novelraw Chapter 15 : I Want to Join the Martial Arts Tournament Too!
Chapter 15 : I Want to Join the Martial Arts Tournament Too!
I Want to Join the Martial Arts Tournament Too!
Dinner time.
Qin Ling had already gotten over being mad at Chu Tianxing and asked him, "What were you doing at home all day? Were you studying hard?"
"Studying?" Chu Tianxing looked confused. "Studying for what? Didn't we already graduate from high school?"
"Huh?" Qin Ling was stunned. "But didn't you say you didn't want to go to a second-tier university and wanted to repeat senior year to try for Mingdu University next year? If that's the case, then of course you need to study hard!"
Mingdu University was the top-ranked higher education institution in the Great Ming Empire, and even in all of East Asia.
If someone could get into Mingdu University and graduate successfully, even a completely ordinary person with no martial arts skills would have pretty decent career prospects.
"Mingdu University is great, but I really don't want to repeat another year."
"But if you don't repeat, you'll only be able to go to some second-tier college. And it definitely won't be one in the Imperial Capital." Qin Ling frowned with a hint of anxiety in her eyes. "If that happens, you won't be able to go to the Imperial Capital!"
Actually, Qin Ling's scores on this year's college entrance exam had barely passed the first-tier university threshold.
But she was a martial arts prodigy who had opened all Twelve Principal Meridians at seventeen, the number one expert at Chu Tianxing's high school. Thanks to martial arts bonus points, she had already been accepted to Mingdu University before the college entrance exams even took place.
"So what if I can't go to the Imperial Capital?" Chu Tianxing didn't think it mattered. "Isn't going to university the same wherever you go?"
Anyway, my system basically sets me up for life. Even if I drop out and stay home, it won't ruin my future.
Speaking of his future, he thought of the Eastern Depot again.
Come to think of it, the Eastern Depot really needed someone with his talents. That Eastern Depot expert Gu Dongcang had even tried to recruit him...
But Qin Ling didn't know about any of this and said anxiously, "How can going to the Imperial Capital be the same as not going? If you don't go to the Imperial Capital, then we won't be able to..."
She had wanted to say "then we won't be able to stay together," but thinking that was too direct and not demure enough, she swallowed those words and changed what she was saying.
"Anyway, Uncle Chu and Aunt Shen hope you can enter a first-tier university in the Imperial Capital... They're even going out to work tirelessly this summer just to save up for your tuition..."
So my parents went out to work to save tuition money for me?
Poor dad. Without the half-billion-dollar inheritance, he's actually been reduced to doing hard labor during summer break.
After hearing this from Qin Ling, Chu Tianxing sighed to himself. It wouldn't be right to remain so stubborn. He thought for a moment and said, "Repeating senior year is impossible. But if there's some way for me to get directly accepted to Mingdu University or some other first-tier university in the Imperial Capital through special admission, I wouldn't refuse that."
Qin Ling rolled her eyes and said irritably, "You sure have nice dreams. What first-tier university in the Imperial Capital would give you special admission for no reason? Ha! Unless you could place well in the Martial Arts Tournament and make it to the national competition, there is no hope for you. But you..."
She couldn't bear to say the words that would be too discouraging, so she could only persuade him in a soft voice.
"Tianxing, let's give up on fantasies and study properly, okay? Just one year. If we can just hold on for one more year, we'll be able to meet up successfully at Mingdu University!"
But Chu Tianxing completely ignored her subsequent advice and said pensively. "If I participate in the Martial Arts Tournament and make it to nationals, there's hope of getting special admission to a first-tier university in the Imperial Capital, or even Mingdu University?”
"Ling'er, the registration deadline for the Martial Arts Tournament is July 10th, right? The official competition starts July 15th...”
"Today is June 23rd. That's seventeen days until registration closes, and three weeks until the competition officially starts...”
"Seems like there might be enough time?"
"What are you trying to do?"
Qin Ling's eyes went wide. "Don't tell me you're actually thinking of signing up for the Martial Arts Tournament? Forget three weeks, even if I gave you three months, or even three years... Sorry Tianxing, I'm not trying to put you down on purpose, but... but can we please not daydream like this? How about studying properly for a year, okay?"
Chu Tianxing thought to himself, You have no idea what a life with cheats is like.
But he didn't explain, nor did he even show off the Proud Dragon Repents he had just learned that day. He only smiled faintly. "Anyway, don't worry, Ling'er. We'll definitely be able to meet up successfully at Mingdu University."
Qin Ling thought he had taken her advice to heart and decided to study seriously. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "That puts my mind at ease. Oh, our city's top scorer on the academic portion of the college entrance exam is the kid of a coworker of the cousin of the next-door neighbor of my second aunt's family. How about I use my connections to get the top scorer to tutor you? Don't worry, I'll cover the tutoring fees!"
For a genius martial artist like her, both the city's Martial Arts Association and the city government sent her a substantial monthly stipend.
Before graduating from high school, the school also gave her a monthly allowance.
Just from these stipends alone, her income already exceeded that of many adults with regular jobs.
Even after she went to university, neither the city government nor the Martial Arts Association stipends would stop.
Of course, she got such great treatment entirely because she was the number one young martial arts prodigy in their high school.
The other young martial arts prodigies ranked behind her like Xiao Hu also received benefits but were a notch below hers.
"Let's forget about the tutoring. You coming over every day to cook for me already makes me happy. How could I let you spend more money getting me a tutor?"
Having Qin Ling shop for groceries and cook for him every day didn't actually make Chu Tianxing feel like he was eating soft rice or hurt his self-esteem.
This was because he believed that what he owed Qin Ling now, he would surely be able to repay ten times, even a hundred times over in the future.
With that kind of confidence, he could eat this "soft rice" with peace of mind.
But tutoring really wasn't necessary as he had no intention of repeating senior year at all.
Seeing him refuse, Qin Ling thought he was being prideful and was trying to preserve his dignity, so she didn't bring it up again. She just encouraged him.
"Tianxing, you've always had the ability to get into a first-rate university. This time, you just couldn't perform to your usual level during the college entrance exam because you were sick and in poor physical condition. If you study seriously for another year, you can get into Mingdu University. You can do it! I believe in you!"
As she spoke, she even raised a small fist and made a "fighting!" gesture to cheer him on.
"I appreciate the good wishes."
Chu Tianxing laughed heartily. Seeing that it was getting late, he gave a friendly reminder.
"Ling'er, it's gotten completely dark again. It's getting late. Shouldn't you be heading home? Mmm, I should also work hard at studying..."
"..." Qin Ling had nothing to say.
He saw Qin Ling off.
Chu Tianxing paced around the living room a couple of times to digest his food, then returned to his bedroom and opened the Huankong Net author dashboard to check his bookmark growth.
He discovered that ever since making it to the top ten on the website's New Book Rankings, his bookmarks had been growing incredibly fast. Just in one afternoon, they had skyrocketed by over seven hundred, bringing his total bookmarks past one thousand.
Opening his novel's main page, he found his total clicks had shot past ten thousand, recommendation votes had broken one thousand, and the comment section was buzzing with activity. There were already over three hundred book reviews.
"The prospects are excellent!"
Chu Tianxing nodded with satisfaction. He looked at the New Book Rankings on the homepage and found that his novel had already risen to seventh place. His mood soared, and without a second thought, he uploaded another five sections totaling ten thousand words.
This meant that barely twenty-four hours after starting his book, he had already published forty-six thousand words.
Such a terrifying update speed caused another uproar in the comment section.
OldGluttonOfTheBookSea: He updated again! Is the author some kind of tentacle monster? Or did he master some special finger technique?
GodPleaseGiveMeAWife: Based on my personal experience, this should be hand speed developed from years of being single...
LoveIsAGreenHolyLight: The comment above is inappropriate. Men with girlfriends can also develop this kind of hand speed if they're willing to work hard...
EunuchLi: What's the point of updating fast? I skimmed through it roughly; it's over forty thousand words now, and still no sign of the protagonist... This book is definitely going to flop.
OfCourseIForgaveHer: Hey eunuch above, how do you explain this book shooting up to seventh on the New Book Rankings in just one afternoon?
FlowerOfTheEasternDepot: Keep it up, author! Looking forward to updates every day!
...
Chu Tianxing happily scrolled through the comment section. It's precisely because the protagonist hasn't appeared yet that I'm willing to update so much in one go!
Once the protagonist officially appeared, he'd have to slow down the pace.
At that point, he would update ten thousand words a day, and no more.
Looking at the time, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. Chu Tianxing closed the webpage, opened his writing software, and began today's marathon writing session.
He had already decided to register for the Martial Arts Tournament and try to make it to the national competition.
There are only seventeen days left until registration closes. Only three weeks until the official competition starts.
So he had at most three weeks to prepare.
He had to grind hard enough within these three weeks to gain sufficient strength to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament and advance to nationals.
The reason he is willing to mass-update so generously, besides the fact that little Guo the protagonist still hadn't appeared yet and he needed to mass-update to prevent losing readers, is that he doesn’t have much preparation time left.
"If I can get a few more moves of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms before the competition starts... even if my internal energy hasn't reached the level of opening all Twelve Principal Meridians, I still have great hope of making it to nationals!”
"After all, among the youth division contestants aged fourteen to eighteen, martial arts prodigies like Qin Ling and Xiao Hu aren't exactly common. Most youth division participants have only opened a few meridians.”
"And the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms is a top-tier external martial art that can unleash tremendous power purely through muscle and bone strength.”
"I'll use the Muscle-Transforming & Bone-Tempering Chapter to strengthen my physique and boost my muscle and bone power, plus I have the Body-Strengthening Pills to enhance my muscles and bones... After three weeks, even if my internal energy cultivation is slightly lacking, my practical combat ability will see an exponential leap!"
In real combat, cultivation wasn't everything.
Within the same major realm, having deeper internal energy didn't necessarily mean you could crush opponents with shallower cultivation.
Some naturally gifted warriors with incredible strength and robust physiques could defeat opponents with far superior internal energy through their powerful physical strength and excellent combat techniques even if their internal energy was somewhat lacking.
Chu Tianxing wasn't one of those naturally gifted warriors with incredible inborn strength.
On the contrary, his natural talent and physique in this world were quite weak.
However, after his body was refined by two Lesser Marrow Cleansing Pills and nourished by the Bod-Strengthening Pills, Chu Tianxing was confident that as long as he trained extensively with the External Refinement Section of the Muscle-Transforming & Bone-Tempering Chapter, the strength he gained would not necessarily be inferior to those with exceptional natural gifts.
Combined with the ultimate technique of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, Chu Tianxing believed he could definitely achieve excellent results in the Martial Arts Tournament.