Chapter 10 Blood and Qi Smoke

[Third Year of Senior High (First Semester): Sublimation in Actual Combat]

[Time moves to October; the chill in Longnan City grows thicker as late autumn arrives.]

[Tonight, the school's Special-Grade Combat Room is brightly lit. The alloy floor is drenched in sweat, and a scorched scent permeates the air.]

[You are shirtless, your muscle lines under the lights resembling steel ingots tempered a thousand times. The blunt training saber in your hand is already covered in countless nicks, every swing carrying a whistling sound that tears through the air.]

[Standing opposite you is Wu Changhe, who has shed his coat and wears only a tight-fitting vest. This usually penny-pinching "potion peddler" now exudes the terrifying pressure of a Kaiyuan Realm Expert.]

["Didn't you eat! Again!"]

[Wu Changhe bellows, his body surging with Origin Power as he strikes with a single palm, pressing down like Mount Tai. Before the palm even reaches you, the terrifying wind pressure already makes it difficult for you to breathe.]

["Kill!"]

[You do not back down. Under the blessing of the "Hardworking and Enduring" talent, your sense of pain is shielded and your resilience is maxed out. Your Great Accomplishment Basic Saber Technique is pushed to its absolute limit at this moment, the blade light like splashed ink, sealing off all of Wu Changhe's lines of attack.]

[But it isn't enough; even with all your might, you can barely withstand Wu Changhe's attacks. Although Qi and Blood Stage Seven Perfection is powerful, before the Origin Opening Realm, you are still like a mere child.]

[Bang!]

[You are knocked back over ten meters by a palm strike, your feet plowing two deep furrows into the paint of the alloy floor. Your Qi and blood surge in your chest, a sweetness hits your throat, and you nearly spit out a mouthful of blood.]

["Is this your limit?" Wu Changhe doesn't stop; his figure flashes, closing in again. "If this is all you've got, what right do you have to fight for a spot in the Top Ten Universities?!"]

[Limit?]

[No, the word limit does not exist in my dictionary!]

[Under the immense external pressure, the Qi and blood within your body begin to stir frantically. Like lava suppressed for a long time within a volcano, it is an angry dragon desperate to break through the crater.]

[Thump! Thump! Thump!]

[Your heart beats violently, and the blood flow speed instantly increases several times over. You feel every inch of your Meridians aching and swelling, and your limbs begin to go numb.]

["Open... for me!!!"]

[You roar to the heavens, abandoning defense to meet Wu Changhe's iron palm with a strike delivered with all your strength.]

[Boom—]

[At the moment the blade and palm collide, a visible blood-red ripple suddenly explodes outward with you at the center. The originally invisible power of Qi and blood, due to extreme condensation and eruption at this moment, actually manifests outside the body, turning into billowing red smoke.]

[This red smoke surges from the crown of your head, condensing without dissipating, as straight as a pillar, shooting directly toward the ceiling of the combat room!]

[Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke!]

[Wu Changhe's movements stop abruptly in mid-air. He stares wide-eyed at that pillar of beacon smoke reflecting a blood-red light throughout the combat room, his eyes full of unbelievable ecstasy.]

["Qi and blood turning to smoke, condensing without dissipating... Eighth Stage! It's done!"]

[You gasp for breath, feeling that terrifying, seemingly endless power flowing through your entire body. With a shake of a single arm, you possess four thousand catties of immense force.]

[You clench your fists, feeling the Qi and blood in your body follow your will perfectly, every bit of power within your grasp. You drive the Qi and blood into your right hand, and the surging energy instantly converges. A layer of dark red blood mist emerges from your body, tightly entwining around your fingers and palm, condensing without dissipating yet drifting like green smoke with the wind.]

[This is the Eighth Stage of the Qi and Blood Realm! Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke!]

...

[That Night: Night Talk at Zuixian Tower]

[Wu Changhe is driven mad with joy.]

[Even as someone usually stingy with food and drink, he splurges tonight, booking a private room at Longnan City's most high-end "Zuixian Tower" and ordering a table full of High-level Exotic Beast Meat.]

["Good! Good boy! Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke! In my twenty years of teaching, you are the first student to cultivate beacon smoke in the first semester of the third year!"]

[Wu Changhe is dead drunk, his face as red as a monkey's butt, yet he firmly holds down your wine cup, not letting you touch a single drop.]

["You... *hic*... you're not allowed to drink!"] Wu Changhe speaks with a thick tongue, yet his eyes are incredibly clear and serious. ["Even though some Grandmaster debunked it, saying drinking doesn't affect progress... I don't believe it! You're aiming for those ten top-tier universities; your body cannot afford the slightest mistake!"]

[I know better than anyone how hard it was for you to get to this point!]

["As long as there's even a one-in-ten-thousand risk, we won't take it! Do you hear me!"]

[Looking at this middle-aged man who is usually penny-pinching and would smile until his face cracked just to sell medicine, yet is now protecting you like an old father, a warm current surges in your heart.]

["Don't worry, Teacher, I will definitely get into a famous university for you!"]

["That's a must!"] Wu Changhe lets out a wine-scented hiccup, his spirit soaring. ["While we dare not dream of those two freakish places, Federal Martial Arts University and Changjing Martial Arts University... which are full of prodigies and monsters. But! Aside from those two, you can take your pick of the remaining 'Top Ten Universities' with your Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke and Great Accomplishment Saber Technique! I'll see who dares say no!"]

[That night, you talked a lot. About the future, about the Martial Dao, and about that even broader world.]

[You thought your third year of high school would pass in this kind of invincible loneliness until the College Entrance Examination.]

...

In reality, the rental apartment.

Watching Wu Changhe's heroic words on the light screen, Li Ang's mouth curled up unconsciously.

"Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke..."

He looked down at his own palm.

Although he had only just broken through to the seventh stage in reality, the memory from the simulation of that pillar-like Qi and blood shooting into the clouds made his heart swell.

Teacher Wu was right; once one cultivated Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke, aside from those two behemoths standing at the peak above the clouds, Li Ang indeed had a very high chance of getting into the remaining "Top Ten Universities."

In this world, martial arts universities had a strict hierarchy of Ranks.

At the very top of the pyramid were the "Twin Stars":

Federal First Martial Arts University (referred to as Federal Martial Arts University): Located at the heart of the Federation, it is hailed as the "Backbone of the Human Race." It gathers the most terrifying monster-level geniuses from across the Federation. It is said that the annual admission standard is "No entry without the Ninth Stage" or possessing an S-Rank or higher ability. Its graduates start as Majors in the military or directly enter special departments under the Federal Supreme Council.

Changjing Martial Arts University: Located in the old capital, Changjing, it has the deepest foundation, possessing the most complete ancient martial arts legacies and the most Grandmaster-level professors in the Federation. Changjing Martial Arts University values "Actual Combat" and "Killer Instinct" most, with the school motto being "To Stop War with War."

These two universities are the Holy Lands in the hearts of all young Martial Artists and are the true "Dragon Gates."

Below the "Twin Stars" are the "Top Ten Universities" that suppress the Luck of various regions in the Federation.

Each has its strengths; while their overall strength is slightly inferior to the Twin Stars, they are undisputed overlords in their respective professional fields.

Li Ang's eyes flickered as information about these ten famous universities surfaced in his mind:

For example, the Xijing War Academy located in the west is famous for its "Physical Body Tempering" and "Military Formation Combined Strikes." It is the cradle of the Federation's heavy armored legions, and its students are all human tanks.

For example, Donghai University in the prosperous Magic City excels at the combination of "Divine Thought" and "Technological Martial Arts," possessing the most advanced martial arts laboratory in the Federation.

For example, the Northern Wilderness Martial University in the North Territory guards the Extreme Cold Abyss year-round; the students who come out of there are all madmen who only know how to kill.

And Li Ang's goal in the simulation—Jiangnan Martial Arts University (Jiangnan Martial Arts University)—is exactly one of the leaders among these "Top Ten."

Jiangnan Martial Arts University is located in Suhang City, the capital of Jiangnan Province where Li Ang lives.

It is hailed as the "Capital of Weapons."

If Xijing Academy trains the "Body" and Magic City's East Sea trains the "Spirit," then Jiangnan Martial Arts University trains the "Technique."

It possesses the top-tier saber and sword technique legacies in the Federation, as well as countless Sharp Weapons excavated from abyss ruins. For Li Ang, who possesses [Great Accomplishment Basic Saber Technique] and follows a technical path, Jiangnan Martial Arts University is indeed the most perfect destination.

"In the simulation, Teacher Wu thinks I'm a shoo-in for Jiangnan Martial Arts University."

Li Ang leaned back on the sofa, his eyes gradually becoming deep.

"But..."

"Since I have the simulator..."

"Why can't my goal be those two 'Twin Stars' high above?"

A person's ambition expands along with their strength.

If it were before, Li Ang at the Fourth Stage of Qi and Blood only dared to hope for getting into an undergraduate college.

But now, with a cultivation of Qi and Blood Stage Seven Perfection and the simulator cheat in hand, his gaze was no longer limited to Jiangnan Province.

"However, I have to take it one step at a time."

"In the simulation, my current goal is to stabilize my foundation and first secure admission to Jiangnan Martial Arts University. As for those two... it depends on whether there are greater opportunities later."

Thinking of this, Li Ang turned his attention back to the light screen.

The simulation continued.