High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Spiritual Power, Qi Blood Breakthrough

”Speaking of which, isn’t a Qi and Blood Value of 95 a bit too high of a goal for Lin Qi?”

”Increasing it by at least 25 in three months is just too difficult.” Dean Liu shook his head.

Xue Zhou waved his hand dismissively.

”I’m just trying to motivate him. It’s no big deal if he falls a little short.”

”You’re really something else!” Dean Liu exclaimed.

”Lin Qi’s Talent is incredible. If he could awaken a Special Ability, that would change everything.”

”It’s a shame he didn’t Awaken before he turned eighteen. It’ll be much harder now.”

”If he only Awakens in the Seventh Realm, his upper limit will be an Eighth Realm Martial Artist. But if he Awakens, he has a chance to become a Ninth Realm Title Level Martial Artist.”

”The difference is like night and day!”

Xue Zhou shook his head, his expression turning serious once more. Across from him, Dean Liu also shook his head. ”That sort of thing is pure luck.”

”Still, Lin Qi’s always had pretty good luck.”

”Maybe he’ll Awaken one of these days!”

...

Inside Villa 01 of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute.

In the spacious Martial Arts Room, Lin Qi walked in slowly after lunch, carrying a blue metal sphere.

”Little Chan, project my notes!”

”Yes, Master!”

Little Chan, in her blue robe, projected a large screen displaying several pages of notes Lin Qi had previously taken.

Lin Qi planned to take notes again. He had just met with Dean Xue and received a large amount of information that he needed to summarize.

First, he needed to lay out his goals, of which he had many.

He needed to save up 50 million Xia Country Coins to buy the Water of Rebirth and regenerate his father, Lin Zhen’s, severed arm.

To earn that kind of money, he would have to participate in next year’s global tournament for new students.

The contestants would be top-level geniuses from every country, including those who had Awakened Special Abilities.

He knew for a fact that Xia Country had thirty geniuses from the Tenth Institute alone, to say nothing of other nations.

Right now, he could only defeat a low-tier Tenth Institute genius like Han Zhen. He could only imagine the intense scene to come—a chaotic free-for-all as geniuses battled for supremacy.

The competition would be terrifyingly intense. If he wasn’t strong enough, he’d probably be eliminated early.

’I have to get stronger.’

Then there was the reward Dean Xue had promised him for breaking a Qi and Blood Value of 95 before March of next year.

Lin Qi finished writing and read over his notes one more time, sighing to himself. It seemed that every time he grew stronger, he only discovered that he needed to work even harder.

There was simply no time to stop and rest.

He sat cross-legged and looked at the two metal boxes before him—one silver, one black.

’Improving my strength is urgent. There’s no time to waste.’

He first opened the silver metal box from Dean Liu. It was about the size of a mug. Opening it slowly, he revealed the Spirit Potion inside, a vial filled with yellow liquid.

’I hope my Spiritual Power makes a huge breakthrough this time.’

Lin Qi took out an orange Scroll and placed it in front of him. Then he opened the vial and downed the potion in one gulp.

GULP...

He sat cross-legged, opened the orange Scroll, regulated his breathing, and cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, just as he did during his usual cultivation.

Within his formless Consciousness Space, a ball of gray mist gathered. It had grown from its initial size of a glass marble.

Now, it was the size of an egg—the physical manifestation of his Spiritual Power.

The next moment, Lin Qi used visualization to conjure a creature in his Consciousness Space: a powerful Fierce Tiger Dog, as large as a full-grown tiger.

ROAR—

His will triggered the orange Scroll. An instant later, a ball of orange-yellow light shot into his Consciousness Space.

ROAR!

GRR... HFF...

Ten Second-Level Calamity Beasts appeared in his Consciousness Space: a Unihorned Black Pig, a Fierce Tiger Dog, a Rapid Shadow Cat, a Pan Snake...

The ten Calamity Beasts surrounded the Fierce Tiger Dog—Lin Qi’s avatar—from all sides, then lunged forward, launching a coordinated attack.

ROAR!

Lin Qi controlled the Fierce Tiger Dog, which fought without fear of death. It opened its massive jaws and lunged, sinking its sharp teeth into a Pan Snake and instantly snapping its neck.

At the same time, a Swift Eagle Cat blurred into a black shadow and shot forward, clashing with the Fierce Tiger Dog.

Lin Qi’s Consciousness Space shuddered violently from the constant fighting, and his Spiritual Power was tempered in the process.

At the same time, a cool sensation flooded his mind and spread through his entire body, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

A mysterious power surged into the battling Fierce Tiger Dog. Its aura erupted, and its combat strength soared.

It took on all ten Calamity Beasts without hesitation. Even when its body was damaged, it recovered at an incredible speed.

Lin Qi felt his mind become unusually energized, allowing him to fight on and on, never feeling tired.

「One hour later.」

Inside Lin Qi’s Consciousness Space.

The Fierce Tiger Dog and a Unihorned Black Pig were locked in a vicious struggle, the battle having reached its peak intensity.

CRUNCH!

As the Fierce Tiger Dog tore out the Unihorned Black Pig’s throat, the battle officially concluded.

ROAR!

The Fierce Tiger Dog roared at the sky and began to dissipate. The egg-sized ball of gray mist expanded.

Lin Qi’s eyes snapped open, shining as brightly as light bulbs and glinting with a sharp light.

[You have consumed a Spirit Potion. Your Spiritual Power tempering has been greatly enhanced. Your ”Hundred Calamities Atlas” has achieved a breakthrough. Spiritual Power +5]

[Spiritual Power: 75 -> 80]

...

Lin Qi’s eyes lit up as he read the notification on the panel.

’The Spirit Potion is even more effective than I imagined,’ he thought. ’It raised my Spiritual Power by five points in one go.’

’I’ve finally broken through to 80 Spiritual Power! I thought that would take another week or two!’

Lin Qi looked at the empty vial. ’If only I could afford to take a Spirit Potion every few days.’

Unfortunately, that was impossible. A single Spirit Potion was worth nearly ten million Xia Country Coins. He couldn’t afford such a luxurious cultivation method.

He then glanced at the black metal box from Dean Xue. He decided to wait until he had fully adapted to his newly boosted Spiritual Power before using it.

...

「Two days later.」

WHOOSH!!

On the plaza in front of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute’s residential area.

A saucer-shaped aircraft slowly descended, landing on the ground. Amid powerful gusts of wind, the cabin door slid open.

A tall, slender, middle-aged man in a tight-fitting black uniform slowly disembarked.

Mu Hong took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. ”Finally, I’m back!”

”This school is the only place I can find a moment of peace.”

”In North River Province, there is nothing but endless war and slaughter.”

”It’s a shame... dozens more students will never see Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy again.”

...

On this day, inside the Gravity Ball, one of Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy’s three main public cultivation facilities... in Gravity Room 308.

Lin Qi put his things down, removed his Gravity Rings, changed into a Martial Arts Uniform, and immediately applied the Skin Tempering Ointment.

The last item was the Molting Potion.

Lin Qi took a black metal box from his backpack and slowly opened it.

Inside was a single vial containing a red liquid.

This was the Molting Potion, a special potion created specifically for Martial Artists in the Third Realm of Skin Refining.

A person could only take it once; a second dose would have a drastically reduced effect. It was similar to Skin Tempering Ointment in that regard, but its price was ten times higher.

He tilted his head back and downed the Molting Potion. It had a fiery taste.

HUFF...

Lin Qi began to stretch his joints. He had looked up the Molting Potion online; it was incredibly potent, and its effects were stronger the earlier one used it.

That was exactly his situation. To maximize its potency, he planned to stack its effects with the Skin Tempering Ointment and the tempering from the Gravity Room.

”Little Chan, activate seven times the maximum gravity!”

”Yes, Master!” Little Chan, currently in her metallic sphere form, linked to the large screen and initiated seven-times gravity.

VMMMM!!

An invisible weight instantly flooded the Gravity Room like flowing water, filling every corner.

THUD! THUD!

Lin Qi adjusted his breathing, enduring the seven-fold gravity pressing down on him.

His body had already begun to adapt, unlike the first time he’d experienced seven times the maximum gravity.

Lin Qi grabbed the black training lance and began to practice his spear techniques.

After a few moments, the discomfort from the gravity began to subside, but then the Skin Tempering Ointment started to take effect.

His skin tingled, then a sharp, needle-like pain set in.

Lin Qi could endure this, but after just a few minutes, his body began to heat up. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and trickled down his face.

A warm current began to surge outward from his stomach, eventually reaching his skin.

HISS—

Lin Qi’s movements faltered, and he sucked in a sharp breath. A new pain flared across his skin, as if a plaster was being violently torn off.

His skin turned bright red and his hair stood on end as it began a deep-level transformation.

Lin Qi gritted his teeth. This tearing pain wasn’t localized; it spread across his entire body, coming in waves.

The intense pain assaulted his nerves.

HUFF...

Though he was in agony, it was not enough to shake Lin Qi’s iron will. He had endured all kinds of pain before.

This was nothing to him.

SWISH! SWISH!

Lin Qi grabbed the training lance, gritted his teeth against the pain, and continued his cultivation, pouring his entire focus into it.

This allowed him to mitigate the pain and strengthen his mastery of his spear techniques.

He started with the Mountain Splitting Spear Technique, then moved to the Meteor Spear Technique, and finally to the Vajra Spear Technique.

As he performed the three spear techniques in succession, the way he transitioned between the different types of Power began to change.

His muscles responded to his will, and his control over his Power grew more and more proficient.

「Two hours later.」

HUFF...

SWISH!

Lin Qi suddenly put his all into one final thrust. The black training lance spun as it cut through the air, kicking up a powerful gust.

He felt his entire body relax as the tide of gravity slowly receded. The tearing pain had long since vanished.

Only his flushed skin and the sticky sweat clinging to him gave any indication of the Molting Potion’s effects.

[You have consumed the Molting Potion and undergone a transformation in a 7x maximum gravity environment. Your Skin Refining progress has accelerated. Your Qi and Blood Value has broken through. Qi and Blood Value +5.4]

[In a 7x maximum gravity environment, you have honed your spear techniques through pain. Your mastery has increased. Spear Technique +1%]

[Qi and Blood Value: 69.6 -> 75]

[Spear Technique: Tier Three 18% -> Tier Three 19%]

...

Lin Qi gasped for breath, a grin spreading across his face as he read the messages on the panel.

’Enduring all that pain for my cultivation was worth it,’ he thought. ’The progress is immense.’

His Qi and Blood Value had increased far more than he had imagined. He originally thought an increase of two or three points would have been good enough.

Instead, it had shot up by more than five points, bringing him directly to a Qi and Blood Value of 75.

...