After completing his pile stance practice, he saw that the proficiency on the Martial Arts Tree had increased by 1 point again.
[Black Tiger Fist: Mastery (20%)]
[Cultivation Technique]
[Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile: Second Aperture (45%)]
Lu Chenzhou could finally relax, take a bath, and go to bed to rest.
Opening his phone, he saw that the math teacher had sent out last month's report card in the class group chat and was praising Lu Chenzhou in front of everyone.
No wonder, Lu Chenzhou had moved up one rank.
14th in the whole first year; this was his best achievement ever!
The math teacher went on and on in the group chat, and the other students remained silent. Only Qin Zheng couldn't help himself and complained in the small Martial Arts Society chat.
[Qin Zheng: Senior Sister, Chenzhou has ranked 14th now!]
[Li Linling: It's just maddening to compare oneself to others.]
[Qin Zheng: Lu Chenzhou, are you cheating?]
[Lu Chenzhou: (smile.jpg) No.]
[Qin Zheng: Do you know what the most despairing thing is, Senior Sister? He drew even with Du yesterday in a spar, and Du is a Third Rank expert!]
Qin Zheng, who was completely overshadowed by Lu Chenzhou in every aspect,
could only seek comfort from Senior Sister Li in the chat.
[Li Linling: Good lord, excluding those with intermediate root bones and older students that have entered society, wouldn't Du rank within the top three in our Martial Arts Academy in terms of strength?]
[Qin Zheng: I don't know how he trains; it's so frustrating!]
[Li Linling: Forget it, I'm struck by reality; I'm off to study.]
Lu Chenzhou forwarded the report card to his parents.
Before long, Li Xianghua sent a message.
[Great (jpg)! Son, treat yourself to something delicious as a reward, and be careful when you're home alone. I've seen online that something might happen in Su City lately.]
[I'm fine, and you both should be careful out there as well.]
Lu Chenzhou knew that those online comments could be related to the Central Void Control Department's dispatch of a large team to Su City. Rumors were that the outskirts of Taihu in Su City had been sealed off; this time's intersection with the Void Realm was likely there.
Taihu's area was remote with sparse populations; that whole section was full of abandoned buildings left over from the real estate bubble, long uninhabited, making the potential impact of a Virtual Disaster relatively minor.
The few remaining residents had been relocated by the task force. Overall, the citizens of Su City were not particularly panicked—when the central government took action, it was to bring order out of chaos!
At this moment, someone in the family chat group shared a video. The footage wasn't very clear, apparently taken from afar by a drone.
In the video, over a part of the vast Taihu Lake, a huge drone was driving silver metal pillars into the lakebed. The water of Taihu was shallow, and in an instant, a white circle with a diameter of several hundred meters formed, emitting blue beams of light. From a distance, a blue light dome enveloping the landscape appeared like a hemispherical vault over a stadium.
Soon after, a group of tiny figures was seen walking on the waves and entering it. The invisible aura they emitted stirred up green waves on the lake, creating an impressive spectacle.
Faintly, one could make out various surreal scenes forming behind these figures... dragons coiling and tigers crouching, fairy peaks standing tall, all kinds of rare birds and mutant beasts, and so on. But the most shocking vision spanned between the heavens and the earth:
Clouds enshrouded the Golden Summit of Emei, a massive, silent object stood tall, with cliffs and a sea of clouds rolling on the edge, overshadowing the sky. Suddenly, a golden light punctured through the void, a red dot gradually morphed into a radiant, vigorous golden sun, breaking the sea of clouds, blazing with thousands of rays!
As the sea of clouds dispersed, the phantom image of the giant object emerged in the mist.
It was a colossal golden statue, faintly visible as a woman.
She stood towering like a deity, with masses worshiping below her.
Lu Chenzhou's expression changed—it was her!
At last year's All Nations Martial Arts Competition, the most dazzling was undoubtedly the Cangtian Dragon King. But there were also a group of equally brilliant powerhouses, among whom was this woman.
Sunrise in the East·Li Xiuying!
President of Emei Martial Arts University, one who had long broken through the Sixth Shackles.
This wondrous sight must be her ability, such strong-willed martial artists are extremely formidable, already capable of interfering with reality, forming a certain indescribable domain.
It's also called the Heavenly King Domain!
"Not only has a Martial Arts Grandmaster come but even a Martial Arts King has shown up at the Void Realm intersection point of Taihu, its scale is almost comparable to that last time thirty years ago."
Subsequently, Lu Chenzhou continued to swipe through various news and community feeds.
[Shocking! A Martial Arts King has descended upon Su City, is a huge change imminent?!]
[The Great Sun Breaks Through the Cloud Sea! That's the Heavenly King Domain of Li Xiuying, headmaster of Emei Martial Arts University! I saw it when I sneakily went fishing by Taihu, what's on TV doesn't compare to one ten-thousandth of seeing it in person! So damn shocking! It was worth dying for!]
[Nothing will happen to Su City, right?]
All sorts of voices appeared online. Such a major event couldn't be concealed from the public, and unlike some countries, Da Xia's officialdom did not choose to block the news. Before long, Lu Chenzhou scrolled to a news bulletin from the official account of the Void Department.
[Taihu has seen the emergence of a Void Realm intersection point with a risk assessment of level five. The Central Void Control Department, Martial Arts Department, and other departments attach great importance to this. Currently, a special force led by Li Xiuying, headmaster of Emei Martial Arts University, has been dispatched to conduct in-depth investigation. Prior evacuation work on the island has been completed, the coastline is completely sealed off, and all cities along the lake are maintaining order, and no organizations or individuals are allowed to approach Taihu on their own!]
After the notification, the whole net buzzed.
Previously, most virtual disasters were of level one or two, with level three and four being quite rare, and level five had only ever occurred once in history, across the strait in Sun and Moon Province. The headmaster of the Dragon and Tiger Academy from Xijiang Province went there to quell it.
Dragon and Tiger Academy, one of the 24-school alliances.
After the virtual disaster was settled, Dragon and Tiger Academy established a branch there.
On WeChat, small groups from Martial Arts Societies, family groups, and Martial Arts Hall groups were all abuzz with excitement. This centennial, rarely seen major event naturally got everyone pumped.
[Qin Zheng: We're witnessing history, level five!]
[Li Linling: Look at how thrilled you are, as if it's something to celebrate.]
[Qin Zheng: A Martial Arts King has come, so it should be fine.]
[Li Linling: Hopefully.]
Shi Ruyu also sent a message to Lu Chenzhou.
[Junior Brother, are you coming to practice fist techniques tomorrow?]
[This year's enrollment exams at Pingjiang Martial Arts University are historically difficult. The headmaster of Martial Arts University has big ambitions, potentially wanting to push the school into the top ranks. The master asked me to teach everyone something new; just Basic Boxing might not be enough.]
[Thank you, Senior Sister.]
Subsequently, his parents also called to say they would be returning to Su City early.
In the cities along Taihu, there was a sense that a storm was on the horizon. A level five virtual disaster had a comprehensive impact on society, but it had little to do with Lu Chenzhou.
As long as the sky doesn't fall, practicing fist techniques was all that mattered.
He, a high school student, what could he change?
The following day at dawn.
After practicing the stance, Lu Chenzhou went to class as usual.
In the classroom, his classmates were actively discussing last night's announcement.
When the math teacher came in, everyone fell silent.
"You are still young, don't overthink it. Trust the country, trust Martial Artists and scientists... Study hard, even if you can't practice martial arts, you can still do research."
The students felt much more at ease. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel(ꜰ)ire.net
After class, Lu Chenzhou took the subway to the Martial Arts Academy. On the streets and alleys, people were talking about the event but went on with their lives once they realized they couldn't change anything.
Shrouded in the night, Lu Chenzhou stepped into the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.
Qin Zheng said he was going to practice hard but ended up not coming. The students gathered together, discussing the Martial Arts King that had arrived in Su City, creating a lively atmosphere.
Lu Chenzhou found a corner and quietly practiced his fist technique.
It wasn't until the public class that Shi Ruyu arrived.
"Everyone perk up, we're not learning Basic Boxing this time. I'm going to teach you all an exclusive martial art from the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall, called 'Sea-Sweeping Body'."