Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Approaching Danger
10:00 PM
After dinner, his parents were in the living room watching videos while Lin Qi was in his bedroom, practicing the Hunyuan Posture.
WHOOSH... WHOOSH...
In the cold room, puffs of white vapor rose from his body.
His face was flushed, and sweat streamed down his skin, soaking his clothes.
His Qi Blood surged throughout his body, like countless small snakes slithering into every muscle, tempering even the finest fibers.
His gaze locked onto the panel before him.
[Name: Lin Qi (17)]
[Class: Martial Artist]
[Template: True Monarch Erlang Yang Jian]
[Fusion Degree: 9.99%]
[Talents: Stomach Enhancement, Dragon Energy and Tiger Fierceness]
[Cultivation Techniques: Hunyuan Posture, Five Elements Fist (Concurrent Training), Basic Spear Skill, Mountain Shattering Spear Technique, Drip Water Spear Skill, Rock Gun Skill]
[Qi and Blood Value: 9.98]
[Fist Technique: Tier Two 28%]
[Spear Technique: Tier Two 16%]
[Body Technique: Tier Two 4%]
...
Over the past few days, he had been concentrating his energy on advancing to the Bright Moon Rank.
However, he hadn’t neglected his Qi and Blood Value training either.
It had now reached 9.98, and he wasn’t far from breaking through to become a Second Realm Martial Artist of the Training Realm.
Thanks to his Five Elements Training, all his minor muscle groups were being thoroughly exercised. He wouldn’t be stuck for long; he’d break through to the Second Realm by the time school started, at the latest.
Finally, his gaze fell on his Template Fusion Degree, which had already reached 9.99%.
He was only a step away from 10% and would break through in the next day or two.
HUFF...
Lin Qi regulated his breathing and threw himself back into his posture training, not wasting a single minute.
His strength would see a massive breakthrough this winter break.
...
Over an hour later
[You have completed a session of posture training. Your Qi and Blood Value has broken through. Qi and Blood Value +0.01]
[Qi and Blood Value: 9.98 → 9.99]
...
HUFF...
Lin Qi exhaled a breath of stale air and, ignoring the sweat covering his body, slowly stood up.
A few minutes later
Lin Qi changed into clean clothes and stepped out of the bathroom.
BOOM!!
CRACKLE!!
BANG!!
The sound of explosions reached his ears. Looking through the window, he saw countless brilliant fireworks blooming against the dark night sky, accompanied by the crackle of firecrackers.
"Little Qi, New Year’s Eve is over! Happy New Year!"
His father, Lin Zhen, smiled and handed him a large red envelope.
His mother, Fang Huiyi, brought out a basin of lotus root and pig’s feet stew for a late-night snack.
A fire seemed to burn within Lin Qi’s heart, warming his entire body and giving rise to a peculiar feeling.
This was, perhaps, the life he truly wanted.
Both parents alive and well, the whole family together.
He was already so much happier than many others.
...
After the snack, his parents went to their room to sleep.
In the bedroom
Lin Qi lay on his bed and took out his new smartphone. The cheap phone he’d bought for a few hundred yuan was gone, replaced by a smartphone worth several thousand.
He logged into WeChat, where his various group chats were buzzing with activity, and people were sending out red envelopes everywhere.
In the group chat for No. 2 Middle School’s elite class, Zhang City sent out a red envelope worth over a thousand yuan, and the head teacher, Yan Hong, sent one as well.
Finally, Principal Jiang Zhiguang even sent out a ten-thousand-yuan red envelope, receiving a flood of well-wishes in return.
Aside from the group chats, Lin Qi also received a ton of personal Spring Festival greetings and red envelopes.
"Brother Qi, Happy Spring Festival!" —Jiangtao!
"Brother Qi, Happy Spring Festival!" —Jiang Miaoyin!
Lin Qi saw their well-wishes and replied to both, sending red envelopes in return.
A moment later, Yue Feng also sent a congratulatory message, which left Lin Qi feeling pleasantly surprised.
He stayed busy like this until almost one in the morning before finally going to sleep.
...
「Meanwhile, atop Building 3.」
BOOM!!
In the night sky, brilliant fireworks continued to bloom, their dazzling patterns a declaration of family reunions.
A cold wind howled. Two figures, one tall and one short, were hidden beneath black overcoats, blending into their surroundings as an imperceptible ripple of energy emanated from them.
"So this is human fireworks? Quite beautiful and lively!"
"A pity it doesn’t belong to us."
The shorter figure spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and grating, like metal blades scraping together.
"Only during the Spring Festival do the humans let down their guard. This is our chance."
The taller figure spoke, his voice like solid rock.
"That’s right!"
"The day after tomorrow, our operation must be foolproof."
"The three S-class geniuses on the list must die!"
The shorter figure extended a fist resolutely, revealing an arm with deep brown skin.
A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
"Understood!"
The taller figure agreed without emotion.
...
「Martial Arts Calendar, Year 2046, January 15th」
Morning
As usual, Lin Qi woke up early at four in the morning to practice his posture and Fist Technique in his bedroom.
It wasn’t until seven o’clock, when his parents woke up, that the family began to eat breakfast.
In the storage room, two black Spiritual Tablets were enshrined.
Yellow incense sticks were lit, releasing wisps of a strange fragrance as they were inserted into the box before the tablets.
Lin Qi looked at the two Spiritual Tablets and bowed, paying New Year’s respects to his grandparents.
During the early Martial Arts Era, the Calamity Beasts invaded. He had only ever witnessed those dark times through video recordings.
Back then, Martial Arts was still in its infancy, and humanity had to rely on firearms to fight the Calamity Beasts.
Faced with the powerful bodies of the Calamity Beasts, humans were nothing more than fish on a chopping block once their ammunition ran out.
His grandparents had been sacrificed during that era.
And their family was far from the only one in that situation.
Such was the cruelty of the Martial Arts Era.
"Let’s go. We should pay a visit to your uncle’s house," Lin Zhen said after they finished paying their respects, gathering their things.
...
Rongshan District, outside Building 4.
VROOOM!
A luxury car, all red with a beautiful, streamlined body, slowly pulled to a stop, drawing a lot of attention.
"Whoa, that’s a top-of-the-line electric car from the Chongming Martial Arts Dojo’s Star Imperial Series! It costs 500,000 Xia Country Coins!"
"Good heavens, what rich person is visiting our Rongshan District?" someone nearby who recognized the car model exclaimed.
A glamorous middle-aged woman in a mink coat slowly stepped out of the car.
She held her head high, wearing black sunglasses that made her look completely out of place.
Beside her, a handsome young man dressed in expensive brand-name clothes also got out.
"Yingzi, you’re back?"
"Little Heng is back, too?"
A plainly dressed older woman greeted them with a smile.
Yan Ying’s face darkened. She tilted her head up and corrected her, "Aunt Huang, my name is Yan Ying. Please use my full name, thank you."
"Alright, Yingzi!" Aunt Huang chuckled.
Yan Ying: "..."
"Yan Ying, you’re back to pay respects to Old An again?"
Another older woman stepped forward and asked.
Yan Ying smoothed her hair, the corners of her mouth lifting. "That’s right!"
"I came back this time to tell Old An the good news. Our Little Heng has really made us proud. He ranked 20th in his grade on the final exams, and 102nd in all of Celestial Sea City."
As Yan Ying finished, An Zhiheng, who was standing beside her, puffed out his chest and tilted his head back in the same way she had.
"That’s incredible!" Aunt Huang gave a thumbs-up and praised with a smile.
"Of course!"
As Yan Ying preened, she caught sight of three familiar figures coming down from upstairs.
Her smile grew even wider. The people she most wanted to see had appeared.
"Huiyi!"
She waved enthusiastically, calling out to Lin Qi’s family.
Lin Zhen and Fang Huiyi exchanged a glance, instantly reached a mutual understanding, and puffed out their chests as they smiled and returned the greeting.
"Sister Ying, you’re back?"
"Yes, I came back specifically to bring Old An the good news. Little Heng..."
She then repeated An Zhiheng’s achievements all over again.
"Lin Qi, long time no see!"
An Zhiheng walked up, smiling warmly as he extended his hand.
"An Zhiheng, it has been a long time!"
The corner of Lin Qi’s mouth lifted as he reached out and shook his hand.
The moment their hands clasped, An Zhiheng instantly applied pressure.
He gloated inwardly, ’My Qi and Blood Value has already reached 9.9, which is close to a thousand kilograms of Fist Power. There’s no way this kid Lin Qi can withstand it!’
’Just you wait, let’s see you make a fool of yourself!’
CRACK! CRACK!!
The next second, he froze!
...
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