Martial arts ascend to the gods

Chapter 1 Zhou Leng
The setting sun, two pieces in total, hangs high in the sky, illuminating the Yangtze River.

The north bank of the Yangtze River lies like a city.

The red running track of the martial arts playground of No. 8 Middle School surrounds the green space, and the students of Class 3 of Grade 3 gather together.

"Check the timer, press the start button, press it again when your energy runs out... ready... luck... go!"

Following the order from the martial arts committee member, ten students rushed out like sharp arrows and ran at full speed along the ten tracks.

"Come on!" some students shouted loudly.

Zhou Leng and his classmates, with whom he usually had a good relationship, warmed up while slowly approaching the starting line as part of the second group.

“They all run pretty fast.”

"However, the luck run does not test speed, but the endurance of true energy. The more true energy you have, the longer the luck run lasts, and the higher the score."

"Xu Qingjin is worthy of being the representative of the physical training class. He is probably the best among the ten people."

"Xu Qingjin's luck running record has long been broken by 4 and a half minutes. What was the exact time?"

"4 minutes and 32 seconds." Zhou Leng said.

"If you hadn't encountered the devil and injured your body, it would probably be around this time now." Hu Yi said.

Several classmates looked at Zhou Leng with a hint of sympathy in their eyes.

Zhou Leng looked at the green wristband on his left wrist and shook his head, "I can't do that."

Three minutes later, the students who were running for luck slowed down one after another and raised the timer to count.

"Huh... I'm 3:12."

"Is this possible? How come you can't even make it past three and a half points?"

The classmate rolled his eyes at his friend, walked over breathlessly, and handed the timer to Hu Yi who was at the edge.

Afterwards, the students who were doing the luck run finished one after another, reported their numbers, and the martial arts committee member recorded the time one by one.

"4 minutes and 39 seconds." Xu Qingjin's clear voice rang out.

"666..."

"First place is stable."

A group of classmates looked at the blushing girl in school uniform with envy. She was wearing a white short-sleeved top and blue shorts.

Her slightly chubby face was all smiles, her bangs were parted into two pieces, and the ponytail behind her head was still swaying gently.

"Zhou Leng," Xu Qingjin came over and handed over the timer with his right hand, "Don't try too hard, your health is important."

Zhou Leng nodded and took the timer.

"Get ready." Martial Arts Committee member Mo Hai said.

Zhou Leng walked to the starting line with his classmates, gently shaking his legs.

"……luck……"

Take a deep breath, practice the Xuanchao Jue, and the true energy rises from the Dantian in the abdomen and flows to the legs.

"run!"

At the command, press the timer and rush out of the starting line.

The two feet stepped on the ground, making a dull thud.

The wind whistled in my ears.

Zhou Leng was concentrating, his eyes were clear, his face was getting redder and redder, and sweat was slowly flowing from his forehead.

His chest rose and fell more and more, his face became redder and redder, and finally, his body suddenly slowed down and pressed the timer.

He walked, breathing heavily, and looked at the timer.

Zhou Leng raised the timer and said, "3 minutes and 9 seconds."

Leaving the runway, my legs trembled slightly.

Mo Hai, the martial arts committee member, glanced at the record book in his hand and said, "Not bad, it has improved by another 2 seconds!"

"Come on Zhou Leng!" The eyes of Xu Qingjin and his classmates were warmer than the sun.

Zhou Leng nodded and walked forward slowly.

After calming your breathing, stand still and close your eyes.

His consciousness slowly moved downwards, and finally reached the Dantian Qi Hai area in his abdomen, sensing that there was about 30% of his true Qi left.

The true energy is still there, but the body can't hold on.

Zhou Leng took a slow, deep breath and quickly calmed down.

The doctor said last week that a full recovery would be possible in half a year at most.

He gently shook his left wrist, and the green bracelet swayed.

When the time comes, you can take off the green bracelet.

"With this body, I don't have enough points for the military academy physical exam, and I don't have enough points for the martial arts university entrance exam. I hope I can get into the martial arts school affiliated with Ruda. These are the last few days... I'll try my best!"

Zhou Leng looked at the martial arts field with a determined gaze.

"Mine is 3 minutes and 32 seconds." After Hu Yi finished speaking, he walked to the martial arts committee member, took a look at the record book, and walked over with a smile.

"You've improved your score by two seconds. Your body's recovery is visible to the naked eye," Hu Yi encouraged.

Soon, the three shifts' luck run was completed.

Ring ring ring…

The school bell rings.

The students walked towards the classroom while chatting.

At this time, the school radio sounded.

"...I wish all the senior high school students..."

"...same as in previous years...this year's No. 8 Middle School has set up a college entrance examination reward..."

The program has been broadcast repeatedly for the past month, but Zhou Leng, like most of his classmates, has not been able to arouse any interest in it.

It has nothing to do with me.

"...If you are admitted to Yunhua or Jinjing University, you will be rewarded with ten Qi-nourishing Pills, three Yuan-boosting Pills, and three Blood-cleansing Pills..."

"... Passing the exam to become one of the top ten martial artists will reward you with three Qi-nourishing pills and one Yuan-boosting pill..."

"…At the same time, we will set up a martial arts exam progress award. For every 10,000th place improvement in the city's ranking, one Qi-nourishing Pill will be awarded…"

"...The person who has made the most progress and ranks above 30,000 will be named the Progress Champion and will be awarded an additional Yuan-boosting Pill and a martial arts teaching video of his/her choice worth 1,000 points of combat merit or contribution..."

"...The literary and physical exams are over, the next one is the martial arts exam..."

Hu Yi laughed and said, "The principal and his team are really calculating. Even if a person's scores on the literature and physical exams are terrible, and his scores on the martial arts exams are great, who can improve by 30,000 in one go?"

“Maybe someone deliberately did poorly in the exam in order to win the award,” Feng Wenhao said.

"Those who have the ability to control their scores in the college entrance examination still lack this little pill? Going to a military academy or a top ten university, which one is not more valuable than these? Moreover, the difficulty of controlling scores is extremely high. If you fail to control your scores and miss out on military academy or the top ten universities, won't your whole family regret it?"

"Too."

"No one has ever received this award for the most advanced champion. First the literature test, then the physical test, and finally the martial arts test. If you are good at the martial arts test, you will also be good at the physical test. Basically, you will be ranked 30,000 in the first two tests. Then how can you move up to 30,000?"

"What if someone can advance 30,000 places?"

"The principal and his men were so happy. What does it mean to improve by 30,000 in the martial arts exam? The reputation of No. 8 Middle School will explode, and they will be proud of themselves..."

The two chatted while Zhou Leng walked forward silently, calculating the prices of various rewards in his mind.

A pill of Yangqi Pill costs ten thousand yuan, but I have never taken it since I was a child.

A pill of Buyuan Pill costs 100,000 yuan, but I took one to recuperate.

A pill of the Blood Cleansing Pill costs 120,000 yuan, and I have only seen it in the Martial Arts Mall.

"How many Qi-nourishing pills did your mother prepare for you?" Hu Yi asked Feng Wenhao.

"Starting from the second year of high school, take one pill a month. Ten days before the martial arts exam, take one pill a day. Take a supplement pill tomorrow."

"Tsk tsk, you rich guy! My family prepared three Qi-nourishing Pills for the exam. It's purely a matter of luck..." Hu Yi glanced at the silent Zhou Leng and interrupted him hastily, "Uh, how is your Qi control? In terms of Qi control, we can never be better than Zhou Leng in this lifetime..."

The students walked into the classroom one after another, and the martial arts committee member Mo Hai walked to the podium.

"Next Monday is the last day of class, and next Friday is the martial arts exam. I have discussed with the teacher and the class committee. I will lead everyone to practice together every afternoon on Saturday and Sunday this week, and from Tuesday to Thursday next week. Whoever wants to come, please come to me to sign up."

"I'll come, I'll come..."

some classmates shouted.

"Come one by one..."

Zhou Leng thought about it and signed up as well.

After registering, Zhou Leng carried his schoolbag and a net bag containing three aluminum lunch boxes.

Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao each carried four aluminum lunch boxes and left the school with Zhou Leng.

When they reached a fork in the road, the three of them separated.

Zhou Leng held his schoolbag in his left hand and his lunch box in his right hand, and looked at the road.

A red road and a blue road are located between motor vehicles and pedestrian paths.
Red is the fast track and blue is the slow track.

Zhou Leng walked to the jogging track and started running.

Most intersections have pedestrian overpasses or underground passages specially designed for martial artists, so they hardly have to wait for traffic lights along the way.

whoosh...

A blue figure suddenly passed by the red runway, bringing up a strong wind that disrupted Zhou Leng's breathing frequency.

Zhou Leng looked at the man's back. In just a few seconds, the man was hundreds of meters away.

"Nourishing Qi, Circulating Blood, Refining the Body, Generating Strength. This person can run over 25 meters per second. He must be at least in the Refining Body stage, or even in the Generating Strength stage..."

Zhou Leng, who was still in the Qi-recuperation stage, looked at the man's back with his eyes slightly bright.

Zhou Leng continued running, stopped at the entrance of Yulongwan Community, climbed up to the seventh floor, and walked towards 701.

The door of Room 702 was open and the sound of TV news could be heard from inside.

"...Our city's Military Security Bureau destroyed a demon worship cult base... and captured the demon servants..."

"Are you back?" A man in his fifties walked to the door. He had sparse hair, a dark red complexion, and a dull face.

"Uncle Li." Zhou Leng nodded.

"Come have dinner with me later. I made too much stew yesterday."

Zhou Leng was silent for two seconds before he said, "I have some grains soaked in the rice cooker, so we'll have food tonight. You can freeze them in the refrigerator and eat them over a few days."

"I'll cook now." Li Linhan glared at Zhou Leng, turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"Yeah." Zhou Leng agreed reluctantly.

This Uncle Li is an old soldier who withdrew from the West Sea Demon City. He has won two second-class individual merits. He is also my father’s old squad leader, and we have a life-long friendship.

Half a year ago, I encountered a demon and was infected with a disease spell. The state provided free treatment, but the subsequent recovery and recuperation drained out my family's savings.

Finally, Uncle Li transferred 50,000 yuan to himself.

Uncle Li said that he stewed too much meat, but in fact, he made meat medicinal food just like before.

I smelled it last night.

Zhou Leng pressed his thumb on the fingerprint lock, but the smart door lock did not respond.

Take out the key, open the door and enter.

I changed my shoes and walked into the living room. The house was empty under the sunset.

It was unnervingly quiet.

I rarely go home so early.

Zhou Leng likes to go home later.

His eyes swept across the electronic photo album on the cabinet next to the TV.

A woman was sitting with a small child in her arms, and two men were standing behind the chairs.

The older man was 50% similar to Zhou Leng, and the younger man was 30% similar to the woman, with a childish look on his face, and he was about the same age as Zhou Leng now.

The four of them laughed together.

Zhou Leng walked to the kitchen and changed the cooking time of the rice cooker to tomorrow morning.

Go into the master bedroom bathroom and take off your clothes.

After a while, the sound of running water came from the master bedroom bathroom.

The sound of running water stopped, and Zhou Leng, covered in water droplets, walked to the hazy mirror, took a deep breath, and circulated his true energy.

The skin all over the body trembled slightly, and streams of water flowed down from the top of the head, attracting the water droplets on the body along the way, converging downwards, and flowing to the soles of the feet. In just a few seconds, the water droplets on the body dried up, and the hair was dry and as new.

The true Qi is slightly accomplished and close to the skin.

"Beginner, proficient, master, minor success, major success, perfection. Only when you reach the perfect level can you breathe out of your skin, cover your body in a round shape, and feel like exhaling air, blowing away all the water in your body and filling the whole room with explosions..."

Zhou Leng thought about it, left the master bedroom, put on his clothes, took his cell phone and keys, and walked into room 702 opposite.

"Uncle, I'm here."

Zhou Leng put on slippers and looked around the house.

The layout is the same as my own home, with a living room, a master bedroom, a second bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen.

On one side of the wall, there is an old-fashioned photo frame with wood grain edges.

The photo shows Uncle Li’s family of five.

Uncle Li, Aunt Li, eldest brother, second sister, third brother.

The news was still on TV.

"...After years of hard work, the Collaborative Medical University has developed a new type of external body-building medicine..."

Zhou Leng stood outside the kitchen door while Li Linhan was busy in the kitchen.

Li Linhan doesn't like others to help him cook, even though his left hand is not flexible.

Zhou Leng looked at Li Linhan's stiff left arm and left hand, which were wrapped in gloves, and the characteristics of the mechanical arm were very obvious.

This arm was rewarded with a second-class merit.

While Li Linhan was busy, he said, "The company is a bit chaotic lately, you should stay away from it."

"Has the young and strong faction not finished its work yet?"

"Some say it will take at least half a year, but we're not sure. When the core group came to power, they gave the old guard a big piece of the pie. Now there's even less pie, and the young and strong group may very well cut into us and the branch."

"I've heard that they're going to increase the amount of money that branches have to pay. Is that true?"

"I talked to Lao Liu and others a few days ago. We all have similar views. The top is spreading the word to see the reaction below."

"Then we will have to live a hard life again. I hope the income of workers like us will not be reduced."

Zhou Leng's brows frowned and then relaxed.

In addition to normal study and training, Zhou Leng worked part-time as a student in Kaituo Company, cutting up monster corpses.

On average, I can receive about 1,000 yuan per month.

With the monthly subsidy of more than one thousand yuan from the government, Zhou Leng now has an income of more than two thousand yuan a month.

In recent years, prices have skyrocketed, and inflation has been particularly severe. The cheapest duck breast costs more than 10 yuan. This income is more than enough for daily food and drink, but it is far from enough for cultivation.

An ordinary meat-based medicinal meal costs more than a thousand yuan.

The cheapest medicine is the Qi-nourishing Pill, which costs ten thousand per pill.

So far, I have only eaten medicinal meat meals at Uncle Li’s house, and they were all leftovers from the Kaituo Company.

The biggest problem is that after the college entrance examination this month, the state will stop issuing subsidies next month.

"Here I come." Li Linhan walked out with a large casserole in both hands, and Zhou Leng hurriedly made way.

Li Linhan opened the lid of the pot, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he said, "Let's eat."

The strong aroma of meat and medicine mixed with a faint fishy smell spread in the room along with the thick white steam.

Zhou Leng's throat rolled, he swallowed, and went to get the bowl and chopsticks.

Soon, the two sat at the dining table.

A casserole of medicinal meat, a small pot of braised pork, a plate of blanched broccoli, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a rice cooker full of multi-grain rice.

"The martial arts exam is coming up soon, so you should eat more. Come here every day to eat a meat and medicinal meal until the exam is over."

Zhou Leng held the bowl and lowered his head slightly.

"Eat quickly!" Li Linhan picked up a large piece of braised pork and put it on Zhou Leng's mixed grain rice.

"Ah."

Zhou Leng took a slow, deep breath.

Li Linhan picked up a piece of broccoli and chewed it slowly.

Zhou Leng picked up a piece of meat from the medicinal meat. The white meat had black stripes on its surface. He recognized it as magic wolf meat and put it into Li Linhan's bowl.

Li Linhan's face turned cold, he stretched out his chopsticks to block the food and pushed it back, saying, "You have to finish eating by yourself, and you are not allowed to leave this door until you finish eating."

"Uncle Li..." Zhou said coldly.

Li Linhan snorted and continued eating.

Zhou Leng silently took back the chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

When the demon wolf meat enters the mouth, the first thing you smell is a strong medicinal aroma, followed by a strange meaty aroma, a combination of milky and woody aromas.

Finally, there is a faint fishy smell, which is not strong but lingers.

Chew big.

Even after being stewed overnight and softened by the medicine, it was like uncooked beef tendon and could not be chewed.

By the time he ate the fourth piece, Zhou Leng’s teeth felt sore and his cheeks felt numb. He had to use his breath to help him chew.

I'm really tired, so I changed to braised pork and some vegetables to relax.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Leng was sweating all over, as if he was eating mutton hotpot in the dog days of summer.

A faint smile appeared on Li Linhan's wrinkled brown face.

"Drink some soup. Unfortunately, I can only buy some scraps of magical beasts in the Qi and Blood Realm. I can't even buy those in the Innate Realm. As for the scraps of high-end fierce beast meat and giant dragon meat, forget it."

"It's already very good." Zhou Leng's mouth was full of meat and his speech was slurred.

"I'll stew the beef tomorrow. By the way, the city has been a bit unstable lately, so try not to go out at night."

"Are there monsters?" Zhou Leng asked.

"It is said that the masters of the Xiantian Realm fought hard for the mysterious treasure."

"What treasure?" Zhou Leng's eyes lit up.

"No news, it's all kept secret."

"Will the Grandmasters intervene?"

"It's strange, I haven't heard from the Grandmasters in the past month or two. I wonder what they've been doing."

"Third brother will soon be promoted to the Xiantian realm, right?" Zhou Leng glanced at the photo of the five members of the Li family.

"Soon. That kid was ordinary when he was young, but who would have thought that he would be the most promising one in the Li family. His innate ability, hey, I dare not even think about it."

Li Linhan couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

"Don't say he's mediocre. Among the people in the nearby community, no one can surpass the third brother except Zhang Xinglie." Zhou Leng said.

"Zhang Xinglie... that kid is incredible. Xiao San can't compare to him. Your third brother has reached the pinnacle of innate talent in this life. He is Zhang Xinglie, a master-level talent. His ancestors' graves are filled with smoke."

Zhou Leng nodded and ate.

"You are not weak actually, you were just delayed by the devil." Li Linhan said.

Zhou Leng was silent.

"In the martial arts world, besides visible talents, there are also invisible talents. I have led so many soldiers and met so many children, how could I not know this?"

"You praise too much." Zhou Leng said.

"I'm not praising you, it's... Alas, you grew up alone for so many years, and were beaten into steel. You just lacked an opportunity. You were about to become a talent, but in the end..." Li Linhan picked up another piece of meat for Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng ate in silence.

"By the way, Xiao San mailed something to you. It will arrive in the next two days."

Zhou Leng guessed that it was to help him pass the martial arts exam, and hurriedly said, "I don't want expensive things. At most, I'll eat some meat and medicinal food, otherwise I won't come."

"We'll talk about it when the time comes." Li Linhan said.

Zhou Leng felt conflicted.

Over the years, the Li family has helped me a lot.

Yes, Uncle Li is a master in the Qi and Blood Realm, he has government subsidies, warrior bonuses, and income from a development company, so he doesn't need the 50,000 yuan loan.

But he was covered in wounds and had to take medicine frequently. His third brother also wanted to be promoted to the innate level. Even if he was trained in a military academy, the resources required would be counted in tens of millions. It would be a bottomless pit.

"Eat quickly and practice well after eating." Li Linhan said.

Zhou Leng devoured the remaining food like whirlwind, and Li Linhan's kind smile appeared on his face again.

"I'm leaving." Zhou Leng walked towards home.

"Don't forget to use your internal energy to digest the meat-based medicinal food." Li Linhan instructed.

"Ah."

The TV that no one is watching is still broadcasting the news.

"...the magic supergravity training inner armor jointly researched with the Demon World has made a new breakthrough, and the weight limit has been raised to 30.28 tons, breaking the..."

Only after watching Zhou Leng close the door did Li Linhan return to sit at the dining table.

He looked at the photo album silently for a long time, then turned off the TV, slowly stood up, took off the mechanical prosthesis on his left arm, and meditated to heal his wounds.

Zhou Leng walked into the house, took off all his clothes, set the alarm clock to the gradual tidal sound, and sat on the cushion in front of the sofa.

"I hope that Xuanchao Jue can be promoted to the second level of minor success."

Sit cross-legged with eyes closed, and silently recite the mantra of Xuanchao Jue in your mind.

Corresponding words appear before my eyes, forming sentences and chapters.

The heart is like a book.

"The tide rises from the primordial universe, flowing through the four seas. The river connects the nine directions, reaching the Dan Lake. The water flows into the Tianhe River..."

The moment he finished reciting the main text of Xuanchao Jue, Zhou Leng's whole body trembled slightly, as if he had been startled.

The words hanging in front of my eyes disappeared, and what replaced it was the inside of my body.

Flesh, blood, bones, tendons, qi, etc. appear before your eyes like mist and water, like a freehand Chinese painting.

The inner view is like a painting.

In the stomach, heat surges and spreads throughout the body.

Zhou Leng breathed slowly, and a stream of true energy surged out from the Dantian Qi Sea in his abdomen, with a faint sound like surging waves.

The Xuanchao true energy slowly flows through the body along the meridians.

Soon, in front of Zhou Leng's eyes, Xuan Chao's true energy appeared like dark blue lines, spreading all over his body.

The Xuanchao Qi gathered towards the stomach, pulling the heat formed by the meat and medicinal food, and slowly running along the path of the Xuanchao Jue.

After the heat from the meat medicinal food and the Xuanchao true qi run through a cycle, they gradually merge.

The skin becomes red and the whole body sweats.

After a while, the abdomen slowly bulged like a balloon, or like a pregnant woman in four or five months' pregnancy.

Under the bulging skin, there are dense and hideous blue and red blood vessels.

The sound of the tide in the stomach intensified.

After a dozen seconds, the abdomen slowly contracts and returns to normal.

After a while, the abdomen bulged again, then slowly shrank back, repeating this cycle over and over again.

Every time the abdomen bulges, the sound of the Qi tide grows louder.

Forty-nine times, the abdomen returns to calm.

The sound of the true energy at this moment roared in Zhou Leng's ears, like a windy seashore.

The Xuanchao Jue was ordinary at first, but it accumulated layer by layer until the end, when it was like a tsunami, fierce and violent.

After more than ten seconds, Zhou Leng slowly exhaled.

A very light wisp of white air flew out of the nose.

Zhou Leng opened his eyes, looked at his red skin and sweaty body, walked to the bathroom, his body trembled, and water droplets fell.

There was no trace of joy on his face.

Xuanchao's true Qi has increased a little bit, but it still remains at the first level of minor success.

Since being injured by the devil half a year ago, he has made no progress.

(End of this chapter)