Chapter 115: Qiu Jing! Li Yuan's Explosive Growth

Chapter 115: Qiu Jing! Li Yuan's Explosive Growth



Upon reaching a 20% spiritual awakening, Li Yuan wondered if he could infuse his body with essence energy once more.

"I must give it a try, at least until I reach the 20% limit," Li Yuan thought to himself.

He glanced at the star realm creature lying on the ground.

Despite its seemingly small size, not as large as a normal tiger, its movements were swift and agile, possessing a burst of power and speed that was hard to achieve for animals on the Blue Planet.

"A beast from another star realm? I wonder which realm it's from," Li Yuan muttered to himself, "Was it captured by the military?"

Every week, during the general education courses at the university, teachers would share various secrets and mysteries.

These were things that were hard to come by on the internet.

To prevent societal panic, much of the information was kept relatively confidential.

Li Yuan was aware that the seven planets of human civilization, combined, had at least several hundred, if not thousands, of star realms.

However, most star realms were either limited by their entry restrictions, or the other side had not yet detected the existence of the star realm, or they chose not to start a war, temporarily remaining in a 'dormant' state.

In other words, the alien civilizations behind these star realms generally maintained peace with humanity, such as the Moon Demon Star Realm and its civilization.

The second type was a 'normal hostile' state, like the Fish Spirit Star Realm, where the alien civilization behind it might not be small in hostility, but due to various restrictions, they were unable to launch a large-scale war.

The third type was a 'war' state, such as the Rob Sea Star Realm and its backing alien civilization, which had repeatedly clashed with humanity, resulting in extremely fierce battles.

The fourth type was the 'arch-enemy' state, representing an extremely high-level star realm, where the backing alien civilization had the capability to bring about the destruction of humanity and had even launched wars, only to be pushed back by human civilization.

Arch-enemy star realms were primarily concentrated in the flying stars.

"Star realms are special regions formed by the interaction of different worlds with the Seven Stars Sea. Many alien civilizations want to invade the Seven Stars Sea and destroy our human civilization." Li Yuan thought to himself, "But we also counterattack, even capturing a large number of star realm creatures."

The massive number of star realm creatures killed during the practical combat assessments organized by various martial arts universities each year—were they all naturally bred? Certainly not!

Most of them were captured by powerful human warriors and brought back for the younger generation of martial artists to practice their skills.

In ordinary martial arts universities, less than one in a hundred graduates reach the 15th level, so the death rate is controlled below 10%.

But it's different at Kunlun Martial Academy.

Through repeated practical combat assessments, students with a physical quality of the 15th level are sent directly to the star realms to participate in wars.

This way, they can cultivate powerful martial artists who have experienced life-and-death situations with an extremely low death rate of less than 20%.

Physical strength and high martial skills alone do not make a qualified martial artist.

What humanity needs are martial artists who are fearless in the face of danger, who can make decisive life-and-death choices, and who can endure the constant tempering of their spirit.

According to Li Yuan's knowledge, over a hundred years ago, ordinary martial artists were sent directly to the star realm battlefields without the constant tempering of their spirit through repeated dangerous practical combat assessments.

In those days, it was common for over 30%, or even 50%, of ordinary martial artists to perish in a single life-and-death battle.

"The practical combat assessments nowadays are like a beam of sunlight in a greenhouse, a bit too glaring." Li Yuan tightened his grip on his long spear and continued walking deeper into the forest.

Occasionally, Li Yuan would climb to the top of a tall tree to survey the distant surroundings.

However, all he could see were rolling hills, one after another, with tall trees everywhere, but no traditional high ground.

The effect was minimal.

...

Three hours later, about three miles away from Li Yuan, a light rain was falling from the sky.

In a dense forest on a sloping hill, rocks were scattered everywhere.

Several large beasts, resembling lynxes, with leopard-like patterns on their skin, glistening with oil, were surrounding and besieging Li Yuan, who held a long spear in his hands.

Their roars echoed through the forest.

Nearby, several trees had been knocked down, and there were even broken boulders.

In a nearby ravine, there were two dead beasts and five smaller beast corpses.

"So fierce, and they're even pack animals," Li Yuan felt a headache coming on, "Each of them is so fast, and their life levels are at least 13. My spear barely manages to hit their vital points."

Earlier, Li Yuan had accidentally stumbled into the den of these beasts and was besieged by two mother beasts.

He swiftly killed them all, but before he could retreat, he was confronted by four more beasts.

The lowest life level among them was 12.6.

The largest in size, clearly the leader, had a life level exceeding 13.

The further one progresses in martial cultivation, the more noticeable the difference in physical quality becomes with each level.

"Roar!"

The four beasts took turns besieging Li Yuan, trying to pounce on him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Li Yuan's steps were not particularly fast, but he nimbly dodged their attacks.

Endure the impact? With the beasts' terrifying strength, enduring their charge would leave Li Yuan injured.

Enduring it twice would make him spit blood.

What Li Yuan relied on was his absolute control over his body, a result of his mental and physical unity.

The Dragon Step Technique made him agile as the wind, as if he had completely merged with his surroundings.

"Huff!!" Li Yuan, constantly dodging, swung his long spear with every move.

His slow body movements did not mean his spear moved slowly.

Li Yuan's long spear had an explosive burst with each thrust.

Each spear thrust would cause a beast to bleed, spraying blood everywhere.

This was why the four beasts were cautious.

"Their intelligence is extremely high, and their combat instincts are strong. My spear barely manages to hit their vital points."

Li Yuan thought to himself.

He could easily spot the flaws in the beasts' attacks and evasions, but their movement speed was too fast, making it difficult to seize the opportunity.

Time passed.

After several consecutive attacks, two of the beasts were injured in multiple places, bleeding profusely, and their energy had significantly diminished.

Peng~

Another spear thrust shot out like lightning.

This time, instead of dodging, Li Yuan lunged forward, his long spear trembling as it struck out with a thunderous force, piercing through the neck of the beast in a flash.

Whoosh~ The spear was withdrawn, blood spattering.

In the instant of pulling the spear out, Li Yuan exerted force from his waist, bending backward sharply, and the spear tip swung around 180 degrees for a powerful backstab!

Counterattack Thrust! Puff! The spear thrust straight into the strongest beast's neck, piercing deep into its internal organs.

Roar~

The beast struggled desperately, its body trembling from the intense pain. It could feel its life force rapidly draining, and it tried to swipe at Li Yuan with its sharp claws.

However, the long spear Li Yuan chose was 2.5 meters in length, giving him an absolute advantage in reach.

Puff~ The spear was withdrawn, dragging out a large amount of blood, and the beast's body finally ceased moving.

Although he had confirmed the beast's death, Li Yuan did not stand in a dangerous position. He quickly moved out of the attack range.

Roar~

Huff!

The remaining two beasts, seeing their leader killed by Li Yuan in a single confrontation, began to flee at an extremely fast speed.

Li Yuan did not pursue them.

Although his powerful skills and the special terrain of the mountain forest offered little restriction,

These beasts had extremely strong physical attributes and were incredibly fast. If they were determined to escape, Li Yuan would find it difficult to stop them.

["You have slain a Step-In Creature, obtaining Spirit Nourishment. Your Spiritual Awakening degree is now 19.2%"] The Divine Palace Panel flashed several notifications.

"Hmm? Just a little more?" Li Yuan smiled.

In the past few hours, he had only encountered three battles.

But just this one battle, Li Yuan had killed four adult beasts and a few young ones, bringing his Spiritual Awakening degree close to 20%.

Indeed, even the weaker young beasts could provide Spirit Nourishment when killed.

Li Yuan showed no mercy in his killings.

Hold back? He thought of his uncle, his deceased parents, and the scenes he had seen in class and on screen... Over a decade of education had made it clear to Li Yuan.

Being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself.

"Total score." Li Yuan glanced at the score ranking on his Positioning Bracelet:

Score: 56 points

Base Ranking: 174

Grade Ranking: 1

Note: Completed the Practical Combat Assessment 10-point requirement.

---

"Just a moment ago, my grade ranking was 16th." Li Yuan smiled: "Now it's jumped to first?"

Li Yuan understood.

In different Practical Combat Assessment Bases, the same level of alien life forms had different point values.

In the First Base, a 12.5-level alien life form was worth 200 points.

But in the Fourth Base, a 14-level alien life form was worth 200 points, and anything below level 10 didn't count.

Unfair? Unfair.

But this was the purpose of the Practical Combat Assessment at Kunlun Martial University.

If your physical attributes and strength are higher, then the requirements for your Practical Combat Assessment are naturally higher.

"Base ranking 174?" Li Yuan didn't pay much attention to this ranking, which referred to his position among the over a thousand students in the Fourth Base.

This ranking was already quite good, considering Li Yuan's physical attributes were absolutely the lowest.

"As long as I get first in my grade, I can earn a 3 million reward." Li Yuan muttered.

After briefly identifying the direction, Li Yuan moved toward the direction the two beasts had fled.

If he was lucky, he might encounter more.

"Just one more, and my Spiritual Awakening degree will reach 20%." Li Yuan was quite looking forward to it.

...

In the Fourth Practical Combat Assessment Base, over a thousand kilometers away, a massive war fortress stood.

On the third floor, in a conference room.

"They're all performing well, more mature."

"They should be more mature."

"Most of them have gone through three or four Practical Combat Assessments. If they still can't calmly face life-and-death battles, their mental strength is too weak." Dozens of teachers from Kunlun Martial University tapped on the holographic screens in front of them, continuously changing the subjects they were observing.

Each Practical Combat Assessment was a growth opportunity for the students.

"How about it?"

"This kid can fully adapt to the Fourth Base." Dean Li Yang whispered, pointing to the image of Li Yuan advancing steadily on the screen.

A large number of high-altitude patrol drones.

Combined with the positioning bracelets worn by each student and the numerous surveillance cameras scattered throughout the Practical Combat Assessment Base... every student was under constant surveillance, and their scores were accurately recorded.

"Indeed, very calm."

"Being able to hold his own in Jiang Lun's combat training has earned Jiang Lun's recognition. His combat ability is indeed very strong." Dean Xu's tense face relaxed somewhat: "Calm in battle, his moves are clean and decisive, with no hesitation."

"His ability to observe movements and terrain is also very good."

"He doesn't seem like an 18-year-old student who has only experienced one Practical Combat Assessment?" Dean Xu said softly.

"Yes, he has only experienced one." Li Yang smiled: "But I must remind you, he is not yet 18."

"Also."

"Don't treat him like a child. His willpower is beyond imagination." Li Yang said with a sense of admiration: "A month, five times of Purifying Spirit Marrow? A normal Origin Martial Artist couldn't endure that."

Dean Xu was taken aback, seemingly surprised: "A month, five times of Purifying Spirit Marrow?"

Is that true?"

She knew the agony of Purifying Spirit Marrow.

In reality, many martial geniuses would attempt it, but the excruciating pain was unbearable, and with the high cost and relatively low returns, they eventually gave up.

"Of course, it's true. I didn't quite believe it myself when I first heard about it," Li Yang sighed, gazing at the boy walking within the light screen. "But he actually achieved it."

"He hasn't gone through much, yet he possesses such terrifying willpower. It's somewhat eerie."

"Perhaps, that's what makes a genius."

...

At 4 p.m., in a dense forest.

Boom! Boom!

Explosive sounds reverberated.

"Faster! Faster! Faster!" Li Yuan darted like lightning, cursing his parents for not giving him more speed as he sprinted through the forest's rugged terrain.

His speed exceeded 25 meters per second.

For an ordinary person, their speed would be reduced by at least half in such complex terrain, but for Li Yuan, the impact on his speed was negligible.

Precisely because of this, he managed to escape until now.

"Woohoo!"

"Ha!"

"Roar!"

Behind Li Yuan, over a dozen humanoid alien creatures were chasing him frenziedly, each moving at an incredibly fast pace.

They were all over three meters tall, their skin hardened and gray like stone. At first glance, they resembled tall stone humanoids.

Some wielded sharp stone weapons and wooden spears.

Others continuously picked up large stones, their thousands of kilograms of strength erupting as they hurled the stones like cannonballs, relentlessly bombarding Li Yuan, who was frantically fleeing at the front.

"The Stonemar Tribe! These humanoid creatures here are the legendary Stonemen." Li Yuan's heart filled with anger, yet he was helpless.

Just like the Fish Spirit Tribe, they were well-known in Xia Nation, especially in Jiangbei Province.

The Stonemar Tribe was the same.

This tribe was extremely brutal, with skin as hard as rocks, robust physiques, and a preference for living in desert and Gobi regions... They had once inflicted significant harm on Xia Nation and were nicknamed Stonemen.

Li Yuan never expected that the humanoid alien creatures in the Fourth Base's practical combat assessment would turn out to be the Stonemar Tribe.

"Boom! Boom!" Li Yuan frantically dodged the falling boulders.

The huge rocks smashed into the trees, creating enormous gaps and even breaking them apart.

Li Yuan had already scanned them at the first opportunity.

Most of these Stonemar Tribe members were above level 13, with the weakest being at level 12.6.

Additionally, they were born with intelligence and adept at using weapons.

If Li Yuan tried to withstand their attacks head-on, even if he managed to kill a few, he would undoubtedly die, at the very least needing to call for help.

Therefore, Li Yuan's first choice was to—flee! But he never imagined that this group of Stonemar Tribe members would directly pursue him.

Fortunately!

The forest wasn't their natural habitat, and the complex terrain significantly restricted their speed, preventing them from fully utilizing their physical advantages.

However, as time passed, the distance between the two sides gradually narrowed.

"After chasing for several kilometers, do they still want to continue?" Li Yuan cursed inwardly, while also swiftly observing his surroundings, multitasking.

He wanted to choose a suitable battlefield.

Ideally, a place that could restrict the enemy's long-range attacks and limit their numerical advantage.

Such a place was hard to find.

Suddenly—

"Junior Apprentice, don't panic!" A crisp voice rang out, echoing through the air.

Boom!

A lithe figure soared into the sky, propelling herself with her legs, and like a cannonball, she charged towards a Stonemar Tribe member who was charging down. It was a female martial artist.

In her hands, she held two short axes, resembling two small shields.

"Senior Qiu?!" Li Yuan instantly recognized her.

It was none other than Senior Qiu Jing, a second-year senior who also studied under Dean Li—one of the only two fourth-stage Martial Arts Skill masters among the second-year students in the Sixth Academy.

Her physical quality was 12.9.

In the second-year students of the Eight Academies, Qiu Jing ranked among the top twenty in both Martial Arts Skill and practical combat.

Due to their similar ages and strengths, Li Yuan and Qiu Jing were quite familiar with each other and had a good relationship.

"Boom!"

Holding her short axes, Qiu Jing's figure moved swiftly, dodging several times before directly confronting the strongest Stonemar Tribe member, whose physical quality was as high as 13.6.

The two engaged in a fierce battle.

"Boom! Boom!" The terrifying combat resulted in splattering blood as several weaker Stonemar Tribe members had their heads severed and limbs scattered.

"Roar!"

Several powerful Stonemar Tribe members roared in anger, preparing to retreat, realizing the terrifying combat power possessed by this petite-figured alien.

Her Martial Arts Skill was too advanced, and they couldn't even touch her.

"Trying to escape?" Qiu Jing's voice was cold. As a fourth-stage master, her entire body's power erupted in unison.

Slaughtering these Stonemar Tribe members, whose life levels were close to hers, was like a massacre.

"Boom! Boom!" After over ten clashes, accompanied by a dazzling axe light, the strongest Stonemar Tribe member's chest was instantly sliced open by the sharp axe.

His head was also chopped off! He fell to the ground!

"Roar!"

"Wooo! Boom!" The remaining Stonemar Tribe members finally scattered and fled in all directions.

Qiu Jing swiftly pursued them.

"So strong," Li Yuan marveled as he watched.

In terms of Martial Arts Skill alone, he was significantly stronger than Qiu Jing.

However, the gap in physical quality was too vast, and facing this group of Stonemar Tribe members, he could only flee.

At the fourth stage, the skill's enhancement had its limits.

Just half a minute later—

Whoosh!

Qiu Jing appeared beside Li Yuan, holding two bloodstained short axes, her body also stained with blood.

She resembled a female war deity.

"Junior Apprentice, aren't you going to thank me quickly?"

"Qiu Jing smiled warmly at Li Yuan, showing none of the ferocity from their recent battle.

"Thank you, Senior Qiu," Li Yuan smiled. "You're so powerful, killing these Stonemar Tribe members is like slicing through vegetables."

"It's nothing much."

"They were captured and brought here, without any proper weapons." Qiu Jing shook her head. "If they were true Stonemar warriors with metal weapons, it would have been much harder to defeat them."

Li Yuan nodded in agreement.

Many Star Realm alien races, especially humanoid ones, have highly advanced civilizations, similar to humans, and possess various weapons as aids.

While their physical attributes may seem similar, their strengths are vastly different.

"How did you end up in the Stonemar Tribe's core activity area?" Qiu Jing asked curiously.

"Is that so?" Li Yuan was taken aback.

He had no idea.

"From here, about 15 kilometers to the east, is within the Practical Combat Assessment area, where a large Stonemar Tribe village is located." Qiu Jing smiled. "There are probably more than 200 warriors, and the chief is above level 14."

"Level 14?" Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat in relief.

At level 14, their punching power exceeds 8,000 kilograms, and their strength is several times greater than that of a level 13 warrior.

He was fortunate not to have encountered them.

"Haha, it's normal that you didn't know. I only found out after investigating, and it was tough to shake off the chief's pursuit." Qiu Jing sighed. "You're impressive too. Just entering your first year, and you managed to survive in the Fourth Combat Arena."

"If it weren't for you saving me, I'd probably have been eliminated already." Li Yuan smiled.

"Without me, a kilometer further, there's a cliff. With your strength, you might have a chance to escape." Qiu Jing said. "Okay, take a detour to avoid this Stonemar Tribe village. Be careful from now on."

"Let's chat more when we get back to school."

"Sure, take care, Senior." Li Yuan nodded, knowing she wouldn't accompany him.

There was a noticeable gap in their abilities.

Moreover, this was a practical combat assessment, and both had the goal of earning more points, so separating was the best choice.

Li Yuan watched as Qiu Jing left.

"Senior Qiu, ranked eighth in the Fourth Combat Arena?" Li Yuan glanced at the ranking on his positioning bracelet.

...

Following Senior Qiu's advice, Li Yuan changed direction, moving away from the Stonemar Tribe village.

An hour later, darkness gradually enveloped the sky.

Six kilometers away, in a small wasteland.

"Pffft!"

A lynx-like creature had its throat pierced by Li Yuan, its massive body slamming heavily onto the wasteland.

"You have slain a ranked creature and obtained Spirit Nourishment. Your Spirit Awakening Degree has reached 20%."

"You have reached the Spirit Awakening limit and cannot obtain more Spirit Nourishment for now. When your Mental Power reaches level 20, you can break through the limit."

"Spirit Awakening Degree has reached 20%. Initiating the second Essence Energy infusion." Three prompts flashed across the Divine Palace Panel in an instant, immediately catching Li Yuan's attention.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan reacted.

"As expected, there's one Essence Energy infusion at 10%, and another at 20%." Countless thoughts flashed through Li Yuan's mind. "So, I need to reach Mental Power level 20 to break through the Spirit Awakening limit?"

Before Li Yuan could ponder further.

He suddenly widened his eyes. "This is different from the last time!"

Because.

Just three seconds after the Divine Palace's reminder, Li Yuan felt a slight pain in his head, as if some mysterious force was seeping through his skull and into his entire body.

The sensation was peculiar.

Immediately, Li Yuan became aware of mysterious forces entering his body from the outside, gradually seeping into his limbs and bones, causing each pore to feel slightly warm.

It was Essence Energy.

"The first Essence Energy infusion required my guidance, but the second one started directly?" Li Yuan quickly realized. "This is bad."

"Right now, I'm definitely under the school's surveillance."

Without hesitation.

Whoosh! Li Yuan grabbed his spear, his body moving like lightning as he darted towards the distance.

Several hundred meters away.

Below a cliff, there was a small cavern, which Li Yuan had originally chosen as his overnight shelter.

In just over twenty seconds, Li Yuan felt his body getting hotter and hotter.

Boom! He threw the spear, and it flew like an arrow, piercing the stone wall of the cave.

Huff!

Drawing his battle saber, he leaped into the air, and with a few slashes, several trees near the cave were swiftly cut into sections and fell.

Then, Li Yuan dragged the trees into the cave, standing them up in a crisscross pattern, sealing the cave entrance.

Li Yuan entered the cave with his saber, placing a section of the tree to further block the already small entrance.

The cave entrance was now almost completely sealed.

"Even if some aliens come, I've prepared a little, at least I'll have a few extra seconds to react." Li Yuan gritted his teeth and sat down on the ground. "And the teachers can't directly observe me."

It had only been a little over a minute since the Essence Energy infusion began.

Taking a deep breath.

"Essence Energy infusion." Li Yuan calmed his mind, and his powerful Mental Power began guiding the surging Essence Energy into his body.

This Essence Energy infusion was larger in quantity and purer than the previous one.

"Evolve!"

"My muscles and bones..." Li Yuan could clearly sense that every part of his body was ravenously absorbing the Essence Energy.

His muscles became stronger, his skin tougher, his bones more robust, and his internal organs more vibrant...

"Your Life Level has increased from 11.3 to 11.4."

Nightfall completely enveloped the surroundings, and time passed in silence.

"Your Life Level has increased from 11.8 to 11.9." Along with the Divine Palace Panel prompts.

Li Yuan's body underwent another major transformation.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end