My Arts Evolve When Perfected

[Practice Curved Light Arrow once.]

[Practice Curved Light Arrow once.]

[...]

With an ample supply of Qi Blood from the Virtual Training Pod, Jiang Qiu practiced over a thousand times a day. Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. As he dripped with sweat, a DING from an electronic broadcast echoed through all the Virtual Training Pods.

[Optimizer Jiang Qiu has been detected completing the test for "Curved Light Arrow." The Bow Technique rankings are refreshing.]

[Bow Technique Rankings]

[First Place — Jiang Qiu — Curved Light Arrow (Five Stars)]

[Second Place — Lin Wei — Breaking Army Arrow (Five Stars)]

[...]

The moment the new rankings refreshed, the prodigies still training in their Virtual Training Pods were all shaken. Gasps of astonishment echoed one after another.

"Curved Light Arrow is a genuine Tier Two Bow Skill, isn’t it?"

"And Jiang Qiu actually managed to learn it?!"

"Damn it! I was about to send him a request, but he’s already logged out!"

Jiang Qiu was completely oblivious, hearing none of these exclamations. He had already stepped out of the training pod, taken a quick shower to wash away the slick film of sweat, and rinsed out the tub for good measure.

’Now that I have Blood Circulation, Bow Sense, Aim, and Momentum, and have even learned a Tier Two Bow Skill... once my Jade Sinews finish developing, I’ll be able to perceive the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm and unleash some of the true power of a Tier Two Bow Skill.’

Jiang Qiu pushed his wet bangs back with both hands, flicking water droplets across the mirror over the sink. His dark green, vertical pupils glowed faintly.

[Flood Dragon Jade Sinews (Developing)]

[Qi Blood Points: 20/100]

’Even with the boost from my Curved Light Arrow training and accelerated Qi Blood Circulation, it’s only gone up ten points in ten days. The progress is too slow.’

’Then again, they said in General Studies that forging Jade Sinews is an inherently slow process. Powerful ones can take several years to fully develop...’

’I’ll try a medicinal bath with the Advanced Su Fragrance when I get back to the Outer City. I wonder if that will speed up the development process.’

Muttering to himself, Jiang Qiu adjusted his collar, casually rubbing the cool Storage Ring on his left wrist as he strode toward the door.

CLICK—

The steel door to Virtual Training Pod 8 opened and closed. Jiang Qiu cut a solitary figure as he walked down the corridor and found Liu Qi waiting at the building’s entrance.

"I’m ready, Sir."

"Didn’t even dry your hair?" Liu Qi’s eyes immediately went to his wet, matted bangs. "Want to use a hairdryer before we head back to Eighth Middle School?"

"No, it’s fine. I’m used to not drying my hair."

Liu Qi chuckled and shook his head, holding out a small metal box. "As an Optimizer, this Storage Ring is your reward from the base."

Jiang Qiu took the small metal box and clicked it open. He froze for a second, the reflection of a purple-and-gold-patterned Storage Ring shimmering in his eyes. "Didn’t General Mo already give me one?"

"That one was from General Mo. This one is from the base. They’re different," Liu Qi said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at the Storage Ring. "Need help binding it?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, a warm light kindled in Jiang Qiu’s eyes. "Would it be okay if I gave this to someone?"

"That’s not standard procedure... but it’s yours, after all. You can give it away if you want."

Before Liu Qi could finish, the metal box snapped shut with a CLICK. A slight smile touched Jiang Qiu’s lips. "Thank you, Sir."

"Nothing to thank me for," Liu Qi said with a wide grin, clapping him on the shoulder a couple of times. "Come on, let’s get you back to Outer City Eighth Middle School. You’ll be there for two days, and then in three days, you’ll muster for the college entrance exams."

"Okay."

...

「May 18, 2125, 12:00 PM」

The digital clock on a phone ticked over. The blazing sun hung high over Gao Yuan City. Looking out the car window, Jiang Qiu watched familiar streets slide by until the school gate came into view. Zhao Gongzheng was waiting in the shade of the eaves.

CLACK—

He pushed the car door open and jumped out onto the concrete with a thud. Sun Yongsheng, who had been in the car with him, quickly followed.

"Jiang Qiu, Sun Yongsheng."

As a calm, steady voice called their names, Zhao Gongzheng hurried over, his face wreathed in a sunny smile that crinkled the skin around his eyes into a web of wrinkles behind his glasses.

Zhao Gongzheng greeted the two students, then exchanged a few pleasantries with Liu Qi in the driver’s seat before the armored car drove back onto the road.

"Sun Yongsheng, with the college entrance exams just around the corner, the principal made a special trip back. He’s waiting for you in his office now. Go see him first, and when you’re finished, join us in the conference hall for the meeting."

"Alright."

Hearing the word "principal," a muscle in Sun Yongsheng’s cheek twitched. He nodded and walked off.

Zhao Gongzheng led Jiang Qiu onto campus, and they walked at a leisurely pace along the path to the conference hall. "You’ve really surpassed all my expectations. You went to Tianjiao Base for a month, mastered Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven, learned Shadow Stepping in just thirteen days, and even defeated our city’s most promising talent, Lin Wei. Your potential is limitless."

"I couldn’t have even gone to Tianjiao Base if you hadn’t fought to get me the opportunity, Director Zhao."

Jiang Qiu replied frankly, his tone as light as the wind rustling through leaves.

’Director Zhao’s staunch support over the past few months had been plain to see: the opportunity for outstanding students, support for the practical hunting training, the chance to join the Tianjiao program, his first portion of Bone Su Fragrance, and even helping him contact a Su Fragrance expert after Teacher Wu Shan left.’

’He’d already learned over the phone last night that the Advanced Su Fragrance had been successfully created. They had used the 35,000 Contribution Points he earned from having Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven recorded to purchase the supplementary materials, resulting in a product with a staggering 90% development efficiency.’

’He was back this time for two reasons: the required muster at his home school for the college entrance exams, and to pick up the Advanced Su Fragrance that had taken over a month to create.’

"I’m just glad I could help. A bright pearl shouldn’t be dimmed by dust, and a hidden dragon shouldn’t be confined to shallow waters," Director Zhao said, his expression stern but not unkind, his cloudy eyes seeming to hold scattered points of light. "Since you were able to defeat Lin Wei, you can at least become one of the Ten Great Prodigies. If you perform as expected in the college entrance exams, you have a good chance of becoming the very best of them. Once you enter Northwest Martial University, vast resources will be directed your way. Your future is boundless.

"But for more than half of our school’s top students, failure in the exams could mean death.

"Those who survive might end up on a dead-end path doing infrastructure work. Even among those who choose to join the lowest ranks of the Military Department to claw their way up, few live to see their thirties.

"So I hope, as a favor to me, that as long as it doesn’t compromise your own success in the exams, you’ll look out for our other students. Help anyone you can get into Northwest Martial University, and if you can’t, at least try to save their lives if a critical moment comes."

His every word was resolute, carrying immense weight.

Jiang Qiu nodded and solemnly promised with two words, "I will."

’Director Zhao has helped me so many times; it’s my turn to help him. If I have the strength to take the top spot among the Ten Great Prodigies and still have power to spare... ’

’...I’ll bring Liu Zili, Zhang Shan, Li Si, and the others with me. As many as I can. I’ll get them all into Northwest Martial University and give Eighth Middle School the chance to become a top feeder school for the Outer City.’

’This is just to repay my debt to Director Zhao...’

"Good. But you must first be able to look after yourself before you can help others. Jiang Qiu, that Advanced Su Fragrance has been successfully formulated. After the pre-exam mobilization assembly, take it and have a medicinal bath. It might just trigger a major transformation."

As he spoke, a small, heavily locked metal box appeared in Zhao Gongzheng’s hand. "This contains the Advanced Su Fragrance. Based on its properties, the expert who created it gave it a name—Demon King’s Origin."