2: New system usage, upgrades, and martial arts gym testing

“Oh, Li Ziyu was laughing and crying just now. He couldn't have been so devastated by the breakup that he went crazy, could he?”

“The breakup is a minor blow. I estimate what really got to Li Ziyu was his lack of Martial Artist talent.”

“Tsk, I've always heard people say that the Martial Exam differentiates between talent and class, and it really is true!

Li Ziyu's qi and blood value was tested to be low, and then Xu Mengyao came to break up with him. Tsk! How realistic!”

“What can be done about that? Xu Mengyao has Martial Artist talent.”

“I heard that Xu Mengyao hooked up with Bai Haoran, which is why she was so eager to break up with Li Ziyu.”

“Which Bai Haoran? You're not talking about that genius from our school's Rocket Class, are you? Our school's top student?”

“Who else could it be?!”

The students in the classroom looked at Li Ziyu's back with pity and discussed among themselves.

Li Ziyu couldn't hear any of this. At this moment, he had already arrived at the small woods behind the school.

Of course, even if he heard, he wouldn't care.

It was mid-summer, with a warm breeze and the setting sun.

It also happened to be after school.

There were many young men and women in the small woods, sitting and talking about love.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

At this moment, deep in the woods.

A series of clapping sounds came.

Killed a mosquito, qi and blood value +0.00001.

Killed a mosquito, qi and blood value +0.00001.

...

There were many mosquitoes where there was vegetation.

Li Ziyu was observant and moved swiftly. Wherever he saw a mosquito, he clapped his hands to swat it.

The pleasant notification sounds of increasing qi and blood kept ringing in his ears.

At the same time, he felt a constant warm current flowing through his limbs.

Although faint, this was a sign of qi and blood improvement.

However, the system panel did not display the specific qi and blood value. To test qi and blood, he had to find a place with a testing device.

“I remember the Hong Su Martial Arts Hall not far from the school has a qi and blood testing device. I'll go there to test it later.”

In the past three hours, most of the mosquitoes in the small woods had been swatted by him.

At this moment, the gloves Li Ziyu was wearing were already covered with mosquito corpses.

In just two hours, he had already killed hundreds of mosquitoes.

He estimated that his qi and blood value had increased by at least a few thousandths.

“Why has this guy been swatting mosquitoes all this time? It's been three hours. Is he not quite right mentally?”

“They say it's because his qi and blood didn't meet the standard, and he couldn't become a Martial Artist, so he went crazy.”

“Oh, no wonder. Every year during the test, there are always a few who can't handle the stimulation and go crazy. It's very normal.

Enough of that, a girl asked me out for dinner tonight.”

“Huh? Is it that goddess you've been chasing for a long time? Why did she agree to go on a date with you?”

“Tch, what goddess? She's just an ordinary person with no Martial Artist talent, even if she's pretty.

My qi and blood test was 1.19. If I push myself, I'll definitely get into a martial arts university and become a Martial Artist for sure. Women like her are a dime a dozen.”

“That's true... I also need to make a good sprint this week!

Ah, but increasing qi and blood is really difficult! I've trained for half a year and only increased my qi and blood by a few hundredths.”

The young men and women in the small woods, seeing Li Ziyu's excited and frantic mosquito-swatting behavior, pointed and discussed him from behind.

One of the girls, as she passed by Li Ziyu, couldn't help but mutter a couple of sentences.

If you really like swatting mosquitoes, why don't you just spray them with insecticide?

Li Ziyu happened to hear this, and he was momentarily stunned.

That's right!

He was truly blinded by his own involvement!

The system only said that killing mosquitoes could increase qi and blood.

It didn't say how to kill them. If I spray them with insecticide, aren't I still the one killing them?

Li Ziyu's eyes lit up, and he thanked the girl, which startled her, and she ran away, her face flushed with embarrassment.

After she had gone far, she couldn't help but glance back at Li Ziyu.

You know, this guy is quite handsome.

Enlightened by the girl, Li Ziyu jogged across the playground to the cleaning room on the first floor of the teaching building.

After thanking the cleaning auntie, he took the insect spray and went straight to the small woods behind the playground.

This time, he specifically chose places with dense vegetation.

Because places with dense vegetation had more mosquitoes.

Pfft, pfft.

Mosquitoes buzzed and flew wildly over the half-foot-high grass.

Li Ziyu lifted the nozzle of the sprayer and aimed it at the buzzing mosquitoes, spraying them.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

Mosquitoes fell all over the ground.

The system's pleasant notification sounds were incessant.

At the same time, there was a continuous flow of warmth from deep within his body.

Li Ziyu stretched his muscles and bones, feeling a warmth all over his body.

Crack, crack, crack.

He quickly threw a few punches into the air in front of him.

Then he rotated his waist, clenched his fist, and unleashed a full-force punch at a waist-thick poplar tree in front of him.

With a dull thud, the arm-thick tree trunk shook, and leaves fluttered down.

Li Ziyu ignored the pain in his fist, reached out to brush away the leaves that had fallen on his head, his face filled with excitement.

“My qi and blood have indeed increased a lot. Before, punching the tree trunk would have had no effect, but now I can make leaves fall!”

“I just don't know how much it has increased specifically. I'll go to Hong Su Martial Arts Hall to test it!”

...

Following the memory in his mind, Li Ziyu arrived at Hong Su Martial Arts Hall, not far from the school, and stopped at the entrance.

It was a three-story low-rise building in a Chinese architectural style.

Above the entrance, a plaque hung, with the four large characters "Hong Su Martial Arts Hall" shining brightly in the sunlight.

Next to the entrance, there was also an introduction to the martial arts hall, along with information on enrollment fees.

“Good heavens, the tuition fee for one month is 20,000 yuan, and this isn't even for the Head Instructor's personal guidance…”

Li Ziyu sighed. He had seen this martial arts hall from afar when he used to deliver food, and he had been very envious at the time.

Seeing it up close now, he was still greatly shocked.

A 20,000 yuan enrollment fee, even in his previous life on Earth, few families could afford it.

Not to mention in Great Xia, where earning money was even harder.

It was basically equivalent to three or four months' salary for an adult male, without eating or drinking.

“Cultivating the Martial Way really burns money!!”

Li Ziyu sighed, his gaze shifted downwards, and he saw the personal information of Hong Su Martial Arts Hall's Head Instructor, which made him feel a bit more at ease about the cost.

“Hong Tianlang, Third-Level Senior Martial Artist, skilled in Knife Skill and fist techniques.”

“He's actually a Third-Level Martial Artist, and a senior one at that. No wonder he dares to charge such a high fee.”

According to the information on Martial Artist levels released by the National Martial Arts Association.

Martial Artists, from lowest to highest, are successively divided into First Grade Warrior, Second-Level Martial Artist, Third-Level Martial Artist, Grade 4 Martial Artist, Level 5 Martial Artist, Level 6 Martial Artists, Grandmaster, and Martial Saint, nine major ranks.

Each rank is further divided into four minor stages: upper, middle, lower, and peak.

And a Third-Level Martial Artist could serve as a city mayor.

A Grade 4 Martial Artist could serve as the Martial Arts Association president of a city.

As far as Li Ziyu knew, the current mayor of Xu Jiang City was a Third-Level Senior Martial Artist.

This meant that Hong Tianlang, the Head Instructor of Hong Su Martial Arts Hall, was a big shot on the same level as the Mayor of Xu Jiang City.

However, Li Ziyu still found it expensive.

There was no other way; he was simply too poor.

He pushed the door open and entered.

What greeted his eyes was a front desk. Behind the counter, a beautiful female clerk in a white shirt and OL attire was sizing him up.

Seeing Li Ziyu's school uniform, the female clerk smiled and spoke.

“Handsome, are you here to test your qi and blood and combat power?”

“Hmm? How did you know?”

“The Martial Exam is coming soon, and many people come to our martial arts hall to test their combat power, especially from your school, since it's close.”

“However, all the testing rooms are full right now. If you want to test, you'll have to wait a bit.”

“There's a lounge over here. I'll take you there, and you can rest for a bit.”

The beautiful female clerk said with a smile, walking out from behind the counter, about to lead Li Ziyu to the lounge.

“No need, I'll just wait here.”

Li Ziyu waved his hand. Testing qi and blood and combat power wouldn't take long, and he estimated a room would be free soon.

“Alright then, I'll pour you a glass of water.”

Li Ziyu took the disposable cup handed to him by the beautiful female clerk, thanked her, and sat on a nearby chair to wait.

Just then, the large door of the martial arts hall creaked open.

A stylishly dressed young woman, arm in arm with a Short Hair Youth with sharp features and a confident expression, walked in together.