Knock knock knock.
The bedroom door sounded.
"Go to bed early, you have school tomorrow. Don't get up in the middle of the night to practice boxing."
"Got it, Mom. Has Dad come back yet?"
"He's working overtime at the factory."
Mother's footsteps faded away.
In front of Lu Chenzhou's eyes, glowing characters flickered in and out, finally dissipating into nothingness. A certain mysterious influx of information poured into his mind, telling him what this thing was.
Martial Arts Tree.
Nourished by sweat, rooted in hard work.
When you master a Martial Art, a fresh green leaf condenses upon the branches.
When you master a Cultivation Technique, it reveals itself on the main trunk.
With this tree, not a single drop of sweat is wasted. Every time you practice, you gain a bit more proficiency, and progress is shown right on the leaves and branches. Simply put, it's much like a proficiency panel in a game: every bit of effort brings a harvest.
With a thought, the Martial Arts Tree vanished into the void.
With just another thought, the Martial Arts Tree appeared before his eyes once more.
The Heavenly Dao rewards diligence.
Lu Chenzhou was never short on effort or willpower.
"The Martial Arts Tree has probably always existed inside me, only needing sweat to nurture and sprout. Now that it's broken through the ground, it's also thanks to my persistence."
But what exactly is the Martial Arts Tree?
At just 15, Lu Chenzhou couldn't figure it out.
Maybe it's some sort of as-yet-unawakened Martial Arts Talent.
Rumor has it that above the Top Class Root Bone, there's an even stronger Martial Arts Talent.
In ancient times, they called it the "Martial Bone Dao Embryo."
People like this are as rare as phoenix feathers—true prodigies of their era.
However, with current root bone detection methods, this kind of talent can't be detected proactively. Usually, the holders themselves slowly awaken to it through the practice of martial arts, and it's only after summarizing predecessors' experiences that people realize—so it's often not discussed directly.
No matter what it is.
Lu Chenzhou knew that the Martial Arts Tree was an absolute secret, something he must never reveal. But if you have talent but never show it, it's easy for your light to be buried, which would hinder Martial Arts Cultivation. You need to make your name early, so he'd have to find another way to stand out.
That is, rely on the intangible "comprehension."
Root bone and comprehension: both are crucial to Martial Arts Cultivation. It's just that the former can be easily tested on a large scale, so it's become an official standard.
"One step at a time, there's no need to overthink things yet."
"Set a small goal first—become a First Rank Martial Artist."
In today's world, Martial Artists enjoy high status, because they've broken through the body's first great shackles and gained incredible, extraordinary power.
Before breaking the First Shackles, you're just a Martial Artist.
Specifically, there are ten ranks.
The lower three are Ming Power Realm, the middle three Dark Force Realm, the upper three Power Transformation Realm.
The very last rank is quite special. It's called the [Extreme Limit Realm].
Once you reach this level, you're just a step away from the First Shackles.
...
Late at night.
Lu Guoping dragged his exhausted body home.
"Guoping, let's enroll Chenzhou in a Martial Arts Academy."
Li Xianghua put away Lu Guoping's jacket, thick with engine oil and the smell of metal. Lu Guoping worked at a prosthetics factory in the Su City Tech Park.
Manufacturing in Su City was always strong in Da Xia.
With the prevalence of Martial Arts and the Virtual Disaster, the number of disabled people remained high, so prosthetic customization had long become a mature industry—helping disabled people get jobs again.
The military's exoskeletons were widely used in dealing with supernatural incidents, capturing illegal Martial Artists ("Black Knights"), and specialized manufacturing work.
Lu Guoping slumped onto the sofa and said softly:
"Isn't Chenzhou already working with a martial arts coach at the Martial Arts Hall?"
Li Xianghua recounted what had happened that day. When she finished, her eyes were red-rimmed with emotion.
Lu Guoping gazed at the ceiling and sighed:
"Martial Arts Academies aren't cheap. After all, only Martial Artists have the qualifications to run one. I asked around with some friends—just that Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall in the plaza charges 1,000 per session for regular students. If you want to learn the real stuff, you have to be a core student—2,000 per class, at least… The poor study literature, the rich pursue martial arts—that's no joke."
Nowadays,
Even so-called elite lawyers charge thousands per hour for consultations.
Real Martial Artists only charge two grand a lesson—that's actually pretty fair.
Status, contributions, or whatever—how can a mouthpiece lawyer compare to a Martial Artist?
They understood all this, but Li Xianghua still felt helpless inside.
Martial Arts lessons—one class is hardly any different from none at all.
With Chenzhou's aptitude, to really get somewhere, it'd take hundreds of classes. That much money is no joke. Supposedly, the rich just buy a year's package at the Academy—hundreds of thousands a year, and they get guidance from Martial Artists whenever they want.
Lu Guoping was just an ordinary worker at the factory.
Even with overtime and year-end bonuses, he only made about 150,000 annually.
She herself made a little money at home doing handcrafts; together, their total family income was just 200,000. In the Inner City, the average price of a secondhand apartment was above 30,000 per square meter…
There were plenty of other daily expenses too.
She was always watching short videos about all kinds of bad things happening in the Outer City District. Everyone said the Inner City was safer. Her biggest dream in life was to move to the Inner City and give their family of three a stable life. The little money they'd saved up was meant for a new house.
Her heart was a tangle of emotions.
Li Xianghua wiped her eyes in silence.
Seeing this, Lu Guoping sighed and said:
"The main thing is, the kid's root bone isn't great, the state's already tested it. If twenty grand or so a year could let him really learn something, then fine, but I'm afraid… sigh."
The hardships of life made him care more about reality right in front of him.
Making money was just too hard.
Li Xianghua turned away in silence.
She thought of Lu Chenzhou, who learned boxing every day by following videos alone.
She couldn't help but say softly,
"How about we hold off on the house, and let our kid learn martial arts first?
I don't believe he can't succeed. You were so slow when you were his age, but you still managed to pass the certification exam for prosthetic manufacturing… If it really comes to it, I'll go borrow some money from my big brother."
At the mention of borrowing, Lu Guoping held his forehead.
"Leave it. I'll go ask at Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall tomorrow."
...
The next morning.
The eastern sky had just begun to lighten.
Wanhua High School.
Lu Chenzhou had come early to the athletic field around four am. Every morning at five, the school's fist technique teacher would lecture here for an hour.
By arriving early, he could review everything a few more times in advance.
If he had questions, he could ask the teacher in class.
Martial Arts wasn't a required course at academic high schools. Since the school didn't force it, there were only a handful of students up so early to learn boxing. Who'd trade precious sleep for martial arts training?
But Lu Chenzhou cherished any chance to learn martial arts for free. The "Basic Boxing" on his Martial Arts Tree was picked up right here at school.
"Basic Boxing" was a foundational exercise compiled by the Great Xia Martial Arts Association for the health of the whole people. Even if you mastered it, it never gave much real power.
Still, the Martial Arts Department required all primary and secondary schools to offer it. Even the hellish five am starting time had its own reasoning.
The punch proverb went: Train at Yin hour in the morning and You hour in the evening!
At Yin, the lungs are most vital; at You, the kidneys are strongest.
Training during Yin and You hours is most efficient. But considering that teenagers need enough sleep, the Martial Arts Department picked a relatively late morning slot.
Although called "Basic Boxing," it took years of practice to reach Perfection. Before awakening the Martial Arts Tree, Lu Chenzhou had trained since primary school for nine years, and still hadn't reached Great Success—that says it all.
Of course, that was also because in those six years, a child's mind and body were immature, and learning martial arts then didn't pay off—unless you had an exceptional root bone.
Real progress in boxing only picked up in junior high.
At this hour, only Lu Chenzhou was on the sports field.
As usual, he reviewed the "Basic Boxing" once by himself.
This time, he felt his learning was much better than before.
[Basic Boxing: Small Success (100%) → Great Success (1%)]
The Martial Arts Tree in Lu Chenzhou's mind sparkled brilliantly.
He perked up, thinking to himself:
"Did I just reach Great Success?"
He'd thought it would take several more days.
He triggered a thought.
The leaf of "Basic Boxing" on his Martial Arts Tree clearly got bigger. He was secretly delighted—a true harvest for every bit of effort.
He practiced once more.
This time, there was no progress update.
"Looks like after Great Success, it'll take many times just to move it up 1%."
The realms of ordinary Martial Arts are:
Beginner, Proficient, Mastery, Small Success, Great Success, Perfection.
After reaching Great Success in "Basic Boxing," Lu Chenzhou felt his physique had improved noticeably, but academic high schools didn't have their own Qi-Blood detectors.
So he didn't know if he had entered First Rank.
Everyone's innate constitution is different, after all.
But according to the fist technique teacher, if you practiced "Basic Boxing" to Perfection, you were guaranteed to become a First Rank Martial Artist in the Ming Power Realm.
"I deliberately woke up half an hour earlier today, but you were still here before me."
A young woman in black athletic pants, her long legs stepping in small white sneakers, with crisp short hair and attractive features, approached bathed in the morning light.