Chapter 164: The Undefeated True Body

The class bell rang.

The bells for the start and end of class at Yujing Academy were short segments from two piano pieces composed by the same musician; in this world, they are called key-zithers, which are not much different from the pianos of my past life, just with two extra keys.

The Martial Cultivation Hall, usually bustling, was very empty today.

The teacher with thick eyebrows and large eyes clapped his hands to signal everyone to stand closer, then took roll; surprisingly, everyone was present.

Was there not a single lazybones who didn't want to train?

Chen Shu thought to himself while observing quietly.

There were exactly ten students here, a seven-to-three ratio of men to women; the ones he could call acquaintances were Jiang Lai and Yan Keling. Besides them, three other students looked familiar, including that Fifth Stage senior from this academy, as well as a senior brother and sister from the fourth and fifth years whom he had seen when auditing the "Intermediate Cultivation" class.

"My surname is Xu, and I am a combat teacher at the Martial Cultivation Academy. The students from the Martial Cultivation Academy all know me, right?"

"Anyway, just calling me Teacher Xu is fine."

"I've taken a look, and it's quite good; among the ten people, there is one Imperial Sect Cultivator, one Martial Artist, and the remaining four are Spirit Cultivators and four are Martial Cultivators. It's not too messy, so it will be easier for me to explain things. Because after explaining the basic common knowledge of combat, I will explain how to deal with different systems according to everyone's different Cultivation System, and with practice, the effect will be better."

"I will talk about theoretical knowledge first to accommodate Student Yan and the few students from the Ancient Cultivation Academy; the students from the Martial Cultivation Academy should listen again as well."

"Everyone sit, sit, sit."

The group sat cross-legged, facing the teacher, forming a semicircle.

What followed was modern combat theory similar to the content of the high-priced courses Chen Shu had once bought on the Deep Net, only Teacher Xu explained it in more detail and encouraged students to ask questions and communicate on the spot, which was naturally much better than Net Class.

This type of content was always very interesting, and time passed quickly without anyone noticing; by the time the teacher and everyone came back to their senses, it was already past eight o'clock.

"The evening self-study session is about to end..."

"How about this, since most of the students are Martial Cultivators and Spirit Cultivators, let's test a match between a Spirit Cultivator and a Martial Artist today. I will randomly select two students from those following the Martial Cultivator and Spirit Cultivator paths to demonstrate."

"Student Qin Yuxiao."

"Student Chen Shu."

"Please, you two, step onto the central Arena, and the other students will observe from below."

Chen Shu scratched his head, stood up with a student from the Martial Cultivation Department, and followed the teacher onto the Arena to prepare for the drill.

The teacher first said to the student named Qin Yuxiao: "On the Arena, due to the limitations of the space, the Martial Cultivator already has a great advantage. Even at the same rank, a Martial Cultivator only needs to break the Spirit Cultivator's outer Defense Barrier to basically win. During this process, you need to guard against the Spirit Cultivator's attacks."

"Because the outer Defense Barrier has a large surface area, it is often not difficult to break, but you still need to withstand the Spirit Cultivator's Spirit Power impact and Spell attacks."

"For example, the Impact Technique, or the Tracer Technique."

"The good news is that your opponent is also just a university student, in their twenties; even if they are a genius, it only manifests in their Cultivation Rank. Generally speaking, they haven't had much time to learn other Spells. In my experience, most Spirit Cultivators don't master many attack Spells, and they are all about the same. Basically, it's things like the Impact Technique, Tracer Technique, or True Fire Technique."

"Let me emphasize the Tracer Technique."

"The Tracer Technique is cast quickly and has great power. When you are attacking their Spirit Power Defense, your Spirit Cultivator opponent will most likely bombard you with the Tracer Technique. However, the disadvantage of the Tracer Technique is that it is composed entirely of Spirit Power, equivalent to a Spirit Power Cannon; its structure is not stable, and it is easily blocked or destroyed prematurely, causing it to explode midway. With the defense of a Ming Sect Martial Cultivator, as long as you aren't hit head-on, it can almost be ignored. Even if you are hit head-on, as long as the opponent isn't a higher rank than you, even if they use the best military-grade Tracer Technique, it's not much of a problem. At the very least, resisting a few shots is not an issue."

"But you must be careful; modern Spirit Cultivators have particularly high lethality. Don't always get hit by them; make full use of your Spiritual Sense and your own speed to evade."

Student Qin nodded repeatedly, indicating he understood.

Teacher Xu then said to Chen Shu: "The Martial Cultivators in our school basically practice Ming Sect techniques; both their attack and defense capabilities are top-tier. When the time comes, the combat field at the Military Academy will be a circular venue with a diameter of 200 meters. You need to try your best to keep your distance from the Martial Cultivator. It is recommended to set up as many Defense Barriers as possible and use other Spells to bind and interfere with the Martial Cultivator's advance, while attacking with all your might."

"Understood, teacher."

"Mm."

"Anything else, teacher?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"A modern Spirit Cultivator is a spell-casting position in themselves. If you are fighting alone, keep your distance, maintain your defense, and bombard them with everything you've got—that's it."

"..."

"Let's give it a try. If you can adapt to fighting a Ming Sect Martial Cultivator, other Martial Cultivators shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Okay."

About a minute later.

Qin Yuxiao, opposite Chen Shu, had already made full preparations. Every inch of his exposed skin radiated a metallic luster; this was the defensive technique that the ancient Ming Sect was famous for, called the Undefeated True Body, which one generally begins to practice at the Fourth Stage.

A few cheers came from below.

Chen Shu carefully identified them; Jiang Lai and Yan Keling were both cheering for him. Among the other eight, the senior brother and sister from the Ancient Cultivation Academy were also cheering for him, while the students from the Martial Academy were cheering for Qin Yuxiao. All in all, his popularity was actually higher.

"Ha..."

Chen Shu chuckled, still standing in place.

The two were not in a free-for-all, but were listening to the teacher's instructions to first perform a sensory drill.

"Very good, both students are very relaxed."

"Not being nervous is a good thing."

"Student Chen's defensive barrier-type Spells seem very excellent. Qin Yuxiao, you go first and feel the Spirit Cultivator's Defense Barrier; use your full strength. Pay attention to this kind of invisible Defense Barrier; its Spirit Power fluctuations are also very low. You must feel it carefully, because if you cannot correctly sense its position, you cannot guarantee that you will strike it with your greatest force, and you might even miss or collide with it. If you really cannot sense it, then trust your Spiritual Sense."

"Okay."

Qin Yuxiao sensed for a moment, then rushed forward quickly and threw a cannon-punch directly at it.

"Boom!"

Invisible ripples spread out in the air.

However, the Defense Barrier did not shatter.

"Hmm?"

"Hmm?"

Both of them were stunned for a moment.

Teacher Xu urged again: "You must use your full strength!"

Student Qin scratched his head: "I did..."

"..."

"..."

Teacher Xu paused, then turned to face Chen Shu: "Next, let Student Qin attack you freely to test it out. You may also attack and defend with all your might to get a feel for the speed of a Ming Sect Martial Cultivator and the defensive capabilities of a Fourth Stage Undefeated True Body. Just have a baseline in your mind."

"Alright."

"Begin."

"Boom..."

Qin Yuxiao's body almost turned into a phantom; every step he took emitted a dull thud. If they were not on the Arena, the stone slabs would likely have been crushed by him.

This time, he intended to utilize the acceleration and channel his full Spirit Power to shatter this freshman junior's barrier with one punch.

However, he only heard a nearly imperceptible explosion ahead, followed immediately by countless faint sounds of air being pierced. His Spiritual Sense sounded a frantic alarm, but upon sensing closely, it was a dense, indistinguishable, and unavoidable danger.

He could see nothing before his eyes either.

Qin Yuxiao had no choice but to protect his head with both hands, turn his back to meet the attack, and curl his body to reduce the surface area of the impact, using his Undefeated True Body to withstand it head-on.

"Bang, bang..."

The dull sounds merged into one.

The clothes on Qin Yuxiao's body shattered instantly, but the Undefeated True Body was indeed powerful—there were only seven or eight shallow wounds on his skin, and the injuries were very light.

But when he regained his composure, his Spiritual Sense sounded an alarm again; this time, it made his scalp tingle.

It was still an invisible attack.

But it was no longer Sword Qi.

Below the Arena—

Jiang Lai widened his eyes. Only now did he realize that Brother Chen's Sword Qi and Tracer Technique could be fired without emitting light.

On the Arena—

Qin Yuxiao's Spiritual Sense, reaction speed, and experience were clearly inferior to Jiang Lai's. Facing those countless Sword Qi just now, he had made an incorrect choice again, and the cost incurred had already made it impossible for him to dodge this Tracer Technique.

Fortunately, he was a Martial Cultivator, not a Martial Artist.

"Bang!"

Another punch was thrown.

The force suddenly rippled out and surged forward.

But something unexpected happened: the Tracer Technique, which should have had an unstable structure, was not detonated by the force he unleashed; instead, it passed right through the force.

Fortunately, he was a Martial Cultivator, not a Martial Artist.

Qin Yuxiao again chose to withstand it head-on with his Undefeated True Body.

As descendants of the number one sect of Martial Cultivators, every Ming Sect disciple forever believes in their own Undefeated True Body.

"Boom!"

A massive explosion.

The shockwave kicked up dust across the floor, rushing all the way to the protective barrier at the edge of the Arena before stopping and rippling along the outline of the barrier. As the dust cleared, a figure was sent flying, and when he landed, he was already at the edge of the Arena.

He even bounced once on the ground.

"Cough, cough..."

Qin Yuxiao climbed up with difficulty, coughing violently.

Sitting on the ground, he looked at Teacher Xu in silence.

Teacher Xu was also silent.

The Martial Cultivators and Spirit Cultivators below were all silent.

The bell for the end of class rang.

Teacher Xu went over to help Qin Yuxiao up, gave two dry coughs, and said: "Today's training ends here. Um, the drill just now is not a good reference. Everyone who watched... especially the students from the Martial Academy, do not develop a psychological shadow regarding Spirit Cultivators. Normally, Spirit Cultivators are not this terrifying. Spirit Cultivators are a bit more terrifying on the Battlefield, but their win rate in the Arena is definitely far lower than that of Martial Cultivators."

"That is all, class dismissed."

"..."

Chen Shu also went up to express concern for Senior Brother Qin, but Martial Cultivators have good bodies; the Undefeated True Body has strong defense and recovers quickly, so there was basically no problem.

Only then did he realize how strong Jiang Lai was.

Logically speaking, Martial Artists are far inferior to Martial Cultivators, with all-around attributes lagging behind Martial Cultivators.

However, that is not to say a Four-stage Martial Artist is worse than a Fourth Stage Martial Cultivator: Martial Artists have no stages and no Spirit Sea; their progress is relatively gradual and linear. The certification standard for a Four-stage Martial Artist is to reach the average combat power level of a Fourth Stage ordinary Cultivator. However, the standard currently in use was set twenty years ago. One can only say that it is harder for a Martial Artist to reach the Fourth Rank than for a Martial Cultivator to reach the Fourth Stage, and the upper limit a Martial Artist can reach is only equivalent to a Sixth Stage Peak Cultivator.

Jiang Lai basically relied on his own strength, reaction speed, and combat experience to demonstrate combat power exceeding that of Qin Yuxiao.

The effort involved here was clearly greater than Qin Yuxiao's.

Leaving the Martial Cultivation Hall.

It was already dark outside. A moon hung above the top of the tallest Teaching Building in the distance; at a rough glance, the bright moon seemed even larger than the Teaching Building.

It was already nearly nine o'clock.

Thinking about it gave him a headache; he still had to cultivate when he got back.

If he took a shower, chatted with Qingqing for a bit, and scrolled through some short videos before bed, he would probably be cultivating until two in the morning.

Chen Shu sighed repeatedly.