Chapter 10: If It Is Not in Your Fate, You Must Force It

In the early morning, after finishing his breakfast, Li Fei rode his bicycle to the Martial Arts Hall.

"Strive for self-improvement, use martial arts to serve the country!"

Loud slogans rang out across the training ground; at this hour, the students of the Martial Arts Hall were already engaged in morning exercises.

After parking his bike, Li Fei walked into the building from yesterday and arrived once again outside Hao Yi's office, knocking gently on the door.

"Come in."

Hao Yi's voice came from inside the door.

Li Fei opened the door and walked in; inside, besides Hao Yi, there was also a young man wearing a black short-sleeved shirt.

The man had a sturdy build and looked like someone who practiced martial arts at a glance. He immediately fixed his gaze on Li Fei, looking him up and down with a hint of hostility in his eyes.

"Teacher."

Li Fei bowed to Hao Yi.

Hao Yi pointed to the young man beside him: "He is also a student of the Martial Arts Hall; today, he will be practicing martial arts with you."

The young man cupped his fists toward Li Fei:

"Greetings, Senior Brother. I am Liu Xing, a Grade B student at the Martial Arts Hall."

"Greetings, Junior Brother Liu."

Li Fei cupped his fists in return.

He knew that students at the Martial Arts Hall were divided into three grades: A, B, and C. Ordinary students who had just entered the Martial Arts Hall were all at the lowest, Grade C, and joined large classes led by ordinary instructors.

Afterward, there would be an assessment at the end of every month. Only students who received an excellent rating for three consecutive monthly exams could be promoted to Grade B students and enter small classes led by senior instructors.

Only Grade B students could gain access to implants, and only after becoming true martial artists could they be promoted to Grade A students, qualifying them to attend public lectures given by special-grade instructors.

As for someone like Li Fei, who had been taken on as a student by a special-grade instructor, he was a Grade A student from the start, and he could receive guidance from the special-grade instructor at any time—he could be called the best of the Grade A students!

Although Liu Xing had enrolled a few years earlier than Li Fei, any Grade B student meeting a Grade A student had to address them as Senior Brother or Senior Sister.

Liu Xing had climbed his way up step by step from Grade C, so seeing a guy like Li Fei who had reached the top in one leap left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Li Fei, do you know why the martial arts departments of the twelve universities almost exclusively recruit freshmen with Grade A aptitude or higher every year?"

Hao Yi asked.

Li Fei: "Because resources are limited, so they select the best?"

Hao Yi said calmly: "That is only one reason. A more important reason is that aptitude directly determines a martial artist's growth rate and upper limit. Only those with Grade A aptitude or higher have a high probability of becoming registered martial masters, which is why the martial arts departments of the twelve universities value students with Grade A aptitude so much."

Li Fei nodded, lost in thought, while Liu Xing beside him looked dejected.

Only those who possessed an implant could be called formal martial artists, and only martial artists who reached a certain realm could become martial masters registered with the imperial court, also known as registered martial masters.

Registered martial masters held high status in the Great Lan Dynasty; not only could they hold important positions wherever they went, but they also received a monthly salary issued by the imperial court.

Furthermore, registered martial masters and their immediate family members could enjoy benefits in areas such as education, medical care, and housing.

It could be said that once one became a registered martial master, they could immediately change their family's social class!

"Although those with aptitude below Grade A also have a chance to become registered martial masters, their highest achievement in this life will likely stop there, making it difficult to pursue higher realms."

Hao Yi stared at Li Fei, his tone cold.

Li Fei was startled upon hearing this and asked: "Teacher, is it because when an implant enters the human body, it causes damage, and the better one's aptitude, the stronger their endurance?"

If that were the case, with the Myriad Blood Bead in his possession, once the number of blood souls increased in the future, his aptitude would surely be one in a million!

Hao Yi nodded: "An implant does indeed cause a certain amount of damage to the human body after entering it; this process is called the alienation reaction. However, the ability to resist alienation is only part of one's aptitude. Another part is the compatibility between the human body and the implant, called the compatibility reaction."

"The alienation reaction determines the implant's growth limit, while the compatibility reaction determines the growth speed of the implant within your body. If a person only has strong resistance to alienation, it is like a huge pool that can hold a lot of water, possessing a high theoretical limit. But if the speed at which the pool fills with water is very slow—for example, taking a hundred years to fill—then that theoretical limit will never be reached."

Li Fei suddenly understood. Hearing Hao Yi put it this way, he had a clear and simple understanding of aptitude.

Looking at it this way, although he had the Myriad Blood Bead, it would at most make his resistance to alienation stronger; there was nothing he could do about compatibility.

"Even so, my overall aptitude must definitely be much stronger than a Grade B student's. I should be able to reach Grade A, right?"

Li Fei thought to himself.

Seeing that Li Fei's expression was not dejected, Hao Yi nodded slightly:

"Some people are born with Grade A aptitude, while others don't even have the qualifications to become a martial artist. That is fate; there is no fairness to speak of. But fortunately, this fate can also be changed. Things that are not in your fate can be forced."

Li Fei's eyes lit up, and he cupped his fists in a salute:

"Please teach me, Teacher."

Hao Yi said: "The elixir I gave you to take yesterday is called the Bitter Origin Pill; it can improve your alienation resistance to implants. Besides this type of elixir, there are other elixirs that can improve your compatibility with implants. If you take these elixirs over a long period, you can improve your aptitude to a certain extent."

"Many thanks for the medicine, Teacher."

Li Fei bowed slightly to express his gratitude.

Hao Yi waved his hand: "No need to thank me in such a hurry. This type of elixir is an extremely precious resource. Even if you are my student, you cannot obtain it for nothing. If you want to obtain this type of elixir in the future, you will have to fight for it yourself."

"Teacher, how should a student fight for it?"

Li Fei asked.

"The Martial Arts Hall has a monthly exam. The top three Grade A students in the monthly exam can obtain elixirs that change their aptitude."

Hao Yi looked at him, "The assessment for Grade A students is very simple; it tests martial arts techniques through one-on-one sparring between students, which is why I called Liu Xing to practice with you."

Li Fei nodded: "This student understands."

He had practiced martial arts techniques for three years in the vocational martial arts department, so he naturally had combat capability, but Grade A students were already formal martial artists; could he beat them?

Hao Yi saw his concerns and said:

"You will soon have your own implant; focus on practicing your martial arts techniques first."

Liu Xing, standing to the side, showed an envious expression upon hearing this.

Although he was qualified to obtain an implant after being promoted to a Grade B student, he was still waiting to save up money because he didn't have enough to exchange for one, while Li Fei was clearly someone who wasn't short on money.

"This student understands."

Li Fei nodded, then turned to Liu Xing and cupped his fists: "Junior Brother Liu, please offer your guidance."

Next, both of them put on full sets of protective gear and gloves to avoid injury.

After finishing dressing, Li Fei stood with his feet one in front of the other, his left hand held vertically in front, and his right hand balled into a fist in front of his chest.

This was the standard combat stance of the 'Lan Hand'.

The vocational martial arts departments of the Great Lan Dynasty taught two main sets of martial arts: one was the Thirty-Six Capturing Hands, and the other was the Great Lan Dynasty Scattered Hands Collection, referred to as the Lan Hand.

The Great Lan Dynasty was founded on martial arts, and there were many types of martial arts routines. Later, the imperial court uniformly collected folk martial arts, compiled them into the "Great Lan Dynasty Scattered Hands Collection," removed the dross, kept the essence, and summarized them together.

This was the Lan Hand.

An excited expression appeared on Liu Xing's face. He twisted his neck and also assumed the starting stance of the Lan Hand:

"Senior Brother Li, please!"

(End of chapter)