The two E-Level Qi Blood Potions on the desk gleamed with a soft red luster under the light.
Xu Wuyi stood frozen for a good while before slowly reaching out and picking up the two small metal boxes.
He clutched the boxes tightly. Of course, he knew his family's financial situation.
Just the nutritional meals for his three years of high school Martial Arts training had already drained most of their savings.
His parents hadn't bought new clothes for a long time, and the house hadn't seen new furniture in years.
He was silent for a moment. Without saying anything, Xu Wuyi buried this profound gratitude deep in his heart.
In his subsequent training, Xu Wuyi pushed himself even harder.
He maintained his extreme pace of completing a "hundred" effective training sessions daily to trigger an "Enlightenment."
Every three days, he would down a new Qi Blood Potion. Under the precise guidance of the *Basic Body Refining Technique*, the surging medicinal power would be efficiently converted into his own Qi and Blood.
[Basic Body Refining Technique Current Realm: Entry Level (99.9%)]
The number on the panel remained stuck at that point, not budging an inch.
But Xu Wuyi could clearly feel the total volume and density of his Qi and Blood steadily increasing.
Along with this process, the bottleneck seemed to loosen. Perhaps with persistent training, he would one day naturally break through the barrier.
「Six days passed in a flash amidst Xu Wuyi's bitter training.」
He arrived at the school's training hall once again.
The Life Energy Level Tester stood silently in the corner. Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions, and pressed his palm firmly onto the sensor plate.
WHIRRR—
The machine emitted a familiar low hum as its indicator lights flickered.
The numbers jumped a few times before finally settling.
[Life Energy Level: 10.1]
'I did it!'
An intense sense of accomplishment made Xu Wuyi want to let out a triumphant roar, but he ultimately suppressed the urge. An uncontrollable, wide grin simply stretched across his face.
He stared at the number on the screen for a long time, as if to sear this moment into his memory.
Perhaps when he looked back years from now, this would be just a small step on his path of Martial Arts, but right now, it was a brand-new milestone!
Less than half of the winter break remained, but Xu Wuyi could no longer wait.
Without lingering, Xu Wuyi immediately contacted Teacher Wang with his communicator.
"Teacher Wang, it's Xu Wuyi."
"Yes, I'm at school."
"My Life Energy Level… I just broke through 10.0."
The other end of the communicator went silent for two seconds, followed by Wang Wenhai's clearly astonished voice, "10.0? Are you sure? How long has it been?"
"I just tested it at school. It's level 10.1," Xu Wuyi answered with certainty.
"...Wait for me there. Don't go anywhere. I'll be at the school right away!" Teacher Wang's tone grew urgent, and he cut the connection.
Less than twenty minutes later, Wang Wenhai's figure appeared at the entrance of the training hall.
He strode briskly to the tester and gestured for Xu Wuyi to test himself again.
Xu Wuyi did as he was told.
[Life Energy Level: 10.1]
Gazing at the number on the screen, the astonishment on Wang Wenhai's face slowly faded, replaced by a complex expression mixed with relief and admiration.
He looked Xu Wuyi up and down, his gaze sharp, as if trying to see right through him.
"Good kid..." Teacher Wang clapped Xu Wuyi heavily on the shoulder, the force considerable. "I figured you could break through before the end of winter break, but I didn't expect it to be this fast!"
"It seems you really put those Potions to good use, not wasting a single drop!"
He paused, his tone turning serious. "You were in a hurry to find me because you want to connect to the Star Martial Battle Network as soon as possible?"
"Yes!" Xu Wuyi nodded without hesitation, his eyes burning with intensity. "Teacher Wang, I want to start practical combat training as soon as I can. Also, I need a Visualization Method to further increase my Spiritual Power."
Only after their Life Energy Level reaches 10 can a Martial Artist connect to the Interstellar Battle Network. This is because using a Virtual Pod puts considerable strain on the body.
If someone with an insufficient Life Energy Level were to use it, their muscles could disintegrate midway through a session, which is why the Federation strictly prohibits it.
As for using a Visualization Method for Spirit Refinement, that's because virtual combat consumes Spiritual Power.
The stronger one's Spiritual Power, the longer they can use a Virtual Pod each day.
Wang Wenhai looked at Xu Wuyi, mulled it over for a moment, and nodded. "Alright. There are still about ten days of winter break left. Getting familiar with the Battle Network early won't interfere with your studies. We can't let that time go to waste."
He was decisive and efficient. He immediately used his teacher credentials to access the Federation's Martial Arts education network and began applying for Xu Wuyi's access to the Battle Network, as well as permission to learn the basic Visualization Method.
Both applications required approval from the city's Martial Arts Department, not the Ministry of Education, making the process much more stringent.
"Come on, let's go to the Battle Network access room."
A moment later, Teacher Wang called out and led Xu Wuyi to the side.
The "access room" was located in the innermost part of the school's training hall. Inside stood rows of individual, silver capsule-like pods.
Wang Wenhai opened the door of an empty pod and entered Xu Wuyi's information.
"This is a standard-issue virtual machine provided by the school. The Simulation Level is about 72%, which is enough for you at your current stage," Teacher Wang explained, pointing inside the pod.
"The school's intensive training class is capped at thirty students a year precisely because we only have this many virtual machines. I've already linked your information to this one. You'll use this machine until you graduate."
"Lie down inside. The access application has already been approved, and your permissions will be activated shortly. On your first login, the system will guide you through creating a virtual avatar and ID."
"When you're done, find me in the 'Honghe First Middle School - Teacher Guidance Zone'. My ID is just 'Wang Wenhai'."
Xu Wuyi took a deep breath and lay down in the access pod as instructed. The door slowly closed, and the light inside softened.
A cool sensation touched his skin, and in the next second, a gentle electronic voice sounded in his mind:
[Verifying identity... Permissions confirmed. Life Energy Level: 10.1, meets access requirements. Spirit fluctuations stable. Commencing connection...]
His vision suddenly went black. Then, countless streams of brilliant, multicolored data flooded into his consciousness like a bursting dam.
A slight dizziness washed over him but quickly faded. When his vision cleared again, he found himself in a pure white initial space.
[Welcome to the Star Martial Battle Network. Please create your virtual avatar and ID.]
[Identity information detected as a minor. Physical likeness and real name will be used by default.]
The system's prompt sounded again.
A huge mirror appeared in front of Xu Wuyi. The reflection in it was identical to him, and above it displayed the unchangeable ID "Xu Wuyi."
The Interstellar Battle Network allows Martial Artists to go online pseudonymously and even change their physical form, letting them experience Martial Arts under different conditions and try paths completely different from reality.
But minors are not allowed to. Their minds are considered not yet fully mature, so even when they enter the Battle Network, they can only operate in specific, designated zones.
Xu Wuyi's birthday was in October, so he wouldn't turn eighteen until after the college entrance exams.