Chapter 26: Birthday

The blade light was sharp, chilling, and carried a soul-snatching demonic power!

B-Rank Martial Art—Demonic Blade!

Fang Xing did not doubt for a second that even if it were just a wooden blade, in Gu Yun's hands, it possessed the power to split stone monuments!

"This girl is crazy!"

"Going all out, does she really want to kill me?"

Fortunately, Fang Xing was no longer the person he used to be.

Facing this strike, he twisted his waist, his feet moving like a swimming dragon, shifting several meters in an instant to dodge the range of the blade light.

Military Fist Twelve Forms—Swimming Dragon Step!

Following that, he stepped forward half a pace, his fist like a giant axe splitting the heavens, carrying the momentum to shatter the earth!

—Half-Step Crushing Fist!

Gu Yun turned her blade hilt slightly, her body following the blade.

In the blink of an eye, she had exchanged several moves with Fang Xing.

Within the arena, one could only see shadows, blade lights and fist shadows intertwining, the force of the wind pressing down on them!

Clang!

Suddenly, a sound like a bowstring snapping rang out.

Fang Xing struck the flat of the wooden blade with one fist, but his whole body retreated several steps.

"Damn it... B-Rank martial arts are truly remarkable."

In his heart, he felt somewhat helpless.

In terms of realm, he and Gu Yun were both at the Second Realm of Tendon Refining, which could be considered a tie.

But in terms of martial arts, the gap was quite large.

Demonic Blade was a B-Rank martial art, while the Military Fist Twelve Forms was a common C-Rank martial art!

"If the realms are the same, the utility of martial techniques becomes significant."

"The Federation's martial arts are clearly much stronger than those in the other world..."

Although he had collected many martial arts manuals as if picking up trash, Fang Xing didn't think much of any of them.

After all, the strongest one among them, "Primordial Gang Qi," was only at the B-Rank level, and it was restricted to Primordial Realm martial artists—meaning one had to be at the Third Realm of Unpolished Jade before they could begin practicing it.

Yet in the Federation, a Second Realm martial artist could already learn B-Rank martial arts!

Simplifying high-rank martial arts so that low-realm martial artists could enter the door—this was the great innovation of Federation martial arts!

That was why Fang Xing looked down on the martial arts of the other world, thinking only of returning to learn a powerful method.

For instance, if he could master and become proficient in an A-Rank martial art... that would absolutely be Primordial-level combat power in the other world!

"You... have practiced the Demonic Blade to the point of being able to control it at will?"

Fang Xing stared at Gu Yun, his expression solemn.

Their realms were about the same, but the gap in martial techniques was vast!

In terms of proficiency, being able to control the Demonic Blade at will should be at the "Mastery" level!

"This is hilarious. Not only is my Military Fist Twelve Forms lower in rank than hers, but my proficiency is also inferior. She is truly a 'seed' candidate for university."

He muttered to himself, unable to help but sigh at the effort Gu Renwang must have poured into cultivating his daughter.

"Die!"

Gu Yun did not answer; her eyes were blood-red as she suddenly slashed out with her blade!

Swish!

This blade light was exceptionally beautiful, splitting into seven in an instant, layers of blade light locking off all of Fang Xing's retreat paths!

Fang Xing's expression remained unchanged, but his right hand secretly held an extra talisman.

—Golden Bell Cover Talisman!

With this Rank 1 Mid-Grade talisman's defensive power, even an Unpolished Jade Realm martial artist could not break through it in a short time.

Furthermore, if combined with a few offensive talismans, he could immediately make Gu Yun regret it on the spot!

This was Fang Xing's trump card!

But his eyes flickered, and he forcibly held back, watching that wooden blade stop less than a fraction of an inch from his brow.

Opposite him, Gu Yun's expression was cold, like ten-thousand-year-old ice, but her eyes were clear, like crystal.

"Congratulations..."

A trace of a smile appeared on Fang Xing's face.

If Gu Yun had continued, he would definitely have activated the talisman at the last moment.

However, at the critical moment, he decided to trust Gu Yun once.

Facts proved that she did not disappoint him.

"Having mastered the demonic nature, you can already attempt to enter the A-Rank martial art 'Ghost God Blade'..."

Fang Xing sighed: "And you still have several years to improve your cultivation. As long as you break through to the Unpolished Jade Realm in your third year of high school, getting into university is a sure thing..."

"I don't have several years. In the second half of the year, I'll be a freshman in high school, Senior!"

Gu Yun said.

"What? Your age?"

Fang Xing was slightly startled.

"Special admission... Besides, it's only a year or two early. The principal even gave me a scholarship!" Gu Yun said coldly: "I can no longer endure it; I want to get to the battlefield as soon as possible to avenge my father!"

"It seems you are preparing to enter a military academy or join the army upon graduation..."

Fang Xing sighed, already understanding Gu Yun's plan.

"Actually, getting into university is just to fulfill my father's expectations..." Only when mentioning her father did a trace of warmth flash in Gu Yun's eyes, but it quickly turned cold: "Alright, your employment for today is finished. I will transfer the money to your account."

"Why do I have such a subtle feeling, Junior Sister..."

After being kicked out of the villa, Fang Xing's expression was somewhat strange: "No matter what, we'll be schoolmates in the future. Being this disrespectful... you could at least have invited me to stay for a cup of tea."

The school Gu Yun was entering should be Yucai High School, becoming his freshman Junior Sister.

After all, in the second half of the year, he would be a sophomore.

"Thinking about it, there are only two years left until the college entrance exam. How terrifying..."

Fang Xing glanced at his own martial arts realm and curled his lips.

Now, he had gone from having a huge gap to being only slightly inferior to Gu Yun.

After all, previously he needed Gu Yun to hold back while wearing the gravity suit, but today it was a full-out fight, and he lost by a single move.

In a few months, he would probably be able to surpass her and leave her far behind.

"Although... surpassing a girl younger than myself is nothing to be proud of..."

"I still need to learn an A-Rank martial art as soon as possible..."

Fang Xing sighed.

Immediately, he recalled the information he had collected.

"There aren't many A-Rank martial arts taught in school. The most widespread are only three. The first is 'Ghost God Blade,' known as 'one blade in hand, no ghost or god remains.' It's just very difficult to learn; it's best to start with 'Demonic Blade'..."

"Besides that, there are 'Crazy Eighteen Strikes' and 'Mad Demon Staff Technique'!"

"Just hearing the names is chilling, and in reality, it's the same. If you want to not fear the mental pollution of extraterrestrial evil deity servants within the first three realms, you have to be crazy—if you aren't crazy, you won't survive!"

"Or rather... if I go crazy first, you won't be able to drive me crazy. The person who created this technique was truly a logic genius!"

"Among these, the one most suitable for me is actually 'Crazy Eighteen Strikes'... because it's the follow-up technique to the 'Military Fist Twelve Forms,' and both are fist and leg types."

"If I don't want to learn that, there's blade technique and staff technique..."

"I don't want to do that; I want to learn sword technique! A sword flying like an immortal, white clothes fluttering—that is the demeanor of a Sword Immortal... Dancing with blades and staffs is too bloody and cruel, and lacks style; it ruins the scenery..."

To be honest, if he had a choice, Fang Xing definitely wouldn't want to choose these three.

But... the choices in school were limited; there were only these three A-Rank martial arts.

Of course, there were many martial artists in the outside world, and there must be A-Rank sword martial arts, but Fang Xing didn't have the money to hire a private tutor.

Furthermore... the other party might not teach as well as the school teachers.

"Although Xia Long might not be as good as some top martial artists, at least his baseline is high..."

"It seems I'll have to learn 'Crazy Eighteen Strikes' next semester... my image, my style..."

Thinking of this, Fang Xing felt somewhat heartbroken.

Beep beep!

Just as he was feeling heartbroken, his phone rang again.

He took out his phone, saw a line of information, and his expression turned silent.

The next day.

July 17th.

Sunset at dusk, the evening glow like blood.

A barbecue stall.

Fang Xing sat at the stall, with several bottles of drinks in front of him.

Well, the Federation was very strict about alcoholic beverages; minors were forbidden from drinking, and shops wouldn't sell alcohol.

Therefore, he could only drink fruit juice and soda.

"So angry, minors aren't even allowed to gamble or go to the red-light district..."

Carrying a trace of resentment, Fang Xing took a fierce bite of the grilled meat in front of him.

It had to be said that in this era, shopkeepers who could open a store all had a unique skill. This grilled meat was delicate in texture, quite chewy, and sprinkled with various spices. One bite, and the full meat juices almost overflowed.

The key was that the price was cheap, which was why the previous Fang Xing and poor ghosts like Liu Wei would find opportunities to come here to satisfy their cravings.

But for the current Fang Xing, it was just that the grilling technique and spices were good; it was a pity the quality of the meat was dragging it down.

Although this shopkeeper also used good meat, how could it compare to the various rare birds and beasts of the other world, which were purely natural and nourished by spiritual energy?

"Hmm, I could buy some barbecue spices... when I go to the other world, I'll grill some monster meat to taste..."

"Within the marketplace, there are occasionally people selling monster meat, and recently, it seems that due to the frequent appearance of monsters, there's a big price drop..."

According to information gathered from Ding Hongxiu, monster meat was great for nourishing Qi and blood, with effects even better than low-grade spiritual rice!

It was just a pity that this depended on luck and couldn't be obtained stably, but it remained a favorite of many top martial artists and body cultivators.

Not bad!

Among cultivators, besides Dharma cultivators, there were also some unconventional body cultivators. It was said their physiques were extremely astonishing; once practiced to a profound realm, they were enough to block magic tools with bare hands, and low-grade spells could hardly injure them!

"But... the prerequisite for becoming a body cultivator is still having a spiritual root! Without a spiritual root, one can't even sense or absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper the body..."

"Everything, everything, is blocked by this dead knot of spiritual roots. Otherwise, the utilization efficiency of the resources in the other world could at least be increased tenfold or hundredfold!"

Fang Xing took another sip of his drink and sighed silently in his heart.

Not long after, a figure sat down in front of him and unceremoniously picked up a cup and drank it in one gulp: "A-Xing... Happy Birthday!"

This person was none other than Liu Wei!

"You're here?"

Fang Xing also picked up his cup and took a small sip.

Although it was just a drink, he actually felt a sense of slight intoxication.

Now, the Liu Wei sitting opposite him seemed like a different person.

Although his appearance was the same, his temperament was completely different, and the clothes on his body were almost bursting from his muscles, looking like a bodybuilder.

"I'm here..." Liu Wei didn't know what to say, so he could only remain silent.

"You shouldn't have... forget it." Fang Xing muttered, not wanting to play the martial arts style anymore: "We're all classmates; I'm very happy that you're willing to come and celebrate my birthday."

Upon hearing this, the corners of Liu Wei's mouth seemed to curl up slightly, then quickly flattened. ===== CHAPTER 27 =====