Chapter 7: Proficiency Can Be Exchanged

Huang Lili began recounting amusing stories about Zhang Chu, and once she started, she couldn’t stop. She walked arm in arm with an elderly white-haired gentleman, chatting animatedly as they strolled along. Zhang Chu remained where he was, watching as the two of them passed right by him without the slightest recognition, heading toward the villas reserved for martial artists. It was as if his very presence was invisible to them.

Zhang Chu stared after them in surprise as they entered the gates of the villa district. “In this day and age, there really aren’t many girls as independent and self-reliant as Huang Lili,” he mused.

The Martial Artist Home was divided into Area A and Area B. Area A was the villa district, typically allocated to martial artists of level two or higher, or to those who had made significant contributions to the martial arts community—professors at the Martial Arts Academy, deans, or officials from the Martial Artist Administration Bureau, for example. The defining feature of Area A was that if a level two martial artist resided there, up to three generations of direct family could move in as well.

Area B was for level one martial artists and was further divided into the residential area and the single-person apartments. Unmarried level one martial artists like Zhang Chu were assigned to the single apartments.

Huang Lili truly overturned Zhang Chu’s expectations. He wasn’t sure who the elderly man was, but his every gesture marked him as someone significant. For a family with such a heavyweight figure, for her to still be hustling to earn money as a ticket scalper to buy Blood Vitality Pills—her determination was almost absurd.

Zhang Chu glanced once more at the villa district’s imposing gates, then turned and headed toward the single apartments. With such an extraordinary system now in his possession, breaking through to level two and moving into a luxury villa was only a matter of time.

Meanwhile, a phone call interrupted Huang Lili’s conversation. The old man answered, his brows knitting slightly. “What are you doing as the head instructor if you can’t even get the basic student records right? I’m giving you one more week. No matter what it takes, you must find out which student has the highest Blood Vitality!”

This concerned this year’s KPI assessment at Binzhou University and the school’s ranking. Normally amiable, Wen Zhan Huang was now visibly anxious.

The next morning, Zhang Chu wasn’t even awake when his phone buzzed with a bank notification: “Congratulations, Level One Martial Artist Zhang Chu. You have received this month’s martial artist stipend of 5,000 yuan. Account balance: 61,300 yuan.”

“That’s a lot of money. I need to spend it,” he thought. Too much money could be a headache; not spending it was even more nerve-wracking.

He’d already planned to visit the Martial Artist Mall today. Taking the bus was out of the question—why pinch pennies when he could easily afford a private ride?

When he arrived at the Martial Artist Center, the main hall was nearly empty. The staff were just lazily clocking in. From his research on the forums yesterday, Zhang Chu knew he was missing three crucial things.

First, martial techniques, which required money to purchase. Second, combat experience—because honing martial techniques was only possible through real battle. Without it, even a sky-high Blood Vitality would be useless. Third, equipment—armor, gloves, helmets, and the like.

But Zhang Chu was well aware that for a level one martial artist without combat experience, venturing into the Beast Forest outside the city was tantamount to suicide. So, for now, equipment could wait.

Especially after he checked the equipment prices on the digital shopping platform on the third floor—Zhang Chu immediately felt destitute. Equipment and martial techniques were graded from level one to six, and each level was further broken into upper, middle, and lower ranks.

A single set of level one, lower-grade defensive armor cost 45,999 yuan. A complete set of level one, lower-grade augmenting gear was 15,999 yuan.

“So even with all the money in my account, I can’t afford a full set of equipment?”

Calming himself, Zhang Chu headed up to the seventh floor, the Martial Technique Exchange Center. Here, martial techniques could be both bought and sold. The center was vast, with over fifty digital sales stations. All one had to do was select the desired technique, pay online, and wait for their number to be called for pickup.

“Damn it, what’s the point of being a martial artist if I’m just exquisitely poor?”

A few minutes later, Zhang Chu was cursing under his breath in front of one of the electronic panels. Even the beautiful attendant nearby couldn’t help glancing his way—she’d seen this scene countless times. Any martial artist struggling to support themselves looked just like this when buying their first technique.

The selection was dazzling—sword, spear, saber, halberd—but the prices were astronomical. After much deliberation, the cheapest option was a level one, lower-grade fist technique—Skyrocket Fist.

Skyrocket Fist—gather all your Blood Vitality into one hand for a single, fatal blow. Among all level one, lower-grade techniques, it was at the bottom of the barrel, currently discounted to just 9,999 yuan.

Still, Zhang Chu hesitated. He’d checked the forums: martial artists’ reviews of Skyrocket Fist were almost universally negative. At nearly 10,000 yuan, it was practically money thrown away.

And then, a chime sounded in his mind: “System has detected host’s intention to purchase a martial technique. Automatically purchasing level one, lower-grade Skyrocket Fist. Proficiency module successfully activated.”

Before Zhang Chu could react, a blue panel appeared before his eyes:

Name: Zhang Chu
Level: 1
Blood Vitality: 151.1/1000
Martial Technique: Skyrocket Fist (Level 1, Lower Grade)
Proficiency: None

Then, a white pop-up window appeared: “Estimated to consume 20 Blood Vitality to reach beginner proficiency in martial technique. Proceed?”

“What the heck!” Zhang Chu was shocked. “So as long as I spend Blood Vitality, I can automatically learn martial techniques?”

This system was a real game-changer!

Martial technique proficiency was divided into four stages: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Mastery. For most martial artists, reaching Beginner proficiency took at least half a year.

But Zhang Chu quickly composed himself. His Blood Vitality was only 151.1. If he used 20 points to boost proficiency, would he drop back down from level one?

“Proceed?” The system’s voice sounded again, the prompt flashing insistently.

“Sir, are you still buying? There are people waiting in line,” the attendant finally cut in, seeing his indecision.

“No, I’m not buying anymore!” Zhang Chu replied. With the system to boost proficiency, why bother wasting money on higher-level techniques? For now, his priority was increasing his Blood Vitality.

He hurried to the fifth floor, the pharmaceuticals center. “I’m in a hurry—two level one, lower-grade Blood Vitality Pills, please.” He glanced at the prices on display—he had just enough for two pills with his remaining 50,000 yuan.

After swiping his card and collecting the pills, Zhang Chu found a secluded spot and quickly swallowed both.

“Ding! Host has ingested two level one, lower-grade Blood Vitality Pills. Blood Vitality increased by 20!”

“Would you like to raise martial technique proficiency?” The system’s prompt appeared again.

“Yes!” Zhang Chu murmured.

In the next instant, his Blood Vitality dropped from 171.1 to 151.1. The Skyrocket Fist technique was instantly scanned by the system and embedded in his mind; a torrent of information flooded him, making him slightly dizzy.

But after only ten seconds, he felt a profound change—he truly had mastered the Skyrocket Fist.

“Congratulations, host. Level one, lower-grade Martial Technique ‘Skyrocket Fist’ has reached beginner proficiency.”

Clenching his fists, Zhang Chu felt a surge of power course through his body. “Damn, I’ve finally hit the jackpot. Time to earn some money to calm my nerves, then head to the Covey Research Institute for drug trials!”

As long as he wasn’t barred from drug trials, he could keep leveling up!

Glancing at the floor directory, Zhang Chu pressed the elevator button for the twelfth floor—the Martial Artist Virtual Beast Hunting Arena!