Ti flew by.
During Ji Xinghuo’s daily cultivation, the Star Realm entered "Star Night," the sixth month of the hot season, with each starry night growing longer, surpassing 15 hours.
Pop!
Ji Xinghuo released an arrow, hitting the target a hundred ters away dead center, scoring a perfect ten.
He glanced at the dense cluster of arrows in the target’s bullseye and shook his head slightly. The villa’s shooting range had only one lane, and the distance was limited to a hundred ters. Within this range, no matter how much he practiced, there was no improvent, he could hit a perfect ten even with his eyes closed.
Not only was the archery facility limited, but so was the martial arts practice.
Martial arts were never about seclusion but about engaging in real combats, exchanging blows with different opponents, accumulating experiences, and summarizing gains and losses to achieve substantial improvent.
Practicing a million slashes alone at ho could elevate one’s ntal training to a climax, but it was not as effective as sparring with an opponent of the sa rank for three days.
"Ultimately, real combat is necessary."
Ji Xinghuo muttered as he put down the composite bow.
The Wanxiang Star Pupil interface opened; other data remained unchanged, except for a significant progress in the "Star Power" section.
[Star Power: 178/178]
Nearly two Earth months of diligent cultivation, now December 2223, his Star Power had increased by 15 points.
Having completed all nine training cycles for the day, both his physical fitness and Star Power had recovered well. Next on the agenda was martial arts training.
However, there was little progress over these two months.
Still at Seventh Dan in martial arts.
Continuing this training would be a waste of ti, Ji Xinghuo thought, and put on lightweight alloy armor before stepping out of the villa. Over the past two months, apart from the days when Jiangnan Caiyi visited, his daily six als were regularly delivered by a nearby restaurant and left at the door. Today was his first ti going out.
The villa area was said to house two or three Legendary Mutants, with mutants as security guards performing rigorous patrols, ensuring robust safety.
However, since stepping out ant leaving the villa unattended, Ji Xinghuo didn’t want to risk losing property.
Most of his money was already deposited in the Olympia bank.
The most valuable possession on him were his weapon equipnt, wearing Gale Battle Boots, with "Lei Chi" War Blade tucked into a plain sheath, only the handle visible, making it hard to recognize its real value. The composite bow was impractical to carry and not very valuable, so he had left it in the room.
Ji Xinghuo casually boarded a steam bus, looking out at the street buildings through the window.
He was searching for a martial arts hall.
Martial arts were popular on Earth and so in Olympia, with at least a thousand dojos, but Ji Xinghuo was looking for a larger dojo, so he wasn’t in a hurry to get off the bus.
A few minutes later, he spotted a very large martial arts hall from a distance, constructed impressively, with a huge sign hanging on the side of the gateway.
"Extre Martial Arts Academy."
Ji Xinghuo’s eyes brightened. "Does Extre Martial Arts Academy have a branch in Olympia?" he got off the bus without hesitation and walked towards the dojo.
The Extre Martial Arts Academy was one of the most famous martial arts halls on Earth, unparalleled.
While there were a few other dojos comparable, even larger in size and with more students, none matched the heritage and prestige of Extre Martial Arts Academy, which firmly held the top position in the global ranking of dojos.
The reason was that the founder of the dojo was the "Gun Saint" Xing Lie!
Xing Lie was the first martial artist in human history to be conferred the title of Martial Saint, one of the Asia-Pacific Community’s Thirteen Heavenly Kings, founder of the Global Martial Arts Association, and its president, ranking sixth on the global "Heavenly King List," indicating only five individuals on Earth were stronger than him.
Xing Lie’s life was truly legendary.
Born in 2043, he experienced nearly two centuries of wars, calamities, and turmoil on Earth from the Star Gate Era to the 23rd century.
At the age of 40, Xing Lie founded the Extre Martial Arts Academy, not only accepting disciples and opening doors but also packaging his martial arts experience into videos and disseminating them for free online.
His selfless acts greatly advanced the martial arts level of all mutants on Earth.
Many later-born martial arts grandmasters were imnsely grateful to Xing Lie; their martial arts journeys comnced from watching his videos, leading to their later achievents.
Nearly every mutant had viewed Xing Lie’s martial arts instructional videos, considering him a ntor.
Martial arts experts from Extre Martial Arts Academy were spread all over the globe.
Xing Lie’s real disciples included two Martial Saints and nurous grandmasters and masters, with hundreds of the latter.
The position and influence of the "Gun Saint" in the world of martial arts were thus evident, enjoying high regard even in the opposing Arican Federation.
Ji Xinghuo entered the gate and imdiately noticed the large characters inscribed on the hall’s wall:
Martial Arts are boundless, strive inexhaustibly!
"Good day, sir, what service do you require?" a receptionist in a black and white martial arts training outfit imdiately asked respectfully upon seeing Ji Xinghuo walk in.
Ji Xinghuo was straightforward, "I am looking for a sparring partner."
"Certainly,"
the receptionist began detailing proficiently, "Our Extre Martial Arts Academy Qinghao branch has the best facilities and coaches in Olympia, conditions not inferior to Earth. Based on the registrants’ strength and rank, daily real combat sparring is arranged, with varying fees. May I ask your na, sir?"
"Xin Liaoyuan."
Ji Xinghuo gave a fictitious na, inconsequential as it couldn’t be verified in Olympia.
"May I know Mr. Xin’s class and rank?" she took out a notebook to register.
"Interdiate Mutant, Seventh Dan."
The receptionist’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. Interdiate mutants were common, but Seventh Dan already qualified as a professional rank and was not often seen.
"Mr. Xin is so young, yet his strength is so formidable, it truly invokes envy."
After the receptionist complinted him, she continued, "The ranks of actual combat opponents generally cannot differ by more than two levels. Currently, we have 25 mbers registered from Fifth to Ninth Dan. Combat tis are daily from 28 to 36 hours, divided into two sessions. Mr. Xin, upon your arrival, you can participate imdiately, with coaches arranging your opponents, or you can also challenge other mbers on your own. Does that work for you?"
"That works," Xin Liaoyuan nodded. "What are the charges?"
"We charge by the hour, 500 Ya Yuan per hour," the receptionist said with a smile.
Xin Liaoyuan planned to train for eight hours a day, just the cost of the venue would be 4000 yuan; if he were to add so dication, treatnt, and private lessons, that could easily double.
Indeed, it is said, ’The penury of scholars and the wealth of warriors.’
"Register ," Xin Liaoyuan said with a pained heart, but his face showed little emotion. "I’ll start with a thirty-day mbership." He handed over 120,000 Ya Yuan.
The receptionist’s smile grew even more brilliant.
She quickly registered Xin Liaoyuan for the course, then took out a docunt, "Mr. Xin, fists and kicks are rciless, swords and blades see no eye. Our martial arts hall only provides the arena and treatnt, but we cannot guarantee absolute safety of life. Thus, every mber must sign a disclair."
Xin Liaoyuan had long been aware of this. He took the pen and signed his na, "Xin Liaoyuan".
After the receptionist collected the docunt, she smiled and said, "Mr. Xin, you’ve co at just the right ti. Right now, there is an ongoing professional rank combat training. Would you like to participate?"
"Take there."
Xin Liaoyuan followed the receptionist into the interior of the martial arts hall.
Soon, he arrived at an indoor martial arts arena spanning thousands of square ters, with a ceiling five ters high, and the whole area was square-shaped. The tallic floor was clean and shiny. At the mont, two people were sparring in the arena, with a dozen others watching from the sidelines.
The receptionist approached a man on the side of the arena but did not speak, waiting instead.
Xin Liaoyuan also watched the duelists.
A man and a woman, both advanced mutants judging from the reaction of their ether energy, matched well in strength. The man wielded a long double-handed warblade, while the woman used a long spear, fiercely engaged in combat.
"They are both Seventh Dan," soone remarked.
"The long spear has the advantage, but the warblade has greater strength. There’s over a seventy percent chance that he will win."
Xin Liaoyuan watched for a few seconds before turning his gaze to the man nearby.
The man wore the coaching uniform of the Extre Martial Arts Academy, hands clasped behind his back, his expression serious. Standing about one ter ninety tall, he appeared quite imposing, yet his figure was well-proportioned, exuding an aura of agility and strength characteristic of a martial arts master.
"Super mutant," Xin Liaoyuan thought internally. "His martial arts rank, though, isn’t apparent."
The coach had two assistants with him, one was a White Knight and the other a Plant Witch, both professional mutants with healing abilities.
The rest of the ten people were mbers signed up for actual combat.
Xin Liaoyuan surveyed the group; mostly they were interdiate or advanced mutants, each carrying weapons, and their martial arts ranks seed quite high.
"Clang!"
An explosive sound filled the arena as the female mutant’s long spear was knocked from her grip and fell to the ground, her opponent’s double-handed warblade promptly positioned at her neck, leaving a trail of blood.
"I concede," the female mutant said.
"Sorry, I didn’t control my strength well," the male mutant quickly sheathed his blade, looking guiltily at the blood mark on her neck.
"It’s alright."
Though the female mutant verbally dismissed the concern, her expression was somber.
She picked up her long spear and moved to the side where the White Knight placed a hand on her wound. A pale light flickered, and within seconds, the wound had healed.
"Coach Tu,"
Only then did the receptionist respectfully speak, "This is a new mber who has just signed up, Mr. Xin Liaoyuan."
"My na is Tu Hongda, I am a Martial Artist," Super Iron Guard said as he turned to Xin Liaoyuan, squeezing out a smile and extending a hand, "Welco Mr. Xin to join us."
"Please teach well, Coach Tu," Xin Liaoyuan shook his hand, feeling a strong and resilient grip.
Tu Hongda spoke, "Mr. Xin, tell your rank and dan, and also your preferred weapon, so I can arrange an opponent for you."
"I’m an interdiate ranger, Seventh Dan, mainly using swords."
"Understood," Tu Hongda nodded, then let Xin Liaoyuan watch the ongoing battles.
While speaking to the pair who had just sparred, he gave a few comnts and then arranged for another pair to take the stage. When Tu Hongda spoke, everyone listened intently and watched carefully, as they all would have their turn in combat.
Combat among martial arts masters generally doesn’t last long.
Even with preliminary probing, most fights would conclude within two minutes, sotis they could even reach an imdiate decision at first clash.
Tu Hongda would let the two spar several tis continuously until one was injured or the fight had no instructional value, at which point he would call it off.
After about half an hour of watching, Xin Liaoyuan felt he had learned quite a bit.
"Liaoyuan, everyone else has completed a round in the arena, do you want to demonstrate your strength?" Tu Hongda suddenly turned and asked.
"Sure." Xin Liaoyuan was not stage-shy; he had co for the actual combat experience.
His eyes swept over the mbers before asking, "Coach Tu, who will my opponent be?"
"," Tu Hongda answered seriously.
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