140: Chapter 14 The Keen-Witted Deer Youyou

It couldn't be directly "piled up" like increasing blood qi.

Even for geniuses like Lu Youyou and Lu Qingfeng,

despite guidance from family experts and a tilt in resources, the speed of their Martial Arts Skill improvement was bound to have limits.

It was far from comparable to the speed at which he could directly "infuse" insights through Skill Points.

Therefore, after weighing his options, Qin Yan decided to slightly tilt his next cultivation focus toward Spear Technique.

Three days passed in a flash during his focused cultivation.

On December 14th, the Modu University of Martial Arts exchange team set out again, heading for the second stop of this warm-up tournament—Modu Jiaotong University.

Qin Yan still hitched a ride in Xiao Wangshu's car.

He had been busy cultivating lately, so the matter of buying a car had been temporarily shelved.

However, he didn't regret it, because the improvements brought by cultivation were tangible.

In just three days, with maxed-out resources and hard cultivation, his strength had increased by another small notch.

With a thought, he opened his panel to check his status:

[Level: Late-stage Second Grade]

[Bone Tempering: Lower limb bones (62), upper limb bones (64), Trunk bones (29)]

[Blood Qi: 434 cal]

[spirit: 62 Hz]

[Martial Arts: Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear, Seventh Revolution (32%)]

[Spear Technique: Third Stage (10%)]

[Alchemy: First-Grade Alchemist (34%)]

(Second-Grade Alchemist: Unlocks at 70 Hz spirit)

[Skill Points: 36]

[Note: As long as you work hard, there will be rewards]

Over these three days, he persisted in cultivating for 12 hours every day, accumulating a total of 36 Skill Points.

He invested all his Skill Points into his Spear Technique, bringing the progress bar to the 10% Perfection mark.

However, after the Spear Technique's progress reached 10%, it stagnated and did not directly break through like the Body Tempering Martial Art.

He remembered clearly that when his Spear Technique broke through from the second stage to the Third Stage, it had required an additional 2 Skill Points to successfully cross the threshold.

Clearly, jumping from the Third Stage to the fourth stage—a major realm leap—would require another sum of Skill Points to break through.

As for the progress of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Spear, it was being pushed forward steadily but slowly with the help of two servings of qingxin tea every day.

"My current base blood qi has reached 434 cal. With the support of my Spear Technique (Third Stage 12% bonus), my blood qi eruption exceeds 520 cal!

Adding in the power of spear force and moves, my blood qi eruption power can definitely exceed 60 cal!"

Feeling the surging power within his body and his deeper understanding of Spear Technique,

Qin Yan felt that his current state was better than ever before, frighteningly strong!

The convoy soon arrived at the long-established Modu Jiaotong University, which had a thick academic atmosphere.

Under the reception of the Jiaotong University instructors, the group arrived at the visiting team's preparation area.

After a while, the Jiaotong University instructors brought their core freshman team members over.

Instructor Fang Yan walked to the side with the Jiaotong University instructors and began communicating in low voices, clearly discussing the details of the sparring match.

Qin Yan's gaze swept over the Jiaotong University team and quickly found two acquaintances.

One of them was naturally the tall, elegant, and clear-spirited Wen Ning.

She stood quietly in the team like a secluded orchid in a valley.

The other was the spear-wielding Jiaotong University student who had fought Zhang Tu at the abandoned vehicle yard back then—Zhao Hao.

At this moment, Zhao Hao was leaning in close to Wen Ning, his head lowered, with what he thought was a charming smile on his face, seemingly saying something.

Wen Ning, however, had a cold expression and looked completely uninterested.

She only gave brief, one or two-word responses occasionally out of politeness.

Wen Ning was indeed quite irritated at the moment.

The reason was simple: this Zhao Hao was just too annoying, like a piece of sticky candy she couldn't shake off.

To be fair, Zhao Hao's looks and family background weren't bad; he was a typical second-generation martial artist, and his father was even a Rank Six martial artist instructor at the school.

But unfortunately, this person had poor character and a messy private life.

He was notoriously flirtatious within Jiaotong University and had ambiguous relationships with many female students.

Wen Ning knew very well that Zhao Hao wasn't being sincere with her at all.

From those eyes of his, she could only see undisguised lewdness and possessiveness.

She, Wen Ning, had high ambitions and was dedicated to martial arts; why would she associate with such a person?

In her view, before becoming a Grandmaster, so-called romance was just a boring game that wasted time and mental energy—even a dog wouldn't touch it!

When she looked up in frustration, her gaze inadvertently swept across the Modu University of Martial Arts preparation area and saw that familiar figure.

A subtle light instantly lit up in her eyes, and a faint but stunning smile appeared on her clear face.

This smile directly dazed Zhao Hao, who was still babbling beside her.

Qin Yan also saw Wen Ning. Feeling the goodwill in her gaze, he nodded slightly back at her with a faint smile, as a way of greeting.

Wen Ning also nodded slightly in response.

The two tacitly chose not to converse at this moment.

After all, they were in different camps and it was the eve of a sparring match; maintaining a proper distance was good for both sides.

"Little Junior Brother, do you know that girl?"

To the side, Lu Youyou's lively eyes widened. Having caught the brief exchange of looks between Qin Yan and Wen Ning, she leaned over and asked in a low voice.

Qin Yan was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected this seemingly carefree Senior Sister to have such meticulous observation skills.

He nodded frankly and explained simply, "She's half a friend, I suppose. We collaborated on a mission together before."

He and Wen Ning indeed had experience working together.

Their relationship was closer than that of ordinary acquaintances, but it didn't seem to have reached the level of intimate friends who share everything.

"Oh..." Lu Youyou nodded thoughtfully and didn't ask further.

However, her body unconsciously shifted a bit, cleverly blocking the line of sight between Qin Yan and Wen Ning. This small movement was done very naturally.

Before long, Instructor Fang Yan finished communicating with the lead instructor from Jiaotong University, and each returned to the front of their respective teams.

"Students, the arrangements have been finalized."

Fang Yan said to his team members, "The upcoming sparring match will be in the same format as last time—1-on-1 arena battles.

However, unlike Mingzhu Martial Arts University, the strongest person Modu Jiaotong University is willing to field this time is Zhao Hao, who is currently ranked third among them.

Their top two contestants have chosen to reserve their strength for the national tournament and will not be appearing today."

He paused and added, "As for this Zhao Hao's strength... it's just so-so. I heard he didn't reach the Rank One limit back then, so his foundation is slightly inferior.

Right now, he's just relying on his wealthy family background to have a few more tempered bones. He's almost finished tempering his upper limb bones, which is why he's barely ranked third in his year.

When you go up later, mind your manners. After all, friendship first, competition second. Leave Jiaotong University some face."