Chapter 7: A Complete Transformation, Qi and Blood Flowing Like a Dragon

Outside the infirmary window, the sky was gradually darkening.

Li Ang looked at the glittering [S-rank] evaluation on the light screen, his heart pounding wildly.

"S-rank evaluation reward: One additional retention option can be added!"

This unexpected surprise almost made Li Ang laugh out loud.

No, he couldn't laugh yet.

Originally, he was struggling between choosing his Realm or his saber technique.

After all, the [Martial Arts Realm] was the Foundation, while the [Great Accomplishment Saber Technique] was a self-defense art; both were indispensable.

If he only chose the Realm, he would have strength but wouldn't know how to use it; if he only chose the saber technique, it would be useless if his body couldn't keep up with his awareness.

But now, only children make choices—as a cheater, he wanted them all!

"Phew..."

Li Ang forced himself to calm his excitement and glanced at the wall clock.

Five-thirty in the afternoon.

There was still half an hour before evening self-study began, and four and a half hours until the school library closed.

"I can't extract it here."

Li Ang was very clear-headed.

Li Ang hadn't tried extracting a Martial Arts Realm from the simulator yet, and he suspected it might cause a significant disturbance.

If the school nurse caught him suddenly undergoing a mutation, it would be impossible to explain.

Moreover, he still needed to properly maintain his "God Li" persona.

Based on his predecessor's daily habits...

The time wasted visiting the Martial Arts History Museum this afternoon would definitely have to be made up for by studying twice as hard tonight.

"Endure!"

"I've endured for ten years; these last few hours won't make a difference."

Li Ang pulled off the oxygen tube from his nose and briefly tidied his appearance.

He looked at the pale-faced youth with determined eyes in the mirror.

He took a deep breath, rubbed his face, and adjusted his facial muscles.

He withdrew that 'keep away' Evil Qi and transformed back into the nerdy "God Li."

Walking out of the infirmary, he grabbed a quick bite at the cafeteria and then dove straight into the library.

As usual, he found a seat in the furthest corner and spread out the book "Grandmaster's Force Application Techniques."

Only this time, he didn't absorb a single word.

In his mind, he replayed the final battle with the One-Horned Direwolf over and over—the trajectory of that heaven-shaking strike, the mysterious sensation of Qi and Blood flowing through his entire body...

Time passed minute by minute.

The bell for the end of evening self-study rang.

Students left the martial arts training rooms one after another, and the noisy campus gradually fell into silence.

Ten o'clock sharp.

The library administrator, an old man, walked over with his keys and tapped on the table: "Li Ang, we're closing. Go back and rest early."

"Alright, thank you, sir."

Li Ang closed his book, shouldered his backpack, and stepped into the night.

His pace seemed steady, but in reality, every step beat with the rhythm of excitement.

Returning to his rented room in an old residential area, he double-locked the door, drew the curtains, and checked the windows.

After confirming it was absolutely safe, Li Ang dropped his backpack and, without even taking off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the slightly worn yoga mat in the living room.

"System!"

"Extract rewards!"

"I choose [1. Martial Arts Realm] and [2. Martial Arts Experience]!"

Boom!

As his thought fell, two distinct and massive surges of energy, as if crossing the long river of time and space, descended into this frail body simultaneously.

First was the [Martial Arts Experience].

Countless memory fragments regarding saber techniques instantly merged into his mind.

Ten years of swinging a saber through heat and cold, countless life-and-death struggles in the Chaos Zone, the final desperate strike against the beast tide...

These memories were no longer fleeting mental images but had become instincts carved into his very marrow.

Li Ang's fingers twitched subconsciously.

Next came the even more violent [Martial Arts Realm].

"Ugh!"

Li Ang let out a muffled groan, his entire body instantly curling up like a shrimp.

Pain!

It felt as if someone had thrown him into Taishang Laojun's Pill Furnace, using Samadhi True Fire to calcine every inch of his flesh and blood.

But he didn't cry out; a ferocious smile even hung on the corner of his mouth.

Because he felt it...

The medicinal toxins deposited in his body, clogging his Meridians like sludge, were being forcibly stripped away by this overbearing power!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

His skin began to flush red at a visible rate, then turned black.

Countless foul-smelling black secretions were squeezed out from his pores.

Those were the toxic residues left by low-quality Qi and Blood Potions and dead cells.

The stench instantly filled the small rented room, ten times more pungent than a sewer.

Next were the bones.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

That was the sound of bones restructuring.

His bones, which were originally somewhat porous due to long-term malnutrition and drug erosion, were becoming dense and hard.

Li Ang could clearly feel his stature becoming more upright and his shoulders broader.

His spinal column felt like a waking Dragon, brimming with explosive power.

Finally, it was the Qi and Blood.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart beat like a war drum, pumping the pure Qi and Blood polished through ten years of bitter cultivation to his entire body.

His withered Meridians were forcibly stretched open, becoming broad and resilient.

Fourth Stage of Qi and Blood... Broken!

Fifth Stage of Qi and Blood... Broken!

...

Sixth Stage of Qi and Blood... Broken!

That feeling of unstoppable momentum was simply intoxicating.

But it wasn't over yet.

This power finally surged toward the barrier that troubled countless Martial Artists.

Boom!

A roar echoed in his mind.

Li Ang felt his entire body lighten, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.

The Qi and Blood in his body were no longer scattered soldiers but had formed a perfect closed loop, endless and flawless!

Qi and Blood Stage Seven Perfection!

Qi and Blood Unification!

An unknown amount of time passed.

Li Ang slowly opened his eyes.

The whites of his eyes, once cloudy, were now incredibly clear; his black pupils were deep as an abyss, with a faint glint flashing within.

He looked down at himself.

His body was covered in a thick layer of black grime, looking like someone who had just crawled out of a mud pit.

"So stinky..."

Li Ang frowned in disgust, got up, and rushed into the bathroom.

The shower turned on, and hot water washed down, rinsing away that black "shell."

When he stood before the mirror again, his entire being had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

The youth in the mirror was no longer that pale, weak, "medicine jar" of a boy.

His skin showed a healthy white with a hint of red.

Though he didn't look particularly burly, his muscle lines were smooth and tight, full of a cheetah-like aesthetic.

His originally somewhat hunched back was now perfectly straight.

Most important were those eyes.

Even without deliberately releasing his Qi and Blood, the confidence and composure forged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood made people dare not look him in the eye.

Li Ang raised his hand and gently clenched his fist.

Pop!

The air in his palm was instantly squeezed to the point of exploding, making a crisp sound.

"Is this the power of Seventh Stage Perfection?"

He casually picked up a wet towel in the bathroom and gave his wrist a gentle flick.

Snap!

The towel whipped out like a steel lash, actually bending the stainless steel rod it hung on!

"So strong!"

Li Ang looked at this scene, his eyes full of pleasant surprise.

This power felt even more real and intoxicating than in the simulation.

"Now, if I were to encounter those two thugs from the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce again..."

Li Ang narrowed his eyes, recalling the despair of being dismembered in the first simulation.

Qi and Blood Stage Seven Perfection, combined with the Great Accomplishment Saber Technique.

Those kinds of trash who only knew how to bully others using their influence—he could cut down two of them with one strike!