Chapter 44 How could this be possible!

Page 1 of 3

“Honestly, I really don’t understand what that child is thinking.”

The beautiful middle-aged woman let out a deep sigh. “It’s not as if our Xia family lacks martial artists. Was there really any need for her to go this far?”

“I think her choice is excellent. She truly lives up to the spirit of our Xia family’s younger generation.” Xia Yuan’s eyes held a trace of admiration.

“I know how you’ve raised her all these years,” he continued. “From the time Xia Yu was little, you thought she was frail, so you arranged everything for her.”

“But you never once asked what she herself wanted.”

Xia Yuan snorted. “What’s wrong with Xia Yu choosing the martial path? In this world, martial strength reigns supreme.”

“Look at Song Yunwei. When she was young, she was even called the Little Princess. The Song family treasured her so much that they feared she might melt in their mouths or break in their hands.”

“But didn’t she go out and make a name for herself in the end, becoming a Transcendent Grandmaster?”

“Now she oversees an entire branch of affairs within the Song family.”

Xia Yuan looked at the middle-aged woman. “Ye Yixin, do you really want your daughter to drift through her entire life in confusion?”

“Don’t you want to see her become someone like Song Yunwei?”

After hearing Xia Yuan’s words, Ye Yixin withdrew her gaze from Xia Yu.

She stared deeply at Xia Yuan and said, each word deliberate, “Xia Yuan, you’re a martial arts fanatic. I’m not!”

“Transcendent martial artists may be glorious, and this world may indeed respect the strong, but you know perfectly well why that is!”

“The road is simply too difficult—and there is no end to it!”

“How many people have died in the Xia family over the past century? You know the answer better than anyone!” Ye Yixin drew a deep breath, struggling to suppress her agitation.

She said coldly, “How many of your brothers are still alive?”

Xia Yuan remained silent.

Ye Yixin continued, “And it isn’t only the Xia family. The Ye family, the Song family, and so many others are the same.”

“How many martial artists are able to live out their natural lifespans?”

“You can’t pretend not to see the casualty rate on Great Xia’s Otherworld Battlefield each year!”

Ye Yixin’s eyes reddened slightly. “I only want my daughter to live a peaceful, stable life. Is that wrong?!”

“I’ll speak with Shaoyang again and make Yu’er give up on her plan to enter the Earth Ranking.”

With that, Ye Yixin said no more. She turned and hurried away.

Xia Yuan folded his arms across his chest and watched her departing figure.

He shook his head slightly. “Whether martial artists or ordinary people, everyone wants to live a good life.”

“But there are always things that require someone to step forward and do them.”

“People often say that when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. But if everyone thinks that way, where will the tall ones come from?”

Xia Yuan gazed at the girl inside the gravity chamber. Under twice the normal gravity, Xia Yu resembled a weeping willow bent beneath a violent gale—her back bowed deeply, yet she could not be broken.

She endured. She remained unyielding.

“Xiaoyu, this is all I can do to help you,” Xia Yuan sighed. “Some things, in the end, still have to be accomplished by you yourself.”

Page 2 of 3

He could vaguely guess why Xia Yu was pushing herself so desperately.

Xia Yuan had once been young as well, filled with the fiery passion of youth, eager to settle grudges and repay kindness, traveling the world alongside his beloved.

But after one battle in the Otherworld, two people had departed—and only one had returned.

In the decades since, he had fought countless battles, yet remained alone.

He had already walked the road she was taking.

“Xiaoyu, become stronger!”

“Only by becoming stronger can you take your fate into your own hands.”

“I wasn’t strong enough back then. That’s why I’ve carried this regret all these years...”

...

Starwhirl Martial Arts Base, Yali Middle School, Zhongnan University.

Different places, different people.

Everyone was spending the sweat of their youth in their own way, striving toward the goals in their hearts.

Inside Zhongnan University’s martial arts gymnasium, the students of the intensive training class had been steeped in martial arts theory the previous day. Today, they began training in martial techniques.

The seventy-eight students were no longer grouped by school, but by the weapons they wielded.

The largest group practiced with sabers, accounting for roughly one-third of the total.

The rest used swords, spears, staffs, halberds, axes, hammers, whips, shields, bows, arrows, and more.

Compared with ordinary students, these elite students had stronger convictions and clearer aspirations of their own, so they had chosen a wider variety of weapons.

The Three Geniuses of Star City, however, had all chosen conventional weapons.

Shi Yu wielded a staff, Xu Shuo used a saber and shield, and Sheng Jianxing had naturally chosen the sword.

Jiang Chenchen, who had come with Shi Yu, practiced with a bow and arrows, while Wan Song trained with a spear.

Each weapon group was led by a professional instructor. This was also why the intensive training class had been held at Zhongnan University.

Universities had relatively large numbers of martial arts instructors. Even for more obscure weapons—such as crescent spikes, paired hooks, or twin crescent blades—teachers capable of providing guidance could be found.

There were also more than a dozen students in the class, like Shi Yu, who had chosen staffs.

“Staffs have a long history and are honored as the ancestor of all weapons!”

“Every other long weapon evolved gradually from the staff.”

“Therefore, if you master staff techniques thoroughly, studying other long weapons in the future—such as spears and halberds—will become twice as effective with half the effort!”

Zhao Peng, the staff instructor, spoke confidently at the front of the formation. As a martial artist in the Aperture-Opening Realm, teaching these high school students was well within his ability.

If Xia Xingqiu had not personally named him for the assignment, Zhao Peng would never have spent so much time and energy teaching these beginners.

But since he had come, he would teach them properly.

If his students failed to learn their craft, it would still tarnish his own reputation.

Page 3 of 3

“As the saying goes, a staff sweeps across a broad area, while a spear pierces along a single line.”

“Compared with other weapons, a staff has a wider attack range. Once it begins to whirl, the entire area before you becomes a field of attack.”

“That is why staffs excel at group combat. Once your staff blossoms into a blur, no one can approach you!”

Zhao Peng lightly swung the staff in his hand, its tip tracing an elegant arc through the air.

“Staff technique emphasizes allowing force to flow through the tip, with intent following the heart.”

“Every movement and every strike contains limitless variations and power.”

“You must connect your will to the tip of the staff and reach a state in which mind and weapon become one.”

“To reach that state, you must first practice the basic movements until they are familiar and fully understood!”

“Chop, sweep, jab, lift, block, swing, whirl, twist, hook!”

“These basic movements must be studied and practiced diligently until they become instinctive!”

“All profound and mysterious techniques evolve from these basic movements at their very roots.”

As Zhao Peng explained the essentials of staff technique, he continuously demonstrated the various fundamental movements.

All the students learning staff techniques followed his instructions, raising their long staffs and practicing the forms.

“Focus!”

“Pay attention to the key points of each movement!”

“Put some strength into it! What, didn’t you eat?!”

Whenever he saw something unsatisfactory, Zhao Peng immediately lashed out.

“You are the elite students of the entire city! You represent your respective schools, and you represent the highest level Star City has to offer!”

“You are the worst students I’ve ever taught at the fundamentals!”

Zhao Peng continued his merciless tirade, berating them without restraint.

Until—

he stopped in front of Shi Yu.

His eyes widened like copper bells, disbelief flashing in his pupils.

Although Shi Yu was merely practicing the basic movements of the long staff, Zhao Peng could tell at a glance that the student before him had long since surpassed the level of a beginner.

He was at the level of a master!

Was this really a high school student?

The student before him moved with fluidity, his staff technique precise. Every turn and every strike carried the grace and depth of a master.

Unable to believe his own eyes, Zhao Peng rubbed them hard, trying to make sure he had not seen incorrectly.

“This... How is this possible?!”