Chapter 50: Obtaining the Advancement Point

The next day, the martial arts training continued, and Zhao Rui spent his morning going to Wang Zhe's side as usual.

At this point, Wang Zhe's injuries had long since fully healed, but his mood remained low. Previously, due to forcing a martial arts technique, he had suffered an internal energy backlash, and afterward, Tian Zirong had seized the opportunity to injure him.

This had delayed his recovery time.

Right now, he was suppressing his frustration, pouring his heart and soul entirely into cultivation, hoping to find an opportunity to wash away his past humiliation. Naturally, he had no extra emotional bandwidth for anything else.

Knowing his situation, Zhao Rui certainly wouldn't go and disturb his cultivation or ask for martial arts advice at a time like this.

He just practiced by himself anyway. Since he had already mastered the Prajna Palm, he had no particular cultivation bottlenecks for the time being.

The entire martial arts team consisted of three divisions: one main team and two auxiliary teams.

The main team members were all regular players, while in the auxiliary teams, generally only the captain was a regular, with everyone else acting as substitutes.

Wang Zhe had missed selection twice. If Teacher Wang hadn't been aware of his circumstances, the captaincy would have been reassigned long ago.

Across the entire martial arts team, the auxiliary teams were generally weaker in overall strength.

Wang Zhe's team had a total of seven members: one senior, five juniors, and only a single sophomore—who also happened to be one of the sparring partners Zhao Rui had been practicing with these past few days.

As for the other sophomores, they had already been eliminated before the new semester began.

The other auxiliary team was the exact opposite: more juniors had been eliminated, leaving four sophomores behind.

These included Li Xinran and Zhang Kuai.

The regular players were predominantly juniors, mixed with a few seniors.

To be honest, the Dongqi Martial Arts Team at this moment was already showing signs of a generational fault line—strong on the outside, but hollow on the inside.

This was also the reason why Wang Zhanshan had previously reprimanded the competing members for their poor performance. If even they couldn't hold the fort, could they really rely on these few "crooked melons and cracked dates" of sophomores?

This defeat was actually a foreshadowing miniature of Dongqi University's competition results over the next two years.

In the afternoon, Zhao Rui and Zhang Kuai headed to the sophomore group's practice area as usual.

Given the unpleasantness between Cao Guannan and Zhang Kuai last time, Zhao Rui was assigned to be his sparring partner for today's training.

Having been reprimanded twice in a row by Zeng Hongyi, Cao Guannan no longer dared to pull any stunts.

He obediently used the Prajna Palm to spar with Zhao Rui.

During this sparring session, Cao Guannan suddenly discovered that his pride-and-joy Prajna Palm technique was being restrained at every turn. Many of his moves were seen through by Zhao Rui halfway through execution, allowing Zhao Rui to counter them in advance.

Fortunately, Zhao Rui did not launch counterattacks; he simply matched move for move to hone their skills.

At first, Cao Guannan felt somewhat unaccustomed to this, but gradually he became fully engaged. No longer confined to the rigid, inherent postures of the Prajna Palm, he began improvising and pondering the underlying logic of launching attacks on the spot.

In an instant, the two of them exchanged blows back and forth. Their moves gradually became unrestrained and unconstrained, defying convention. Often, before one strike was even fully unleashed, the next was already primed and loaded.

What a magnificent Prajna Palm: formless yet constant, combining the virtual and the real, fleeting as dew or lightning, illusory like a dream or a bubble. Marvelous too was the Cloud Hands Plucking Stars: the ethereal nature of the clouds concealed endless killing intent, determining life and death through the flickering of stars, where the interplay of reality and illusion seemed capable of shattering all martial arts under heaven.

The two men displayed everything they had learned, engaging in a most lively and brilliant exchange.

Standing on the sidelines, Zeng Hongyi nodded repeatedly, a faint smile touching the corners of his mouth.

"Improvement shown. Zhao Rui, you did well just now. It seems you've genuinely applied yourself to your studies during this period."

"Guannan, as long as you maintain your patience, your true strength is by no means limited to this."

When the sparring session concluded, Zeng Hongyi offered rare praise to both parties.

"Next group, Zhao Rui, you're up again..."

Zeng Hongyi was in high spirits. The progress of the sophomore team members had always been a focal point for the coaching staff.

Now seeing that the sparring sessions were effective, he was naturally quite satisfied.

...

Time flowed like water, waiting for no one.

In the period that followed, Zhao Rui attended classes and underwent training according to the routine.

His leisure time was dedicated to comprehending the Prajna Palm and several other high-level martial arts.

Initially, during this period, Zhao Rui mainly relied on his original martial arts techniques while sparring with the sophomores.

Once Zeng Hongyi discovered that Zhao Rui's understanding of the Prajna Palm far surpassed that of these sophomores, he had Zhao Rui try sparring with them using the Prajna Palm instead.

Zhao Rui readily accepted this arrangement. Although the system had granted him master-level proficiency, martial arts was still something that required constant polishing and comprehension.

And combat was invariably the best way to test it.

Rather than saying Zhao Rui was acting as a sparring partner for the sophomores, it was more accurate to say these sophomore seniors were serving as sparring partners for him.

After a period of time, Zhao Rui's application of the Prajna Palm grew increasingly smooth and arbitrary, as natural as moving his own fingers.

Under Zhao Rui's targeted sparring, the four sophomores made visible, naked-eye progress in their practical application of the Prajna Palm.

This left Zeng Hongyi both deeply gratified and quite surprised.

"Zhao Rui, stay behind for a moment!"

On this afternoon, after the practical combat class concluded, Zhao Rui was just getting ready to leave with Zhang Kuai and two senior female students.

When he heard assistant coach Zeng Hongyi call out to stop him.

Zhao Rui had no choice but to halt his steps, turning back to return to Zeng Hongyi's side.

"Coach Zeng!"

"Zhao Rui, I've noticed that your mastery of the Prajna Palm has grown increasingly pure over these past few days. Have you had a breakthrough?"

Zeng Hongyi asked aloud.

"Mm, a minor achievement."

Zhao Rui nodded and replied.

"Oh?"

Although Zeng Hongyi had suspected as much, hearing Zhao Rui admit it himself still left him somewhat astonished. How long had the kid even been practicing?

He couldn't help thinking to himself: "No wonder Wang Zhanshan was willing to take him in and admit him to the team as an exception. It seems this fellow has mediocre martial arts talent, but exceptionally high comprehension!"

"Well done. But your foundation was shallow to begin with; you must never grow proud and complacent just because of a little success. Moving forward, you should continue to forge ahead with determination and strive for complete mastery as early as possible."

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. This disciple is endlessly grateful."

"Mm. In a little while, I'll personally speak with Coach Wang and have you removed from the sparring group."

Hearing these words, Zhao Rui was momentarily stunned. He hurriedly thanked Zeng Hongyi, then said with a somewhat embarrassed expression, "Coach Zeng, to be honest, I actually really enjoy being a sparring partner. I feel that sparring helps improve my martial arts comprehension."

"Hmm?"

Zeng Hongyi was taken aback, then frowned as he looked at Zhao Rui, wanting to scold him slightly. On second thought, however, it was still too early to say such things at this stage.

Displaying mild displeasure, he said, "The path of martial arts cannot focus solely on actual combat; cultivating the mind and temperament is equally important! I will discuss this matter with Coach Wang."

Zhao Rui offered a sheepish smile. After placating him with a few more remarks, he turned and walked out of the practice hall.

Coach Zeng's intentions were good; he had seen Zhao Rui's potential in comprehension and wanted to nurture him.

Unfortunately, Zhao Rui had no desire to accept this favor. Applying to be a sparring partner in the first place had been his own active choice.

Without being a sparring partner, how else could he harvest "wool" from his senior brothers and sisters?

When the next day's training session arrived.

After inspecting the sophomores' progress with the Prajna Palm, Zeng Hongyi lifted the restrictions on the techniques the team members were allowed to use during sparring.

Previously, he had insisted on using the Prajna Palm exclusively in order to improve everyone's practical combat skills with that specific technique.

Now that everyone had made substantial progress, there was naturally no need to cling stubbornly to the practical drill of a single palm technique.

Once the "seal" was lifted, everyone was raring to go, eager to have a proper "brawl" with Zhao Rui in their fully unconstrained states.

Zhao Rui welcomed this wholeheartedly and turned no one away.

By the end of the afternoon, out of eight matches, six had targeted him.

This left Zhang Kuai watching from the sidelines with extremely complicated feelings. Not having to fight matches, and not having to act as a "servant-like" sparring partner, was indeed quite leisurely, but right now a strange sense of loss had inexplicably crept into his heart.

"Bah, I really am base; I actually feel unhappy when they won't let me be a sparring partner."

Zhang Kuai mentally gave himself a couple of invisible slaps to the face.

On the ring, Zhao Rui had cast aside his other martial arts, using only a single set of the Prajna Palm technique to spar with Cao Guannan.

Because Cao Guannan had gained considerable benefits from his previous sparring sessions with Zhao Rui, coupled with the fact that Zeng Hongyi's tolerance for his provocative behavior had dropped drastically, Cao Guannan's sparring sessions with Zhao Rui had become increasingly earnest and disciplined.

"Progress of the Mighty Vajra Leg: ten percent, fifteen percent..."

As their sparring continued, the Mighty Vajra Leg—which Zhao Rui had been "yearning for in his heart and mind"—finally began accumulating replication progress.

"Senior Brother Cao, thank you for yielding!"

"Junior Brother Zhao's Prajna Palm is truly admirable, Senior Brother is impressed."

By the time this final match concluded, Zhao Rui had unlocked the replication of four new martial arts from the four sophomore senior brothers and sisters.

Aside from Cao Guannan's Mighty Vajra Leg, there was also Li Xinran's Hunyuan Palm, Qin Rui's Plucking Flower Finger, and another male student's Praying Mantis Fist.

The harvest was bountiful.

Furthermore, each of the four martial arts possessed its own unique characteristics, and the process of sparring had also honed his adaptability in utilizing the Prajna Palm.

When training ended, Zhao Rui was in high spirits and actively invited the sophomore senior brothers and sisters to have a group meal together.

To foster a bit of "friendship"!

Li Xinran, Qin Rui, and Zhang Kuai naturally had no objections, and the other senior brother belonged to the same team as Zhao Rui, so he wouldn't refuse either.

Everyone's gazes converged on the sole "outsider," Cao Guannan.

He usually possessed an arrogant temperament imbued with a hint of rebelliousness, making it difficult to gauge his attitude for a moment.

"Go, why wouldn't we go!"

Cao Guannan reached out and hooked his arm around Zhao Rui's shoulder, speaking in an affectionate tone: "From now on, we're all brothers. Let's all strive to pass the year-end evaluation and stay on!"

"No problem, let's work hard together!"

"Let's go!"

Zhao Rui and the others hadn't expected that a blunder would accidentally "subdue" the unstable element of the team. Spirits instantly soaring amidst laughter, the group walked out of the practice hall together.

Maple leaves dyed the autumn scenery red, and pines and cypresses enriched the green of October.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days slipped hurriedly by.

On this morning, Zhao Rui and Zhang Kuai were just getting ready to head over to the sophomore group to "punch in for work."

When they temporarily received a notification from Group Leader He Zhiyan, telling them not to go to the sophomore side for now, but to report directly to the junior group instead.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Kuai's face instantly collapsed.

He had finally adjusted his mindset and was living quite comfortably over in the sophomore group.

Only to be told he had to go to the junior group instead.

The senior brothers and sisters over there wouldn't be as easy to get along with as the sophomores.

Zhao Rui, however, was indifferent. Over these past ten-odd days, he had already copied the signature skills of all four senior brothers and sisters.

Accumulating a full six advancement points.

Aside from their respective martial arts, Li Xinran and Cao Guannan had additionally contributed two sets of lightness skills.

One was the Flying Swallow Jump, and the other was the Swimming Dragon Step, both of which were excellent lightness techniques.

Since the wool on the sophomore side had mostly been sheared clean, transferring to the junior side was actually a good thing.

Upon receiving the notification, the two of them hurried over without stopping.

As soon as they arrived, they discovered that all the members of the sparring group were already there, including Group Leader He Zhiyan.

Zhao Rui and Zhang Kuai quickly trotted over and took their places at the very end of the sparring group.

"Mm, the sparring group members are all here. I heard Teacher Zeng say earlier that progress on the sophomore side has been very good, and both of you performed quite well. Now that you've come to our junior side, don't slack off."

The teacher currently overseeing training for the juniors was named Zou Ping; he was a tall, thin middle-aged man with somewhat sparse hair.

Seeing Zhao Rui and Zhang Kuai arrive, he looked at them and spoke.

"Understood, Teacher!"

The two of them hastily acknowledged the instruction.

"Next week, the Dongqi Arts and Sports University Martial Arts Team is coming to our school for an exchange. When the time comes, a friendly match is inevitable..."

After listening to Coach Zou Ping's introduction, Zhao Rui finally understood why they had been summoned in such a hurry from the sophomore group.

It turned out to be a case of hugging Buddha's feet at the last minute, preparing to launch a crash course of extra training.

"This time, we need to conduct targeted training aimed at the fighters the opposing side is likely to send."

"Group Leader He, the six of you should each select a set of reference materials and make sure to imitate the martial arts detailed in the documents by roughly seventy or eighty percent within the next two days."

Hearing this, Zhao Rui was visibly stunned.

How could anyone imitate something to seventy or eighty percent within two days? Even if you memorized the moves, it would still be all show and no substance—what good would that do?

However, seeing that no one else was objecting, he found it awkward to voice his doubts aloud, so he could only keep the question secretly in mind, intending to ask Group Leader He later.

After giving his instructions, Coach Zou had Group Leader He take the members of the sparring group to assemble elsewhere and distribute the martial arts documentation.

"Understood, Coach!"

He Zhiyan replied, his expression turning slightly awkward as he led the sparring group members away from the ring area in the northwest corner of the practice hall.

Once they were a safe distance away from the hall, Zhao Rui impatiently blurted out the question he had been holding in his heart.

Hearing Zhao Rui's inquiry, He Zhiyan's expression grew even more awkward.

Hesitating for a moment, he spoke with a mixture of exasperation and annoyance: "Actually, when members first join our sparring group, there is a set of exclusive martial arts assigned to them."

"…?"

Zhao Rui's pupils widened slightly as he looked at He Zhiyan with incomprehension.

Neither he nor Zhang Kuai had received any such thing.

"Well... I was a bit busy during that period and forgot to teach you two. I planned to hand it over after a week or so, and before I knew it, it completely slipped my mind."

Zhao Rui was left speechless with black lines across his forehead. Weren't you straight-up sabotaging people?

Bringing this up only now—whose fault was this supposed to be?

"Brothers, it's my fault as your senior. But right now, dwelling on this won't fix anything; I'll teach you right away so you can learn it as quickly as possible."

Talking as they walked, the group soon arrived before a quiet, golden pavilion-like structure.

"This is the Meditation Pavilion. Inside, there are independent meditation cultivation rooms; we each get one room, so let's hurry up and study."

Entering the Meditation Pavilion, He Zhiyan distributed the materials he held based on each member's situation, instructing them to master the martial arts in the documents as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, he called Zhao Rui and Zhang Kuai aside and began earnestly imparting the sparring group's exclusive martial arts technique.

This martial arts technique was somewhat similar to the Minor Formless Technique from his past life, capable of simulating the meridian circulation of other martial arts to achieve a level that could pass off the fake as genuine.

However, compared to the Minor Formless Technique, this martial arts technique was vastly inferior. It lacked the ability to generate derivative internal energy; unlike the Minor Formless Technique, which was itself a profound martial art capable of accumulating robust internal energy upon cultivation.

The simulated martial arts produced by that technique could generate power matching the original version thanks to the unique internal energy of the Minor Formless Technique.

This technique, however, possessed no such feature; it was simply a set of movement-simulation kung fu.

Through this martial arts technique, one could use their own already-unblocked meridians to simulate the circulation of targeted martial arts, achieving a likeness in both form and spirit.

Yet, this martial arts technique could not generate its own internal energy, and the routes of meridian circulation also differed drastically from the original versions.

It could be considered half of a hollow facade.

The name of this martial arts technique was: "Form-Mimicking Fist!"