Chapter 22: The Path of Martial Arts

At this moment, Xia Yu stared blankly, as if frozen in time.

In her eyes, Shi Yu’s silhouette was gently rimmed with a golden halo by the setting sun, radiating a soft light. The boy’s smile was full of warmth. Drawn in by that smile, Xia Yu involuntarily gripped the hand he extended; it was warm as well. With a gentle tug from Shi Yu, she stood back up. Beneath the sunset, the two stood side by side.

"Thank you..." she whispered.

...

Outside the school campus, a middle-aged driver sat quietly in a sports car. His gaze pierced through the window and the hollow iron railings, landing on the pair of teenagers on the playground.

"The young miss actually took the initiative to go talk to a boy, and even took a photo?"
"They’ve started walking around the playground."
"Looks like they're chatting."
"The young miss suddenly squatted down, and the boy did too."

The driver outside the wall was watching the gossip with great interest, nearly reaching for a pair of binoculars.

"This boy by the young miss's side..."
"He seems to have a good relationship with her."
"I've never seen the young miss stand so close to a boy her own age before."

The driver pondered for a moment, pulled out his phone, and snapped a photo. He then opened his messaging app, clicked on a pinned contact, and prepared to send it. His finger hesitated for a moment, and he looked back at the school playground. The backs of the two teenagers gradually faded into the distance under the slanting sun. The driver heaved a long sigh. He pulled back his finger and did not send the photo.

"The young miss has to grow up eventually."

...

After school, Shi Yu said goodbye to Xia Yu and watched as she drove away. Before the car pulled away, the driver in the front seat seemed to deliberately glance back at him. As usual, Shi Yu chose to jog home.

Just as he reached the front door, his little sister, Bai Yue, heard his footsteps and rushed out of her room like a happy little bird.

"Brother! My classmates and I have planned to go to Yuelu Mountain tomorrow. Will you come with us?" She looked up at him full of anticipation, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Bai Yue had just finished her middle school entrance exams and was currently enjoying the most carefree days of her summer vacation.

Before Shi Yu could answer, Sun Lan walked out from the kitchen. It was Friday, and since she had returned early, Shi Yu didn't need to cook dinner. She frowned and said, "There are so many places to go; why must you go to Yuelu Mountain?"

"Oh, Mom!" Bai Yue grabbed Sun Lan's hand and shook it incessantly. "Yuelu Mountain has been reopened for over a year now; it’s been safe for a long time!"

Standing to the side, Shi Yu knew what Aunt Lan was worried about. Over a decade ago, Star City had suffered a large-scale invasion by creatures from another world, and Yuelu Mountain was no exception. Because the mountain sat at the center of a space where the two worlds intersected, even after the situation in the city had calmed down, creatures from the other world would still occasionally burst through the barrier, leading to constant battles. This state of affairs lasted for a long time, keeping the mountain closed for years. It wasn't until last year that the area was announced to be fully renovated and reopened to the public, complete with a new museum housing various artifacts from the war between the two worlds. Bai Yue had been wanting to go, but the pressure of her entrance exams had delayed her until now.

"Yuelu Mountain, huh... Alright, I'll go with you."

After some thought, Shi Yu agreed. He had an idea: it was rumored that practicing the "Five Mountains Gathering Essence Technique" was faster in the mountains. He wanted to test it out at Yuelu Mountain to see how it compared to the training speed in the school's martial arts hall. Only by experiencing it firsthand could he truly know. If Yuelu Mountain didn't work out, he would wait until he entered the "Journey to the West" simulation on Sunday and try it at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit!

After dinner, Shi Yu packed his things. He planned to head to the school’s martial arts hall to set up camp and devote himself entirely to his training. A true genius relies on 1% talent, but even more so on 99% sweat. Talent is important, but hard work is absolutely indispensable.

He had another reason for choosing the martial arts hall: it would give his little sister her own independent space. For as long as he could remember, Bai Yue had shared a room with Aunt Lan, leaving the other separate room for him. Now that his sister was growing up and entering high school, she deserved her own space to rest and study. Shi Yu had thought it through: he would sleep in the martial arts hall during his senior year, and by the time he was in university, he would be in a dorm. With his martial arts talent, he should be able to afford a spacious house for Aunt Lan and his sister by the time he graduated. In his heart, these were things he ought to do. Aunt Lan had not given birth to him, yet she had raised him. How could he repay that? There was no way to fully repay it, other than by pouring his heart into it.

Before he left, Sun Lan insisted on stuffing a few cartons of milk into his bag, urging him to drink one every day. Shi Yu was left between laughter and tears, but he nodded in promise. He confirmed with his sister that they would meet at the foot of Yuelu Mountain at ten the next morning.

...

Night fell like a black curtain over the sky, but the lights in the school's martial arts hall remained bright. A surprising number of students were working hard at their training; at a glance, Shi Yu saw that most of them were students moving from their second to third year of high school. Those whose family conditions were not ideal would come to the school hall to train, as the presence of "Huiyuan" sunstones there guaranteed a certain level of progress. The school hall, along with various public martial arts facilities in the neighborhoods, provided a baseline for the training needs of underprivileged martial artists.

Among the crowd, Shi Yu naturally spotted his classmate, Li Luo. His family background was also average, and he had clearly been training in the hall for quite some time. After observing for a moment, Shi Yu didn't disturb him and went straight into his own private training room to begin his practice.

The essence of heaven and earth began to gather, as if drawn to a magnet, and Shi Yu quickly pulled it into his body.

One cycle! Two cycles! The essence flowed rapidly through his meridians, clearing paths and eventually converging in his Dantian.

[Host's realm improvement: Essence-Gathering Realm, Second Layer progress increased from 71% to 72%]
[Host's realm improvement: Essence-Gathering Realm, Second Layer progress increased from 72% to 73%]

After about two and a half hours of training, Shi Yu's Dantian gave a slight tremor!

[Host's realm has improved to the Second Layer of the Essence-Gathering Realm!]
[Host's Spirit level has increased to 14.1!]
[Host's Physique level has increased to 16.6!]

Shi Yu slowly opened his eyes; they shone like morning stars, with faint golden light flickering in their depths. He had only received the cultivation technique yesterday morning, and by tonight, he had already reached the second level of the Essence-Gathering Realm! Less than two full days had passed, and this was achieved despite having to attend classes and dealing with various interruptions during the day.

At this moment, his punch power had reached 3,486 kilograms! Just two days ago, it had been 2,800 kilograms. In just a short period of practice, his power had surged by about 25%! This was the astonishing effect of a high-level physique combined with high-speed training.

Keep training! Push through in one go! Shi Yu closed his eyes and began to circulate the third layer of the "Five Mountains Gathering Essence Technique."

...

On the other side of the city, in a villa beside a quiet lake, the lights were blazing, looking like a lighthouse in the night. In the second-floor study, a stern-faced middle-aged man was busy handling documents.

Xia Yu stood quietly in front of the desk, biting her lips for a long time. Finally, after the clock struck several times, the man looked up. His face bore a slight resemblance to Xia Yuan.

"Have you thought it through? Walking this path will be very difficult!"
"I know."

Xia Yu’s gaze met the man’s, and this time, she did not shrink away as she had in the past. "I will walk the path of martial arts to the very end!"

The man leaned back in his chair, looking at her deeply. "I will give you one year."

"If you can make it onto the Earth Ranking in the college entrance exams a year from now," the man said in a deep voice, "then you may choose your own path freely! The Xia family will certainly help you step into the realm of the extraordinary!"