Chapter 34: Monthly Exam

Chapter 34: The Monthly Exam

The night had grown deep.

The dormitory area of Qiming First Martial Arts High School had shed the clamor of the day, sinking into a tranquil stillness.

The lake’s surface mirrored the dark purple moon hanging in the sky, shimmering with ripples like a flowing black satin strewn with crushed diamonds.

In the living room of Dormitory 402, only the low hum of the energy circulation system murmured softly.

Qin Feng sat in his room, the pale blue light cast by the desk lamp illuminating his calm and resolute face.

On the other end of the light screen was his father, Qin Dahai, with that familiar and warm countenance.

“Dad.”

Qin Feng’s voice carried a hint of youthful, barely suppressed excitement. “I’ve made great progress this month.”

He did not mention that bloody battle that had nearly drained him, nor the desolation of Gamma-7 and the ferocity of the greenskins.

Speaking of such things would only add to his father’s worries, thousands of miles away.

Instead, he selectively shared the strides he had made over the past month.

“My vitality index—just measured today—has reached 3.01. I’ve also learned a combat technique called the ‘Thousand Army Spear.’ I’ve nearly mastered it, and my teacher says I have good insight.”

“3.01?”

On the other end of the call, Qin Dahai’s hand, which had been wiping his old military saber, suddenly froze.

He lifted his head, and his usually calm eyes instantly burst with a joy he could hardly contain.

“Good! Excellent!”

He repeated the word “good” twice, his voice steadier than when he had heard the 1.23 last time, but the heartfelt delight was no less intense. “In just one month, you’re almost catching up to those geniuses raised on resources since childhood. I knew it—my son is the best!”

He gazed at his son on the light screen. That face, still bearing a trace of youthful innocence, had gained a rock-like steadiness and resolve after the baptism of blood and fire.

Qin Dahai had been to the battlefield.

So…

He could tell at a glance that Qin Feng had taken lives.

And not just a few.

Only those who had faced life and death carried that subtle, elusive aura.

Qin Dahai’s heart tightened.

But he also knew that the path of a martial artist was fraught with bloodshed and peril. For his son to experience killing at school was, in fact, a good thing—far better than becoming a hothouse flower.

Since he had chosen the path of a martial artist, the earlier he faced slaughter, the better!

“Tomorrow’s the monthly exam. Don’t put pressure on yourself. Just perform normally.”

Qin Dahai comforted him softly. “Son, I’m proud of you.”

“Mm, I know.”

Qin Feng nodded, then shifted the topic. “Dad, how are you and Uncle doing lately? Is work going smoothly?”

At this, Qin Dahai’s face broke into a genuine, relaxed smile.

“Good, very good.”

His voice carried a hint of emotion he himself hadn’t noticed. “Thanks to you, your uncle and I are both much more at ease now.”

“I’ve been transferred to the Logistics Management Department as director. No more dealing with those alien beast carcasses on the front lines. Now I just review reports and sign documents. The work isn’t hard, and the pay is good.”

“As for your uncle, he’s hit the jackpot.”

Qin Dahai’s smile widened. “The factory took a liking to him and directly transferred him to the Power Armor Design Department as an assistant. Now he’s following an old master, learning ‘Advanced Power Armor Structural Mechanics’ day and night. He doesn’t even have time to call me. He said that in a few months, he’ll take the exam for a senior technician’s license. If he passes, his monthly salary could reach a hundred thousand imperial credits!”

A hundred thousand imperial credits!

That number startled even Qin Feng.

It was almost equivalent to a typical middle-class family’s entire annual income.

“That’s great.”

A sincere smile spread across Qin Feng’s face.

Knowing his family was doing well allowed him to pursue the path of a strong one, toward the stars and the sea, without any lingering worries.

The father and son chatted a bit more about everyday matters, reminding each other to take care of their health, before ending the call.

The room fell silent once more.

Qin Feng glanced at the electronic clock on the wall. There was still half an hour before the nine o’clock rest time.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned off the light, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and began his unshakable daily practice of mental cultivation.

The *Imperial Meditation Method*.

He skillfully emptied his thoughts, and in the dark world of his mind, he began to visualize the Eternal Emperor, clad in golden battle armor, reigning over the universe.

That familiar, vast, and abyssal supreme majesty descended once again.

Qin Feng steadied his mind, using his will—tempered over the past month into something far more resilient—to resist and to hone himself.

This process was silent, yet perilously intense.

Each confrontation felt like a brutal mental tug-of-war, draining immense energy.

Half an hour later, when he slowly opened his eyes, he felt a hollow emptiness in his spirit, as if he had just run a ten-thousand-meter race, utterly exhausted.

He called up the panel.

【Imperial Meditation Method (Not Yet Initiated)】

【Proficiency: 9/10】

The proficiency remained at nine, still one step short of initiation.

Over the past month of practicing the *Imperial Meditation Method*, the growth in proficiency had been as slow as a turtle’s crawl.

Unlike body-forging techniques and combat methods, which yielded clear returns with enough sweat and effort, mental cultivation was more like a grinding process—requiring daily persistence and that elusive spark of insight.

But Qin Feng was not discouraged.

The harder the road, the more magnificent the view at its end.

The *Imperial Meditation Method*, a foundational art named after the empire’s supreme being, could not possibly be so simple in its true power.

He dismissed the panel, stopped overthinking, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

The fatigue of body and mind intertwined, and soon, he fell into a deep sleep. ……

The next morning, at exactly five o’clock.

The sky was still a deep, inky blue. The brilliant lights of Qiming’s core district traced a golden outline on the distant horizon.

Qin Feng’s biological clock woke him from slumber with pinpoint precision.

He rose silently, washed up, and changed into his training clothes.

The whole process flowed like moving clouds and flowing water, without making a single superfluous sound.

When he knocked on the bedroom doors of Qian Duoduomin and Shi Potian, the two opened their doors at almost the exact same moment.

After a month of blending together, the tiny three-person group of Dormitory 402 had already formed a tacit understanding that required no words.

The three walked out of the dormitory building together, heading toward the teaching building of Block 7 in District C.

The campus in the early morning was even quieter than usual.

Perhaps it was because yesterday's bloody battle had consumed too much energy, or perhaps it was because today was the first monthly exam, requiring them to rest and build up their strength.

When they arrived at the massive martial arts room of Class Three, Grade One, they found it emptier than any previous morning.

On the vast ground, besides the three of them, there were only three or four other figures drenching themselves in sweat within their respective areas.

Those near-ten figures who had once appeared here with them on the very first morning were absent today.

Perseverance is always the simplest and most difficult word on the path of martial arts.

Persevering for a day, a week, a month, many people can do it.

But to achieve constancy, decades as if a single day, regardless of wind