26: Chapter 26 Second Outburst of Spiritual Energy?

When facing Deng Fang, although Xu Yan had noticed something, it wasn't that obvious.

But when he faced Tian Feng, he was shocked to realize just how monstrous the improvement in his base attributes was.

Tian Feng was the perfect example.

As a Second-order Martial Artist, even though he was injured, without using his internal energy, he could only manage a draw against him.

In fact, if he hadn't resorted to using his internal energy in the end, Xu Yan could have completely worn him out to death.

After all, he wasn't the one injured; it was Tian Feng.

And it was precisely this battle with Tian Feng that completely dispelled Xu Yan's mystique regarding martial artists.

Or rather, it dispelled the mystique regarding martial artists who lack internal energy.

Previously, he had held a simplistic belief: while a martial artist's strength stemmed from internal energy, that energy also nourished the physical body.

The two complemented each other, so even if a martial artist didn't use internal energy, he assumed that their physical body alone would make them something of a minor superhero.

But Tian Feng's performance told him otherwise.

Or rather, internal energy did nourish a martial artist's body, but the effect wasn't as exaggerated as he had imagined.

"It's a good thing Tian Feng wasn't in the right state at the time; otherwise, that kick would have definitely broken my ribs."

Xu Yan didn't know if that 0.01 free attribute point had played a role, or if his current Constitution attribute was simply higher.

In any case, after one night, he felt that his chest wasn't hurting as much anymore.

"It seems that an increase in Constitution also helps with recovering from injuries?"

After cooking, Xu Yan ate while taking out his phone to search for keywords like "boundary stone," "The Purifiers," "Longji Mountain Range," and "Gateway."

The result was obvious: there was no relevant information online.

"As expected, some things won't be disclosed to ordinary people, even with the resurgence of spiritual energy."

Xu Yan had anticipated this, so he wasn't disappointed. He closed the web page, no longer wasting his effort.

Just as he was about to put down his phone and focus on eating, his peripheral vision caught a group message popping up on the screen.

Su Yue: "@everyone, there has been a second spiritual energy eruption recently. If you have time, you can go to a nearby martial arts gym or official institution to test whether you can practice martial arts."

Jiang Manshu: "Yue... Su Yue, is that for real?"

Duan Qiao: "Could something said by a Martial Arts Grandmaster be false? Received, I'm going today!"

Qian Sheng: "Actually... I've already awakened a Superpower."

Ren Ran: "?"

Jiang Manshu: "?"

Duan Qiao: "?"

Qian Sheng: "Actually, I only just awakened yesterday. While helping move things at home, I accidentally pushed a forklift several meters away. That's when I realized I had awakened a strength-based Superpower."

Su Yue: "Congratulations. When you have time, you can go to a martial arts gym to see if you have the aptitude for martial arts."

...

Xu Yan fell silent, staring at the chat box for a long time without a word.

He wasn't silent because he saw Su Yue's message.

To be honest, he wasn't interested in anything other than grinding attributes right now.

It was true that Su Yue was his former crush, but that was in the past.

Now, the only thing on his mind was grinding attributes and becoming stronger.

What really made him silent was the information conveyed in the chat between Su Yue and Qian Sheng.

"A second spiritual energy eruption? An increase in awakened ones..."

Xu Yan frowned. He had read related articles before, but those news pieces were flashy and unsubstantial; it was obvious at a glance that they were fabricated by self-media creators just to chase traffic and attract eyeballs.

Furthermore, the authorities had never personally acknowledged the phenomenon of a so-called second spiritual energy eruption.

One had to realize that the anomalies produced during the spiritual energy eruption three years ago were witnessed by everyone globally.

Not every situation could be called a "spiritual energy eruption."

"Whether it's a second spiritual energy eruption or not is beside the point, but one thing is certain."

Xu Yan quickly scrolled through the recent hot topics online.

"The number of Transcendent individuals is gradually increasing!"

Putting his phone away, Xu Yan opened the Attribute Panel. Looking at the Wuji Technique LV0 in the skills column, a look of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Whether it's a second spiritual energy eruption or an increase in Transcendent individuals..."

"To control one's own destiny and have the right to say 'no' in this era where the Transcendent has descended, strength is the only pass!"

Xu Yan went out to the courtyard and assumed the stance of the Wuji Fist.

"First, I'll grind Wuji Technique to LV1 to gain a massive amount of attributes."

Time passed as Xu Yan practiced his punches over and over, replenishing his food intake each time.

At this moment, a knocking sound suddenly rang out at the courtyard entrance.

"Knock, knock~!"

Xu Yan opened his eyes, stopped his practice, and exhaled a breath of stale air.

With a flicker of his mind, he opened the Attribute Panel.

Name: Xu Yan

Status: Injured (89%)

Strength: 1.32

Agility: 1.1

Spirit: 1.25

Constitution: 0.9 (1.01)

Skills Learned: Basic Guidance Technique LV1 (Cannot be upgraded), Wuji Technique LV0 (28/100)

Allocatable Attribute Points: 0.09

He was already aware of the state of his Attribute Panel; with Tian Feng's threat gone, he shifted his focus back to Constitution.

This was not just because of his physical injury.

More importantly, an increase in Constitution would allow his body to store more energy, enabling him to grind for more free attribute points.

"All-in is a form of wisdom!"

Xu Yan allocated all his attribute points to Constitution.

Constitution: 0.9 (1.01) → 0.92 (1.1)

A refreshing sensation spread throughout his body, and the pain in his chest even subsided significantly.

Status: Injured (91%)

Xu Yan nodded in satisfaction, closed the Attribute Panel, and walked towards the door.

Opening the door, he found the courier. Xu Yan knew it was the weight-training equipment he had purchased that had arrived.

Logically speaking, villages like theirs had unified delivery collection points, and couriers generally wouldn't deliver directly to the door.

But he had paid extra.

As the saying goes, if you feel the service isn't up to par, it's just because your money wasn't enough.

The customer is God, provided you tip.

Xu Yan now held dozens of jin of exotic beast meat, which was equivalent to millions. For the sake of convenience, he didn't care about those few hundred yuan.

As a result, the moment he opened the door, he heard the courier complaining to him.

"Brother, what on earth did you buy? Why is it so heavy?"

"My tricycle couldn't pull it at all. I had to borrow a Wuling from a colleague to get here."

As he spoke, he opened the side door of the vehicle. "Is there anyone else at home? The two of us can't move this thing."

Xu Yan's gaze went past the courier to look at the package in the vehicle behind him.

It was a large, rectangular cardboard box secured with a wooden frame; just looking at it, one could feel its immense weight.

"No, it's just me."

"Huh?" The courier gaped. "The things you bought weigh at least several hundred kilograms. How are the two of us supposed to lift that?"

"Let me tell you, even if you pay more, I still..."

The courier suddenly shut his mouth halfway through his sentence.

Because he saw that Xu Yan wasn't paying attention to him, but instead stepped forward and grabbed the wooden frame, seemingly checking if it was sturdy.

"Brother, you aren't thinking of moving it by yourself, are you?"

Xu Yan didn't respond, because that was indeed what he was thinking, and that was exactly what he was about to do.

After confirming that the wooden frame was sturdy enough, Xu Yan took a deep breath, grabbed the corners of the wooden frame with both hands, slightly bent his body, and then forcefully pulled it out and onto his back, walking towards the courtyard step by step.