I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Is it second order?

Zhong Ding was slightly taken aback, instinctively feeling that it shouldn't be. After all, he had just met Gu Yan yesterday, and at that time the other party was clearly still at the first level.

But upon further investigation, he discovered that the primordial energy within Zhong Ding's body was condensed and not dissipated, his qi was abundant, and qi was generated when his mind moved, clearly indicating that he had entered the second stage of martial arts.

He couldn't help but ask, "What level have you reached now?"

Gu Yan replied, "It's the second level, teacher."

Zhong Ding asked, "What about yesterday?"

Gu Yan said, "First level, teacher."

Zhong Ding: "..."

He suddenly wanted to say, "How can you say such an incredible thing so casually..."

A first-year liberal arts student who has already become an entry-level martial artist before even switching to martial arts is absurd enough in itself.

And now you're saying you're already at level two!?

If Gu Yan were to achieve great martial arts prowess and gain widespread fame one day, others would praise Professor Zhong for his effective teaching, making even Zhong Ding feel ashamed.

No, I really haven't taught you anything yet!

I have absolutely no idea how this disciple is progressing through levels every day, his skill level is skyrocketing uncontrollably. I'd love to know how he does it too...

Seeing that his teacher was lost in thought, Gu Yan spoke up to remind him, "Teacher, you said I should go to the study room to meet my fellow students?"

Zhong Ding snapped out of his daze, his gaze suddenly shifting as if he had something on his mind. He stood up and said, "That's right, come with me."

Gu Yan followed his teacher out of the office, through the corridor, and into the study room with the sign "508".

Pushing open the door, one sees four people inside: three men and one woman. Two of them are practicing together, one is meditating and circulating internal energy, and the other is busy at a table.

Upon seeing Zhong Ding enter, everyone stopped what they were doing and respectfully bowed, saying, "Teacher Zhong."

Zhong Ding glanced at them and said, "Is it just the few of you here?"

His question clearly indicated that Zhong Ding had more than just these few students.

One of the tall, thin boys said, "Senior Sister Su is still out running errands. Junior Brother Cheng has class and will come later this afternoon."

As he spoke, everyone's gaze turned to Gu Yan, who had followed Zhong Ding inside.

The tall, thin boy asked, "Teacher, is this the new transfer student?"

"That's right." Zhong Ding introduced, "This is Gu Yan, a freshman who transferred from the humanities department. Gu Yan, from today onwards you are also a member of our research lab, and you can use all the equipment and facilities here for free."

Gu Yan greeted them, saying, "Please give me your guidance, senior brothers and sisters."

The tall, thin boy smiled and said, "Hello, hello. My name is Lu Cheng'an, and I'm a junior in college."

The two boys behind him also greeted him; their names were Wen Baizhou and Lin Ye, both sophomores.

The girl's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "A very handsome junior brother has arrived this year. My name is Chu Yue, you can call me senior sister."

Among the crowd, Chu Yue was the most eye-catching. But to be more precise, what stood out were her long, straight legs, with neat and well-proportioned lines and a balanced figure. A short skirt that just reached her knees made her legs appear even longer and more striking.

Lu Cheng'an laughed and said, "You and your junior brother are both freshmen, how come you're now my senior sister?"

Chu Yue said, "That won't do. Everything is about first come, first served. Since a new junior brother has arrived, I will naturally be promoted to senior sister."

Gu Yan didn't mind and simply said, "Hello, Senior Sister Chu."

Chu Yue smiled, her beautiful eyes crinkling into crescent moons: "Thank you, Junior Brother. You're doing well too."

Zhong Ding spoke up, "Since you're all here, then Cheng'an, you come here. Have a spar with the new junior brother."

Everyone: "?"

Lu Cheng'an pointed to himself, looking bewildered. "Huh? Me?"

It's not surprising that he sparred with the new junior brother. Since they all belong to the same mentor's research lab, they all know each other well, which makes it convenient for them to practice together and improve their martial arts skills.

But he was a freshman, or rather, a transfer student from the humanities department, and he was competing with Lu Cheng'an, a junior.

It's important to understand that for many martial artists, university is the period of fastest growth in strength throughout their lives, and the overall gap between students in each academic year is enormous.

For example, Qin Zheng from the martial arts club, whose near-second-tier strength was already considered excellent among sophomores. But if he still had that level of skill by his junior year, he would just be another ordinary student.

Of course, there are quite a few students in Linjiang Martial Arts School who are still stuck at the first level even in their senior year. But Professor Zhong Ding is the head of the Swordsmanship Department of the Weapon Academy, and his strength is among the best in the academy. His students are always at the top level in every year.

Although Lu Cheng'an wasn't exactly a top student, he was above average in his third year of martial arts studies and had already reached the level of a second-tier martial artist. Why would the teacher arrange for him to be paired with this liberal arts freshman?

Everyone's first thought was, "Could it be that this newcomer has somehow offended Old Zhong and wants Lu Cheng'an to teach him a lesson?"

But judging from his expression, it doesn't seem like it...

After receiving confirmation from Zhong Ding that the choice was correct, Lu Cheng'an, though still somewhat bewildered, agreed.

Although he didn't know why, he made up his mind to be careful later. His junior brother must have suffered a lot to climb up from the liberal arts major, and it wasn't easy for him. It wouldn't be good if he accidentally injured or maimed him.

The others also wore strange expressions. Although no one spoke, they all clearly felt that this competition was pointless; their strengths were completely different, so what suspense could there possibly be?

Gu Yan, however, did not find anything wrong with it. He knew that Professor Zhong had discovered his breakthrough and had witnessed his skills in the assessment yesterday, so he must genuinely want to find out more about him.

Since Lu Cheng'an was specifically chosen, it means that Teacher Zhong judged that among the people present, only Lu Cheng'an could match him, nothing more.

Gu Yan said, "Then please enlighten me, Senior Brother."

Teacher Zhong only knew that Gu Yan had broken through to the second level, and his assessment of his strength was based solely on the sword strike he made against Senior Brother Qin Zheng during yesterday's assessment.

Judging his skill level from a casual sword strike is already difficult, let alone the fact that Gu Yan has learned the art of shifting the universe today, making him completely different from Gu Yan yesterday.

Therefore, Teacher Zhong judged that Lu Cheng'an could go toe-to-toe with Gu Yan, but in fact, this senior brother Lu might not be so good.

Lu Cheng'an casually grabbed his sword and strode onto the training ground. He looked up and saw Gu Yan fighting empty-handed, and asked in even greater surprise, "Junior brother, where's your sword?"

Gu Yan said, "I just passed the test yesterday and have just entered the martial arts department. I haven't had time to get a sword yet."

Gu Yan had just acquired the technique of shifting the universe, and he was quite looking forward to this opportunity to personally experience the mysteries of martial arts in reality.

He has now entered the second stage, which is called the Qi Control Realm in the game.

As the saying goes, there is an insurmountable wall between unarmed and armed combat. However, upon reaching the Qi Control Realm, one can project internal energy into fist and palm techniques, striking outwards with a single palm strike that can reach tens of feet away. No matter how long an ordinary weapon is, it cannot achieve this. Therefore, from this realm onwards, unless one is wielding a divine weapon, the disparity between unarmed and armed combat has been greatly reduced.

Furthermore, Gu Yan has already mastered the art of shifting the universe, allowing him to use his internal energy to deflect and parry enemy weapons with his bare hands. Therefore, he won't suffer much loss when unarmed against armed opponents. Thus, whether unarmed or wielding a sword is stronger depends entirely on which style of martial arts he is more proficient in.

However, in actual combat, besides his ability to manipulate the universe, Gu Yan's current signature skill is the Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons. Therefore, in theory, he is indeed stronger with a sword.

He had just learned the art of shifting the universe, and countless profound and subtle martial arts principles surged into his mind in an instant. Now that he had the opportunity to put his skills to practical use, who could resist the temptation of the trial to prove themselves?

Gu Yan's second level of Shifting the Universe has only reached the initial stage, barely enough to release internal energy and deflect force from a distance. However, his understanding of the second level is still shallow. If he holds a weapon and tries to use it as a medium to release internal energy and use the second level of Shifting the Universe to deflect and parry, his technique becomes clumsy and less effective than when he is unarmed.

Chu Yue, standing to the side, drew her own sword: "Then use mine, junior brother, take this!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister, but it's not necessary," Gu Yan said.

Now Lu Cheng'an was even more confused.

Is this junior brother planning to catch my sword bare-handed?!