High-level martial arts: Starting with a heart of steel, stats crush everything.

A large hand lifted Chen Mo directly into the courtyard, and Gu Feng and the others were subsequently lifted in as well.

"Little Liu Yun, go and prepare some snacks for us men to go with our drinks, not vegetarian dishes!"

After ordering the food, Principal Shi closed the courtyard gate, leaving Liu Yun, who had a wry smile on her face, to go buy the groceries.

Inside the courtyard, Chen Mo and the others sat around a stone table in the bluestone pavilion. Principal Shi chuckled and pulled a wine jar from under a bluestone slab.

"You're Song Bin's apprentice, right?"

"Not bad, not bad, this murderous aura has the feel of that kid Song Bin."

Chen Mo only came to his senses when the smell of the strong liquor started to sting his eyes.

"Principal Shi, I remember Instructor Liu saying that your Grandmaster Essence was exhausted?"

No matter how Chen Mo looked at him, he couldn't tell that the old man in front of him was more energetic than he was.

"Yes, my Grandmaster essence has indeed been exhausted, but that doesn't mean I'm useless."

Principal Shi raised his glass and clinked it with Chen Mo's. Chen Mo, in a daze, drank half a jin of 66-proof liquor.

"It's just the essence of a Grandmaster; excessive consumption can indeed lead to depletion."

"I've only fallen back to level twelve. I just need to start accumulating Grandmaster Origin again."

"I've only exhausted my Grandmaster essence, not damaged it to the point of having to seal my blood and qi. It's only a matter of time before I become a Grandmaster again."

"Then why are you here..." Chen Mo swallowed the question as soon as it was asked. He could roughly guess why Principal Shi wanted to stay here.

It seems this burly man has a soft side too.

"I'll stay here and keep these children company."

When this topic came up, Principal Shi couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"Decades ago, the whole nation wasn't as interested in martial arts as it is now. There weren't as many martial artists back then, nor were there as many with such high talent."

"Not to mention decades ago, even martial artists from fifteen years ago did not have the same level of talent as those today."

"Back then, martial artists relied entirely on fighting; only by facing life and death could they break through their limits."

"Unlike kids these days, who can break through even if they're cooped up indoors."

"But to say it or not, that's really awesome."

"..." Chen Mo looked at the super strong man in front of him who was grieving, and he always felt that he was the one who should be grieving.

"By the way, how's your Abyss Language and basic martial arts training coming along?"

Principal Shi turned to look at the group, realizing that every old man had this habit of asking about grades.

"It's alright." As expected, Chen Mo and the others gave a very common answer.

"Well then, it's a good thing that you guys came to keep the old man company, so I can't let you come for nothing."

Principal Shi suddenly burst into laughter, and he laughed quite heartily.

"Let's arm wrestle. Whoever can last more than two seconds, I'll give them something nice."

"Although I've fallen to level twelve, I still have plenty of good stuff."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo and the others' eyes lit up.

The treasure of a former grandmaster is definitely not bad!

But then I thought, even if Principal Shi had exhausted his Grandmaster-level essence, his body was still incredibly powerful...

It seems difficult to last two seconds under his control.

"Who wants to go first?" Principal Shi raised an eyebrow, placed the wine jar on the stone table on the ground, and rested his hand on it.

Seeing that none of them had moved, Principal Shi became a little annoyed.

"Look at you guys, all you're doing is arm wrestling with this old man, what are you afraid of?"

"It's not a life-or-death battle, and besides, I'm already a level twelve martial artist. What's the harm in trying?"

"Hey, you Celestial Race kid, aren't you Celestial Race supposed to be pretty awesome?"

"Stop being a coward, come and fight me!"

"Then I'll go first!" Gu Feng rolled up his sleeves and grasped Principal Shi's hand.

He had fought with Gu Ji at home before, though he always ended up getting beaten so badly he soiled his pants.

Unlike Chen Mo and the others, he had witnessed the power of a grandmaster, so he immediately activated the qi and blood in his body with all his might.

Principal Shi grinned, his qi and blood remaining completely still, waiting for Gu Feng to exert his power.

"drink!"

Gu Feng let out a loud shout, his blood and qi surging, stirring up gusts of wind.

"Not bad, you have some strength." Principal Shi nodded in satisfaction; this child has great talent.

With his current strength, killing an eighth-level martial artist shouldn't be a problem.

In fact, Principal Shi was most interested in Chen Mo, as he had heard that Chen Mo had killed a level nine abyss beast a few days ago.

Not to mention the Ghost Armor Beast, the most troublesome of the level nine abyssal beasts.

Just from that touch on Chen Mo, Principal Shi was certain that Chen Mo was not capable of killing a level nine abyss beast.

That's not quite right. It should be said that Chen Mo was not capable of killing a level nine Ghost Armor Beast.

It wasn't that he looked down on Chen Mo, but rather that the Ghost Armor Beast's defense was too strong; even a level ten or eleven martial artist would find it troublesome.

However, apart from Chen Mo, no one else present could have killed the Ghost Armor Beast. At that time, Qiu Wushuang was fighting another Abyss Beast in the sky.

In fact, Principal Shi's judgment was correct. Even with Chen Mo's current attack power, he was unable to break through the Ghost Armor Beast's defenses.

Unfortunately, the Demon Armor Beast encountered a cheater...

Principal Shi couldn't comprehend the methods used by Chen Moqian and the Dead Ghost Beast.

Who could believe that a level six martial artist could use a powerful slam to reduce the Ghost Armor Beast to near-death...?

Despite Gu Feng's exertion, Principal Shi remained unmoved with a smile on his face, his arm seemingly cast in bronze and iron, completely unshakeable.

"Time's up. The young man's strength is not bad, but he still needs to practice."

A muffled thud signaled Gu Feng's defeat.

Yang Zuo and Ma Wanglin then tried it themselves, but neither of them could last more than two seconds.

Chen Mo glanced at Gu Feng and the other two who were clutching their arms, then rolled up his sleeves and sat down.

"Two seconds, right?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and activated Perfect Steel Skin and Perfect Steel Blood.

Attack power increased by 50% instantly, and Chen Mo's strength also received a huge boost.

"You seem very confident."

Principal Shi chuckled, looking like a playful old man.

"It's not that I'm confident, it's just that what kind of man can't even last two seconds?"

Chen Mo grinned, and his blood and qi surged instantly.

As Chen Mo grasped Principal Shi's hand and began to exert force, the bluestone pavilion instantly sank several centimeters.

"Old man, is that all?"

Veins bulged on Chen Mo's forehead, and the bluish-gray perfect steel sheet cracked open with a snap.

"You're the first kid to provoke me!"

Principal Shi really didn't expect Chen Mo to be so arrogant as to dare to provoke him.

However, Principal Shi was quite surprised by the strength Chen Mo used.

The child's body is soft yet resilient to the touch, suggesting high physical strength, but I can't sense any power.

Only after getting to know him did Principal Shi realize that this kid was indeed quite capable; no wonder he was able to enter the Great Xia Grandmaster Academy at such a young age.