CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 68: ANCIENT MARTIAL ARTS! YE LUO’S SHOCK - PART 2

"Of course. I can recite this book from cover to cover."

"If you don’t believe me, listen."

Chen Pingchuan nodded, indicating his acceptance of her proposal.

"Qi Blood Martial Arts. The human body contains a great elixir. At the start of one’s training, one must accumulate qi and blood to temper the skin and membranes. When the skin becomes as tough as cowhide and can repel blades, one can begin Bone Cultivation."

"An adult has two hundred and six bones. Tempering every bone in the body with qi and blood is Bone Cultivation. When all the bones have been refined, one can reach the state of Harmonious Muscle and Bone Resonance."

"In the late stage of the Bone Cultivation Realm, one can turn from external to internal cultivation, refining the five viscera, six bowels, and the eight extraordinary meridians."

"After that is the great culmination of qi and blood, achieving the realm of Gang Qi. A barrier of astral wind protects the body, making it difficult for hidden weapons to penetrate."

At first, Chen Pingchuan only treated the little girl’s words as a story, some amusing entertainment. However, as he listened, he started to think that what the little girl was saying might not be pure fantasy. The "ancient martial arts" she described was clearly another complete and systematic path of advancement.

So, looking at the little girl who had stopped talking, Chen Pingchuan asked curiously, "And then?"

"That’s it!"

"Huh?"

"I mean, that’s it! The lineage was severed, so there’s nothing more. But I remember the first line of the book: ’With the great culmination of qi and blood, all gods shall retreat.’"

Upon hearing this, Chen Pingchuan found it rather amusing. After these past few days, he had learned some common knowledge. These days, no one practiced ancient martial arts anymore. It was time-consuming and laborious for little gain. An adult Genetic Warrior could reach at least Third Level combat power. A talented one could even reach the Seventh-Level Grandmaster Realm before the age of forty. In contrast, ten years of training in ancient martial arts couldn’t compare to a few doses of a genetic agent. Even after reaching mastery, one would be a fifty or sixty-year-old whose combat power could only fight on par with an ordinary Level 3 Genetic Warrior.

This was why ancient martial arts had declined. Now, even if some people still practiced it, they were mostly those with no hope of advancing further and would only selectively study a few ancient martial arts techniques to improve their combat skills. As for starting from scratch, it was obviously no longer practical.

So that’s why this martial arts gym fell into decline, he realized. Just a relic of a bygone era.

But he had already come all this way and humored her for so long. Chen Pingchuan simply put down his backpack and decided to use the equipment here to test his strength. So what if the results weren’t accurate? As for privacy, it seemed he didn’t need to worry about the little girl next to him.

He first approached the strength tester. His muscles instantly tensed, and his fierce punch sliced through the air like a bolt of lightning.

BANG!

The testing machine shook but was not damaged.

"Strength attribute conversion value: 4.2. Equivalent to a Level 2 Genetic Warrior."

Seeing the data on the display, the little girl clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. She never imagined that this big brother, who didn’t look much older than her, possessed such power. She was stunned for a moment. After all, anyone with this kind of strength at his age was either the scion of a noble family or an exceptionally talented student specially cultivated by a school. Oh... just like her sister. But neither seemed likely to spend money to test their strength here. The sons of nobles had their own private training grounds and exclusive equipment, while students could use the school’s facilities for free.

Ignoring the little girl’s surprise, Chen Pingchuan continued to test the conversion values for his speed and muscle density. The results were surprisingly consistent with the values on his attribute panel, which meant that although the equipment was old and worn, it was still functional.

The only attribute he couldn’t confirm was Spirit. There was no specialized equipment for measuring Spirit; such high-precision devices were likely only found at universities.

...

The afternoon sun was warm but not glaring. The little girl stood quietly at the entrance of the martial arts gym, watching Chen Pingchuan’s departing back. She couldn’t resist shouting, "Big Brother, you have to come visit Zhenzhen again!"

"Don’t worry," Chen Pingchuan said, turning his head. A warm smile touched his lips as he made a pinky promise gesture. "We have a promise."

In that instant, their smiling faces were like a photograph, deeply etched into each other’s memories.

Just as the little girl was staring blankly at the entrance, a cold female voice sounded in her ear. "Zhenzhen, have you been deceiving people again?"

The little girl didn’t turn around. Her gaze remained fixed on the distance as she said, her lips slightly parted, "Sister Luo, Zhenzhen didn’t lie. Big Brother was the one who insisted on giving it to me."

"Who is this ’Big Brother’?"

The little girl turned to look at her sister, who was slender and tall with a graceful posture. The woman was dressed all in black, her face like a mask of ice. Only when she looked at the little girl did an almost imperceptible trace of warmth flicker in her eyes.

"Big Brother’s name is Chen Pingchuan."

The little girl’s words gave Ye Luo a jolt. She remembered that the new transfer student was named Chen Pingchuan. According to rumors among her classmates, he was the young master of some noble family.

Hearing her sister’s words, Ye Luo felt a wave of powerlessness. Thanks to her striking looks and exceptional temperament, she had never lacked for suitors over the years. But all she wanted was to improve herself and fulfill the promise she had made. To avoid these persistent suitors, she had to dress in plain black all year round and never show a smile.Ye Luo had already labeled Chen Pingchuan as just another infatuated noble young master, blinded by lust. After all, she had seen plenty of men like him over the years. When they couldn’t win her over directly, they would try to get to her through the people around her.

But, afraid her sister hadn’t been clear, she asked again, "What did you say his name was?"

"Chen Pingchuan!"

Zhenzhen didn’t understand why her sister reacted so strongly to the name and watched her with curiosity.

Ye Luo maintained her usual unchanging expression. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did he say anything?"

In Ye Luo’s mind, he must have left something like a love letter or a verbal message. But her sister’s answer took her by surprise.

"No."

"What?"

"Sister, what’s wrong with you? I already said no."

"Then why did he come here?"

Seeing Ye Luo’s incredulous expression, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but let out a giggle. "Sister Luo, don’t tell me you thought Big Brother was one of your suitors?"

Ye Luo was flustered, but there was no way she would admit it to her sister. She said coldly, "Hurry up and tell me, or I’ll tell Grandpa that you were secretly minding the gym by yourself again."

"Don’t, don’t! I’ll talk, okay? Big Brother just came to test his physical stats and then he left." Zhenzhen added, "Of course, he said we’re friends and that he’ll come visit me again next time and bring a gift."

Ye Luo looked at her little sister, who was trying so hard to act mature, and felt a pang in her heart. She’s at an age that should be filled with innocence and joy, yet she’s bearing a burden she shouldn’t have to.

Ye Luo pulled Ye Zhenzhen into her embrace and said in a trembling voice, "Soon. It will be over soon. Just hold on a little longer. Sister will be able to enter the Combat Department soon, and our hard days will finally be over."

"Sister is the best! Sister is the most powerful person in the world—" Zhenzhen’s words trailed off. Ye Luo looked puzzled at her sister, who seemed on the verge of tears.

"Zhenzhen, what’s wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"*Sob*... Sister isn’t the most powerful person anymore! Big Brother is! He’s the same age as you, but he’s so much stronger!"

Zhenzhen looked heartbroken. In her heart, her sister had always been the strongest person her age... until Big Brother showed up.

Ye Luo let out a small laugh and tried to soothe her sister. "Haha, the world is a big place. Of course, there are many people stronger than your sister. But that’s only because they were born into this world earlier than me."

Ye Luo had her pride. She never looked down on others, but she wouldn’t easily belittle herself either.

"But... Big Brother is the same age as you."

"Impossible!" Ye Luo cried out. She couldn’t believe her sister’s words.

In her mind, she had entered the best high school and the best class in the City of No Night. The morning’s tests had already proven that her strength was, without a doubt, number one in her grade. It was impossible for someone her age to be stronger than her, at least not in the City of No Night. This was her pride.

"But... but... there’s the test data!" Zhenzhen was so anxious that her eyes turned red, tears welling up. She didn’t want to hurt her sister’s feelings, but she also didn’t want her sister to think she was lying.

Ye Luo abruptly released her sister from her embrace and vanished from the gym’s entrance like a gust of wind.

When she saw the values on the various testing machines, she froze on the spot, her face a mask of utter disbelief, as if time itself had stopped in that moment.