"I think our best hope is for Master to take on a junior brother!"
Zhao Rui chuckled.
"Haha, that's what I said back then, too!"
Hearing this, his senior sister couldn't help but smile. When she felt she couldn't win, she had thought the same thing.
Truly, they were apprentices taught by the same master.
The few of them chatted for a while in the Martial Arts Hall before going their separate ways.
The apprentices of the Martial Arts Hall didn't live on-site. After finishing their practice, they all returned to their own homes.
Although his eldest and second senior brothers were both the master's sons, they had started their own families and careers years ago. They mostly lived elsewhere and had their own businesses.
Zhao Rui made an excuse to linger. Instead of leaving right away, he activated the system panel in his mind.
"Name: Zhao Rui
...
Martial Arts:
Taihang Thirteen Palms (Mastery)＋
Cyan Cloud Palm (Mastery)＋
Cloud Hand Star-Picking (Mastery)＋
Replicable Martial Arts:
Yong Chun Inquiry (98/100)
Advancement Points +1
..."
Zhao Rui looked at the panel's contents, a surge of joy in his heart. Cloud Hand Star-Picking had finally reached the Master Level.
When a Martial Art reached the Master Level, it meant the Martial Artist had fundamentally achieved Integration and Mastery of it.
So-called Mastery was using the body as a cauldron and intent as a furnace, refining techniques into Innate Qi Rhythm.
At this point, a Martial Artist had shed the form of their techniques. The Fist Scripture and Sword Formulas were no longer dead words carved on bamboo slips, but a river flowing through their Meridians.
Every move, every stance, followed the heart's will, completely unimpeded!
After the Mastery Realm, came the Qi Transformation Realm. Martial Artists at this Realm could no longer be classified by the ten Levels; they had transcended them.
They would reach the state of Returning to the True in their Martial Arts, where a plucked leaf or a thrown flower could contain Lifebound True Qi. A blademaster could abandon their blade, for a swipe of their fingertips through the air would be the Broken Water Blade Intent. A fist master could hold their stance, and their very Breathing would naturally form Primordial Gang Qi.
At this stage, a Martial Artist possessed abilities akin to a superman, with every single action containing immense power.
Zhao Rui didn't know much about this Realm, and it was too early to think about it now.
To be able to reach the Mastery Realm before the college entrance exams was already a source of immense joy.
Zhao Rui was Concentrating and Calming the Mind, silently circulating the Misty Divine Skill Method. Qi flowed through the Meridians of his entire body as he suddenly unleashed a technique with his hands.
His figure moved like lightning, his steps erratic and swift, like a thunderbolt tearing through the night sky.
His every move and stance were no longer like before, where he had to counter each move as it came. Now, it was about seeing his true nature, free and effortless.
"So satisfying!"
After practicing a set of his Palm Technique, performing his Breathing exercises, and retracting his qi, Zhao Rui couldn't help but let out a cry of satisfaction.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Little Uncle Master, what are you doing in there?"
Just then, the voice of his little martial niece came from the door.
Zhao Rui walked over and opened the door to the Martial Arts Hall, which he had deliberately bolted shut.
The first thing he saw was his little martial niece, Li Lanting, eyeing him with a strange expression.
Her gaze was particularly fixed on his lower body.
Her stare made his skin crawl. He put on a stern face and said, "What are you doing? Is your homework finished?"
"Aha, a guilty conscience! Uncle Master, don't worry, I won't tell Grandpa and the others. It's a man thing, I get it!"
"The hell you do! You don't know a damn thing!"
Dark lines formed on Zhao Rui's forehead. 'This girl is way too precocious. I can't let her use a cell phone.'
"Go do your homework already," Zhao Rui snapped.
"You should hurry up and find a girlfriend, or you'll get pimples!"
Li Lanting giggled, covering her mouth as she ran toward the front courtyard.
Zhao Rui couldn't be bothered with her. He changed his clothes, got on his bicycle, and left through the gates of the Medicine Hall.
The summer night breeze was hot and dry. The outdoors was brightly lit, with rows of streetlights casting a dim yellow glow on the straight concrete road ahead.
'The college entrance exams are coming up!'
'Which university should I aim for?'
Before he had the system panel, his highest goal was a second-tier university within the province.
But now, with the panel's help, he had already reached the Mastery Realm ahead of schedule. Passing the Fourth-level Martial Artist exam would be a piece of cake.
'In that case, I can't set my sights so low for university.'
'It has to be at least a first-tier university, in or out of the province. Maybe even a key first-tier one.'
Zhao Rui mulled over his future academic path as he cycled home.
As he was riding, a spinning brown basketball suddenly flew toward him at high speed, heading straight for him.
Its speed was far beyond what an ordinary person could throw.
'A Martial Artist!'
Zhao Rui reached out and caught it. He used Transforming Force in his hand, spinning the basketball on his palm like a circus performer.
He planted his right foot on the ground for support and looked at two tall boys striding toward him from a short distance away.
"Yo, a trained fighter! What school are you from? You look kinda familiar!"
One of the boys, handsome with sharp features, spoke with a slight smirk, his tone a bit flippant.
Zhao Rui glanced at him without a word, tossed the basketball back, and prepared to leave on his bike.
The boy caught the basketball, then suddenly raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Oh, I remember now. It's you!"
Zhao Rui gave him a smile, though it was a bit forced, and then immediately pedaled away.
"Brother Luo, you know that guy?"
Seeing Zhao Rui leave, the other boy asked the handsome one who had just spoken.
"Just someone I've beaten before."
The handsome boy coolly swept his hair back and said dismissively.
...
「City Martial Arts Association Level Assessment Center」
Riding on the back of Yang Fan's motorcycle, Zhao Rui entered the parking lot under the morning sun.
"If you pass Level 4, don't forget to treat me to KFC!"
"No problem!"
Zhao Rui took a deep breath and walked toward the assessment center's main building.
Yang Fan locked up the bike and hurried to catch up. Staring at the massive building before them, he said with a click of his tongue, "The Martial Arts Association is loaded. This building is even more impressive than the city government's."
The two of them walked up the steps and soon arrived at the assessment center's main hall.
They found a staff member, handed over their identification, took a queue ticket, and went to the corridor outside the assessment rooms.
They sat on the chairs and waited.
"Look at all these people. Are they all here for the Level 4 assessment? No way, right?"
Yang Fan said in disbelief. After all, even a Fifth-level Martial Artist was a rare sight at their school.
'How come there are so many here?'
'There must be more than twenty of them!'
"This is just at the city level. There are even more at the provincial level. Level 6 and Level 7 aren't even that rare there," Zhao Rui replied.
"Sigh! Good thing I never forced myself to work hard at Cultivation. A person really needs to know their own limits!"
Yang Fan chuckled. Just as he was about to mock himself a bit more, a voice suddenly spoke from across the hall.
"Hey, what a coincidence. Don't tell me you're here for an assessment too? Level 4? That was pretty fast!"
He looked up and saw two tall boys he didn't recognize.
"Just got lucky. Your strength should have reached Level 4 long ago, right?"
Just then, Zhao Rui, who was beside him, had already responded to the other party.
"I'm just here with a classmate. Sorry, but even if you are a Fourth-level Martial Artist, you still have no chance of beating me."
The speaker was the same boy with the basketball that Zhao Rui had encountered on the path earlier.
"Damn, who the hell do you think you are, acting so arrogant?"
Hearing this, Yang Fan was instantly annoyed.
The boy didn't get angry at the remark. He just smiled nonchalantly and said, "I just passed Level 6."
"Level si—"
The word caught in Yang Fan's throat, and he stammered to a close.