Inside the cavernous gym,
student after student, brows beaded with sweat, wore focused expressions.
Wan Keshan moved among them, offering pointers now and then.
An hour passed, and one by one the students finished the last movement and slumped to the floor.
Li Qingshan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his stomach growling, half wishing he could eat a whole cow on the spot.
Looking around, the other students were much the same, every one of them with a green glint of hunger in their eyes.
Yu Lei and Hong Qian were the exceptions, though.
Drenched in sweat as they were too, the two were clearly in much better shape.
"Money really is something — drinking nutrient fluid first thing in the morning."
Li Qingshan suppressed the envy in his heart and quietly drew his gaze back.
He couldn't drink nutrient fluid like a soft drink; every bottle had to be carefully budgeted.
For now, drinking one bottle each evening and then cultivating until its effect ran dry was the most cost-effective approach.
Wan Keshan looked around, taking in everyone's condition, and reminded them:
"Now that you're in the Martial Dao Class, there's no skimping on nutrient fluid."
"Each of you, judge by your own circumstances and act within your means."
But hardly anyone took his words to heart.
The overwhelming majority were staring blankly at the gym's main door.
Wan Keshan shook his head helplessly and waved a hand.
"All right, go eat!"
"Long live Teacher!"
A cheer went up,
and the students charged out of the Martial Dao Gym like starving wolves loosed from a cage, swarming toward the cafeteria.
It wasn't yet the noon dismissal time, so the cafeteria was nearly empty.
Everyone quickly got their food and began wolfing it down.
After eating, Li Qingshan left the cafeteria, and as he neared the Martial Dao Gym, he turned aside toward an office building.
This building was the office block reserved for the Martial Dao teachers.
Knock, knock, knock!
"It's open, come in!"
Wan Keshan was sorting documents; seeing Li Qingshan push the door open, he raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"What luck — I was just about to look for you, and here you come on your own."
"Look for me?" Li Qingshan was taken aback.
"My business can wait, we'll get to it later." Wan Keshan waved a hand and looked at him.
"First, tell me — what did you come to see me about?"
After weighing his words, Li Qingshan said:
"Teacher, I wanted to ask — supposing I ran into yesterday's Wolfsbane alone outside of school, how would I go about killing it?"
He'd died a good hundred times last night.
Forget killing the Wolfsbane back — he hadn't blocked even one of its second attacks.
For now, the best move was to consult a "professional."
"Still fixated on that Wolfsbane?"
Wan Keshan said in surprise, looking the student up and down.
Honestly — were students this gripped by a sense of danger these days?
Yesterday's Wolfsbane had been hacked until its guts spilled, and he still wouldn't let it go?
"Supposing — I'm only saying supposing." Li Qingshan said sheepishly.
"Fine, supposing!"
Wan Keshan didn't dismiss the hypothetical; instead he gave an easy smile.
"This question's actually simple. This will solve it."
As he spoke, Wan Keshan opened a drawer, fished out a silver pistol, and tossed it onto the desk.
"The Wuying-17, a standard laser pistol. As long as the Wolfsbane isn't within twenty meters, that's enough time for you to react and blow its head off with one shot."
"A laser gun?"
Li Qingshan was dumbstruck.
He'd never imagined a Martial Dao teacher would give an answer like that.
"It's the interstellar age — don't be so rigid in your thinking!" Wan Keshan said earnestly.
"Blade or laser gun, they're both weapons. Whatever works."
"You're right, Teacher. I stand corrected."
Li Qingshan nodded firmly, his eyes fixed on the laser gun, and said eagerly:
"Teacher, may I pick it up and have a look?"
"Look all you like." Wan Keshan waved a hand.
With his permission, Li Qingshan eagerly picked up the gun and turned it over carefully.
After a while, he gripped the handle in his right hand and closed his eyes, as if imagining the feel of firing it.
"You like it, don't you?" Wan Keshan wore a smug smile.
"At Body Forging Layer 3 you can sit for a firearms license. If you're the first to reach Layer 3, this gun is yours."
For Li Qingshan, a laser gun would be far deadlier than the chopping blade.
But the truth was, even a pebble he flicked offhand carried more power than any pistol.
As a way to motivate a student, though, it wasn't a bad choice.
Just as Wan Keshan was feeling pleased with himself,
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Li Qingshan opened his eyes, his gaze flat, and set the laser gun back on the desk without a trace of hesitation.
Hm?
Wan Keshan couldn't quite read him.
A moment ago he couldn't put it down — why discard it like a worn-out shoe all of a sudden?
Across from him,
Li Qingshan kept a straight face, helpless inside.
Blade and laser gun were both weapons — but the Martial Dao Space didn't recognize them!
He'd gone in bare-handed earlier and been chomped by Wolfsbane straightaway.
After mulling it over, Li Qingshan had to speak up again.
"Teacher, you just said you need Body Forging Layer 3 to sit for a firearms license — which means if I met a Wolfsbane as I am now, I couldn't kill it with a laser gun."
"Wolfsbane's top burst speed is close to 50 meters per second, and a casual blow exceeds a ton."
Wan Keshan's smile faded, his gaze turning serious.
"A Body Forging Layer 1 like you, without a gun, still thinks he can win?"
"I do!" Li Qingshan nodded without hesitation.
"Fine, then I'll tell you how!"
Wan Keshan lowered his head, fingers sliding across his comm-band.
Buzz, buzz!
Li Qingshan's wrist vibrated.
He looked at his comm-band — a new email, the sender none other than Wan Keshan across from him.
He opened it to find two compressed files.
《Phantom Step》. 《Wind Shadow Blade》.
"These two basic martial skills, I'd meant to teach you all in the second half of the year. I'm sending them to you early."
At Wan Keshan's words, Li Qingshan's spirits lifted.
"Teacher, once I've learned these two martial skills, I can kill a Wolfsbane on my own?"
"As if it were that simple." Wan Keshan's mouth twitched.
"《The Starry Sky Beckons》 has four stages, but martial skills have five grades!"
"Entry, Skilled, Mastery, Greater Achievement, Perfection!"
"For a Body Forging Layer 1 to kill a Wolfsbane, you'd have to train 《Phantom Step》 to at least the fourth grade — Greater Achievement!"
The grade divisions of martial skills happened to match the levels on his Panel.
The thought crossed Li Qingshan's mind, and then he noticed Wan Keshan hadn't mentioned 《Wind Shadow Blade》.
"Teacher, do I only need to train 《Phantom Step》?"
"Survive first; then you can deal damage."
Wan Keshan tapped the desk lightly, his gaze deep.
"Against an opponent like Wolfsbane, far beyond you in both strength and speed, footwork is your only chance."
"《Phantom Step》 excels at weaving and shifting in combat."
"Train it to Greater Achievement, and even at Body Forging Layer 1 you'll be able to dodge Wolfsbane's attacks."
"And then it'll be a lamb to the slaughter."
Li Qingshan felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun, and he thanked Wan Keshan.
"Thank you, Teacher. I understand."
"You understand jack!"
Wan Keshan cursed with a laugh, looking a bit exasperated.
"That was just a theoretically workable method based on your hypothetical."
"《Phantom Step》 may be only a basic footwork art, but reaching Greater Achievement takes two years at the very least."
"Two years?" Li Qingshan mused.
Wan Keshan's two years were reckoned by the cultivation pace of a normal person.
But he was different.
《Phantom Step》 was footwork; as long as his feet could move, he could raise its proficiency.
Even with Wolfsbane lying in wait in the Martial Dao Space, he could begin training at once.
At worst, he'd just die a few more times early on.
Without sleep or rest, training nothing but 《Phantom Step》 twenty-four hours a day, his rate of progress would surpass all imagining.