At 5:15 AM, the sky was still a deep, ink-blue. Only the brilliant lights of the distant Qiming Core Area traced a faint golden outline on the far horizon.
The morning air on campus was cool, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees.
Shi Potian was holding a heavy Alloy Battle Saber, slowly and intently practicing the basic stances of the "Ninefold Thunder Saber."
Each of his movements was powerful and heavy. His swings created a series of low whooshes, demonstrating his astonishing Control over his strength.
Qian Duoduo, meanwhile, was in a corner doing weight training.
He wore a special weighted vest and was gritting his teeth through a set of pull-ups, sweat already soaking the hair on his forehead and plastering it together.
When they saw Qin Feng enter, the two just gave him a knowing nod before turning back to their own training.
This unspoken understanding had been forged in their bones over the past month of arduous, day-in, day-out training together.
Qin Feng walked to his usual corner and slowly assumed the opening stance of the "Imperial Body Refining Technique."
He sank into a horse stance, slowly raising his arms. His entire being was like an ancient pine tree rooted in the earth—stable and reserved.
As the Cultivation Technique began to circulate, his breathing grew deeper and longer. Beneath his skin, his qi and blood began to surge and flow at a specific frequency.
His muscles, fascia, and bones were tempered again and again by the continuous, high-intensity exertion.
Sweat soon soaked his temples, slid down the resolute lines of his jaw, and dripped onto the polished floor, splashing into a tiny droplet.
His mind was completely immersed in this state of ultimate Control over his body, reveling in every tear and regeneration of muscle fiber, in every increase in strength, in every minute breakthrough of his physical limits.
[Imperial Body Refining Technique is in operation. Qi and blood activity increased. Proficiency +1]
[Your form is correct and power application is precise. Effectiveness increased. Imperial Body Refining Technique proficiency +1]
On the panel deep within his consciousness, the numbers ticked up steadily.
Time slipped by silently amidst the tedious, focused repetition.
After two hours of practicing the Body Refining Technique, Qin Feng slowly concluded the exercise, exhaling a long, hot breath of white vapor.
[Name]: Qin Feng
[Life Force Index]: 3.01
[Martial Artist Level]: First-level Martial Artist
[Refining Methods]:
Imperial Body Refining Technique (Minor Accomplishment)
[Proficiency]: 318 / 1000
Emperor Meditation Technique (Initiate)
[Proficiency]: 0 / 100
[Effect]: Nail of Favor x1: The speed at which you cultivate Meditation techniques receives a slight Amplification.
[Killing Methods]:
Thousand Army Spear (Minor Accomplishment)
[Proficiency]: 71 / 1000
[Mastered Killing Techniques]: Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion
...
The two-hour morning workout had steadily increased his Body Refining Technique proficiency by 6 points.
This incremental progress was the most solid foundation on his path to becoming a top expert.
Previously, a morning workout would only grant him two points. His rate of improvement was now getting faster and faster.
At this rate, he estimated he could reach the level of a Second Level Martial Artist in less than five months.
-----------------
At eight o’clock sharp, the door to the Martial Arts Room was pushed open on time, and the rest of the students began to file in one after another.
They saw the trio from dorm 402 already in the center of the room, drenched in sweat as if they’d just been fished out of water. A complex mix of emotions flickered in their eyes—admiration, along with a bit of shame at their own inferiority.
"It’s those three madmen again..."
"They’re such freaks. Grinding this hard the day after the monthly exam."
A few suppressed, low murmurs rose from the crowd but quickly died down.
By 8:25, all the students had arrived and were standing in their designated spots, waiting for their homeroom teacher.
At 8:30, on the platform at the front of the Martial Arts Room, space rippled slightly, like the surface of water.
The next second, the figure of their homeroom teacher, Wu Shangfeng, appeared out of thin air.
He was still wearing the same black training uniform he always wore, his expression stern and his gaze as sharp as a knife.
But with a single glance, Qin Feng recognized that the "Wu Shangfeng" before them was not the man himself.
It was a holographic projection.
The projection was extremely lifelike; from the wrinkles in the clothing to the texture of the skin, it was indistinguishable from a real person.
But it lacked the unique life force and fluctuations of qi and blood that a living person possessed. To Qin Feng’s now-heightened senses, this difference was especially obvious.
"Attention, everyone."
Wu Shangfeng’s projection spoke, his voice broadcasting clearly throughout the entire Martial Arts Room via the platform’s built-in amplification system. His tone was as concise and crisp as ever.
"The scores and performance evaluations for this month’s exam are complete. The report cards are now being sent to your terminals. You may review them yourselves."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the students’ wrist-mounted terminals emitted a soft "BEEP" simultaneously.
The room was instantly plunged into an eerie silence.
Everyone immediately looked down at their terminal screens.
A few seconds later, the silence was broken. All sorts of irrepressible emotional reactions began to ripple through the room.
Some students’ faces showed uncontrollable ecstasy, their fists clenched tight;
others were flushed red, their eyes filled with excitement;
even more let out a long sigh, their faces showing expressions of immense relief.
And of course, there was a small number of students whose faces turned deathly pale, their eyes dimming as if all the strength had been drained from their bodies.
The trio from dorm 402 also checked their own results.