The air on the sparring platform crackled with tension. Zhang Wei stood across from me, his
body coiled like a spring, a vicious grin plastered on his face. The faint, yellow aura of his Level 5
Qi Gathering stage flickered around him, impressive but, as my [Observe] skill noted,
unsteady.
"Begin!" Elder Bai's voice echoed.
Zhang didn't waste a second. He exploded into motion, his body lunging forward with the crude,
powerful momentum of the [Furious Bear Strike]. His fist, wrapped in swirling Qi, shot toward
my face with the clear intention of breaking bone. The crowd gasped. This wasn't a spar; it was
an assault.
I didn't meet it with force. I used the [Placid Deer Steps].
I shifted my weight, my body flowing to the side like water. Zhang's powerful fist whistled past
my ear, the wind of it ruffling my hair. The wasted momentum carried him forward a step, his
balance compromised for a split second.
His eyes widened in surprise and fury. "Stand still, you coward!"
He pivoted, unleashing a wild haymaker. Again, I didn't block. I leaned back, letting the force of
his swing pass harmlessly in front of my chest. My movements were minimal, efficient. I was a
ghost he couldn't catch.
"Fight me!" he roared, his Qi flaring erratically. He began throwing a barrage of punches, each
one strong enough to shatter stone, but each one telegraphed and clumsy.
I weaved, ducked, and sidestepped, the [Placid Deer Steps] making me impossibly elusive. To
the audience, it must have looked like I was purely on the defensive, barely avoiding a brutal
beating. But I was reading him like a book. Every grunt, every shift of his weight, the specific way
he favored his right side—my [Observe] skill fed me a constant stream of data.
He was getting frustrated, and his already unstable Qi was churning wildly. The flaw in his
technique, the strained lower left meridian cluster my skill had identified, was becoming a
glowing red target in my mind's eye.
He overextended again, putting too much weight on his left leg as he tried to corner me against
the edge of the platform. This was it.
As his next punch sailed past, I didn't just dodge. I moved in. I closed the distance between us in
a single, fluid step. His eyes bulged in shock; I was supposed to be running away
My right hand, charged with the barest whisper of Qi, didn't form a fist. I didn't use the [Gale
Palm] or any offensive technique. I simply extended my index and middle fingers, forming a
"sword finger" gesture.
With the perfect precision granted by a hundred corrected manuals, I stabbed my fingers
forward, not at a vital point, but at that specific, strained meridian cluster on his lower left hip.
It was a touch as light as a butterfly's.
For a moment, nothing happened. Zhang sneered, "You missed, you—AGH!"
His words cut off into a strangled scream. His body seized up as if struck by lightning. The Qi
circulating through his leg meridian shattered, rebounding back into his system. The bright
yellow aura around him flickered and died as his cultivation base, forcibly advanced and now
violently disrupted, went haywire.
He collapsed to his knees, clutching his hip, his face a mask of pure, uncomprehending agony. He
wasn't seriously injured, but the pain was excruciating, and his ability to channel Qi was
temporarily severed.
The entire training grounds fell into a dead silence. You could have heard a pin drop.
I stood over him, not even breathing heavily. I looked down at his writhing form, my expression
still calm.
"You relied on force, Senior Brother Zhang," I said, my voice carrying in the quiet. "But force
without control is just noise. You should spend more time in the archives."
I turned and bowed to the stunned Elders.
Elder Bai was staring at me, his earlier gruffness replaced by deep contemplation. Elder Mei had
a small, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips. The third Elder, who had been silent until
now, simply nodded slowly.
"The match is concluded," Elder Bai announced, his voice firm. "Victory goes to Lin Yun."
The silence broke into an uproar of confused and excited chatter. Lin Yun, the talentless Mortal
Grade disciple, had not only reached Level 3 but had defeated a Level 5 disciple in combat
without throwing a single punch! It was unprecedented.
I walked off the platform, ignoring the stares. As I passed the section where the kitchen staff was
watching, I caught Xiao Lian's eye. Her hands were clasped over her mouth, her eyes wide with
shock, but then they crinkled into a brilliant, relieved smile. I gave her a subtle wink
The rest of the evaluation was a formality. My performance had already decided my fate. When
the final rankings were announced, I was not relegated to manual labor. I was placed solidly in
the middle of the pack, a staggering achievement given my starting point.
But the real reward came as I was walking back to my dorm, the system interface shimmering in
my vision.
[ Quest Complete: 'A Show of Progress' ]
Objective: Reach Qi Gathering Stage, Level 3 before the Monthly Evaluation. Status: COMPLETE.
Reward: 50 System Points. System Shop Unlocked!
A new, glorious icon pulsed at the edge of my consciousness: [SHOP].
I didn't open it immediately. I savored the moment. I had faced the storm with nothing but lazy
days and a clever system, and I had not only survived, I had thrived.
Zhang Wei was being helped away by his friends, shooting me a look of pure, venomous hatred. I
knew I'd made an enemy. But in this world, that was just a sign you were moving up in the world.
I reached my humble room, closed the door, and finally let the grin I'd been suppressing spread
across my face.
Now, let's see what treasures this shop holds.