Martial Saint!

Thump, thump, thump.

The bedroom door echoed.

"Go to sleep early, you have school tomorrow, and don't sneak up in the middle of the night to practice boxing."

"Got it, mom. Has dad not come back yet?"

"He's working overtime at the factory."

The sound of mother's footsteps faded away.

Characters flickered before Lu Chenzhou's eyes, eventually dissolving into nothingness—a revelation from the depths of the cosmos flowed into his mind, informing him of what this was.

Martial Arts Tree.

Nourished by sweat, grounded by effort.

Once one begins a Martial Art, a green leaf would coalesce on its branches.

Once one begins a Cultivation Technique, it would manifest along the trunk.

Those who possess this tree do not waste a drop of their sweat. Every practice session increases proficiency, displayed on the leaves and branches, akin to the proficiency panels in games—one's gain matches one's effort.

In a thought, the Martial Arts Tree vanished into nothingness.

With another thought, the Martial Arts Tree reappeared before him.

Heaven rewards the diligent.

Lu Chenzhou was not lacking in effort or willpower.

"The Martial Arts Tree must have always been in my body, only requiring the watering of sweat to sprout, and now that it has burst through the soil, it is also the result of my effort."

As for what the Martial Arts Tree was?

The fifteen-year-old Lu Chenzhou couldn't understand.

It might be some kind of unawakened Martial Arts Talent.

Rumors say that beyond top-class root bone, there exists even stronger Martial Arts Talent.

In ancient times, it was called "Martial Bone Dao Embryo."

Such individuals were rare, all exceptional geniuses.

However, with the current technology for root bone detection, this kind of talent couldn't be actively discovered. Usually, bearers of such talents gradually awaken and explore it during their Martial Arts practice, deducing from the experiences of predecessors, generally not discussed openly.

Whatever it was.

Lu Chenzhou knew that the Martial Arts Tree was an absolute secret, one that must not be revealed to others. Having talent but not showing it could also obscure one's potential and impact Martial Arts Cultivation; fame should come early, so he needed to find ways to excel in other areas.

That was the elusive comprehension.

Root bone and comprehension were both crucial factors affecting Martial Arts Cultivation, only because the former was easier to screen on a large scale, it became a hard indicator.

"One step at a time, thinking about this is still far away."

"Set a small goal first: become a beginner Martial Artist."

In today's society, Martial Artists hold a lofty status as they have broken humanity's first major shackles, giving rise to incredible Extraordinary Power.

Before breaking the first shackles, they are all Martial Artists.

This can be specifically divided into ten ranks.

The lowest three ranks of the Ming Power Realm, the middle three ranks of the Dark Power Realm, and the upper three Misery Realms.

The last rank is quite special, called the "Extreme Limit Realm."

Once cultivated to this point, one is only a step away from the first shackles.

...

In the middle of the night.

Lu Guoping returned home, dragging his exhausted body.

"Guoping, enroll Chenzhou in a Martial Arts Academy."

Li Xianghua packed away the jacket Lu Guoping had removed, which was full of the smell of oil and metal, as Lu Guoping worked at the prosthetics manufacturing plant in the Su City Technology Park.

Manufacturing in Su City was always strong in Da Xia.

Due to Martial Arts and Virtual Disaster, the number of disabled people remains high; custom prosthetics had long become a mature industry, facilitating re-employment for the disabled.

The military-developed exoskeletons were also widely used in dealing with certain supernatural events, capturing illegal Martial Artists "Black Knights," and special production.

Lu Guoping slumped on the couch, murmured:

"Hasn't Chenzhou found a Martial Arts coach at the Martial Arts Hall?"

Li Xianghua recounted the incidents of the day, her eyes reddening as she spoke.

Lu Guoping gazed at the ceiling and sighed:

"Martial Arts Academies aren't cheap. After all, only Martial Artists are qualified to run them. I've asked a friend, and at the Life Plaza's Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall, a normal lesson costs 1000. To learn real skills, one must become a core student, starting at 2000 per class... the saying 'the poor study literature while the rich study martial arts' isn't just for laughs."

Nowadays.

So-called elite lawyers charge over a thousand per hour for consultation.

Actually, Martial Artists charging two thousand is quite reasonable.

Whether it's status or contribution, can lawyer sharks compare to Martial Artists?

She understood the logic, but Li Xianghua still felt helpless in her heart.

Martial Arts instruction, a class is nearly the same as not studying.

With Chenzhou's qualifications, to really learn something, might need hundreds of classes, and the expenses would be significant. It's said that wealthy people cover a year at Martial Halls, starting at several hundred thousand, able to seek guidance from Martial Artists at any time.

Lu Guoping was just an ordinary worker in the factory.

Counting overtime pay and year-end bonuses, he only made 150,000 yuan a year.

Li Xianghua made some extra money by making handicrafts at home, so their combined family income was no more than 200,000 yuan. The average price for an ordinary second-hand residence in the Inner City started at 300,000 yuan...

Their family had other daily expenses.

She constantly watched short videos claiming incidents happened in the Outer City District, everyone said the Inner City was safe. Her biggest dream in life was to move to the Inner City, hoping to live a stable life with her family of three, and maybe even save up to buy a new home.

Her feelings were mixed.

Li Xianghua wiped her eyes and said nothing.

Seeing this, Lu Guoping sighed and said,

"The issue is primarily that the child's root bone isn't good either, the state even tested it. It would be fine if 100,000 or 200,000 yuan a year could genuinely teach him something, but I'm afraid... sigh."

The hardships of life made him more concerned about the immediate reality.

Earning money was too difficult.

Li Xianghua silently turned around.

She thought of Lu Chenzhou, who spent his days learning to box from videos.

She couldn't help but softly say,

"Maybe we should hold off on buying the house. Let's get the child started with Martial Arts lessons first.

I don't believe he can't learn. You were so slow as a child, yet you managed to pass the Prosthetics Manufacturing Certification... If all else fails, I'll ask my elder brother for some money."

On hearing about borrowing money, Lu Guoping held his forehead.

"Enough, I'll ask at the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall tomorrow."

...

The next day.

The dawn just broke.

Wanhua High School.

Around four in the morning, Lu Chenzhou had already arrived at the sports field. At five each morning, the school's Fist Technique teacher would come to give a one-hour lecture.

He came early to go over the material several times in advance.

That way, he could ask the teacher to resolve any questions during the lesson.

Studying Martial Arts wasn't compulsory at cultural education schools, and it wasn't mandatory, so there were very few students who got up early to come here to learn. After all, who would choose training over sleep?

But Lu Chenzhou treasured this free opportunity to study Martial Arts. The Martial Art "Basic Boxing" that he was studying was learned at the school.

"Basic Boxing" was compiled by the Da Xia Martial Artists Association to strengthen the health of the general public, and even at its highest level, it wasn't very powerful.

However, the Martial Arts Department mandated that all middle and high schools must offer this course, and even the early morning class time had its reasons.

As the fist technique adage goes: "Train in the morning at yin, and in the evening at you!"

During yin time, lung energy is strong, and during you time, kidney energy is vibrant.

Training during these two times was most efficient. However, considering the sleep needs of adolescents, the Martial Arts Department chose a later morning time.

Although named "Basic Boxing," a normal person would still need many years of practice to reach Perfection. Before awakening his Martial Arts Tree, Lu Chenzhou had practiced from elementary school to the present, a total of nine years, and still had not entered the Great Achievement Realm, which was telling.

Of course, this was mainly because during his six elementary years, both his mentality and body were too immature, making learning martial arts then less effective unless one had exceptional root bone.

His Fist Technique truly began to advance leaps and bounds after entering middle school.

At this moment, the sports field was still empty except for Lu Chenzhou.

As usual, he went through the "Basic Boxing" alone.

This time, he felt he learned much better than before.

[Basic Boxing: Small Success (100%) → Great Success (1%)]

Lu Chenzhou's Martial Arts Tree shimmered in his mind.

He was invigorated and muttered to himself,

"Is this what Great Success feels like?"

He thought it would take many days.

With a thought,

The part of his Martial Arts Tree representing "Basic Boxing" also noticeably grew in size. He felt a private joy, truly, effort leads to rewards.

He practiced one more time.

This time there were no further progress updates.

"It seems after reaching Great Success, it might take many attempts to improve by another 1%."

The realms of ordinary Martial Arts are divided into:

Beginner, Proficient, Mastery, Small Success, Great Success, Perfection.

Having reached Great Success in "Basic Boxing," Lu Chenzhou felt a significant improvement in his physical fitness, but the cultural high school did not have the necessary Qi-Blood measurement equipment.

He did not know if he had obtained a rank.

Everyone's innate constitution is different.

But according to the Fist Technique teacher, if one could cultivate "Basic Boxing" to the Perfect Realm, one could inevitably become a First Rank Martial Artist of the Ming Power Realm.

"I got up half an hour earlier today, yet you are still earlier than me."

A woman, dressed in black sports leggings, long legs fitted in small white shoes, sporting neat short hair, and of attractive appearance, approached enveloped in the morning light.