9: Chapter 9: Budo Boundaries

Beside the arena, the clamor rose in wave after wave, like a rising tide.

"Lu Cheng actually won!"

"An F-grade Talent beating an A-grade one? That's just too absurd!"

"Did you see those three punches just now? I got goosebumps!"

"Zhou Lize's face was even knocked crooked, hahahaha..."

The surrounding students grew more and more excited as they spoke, with some even starting to replay the sparring match, imitating Lu Cheng's final Wandering Step entry and Three Styles of Crushing Fist, only to end up with such sloppy, twisted movements that they nearly tripped themselves over.

Lu Cheng tucked the Advanced Blood-Qi Potion into his pocket and was just about to step off the stage when Ma Dachun came charging over like a gorilla, pushing through the crowd.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"

He circled Lu Cheng twice, as if inspecting some rare protected animal.

"Seriously, buddy? Have you been possessed by some ancient monster?"

Lu Cheng glanced at him. "You've got a lot of questions, Charles Ma."

"Don't mix my Chinese name with my English name!" Ma Dachun retorted reflexively, then lowered his voice, his face full of suspicion. "Seriously, your rate of progress isn't right. It's very not right, extremely not right!"

Lu Cheng smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Maybe this is what they call 'gathering strength for a long time to burst forth'."

"Bullshit!" Ma Dachun didn't believe it at all. "What kind of 'long accumulation' did you have? The only thing you've been accumulating is experience in skipping class, right?"

Lu Cheng: "..."

This guy's brain worked pretty fast.

Someone nearby heard and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

At this moment, Liu Haifeng also walked over.

He first took a look at Lu Cheng, confirming he hadn't suffered any injuries, and his expression softened slightly, though his words remained as tough as ever.

"You won, so you won. Don't crowd around here."

"Everyone disperse! What are you still gawking at? Don't you have classes to attend?"

Once the Martial Dao teacher spoke, the onlookers immediately became much more well-behaved. Although they still whispered amongst themselves as they walked away, they finally stopped crowding around the arena.

Liu Haifeng looked at Lu Cheng again, his tone calm.

"Don't just use the potion randomly. Take it according to the standard procedure when you get back, otherwise you'll waste its effects."

Lu Cheng nodded. "Understood, Teacher Liu."

Liu Haifeng gave an affirmative grunt and turned to leave. After taking two steps, he paused and, with his back to Lu Cheng, said indifferently, "You fought well."

Having said that, he seemed to feel this praise was a bit superfluous and immediately quickened his pace to leave.

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle.

This teacher was quite awkward.

On the other side, Su Wan glanced at Lu Cheng from afar, her eyes flickering, but in the end, she didn't walk over and simply turned to leave the crowd.

...

This farce ultimately came to a hasty end under the suppression of the teachers.

Zhou Lize was taken away by Homeroom Teacher Zhao Zhenshan. The venomous look in his eyes before leaving suggested he wished he could swallow Lu Cheng alive.

But Lu Cheng didn't take it to heart at all.

He already lost; could glaring at someone actually kill them?

As for the Zhou Family, it was indeed a problem... but things would naturally work out in the end. If there were issues, he'd deal with them later.

When the group returned to the teaching building, people were discussing what happened earlier everywhere in the hallway.

Lu Cheng received countless gazes along the way.

There were those filled with shock, awe, and curiosity. Even a few students who used to look down on him now subconsciously stepped aside when they saw him from a distance.

Ma Dachun followed along, stealing glances at Lu Cheng from time to time, until he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Brother Cheng."

"Hm?"

"Tell me honestly, did you secretly use a cheat?"

Lu Cheng paused his steps and turned his head to look at him.

"Why do you ask?"

Ma Dachun looked serious. "Because the feeling you give me now is just like those protagonists in novels who are unremarkable in the beginning but suddenly awaken a golden finger later on."

Lu Cheng's heart skipped a beat; he had actually guessed right, but he remained outwardly rock-solid.

"Read fewer trashy novels."

"I didn't use any cheats."

"I just worked a bit harder than before."

Ma Dachun's mouth twitched; it would be a ghost story if he believed that.

Soon, the bell rang.

The first class was Martial Dao Knowledge.

In the classroom, it was initially a bit noisy, but once the Martial Dao theory teacher walked in, everyone gradually quieted down.

This was a middle-aged teacher, around fifty years old, surnamed Chen. His hair was somewhat gray, his build wasn't particularly tall, and he looked a bit frail, but his eyes were very bright.

It was said that he had been on the battlefield in his youth, but had transferred to the school to teach theory after suffering severe injuries.

Teacher Chen walked up to the podium, didn't waste any time, and directly wrote a few large characters on the blackboard.

[Martial Dao Realms]

The chalk streaked across the blackboard, making a clear scratching sound.

"I presume everyone is well aware that the Martial Dao is divided into nine realms."

"Body Refining Realm, Source Gathering Realm, Meridian Opening Realm, Hua Hai Realm, War General Realm, War King Realm, War Emperor Realm, Saint Realm, Heavenly Fate Realm."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the class.

"You've heard these names since you were kids; your ears must be calloused from hearing them."

"But knowing the names doesn't mean you truly understand them."

The classroom was silent.

Even the students who usually loved to slack off were listening very carefully right now.

After all, today was different from before.

In the past, these realms were too far away from them, like stars in the sky.

But from the moment they awakened their talents, they had truly stepped onto this path.

Teacher Chen continued, "However, we won't talk about such abstract things today."

"Things like War King or War Emperor are still too far off for you; listening to too much of that is useless."

"The main focus today is the first realm: the Body Refining Realm!"

As he spoke, he wrote three characters heavily on the blackboard.

[Body Refining Realm]

"The Body Refining Realm, to put it simply, is about laying the foundation."

"Using Source Qi to stimulate the entire body, strengthening muscles, bones, blood, and organs, allowing the body to transform step by step from an ordinary person, gaining the qualifications to truly carry the Martial Dao."

"If the foundation is not solid, the mountain will shake."

"No matter how high the later realms are, they are all built upon the preceding foundation."

He picked up his pointer and tapped on the blackboard.

"We usually subdivide the Body Refining Realm into five stages."

"Skin & Membrane, Flesh & Blood, Tendon & Bone Stage, Viscera, Extreme Realm."

Teacher Chen continued to explain, "Skin & Membrane, as the name implies, is training the surface layer first. It makes the skin and fascia tougher, improves resistance to strikes, and enhances the ability to withstand external stimuli."

"Flesh & Blood is for strengthening muscles and blood. Strength, explosiveness, and endurance will all significantly improve during this stage."

"Tendon & Bone Stage is the step many people value the most. With tougher tendons and harder bones, force generation is more complete, and the body structure is more stable."

"Viscera, as the name implies, is tempering the internal organs. Upon reaching this step, breathing, recovery, and stress resistance will all be greatly enhanced."

"As for the Extreme Realm..."

Teacher Chen paused, his tone becoming a bit more solemn.

"That is the limit of the Body Refining Realm, and it is also where the gap between geniuses and ordinary people truly widens."

"Some people barely pass the Body Refining Realm."

"Others, however, can walk to the extreme in this realm, accommodating a Blood-Qi value far exceeding that of ordinary people, paving a path far beyond the norm for the subsequent Source Gathering Realm."

"Even if both are in the Source Gathering Realm, if the foundations are different, the combat power can be worlds apart."

The whole class listened very carefully.

Ma Dachun was rarely not distracted, and even took some notes.

Teacher Chen looked at everyone and continued, "You haven't truly become martial artists yet."

"Strictly speaking, you have only just awakened, started to come into contact with Source Qi, and are at the starting stage of body refining."

"And to judge whether one has officially entered the martial artist realm, there is one most basic standard: Blood-Qi value."

He wrote a number on the blackboard.

[10]

"When your Blood-Qi value reaches 10 points, you have officially crossed the threshold of a martial artist."

"Only then can you truly use Blood-Qi to temper your body."

"First temper the Skin & Membrane, then the Flesh & Blood, Tendon & Bone Stage, and Viscera, and finally charge towards the Extreme Realm."

"Therefore, do not think that the Blood-Qi value is just a number."

"It is the key for you to step onto the Martial Dao."

Speaking of this, he glanced at many excited students in the classroom and poured a bucket of cold water on them.

"Of course, don't think that everything is fine just because you reached 10 points."

"10 points is just the beginning."

"Truly smart people won't rush to break through realms; instead, they will temper enough Blood-Qi value as much as possible during the Body Refining stage to build a solid foundation."

"The earlier it is, the less you should rush."

"Many people who rush to break through will regret it later."

Lu Cheng sat in his seat, silently noting down this information.

What he lacked most right now was not explosive power, but systematic understanding.

After all, although he had the Hextech system, the system provided abilities and rules, not a supplement for his Martial Dao common sense.

And these theories were exactly what he needed most right now.

Teacher Chen lectured for an entire class, from the significance of the Body Refining Realm to the ways to increase Blood-Qi value, and then to the role that the Guiding Technique plays in it.

"The Guiding Technique is everyone's starting point."

"It is not some profound martial art, but it is one of the most important foundational methods."

"The more solid you practice it, the more stable your perception, absorption, and circulation of Source Qi will be."

"Don't look down on the basic Guiding Technique taught by the school."

"Many powerhouses, even until they reach high realms, will still go back to polish the most basic things."

When the bell rang for the end of class, Teacher Chen closed his textbook and left one final sentence.

"The Martial Dao is never achieved overnight."

"Talent is important, but it is far from as absolute as you imagine."

"Those who can truly go far are those who compete based on day-after-day accumulation."

This sentence made quite a few students who had awakened low-level talents breathe a sigh of relief.

Lu Cheng was also lost in thought.

The next few classes were basically culture and Martial Dao auxiliary courses.

However, because of the sparring match in the morning, Lu Cheng had almost become the focus of the entire class.

No matter what the teacher was lecturing about, there was always someone sneaking a look in his direction.

Even when he went to get water during the break, students from other classes would intentionally pass by the door, pretending to glance inside casually.

This left Lu Cheng somewhat speechless.

Becoming famous too quickly wasn't entirely a good thing.

Finally, before the end of the last class.

Liu Haifeng stood on the podium and tapped on the table, pulling everyone's attention back.

"Quiet down."