between people is bigger than between a man and a dog.”

Everyone murmured in awe and envy as they stared at Li Zhou.

Lin Qi and Jiang Tao exchanged glances, both filled with surprise.

Lin Qi could sense the immense power in Li Zhou’s blood value—his strength had surged dramatically.

It would be difficult for him to surpass Li Zhou in such a short time.

Nearby, Yu Jing smiled inwardly, thinking:

“My blood value is already at 9.98!”

“I won’t need a month—I’ll break through to First Rank, then Second Rank, and surpass Li Zhou.”

“Li Zhou, how could you get stuck at 9.99 for a whole month?” Jiang Tao suddenly asked.

“Yeah!” Others also looked puzzled.

A 0.01 blood value gap should take only a few days to overcome.

Why did it take so long?

“Quiet!”

A deep voice came from the doorway.

Zhang Cheng, his burly frame moving with commanding grace, strode into the classroom and stepped into the center of the group.

“Let me explain—this isn’t in the textbook, but everyone will reach Second Rank and will need to know this.”

Zhang Cheng stood among them, scanning everyone as their gazes fixed on him, then spoke slowly:

“The Nine Gates of Martial Dao—one gate per rank!”

“First Rank is Muscle-Strengthening—focus on conditioning every muscle in the body.”

“Daily training in stances and Five Animal Fist is the most efficient way to forge all muscles.”

“But during conditioning, some tiny muscles are extremely hard to refine.”

“That’s why many who reach 9.99 blood value get stuck on the final 0.01!”

“They must identify and correct weaknesses, specifically refining those minute muscles—everyone gets stuck here.”

“A month is normal; some get stuck for one or two months.”

With Zhang Cheng’s explanation, everyone understood.

Yu Jing didn’t care—he didn’t think he’d need a month.

He wasn’t alone; others shared the same thought.

!

Zhang Cheng shook his head—he could tell everyone believed they wouldn’t get stuck at the final step.

Laugh now. Wait till you hit 9.99—you’ll be silent for a month.

“Alright, dismissed. Train individually!”

“If you have questions, come find me.”

Zhang Cheng dismissed them. Li Zhou immediately stepped forward to ask a question.

Many others left, returning to their own Martial Dao rooms.

Lin Qi stayed put, digesting Zhang Cheng’s words, pondering deeply, forming many new ideas.

Moments later, when no one remained near Zhang Cheng, Lin Qi approached and asked:

“Teacher, you said we condition all muscles through stances and Five Animal Fist, but the minute muscles aren’t fully refined.”

“When we train stances, everyone does the same—the muscle conditioning effect is identical.”

“But Five Animal Fist differs—I practice two forms, and each time I strike, I feel different muscles being engaged, especially the minute ones.”

“Does this mean if I train all five forms together, refining all minute muscles simultaneously, I can accelerate blood value refinement and avoid getting stuck at 9.99?”

Lin Qi voiced his idea.

Zhang Cheng stared, astonished:

“You figured this out on your own?”

He quickly gathered his thoughts and said:

“You’re right—each of the Five Animal Fist forms targets different muscle regions.”

“But together, the five forms cover nearly every muscle in the body.”

“Most people who reach 9.99 have a method: practicing other fist forms to accelerate refinement.”

“With their existing fist level, learning new forms would yield double results.”

Lin Qi nodded—he’d experienced this himself with Crane Form.

“But even if you improve your fist forms quickly, you still need time to train.”

“And it consumes a lot of time.”

“This inevitably interferes with martial arts training.”

“So most choose to endure the grind—without delaying martial arts.”

“Because they know: even if they delay slightly, once they break through to Second Rank and can cultivate techniques to absorb natural source energy, they’ll fully make up for it.”

Lin Qi understood—it made sense.

“Lin Qi, I know you’re insightful—you’ll likely try training all five forms together. But I still hope you don’t neglect your martial arts cultivation.”

Zhang Cheng patted Lin Qi’s shoulder and warned him.

Lin Qi nodded: “I just wanted to ask!”

Back in his Room 503 Martial Dao Chamber

Lin Qi drank a bottle of energy potion and thought to himself:

“Mr. Zhang fears that training the Five Forms together will hinder my marksmanship progress.”

“But he doesn’t understand my talent.”

Lin Qi knew his fist technique realm far surpassed his marksmanship; even Li Zhou might not be stronger than him.

Training the Five Forms together would not hinder his marksmanship cultivation at all.

“Huh~”

Exhaling a breath of stale qi, Lin Qi assumed his fist stance.

……

(End of Chapter)