For a moment, the whole place fell silent.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten to blink, unable to come to their senses for a long while.
Li Qingshan had won?
Won in a single exchange?
The outcome not only defied everyone's expectations — it shattered their whole worldview.
Was this what the Martial Dao was?
Body Forging Layer 1 against Layer 3, won this easily?
No fierce, fist-to-flesh clash, no narrow brush with disaster from a single misstep.
Li Qingshan had merely taken what looked like a casual step, walked behind Yu Zhuo, and swept his blade up.
And then...
Yu Zhuo dropped to his knees!
"Coach is a beast!"
Cao Shaoyu was the first to react, jumping and hopping, thrilled.
So cool — this was the Martial Dao he wanted to learn!
The others came to one by one, their expressions complicated.
Only now did they understand that Li Qingshan's "you're weak, I'm strong" was no reckless, arrogant boast.
It was an objective fact!
If Li Qingshan willed it, he could split Yu Zhuo in two in a single pass.
"A martial skill!"
Zhao Hongzhou put in dully, naming the key to the win.
He remembered Li Qingshan had been training a martial skill, but he hadn't imagined the man had quietly honed it to this level.
"A martial skill..."
Yu Zhuo repeated the words, looking up at Li Qingshan.
His pale face was full of disbelief, even more than before.
"Your 《Phantom Step》 is at Greater Achievement?"
For Li Qingshan to appear behind him in an instant just now, only Greater Achievement 《Phantom Step》 could do it.
But a freshman a month into the Martial Dao Class, with 《Phantom Step》 at Greater Achievement?
The mere thought struck Yu Zhuo as a fairy tale.
He'd been training 《Phantom Step》 too, for the better part of a year, and had only just reached Skilled.
Faced with Yu Zhuo's knowledge-hungry eyes,
Li Qingshan gave a faint smile, ignored him outright, stepped past, and walked to Manager Zhou.
"Problem solved. Set me up a room for lessons."
"Yes, yes, no problem!"
Manager Zhou agreed over and over, wiping a hand across the top of his head — a palmful of sweat.
It was all too thrilling!
The chubby kid Cao Shaoyu was generous; he booked 30 days of lessons on the spot.
Two sessions each evening, 120,000 star coins in all, transferred straight to Li Qingshan's account.
On the gym's fourth floor, in an empty classroom.
Li Qingshan picked up a wooden blade and tossed it to Cao Shaoyu.
"Today I'll teach you the blade art first. Once you've learned it, you should be able to win even with a wooden blade."
Basic martial skills were open-license, their spread unrestricted.
The kid clearly got in fights often; Li Qingshan planned to use a martial skill to fire up his enthusiasm, then guide him gradually.
"Blade art?"
Cao Shaoyu cradled the wooden blade, his face conflicted.
"What, you don't want to learn?" Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, surprised.
A moment ago he'd been all excitement — why the sudden loss of interest?
Cao Shaoyu puffed out his chest and said boldly:
"Coach, I don't want to learn the crotch-slasher blade!"
"What crotch-slasher blade!"
Li Qingshan's face went black in an instant.
He drew his blade and cut at the air, the wind-splitting sounds unbroken.
"Look closely — this is 《Wind Shadow Blade》!"
But his demonstration had no effect.
Cao Shaoyu bit his lip and argued stubbornly:
"Don't care, I'm just not learning it."
After seeing Li Qingshan's earlier upward sweep tear through Yu Zhuo's crotch,
in his mind this blade art was now no different from a groin kick.
How could a martial artist like himself use such a despicable move?
Even in schoolyard fights, no one was shameless enough to use a groin kick anymore.
If he actually learned this blade art, he'd be despised to death back at school.
Li Qingshan drew a deep breath, gripped the hilt tight, then slowly let go.
I've taken his money. I can't get angry.
He's a client. I have to show some customer service.
The thoughts flashed past,
and Li Qingshan finally forced down the urge to "bully the small," squeezing out a kindly, amiable smile.
"Fine, no blade art. Then tell me — what do you want to learn?"
"Coach, stop smiling, you're scaring me!"
Cao Shaoyu backed up two steps and shrank his neck.
Seeing the smile across from him stiffen, seemingly more frightening still, he hurried on:
"I want to learn footwork! Like what you did just now, Coach — whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
The kid made the sound effects while bouncing his stubby little legs, hopping back and forth.
A roll of fat peeked out now and then from under the hem at his round waist.
Li Qingshan gripped the hilt again, a vein twitching at his temple.
A little fatso like you, telling me you want to learn footwork?
A minute later,
Cao Shaoyu finally stopped, fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
Panting hard, his face was nonetheless full of excitement.
"Coach, can I?"
Li Qingshan met those burning eyes, fell silent a moment, then broke into a smile.
"Of course you can!"
Li Qingshan opened his comm-band, pulled up the 《Phantom Step》 material, and projected it onto the big screen on one side of the room.
Over about half an hour, he explained the key points of the entry-level footwork in detail and demonstrated it himself several times.
Then he left Cao Shaoyu to practice on his own.
In the empty classroom,
Cao Shaoyu stumbled and tripped, falling now and then.
But his excitement didn't wane; each time he fell he scrambled up and kept practicing.
"Got some grit, at least."
Li Qingshan sat on the floor with his back to the wall and nodded slightly.
Teaching 《Phantom Step》 was just to keep from dampening Cao Shaoyu's enthusiasm.
But...
Glancing at the kid who fell every two steps, Li Qingshan shook his head and closed his eyes.
He'd taught what needed teaching; now he could slack off and cultivate.
In the Martial Dao Space he was only a projection of consciousness; if his real body stirred, he'd wake at once, so it caused no harm.
On the circular platform, Li Qingshan glanced at the Wolfsbane statue.
"I'll let you off for now!"
Then he spread his limbs and began practicing 《The Starry Sky Beckons》.
Only half an hour of Cao Shaoyu's lesson had passed, which meant an hour and a half remained.
Inside the Space, that was a full fifteen hours.
Li Qingshan practiced set after set, stopping only when his proficiency had risen four points.
"Cao Shaoyu's still at it?"
Not having been woken, Li Qingshan found it odd, and opened his eyes with some doubt.
He saw the chubby kid's feet crossing, weaving and shifting, remarkably nimble.
Hm?
Li Qingshan rubbed his eyes and looked again at that sweat-drenched face.
Once he'd confirmed the chubby kid before him really was Cao Shaoyu, he couldn't help sucking in a cold breath.
"An hour and a half, and he's at Entry?"
Cao Shaoyu had no Panel; he couldn't reach Entry on a single success like Li Qingshan.
For a moment, Li Qingshan's gaze turned strange.
"Did I pick up a genius by accident?"
"Coach, you're awake?"
Seeing Li Qingshan's eyes open, Cao Shaoyu ran over eagerly.
"Awake nothing — I was cultivating just now!"
Li Qingshan composed his face and stood.
"Decent talent. You barely count as Entry now — should be enough for you to get your 'revenge' back at school."
Entry-level 《Phantom Step》 was of little use in a fight between martial artists.
But for a kids' scrap, it was an utter curb-stomp.
"Really?" Cao Shaoyu's eyes went wide, more excited still.
"True or not, you'll find out tomorrow." Li Qingshan smiled and went on:
"Also, I've decided tomorrow's lesson — cultivating 《The Starry Sky Beckons》!"
"Huh?"
The excitement drained away at once, and Cao Shaoyu pulled a long face:
"Coach, I don't want to do radio calisthenics."
"Want to or not, you're doing it!"
Li Qingshan brooked no argument and turned to walk out.
The New Continent's threshold for screening martial talent was reaching the third stage of 《The Starry Sky Beckons》 before finishing middle school.
If Cao Shaoyu really was a genius, he couldn't waste his time.
Having taken the tuition, Li Qingshan would naturally be conscientious about the job.