Shi Ruyu finished up things at home and came to the Martial Arts Academy to practice boxing.
Not long after she walked in, she saw Lu Chenzhou and Du Men sparring.
She stood and watched for quite a while. Lu Chenzhou, while sparring, was incredibly focused; to be able to spar with a Third Rank for over ten minutes with a Second Rank body was truly impressive.
The Third Rank was late-stage Ming Power Realm. Whether it was explosive strength, muscle endurance, or all sorts of attributes, everything was much stronger than Second Rank, especially since Lu Chenzhou had just entered Second Rank. Him being able to last this long relied entirely on his combat skills and willpower.
Shi Ruyu was very satisfied.
The assistant instructor senior sister returned, and the students all greeted her.
Du Men scratched the back of his head and laughed:
"Senior sister, my hands were just itching."
Shi Ruyu smiled gently and said:
"It's fine, in martial arts you have to spar—otherwise, how will you improve? If you all manage to get into Pingjiang Martial Arts University, you should check out the training field at four in the morning."
Everyone marveled:
"No wonder—everyone who can get into Martial Arts University works so hard!"
Shi Ruyu walked up to Lu Chenzhou.
"You've reached Second Rank?"
"Yes, senior sister."
"Advancing a rank in three months, that's really impressive. Keep up this pace and becoming a Martial Artist is right within reach!" Shi Ruyu never skimps on praise for others.
"I'll give it my all."
Besides his parents, the person he was most grateful to was Shi Ruyu.
Even though they'd only known each other a short time, this girl just six years older than he was had made a deep impression on him. He was glad he had a mentor guiding him on his Martial Arts Road.
The other students had thought Lu Chenzhou had entered his rank a long time ago.
Hearing Shi Ruyu say this, their expressions turned to shock.
"What? Junior brother Lu has only been at Second Rank for three months?"
"Damn, at this speed he actually goes to a regular academic high school?"
For those with regular root bones, after achieving a rank, maintaining diligent practice and gaining one rank a year in the lower three stages is already great. The further you go, the harder it gets, and the time needed to rise a rank grows ever longer, eventually hitting a bottleneck.
Du Men looked Lu Chenzhou up and down again.
He'd been in the Martial Arts Academy for three years, considered himself pretty diligent too—entered First Rank at 14, hit Second Rank six months later, reached Third Rank at 16, and then things slowed down. Comprehending Dark Force and stepping into Fourth Rank was a mystery on the horizon; he could only hope for Martial Arts University.
"Junior brother, you're amazing—you'll catch up to me in no time."
He was genuinely impressed.
Lu Chenzhou noticed that the other students started looking at him differently. Before today, maybe nobody had really even noticed him—now, plenty would remember his name.
In this day and age, if you want to practice martial arts, you need to become famous.
Only with fame do you get resources, and more people to support you.
The Foreign Martial Arts Competition is the best way to become well-known.
So, he didn't shy away from sparring.
He wanted to start from this Martial Arts Academy and step by step make his name known!
Talent or effort, doesn't matter—strength rules!
If you're strong enough, nobody will care you have a low-class root bone!
Next, there were more people who wanted to spar with Lu Chenzhou.
Du Men shouted:
"What are you thinking? At least let junior brother Lu catch his breath—you guys just want to use this chance to beat him so you look better than me, right?"
He had both character and strength, so his reputation among the students was high.
Lu Chenzhou said:
"Thank you, senior brother, thank you, everyone. Let me rest for a bit, then we'll go again. We're all from the same Martial Arts Academy, so feel free to practice together anytime."
"Junior brother Lu, I'm Chen Bin—let's add each other on WeChat."
"I'm Lin Xue..."
The excitement from this sparring made everyone much more familiar, and Lu Chenzhou felt he'd finally integrated into the Fei Yan Martial Arts Academy circle and made more friends.
"Little brother, I'm Zhang Xun—just call me Old Zhang."
A mature-looking man with a full beard walked over to add him on WeChat. He wasn't tall, but was very burly; his qi-blood was robust, and his rank was high.
"Hello, Zhang-ge."
Lu Chenzhou knew this person.
Apart from students like himself who were aiming for Martial Arts University, there were also some older people who had joined the workforce and had money, so they came to the Martial Arts Academy to learn.
These people were usually social elites and well-off.
They learned martial arts to keep themselves safe, strengthen their bodies, and prolong their lives.
Old Zhang was the highest cultivated among them. He was the same age as the Lord, fifty years old and only at Fifth Rank. He'd studied here for eight years, having joined when the Academy was first established.
Old Zhang said:
"Junior brother, if you ever have questions, come find me. You're always welcome to spar."
Old Zhang's talent was average; he worked his way up to Fifth Rank by grinding away time and using supplements. After his qi-blood started declining he'd have no hope of becoming a Martial Artist or ever breaking into the upper three stages.
So he wanted to befriend some promising youngsters.
He had money.
These years, through the Martial Arts Academy and society, he'd built some martial artist connections and wanted to create a martial arts social platform focused on the low-class root bone youth market.
This would make it easier for young people to practice and communicate, and the Martial Arts Academy could open up shop on the platform, which would also provide intermediary services and earn some commissions. There were similar platforms on the market, but none to his liking.
That night, as Su City lit up with bright lights,
Old Zhang invited the students to the [Heavenly Immortal Wildly Drunk] restaurant for a huge dinner, spending more than ten thousand yuan—enough to buy a box of Qi Replenishing Agents, which made Lu Chenzhou click his tongue in surprise.
Old Zhang also shared his ideas with the students.
Du Men said:
"Sure thing, Old Zhang. If you need, I'll go to the Martial Arts Association and get a coach's qualification, work part-time as a coach for you, and make some side money."
Lu Chenzhou was a little tempted too.
He wanted to make money early on to ease his family's burden.
Old Zhang clasped his hands in a martial salute:
"Thank you all for the support. We don't need to get huge—mostly, I want to give regular people with low-class root bones a platform to practice boxing and show themselves. Root bone doesn't decide everything—there are always hidden gems... like junior brother Lu."
As Old Zhang spoke, lots of people looked over.
"It's true, I think junior brother Lu's talent is quite something!"
Du Men said loudly:
"How does that old saying go, something about a pearl locked away... I think that really fits junior brother Lu, right everyone? I think all of us aren't bad—just keep working at it and we'll all get our chance."
"Exactly."
These young folks hadn't yet been crushed by society, and refused to accept defeat.
Old Zhang raised a drink, saluted all the young ones and said:
"I know the line, Xiao Du... 'I have a bright pearl, long locked by toil and dust; today the dust is gone, the brilliance shines forth, illuminating mountains and rivers!' All of you have bright futures! You're underage so you can't drink—here, let's toast with watermelon juice!"
In Martial Arts, age doesn't matter.
Sharing the same aspirations, you can all be friends.
Lu Chenzhou was a bit moved too:
"You flatter me. As long as we put in the effort, all of us will achieve something."
After dinner, the students gradually went home.
Qin Zheng went home too.
Lu Chenzhou returned to the boxing gym to keep practicing.
Shi Ruyu, practicing, stopped to ask:
"Old Zhang invited you guys, didn't he?"
Lu Chenzhou nodded.
"Come, I want to talk to you."
She found a break room and let Lu Chenzhou sit down.
Sitting across from him upright, she sipped her tea and said:
"You know, Old Zhang's been friends with the Lord since childhood.
The Lord said Old Zhang always felt his own talent was buried when he was young; now that he's older and has money, he wants to prove something. He's a good guy though.
If he has opportunities to make money, you can try too.
After all, your family's situation really can't support years of martial arts training.
But for now, focus on strengthening your abilities and pass the special admissions exam at Pingjiang Martial Arts University in June. Even after getting into Martial Arts University, you can't slack off. Over the next four years you must make huge progress, let Martial Arts University see your potential so you can stay on after graduation.
I got stuck at Sixth Rank too long and never made it to the Transformation Realm. In the end, I had to leave and had a rough patch before finding myself again.
Now that I've broken through to Seventh Rank, my cultivation is smoother than before, but if I can't become a Martial Artist by 35, I won't be able to join Martial Arts University via open recruitment.
Martial Arts cultivation requires resources. The country is still developing quickly, and with potential threats from the Void Realm, geniuses get priority for everything.
If you fall behind even once, you could be eliminated from the race.
Even though you might rise again later on, you'll still have lost precious time and wasted the best martial arts cultivation years. So, hang in there, Lu Chenzhou. Stay humble, don't be self-defeating—the road ahead is long, and Martial Arts has no end!"
Shi Ruyu finished her tea, turned to gaze out the window in a daze.
Lu Chenzhou asked:
"Senior sister, you're only 22. Advancing to Martial Artist before 35 and going back for advanced studies at Martial Arts University shouldn't be too hard, right? I believe in you!"
Shi Ruyu said:
"The closer you get to breaking the First Shackles, the harder it gets. Do you know what's most despairing? I know a senior who, at 30, was at the peak of Tenth Rank and infinitely close to the First Shackles—he was basically just a step away—but he got stuck at that last hurdle for ten years and couldn't break through, and now he's given up."
That's the shackle that binds humanity. Martial Arts cultivation must be pursued bravely and diligently! If you want to go farther, you can't lack root bone, talent, effort, or resources!"
Lu Chenzhou stood up and thanked his senior sister.
"Thank you for your guidance."
Shi Ruyu said:
"Don't mention it. With the progress of your current cultivation, low-class root bone is no longer enough to hold you back. In the old days, they called this 'instant enlightenment,' so just focus on pressing steadily forward and show your talent and improvement to the nation. Once you get the attention of those people, you'll get the resources you deserve and soar from there."
Lu Chenzhou muttered internally:
"Instant enlightenment? That would explain why I progress so quickly. Actually, I don't think I'm really enlightened—I just awakened the Martial Arts Tree talent."
Shi Ruyu noticed Lu Chenzhou's doubtful expression.
"What? You don't believe it? Instant enlightenment isn't easy to explain—you'll get it after you keep cultivating. Some people even say instant enlightenment is a sign of awakening the Martial Bone Dao Embryo."
"Martial Bone Dao Embryo?"
He didn't dare even imagine that kind of legendary aptitude. Every Martial Bone Daoist was a top-level genius in both root bone and talent!
Shi Ruyu giggled.
"Did I scare you? It's possible, but out of a hundred people with instant enlightenment you might not even find one who awakens the Martial Bone Dao Embryo. Just keep a normal mindset."
Lu Chenzhou nodded.
Shi Ruyu chatted with him for a long while, introduced him to lots of info about Martial Arts University, and when they finally finished a pot of tea, Shi Ruyu got up:
"It's getting late. Go practice a bit more, then head home early."
On his very first day, even the Lord had high praise for Lu Chenzhou.
Shi Ruyu believed this young man was sure to become a true disciple.
Soon, she'll have her own direct junior disciple.