Gu Yuan looked at Zhang Fan, who was charging at him with fierce momentum, and a faint smile played on his lips.
Seeing that he was so underestimated, Zhang Fan was filled with rage, and his attacks became even more vicious.
Gu Yuan’s blood and qi began to circulate within his body. Underneath his school uniform, the black tendons on his arms bulged, and his muscles expanded slightly.
He directly blocked Zhang Fan’s pouncing claws with both arms. Gu Yuan remained completely still. The immense force ripped through his school uniform, and his claws only managed to leave a white mark on Gu Yuan's iron-like muscles.
Zhang Fan was surprised by this. Before he could even think, Gu Yuan forcefully shoved him away and launched his right leg like a whip.
Zhang Fan had no time to dodge and could only hastily raise his left arm to block.
*Crack!*
*Ah! Ah!*
A bone-snapping sound echoed, accompanied by Zhang Fan's screams.
Zhang Fan was kicked out of the fighting ring. He clutched his left arm on the ground, writhing in pain.
The crowd gasped. Who would have thought that the usually reclusive and bullied Gu Yuan would suddenly unleash such power?
Chu Ling’s small mouth parted in surprise, looking incredibly cute. She couldn’t fathom how the gentle and amiable Gu Yuan had become so powerful.
Gazes filled with awe turned towards Gu Yuan as he walked off the fighting platform with a blank expression.
Beside him, Li Tianzhi gritted his teeth and growled, "This good-for-nothing!"
Li Qing, seeing what happened, quickly rushed to Zhang Fan's side to check his injuries.
Only after discovering that it was a simple bone fracture did he relax.
Medical technology in this world was extremely advanced. Fractures were minor injuries, not worth mentioning. Coupled with a martial artist's own recovery abilities, with treatment, he would fully recover in two to three days.
As long as it didn't affect Zhang Fan's martial arts exam, Li Qing called for the school doctor. He looked at Gu Yuan with complex emotions. As the homeroom teacher, how could he not know Gu Yuan's situation?
He had always warned Li Tianzhi and the others not to go too far. It was also because of Li Qing's help that Gu Yuan's school life had been a little easier.
He never expected that Gu Yuan, whom he had been secretly protecting, would suddenly become so powerful, which made Li Qing feel a little unaccustomed.
After comforting Zhang Fan, Li Qing walked over to Gu Yuan, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Go a little easier next time."
Without waiting for Gu Yuan's reply, he returned to his original position and instructed the students to continue training.
Seeing that the homeroom teacher had spoken, everyone found their partners and began sparring.
Gu Yuan's lips curled into a smile, and he looked provocatively at Li Tianzhi and his group.
Li Tianzhi stared intently at Gu Yuan, unable to control the urge to attack. However, Gu Yuan's ability to instantly defeat Zhang Fan proved his current strength was not weak. With the martial arts exam only a month away, he could not afford any injuries that would delay him.
With a cold snort, he led his lackeys and turned to leave.
Gu Yuan watched Li Tianzhi and his group depart, his gaze sharp. He turned and went to find Li Qing.
"Teacher, I'd like to study martial arts techniques in the library," Gu Yuan said to Li Qing with a respectful attitude.
"Alright, go ahead. But remember, don't bite off more than you can chew."
Gu Yuan nodded and turned towards the library.
Every high school had a library, which usually contained beast encyclopedias, demon encyclopedias, martial arts history, and some martial arts techniques for students to learn. However, these techniques were generally basic, and those from families with some power wouldn't even consider them.
Two minutes later, Gu Yuan appeared at the library entrance.
Looking at the ancient building before him, Gu Yuan stepped inside.
As soon as he entered, an old man sat in a rocking chair on the left, reading a book quietly.
Gu Yuan walked to the desk and tapped it. An aged face appeared in Gu Yuan's sight.
"Teacher, I'm here to read," Gu Yuan said respectfully.
"Okay, just a moment. Please sign here." The old man smiled and nodded, then took out a form for Gu Yuan to fill out his information.
After Gu Yuan finished filling it out, he handed it back to the old man. The old man nodded and gestured for Gu Yuan to enter.
Gu Yuan began to search for what he needed.
Through the landscape painting at home, he made a bold guess: items with a long history were more likely to possess "qi" (essence).
According to the memories of the original body, Qingli High School's library contained many old books with a long history, which was why Gu Yuan had come here.
Activating the Dao Fortune Celestial Map, Gu Yuan didn't specifically look for any particular type of book but instead scanned the entire library, little by little.
The library had three floors. The first floor primarily contained miscellaneous writings, travelogues, and historical records. The second floor had biographies of remarkable individuals. The third floor contained the martial arts techniques collected by Qingli High School.
Gu Yuan's browsing speed was very fast. With a single glance, he could tell if a book had "qi" or not.
"Found it!"
Gu Yuan was pleasantly surprised and rushed to the bookshelf. He picked up a book radiating a faint gray aura.
The book was titled "The New Era of Tianxia."
The Dao Fortune Celestial Map began to absorb the "qi." Soon, it had absorbed it all.
[Gray Qi Yun +100 points.]
After absorbing it completely, Gu Yuan casually flipped open the book. It told the story of the ancestors slaying ferocious beasts when the Tianxia Kingdom was newly established.
Gu Yuan wasn't particularly interested. He glanced at the publication date: Year 125 of the New Era.
Good heavens, it was now Year 355 of the New Era. Over two hundred years had passed, no wonder there was so much gray aura. Judging by the condition of the book, it had likely been flipped through by many people over the years, thus generating "qi." However, its essence was that of an ordinary book, incapable of producing more "qi."
A good start! Gu Yuan was delighted to have gained one hundred points of gray aura. He continued, and continued.
Gu Yuan continued to scan the books on the first floor. By the end, he had checked all the books on that floor, gaining a total of two hundred points of gray aura.
He found two books on history, both with considerable age. Coupled with the fact that many people had browsed them, they had generated gray aura.
After finishing the entire first floor, Gu Yuan moved on to the second floor.
There were significantly fewer books on the second floor compared to the first. Many of them were rare editions, making the books inherently more precious.
As soon as he stepped onto the second floor, Gu Yuan's vision was filled with numerous gray glows, which made him beam with joy.
After scanning the entire second floor, Gu Yuan collected three hundred points of gray aura.
Then, Gu Yuan rushed to the third floor without delay. Looking around, there were only a few bookshelves.
Through the Dao Fortune Celestial Map, Gu Yuan immediately spotted a patch of white light, and nothing else.
Gu Yuan walked up to the white light. It was a cultivation technique manual. He picked it up.
"Hun Yuan Zhuang" (Primordial Chaos Stance).
[White Qi Yun +100 points.]
Thus, he had accumulated a total of three hundred points of gray aura and one hundred points of white aura.
After absorbing the "qi," Gu Yuan began to read the contents, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised.
This was far superior to the "Basic Body Forging Method" the original body had practiced. Looking at the manual, it appeared to have been frequently flipped through.
Gu Yuan checked the original body's memories. He discovered that because the original body's cultivation realm was too low to break through, he had long given up on the martial arts exam and planned to pursue the academic route.
He had never even come to the third floor of the library. He only knew about the martial arts techniques there through hearsay. He also didn't have many friends, which was why he was unaware of this better body-forging technique.
After all, the original body was in the humanities stream, and his memory was decent. Gu Yuan himself also had a good memory. After reading it a few times, he memorized "Hun Yuan Zhuang." However, he still felt uneasy and took a photo of it with his phone.
He returned it to its original place. By now, there were no more glows appearing on the third floor. Gu Yuan decided to study some more martial arts techniques, as just fighting randomly wouldn't suffice.
There were many types of martial arts techniques. Although this library was small, it had everything it needed.
Gu Yuan understood the principle of playing to one's strengths and compensating for weaknesses. His advantage was immense strength.
After reviewing all the martial arts techniques, Gu Yuan selected these few:
"Explosive Fist": A boxing technique that uses special power generation methods to unleash punches with thirty percent more force than one's normal strength. (Note: Use with caution if one's physique is not strong!!)
"Giant Whale Technique": Inspired by the deep-sea giant whale, this technique allows the body to contain more blood and qi, greatly enhancing digestion and enabling the acquisition of more nutrients from food.
"Flowing Wind Footwork": Moves with the wind, understands the wind's trajectory, reduces wind resistance, and increases movement speed.
"Tiger Fierce Saber Technique": A saber technique created by visualizing the hunting of the Level 4 ferocious beast, the Fierce Tiger, allowing the practitioner to possess the ferocity of a tiger.
He took photos of these martial arts techniques with his phone and then went downstairs. After bidding farewell to the old man, he left the library.
By the time he left the library, classes had ended, so Gu Yuan returned directly to his classroom.
For the remainder of the afternoon, Li Tianzhi and his group were well-behaved and didn't cause any trouble. Gu Yuan was content with the peace.
Midway through, Gu Yuan considered imprinting Li Tianzhi's "Spiritual Affinity (Green)" fate. However, he discovered that green fate could not be imprinted with gray and white aura; only green aura and above could be imprinted. Gu Yuan had to give up.
During this time, he also examined the fate of half the people in the class. Almost all of them had white fate, nothing worth imprinting. In the end, his mental capacity was exhausted, and he stopped looking.
He also came to a conclusion: everyone he checked had five fates. He didn't know if this was a normal phenomenon or something else. To reach a conclusion about more fates, Gu Yuan would need to continue observing.
When school ended in the evening, Li Qing distributed forms to everyone, which they all had to fill out.
Gu Yuan took one and saw it was a guarantee form for basic cultivation potions, along with their home addresses. Every Monday, someone would deliver basic cultivation potions to their homes.
Gu Yuan quickly filled it out and handed it back to Li Qing. After everyone had finished, they were dismissed.
Gu Yuan was the first to rush out of the classroom, causing Chu Ling, who wanted to greet him, to sigh helplessly.
Li Tianzhi, witnessing this, gritted his teeth in anger. He couldn't figure out what was so special about Gu Yuan, aside from being a bit handsome.
That's right, the reason Gu Yuan was being targeted was because of this girl named Chu Ling. Her unusual attitude towards Gu Yuan had caused Li Tianzhi, who liked her, to resent Gu Yuan and constantly target him.
At this moment, Gu Yuan was unaware that Li Tianzhi had added another item to his grudge list.
He had arrived at a weapon shop and spent one thousand yuan on an alloy combat saber, which was the lowest grade of alloy saber.
Carrying the alloy saber home, he didn't rush to cultivate. Gu Yuan sensed the Dao Fortune Celestial Map in his mind.
[Gray Qi Yun: 200 points. White Qi Yun: 100 points.]
This was his harvest for the day.
With so much "qi," Gu Yuan looked at his fate panel. He needed to allocate these "qi" points wisely.
[Dao Master]: [Gu Yuan]
[Destiny]: [Unformed]
[Fates]: [Ribbed Muscles (Green)], [Natural Death (White), Prudent Courage (White)], [Robust Physique (White)], [Sudden Inspiration (White)]
Gu Yuan looked at the fates on his status panel. [Sudden Inspiration (White)] and [Prudent Courage (White)] were not to be touched for now. Therefore, the only one that could be altered was [Robust Physique (White)].
With a thought, he invested one hundred points of gray aura to replace it.
Gray flames began to burn, but [Robust Physique (White)] showed no reaction.
Gu Yuan had to continue investing aura, this time burning all the gray aura.
The gray flames transformed into white. The fate began to blur, and finally, three fates appeared.
[Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might (White)]: [Energy like a dragon, physique like a tiger. Possesses immense energy, capable of staying awake for days without sleep.]
[Constant Revelry (White)]: [Extremely potent kidney function. His... is extraordinary. Seven times a night is common.]
[Innate Qi and Blood (White)]: [Strong bodily essence. Qi and blood are generated continuously, accelerating body tempering.]
Gu Yuan planned to keep one hundred points of white aura and imprint any fate that seemed suitable for him.
Gu Yuan looked at the three replacement fates. He immediately excluded [Constant Revelry (White)]. Laughable, he was an eighteen-year-old youth with a remarkably strong body. Did he need such a fate?
What remained were [Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might (White)] and [Innate Qi and Blood (White)]. Both fates had their merits, and Gu Yuan fell into thought.
Although [Innate Qi and Blood (White)] could speed up cultivation, he already possessed [Ribbed Muscles (Green)], which provided him with a massive amount of qi and blood, enough for his needs. In comparison, the enhanced energy from [Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might (White)] perfectly suited his current situation.
The cultivation of several martial arts techniques and cultivation methods required time. With the [Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might (White)] fate, he could stay up late and diligently cultivate.
Having made his decision, Gu Yuan activated the Dao Fortune Celestial Map. Two of the three fates began to dissipate, leaving only [Dragon's Vigor, Tiger's Might (White)].
He directly replaced [Robust Physique (White)].
A surge of intense heat erupted from within him, continuously strengthening his body. It was as if a piece of fine iron was being repeatedly hammered, undergoing a more refined tempering.
Simultaneously, a seemingly inexhaustible reserve of energy surged from the depths of his body, filling him completely. Fatigue vanished, and he felt invigorated and radiant.
Gu Yuan felt his body and realized he could stay awake for three days and two nights. He immediately took out his phone, looked up the essence of "Hun Yuan Zhuang," and began to cultivate.
"Hun Yuan Zhuang": Blends primordial chaos energy to temper the body and accelerate the body forging process.
Gu Yuan slowly assumed the fundamental stance of "Hun Yuan Zhuang," which was the primary cultivation posture for the technique and could speed up body forging.
A sound like popping beans echoed. Gu Yuan adopted a strange posture, and gradually, warmth appeared in various parts of his body, converging to form a warm current – this was primordial chaos qi.
Where the primordial chaos qi flowed, his blood and qi began to boil. The massive amount of qi and blood provided by the [Ribbed Muscles (Green)] fate played its role at this moment, continuously surging forth and strengthening Gu Yuan's body.
Four hours later, Gu Yuan stood up, feeling the surging power within him.
He had reached the eighth level of body forging. Gu Yuan estimated his realm and utilized the massive qi and blood from [Ribbed Muscles (Green)] as nourishment for self-strengthening, directly breaking through four levels.
He tidied up and prepared some high-energy food. After filling his stomach, he began to cultivate his martial arts techniques.
Gu Yuan's first choice was the "Giant Whale Technique." This technique would allow him to absorb energy more completely and accommodate more qi and blood.