Martial Saint!

"Alright, let's eat first."

"Okay, Mom."

"Are you still going to practice your punching tonight?"

"Don't worry, Mom. I won't overdo it. I'll just practice a few times before going to sleep. Tomorrow I want to test my Qi-Blood. I might have made a little breakthrough recently."

"You're not entering a rank, are you?"

Li Xianghua's heart suddenly tightened, a bit excited.

Lu Chenzhou was always steady. Every time there was an exam and she asked him how he did,

He would say he did okay, but when the results came out and she looked at the report card.

Good kid, first place!

When Lu Chenzhou said he had "a little breakthrough," it seemed it was not so simple.

She couldn't help feeling a bit expectant in her heart.

Lu Chenzhou laughed and said,

"I haven't tested yet, Mom. Don't be too happy too soon, and don't rush to tell my dad. If the test tomorrow doesn't result in a rank, it'll just be a happy disappointment."

Li Xianghua muttered,

"It won't happen, it won't. Eat up."

But then again,

She had also tested her Qi-Blood recently and it had dropped to 0.84.

The average standard for healthy men in their prime is 1, and for women, it's about 0.9. Once past their prime, Qi-Blood will fall uncontrollably, the heart and other organs will gradually fail, and when Qi-Blood is exhausted, the end of one's life will arrive.

Lu Guoping hadn't tested for several years.

He worked overtime and stayed up late all year round, sometimes he would smoke when under too much stress, and his body might be even worse than hers, with a Qi-Blood value definitely dropping terribly. He simply had an ostrich mentality, out of sight, out of mind, not going for health checks, saying that if you don't check, you're not ill.

Li Xianghua heard that becoming a Martial Artist could delay the Qi-Blood decline caused by aging, thus their average lifespan is much longer than ordinary people. If Chenzhou could succeed, she and her husband would truly die without regrets, as their grandson's starting point in life would be much higher than others. The Lu family would from then on cross social circles, bringing glory to their ancestors!

Unable to see his father, Lu Chenzhou felt a bit upset inside.

"Is Dad still working overtime?"

"Yes."

Lu Chenzhou originally wanted to tell his father not to work overtime anymore, but he also knew the heavy burden his father bore to support the family, and it wasn't something that could be lessened by his son's single sentence of understanding.

"I have to be the one to make a change!"

Lu Chenzhou longed immensely to become a Martial Artist.

Money, wealth, status... these were all byproducts on the path to becoming stronger, no need to purposely pursue them. Once you become a Martial Artist, everything comes naturally!

He chewed the beef on his plate slowly and thoroughly.

Martial Arts Cultivation required a large amount of protein and nutrients.

Some wealthy people's children would take special Martial Arts Supplements from young. "Martial Medicine Factory No.6," "Strong Martial Pharmaceutical" and other super-gigantic enterprises that could rival countries, made their fortune off of Martial Artists, but, unfortunately, they were all too far out of reach for Lu Chenzhou.

Technology changed Martial Arts, changed lives, changed a lot.

...But it couldn't change the wealth gap.

After dinner, he took a stroll outside to digest.

Returning to his bedroom, Lu Chenzhou began practicing his punches against the wooden dummy. Black Tiger Fist was a close-quarters punching technique, and the saying "fist hits the ground where the lying cow sleeps," meant that the confined bedroom was no issue.

This fist technique had many schools in its early days, but was unified and standardized by the Martial Arts Association into thirty-six forms, which were considerably harder than Basic Boxing.

According to the Association's records, if one could achieve Perfection in this technique, one could enter Fourth Rank. Not to mention, it wouldn't be hard to find a job as a boxing coach in society.

Even becoming a private tutor was an option.

Though Shi Ruyu might look down on it, Lu Chenzhou thought that making money was all that mattered. Teaching others wouldn't hinder his own practice and would increase his proficiency; why not enjoy it?

After practicing one set, rest for a while.

After three sets,

[Black Tiger Fist: Beginner (1%)——Beginner (4%)]

"Improving by 1% after one set?"

This instantly visible progress made Lu Chenzhou feel very assured.

Feeling the soreness and weakness in his muscles and bones, he knew that was it for tonight. Before breaking the limits of the human body, one must ensure sleep while practicing Martial Arts.

Even Martial Artists were not superhuman.

Sleep was an Innate function, not something you skip because you're highly cultivated. That's unrealistic. Martial Artists generally have better methods to preserve their essence and rest.

Early to bed and early to rise was a crucial step to becoming a qualified Martial Artist. It sounded simple, but in today's society, with entertainment like smartphones and the internet emerging endlessly,

How many people could achieve this?

As the Cangtian Dragon King Li Ang said:

"The path of Martial Arts values diligence and focus."

On his bed, Lu Chenzhou watched a video on his phone. It was from the awarding ceremony of the All Nations Martial Arts Competition that the Cangtian Dragon King had won two months ago, which he watched every night.

At the peak of Hua Mountain.

The Dragon King stood tall and majestic with an imposing presence.

Holding the trophy representing the "World's Number One," he stood like a Martial Arts sovereign ruling the world, and shouted the simplest victory speech in history:

[I am the king of the world!]

Lu Chenzhou longed for it.

"The 21st All Nations Martial Arts Competition will be held on August 8, 2230, and if nothing goes wrong, it should take place at Huangshan. I still have ten years..."

The All Nations Martial Arts Competition.

The highest standard Martial Arts event in the world.

Martial Artists are just the threshold of entry.

Their earliest origins trace back to a Martial Arts Tournament held two hundred years ago in the Ying Country, but today's world adopts a superpower-dominant structure with Da Xia as that "superpower."

Whether in terms of the number of Martial Artists or top-level powerhouses like the Cangtian Dragon King, Da Xia has an absolute leading position. Eventually, the right to host the All Nations Martial Arts Competition came to Da Xia, and the organizing committee's headquarters also moved to the Da Xia Imperial Capital.

Out of the first twenty events, ten were hosted by Da Xia.

Da Xia's profound Martial Arts heritage stems from famous mountains, rivers, and the Buddha Dao teachings. Hence, among the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, aside from Huangshan, all other locations have already hosted the event.

The 20th Tournament was held on Hua Mountain.

In ancient times, Martial Arts experts would engage in "Hua Mountain Sword Discussions."

Of course, top-level Martial Artists who could split mountains and fracture the earth carefully refrained from damaging historical landmarks. They would choose a large piece of land outside of the scenic perimeter to construct the venues. Lu Chenzhou's biggest dream was to attend an All Nations Martial Arts Competition in person at least once in his lifetime.

Now, he felt his dream could change.

"First, set a small goal: to participate in the All Nations Martial Arts Competition at Huangshan in ten years." Lu Chenzhou made a firm resolution to himself. Ranking didn't matter, what was important was participation.

He merely wished to experience the blazing atmosphere of Martial Arts on-site. As for meeting at the summit, that was a concern for those who had broken the "Seven Great Limitations."

...

The next morning, at dawn.

On the training ground, Lu Chenzhou felt somewhat disappointed. Shi Ruyu was indeed absent, and even the new Fist Technique teacher hadn't arrived, presumably due to some school handover issues.

He practiced his fists alone, advancing his proficiency in Basic Boxing to a "Great Success 3%," then went to class. According to the current pace, he would achieve Perfection in Basic Boxing by the next semester and wondered if the Martial Arts Tree would undergo any changes.

Could it sprout branches and leaves, possibly even flowers and fruit?

In class.

The math teacher who was also the homeroom teacher, Cui Yu, was writing and drawing on the blackboard.

Lu Chenzhou listened attentively, no longer thinking about Martial Arts. Academic courses were important too, as an illiterate person could not become a Martial Artist. Besides, it was his backup plan.

Most importantly, math was truly useful in fighting.

Some stepping methods were actually based on geometry.

At the recent All Nations Martial Arts Competition, a fighter from the Northern Alliance member country Innis—using the "Geometry Fist·Diya"—calculated his moves and dodgings with sophisticated mathematical knowledge, winning by surprise. Of course, in the end, he was still defeated by the fighter from Ying Country known as "Platinum Holy Fist·Kongsang."

Outside Da Xia, Martial Artists are often referred to as fighters.

After class.

The math teacher approached Lu Chenzhou and patted his shoulder.

"Chenzhou, come to my office."

Seeing Lu Chenzhou being called away, his classmates began to gossip.

"Being number one is so good, the teacher must be giving him extra help again."

"Isn't that the truth."

In a corner.

A short but well-built boy muttered,

"Chenzhou is probably going to get a talking-to."

His name was Qin Zheng, and he was the only person Lu Chenzhou was somewhat familiar with at the school. He also practiced boxing and had established the Wanhua Martial Arts Club.

Lu Chenzhou was one of only two club members.

Coming from a wealthy family, Qin Zheng was considered a rich second generation and didn't need to attend the school's public boxing classes. He would learn directly from the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall under the guidance of famous teachers.

In the office.

The math teacher asked,

"Chenzhou, how do you feel about your study situation?"

Lu Chenzhou said,

"I feel pretty good."

The math teacher tapped his fingers on the desk.

"I feel you can do better. I know you like to practice boxing, but in our academic institution, the main path is studying, not saying that practicing boxing is bad, but you need to distinguish primary from secondary. If you devote a bit more effort from boxing to studying, I believe you can at least make it to the top ten of the whole school, even top three is within reach, and then you might get into Imperial Capital Wen University, which is not worse than practicing Martial Arts.

I have a nephew who studied law at Imperial Capital Wen University and went to the top-tier Fang Du Law Firm after graduating. In just two years, he's earning an annual salary of 500,000 yuan, a society elite.

There's talk of a Martial Artist planning to hire him as a private legal consultant, and he even occasionally receives pointers on Martial Arts training. You see, that's also a path with Martial Arts."

The math teacher was earnestly trying to persuade Lu Chenzhou to focus on his studies at this stage. The high school was different from primary and middle school. These three years were crucial, indeed not to be distracted. The teacher had a point.

Lu Chenzhou expressed his gratitude,

"Thank you for your teachings, but I have a clear understanding."

His gaze was resolute; he wouldn't change for anyone.

Even before the Martial Arts Tree, he was like this.

Adolescence was an important phase to solidify one's Martial Arts foundation.

He came from a less fortunate background, not seeking great achievements, but he couldn't lag too far behind. His teacher's nephew, who had started training midway, would also have trouble achieving great success later.

Seeing Lu Chenzhou's firm attitude, the math teacher felt helpless.

"Think it over carefully."

He spoke from a teacher's perspective, based on experience from the majority of students, to persuade Lu Chenzhou. It was survivorship bias, as Shi Ruyu had said. Given the world's large population, there are certainly those with average root bones who have achieved in Martial Arts.

But they are always the minority; you lose if you take it seriously.

Before leaving, Lu Chenzhou said,

"Teacher, I'll try to hold down a spot in the top twenty. I'll also strive for the top ten, but my training in boxing won't be shelved for anyone."

The math teacher was stunned for a moment, then smiled,

"Good, I believe in you. Don't overexert yourself. Actually, I'm not worried about you; with your character, you'll surely succeed no matter what.

I just want to see you do even better."