He triumphantly pulled a brand-new qualification certificate with a metallic sheen from his jacket.
The entire family immediately erupted into a sea of jubilation.
That day, Qin Feng stayed at his uncle’s house, basking in the rare, lively, and heartwarming affection of his relatives.
He and his father didn’t leave until evening, bidding farewell to his uncle’s reluctant family before returning home.
...
The next day, Qin Feng didn’t go out.
He took a maglev train straight to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.
The staff at the Martial Arts Hall, as well as the Martial Artists training or passing by, would stop and greet him respectfully whenever they saw him, addressing him as "Mr. Qin" or "Brother Qin."
Everyone sincerely respected this "Daybreak General Star" for the immense prestige he had brought to the Martial Arts Hall.
Qin Feng smiled and returned each greeting, showing no signs of arrogance.
He went to his exclusive, top-tier private Martial Arts Room.
He closed the door, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.
He sat cross-legged and quietly began his cultivation for the day.
Great Sun Visualization Method, Great Sun Acupoint Opening Method.
After his initial breakthrough with these two top-tier, fourth-level Cultivation Techniques, his progress had become exceptionally slow.
First, he visualized the Great Sun, condensing his Mental Power to its absolute limit. Then, using that scorching Will as a guide, he carefully searched within his body for the three hundred and sixty Acupoint Singularities.
The process was dull, tedious, and yielded minimal results.
The day passed quickly.
When Qin Feng awoke from his deep Meditation, he hadn’t even managed to locate a single singularity, let alone construct a complete Acupoint Shell Prototype.
Anyone with a weaker will would have grown restless and impatient long ago in the face of such slow progress.
But Qin Feng was not the least bit discouraged.
’It can’t be rushed.’
He calmly muttered to himself, "The Acupoint Opening Method has always been a slow, grinding process. What I need to do now is practice the two most fundamental steps, ’Seeking Acupoints’ and ’guiding Mental Power,’ until I’ve perfected them. Once my fundamentals are solid, I’ll naturally be able to open one Acupoint Shell after another."
The profound and mysterious nature of Mental Power truly made it a field full of unknowns.
Therefore, cultivation based on it was always exceptionally difficult in the initial stages.
This wasn’t just true for Qin Feng; it was the same for all Martial Artists in the Empire.
In fact, many talented Martial Artists stagnated in their Mental Power cultivation simply because their temperaments were too restless for the long, tedious hours of Meditation required.
Without sufficient Mental Power to aid them, they couldn’t cultivate more advanced Acupoint Opening Methods.
Meanwhile, ordinary Body Refining Techniques had a very limited effect on a body that had already reached the limits of a Third-level Martial Artist.
Ultimately, these Martial Artists would be trapped for life at the bottleneck of a 30.0 Life Force Index, unable to advance a single step.
They were just like the coach from the Hongchang Martial Arts Hall who had come to challenge the Extreme Martial Arts Hall; they would spend their entire lives as nothing more than second-rate "Social Stray Martial Artists."
...
The days passed, one by one, in a simple yet fulfilling routine.
Qin Feng’s daily life was extremely regimented.
During the day, he would spend time with his father, chatting, watching television, and discussing the Martial Dao.
In the afternoon, he would arrive promptly at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall to practice the Great Sun Visualization Method and the Great Sun Acupoint Opening Method over and over again in the monotonous solitude of his private Martial Arts Room.
At night, before bed, he would unfailingly practice the Emperor Meditation Method to temper his fundamental Will.
In the blink of an eye, a month went by.
...
「One morning, a month later.」
As the first ray of sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains and touched his face, Qin Feng woke up right on time.
He knew it was the day he had to leave.
He had already settled everything with his father the night before.
As he stepped out of his room, the rich aroma of a cooked meal was already wafting from the kitchen.
His father, Qin Dahai, had already prepared a hearty breakfast and was sitting quietly at the dining table, waiting for him.
The atmosphere at the table was somewhat subdued.
Qin Dahai’s eyes were filled with a deep reluctance to see him go, but he didn’t let it show.
He simply served Qin Feng some food, as he always did, and advised him in a deliberately casual tone,
"Son, remember this. When you go to Canaan Star, don’t try to save money by taking one of those civilian spacecraft. That stuff isn’t safe."
"It’s a hundred-thousand-light-year journey through the starry sky; who knows what you might run into. There are too many unpredictable factors in the Cosmos. If you run into some of those desperate Interstellar Pirates, or get caught in a damned Subspace Rift, it’ll all be over."
"Just use the Empire’s Subspace Teleportation. It’s safe and efficient."
"Yeah, Dad, I understand."
Qin Feng nodded and offered a reassuring smile. "The teleportation is cheap, too. It’s only ten thousand Imperial Coins. I can afford it."
The meal concluded amid the somewhat subdued exchange of advice and affirmations between father and son.
Qin Feng stood up and picked up the simple luggage he had already packed.
He walked to the door and turned back to look at his father.
"Dad, I’m leaving now."
"Okay. Take care of yourself."
Qin Dahai nodded. His lips moved as if he wanted to say more, but in the end, it was just two words.
"Take care."
"I will!"
Qin Feng smiled and didn’t hesitate any longer.