"Teacher Xu, the cake you've drawn is really big and round."
Ye Qingzhou's expression was neither a smile nor a frown, making Xu Lan blush involuntarily.
When she was in college, she was fed big cakes drawn by school leaders every day. Now she was imitating them, drawing the same for Ye Qingzhou.
However, Ye Qingzhou had come across too many such cakes in his past life, so he wasn't fooled at all.
"Teacher Xu, what about the benefits you promised me? Make it clear first. I'm not one to act without assurance; I don't eat cakes but would rather discuss something more practical."
"So young yet so shrewd. Can't you have a bit of ambition in life?"
Xu Lan glared at Ye Qingzhou in annoyance but decided to offer something tangible to prove her sincerity: "Alright, I understand. One martial meal a day, plus the complete set of 'Six Military Techniques' cultivation technique manuals. Is that okay?"
Having gotten his dues, Ye Qingzhou finally nodded in satisfaction: "Let's start with this, and I'll ask for more if it's not enough."
"You're quite straightforward, aren't you!"
"The essence of Martial Dao is striving for victory. If I don't fight for my own interests, how can I talk about winning the championship?"
Ye Qingzhou didn't understand modesty or politeness.
For him, embarking on the path of martial arts was like sailing against the current; one must advance or be swept downstream.
In this era where a thousand boats compete and ten thousand ships vie for the lead, only by striving for first can one stand on a higher peak and see the most beautiful sights.
"Cyan Wave Sword Fighting Competition..."
Although Xu Lan felt that reaching the top eight would be a success, Ye Qingzhou always aimed for the championship, so he planned to start preparations immediately.
After recruiting new members, the Swordsmanship Club began its first official club activity of the new semester.
Xu Lan, as the newly appointed team teacher, also conventionally called both new and old members together for a briefing: "Everyone knows our Swordsmanship Club's creed, right?"
"We know!"
"A warrior should fight bravely and continue advancing without cessation!"
The audience responded in unison, even the newly joined freshmen, under the guidance of the older members, seemed to be infused with the Swordsmanship Club's enterprising spirit, becoming enthusiastic as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
Satisfied with what she saw, Xu Lan nodded before continuing: "Martial Dao is the philosophy of struggle and the technique of using force. Our Swordsmanship Club was established to revive the weapon-based combat martial arts techniques from the history of the Dongji Kingdom. Unlike choreographed performances, we focus on practical combat with comprehensive protective gear."
Then, Xu Lan drew her sword, performing a live demonstration of practical swordsmanship.
"In hundreds of blocks and thousands of sword swings, you must use your body to remember these martial arts techniques passed down through history, comprehend the ultimate truth of martial arts within them, and eventually set on the path to becoming a professional martial artist!"
These words fully mobilized the club members' enthusiasm for learning martial arts.
Professional martial artist!
In today's era of flourishing martial arts, martial artists symbolize status and wealth!
Ye Qingzhou, however, was yawning repeatedly; he had grown tired of such promises in his past life and now just wanted to quickly enter the training phase.
Fortunately, Xu Lan was not a verbose person and soon began formal swordsmanship training.
She sheathed her sword and began talking about the basics of martial arts: "Through scientific research, our martial arts on Blue Star have made great strides compared to more than a hundred years ago. Essentially, martial arts are the work and output of the human body as an engine. In the old-style martial arts before the appearance of the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm, the fuel was Qi and blood, so the output was very low, far inferior to scientific power."
"However, with the emergence of Primordial Qi, martial arts underwent an earth-shattering transformation!"
"The 'Yuan' is the origin of all things. Primordial Qi is a miraculous energy that can evolve all things. When absorbed and transformed by the human body, and stimulated through specific work methods, it can unleash incredible power... Like this!"
As she spoke, Xu Lan abruptly drew her sword.
With a resonating clang, the sword flashed and directly sliced through a 45mm thick steel plate used to demonstrate swordsmanship.
The cut was red-hot, as if scorched by high temperatures.
This is the terrifying strength of a Blue Star professional martial artist!
It's known that during Earth's World War II, tank armor was only 45mm thick. Being able to slash through tanks on the battlefield showcases the martial artist's formidable strength.
"My sword used the 'aggressive as fire' technique from 'Six Military Techniques.' By channeling Inner Breath and mobilizing the Primordial Qi inside, it turned into fire attribute energy that burst out instantly. The sword strike was powerful enough to even cut through steel."
Xu Lan stood with her sword horizontally. Her Treasure Sword was still steaming slightly, indicating the lingering heat of her previous move.
The Swordsmanship Club members in the Martial Arts Arena watched with blood boiling; the power of a professional martial artist was indeed terrifying!
Standing in the crowd, Ye Qingzhou was also mesmerized. He had already deciphered all the secrets of Xu Lan's sword strike: "So, aside from the muscle force techniques, the real key to 'Six Military Techniques' is mastering the power of Inner Breath through Inner Cultivation, then channeling Primordial Qi to evolve the phenomena of nature."
Subsequently, Ye Qingzhou began to try and understand the contents of 'Six Military Techniques.'
As a basic textbook widely promoted in the Dongji Kingdom, the difficulty of cultivating 'Six Military Techniques' itself is not high. There are only six basic postures, namely swift as the wind, aggressive as fire, immovable as a mountain, gradual as the forest, inscrutable as yin, and moving like thunder.
These six postures each focus on different aspects.
Wind corresponds to reaction speed, fire to muscle strength, the mountain to bone strength, the forest to the technique of exerting force, and yin and thunder respectively to the gathering and bursting of Inner Breath.
The method of cultivation involves using specific techniques combined with exclusive breathing and Breathing techniques to mobilize the Primordial Qi inside, forming Inner Breath.
Just now, Xu Lan used the fire technique in 'Six Military Techniques' to arouse Primordial Qi, transforming it into Fire's Inner Breath. This not only greatly enhanced her muscle strength but also imbued her attack with the high-temperature attribute of flame.
"So, this is the power of Primordial Qi. Through different Inner Breaths, martial artists can transform Primordial Qi into specific attribute attacks. This kind of power is indeed worthy of the name 'evolution of all things.'"
Thinking this, Ye Qingzhou had already mastered the first posture of 'Six Military Techniques' and grasped the corresponding Inner Breath technique.
For someone like him who could already perfectly master his own Gang Force, this was an easy feat, utterly effortless.
Through Wind's Inner Breath, Ye Qingzhou quickly sensed an unusual power in his body. It was like a flowing wind, resonating with his breath.
"Is this my body's Primordial Qi being activated?"
He had a similar sensation from Lei Ying, Xu Lan, and Sha Lixin before: "So, this power comes from Primordial Qi."
Primordial Qi itself has no attributes, but through different Inner Breath techniques, it can transform into any specific attribute of power.
Moreover, through External Training and External Training, martial artists can also use Primordial Qi to enhance themselves. This is what is meant by "externally train muscles, bones, and skin, internally train one breath."
Among the 'Six Military Techniques,' the six techniques of wind, fire, mountain, forest, yin, and thunder each have their External Training and Inner Cultivation methods, though with varying emphases, making it an exceptionally comprehensive system.