School was suspended, which benefited Lu Chenzhou.
He only needed to take online classes at home, do some practice questions, and he could spend the rest of his time practicing fist techniques and Pile Skill. His goal was to condense the Shaochong Acupoint before April.
Only 18 days left!
For safety reasons, he changed his time at the Martial Arts Hall to daytime, basically squeezing out a bit of time outside of online classes. Everything depended on the Pingjiang Martial Arts University entrance exam in June. If he passed, he'd transfer directly from the regular high school to the affiliated high school of Martial Arts University, attend class step by step, and could go on to study at Martial Arts University just by passing the college entrance exam.
The regular subjects could be given up.
Of course, that didn't mean not learning anymore.
Martial arts schools also had corresponding courses in martial arts knowledge, such as "Martial Arts History," "Pharmacology," "Ancient Texts," and other martial arts-related classes. Now it's the era of technology—an illiterate who can't even read one big character, it's not realistic for them to learn Martial Arts.
Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.
"Come on, Chenzhou, let's spar a bit."
Qin Zheng got fired up again after the Du Men incident. His family was already prepping to move to another city, and he himself was once again making bold claims about working hard at Martial Arts. Lu Chenzhou was used to his on-and-off ambitious state.
"Like a swallow passing without a trace!"
Qin Zheng was pretty dramatic, even shouting out move names while sparring.
Saying it was to boost morale!
Lu Chenzhou's expression was calm as water. Using the Backward Sweep Step from "Sea-sweeping Body," he dodged, then closed the distance with three steps in two, and unleashed a "Black Tiger Demonic Suppression"!
This was a Crushing Fist, ferocious in power.
Bang!
Qin Zheng flew backward, landing hard on the soft mat.
"Ow…"
He got up, looking at his chest, red beneath the mat.
"Are you almost Third Rank? That hurts."
He felt a bit desperate—he really couldn't catch up to Lu Chenzhou anymore.
Half a year ago, this guy was still a total noob.
Now, every gesture had the vibe of an expert.
"Not yet, just a little bit away."
Lu Chenzhou jumped onto the wooden pile and continued practicing "Sea-sweeping Body" while throwing Black Tiger Fist. The energy consumption was huge, but right now every second counted. He'd just drink some supplement and rest well when he got home—what's a little exhaustion? He could ignore the pain of Practicing Heavenly Pile. With the opportunity of the Martial Arts Tree, he had to seize it!
"Bro, you're actually about to hit Third Rank?"
Hearing Lu Chenzhou say he was close, Qin Zheng felt discouraged.
This guy must be doing nothing but secretly practicing, completely burning it at both ends… His progress was mind-blowing.
"Du Men's here."
Someone shouted, and everyone turned to look at the entrance. A figure with a resolute face, carrying a backpack, walked in—it was Du Men, who hadn't come to practice for a week.
Many people thought Du Men had been scared stupid by the Void Thing attack.
Or that from now on he'd never dare set foot outside and live in constant fear.
There were real cases like that—some people went mad from Virtual Disaster, and society even has psychological therapists now to help those affected recover from the shadow.
If you haven't been through a Virtual Disaster, you just can't really understand.
Old Zhang, as the older brother, asked:
"Du junior, you're okay?"
"I'm fine. Thank you all for your concern during this time."
"Glad you're okay—surviving a disaster means fortune will follow!"
"Yeah. I even saw a news story recently: someone encountered a Virtual Disaster deep in the wilderness, ran like crazy, and stumbled into a Temple, where a Martial Artist was cultivating. He saved the person, and not long after, the survivor awakened their Martial Bone Dao Embryo!"
Everyone's heartfelt words really moved Du Men.
"By the way, I've taken a break from school, so from now on I'll be focusing on training here at the Martial Arts Hall. If anyone needs a training partner or sparring, come find me."
Du Men suddenly announced.
Old Zhang was surprised:
"What's up with that? You said you were fine, but now you're taking time off from school?"
Qin Zheng was also confused:
"Yeah, bro, I remember you had decent grades… Even I, a trash student, haven't given up. You can't just throw in the towel, man."
Du Men said firmly:
"In ancient times, there was the king who broke the boats to press forward! I figured it out. What I truly seek is Martial Arts. If I can't get into Pingjiang Martial Arts University, I have no heart for regular study anyway. If I do get in, the general subjects don't matter even more!"
Lu Chenzhou also admired Du Men's resolve.
He couldn't do it, at least not for now—because his family was poor. Du Men's family wasn't as well-off as Qin Zheng's, but couldn't compare to his. Other people had too many backup paths.
He'd never be able to act in the heat of the moment because of that.
Life is just too unpredictable—he was his parents' support.
After holding a small welcome for Du Men, everyone went back to regular practice.
"Junior, I've also trained at home. Let's spar a bit."
Du Men sought out Lu Chenzhou again.
"Sure, senior."
The two of them exchanged fists and kicks on the wooden piles, crackling and popping.
In the end, Lu Chenzhou was still a cut above and kicked Du Men off. His Qi-Blood was getting close to Third Rank, and the gap with Du Men was shrinking.
Du Men wasn't discouraged this time.
The terrifying Void Thing hadn't crushed him—nothing else would!
In a way, his mentality had been tempered by the experience. In the past, many Martial Artists would soar to new heights after big setbacks or traumatic events—this was partly why.
After sparring, Lu Chenzhou sat next to Du Men to rest.
He hesitated for a while, then asked:
"Senior, I want to ask you something… but I'm afraid it might touch a sore spot."
"You want to ask about Void Things, right? Go ahead."
"Yeah, you saw one with your own eyes. Can you recall any details about what happened before or after, or any warning signs? So I can be prepared and watch out."
Those Void Things are ghostly, impossible to predict.
Other than the person involved, there's rarely any other evidence.
Du Men remembered that terrifying day and told Lu Chenzhou everything honestly—he was even shaking as he spoke.
In the end, he added seriously:
"Junior, if you run into a Void Thing, listen to me—run if you can. They aren't on our level… If you haven't become a Martial Artist, you're just an ant."
He was also Third Rank, and he'd attacked as well.
In the end, swinging wildly, he couldn't even see the Void Thing's shadow, let alone hurt it. Normal physical attacks did absolutely nothing to that ghostly thing.
The Lord was able to hit it because of that bluish glow—a power which Du Men asked about, and the Lord said it's an ability only someone who's broken through the first shackle has:
Innate Strength!
Innate Strength is intangible but real, born from the Martial Artist's True Skill through cultivation, hidden in the Dantian, circulating through the meridians and acupoints, and can be triggered by Martial Arts or special weapons so that they can touch and harm Void Things!
Once you break the second shackle, it'll transform into Innate True Qi.
True Qi is even more powerful—normal Void Things run from it.
After getting the details from Du Men, Lu Chenzhou felt more confident. The Void Thing that attacked him that night didn't seem strong—it was killed by the Lord in a single blow.
And according to his research, lots of Void Things weren't so dangerous; some even needed to use Illusion Technique or Spiritual Control tricks to kill. The only reason average Martial Artists or guns couldn't do anything was because they couldn't even touch them—otherwise, it wouldn't look so hopeless.
Of course, that's easy to say.
If Lu Chenzhou ever saw one, he'd definitely run for his life.