Xiong Yanfu had also managed to squeeze into the top 100, ranking 88th.
Seeing his friends’ accomplishments, Qin Feng’s mood brightened.
He closed the forum and opened his private messages.
Sure enough, it was flooded with unread messages.
Among them, messages from Shi Potian, Xiong Yanfu, Lei Meng, Tie Mu, and others had been automatically pinned to the top by the system.
Most of the messages were dated from ten years ago, sent shortly after he had begun his seclusion.
Their contents were largely the same: words of concern and promises to get together for a proper reunion after he came out of seclusion.
A warm smile touched Qin Feng’s face.
Without hesitation, he replied to each of his friends.
"I’m out of seclusion and doing well. I’m free anytime, just waiting to hear from you."
However, after the messages were sent, it was like dropping a stone into the ocean; for the time being, no one replied.
Qin Feng wasn’t concerned. He figured they were probably on missions or perhaps in seclusion themselves.
After taking care of all that, Qin Feng wasn’t in a hurry to challenge the Canaan Tower or accept any missions.
He had just ended a twelve-year seclusion. Although his life force index had skyrocketed, his application of those slaughter techniques was still relatively clumsy and unrefined.
So, he turned his attention to another important section of the Subspace Network.
—the Imperial Arena.
Unlike the PVE mode of the Canaan Tower, the Imperial Arena was a purely PVP platform where Martial Artists from across the human Empire could engage in real-time combat.
More importantly, in low-tier ranked matches, the system forcibly locked the life force indexes of both combatants at a baseline of 30 points.
This meant the outcome of a battle would depend entirely on the combatants’ fighting techniques, Slaughter Realm, and reactions in the heat of the moment.
For Qin Feng, this was undoubtedly the perfect place to hone the new First-level Boxing Skills he had just acquired, skills with which he had zero practical experience.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he clicked [Begin Ranked Match].
...
For the next three months, Qin Feng completely immersed himself in the Imperial Arena.
He was like a tireless fighting machine, frantically throwing himself into one battle after another.
He faced all manner of opponents.
With life force indexes completely equalized, every single battle was an extreme test of Qin Feng’s Combat Wisdom and his understanding of slaughter techniques.
He began to furiously practice the four new boxing skills he had learned.
The core principle of *Mountain Shattering Fist* was contained in a single concept: "Beng," meaning to shatter or collapse. It emphasized generating force from the feet, channeling it through the spine, and delivering it through the fist, creating a punch with the power to shatter mountains and crack the earth. In battle, he drilled the killing move, [Beng Fist], clashing head-on with opponents again and again, feeling the thrill as that power surged through him and erupted in a single instant.
*Shattered Jade Hand* was a style that focused on attacking vital points, specializing in striking an enemy’s vitals and defensive weaknesses. He practiced its killing move, [Shatter Jade], his fingers becoming like poison-tipped daggers, every strike aimed directly at his opponent’s throat, heart, or joints.
*Stele-Splitting Hand* relied on immense, heavy power, and its killing move, [Split Stele], was all about crushing opponents with brute force.
*Thunder Sound Fist*, meanwhile, focused on relentless offense, using speed and power to overwhelm the enemy. Its killing move, [Thunder Sound Fist], was not to be underestimated...
Aided by his [Celestial Dao Rewards the Diligent] system and combined with a huge volume of actual combat, his proficiency in these four new boxing skills skyrocketed at a visible rate.
From beginner to adept, then to complete mastery, and finally to Perfection.
A mere three months had passed.
When Qin Feng exited his last ranked match, the notations for the four boxing skills on his personal status panel had quietly changed.
[*Mountain Shattering Fist* (Perfection)]
[*Shattered Jade Hand* (Perfection)]
[*Stele-Splitting Hand* (Perfection)]
[*Thunder Sound Fist* (Perfection)]
All four First-level Boxing Skills had reached the Realm of Perfection!
"Hooo..."
Qin Feng let out a long breath. Feeling how the four boxing skills had become deeply ingrained in his very soul, a look of satisfaction spread across his face.
’Melee weapons are, at their core, an extension of one’s fists and palms. Now that my foundation in these four Punching and Palm Techniques is solid, my future training in slaughter techniques involving spears, staves, sabers, and halberds will be twice as effective with half the effort.’
He opened his personal panel for the Imperial Arena, which had been collecting dust for twelve years.
[ID: Qin]
[Rank: 2-Dan, 215 Points]
[Profile: Practitioner of the *Thousand Army Spear*]
[Total Wins: 11,032]
[Total Losses: 9,017]
[Win Rate: 55.01%]
Tens of thousands of total matches, and a win rate that wasn’t particularly high.
Below his panel, the [Enemy Evaluations] comment section was already overflowing with "999+" messages.
["Practitioner of the *Thousand Army Spear*"? You tell me what the hell this Fierce Owl Technique is. This kid’s a liar.]
[(crying emoji) Bro, I was just trying to practice my Body Technique. Why did you keep trying to poke my eyes out?]
[A worthy opponent! Your punches are heavy! I look forward to our next match!]
[Some monstrous prodigy from the Control Realm! Reported!]
[It’s all just sweeping, powerful moves and a relentless assault.]
[Total f*cking madman, treating me like some greenskin mob to grind.]
Looking at the four boxing skills on his panel, now quietly noted as being at "Perfection," and the mountain of enemy evaluations below, brimming with every kind of emotion, the corners of Qin Feng’s mouth curled into a faint smile.
The rewards from three months of frenzied battles were even greater than he had anticipated.
He had successfully brought four First-level Boxing Skills to the level of Perfection.
These battles were merely for practicing his slaughter techniques; they weren’t for getting accustomed to his own strength or learning to control his explosive new power.