High Martial Arts Era

Chapter 12: Ultimate Move 'Hidden Dragon in the Ravine'

Xu Bo and the woman in black passed by the classroom. They concealed their presence and didn't observe for long, so Li Yuan didn't notice them at all.

He was completely immersed in his training.

When studying cultural courses, Li Yuan was serious, but his mindset was more about 'completing a task,' making it difficult to achieve the highest efficiency.

However, when practicing fist techniques or marksmanship, he felt genuine joy as he experienced gradual improvements in his physical fitness and martial arts skills.

He was focused to the extreme.

To make significant progress in any endeavor, one must immerse themselves in it and truly love it from the heart.

Time passed by slowly.

Suddenly,

[Your fist technique proficiency has increased from 88% of the third level to 89% of the third level.]

[Your punching power has increased from 426 kilograms to 427 kilograms.]

[Your speed has increased from 14.4 meters per second to 14.5 meters per second.]

Three consecutive notifications appeared in Li Yuan's field of vision, and the data on his Mind Palace panel also changed.

However, being deeply immersed in his training, he didn't even notice the slight improvements in his physical fitness.

Until his smart ring watch suddenly vibrated.

"It's already 5:30? Time flies," Li Yuan thought as he was startled awake.

He was covered in sweat.

"Hmm? My physical fitness has improved again?" Li Yuan then noticed the notifications on his Divine Palace panel.

He felt increasingly satisfied.

"A little progress every day, persistently," Li Yuan thought to himself.

Since awakening his Divine Palace a year ago and learning the "Observation of the Great Sun and Star Sutra," Li Yuan found that as long as he meditated for two hours each day, enduring the hellish mental torment, his physical fatigue would be completely eliminated, better than sleep or deep therapy.

From then on, he developed the habit of arriving at school around three in the morning to train.

Even during holidays, he would find a place to train by himself in the neighborhood.

Striving to the extreme.

Only through such dedication had he achieved such rapid progress in martial arts over the past year.

Li Yuan wiped off his sweat and put away the towel.

Suddenly, he noticed something and looked back.

"Tianyou? Here so early?" Li Yuan smiled at the slender figure with a backpack.

"You came even earlier than me." Li Tianyou looked at Li Yuan with slight surprise.

"I just arrived a little while ago and just put down my bag." Li Yuan smiled as he took out his large gun. "I left yesterday's evening study session earlier than you, so I naturally have to work harder for the morning study session."

"Is that so?" Li Tianyou stared at Li Yuan, puzzled.

He had lost count of how many times this had happened.

Every time during the evening study session, he was the last to leave the classroom, earning him the nickname "King of Diligence" among his classmates.

However!!

Only Li Tianyou knew that whether he arrived at the classroom at 6:30, 6:15, or even 6:00, there was always one figure already in the classroom—Li Yuan.

Today, he deliberately arrived early at 5:40.

Li Yuan was still already in the classroom.

"Seriously!"

Not far away, Li Yuan had taken out his large gun and had already begun silently practicing his marksmanship.

"Could it be that Li Yuan arrives at school every day at 5:30 or even earlier?" Li Tianyou wondered as he watched Li Yuan.

He quickly shook his head.

Impossible!

"My home is just one street away from the school, so I live very close."

"If I arrive a little after 5:00, I feel sleepy during the day," Li Tianyou thought to himself. "To stay energetic all day, I still need to wake up at 6:15."

Li Tianyou was also highly self-disciplined.

"Li Yuan's family situation is only slightly better than mine. He can't afford advanced therapy and lives so far away... If he arrives at school by 5:30, he'd have to get up at 5:00. His body wouldn't be able to handle it."

"He probably, like me, occasionally arrives at school around 5:00 to train."

"It's just a coincidence that we ran into each other these few times," Li Tianyou speculated.

Without thinking much more about it, he began to practice his basic training method alone.

Until 6:30.

As the sky brightened, a few more classmates started to arrive at the martial arts classroom.

"You two diligent kings are here again?" some classmates joked, and then they each began their own training.

It's not that the students of Class 2, Grade 3, weren't hardworking; most of them focused on cultural courses. Even if they arrived early, they would usually go to the cultural classroom to review their cultural subjects.

"Clang~"

Li Yuan placed his large spear into the weapons cabinet and left the classroom, heading toward the cafeteria.

It was time for breakfast.

Having three meals a day at scheduled times and adjusting meals according to the body's needs is a basic discipline for a martial arts student.

After finishing breakfast,

Li Yuan went straight to the cultural classroom to begin a morning of studying cultural subjects.

....

Day after day,

Li Yuan trained methodically.

For high school seniors, whether focusing on cultural courses or martial arts, the process was extremely tedious and arduous.

But Li Yuan understood well that there is no true genius in the truest sense.

Genius is always 99% perspiration and 1% talent. Sometimes, when breaking through bottlenecks, that 1% of talent is indeed crucial.

However, without the 99% perspiration, even the highest talent is ultimately just a castle in the air.

Because this world is never short of geniuses.

What is always lacking are geniuses who put in the effort.

...

Day after day, in the blink of an eye, it was already mid-September.

During this period, Li Yuan took some time to visit the "Starry Sky Martial Hall Guanshan Branch" to buy a whole box of basic blood and energy potions from Uncle Zhong. It cost him 19,000 Blue Star Coins.

Uncle Zhong, a friend of Li Yuan's uncle Li Changzhou, was an entry-level martial artist and a member of the Starry Sky Martial Hall. He helped Li Yuan get a discount on the potions.

Even so, this expense caused Li Yuan some pain.

But it was an unavoidable cost.

Without the basic blood and energy potions, his physical fitness progress would be at least halved.

Moreover, his body couldn't withstand such intense training without them and would start to deteriorate.

Martial arts require not only talent and effort but also a substantial financial investment.

All three are indispensable.

Now, more than ten days had passed since his teacher Xu Bo had promised the third-class scholarship.

Although Li Yuan longed for it in his heart, he never mentioned it, whether during martial arts classes or when he encountered Xu Bo between classes.

It was as if the conversation had never happened.

"I can only wait for the scholarship; I absolutely cannot ask for it," Li Yuan thought to himself with a sigh.

Because he felt unqualified.

Since Teacher Xu Bo hadn't brought it up, there must have been some difficulty.

Proactively asking about it would only make the other party unhappy.

...

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

Under the hazy moonlight, the asphalt road outside the senior year teaching building was bathed in a cool, clear glow.

In the empty martial arts classroom of Class 2, Grade 3, about a dozen students were each engrossed in their training.

On one side of the room, Li Yuan was deeply immersed in practicing his spearmanship.

He stood there, like an unshakable giant rock, exuding an invisible pressure, with both hands holding a spear.

He repeatedly practiced various spear techniques.

"Swish!"

"Whoosh!" The spear tip traced invisible arcs in the air, forming phantoms, sometimes as swift as a gale, aggressively thrusting forward.

"Boom!" Then, as solid as a rock, the spear shadows flowed continuously.

With each turn, thrust, block, and upward sweep, Li Yuan's movements precisely hit the pre-determined points in his mind.

As his spine arched and his waist twisted, every muscle and bone in his body moved in harmony with the spear, reaching a high level of integration between body, mind, and weapon.

Suddenly,

Just as Li Yuan was in a defensive stance, he abruptly advanced with a fierce thrust, like a hidden dragon in a ravine, gathering strength to strike.

Before the spear's explosive thrust, it was concealed to the utmost.

But when this thrust was unleashed, its power reached an unparalleled level of ferocity.

"Boom!" In an instant, the spear's shadow blurred, and the air seemed to reverberate with a faint explosion.

This scene startled the surrounding students, who couldn't help but turn to watch Li Yuan's execution of the move.

"Finally, I've perfected this killing move."

"Hidden Dragon in the Ravine!" Li Yuan retracted his spear, a faint glimmer in his eyes. "With this killing move, combined with my previously created killing move 'Foundation Pillar,' I have a balanced offense and defense."

"I have a real chance to surpass 500 points in the gold rank on the Starry Sky Martial Arts Network."

The Starry Sky Martial Arts Network had long established that if someone could reach 500 points in the gold rank before turning eighteen, they would be rewarded with 50,000 Blue Star Coins.

"Hmm?" Li Yuan suddenly noticed a notification on his Mind Palace panel.

[Your spear technique proficiency has increased from 40% of the third level to 46% of the third level.]