Chapter 76: Astonishing Progress

Chapter 76: Astonishing Progress

Having ended the conversation, Qin Feng lay quietly in bed.

He knew that things were far from as lightly described by his father.

Being squeezed in meant that his uncle’s family would have to crowd into his already cramped home for an even longer time, and it might not even be a simple squeeze—if it were, his uncle wouldn’t be so anxious.

An invisible pressure, intertwined with a stronger, more urgent desire to grow stronger, churned within him.

Only by becoming strong enough could he gain enough say, so that his family would no longer worry about such matters.

Just as when he was admitted to Qiming First High, someone immediately promoted his father and uncle.

He had to become stronger and stronger!

Qin Feng took a deep breath, cast aside distractions, and opened his personal data panel.

This was the fruit of twenty days of arduous training.

【Name】: Qin Feng

【Vitality Index】: 14.03

【Martial Rank】: Second-Class Martial Artist

【Cultivation Method】:

Intermediate Imperial Body-Tempering Art (Mastered)

【Proficiency】: 120 / 1000

【Note】: When the Intermediate Imperial Body-Tempering Art reaches Perfection, you will undergo your first 【Life Evolution】.

Imperial Meditation Art (Initiate)

【Proficiency】: 22 / 100

【Effect】: Nail of Favor x1: Your speed in cultivating the meditation art receives a slight boost.

【Combat Art】:

Thousand-Army Spear (Great Achievement)

【Proficiency】: 5011 / 10000

【Effect】: At the current stage, your comprehension in spear techniques is moderately enhanced.

【Mastered Killing Moves】: Thousand-Army Breaker, Flowing Light Chasing Shadow, Thousand-Army Guard

【Merit Points】: 130

【Imperial Arena Data】:

【ID】: Qin

【Rank】: First Tier

【Points】: 253

【Match Record】: 324 Wins, 264 Losses

Looking at this brand-new panel, Qin Feng began to silently analyze his progress.

First, the improvement in his physical body.

His Vitality Index had reached an astonishing 14.03.

Over these twenty days, he had devoted almost all his time and energy to cultivating the Intermediate Imperial Body-Tempering Art, coupled with more abundant resources than last month. Such a pace of progress was worthy of the sweat he had shed.

This data was undoubtedly top-tier among all freshmen.

His punching power had reached 7931 kg;

His hundred-meter speed had soared to 39.2 m/s.

Second, the combat art Thousand-Army Spear.

The three killing moves—Thousand-Army Breaker for offense, Flowing Light Chasing Shadow for speed, and Thousand-Army Guard for defense—were now fully mastered by him.

Now, he was balanced in both offense and defense, with no obvious weaknesses.

Next came the painstaking work of gradually stacking proficiency to perfection—this could not be rushed.

Over these twenty days, he had played two hundred official ranked matches, maintaining a win rate of around 55%, and his points had steadily risen to 253 in the first tier.

As for the Imperial Meditation Art, he occasionally increased its proficiency by a little. Though slow, the effect was tangible.

The growth of his mental strength was mysterious and profound—he himself could not articulate it clearly.

But he could distinctly feel that his spirit was getting better and better; his memory, thinking ability, and analytical judgment of battle situations had all greatly improved.

This was the foundation that allowed him to quickly adapt to the brutal competition of sophomore year.

"With strength like this, even if there are monsters, I should be able to make it into the top ten of the freshman tournament," he thought. "The top ten rewards 500 merit points, and then after completing a few more practical class missions..."

"The B-level contract will soon be within reach."

Qin Feng mused like this.

After half an hour of meditation, he fell into a deep sleep.

The night passed without incident.

——

The next morning.

Sunlight pierced through the energy shield above Qiming First High, spilling before the majestic Beimian Tower.

This building, named after a section of the Empire’s Starry Sky Great Wall, was one of the school’s landmarks. The vast square in front of it was now crowded with people.

Qin Feng, along with Shi Potian and Qian Duoduo, arrived at the assembly point on time.

On the square, thousands of students had gathered. They were clearly divided into three zones according to their grade, yet all maintained a solemn silence, with only a very low murmur flowing through the crowd.

"Brother Qin! Over here!"

A loud voice rang out.

Qin Feng followed the sound and saw the burly Tie Lin.

He was waving excitedly, with several other classmates from Class Three of the freshman year beside him.

Tie Lin strode over quickly, his face brimming with excitement: "Brother Qin, you’re here! That ‘Coiling Stance’ you taught me last time—I practiced it for ten days back home, and I feel my spear foundation has become several times more solid!"

He eagerly shared his cultivation insights with Qin Feng. Regarding that "one-stick lesson" from before, he no longer harbored any resentment, only heartfelt gratitude and admiration.

Qin Feng smiled and exchanged a few words with him.

His gaze swept over the freshman area where Tie Lin stood.

There seemed to be quite a few, but Qin Feng roughly estimated there were only about two hundred or so.

After all, Qiming First High had enrolled a total of fifteen thousand freshmen this year, spread across nearly three hundred freshman classes.

Now, just over two months after enrollment, only these two hundred or so had reached the standard of a second-class martial artist or a C-level contract, and had the courage to sign up for the inter-school league.

On average, that was less than one per class.

In Qin Feng's perception, though these new students each exuded a sharp and vigorous aura, on the level of life force index, none of them brought him any sense of pressure.

The vast majority of them had life force indices hovering between 10.0 and 12.0.

Qin Feng's gaze then shifted to the area of the senior students nearby.

The atmosphere there was entirely different.

The second-year seniors were the most numerous, densely packed, standing at over two thousand people.

Each of them was like a drawn sword, their auras heavy and sharp.

Qin Feng spotted a familiar figure in the crowd at a glance—Sun He.

And in his perception, in this area, the life force fluctuations of everyone were almost never lower than Sun He's.

They were powerful auras like surging rivers, each person's life force index firmly above 18.0.

At the very front of the senior student area stood only a small cluster of people.

There were just over a dozen of them, yet they were like an insurmountable mountain range, suppressing the aura of the thousands of underclassmen behind them.

They were the third-year students.

They merely stood there quietly, without deliberately emitting their auras, but the life force fluctuations, vast and profound like an abyss, sent a shiver through Qin Feng's heart.

Each of them had a life force index reaching 30.0.

These seniors aimed to seize the position of Qiming Star!

Some had even approached 30.0 last year but had deliberately not applied for graduation, not learning higher killing techniques to temper their bodies, all to wait for this competition and seize the title of Qiming Star!

(End of this chapter)