The winter evenings arrived relatively early; by the time school let out, it was already dusk. Students ambled along the path toward the school gates in small groups, chatting and laughing, the air thick with a palpable sense of relaxation.

“Hurry and look! Song Jian from the Ancient Martial Arts first year is sparring with Lewis from the New Martial Arts first year on the sports field!”

The excited cries of a gathering crowd near the entrance of Baodao City Jianzhong High School rose and fell like an incoming tide, snagging the attention of students preparing to leave. They stopped in their tracks, looking toward the commotion with expressions of surprise and curiosity. In almost an instant, everyone bolted back onto school grounds, rushing toward the scene—the sports field.

The area near the school gate, initially teeming with people, instantly grew quiet as everyone’s focus shifted entirely to the field. Qin Fen also came to watch. Gazing at the Byzantine-style red brick buildings before him, he sighed deeply: a wealthy life was indeed far more leisurely than a poor one. At least he didn't have to work part-time after school just to cover three meals a day and tuition. These students dueled daily on the Sky Martial Arts Combat Network, yet upon returning to reality, they couldn't extinguish their fighting spirit, constantly initiating contests to burn off surplus energy. He, however, had to juggle academics with grueling work shifts every day, feeling more exhausted than a dog.

“Do you think Song Jian will win or Lewis?”

“It’s hard to say. I heard Song Jian’s Ancient Martial Art, the ‘Prajna Palm,’ is already quite proficient in its first stage.”

“Hmph, what good is that? I heard Lewis’s family paid for him to get a new implantation surgery, and the New Martial Art they bought him, the ‘Electric Demon Wolf Claw,’ has also matured to its first stage. He’s a genuine one-star warrior.”

“So you’re saying the outcome is unpredictable?”

“Exactly! An unpredictable result is what makes it worth watching.”

From a distance, Qin Fen heard the dialogue of a few onlookers. He could only shake his head with a wry smile. He couldn’t help but wonder: was this really one of the top three high schools in East Asia? How could these students lack basic discernment? Unpredictable outcome? Song Jian beating Lewis? Unless Song Jian violated campus duel regulations and secretly ingested a combat-boosting ‘Rage Pill,’ Song Jian was guaranteed to lose.

Qin Fen immediately lost interest; this duel held no suspense for him. He tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and turned to run out of the school gates, completely devoid of any desire to spectate. As a poor student transferred from the countryside, he couldn't afford to waste energy on the leisure activity of dueling like his classmates. Many jobs awaited him after school, and with the promotion exams looming, he still hadn't scraped together the tuition for his first year of university.

He walked along Zhongqing South Road in Baodao City. Looking at the stream of magnetic levitation cars rushing past, Qin Fen couldn't help but reveal a look of envy. Since humanity discovered the legendary ruins of Atlantis a century ago, technology had scaled upward like a rocket piercing the clouds, quickly ushering in the era of interstellar navigation and colonization.

When humans opened the second layer of the Atlantis ruins and discovered some ancient script, after decipherment, thousands of massive, mysterious stone slabs were found to secretly contain entire sets of advanced martial arts techniques. These techniques bore striking resemblances to many martial arts found on Earth.

One could even say that the cultivation methods left on Earth were simplified, primary versions of the Atlantean arts, not even containing one percent of the original techniques.

In this interstellar age, people sought resilient and powerful survival capabilities in the universe, along with increased adaptability when facing danger. These martial arts, having long devolved into mere calisthenics, were suddenly resurrected, bursting forth with a new wave of vitality across humanity.

Their sudden reappearance immediately sparked a fervor for Ancient Martial Arts. But soon, people discovered that cultivating Ancient Martial Arts was relatively slow, and practicing these advanced methods was even more dangerous than the original terrestrial versions. A single lapse in focus could easily lead to qi deviation, resulting in total paralysis, or even body explosion and death. Even those with milder setbacks might face awkward impotence, or, in extreme cases, a man might transform into a woman overnight.

As another batch of fragmented stone inscriptions was deciphered, people learned a new approach to martial arts: High-Tech Martial Arts.

This so-called New Martial Art involved surgically altering the human body with genetic modifications, or implanting tiny machines, the internal organs of super-creatures, or even high-tech power sources within the body. Subsequently, not only could they unleash immense energy in conjunction with new weaponry in hand, but the greatest benefit was that as long as one had the money for the surgery, one could...

“Ye Xin, you’re only a three-star New Martial Warrior; you won't get away. If you don't hand over what you stole from the Atlantis ruins, you’ll die here today!”

A voice thick with killing intent suddenly shattered Qin Fen’s train of thought. He slowly moved toward the corner of the alley, wondering: Could he have run into robbers? The thought made his body tense slightly, and he quietly stopped. Then, another snippet of conversation drifted from the other side of the corner.

“The item? It’s already been sent off-world. Even if you kill me, it’s useless!”

“Sent off-world? Did you have the time? Out of respect for our past acquaintance, hand over the item, and I’ll give you a quick death.”

Ay, this is serious? It looks like they’re about to fight? Qin Fen secretly assessed the unfolding situation, not wanting to get entangled in this inexplicable robbery. He began to quietly retreat backward on tiptoe.

“Trying to leave?” A chilling voice suddenly echoed behind Qin Fen, and a scorching, aggressive palm slammed onto his back.

Unlucky! Probably a three-star New Martial Warrior! Qin Fen cursed internally just as he heard the sound of his own spine snapping—as fragile as a porcelain cup crushed in a giant's hand, reduced to dust. This intense pain nearly made him pass out. As the person hurled his body high into the air, Qin Fen tumbled twice before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured his vision and intensified the agony in his spine.

If only I had spent more time practicing Ancient Martial Arts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up like this!

With violent gasps brought on by the extreme pain, Qin Fen struggled to lift his head, just catching sight of the man who attacked him slowly approaching...

Simultaneously, fierce sounds of combat erupted again from the other corner of the alley. The first man to speak urged hastily, “Forget that kid, hurry over here and help finish Ye Xin! Baodao’s electronic surveillance eyes aren't just for show; the police could show up any second.”

“I will die before I let you have ‘it’!” the man called Ye Xin roared, suddenly spreading his arms wide: “Uranium Blast!”

“Quickly…” Before the man could shout the final syllable of “Flash,” Ye Xin’s body violently erupted in a blinding emerald green light. The man who had just rushed into the alley corner to attack Qin Fen didn't even have time to utter a sound; his body rapidly disintegrated under the glare of the green light. The man managed to shout the last character, “Flas…” before his body shattered completely.

The alley, moments ago a scene of intense fighting, instantly returned to its former tranquility. A metal sphere, about the size of a fist, rolled off Ye Xin’s body, settling slightly away from the shattered remains, and rolled out of the alley corner.

Cough…

A wave of pain caused Qin Fen to spit out another mouthful of blood. At this moment, he clearly felt the approach of death, an aura that would reduce him to ashes in mere moments.

Taking a deep breath, he silently mobilized the remnant power within his body. After sustaining severe injuries, maintaining steady breathing was the only way to maximize his remaining lifespan while waiting for medical personnel.

The metal sphere, after colliding with the wall, bounced back and rolled toward his position, finally stopping directly in the pool of blood he had coughed up.

What is this thing? It survived the ‘Uranium Blast’ completely intact? Qin Fen stared curiously at the strange metal sphere, momentarily forgetting the agony of his shattered spine and the potential lifelong paralysis even if he survived.

Gurgle…

The metal sphere suddenly moved, twitching slowly, like a soft-bodied caterpillar that had lingered too long on a leaf. In the blink of an eye, it seemed to shift again.

Is that…? Qin Fen wondered if his eyes were deceiving him. He watched the sphere writhe one more time, as if some creature inside was trying to break free of its chrysalis, yet the exterior was tough, like the thin membrane inside an eggshell.

Before Qin Fen could process it, the metal sphere’s rate of movement suddenly accelerated. It completely failed to notice that the pool of blood beneath it had vanished, leaving not a trace.

Swish!

After a brief writhing period, the hard metal sphere actually transformed into liquid metal.

Liquid metal? Impossible? Isn’t that the new super-metal the government has been developing without success? Qin Fen stared fixedly at the liquid metal, utterly disbelieving.

The metal seemed to grow eyes and moved toward Qin Fen with uncanny synchronicity, quickly crawling onto his chest. The liquid metal showed no sign of stopping; instead, it advanced more resolutely toward his mouth.

Qin Fen was now petrified, as the single palm strike had destroyed most of his body's functions; he couldn't even perform the simple action of closing his mouth. He could only pray silently in his heart: Listen, this is my mouth, don't you dare make this place your home, weird metal.

The liquid metal sphere ignored his pleas, not even pausing in its advance. It proceeded nonchalantly, climbing onto his tongue and vibrating happily under the coating of his taste buds. Before Qin Fen could react, the liquid metal rapidly slid down his throat.

Accompanied by a sensation of icy numbness and itchiness, the liquid metal suddenly reached his abdomen. He gaped, trying to expel this impolite intruder by vomiting, but violent coughing tore at his back wound, forcing him to give up and tacitly accept this awkward encounter.

Qin Fen stared blankly at the sky, recalling the string of events: being inexplicably crippled with a broken spine just passing through an alley, and then, as if heaven deemed him not miserable enough, having a bizarre metal entity implanted in his viscera.

In an instant, his abdomen felt like it was turning inside out, like boiling water churning violently. A wave of bloodiness surged up his windpipe, and he spat out another mouthful of blood. Fortunately, having grown up in the countryside, years of hard labor had given him an above-average tolerance. Even at this stage, he managed to keep his mind clear enough to avoid falling unconscious. For the first time, Qin Fen resented his own superhuman endurance; perhaps unconsciousness would have been a release.

The scalding heat of the liquid metal lasted less than two seconds before it suddenly turned as cold as an eternal glacier. A powerful, intensely cold aura rapidly spread throughout his limbs and bones, calming the previous sensation of being tortured by fire. However, in the next moment, this cold quickly coated his mouth with a thin layer of frost.

But in less than a second, the biting cold of this icy wasteland transformed again into the hottest magma erupting from a volcano, surging through every blood vessel and every organ in his body; circulating back and forth arrogantly. At this point, the liquid metal seemed completely broken down and dissected by this wave of heat, transforming into thousands of tendrils that pierced into every organ, rooting themselves like seeds.

One second cold, one second hot—a pain so intense it could knock a person unconscious in half a second. After enduring this torment for ten seconds, Qin Fen could bear it no longer. His head lolled to the side, and he truly lost consciousness.

Unnoticed, the fading twilight quickly gave way to night. Because the ‘Uranium Blast’ had disrupted the alley’s electronic surveillance eyes, the police never discovered this shocking scene.

“Mmm~”

Countless hours later, Qin Fen finally awoke from his coma. A splitting headache and dull throbbing made him involuntarily let out a soft groan. He slowly sat up, suddenly realizing something, and frantically patted his body: “What on earth is going on? Wasn’t my spine broken? How can I sit up? And there isn’t any pain at all?”

“What is happening?!”

The empty alley offered no answers to his barrage of questions. Qin Fen stood up cautiously, checking his body again.

What the hell? Was everything that happened just a hallucination? What about that bizarre liquid metal?

Just then, the city's great clock chimed ten times with measured slowness. Qin Fen suddenly felt an urge to go back to the alley corner to confirm things, but recalling his disastrous previous encounter, he ultimately stopped.

Why risk an unknown danger? Qin Fen cautioned himself. He decided to quickly leave the alley. Since his body seemed fine, it was best to get back to his dorm quickly.

Qin Fen sprinted all the way, and soon returned to his dorm room at school. His roommates were already in bed, wearing helmets connected to the Sky Combat Network, continuing their battles across the network, which was rumored to connect to any corner of the globe.

He picked up the water glass on his desk and drank two large gulps of cold water, only then realizing that despite running back at top speed, he hadn't gasped for breath once. How was that possible?

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Qin Fen pursed his lips. He was unlucky not to have worked today; he should hurry and log into the Sky Combat Network to write a few combat reports and earn some manuscript fees.

Picking up his Sky Combat Network helmet, Qin Fen smiled faintly. If the government hadn't opened up eight free martial arts disciplines, aiming to find more channels to supply talent to the military, and if they hadn't issued this basic equipment to everyone, he might have lost another way to earn money.

These eight free martial arts were affectionately nicknamed the Eight Commoner Martial Arts by everyone: ‘Plum Blossom Hand,’ ‘Prajna Palm,’ ‘One Finger Zen,’ ‘Shaolin Thirteen Claws,’ ‘Kindling Saber,’ ‘Shaolin Arhat Fist,’ ‘Hung Fist,’ and one ultimate inner cultivation technique that people would rather pay money to learn other methods than practice: ‘Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique.’

Logging into the Sky Combat Network, Qin Fen adjusted his status to Observation Mode and used the locator system to quickly enter the sparring arena in the free viewing channel.

“Oh? The Master of Words, you’re late today.”

As soon as Qin Fen appeared, someone immediately greeted him, and soon many others followed suit, mimicking the first person’s tone.

People who frequented the Sky Combat Network were either poor individuals seeking to learn public Ancient Martial Arts in hopes of a bright future in the military, or they simply used it as a training ground to hone combat skills without suffering real injury.

Even reporters from various combat news outlets frequently sought out opponents for duels just to experience the thrill of battle.

Qin Fen was probably the only person on the entire Sky Combat Network with zero combat records. Since his arrival, he had only watched others fight, then written commentary analyses for newspapers in exchange for meager pay. Because of this, he became a special correspondent for the newspaper’s section titled The Layman Sees the Tricks.

Qin Fen nodded lightly at those people, having long grown accustomed to their calling him the ‘Master of Words.’

What man didn't wish to be the center of attention, didn't wish to constantly improve in combat? But... Qin Fen shrugged. Having the stamina for those fights, he might as well find a job in reality, earn a little more living expenses, and fill his stomach—that was the most important thing.

He checked the matchup list: ID War Angel, height 1.83 meters, reach 1.88 meters, uses New Martial Art Magma Technique Second Stage, Two-Star Warrior, record 72 wins and 13 losses.

ID Six Yang Palm, height 1.87 meters, reach 1.91 meters, uses Ancient Martial Art Plum Blossom Hand, Two-Star Warrior, record 46 wins and 9 losses.

The tiers were comparable. As the system provided the combat data, Qin Fen had already performed a simple analysis in his mind. The Magma Technique is an explosive skill, its lethality ranking in the middle tier for two-star warriors. Plum Blossom Hand is a speed-oriented martial art, its lethality slightly weaker, and it is the primary technique leading up to the advanced Six Yang Palm.

A crisp “FIGHT!” echoed from above the arena.

War Angel roared, and a red spot flashed on his chest as a lava-like red light instantly surged around his body.

Six Yang Palm moved silently, closing the distance, its target the red spot on War Angel’s chest—the place where the New Martial Art Magma Technique hadn't been perfected, as the vital point momentarily exposed itself during activation.

The speed of the Six Yang Palm was incredible; it closed in on War Angel in the blink of an eye. The Plum Blossom Hand condensed a faint blue light, seemingly on the verge of touching War Angel’s vital point.

“Good!” The spectators in the viewing channel immediately cheered in unison.

Qin Fen disagreed with the applause and secretly shook his head. New Martial Artists usually found ways to conceal their vital points. War Angel showing his so blatantly was clearly an attempt to draw Six Yang Palm’s attention. Everyone knew the attack point for the Plum Blossom Hand would be the vital point, which conversely limited the advantage of the Plum Blossom Hand—a slippery technique specializing in speed. War Angel could easily predict the opponent's landing point for the attack.

Indeed, the battle unfolded as Qin Fen predicted. The two swift palm strikes from Six Yang Palm’s Plum Blossom Hand were easily neutralized by War Angel at the critical moment. Simultaneously, War Angel dragged Six Yang Palm into a close-quarters skirmish, preventing him from utilizing his agility advantage. The two instantly locked into melee combat, a dazzling flurry of fists, feet, palms, and shadows filling the air.

The spectators repeatedly gasped; the duel was too intense, the rhythm too fast to breathe.

Qin Fen frowned, watching the fierce battle. What was happening? Why were these two-star warriors so weak? In previous two-star duels he watched, Qin Fen calculated that even if he entered the fray, he could only react situationally. But now, watching these two two-star warriors, he could anticipate what attack they would use the moment they shifted even a shoulder, and instantly find the flaw!

Qin Fen gently rubbed his forehead. As a two-star Ancient Martial Arts warrior, why did these two opponents, who should be his equals in strength, look like children fighting?

“That was intense! I didn’t expect the free channel to have such a brilliant match today! I wonder who will win in the end!”

“Yeah! So exciting!”

Hearing the praise from those around him, Qin Fen yawned listlessly and casually spoke without thinking, “War Angel’s New Martial Art will win.”

“Oh? Isn’t this the number one Master of Words? Don’t you usually wait until after the fight to point out why the loser failed? What’s with you today?”

For Qin Fen, who only watched and never fought, most people in this viewing area disliked him. After all, everyone was susceptible to defeat, and hearing Qin Fen’s spot-on commentary afterward naturally caused annoyance, making them eager to find an opportunity to put this ‘Master of Words’ in his place. However, since Qin Fen never entered the actual combat, they could only resort to verbal sarcasm to regain some composure.

“War Angel will win? I think Six Yang Palm will win,” said one person who had been exposed by Qin Fen the day before, his voice full of provocation. “Master of Words, do you dare to place a bet with me?”

The surrounding people immediately burst into laughter. Qin Fen was most famous here not only for never fighting but only offering post-battle commentary, but also for being a coward.

Watching others battle was often accompanied by placing small side bets among the spectators. Whenever betting commenced, Qin Fen would invariably create some distance from the group, deliberately abstaining from participation.

Combat was not arithmetic; unforeseen circumstances could arise at any moment. Even when possessing absolute certainty, Qin Fen refrained from gambling, understanding the hardship of earning money far better than the others.

“Fine, how about a fifty-dollar wager?”

The laughter among the crowd instantly ceased. Those familiar with Qin Fen began to doubt if his account had been compromised. The person using his ID now might not be Qin Fen himself, after all—he always utilized the system’s privacy settings to conceal his true appearance when attending these events.

Qin Fen himself was stunned. How could he have agreed to such a proposition? And a stake as significant as fifty dollars!

What was wrong with him today? Qin Fen vigorously shook his head. First, he dismissed the two-star expert below as child’s play, and now he agreed to gamble?

“Fifty dollars? Hmph! All that fuss, and you only bet that little.”

“Exactly! I’m putting down fifty too, backing the Six Yang Palm to win.”

“I’m betting on Six Yang Palm as well!”

“Me too…”

Many present had been subject to Qin Fen’s sharp commentary during previous fights, and this was a rare chance to strike back. They eagerly placed their bets. How much they won didn’t matter! What mattered was making this man, who felt rather unsophisticated, suffer a major loss of face!

“I’ll…”

As another person preparing to place a bet opened their mouth, the system announcement cut in: “War Angel wins by technical knockout…”

For more novels, visit storyread.net.