Time flies when you're working hard. The weather had quietly turned cooler, the late-autumn heat fading with each passing day. It was the kind of season where catching a cold was especially easy.
The classroom was filled with the sound of coughing.
But upon closer inspection, almost none of the students who had begun their martial arts training and condensed their Qi Blood had caught a cold.
Li Mengyao was a mess of sniffles and watery eyes, her ample chest quivering with each cough. Her face was so pale she looked like she didn't have long for this world.
It was actually quite strange. Li Mengyao's grades and martial arts progress were both in the top ten of their class, so her immune system should have been strong. Yet she'd still caught a cold, and a nasty one at that—one of the worst cases in the room.
Yu Fei took out a thermos and handed it to her. Inside was ginger soup he had made early that morning.
After drinking so much of her yogurt, it was only right for him to make a gesture.
"This is... for me?"
Li Mengyao's strong suit was her figure. As her deskmate, Yu Fei knew she wasn't chubby, just well-endowed. It was just that her facial features hadn't fully matured yet, and combined with a dorky bowl cut, she looked rather plain. But she was definitely a diamond in the rough.
"Yeah. Ginger soup helps with this kind of cold. It's not a miracle cure, but you'll feel a bit more comfortable after drinking it.
The thermos is new, so don't worry. You can keep it."
The Yu family didn't have a lot of many things, but they had an abundance of cups and pots, all prizes Mr. Yu had won from company events and annual party raffles.
"Thank you!"
A huge wave of joy washed over her, and Li Mengyao felt her stuffy nose begin to clear. She carefully took a small sip. The slightly spicy flavor of the ginger soup warmed her throat, and her heart along with it.
Tears instantly welled up in Li Mengyao's eyes.
'Seriously, I could just cry my eyes out,' she thought. 'Yu Fei is so good to me. I'm so touched! Maybe getting a cold isn't so bad after all. How else would I get to drink ginger soup made by my crush's own hands?'
With every sip of ginger soup, a fresh stream of tears would roll down her cheeks, leaving Yu Fei utterly baffled.
'What now? Did she get her wires crossed again?'
It suddenly reminded him of one of those math problems: if a pool is filling with water and draining at the same time, how long will it take for the pool to empty?
'By the same logic,' he mused, 'if Li Mengyao is drinking liquid while her eyes are leaking it, how long will it take to drain all the water out of her brain?'
Just then, Xiaoqiang started banging his cup on his desk. BANG! BANG!
"Oh man, I'm so thirsty! I'd kill for some ginger soup! Is there a kind soul out there who can spare a sip to save my life?"
While making these snide remarks, Lei Xiaoqiang stuck out his foot and kicked Yu Fei's stool.
Fed up, Yu Fei stood up, grabbed Lei Xiaoqiang by the neck, and put him in a chokehold to shut him up.
Then he poured half of his own ginger soup into Xiaoqiang's cup.
After getting roughed up, the guy wasn't upset in the slightest. Instead, he started gleefully sipping the ginger soup. What a little troll.
The next period was math, taught by Mr. Kun, the homeroom teacher for Class 6 of the second year.
For the past month, Mr. Kun had developed a habit of calling Yu Fei to the blackboard to solve problems. Every time, Yu Fei would answer flawlessly, as if he were reading straight from an answer key without a moment's hesitation.
It made Mr. Kun question reality, feeling he must have completely misjudged the boy. As a result, he started paying even more attention to Yu Fei.
He was, of course, thrilled that such a promising student had suddenly appeared in his class. A genius like Yu Fei popping up out of nowhere was like a gift from heaven. Mr. Kun felt his year-end bonus might just get bumped up a tier.
In the afternoon, it was time for martial arts class again. The students had mixed feelings—some were excited, others were dreading it.
Yu Fei's progress had been incredibly fast recently. Thanks to the effects of the Vitality Elixir and his two talents, his cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds.
Last week, Mrs. Yu had bought him a case of energy liquid. Combined with the Vitality Elixirs, Yu Fei was able to train every single day.
By combining [Extraordinary Insight] and [Super Speed Reaction], Yu Fei had successfully practiced the Ox Subduing Pile Skill to the level of major mastery and the Straight-Line Fist to minor mastery.
The so-called major mastery meant that he had memorized all the variations of the Ox Subduing Pile Skill, could command his Qi Blood as easily as moving his own limbs, and could fully absorb restorative items like medicines, food, and energy liquids.
Most people might break through to the second realm of the Martial Artist stage, yet their Ox Subduing Pile Skill would still be stuck at the level of minor mastery.
As a training method, stance skills are effective with every practice session once you've learned the basics. The different levels of mastery simply represent the degree of body refinement and absorption efficiency you can achieve.
In truth, cultivating any Cultivation Technique to major mastery is an extremely difficult feat. As for reaching the 'perfection' level, that is nearly impossible, requiring immense time and exceptional talent.
Relying solely on [Extraordinary Insight], Yu Fei might have been able to reach major mastery, but it would have taken a very long time.
What was more important was [Super Speed Reaction].
This talent's strength lay in its control over subtleties. Combined with [Extraordinary Insight], his mastery of Cultivation Techniques skyrocketed.
A seven-fold increase in neural reaction speed didn't just mean a seven-fold increase in efficiency—it was an improvement of several dozen times over.
A quantitative change brings about a qualitative one.
Everyone was looking forward to today's martial arts class.
Today, Jiang Yifan and Yu Fei were scheduled to have a formal martial arts duel.
Their performance in class over the past month was plain for all to see. No one but the other could last more than a few exchanges against either of them.
Perhaps it was a case of two kings avoiding a confrontation, but they hadn't sparred with each other at all during the month of practice.
After a month of training, Jiang Yifan's confidence was soaring.
With just one more week, he was certain he would break through the Skin Refining stage. He had also practiced the Straight-Line Fist diligently and was not far from reaching minor mastery.
Thinking back to his fight with Yu Fei a month ago, it seemed utterly laughable now.
Now that he had learned a fist technique, his Qi Blood moved at his command, and every punch and kick packed immense power.
Seeing the two fired-up students, Yan Sea allowed them to begin the match.
Same place, same opponent.
Jiang Yifan thought to himself,
'This will be the battle to wash away my shame.'
'The month is up! Prepare to die, Yu Fei!'
He looked up at Yu Fei, who was standing there with a wide grin, as if he had already won!
Of course Yu Fei was happy. 'It's harvest season again!'
He placed a marker on Jiang Yifan. Gazing at the shining blue crystal that appeared, he couldn't contain his glee.
So, he raised his hand and crooked his index finger at Jiang Yifan.
"Get over here!"
Jiang Yifan stared at the gesture. It was the exact same one he had used a month ago.
Ripples instantly formed on the calm lake of his heart, quickly swelling into a storm.
The beckoning gesture reminded him of his own weakness a month ago... and the faint ache in his balls.
At that moment, it felt as though every student around them was staring right at him.
Jiang Yifan's Dao Heart shattered once again.
His Qi Blood surged, and his tightly clenched fists trembled.
With a furious roar, he charged.
Warrior Jiang Yifan was officially on tilt!
Yan Sea shook his head slightly from the sidelines. 'If you can't control your emotions, you've already lost half the battle.'
Li Mengyao's eyes were filled with worry. She had learned the basics of the Straight-Line Fist herself, so she understood the impact this style had on a fight.
The girl had secretly tried it herself; punching a wall with her Qi Blood infused didn't hurt her fist at all. In fact, it had left a small, soybean-sized dent in the wall.
'The current Jiang Yifan must be even stronger now.'
Watching Jiang Yifan charge, Yu Fei slowly assumed a fighting stance.
Seeing this, Jiang Yifan was so furious he could almost feel steam coming out of his ears.
'I'm going to grind him into the dirt and redeem my name!' he vowed.
A lunging Punching Fist, a swinging flying kick!
Jiang Yifan attacked with both his fists and feet.
He was a genius. He creatively adapted the forms of the Straight-Line Fist, infusing every punch and kick with Qi Blood, making each blow heavy and powerful.
Yu Fei's eyes narrowed. 'Despise the enemy strategically, but take him seriously tactically.'
He pushed his [Super Speed Reaction] to its absolute limit.
Jiang Yifan attacked with Qi Blood; he would defend with Qi Blood.
He wouldn't retreat a single step!