After instructing Qiao Zhiyao, Han Mo said to the two of them, "The *Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace* is the core foundation of our lineage. You must not slack off under any circumstances. From now on, Zhiyao, you should come to the Tuesday sessions as well."

He then looked at Xu Wuyi. "Wuyi, as her Senior Brother, you should also share any cultivation experience you have with Zhiyao."

"Yes, Teacher," Xu Wuyi replied.

Qiao Zhiyao also nodded obediently. "Thank you, Teacher Han! I look forward to learning from you, Senior Brother Xu!"

She said "Senior Brother" with surprising ease.

Xu Wuyi looked at the brightly smiling girl before him, thinking, ’My cultivation life is probably going to get a bit more ’lively’ from now on.’

He didn’t mind, though. On the path of Martial Arts, it was no bad thing to exchange pointers and spar with a fellow practitioner.

He just wondered whether this esteemed young lady of the Qiao Family could maintain her focus and persevere on the seemingly tedious path of bitter cultivation.

Leaving the Battle Network, his consciousness returned to reality.

Xu Wuyi opened his eyes to the blazing sun outside his window.

He took a deep breath, pushing aside his new insights about the *Shocking God Spear* and the minor interruption involving Qiao Zhiyao. Once again, he picked up the Meteor Iron Long Spear at his side.

’No matter what happens in the outside world, my own strength is what’s fundamental.’

He sank into his stance and methodically resumed practicing the most basic thrust of the *Shocking God Spear*. Immersing his Heart and Spirit in the movement, he attempted to more firmly integrate that faint wisp of Spiritual Power into his Qi and Blood and the shaft of the spear.

Inside the Cultivation Room, only the youth’s steady breathing and the faint whistle of his long spear cutting through the air echoed continuously.

「...」

On the last day of July, the air was thick with sweltering heat.

In the underground Cultivation Room of Villa #7 in Hidden Dragon Garden, a bare-chested Xu Wuyi was drenched in sweat. The Meteor Iron Long Spear in his hands became a black streak of lightning, letting out a piercing shriek as it shot toward a specially made alloy training dummy.

A point of incredibly condensed Spiritual Cold Radiance suddenly flared at the spear’s tip. It wasn’t merely clinging to the surface but was deeply embedded within the Spear Momentum.

’Shocking God!’

With a silent shout, the long spear struck the dummy’s chest with pinpoint accuracy.

CLANG!

Following the dull, heavy clang, the alloy dummy shuddered violently. A shallow dent had appeared on its chest, its edges traced with fine, web-like cracks, like fractured ice.

This wasn’t caused by physical force alone; it was the special destructive effect triggered by the condensed Spirit Shock—the embryonic form of the [Splitting God] trait.

After that single thrust, a vein throbbed on Xu Wuyi’s temple, and he panted lightly.

He slowly withdrew the spear, calming the churning Qi and Blood inside him as he felt a faint exhaustion seep from his sea of consciousness.

[Life Energy Level: 31.5]

[Spiritual Strength: 31.8]

[Martial Arts: Shocking God Spear]

[Current Realm: Beginner (95%)]

[Martial Arts Traits: None]

[Evaluation: Rudimentary form. The shape is present, but the spirit is lacking.]

Xu Wuyi’s brow furrowed slightly as he gazed at the *Martial Arts Diligence Record* panel, which only he could see.

After nearly a month of being holed up in bitter cultivation, his proficiency with the *Shocking God Spear* had finally, painstakingly, climbed to 95%.

His forms were already well-practiced, allowing him to consistently execute the "Shocking God" thrust with its Spirit Shock. He had also begun to experiment with combining the "Splitting God" trait with his own [Undying Flame].

He could sense that when the dark gold flames were detonated by the "Splitting God" trait, they would produce a devastating, dual-layered attack on both the physical and spiritual planes. The power was astounding.

But that was the extent of it.

The remaining five percent was like an invisible chasm, lying between the Beginner and Entry Level stages.

No matter how he tried, his understanding of "controlling the spear with spirit"—his command over the instantaneous fusion and eruption of Spirit and Qi and Blood—was always just that final step away from a breakthrough. He couldn’t achieve a complete, perfect mastery.

Ultimately, Xu Wuyi’s specialty was still the Body Refining Technique. When faced with this A-Level Spear Technique, he was a long way from making progress by leaps and bounds.

He knew he had hit a bottleneck, and the effectiveness of simply training in seclusion had greatly diminished.

The more practical problem was that his points were being consumed at an extremely fast rate.

To support his training in the *Shocking God Spear*—and especially to raise his Spiritual Strength, which had already surpassed his Life Energy Level—he had been forced to redeem large quantities of Concentration Potions.

This type of Potion, which could gently nourish one’s Heart and Spirit and enhance Spiritual Power, was remarkably effective, but its price was equally steep.

By a rough estimate, not even counting the fixed consumption of a core resource like the Earth Fire Marrow Lamp, his monthly expenses on Concentration Potions and Life Potions alone exceeded 200 points.

That came to 2,400 points a year. If he factored in the fixed cost of two portions of Earth Fire Marrow, the total reached the terrifying figure of 4,000 points.

And this was just the basic cost of maintaining his current training speed. If he wanted to break through his bottleneck faster or redeem other resources, the number of points required would be astronomical.

The 1,680 points he had earned in the youth tournament were already mostly gone after he redeemed the *Shocking God Spear*. Over the past month, his account balance had dwindled even faster.

Although he still had over a thousand points left, he had to set aside 800 of them, because his first portion of Earth Fire Marrow was already more than halfway consumed. He would need to redeem another one in less than six months.

"I’m running out of points," Xu Wuyi muttered to himself, his tone a mixture of helplessness and a burgeoning desire for action after a long period of quiet.

The fourth-year students had long since left campus. According to Star Martial University’s academic calendar, which didn’t count vacations, he was now officially a second-year student.

As his strength increased, the pressure for resources also grew exponentially.

He thought of the other members of his six-person team. They had all been busy over the past month, making their final preparations to break through to the Martial Master Realm. The team hadn’t acted together in a long time. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

At this thought, Xu Wuyi wiped away his sweat, put on his training clothes, and walked out into the living room.

"Anna," he called.

A soft white light coalesced in the center of the living room, and the virtual form of the artificial intelligence butler, Anna, materialized.

"How can I help you, student Xu Wuyi?"

"Filter the available Battle Network missions for me. The difficulty should primarily be Martial Master Level, and prioritize those with higher point rewards," Xu Wuyi ordered.

"Understood. Filtering missions now..." Streams of data flashed across Anna’s eyes. "I have selected seventeen missions that match your requirements."

"Given that you now possess the strength of a Martial Master, the range and difficulty of missions available to you have both increased. Demand for Martial Master Level combatants has indeed risen across the Federation, and mission rewards have been adjusted upward accordingly."

A screen of light unfolded before Xu Wuyi, displaying a list of missions.

[Extermination Mission: Code B-17-3. A small pack of mutated beasts has appeared in the "Gray Rock" badlands, suspected to be led by a Commander Level mutated ground lizard. Requirement: Eliminate the pack and kill the leader. Reward: 150 points.]

[Escort Mission: Escort a research team to the outskirts of the "Dark Forest" to collect specimens. Estimated duration: seven days. May encounter Martial Artist Level mutated creatures. Requirement: One Martial Master Level escort. Reward: 200 points. Note: Low risk, but time-consuming.]

[Reconnaissance/Elimination Mission: ...]