Zeng Anmin didn't care in the slightest about the evaluations of his poetry. Right now, he was far more concerned with the three Energy-Introducing Atlases he had received from "Nan."
"There are three maps in total. Each one can draw qi into the body," he thought.
After exiting the Sea of Consciousness, Zeng Anmin's eyes gleamed sharply. The three maps Nan had given him all depicted extremely contorted postures. Fortunately, the dormitories provided by the academy were spacious enough, and Qi Dachun wouldn't dare share a room with him anyway, so his privacy was guaranteed.
He frowned, attempting to mimic the posture from the first map. "Sore, painful..." he muttered. Although it didn't feel very comfortable, this body was only sixteen years old and possessed excellent flexibility. Despite the discomfort, he barely managed to assume the pose.
"To reach enlightenment on the free-flowing Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth," he recalled. When Nan gave him the maps, he had also provided the corresponding breathing techniques.
Closing his eyes in the awkward stance, Zeng Anmin began trying to sense it. As his breathing steadily leveled out...
EXHALE.
It didn't take long for him to keenly realize that, with the help of the Sea of Consciousness, he could easily perceive the free-flowing aura in the air. The Sea of Consciousness had sharpened his six senses. Gradually, his condition improved. Almost as soon as he entered a state of deep meditation, he felt a warm current wash through his body.
EXHALE.
Not daring to slack off, Zeng Anmin continued circulating the breathing technique.
POP.
Following an ambiguous sound from within his body, Zeng Anmin snapped his eyes open.
"This is..."
He broke the awkward posture, stood up, and closed his eyes to carefully sense the changes. The Sea of Consciousness, which the Dragon Inspection Map had helped him open, now revealed its true utility. He rapidly captured the waves of warmth drifting freely in the air. With a mere flick of his intent, he gathered those auras into his body.
"Is it really that simple to... reach the Entry Grade?!" he thought in shock.
The next moment, the Golden Finger panel flashed before his eyes:
[Congratulations on breaking through the Grade.]
[Martial Art attributes fully loaded.]
[Please select one of the following three Martial Art attributes.]
[(Rainbow) High-end Martial Power: Your Martial Arts Combat Power is one realm higher than your Martial Arts Realm.]
[(Rainbow) Martial Arts Attack: You cannot independently raise your Martial Arts Realm. However, for the first three years, it will provide one grade of Martial Arts Realm per year; for the following decades, one grade every ten years; and thereafter, one grade every hundred years.]
[(Rainbow) Featherweight III: When practicing a Martial Arts Technique, your progress speed increases by forty percent.]
[Note: Unselected attributes will disappear permanently. Countdown: 30, 29, 28...]
"?"
"Holy shit?"
"Jackpot!!!"
Zeng Anmin was dazzled by these three attributes. The first one went without saying—it was a Causality Law Weapon level attribute! It meant getting the maximum improvement with the least amount of effort.
The second one... In a mere three hundred and thirty-three years, he could grow from a mortal body into one of the few at the Martial Arts Saint Realm! Absolutely outrageous!
As for the third... With the first two being such rare gems, the third seemed a bit mediocre in comparison.
Zeng Anmin took a deep breath, having already made up his mind. First, he eliminated [Featherweight III]. It just didn't look great. Setting aside everything else, even Martial Cultivators with mere good talent progressed several times faster than ordinary ones.
As for [Martial Arts Attack] and [High-end Martial Power]... honestly, he found it truly difficult to choose between them. However, right as the selection timer was about to run out, he finalized his decision.
[High-end Martial Power!]
His gaze was exceedingly firm. With a Causality Law Weapon available, there was absolutely no need to consider anything else!
The moment he made his choice, the panel vanished. Immediately after, he felt an incredibly drastic transformation occurring within his body. His muscles gradually surfaced... and their definitions grew smoother and more streamlined.
CRACKLE.
Zeng Anmin's body underwent an unprecedented metamorphosis. Having just broken through to become a Ninth Grade Martial Artist, his combat power had now reached the... Eighth Grade!
Inside him, the warm current suddenly swelled. After completing a full circulation around his body, it slowly gathered in his abdomen, spinning like a vortex that endlessly absorbed the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth to nourish his physique.
"Eighth Grade of Martial Arts!" Zeng Anmin thought, sensing his body thoughtfully.
He hadn't yet opened up a Dantian in his abdomen. This meant he hadn't truly reached the Eighth Grade realm. But... Zeng Anmin slowly extended his hand. A dense Martial Arts Aura swirled over his palm like a cyclone. Yet, his methods were identical to those of an Eighth Grade Qi-Nourishing Realm Martial Artist!
"So, once I open my Dantian... I will immediately possess the abilities of the Seventh Grade Visualization Realm..."
As expected, anything produced by the system had to be a masterpiece! Even Zeng Anmin hadn't anticipated it to be this wonderful!
When the system first appeared, the three attributes were silver. The second time, after his Confucian Dao reached the Ninth Grade, they were also silver. But on this third occasion—his Martial Art breakthrough—they were rainbow colored!
There were two possibilities. First, the attributes appeared randomly. Second, the system might favor Martial Arts, using this method to encourage him to advance his Martial Art progress first...
"My father is a renowned Great Confucian Scholar in Kyushu! Why must you force me to become a crude Martial Artist? Why not pour all the classical texts from my past life straight into my head? Helping me become a distinguished Confucian Saint—wouldn't that be a joy?" he thought, feeling a surge of frustration.
In the classroom. The Tutor had not yet arrived, but many students were already seated and waiting. Zeng Anmin took advantage of this time to chat with Qi Dachun by the roadside.
"Young Master, how has your progress at the academy been these past few days?" Qi Dachun looked at Zeng Anmin with a naive smile, stuffing a flatbread larger than his face into his mouth in one huge bite.
Breathing in the fresh air, Zeng Anmin felt utterly relaxed. "I've learned quite a few principles. They are naturally very useful."
"Oh?" Qi Dachun's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together and asked, "Could you tell me about them too? That way, I'll have an answer for my dad when I head back."
Hearing this, a wicked smile surfaced on Zeng Anmin's lips. "Even if I told you the principles I've learned, you wouldn't understand them. But I can teach you something else."
Qi Dachun immediately looked serious. "What is it?"
"Listen closely," Zeng Anmin explained to him with a straight face. "'If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening without regret'—you don't understand this line, do you?"
Qi Dachun nodded repeatedly. "I really don't!"
Zeng Anmin chuckled deviously. "It's actually very simple. It means: if I find out the route to your house in the morning, I'll beat you to death in the evening."
This was entirely too tailored to his tastes! Qi Dachun felt as if he had been struck by an electric current; a refreshing thrill washed over his entire body.
"The Young Master's brilliance is truly beyond my reach!!"
Seeing the great effect, Zeng Anmin continued, "'While one's parents are alive, one should not travel far; if one does, there must be a clear destination'!"
Qi Dachun didn't even speak. He simply cupped his hands in a deeply respectful salute, striking a very solemn pose.
"It means: 'While your parents are alive, you can't run away. Even if you run away, there will definitely be a method to catch you.'"
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!! So simple and clear! You are a great genius, Young Master!! The reincarnation of a Confucian Saint!" Qi Dachun looked as if he wanted to clap his hands in sheer delight.
Zeng Anmin doubled down on his efforts. "'Learning without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without learning ends in danger.' It means: 'If you learn my martial arts but don't learn my mindset, you will be confused. If you learn my mindset but don't learn my martial arts, you will be beaten to death!'"
...
"Zeng Anmin!!" the Tutor's stern voice suddenly rang out from behind him. "To think that such disgraceful and uncultured words could come from your mouth!!"
His tone carried a trace of utter disbelief. It was exactly like a teacher from his past life catching their star student smoking and drinking with a group of delinquents. Clearly, he had never imagined that Zeng Anmin—a student he had placed such high hopes in—could be so cynical and flippant.
Hearing this exasperated voice, the wicked smile on Zeng Anmin's face froze.
"Today, you are punished to stand during the lecture, and you are forbidden from eating!"