Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The gust from Chu Yunfan’s punch blew the silky black fringe from Liu Yushu’s fair forehead.
Her pupils shrunk slightly and her cheeks blushed. She was pretty when she blushed. Chu Yunfan’s move had left her in a daze. She could not believe that she failed to react immediately to his punch as it arrived before her majestically.
The bodyguard who was standing aside could not help but feel relieved when he saw that Chu Yunfan had held back. He recalled his aura as if nothing had happened.
Chu Yunfan relaxed and stood with his arms at his back. His aura had changed so much from before, as if he had become a different person.
Liu Yushu was not angry that he had stunned her. On the contrary, she was rather excited. She said, “I suppose you’ve just broken through. I saw videos in the virtual world where the martial arts master performed an Impeccable Stage Devilish Tiger Punch. It was similar to yours!”
Hearing that, Chu Yunfan nodded and said, “Indeed, I comprehended all the questions I had in that instant. I reached the Impeccable Stage at once!”
Under the immense pressure Liu Yushu placed on him, he entered a mysterious state and finally broke through to the Impeccable Stage. He understood the depth of the Devilish Tiger Punch at the Impeccable Stage.
He had just broken through, and his power had elevated by a level. He breached the shadow of Liu Yushu’s fist and almost hurt her.
Naturally, that was what that bodyguard thought he was going to do. Chu Yunfan’s Devilish Tiger Punch had broken through to the Impeccable Stage and the techniques had become instinctive, so he could control them as he wished. He could recall them and release them. He definitely would not hurt anyone by mistake.
He was exclaiming internally as well. Liu Yushu truly was the young mistress of a wealthy family. He could not believe that she could afford to watch martial arts masters’ Martial Dao videos.
In the Kunlun Era, martial arts were widely spread. Unlike the practice of keeping everything to themselves in the Ancient Zenith civilization, it was normal that martial arts masters would upload videos of their techniques on the internet for others to learn, especially basic martial skills like the Devilish Tiger Punch. The various martial arts masters had uploaded up to a hundred types of martial skills, though access to those videos required payment. An hour-long video would cost up to 1,000 coins. Only the rich could afford to spend that kind of money.
Although 1,000 was not a lot, when one watched many videos, it would amount to a great fortune.
“I heard from Uncle Qin that you just learned the Devilish Tiger Punch today? Did you really break through to the Impeccable Stage within a day? I didn’t believe it at first, but I do now, seeing that you managed to break through during the battle. Perhaps your talent in this aspect is exceedingly high. Even higher than the praise Uncle Qin gave you!” Liu Yushu said. Although cultivation books always mentioned breaking through in battles, a mere one in a million could actually do it. Not only that, it was only made possible by chance.
She had been going to famous schools since young, and she had met many of those so-called geniuses, but she had never heard of anyone who could break through in battle.
“Indeed, I just learned it today. I didn’t have the resources to learn the Devilish Tiger Punch before this. On the other hand, I assume Ms. Liu isn’t lacking money, so why are you only learning the Devilish Tiger Punch now?” Chu Yunfan heard her say she had only been studying the Devilish Tiger Punch for ten days.
“It’s for the stream division in a month. By then, there will not only be exams in cultural studies but also classes for real combat. I mainly wanted to cultivate Internal Energy with all my might before this, so I never cultivated martial skills!” Liu Yushu explained. If this had happened before they sparred, she might not have bothered explaining to Chu Yunfan.
Dragons do not live with snakes. She would not speak this much to someone so ordinary in all aspects.
“Before this, we were the protected flowers in the conservatory. We didn’t have any chances in real battles, so it didn’t matter whether we learned martial skills or not. Nevertheless, it’ll be different after the stream division!” Liu Yushu said, “In the regular schools that you guys go to, reaching Tier-7 Physical Stage, Blood Renewal is the factor that determines whether you can get into the martial arts stream. However, the martial arts stream is divided into regular class and elite class!
“With my level of Internal Energy, it’s a no-brainer that I’ll get into the martial arts stream. But I want to get into my school’s elite class for the martial arts stream. I want to fight for top 10, top three, and even No. 1 in my school’s elite class!” Liu Yushu extended a fair finger and said ambitiously, “My next goal will be getting into Federation University, but do you know how low the acceptance rate is? I must try my best to be in my school’s top 10, even top 10 in Calm Ocean City, to guarantee my spot in Federation University!
“Of course, the first goal is to get into the elite class of the martial arts stream. Apart from the cultivation of Internal Energy, real fighting skills are the most important thing for me. It seems out of nowhere, but that’s the reason why I want to cultivate the Devilish Tiger Punch. It’s not just me. Many of my classmates are doing the same thing!”
Hearing her explanation, Chu Yunfan understood. Although they had both just cultivated the Devilish Tiger Punch, they had completely different reasons for doing so. He was doing it because his talent was horrible. He had to make the most of the time to cultivate Internal Energy for a chance to get into the martial arts stream so that he could stand out.
Meanwhile, Liu Yushu was cultivating Internal Energy to get into Federation University. She only recently had time to cultivate the Devilish Tiger Punch.
It appeared similar, but in reality, the difference was like Heaven and Earth.
“This talent of yours is hard to come by. However, it’s a pity that your level of Internal Energy is just average. Otherwise, you might be seen as exceptional!” Liu Yushu said with some pity, shaking her head.
Although the cultivation of martial skills was important, no matter what, Internal Energy was the root of Martial Dao.
“Ms. Liu, I supposed I’ve passed the test now?” Chu Yunfan asked.
“You can say you’ve passed the test. I’m sure Uncle Qin told you already that you’ll be given 500 coins for sparring with me for an hour, and it’ll be two hours per day. Plus, I’ll give you more if I can break through to the Impeccable Stage!” Liu Yushu said, “The thing that I lack the most now is time. If you can save me time, I’ll be generous with the fee!”
Liu Yushu walked to the side of the sparring zone as she spoke and took out two bottles of healing sprays from one of the tiny medical boxes.
She tossed one to Chu Yunfan while she opened the cap of the other one and sprayed it on the bruises on her arms. She was familiar with handling such injuries.
Chu Yunfan did not hold back and sprayed it directly on his arms. He soon felt a cooling sensation. His wounds were obviously healing.
He laid down his head and looked at the healing spray. It was the upgraded version. It was a few times more expensive than the one he used and had a stronger effect.
He was no longer in pain. He could even see the bloody wounds vanishing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He was secretly dumbfounded. These kids from wealthy families had much more martial arts resources than he did as an ordinary person. With such a healing spray, one could almost practice real battles indefinitely. Naturally, their ability would elevate continuously.
It was crazy to think that this was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the advantages kids from powerful and wealthy families possessed.
In the Kunlun Era, everyone seemed to be equal because Martial Dao was accessible to all.
In reality, the gap between people was even greater than in the Common Era.
“You’ve just broken through, so I’m sure you’ve gained some insight. Please tell me. I’ve been stuck between the Competent Stage and the Impeccable Stage. I still can’t reach the latter!” Liu Yushu said. Envy flashed through her eyes when she looked at Chu Yunfan.
Had she not seen it herself, she would not have believed that someone had such incredible talent for cultivation. Even if it was just a gift for martial skill cultivation, it was still remarkable enough.
Chu Yunfan closed his eyes. He was shocked to find that his earlier battles were replaying clearly in his head. Since obtaining the Alchemy Emperor’s memories, he realized that his own memory had become ridiculously accurate. In fact, it was photographic.
It felt like he was watching 3D projections in his head. He clearly saw all of the details that he had not noticed earlier.
Chu Yunfan only opened his eyes a while later and said, “Since you saw coaching videos of so many famous experts and masters, I suppose you already know the difference between the Competent and Impeccable Stage. The Competent Stage would mean that you’ve mastered all the techniques and you can release the most power in each punch. Meanwhile, the Impeccable Stage is something else. You can combine all of the techniques freely instead of being restricted to the initial sequence. You can also change the techniques at will, recalling and releasing them, altering the strength of your blow, and so on. You’ll be able to control them as you wish. That’s the Impeccable Stage!
“In reality, you’ve mastered all of the techniques perfectly. It’s just that you’re restricting yourself a little when you change them. You can’t recall and release like I’m capable of doing now. The truth is, there’s no secret to it. Although I’ve never seen the coaching videos of those martial arts masters, I won’t hide anything from you since I’m charging you a fee. The important thing isn’t the so-called depth. There’s nothing else you should do other than practice. After you’ve practiced changing techniques so much that it becomes instinctive, they can no longer restrict you. It’s only a matter of time before you can recall and release them as you wish!” Chu Yunfan explained.
Liu Yushu nodded and said, “Yes, that’s what I thought too. That’s why I recruited a sparring partner. I suppose your injuries are almost healed now. Let’s seize the moment and proceed with the practice now!”
“Sure, there’s no problem with that. I’m always ready!”
Chu Yunfan waved his arms around. He should be fine now. The healing spray was much more powerful than the one he had at home.
“Taste my fist, then!”
Liu Yushu threw out a punch. It was the Ferocious Tiger’s Heart Plow again.. It was fast and ruthless as it charged directly at Chu Yunfan’s face.