Once New Year's Day passed, the first semester of sophomore year came to an end.
Yu Fei's final exam scores dropped slightly. He was third in his class and eleventh in his grade.
This was because he had focused the vast majority of his energy on martial arts. After a certain point, improving his rank in academics required an amount of effort that he felt wasn't worth it.
On January 14th, Yan Sea led a team with Yu Fei and five other seniors from Nanguan Second Middle School to a martial arts competition.
The tournament would last for seven days. According to Yan Sea, there were about three hundred participants, and the top thirty-six from the open qualifiers would advance to the preliminary rounds.
The preliminaries were divided into four groups. Each group would have a round-robin tournament, and the top two from each group would advance to the quarterfinals.
Among the competitors, eight had broken through the fourth gate of martial arts, and one had broken through the fifth. They were seeded players and advanced directly, which meant Yu Fei and the others would be competing for the remaining 27 spots.
A total of three commercial vans made the trip, carrying two other martial arts teachers and some of the contestants' parents.
When Yu Fei told his family the news, Yu Miao immediately claimed a spot to go with him. In truth, she wasn't particularly surprised that her younger brother was a martial arts genius. He had always been different from other kids, so it seemed natural for him to do extraordinary things.
Before they left, Mr. Yu repeatedly reminded Yu Fei to take good care of his sister.
The members of the Yu Family were all quite tall.
Yu Fei was 182 cm, and Yu Miao was 174 cm.
Yu Fei was handsome, and his successful martial arts training gave him a transcendent air.
Yu Miao's image had changed drastically since starting college. She had an intellectual sort of beauty and wore black-framed glasses with red accents, cultivating a mature, sophisticated "cool older sister" vibe.
The brother and sister pair attracted a lot of attention from passersby.
The journey was exhausting. They were coming from the farthest district, over two hundred kilometers away. There was no direct highway, so they had to take detours, including some treacherous, winding mountain roads.
The group set out at eleven in the morning and didn't arrive at their hotel until after two in the afternoon.
Yan Sea had the students quickly eat at the hotel buffet before rushing them over to the Xinghuo Martial Arts Dojo—the new district's only Class B dojo—to draw lots for the competition.
They were a little late.
This competition was organized by the Municipal Education Bureau, with the Xinghuo Martial Arts Dojo acting as a partner. The dojo provided funding, resources, and personnel; many of the tournament's referees were its own instructors.
In the martial arts world of the Yu Kingdom, private dojos were divided into three tiers: Class A, Class B, and unranked.
The classification of a dojo was determined by multiple factors, including the dojo master's strength, the number of instructors, the quality of the staff, and the size of the facility.
As far as Yu Fei knew, a Class B dojo required its master to be at the fourth realm or higher.
The Xinghuo Martial Arts Dojo covered over eighty acres. It was enormous in scale and formidable in strength.
As Yan Sea and his group walked, they saw people coming and going everywhere.
Yu Fei activated his marking vision. The crowd flowing in and out was dominated by white talents, making up about half the total. Green and blue gems were visible everywhere, and occasionally, the brilliant, luxurious glow of a purple light would catch his eye.
He realized that the two talent-copying charges he had saved up were nowhere near enough.
For this youth martial arts exchange tournament, the open qualifier rules required every participant to fight a full five rounds. A win earned 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss 0 points.
After five rounds, the top 27 competitors by points would advance to the preliminaries. If there were any ties in score, a tiebreaker match would be held; the winner would advance, and the loser would be eliminated.
If they passed the qualifiers, the Xinghuo Martial Arts Dojo would sponsor them with ten Vitality Elixirs. With each subsequent round they advanced, the prizes would become even more generous.
The sheer extravagance of the wealthy sponsor hit them full force. Not just Yu Fei, but all the young people with him were instantly thrilled, their fighting spirit soaring.
The most common medicine available on the market for a first-realm Martial Artist was Blood Storage Powder, and it was often out of stock.
Although Vitality Elixirs were more expensive than Blood Storage Powder, they were more effective and increased training efficiency.
There were no commercial channels to purchase them. Rumor had it that the supply channels were controlled by the military; you couldn't buy them even if you had money, not without the proper qualifications.
The fact that the Xinghuo Martial Arts Dojo could produce several hundred Vitality Elixirs was a testament to their immense power. If sold on the open market, they would probably be worth fifteen million.
If all these Vitality Elixirs were given to one person, even someone like Lei Xiaoqiang could break through the third gate of martial arts.
Yan Sea watched the excited students without saying a word.
'These kids are still too inexperienced,' he thought. 'The truly valuable resources on the path of martial arts can't be measured in money.'
The lot drawing finished. Yu Fei was number 147. His matches were scheduled with two on the 15th, two on the 16th, and one on the 17th.
Yan Sea instructed everyone to rest well, eat normally, and preferably not go out. He told them not to practice their stance techniques for the next few days, but to just lightly practice their fist forms each day to loosen up their muscles and bones.
That evening, Yu Fei took a short walk nearby with his sister before returning to his room to get an early night's sleep.
The six participants from Nanguan Second Middle School were rooming two to a room. The guy assigned to share a room with Yu Fei was powerfully built, with a blue light above his head—a noble blue-level talent.
The man was all sinewy muscle with dark skin, and he seemed to stir up a fierce wind just by walking. Yu Fei thought he looked just like a fierce general from ancient times.
'This guy's talent is probably related to his physical constitution, different from Jiang Yifan's. It's worth collecting,' Yu Fei analyzed. 'But we go to the same high school, so there'll be other chances later. I'll pass for now.'
Seeing Yu Fei return to the room, the fierce-looking guy quickly stood up. He was so nervous he didn't know what to do with his hands. Clearly, he was an introvert.
"Hey, Senior. I'm Yu Fei!"
"Hello, hello, hello! I'm Jian Dalong."
'Jian Dalong?' Yu Fei thought. 'Sounds like the name of a mighty general.'
"Which class are you in, Senior?"
"Class 9 of the senior year!"
...
Yu Fei had plenty of social experience, and before long, he and Jian Dalong were chatting back and forth comfortably.
Jian Dalong had already passed the third gate and was more than halfway through the Bone Gate. He was very strong.
In fact, Jian Dalong was also curious why Yu Fei, a mere sophomore, was participating in the competition.
Most of the Martial Artists in the competition had passed the third gate. A smaller number were at the second gate, but Yu Fei was the only one who had only passed the Skin Gate.
Yu Fei put on a profound and mysterious air. "Actually, I have superpowers. I'm not on the same system as you Martial Artists. Martial arts is just one part of my strength. Believe it or not, I can make it to the finals."
Jian Dalong immediately looked at Yu Fei as if he were an idiot.
"I don't believe you. Superpowers? Are you kidding me? You've only passed the Skin Gate and have only been training for half a year. How many forms of the Six Harmonies Killing Fist have you mastered?
"How many of these forms—Single-Line Pierce, Yin Stream Shattered Jade, Dragon and Snake Double Stack, Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net, and Light Swallow Shadow—have you even learned the basics of? How many have you partially mastered?"
Yu Fei was stunned. It was the first time he had heard of the other forms of the Six Harmonies Killing Fist. Yan Sea hadn't taught them, and Mr. Gao had never mentioned them either.
"Wait a minute!" Yu Fei spotted the logical gap.
"You just mentioned five forms. Shouldn't the Six Harmonies Killing Fist have six forms?"
Jian Dalong suddenly cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and said with a serious expression, "The Six Harmonies Killing Fist doesn't have a sixth form. You have to practice the first five forms to perfection, and then a Cultivator can comprehend the core power of the sixth form, Ruyi Shen Jin, on their own. That's common knowledge. You didn't know?"
It was painful for Yu Fei to watch. 'How did this little bro suddenly get so pretentious?'
"Ruyi Shen Jin? You know it?"
"I don't!"
"Then what are you talking all that crap for, striking a pose like that!"
"But I know about it, and you didn't!"
"So now I know, don't I?"
...
"Let's just go to sleep!"