Of course, under Ji Xuantong, she was only the second senior sister.
Above her, there was the eldest senior sister.
She was Ji Xuantong's daughter, Ji Feiyan.
Ji Feiyan had intermediate root bone and was exposed to martial arts training and influence by her father since childhood. Because of her father, she did not attend the Pingjiang Affiliated Martial Arts School.
Instead, she chose to go straight to the top and entered the affiliated school of Dragon City Martial Arts University. Now, at the age of 20, she's already a sophomore at Dragon City Martial Arts University, with Eighth Rank cultivation—enviable. Odds are high she'll stay at the university after graduation and has a strong chance to become a Martial Artist!
...
Training ground.
Lu Chenzhou stood upright like a pine, quietly regulating his breath.
He looked at the rising proficiency on the Martial Arts Tree, feeling fulfilled and satisfied.
Shi Ruyu couldn't help but marvel at how fast this young guy was improving.
"Your Tiger Form Fist attainment has already surpassed mine."
"Senior sister, you flatter me. Your main discipline is Ape Form."
Shi Ruyu glanced around, then leaned into Lu Chenzhou's ear and whispered:
"You can ask the Lord about the Black Tiger Fist. Be smart—he won't be stingy with pointers." What she meant was that Lu Chenzhou should ask Ji Xuantong for advice whenever he had free time—after all, it didn't cost anything. Lu Chenzhou took the hint: "Thank you, senior sister."
"Go home early. Your mom will be worried."
"Mm, mm."
Thus ended a fulfilling day of martial arts cultivation.
On the Martial Arts Tree, handwriting emerged.
[Black Tiger Fist: Proficient (65%)]
"With these three days off, 70% is locked in. By the end of January, I can reach the Mastery Realm. Progress may slow after that, but I'll hit Small Success before June no problem. Next, the key focus is Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile—gotta condense the Middle Strike Acupoint as soon as possible."
...
Stone Lake Garden, Building 3, 2802.
"Mom, I'm back!"
"So, how did the Lord's teaching go?"
"It was awesome."
"As expected of a Martial Artist, he's really got the skills. Have you eaten?"
"Yeah, I have. Oh, by the way Mom, I broke through to Second Rank. My Qi Blood Value is 1.46."
Lu Chenzhou just remembered—he still hadn't shared this good news with his folks.
Li Xianghua's hands froze in the middle of washing dishes, stunned for a moment.
"Chenzhou? What did you say? You're Second Rank now?"
"Yeah."
Li Xianghua walked out from the kitchen, her face unable to hide her joy. For a moment she was too overwhelmed to say anything, just staring at Lu Chenzhou, speechless.
Then all of a sudden she started crying.
"This is so good, so good."
Lu Chenzhou quickly hugged his mom.
"Mom, don't cry. This is good news."
"I know, I'm just too excited."
"Mom, this year I plan to take the special admissions exam for Pingjiang Martial Arts University."
"Good, go for it. Martial Arts University is definitely better than a regular university."
"Okay, Mom, I'm going to rest now."
Li Xianghua watched her son walk into his room, mumbling to herself.
"If I'd known my boy had this talent, I'd have signed him up for a Martial Arts Hall ages ago. Who cares about living in the Inner City, a house isn't as important as my son's future."
Now she was starting to regret it, planning to have a good talk with Lu Guoping when he got home.
Actually, you couldn't really blame the parents.
Before awakening the Martial Arts Tree, apart from determination, Lu Chenzhou's talent and understanding really were just average—just like any normal person. They couldn't see any martial arts future.
But the couple couldn't bear to say it bluntly. Since they had no money and couldn't provide better resources, they just let Lu Chenzhou chase martial arts as much as he liked.
His middle and high school homeroom teachers even spoke to them privately, encouraging them to talk Lu Chenzhou into focusing on getting into the best Imperial Capital general university.
They felt guilty toward their son and never mentioned this to Lu Chenzhou. As long as he kept his class ranking, getting into a key university was good enough. The kid worked really hard.
At the end of the day, it was just poverty!
"Lu Guoping! Chenzhou hit Second Rank! You heard right, from First Rank to Second Rank in three months! My son will be a Martial Artist for sure! I knew it!"
She called Lu Guoping before he even got home—couldn't wait a moment longer.
...
On the other side.
Lu Chenzhou said he was going to rest, but he actually started cultivating Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile again.
He was full of energy today, not feeling tired at all. It must be because after breaking through to Second Rank, his Qi-Blood increased, stamina went up, and he could train for longer now.
It's said that some Martial Artists, when researching a bottleneck, can train nonstop for days and nights without hurting their bodies and practice with extraordinary efficiency.
The Daoist Sect calls this "Fasting."
Lu Chenzhou stood like a weird old pine tree on Huangshan, his posture uncanny. Without a master's guidance, even looking at the Pile Skill Diagram, an ordinary person would find it nearly impossible to replicate perfectly.
The spot on his right hand's Middle Strike Acupoint itched, like an insect bite, a tickle through a boot, sometimes there was even a sharp pain like a nail poking under his fingernail.
"Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile looks simple, but in reality it's way harder than practicing fists. Stimulating the acupoints is pure agony—even I can barely stand it. But no matter what, you gotta push through. There are no shortcuts in Pile Skill. Only day after day of hard grind."
"Lu Chenzhou, you can do it!"
"Pingjiang Martial Arts University is waiting for you!"
He kept giving himself psychological hints. Soon, beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his well-toned bare upper body gleamed as if rubbed with oil.
After an hour, he hit his limit.
"Hoo…"
Lu Chenzhou's face was flushed, his whole body soaked.
He looked at the Martial Arts Tree.
[Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile: 1st Acupoint (2%) → 1st Acupoint (4%)]
"Two percent progress in an hour—pretty good. If I do Three Trainings morning, noon, and night, I can open up the first acupoint in half a month. The Lord said even for an intermediate root bone talent, it'd take at least ten days to condense the first acupoint. I'm not far behind."
The Lord didn't lie—there's no shortcut in cultivating Pile Skill!
No, the Martial Arts Tree itself is the shortcut.
"If I didn't have the Martial Arts Tree, I wouldn't be coming along this fast."
Lu Chenzhou was self-aware.
"Still, I heard some Martial Bone Daoists or certain prodigies are born able to open three or even nine apertures, saving a lot of time and becoming a Martial Artist that much quicker."
Of course, compared to seven hundred twenty apertures,
that just means a faster start in the early stages.
Lu Chenzhou has the Martial Arts Tree, so he'll just stick with steady, grounded cultivation.
One day, he'll overtake them at the bend!
"Too wiped out, can't train anymore—early to bed, early to rise."
Lu Chenzhou took a shower and got to bed quickly.
Before sleep, in the Martial Arts Society chat group, Qin Zheng and Li Linling were chatting.
[Qin Zheng: Lu Chenzhou is such a freak—Second Rank in just three months.]
[Li Linling: It makes me despair, just watching you guys catch up to me. I'm barely surviving in a sea of homework. I was only 45th in the last monthly exam. I can't get distracted now. These next six months I'm going all out for a decent college.]
[Qin Zheng: It drives me nuts. Lu Chenzhou was top 15 in the monthly exam too.]
[Qin Zheng: …Lu Chenzhou, come chat for a bit.]
[Lu Chenzhou: (smile.jpg) Going to sleep, up early for fist training tomorrow.]
[Li Linling: …]
[Qin Zheng: He's the king of grinding!