TAP TAP~

It was September, the height of the rainy season, and all of Celestial Sea City was shrouded in a downpour.

Inside the Martial Arts Classroom, a roar like that of an enraged lion resounded in everyone’s ears.

BANG!

Zhang Cheng shot forward and kicked the long spear from the hands of the boy in front of him.

"Look at your form! It’s weak and flimsy! A spear thrust should be a straight line. Where’s your line? Even my eighty-year-old grandmother thrusts a spear with a steadier hand than you!"

"In the future, you’ll be taking this Spear Technique to the battlefield to fight Calamity Beasts."

"The slightest mistake could cost you your life."

"Your Spear Technique must be fast, precise, and ruthless. Every single move must be perfect."

"Practice the Basic Spear Skill another ten times, then practice the Rock Gun Skill."

Having been thoroughly chewed out, the boy’s head was spinning. As a genius, he had never been berated like this before. He glared at Zhang Cheng, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhang Cheng cracked a grin.

"You want to take a swing at me? Go ahead!"

CRACK! CRACK!

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng began to loosen his limbs. A ferocious aura, like that of a great lion, erupted from him.

At the sight of this, the fire in the boy’s eyes vanished, replaced by clarity. He silently resumed his practice with the long spear, starting with the Basic Spear Skill.

Zhang Cheng scanned the room and bellowed, his voice booming like a great bell:

"What are you all looking at me for? Get back to training."

The gawking students immediately and obediently returned to practicing with their weapons.

Zhang Cheng moved on to a new target, unleashing another torrent of blunt instruction.

After correcting a few more students, he paced around the Martial Arts Room and said:

"If you don’t like my teaching style, that’s fine. Tell me, and you can go train on your own. I won’t say a thing."

"But since you’ve chosen to accept my instruction, you’re going to see it through."

"For a Martial Artist to improve their strength, self-discipline alone isn’t enough."

"You need someone to provoke you, to guide you, to draw out all of your potential and force you to unleash it."

"I guarantee that if you can endure this, a year from now, you will have absolutely no regrets. You may hate me now, but one day, you will thank me."

Lin Qi and Jiangtao, practicing in separate areas, listened to Zhang Cheng’s speech while putting all their effort into the Secret Manuals they held.

Lin Qi mused to himself, ’Teacher Zhang’s teaching style really is extraordinary.’

On the first day, everyone had assumed Zhang Cheng was no different from an ordinary teacher.

But on the second day, Zhang Cheng had unleashed his true nature, letting everyone experience his unique teaching style firsthand.

And it had to be said, the benefits of this style were also extremely obvious.

The improvements to their Martial Arts were undeniable.

SWOOSH~

Just as Lin Qi was lost in thought, a powerful sense of danger washed over him.

He glanced over just in time to see a cold glint of light streaking toward him.

It was Zhang Cheng, thrusting a spear one-handed from the side. It cut through the air with a whistling sound.

CLANG! CLANG!

Lin Qi immediately swung his long spear, weaving a defensive circle to block as he retreated.

Horizontal Block!

"Quick reflexes!"

Zhang Cheng complimented him, then continued his assault with the long spear.

"There are three stages to learning a new Spear Technique."

"The first stage is being able to execute the Spear Technique with proficiency."

"The second stage is to have practiced every single technique to proficiency, enabling you to use them in combat."

"The third stage is to comprehend its three great Killing Techniques."

"Lin Qi, you have already passed the proficiency stage and can now apply the Spear Technique in combat."

CLANG!

A tyrannical force traveled up the shaft of the long spear and into Lin Qi’s arms, making them go numb and forcing him to stumble backward uncontrollably.

Zhang Cheng watched Lin Qi with a satisfied expression. He had been paying close attention to him lately and could clearly sense his rapid, explosive progress.

He possessed extraordinary potential. A truly promising talent.

’It’s a good thing I came,’ Zhang Cheng thought. ’Otherwise, a talent like this would have been wasted.’

Nearby, some students began to whisper among themselves.

"Why do you think Teacher Zhang is paying so much attention to that Lin Qi guy? Is his Talent that good?"

"Good? What’s so good about him? He’s probably just getting special treatment because his family’s poor," Yang Lei remarked sourly from the side.

...

「That Evening」

Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, Martial Arts Room A-128

The sound of the rain was completely muffled. Two figures in protective suits clashed, their fists colliding in a flurry of blows. They seemed to be evenly matched.

BAM! POW! POW!!

After their fierce Tiger Claw attacks collided several more times, both combatants fell back a few steps.

Guo Heng took off his helmet, panting heavily as he spoke:

"Let’s stop!"

"I’m exhausted. Lin Qi, you’re getting stronger and stronger. Short of a real battle, I don’t think I can do much against you anymore."

Lin Qi took off his helmet as well. He was drenched in sweat, but his expression remained placid.

"Young Master Guo, are we not practicing with weapons?"

Guo Heng walked to a corner, flopped onto a stool, and grabbed a sports drink, which he began to chug.

GLUG, GLUG, GLUG~

A few seconds later, the sports drink was gone, leaving only an empty bottle.

"Phew~"

"Don’t call me Young Master Guo. Call me Aheng."

"There’s no rush. I have a hard time holding back, especially when I use a weapon."

"I’m afraid I’d accidentally injure you and delay your Martial Arts Cultivation. Sparring partners like you are hard to find. If you both ran off, that would be a huge loss for me."

Guo Heng slowly explained his reasoning.

Lin Qi nodded. Though he’d only met Guo Heng a few times, their relationship had developed very quickly.

It was as if they were already friends.

He was well aware of why a genius like Guo Heng was willing to befriend him and Jiangtao.

It was entirely because he and Jiangtao were geniuses as well. They had good Talent, which was the only reason Guo Heng gave them a second glance.

"Oh, right. Go get cleaned up. I’m taking you two to see something cool."

"Something cool?" Jiangtao asked, his curiosity piqued.

「A Few Minutes Later」

Guo Heng led Lin Qi and Jiangtao, now changed into their school uniforms, down a corridor inside the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo.

"Here at the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, aside from the private Martial Arts Rooms and Rehabilitation Pods, there is one other place."

A moment later, the three of them passed through the corridor and arrived at its end.

Before them stood a massive metal door, twice the size of the entrance to an ordinary Martial Arts Room. A steady stream of people flowed in and out.

Lin Qi and Jiangtao followed Guo Heng inside, only to find themselves in a vast, extremely open space.

Lin Qi was secretly astonished. ’This place is huge,’ he thought, ’even bigger than the Martial Arts Classroom at No. 2 Middle School.’

Then, what came into view were rows upon rows of massive, silver-white machines. Each one resembled an oval-shaped egg embedded within a cube.

They were much larger than the standard Rehabilitation Pods, and a metal prism stood beside each machine.

"Is this... a Holographic Virtual Cabin?" Jiangtao said, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"That’s right," Guo Heng confirmed with a nod.

"The Holographic Virtual Cabin. They say it can simulate over ninety percent of the human body’s sensations, allowing us to neurally link to a virtual headset and have truly realistic tactile feedback and experiences."

"In real-world combat, it’s easy to get injured, and you can’t use your full strength. But in the Virtual World, it’s completely different. You can go all out in a fight, even engage in lethal combat."

"I’ve only ever seen them on the news," Jiangtao said, his expression filled with excitement.

"Taozi’s right," Guo Heng interjected.

Lin Qi appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was also staring at the Holographic Virtual Cabins with intense curiosity.

"Virtual technology has made enormous breakthroughs in recent years."

"The Holographic Virtual Cabin is the masterpiece of that technology, allowing us to enter the Virtual World to hone our Martial Arts Skills."

"Does that mean you can play holographic games in them, too?" Jiangtao suddenly asked.

A slight smirk played on Guo Heng’s lips. He said:

"Of course. And let me tell you, holographic games are unbelievably awesome to play. It’s beyond anything you can imagine."

Guo Heng’s words sent Jiangtao’s imagination running wild.

"But playing games is just for relaxing after you’re done training."

Guo Heng said, starting to walk deeper into the room.

"Brother Heng, you’re here!"

More than one person smiled and called out a greeting when they saw Guo Heng.

Guo Heng returned their greetings with practiced ease.

Soon, the three of them came to a stop in front of one of the Holographic Virtual Cabins.

"I brought you here today to give you a taste of competition in the Virtual World."

...