"Improved to 37%?"
"I haven't even noticeably felt it myself, yet the Divine Palace panel has already sensed it with precision," Li Yuan's eyes gleamed faintly.
The Divine Palace panel couldn't directly enhance Li Yuan's martial arts cultivation.
But its greatest benefit was to reflect Li Yuan's effort and progress in a numerical form, like a progress bar.
Absolutely positive feedback.
No one doesn't want to succeed, it's just that many people worry that their efforts won't yield results.
With the Divine Palace panel, being able to clearly see one's own progress made Li Yuan's motivation to cultivate even greater.
Cultivating was very exhausting.
"But the rewards of cultivation are great," Li Yuan suddenly exerted himself, and the spear in his hand became a blur as he thrust it forward fiercely.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
Faint, ear-piercing shrieks exploded, forming streaks of blurred spear shadows in the air.
"The practice of martial arts, trying over and over to break the limits of life, is indeed thrilling," Li Yuan suddenly retracted his spear, revealing a trace of a smile.
Over a hundred years ago, before the cultivation methods were popularized and traditional martial arts prevailed, even ordinary people would get addicted to fitness.
What more for high-level martial cultivation?
Li Yuan, in particular, relished the process of his body growing stronger.
It was exhausting, but very cool.
"Li Yuan, your spear technique is really amazing," an earnest voice of admiration suddenly sounded.
Li Yuan turned his head and smiled, "Tianyou, your sword technique isn't bad either. I remember you had a martial arts skills score of 312 today."
Li Tianyou, standing to the side, had a thin face, but bright eyes.
"I can't catch up to you," Li Tianyou said with a smile, standing tall.
"It's nine o'clock, everyone else has left." Li Yuan's gaze swept around: "Aren't you going home?"
The Ministry of Education had stipulated that early self-study began at seven in the morning, and evening self-study ended at nine.
Six days of classes a week.
Lower-level cities and counties might be more competitive, but, as a key high school in the provincial capital, it was natural to strictly enforce the schedule.
"I'll practice a bit more," said Li Tianyou.
"Alright," Li Yuan smiled, "I'll head back first."
"Mm-hmm," Li Tianyou nodded.
Li Yuan placed the spear back in the weapons cabinet and walked out of the classroom.
Watching Li Yuan leave,
the smile on Li Tianyou's face vanished as he muttered to himself, "Why isn't my sword technique as formidable as Li Yuan's spear technique?"
"If only I could awaken the Martial Spirit, that would be great."
In Senior 3 (2) Class, Li Tianyou's martial arts grades were consistently in the top five, occasionally even third, but there was a definite gap between him and Wan Xiao, let alone compared to Li Yuan.
Shaking his head to dispel the multitude of distracting thoughts, Li Tianyou picked up his long sword and continued to earnestly practice his sword technique.
Outside, the night lingered long.
Most classrooms had already turned off their lights.
Only this martial arts classroom remained lit, with Li Tianyou's slim figure looking somewhat lonely in this moment.
...
Under the night sky, on Luoyu Street,
Li Yuan, having practiced all day and his clothes soaked with sweat, finally boarded the driverless '517' trolley.
There were very few people on the bus.
In an era of a highly developed virtual network and abundant material resources, most people's work is completed online.
Even those with offline jobs, most laborers had finished their day and were home.
"...In late August, national authorities and the Starry Sky Martial Hall's Xia Country branch conducted a joint operation, successfully eliminating a group of Star Realm aquatic races in the Jiangbei Province Xiang River basin, but some did escape, please residents along the river stay alert..."
"Next, here's coverage on the ongoing wars in the Northern Border Province's Second Level Star Realm 'Rob Sea' and the 'Aust Moon Sea' of the 'Firefly' Second Level Star Realm..."
The electronic display above the driverless trolley continuously broadcast the latest news.
Li Yuan sat on a single seat, pushed open the window, and the wind blew in through the window, looking at the streetscapes passing by outside.
Very comfortable!
"Starry sky and love should always advance tirelessly, Star Sea World reminds you that Spring Eye Station is upon us," suddenly, the stop-arrival announcement sounded, pulling Li Yuan's thoughts back to reality.
"Star Sea World sure advertises a lot," Li Yuan shook his head secretly.
He stepped off the bus.
A few meters away was the entrance to Li Yuan's residential community—the Wanhua Platinum Mansion.
The community's name sounded grand, but the buildings were quite ordinary, even somewhat run-down compared with the neighboring new community 'Xiongchu World.'
"Welcome home, owner," a gentle female voice sounded.
Li Yuan entered the community after facial recognition.
There wasn't even a security guard at the entrance to the community, just two intelligent robots standing off in the distance.
Within the community, all buildings were modest 11-story high-rises.
Due to the constant threat of war over the past decades, the construction of super-tall buildings has been disallowed for years, with most structures around ten stories high and no taller than eighteen stories.
Although over twenty years old, the Wanhua Platinum Mansion was still relatively well-maintained.
Li Yuan's home was in building two, unit two.
"Little Yuan, classes are over?" An elderly couple was jogging slowly along the green belt of the community.
"Yes, Granny Sun, you're exercising again huh?" Li Yuan replied with a smile.
Although this was a commercial district, most people who bought homes here years ago were employees of the same state-owned enterprise, enjoying a discounted price.
So, in some sense, this neighborhood could be considered a welfare housing community provided by the company.
With so many years passed,
many residents in the community knew each other well.
"Granny Sun and her husband are almost ninety years old, but they're still strong and even haven't purchased a home robot," Li Yuan thought to himself. "According to the books, over a hundred years ago, the average lifespan was only seventy or eighty years."
Thanks to the widespread practice of cultivation methods, except for accidental deaths, the average lifespan of people on Blue Star had surpassed one hundred years, with the average lifespan in Xia Country being even closer to one hundred and ten years.
For those who became Entry Rank Martial Artists, their lifespan was even more astounding.
Li Yuan had just reached the foot of his building.
"Brother?" A surprised young girl's voice rang out from not far off.
"Bro~" Another young boy's voice sounded.
Thump~thump~thump~ Two youngsters around the age of twelve or thirteen, both dressed in loose martial arts uniforms, jogged over from a shadowy area not far away.
"Qian Qian, Muhua," Li Yuan smiled. "Why haven't you gone home yet?"
The girl was pretty and lively, with fair skin and bright eyes.
The boy had a youthful face, but he was almost as tall as Li Yuan and half a head taller than the girl.
Li Qianqian and Li Muhua.
They were indeed the fourteen-year-old twin son and daughter of Li Yuan's uncle and aunt, both in their second year of junior high.
"Brother, we just came back from the Martial Arts Room," Li Qianqian said cheerfully, clinging to Li Yuan's arm and swinging it.
Li Yuan nodded with a smile, "How was it?"
Each neighborhood has a public sports hall, as mandated by the government. Funded by the state, managed and operated by property management companies, it is free for residents to use.
"Not so good, there were too many people, not much space to practice," Li Muhua shook his head.
"At your age, you should still focus on building a foundation, practice more standing poles, and contemplate the cultivation methods," Li Yuan advised. "Especially you, Muhua. You've already awakened your Martial Spirit; you should be even less hasty in your practice."
Li Muhua had a high martial arts talent.
Li Qianqian's talent was much less, but her academic performance was very good.
"Mhm," Li Muhua nodded, then as if he recalled something, he said, "Brother, I remember today was the day your school tested for Martial Spirit, right?"
Li Qianqian also looked at Li Yuan.
"No success," Li Yuan said indifferently, not seeming to care too much.
Li Qianqian and Li Muhua exchanged glances.
"Brother, don't be discouraged. Even without a Martial Spirit, you can still get into Martial Arts University," Li Qianqian giggled. "Let's go home first, Mom was just messaging me, asking when we would be back."
"Brother, go get the package from the property management,"
Li Qianqian tugged at Li Yuan's sleeve, heading towards the elevator.
"Sis, I got the package last time, it's your turn this time," Li Muhua said helplessly.
"Good little brother—."
"Qian Qian, go with Muhua," Li Yuan patted Li Qianqian's head.
"Brother!!"
…
"Click~" The door opened.
"Mom, brother came back with us," Li Qianqian called out even before entering the door.
"Is everyone back?"
A voice also came from inside the house.
Li Yuan followed his younger siblings into the house, entering last after scanning the room, which was not small.
Four bedrooms and a living room, spanning a hundred and thirty square meters.
It was clearly visible that various decorations were somewhat outdated.
"Uncle, Auntie," Li Yuan saw his uncle and aunt coming out of the bedroom. The auntie was wearing a long-sleeved nightgown, her face without makeup.
The uncle was somewhat overweight, his skin was dark, but his clothes were very neat, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and sports shoes meant for going out.
"Ah Yuan," the auntie smiled when she saw Li Yuan.
"Qian Qian, go back to your room and wash up. Your dad and I need to speak with your brother," the auntie instructed.
"Okay."
"Brother, don't open my package, I want to open it myself later," Li Qianqian dragged Li Muhua, dropping off the package and heading into her room.
In the living room,
only Li Yuan and his uncle and auntie remained.
"Uncle, another business trip?" Li Yuan asked quietly, having noticed the big suitcase in the living room.
The uncle worked for a state-owned enterprise in civil engineering construction and was constantly traveling across the country, so business trips were a normal part of life.
"Yes, I just got the notice this afternoon," the uncle nodded.
"Where to? Why the rush?" Li Yuan inquired.
A flicker of hesitation crossed the auntie's face.
"What's there to hide? Yuan is all grown up now," the uncle laughed, then looked at Li Yuan. "I'm going to the Northern Border."
"Such a rush to go, and to the Northern Border again," Li Yuan was initially surprised, then seemed to realize something, his expression growing tense. "To the Second Level Star Realm 'Rob Sea'?"