"Has it gone up to 37%?"
"I haven't felt any obvious changes myself, but the Divine Palace Panel has sensed it accurately." Li Yuan's eyes brightened.
The Divine Palace Panel can't directly boost Li Yuan's martial arts skills. But its greatest benefit is that it provides direct feedback on Li Yuan's efforts and progress through data. It's like a progress bar. It's absolute positive feedback. No one wants to fail; many just worry that their hard work won't yield results. With the Divine Palace Panel, Li Yuan can clearly see his progress, which motivates him even more to train.
Training is tough.
"But the rewards from training are also great." Li Yuan suddenly exerted force, and the spear in his hand became blurry as he thrust it forward.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
Faint, sharp whistling sounds erupted, creating blurry spear shadows in the air.
"Martial arts training is indeed thrilling as it pushes the limits of life over and over again." Li Yuan suddenly retracted his spear, revealing a smile.
More than a hundred years ago, when cultivation methods weren't widespread and only traditional martial arts existed, even ordinary people could get addicted to fitness. Not to mention high-level martial training? Li Yuan truly enjoys the process of his body becoming stronger. It’s tiring, but very satisfying.
"Li Yuan, your spear technique is amazing!" A voice of genuine admiration suddenly rang out.
Li Yuan turned and smiled, "Tianyou, your sword technique isn't bad either. I remember you scored 312 in martial arts skills today."
Standing nearby, Li Tianyou had a lean face, but his eyes were bright.
"I can't catch up to you." Li Tianyou chuckled, standing tall.
"It's nine o'clock. Everyone else has left." Li Yuan glanced around. "Aren't you going home?"
The Education Department set the morning self-study time at seven and the evening self-study ending at nine. There are classes six days a week. Perhaps the counties might be more competitive, but as a key high school in the provincial capital, strict rules must be followed.
"I'm going to practice a bit longer," Li Tianyou replied.
"Alright." Li Yuan smiled. "I'm heading back first."
"Okay." Li Tianyou nodded.
Li Yuan placed his spear in the weapon cabinet and walked out of the classroom.
As he watched Li Yuan leave, Li Tianyou's smile faded, and he murmured to himself, "Why isn't my sword technique as impressive as Li Yuan's spear technique?"
"If only I could awaken my martial spirit, that would be great."
In Class 3 of Year 3, Li Tianyou consistently ranked in the top five for martial arts, occasionally reaching third place, but he still had a gap compared to Wan Xiao, let alone Li Yuan.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Li Tianyou picked up his long sword and continued to practice earnestly.
Outside, the night was long. Most classrooms had turned off their lights. Only this martial arts classroom remained lit, and Li Tianyou, already lean, looked a bit lonely at that moment.
...
In the night, on Luoyu Street, Li Yuan, who had trained all day, sat on the self-driving '517' bus, his clothes soaked with sweat.
There were very few people on the bus. In an era where the virtual network is highly developed, material wealth is abundant, and most people's work is done online. Even those with offline jobs had mostly finished work and gone home.
"…In late August, the national relevant departments and the Starry Sky Martial Hall's Xia Country branch conducted a joint operation, successfully eliminating the Star Realm Aquatic Clan in the Xianghe River area of Jiangbei Province, but a few managed to escape. Residents along the river should be cautious…"
"Next, we have reports on the secondary Star Realms 'Lobu Sea' in Northern Frontier Province and 'Osmoon Sea' in Firefly Star…"
The electronic display screen above the self-driving bus continually broadcast the latest news.
Li Yuan sat in a single seat, pushed open the window, and felt the wind blowing in as he watched the street scenery rushing by outside. It was very comfortable!
"Both the starry sky and love should be pursued wholeheartedly. The Star Sea World reminds you, the station is here." Suddenly, the station announcement snapped Li Yuan back to reality.
"The Star Sea World sure runs a lot of ads," Li Yuan thought, shaking his head.
He got off the bus.
Just over ten meters away was the entrance to his residential complex—Wanhua Platinum Residence.
The name of the complex sounded grand, but the buildings were quite ordinary, even appearing a bit worn compared to the nearby new complex, Xiongchu World.
"Welcome home, resident." A gentle female voice greeted him.
Li Yuan entered the complex after facial recognition.
There were no security guards at the entrance, just two smart robots standing in the distance.
Inside the complex, there were only eleven-story buildings. Due to long-term war threats, super tall buildings had been prohibited for decades; most buildings were around ten stories, with the highest not exceeding eighteen.
Although Wanhua Platinum Residence was over twenty years old, it was still well-maintained.
Li Yuan's home was in Building 2, Unit 2.
"Xiaoyuan, class is over?" An elderly couple was jogging around the complex's green path.
"Yes, Grandma Sun, you two are exercising again," Li Yuan replied with a smile.
Although this was a commercial complex, most of the people who bought homes here were employees from the same state-owned enterprise, enjoying discounted prices. So, in a sense, this place was like a welfare housing complex for the company.
After so many years, many residents in the complex knew each other.
"Grandma Sun and them are almost ninety, yet they are still in good shape. They haven't even bought a home robot," Li Yuan thought to himself. "According to books, over a hundred years ago, the average lifespan was only seventy or eighty."
Because of the widespread cultivation methods, aside from accidental deaths, the average lifespan of Blue Star people has exceeded a hundred years, with Xia Country's average lifespan nearing a hundred and ten. If someone becomes a ranked martial artist, their lifespan is even more astonishing.
Li Yuan had just reached the ground floor when—
"Brother?" A surprised girl's voice called out from nearby.
"Brother~" Another boy's voice followed.
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~ Two children, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing loose martial arts uniforms, jogged over from the shadows.
"Xiaoxia, Muhua." Li Yuan smiled. "Why haven't you two gone home yet?"
The girl was lively and bright, with fair skin and very bright eyes. The boy had a youthful face, but he was nearly as tall as Li Yuan, towering over the girl by half a head.
Li Xiaoxia and Li Muhua. They were the twin children of Li Yuan's uncle and aunt, both fourteen and in their second year of middle school.
"Brother, we just came back from the martial arts room," Li Xiaoxia said with a smile, hugging Li Yuan's arm and shaking it.
Li Yuan nodded with a smile. "How was it?"
Every residential complex has a public sports hall, which is mandated by the government, funded by the state, and managed by the property management, open for free to residents.
"It wasn't great. There were too many people, and not enough space to train," Li Muhua shook his head.
"At your age, you should focus on building your foundation, do more standing meditation, and think about your cultivation methods," Li Yuan advised. "Especially you, Muhua. You've already awakened your martial spirit, so don’t rush your training."
Li Muhua had very high martial arts talent. Li Xiaoxia's talent was much lower, but her academic performance was quite good.
"Yeah." Li Muhua nodded, then seemed to remember something. "Brother, I remember today was your school's martial spirit test, right?"
Li Xiaoxia also looked at Li Yuan.
"I didn't succeed," Li Yuan shook his head lightly, seeming unconcerned.
Li Xiaoxia and Li Muhua exchanged glances.
"Brother, don't be discouraged. Even if you didn't awaken your martial spirit, you can still get into a martial arts university," Li Xiaoxia said with a smile. "Let's go home. Mom just messaged me, asking when we would be back."
"Little brother, go get the package from the property management."
Li Xiaoxia tugged at Li Yuan's sleeve, wanting to head toward the elevator.
"Sis, I went to get the package last time. It's your turn this time," Li Muhua said with a helpless look.
"Okay, good brother—."
"Xiaoxia, go with Muhua," Li Yuan patted Xiaoxia's head.
"Brother!!"
...
"Click~" The door opened.
"Mom, Brother came back with us," Li Xiaoxia shouted even before stepping inside.
"You're all back?"
Voices came from inside the house.
Li Yuan followed his brother and sister in, being the last to enter. He glanced around; the room wasn't small at all.
It had four rooms and a living room, about 130 square meters.
It was clear that the various decorations were a bit outdated.
"Uncle, Aunt," Li Yuan saw his uncle and aunt coming out of the bedroom. His aunt was in a long-sleeved nightgown, with no makeup on her face.
His uncle had gained some weight, his skin dark, but he was neatly dressed in a black short-sleeve shirt, long pants, and outdoor sneakers.
"Ah Yuan," his aunt smiled when she saw Li Yuan.
"Xiaoxia, you two go back to your room and wash up. Your dad and I need to talk to your brother," his aunt instructed.
"Okay."
"Brother, don't open my package, I want to do it myself later," Li Xiaoxia said, pulling Li Muhua as they dashed to their room.
In the living room, only Li Yuan remained with his uncle and aunt.
"Uncle, going on a business trip again?" Li Yuan said softly, having noticed the large suitcase in the living room.
His uncle worked for a state-owned enterprise in civil engineering and traveled all over the country, making business trips a regular occurrence.
"Yeah, I just got the notice this afternoon," his uncle nodded.
"Where to? Why the rush?" Li Yuan asked.
His aunt hesitated for a moment.
"What's there to hide? Little Yuan is old enough," his uncle smiled, looking at Li Yuan. "Going to the Northern Frontier."
"Going to the Northern Frontier so urgently again?" Li Yuan was taken aback, then seemed to realize something, his expression tightening a bit. "To the secondary Star Realm 'Lobu Sea'?"
(End of Chapter)