Chapter 006: Instant Kill

Straight punch, front kick, side kick—these three moves were ones Xin Lang had practiced tens of thousands of times over the past few days. He was more than familiar with them; his movements were as fluid as drifting clouds, and in the blink of an eye, he dispatched Qian Baidu’s three underlings.

“Ding! Each opponent defeated in a single move—reward: one experience point each, three points total!” the Level Up System prompted.

With these three points, Xin Lang now had a total of four experience points.

The whole scene had happened so suddenly that no one had time to react.

“Uh… instant kill!” gasped one of the onlooking students, shocked by the unexpected turn of events.

“A third-level martial apprentice? Wasn’t this kid just a first-level martial apprentice during the entrance test? And he failed quite a few sections, too!” another student, who knew Xin Lang’s background, exclaimed in disbelief.

Qian Baidu, startled, dropped the toothpick he was chewing. His three subordinates were all third-level martial apprentices as well, yet after being struck by Xin Lang, not one of them could get up.

“Third-level martial apprentice—at the peak, no less!” Qian Baidu stared at Xin Lang.

This was Xin Lang’s first real fight, and he had taken down three people in a flash. His hands trembled with excitement. In his eyes, Qian Baidu was no longer a person, but a walking bundle of experience points—if he took him down, that would be another ten experience points, enough to level up again.

“I didn’t expect you to be hiding such skill, but don’t get cocky. I’m also a peak third-level martial apprentice, and I have an ancestral secret martial art. I advise you to apologize right now, and pay for my brothers’ medical bills and emotional damages, or—ah—”

Before Qian Baidu could finish his sentence, Xin Lang threw a straight punch, sending him flying. “Idiot, who needs so much talk in a fight!”

Xin Lang’s punch, honed through countless repetitions, was as fast as lightning. For someone like Qian Baidu, who wasted his days loafing, there was no way to dodge it.

“Ding! Two-star side quest completed! Reward: ten experience points!” Along with the reward for defeating his opponent in a single move, Xin Lang earned a total of fourteen experience points from Qian Baidu.

Having gained fourteen points, Xin Lang ignored the stunned gazes of the crowd and headed straight for his dormitory.

“Wait!” Qian Baidu, lying on the ground, endured the pain and reached out, grabbing Xin Lang’s pant leg. “You caught me off guard. I haven’t used my ancestral ‘Mortal’-level martial art yet!”

Through his studies at Xuyang Martial Arts Academy, Xin Lang knew that martial arts techniques were divided into four ranks: Mortal, Earth, Heaven, and Saint. Each rank was further split into high, middle, and low tiers.

Even the lowest ‘Mortal’-level martial arts were many times more powerful than ordinary punches and kicks.

But Xin Lang wasn’t worried—he now had fifteen experience points and would soon level up to a fourth-level martial apprentice.

He squatted down, patted Qian Baidu’s cheek, and grinned, “Don’t worry, you can come find me again tomorrow for your heroic redistribution of wealth. I’ll be happy to oblige!”

Xin Lang genuinely hoped Qian Baidu would come back—another chance to harvest some experience points.

Under the eyes of the crowd, Xin Lang returned to his dormitory. With fifteen experience points, he was ready to level up again.

In the distance, a stunning young woman observed the scene with arched brows drawn in concern. Standing beside her was a girl who closely resembled her—perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old, a few years younger.

Meng Linglong said, “Qian Baidu may be undisciplined, but his martial talent is high. He shouldn’t have lost so easily.”

“Sister, was the one who defeated Qian Baidu the special recruit Xin Lang? His punches just now were at the level of a fourth-level martial apprentice. With his skill and potential, he could apply to any of the top three academies—Shengyang, Lieyang, or Sheyang. Why would he come here as a special recruit?” her younger sister, Meng Chuchu, asked, puzzled.

“Chuchu, my identity makes it inconvenient to show myself. This afternoon, help me investigate him and find out why he chose our Xuyang Academy,” Meng Linglong instructed.

“All right, all right! Since you’re my sister, who else would I help?” Meng Chuchu replied, feigning resignation.

Xin Lang returned to his dorm, locked the door, and excitedly opened the Level Up System interface.

“Fifteen experience points!” Xin Lang cheered, throwing a punch at the air.

“Level up!” There was no reason to hesitate; what good was holding onto so many experience points? Xin Lang immediately clicked the upgrade button beneath his character avatar.

The process was the same as always—a white dragon of light surged into his body, and his strength soared to the peak of a fourth-level martial apprentice, his punch force reaching 399 jin.

At the same time, another slot opened up in the Level Up System’s storage pack, bringing his total to four slots.

Upon reaching the fourth level, Xin Lang noticed that a new button appeared in the martial skills section of the system.

He clicked it, and a prompt appeared: “Unlocking martial skill learning and upgrade function requires ten experience points. Insufficient points.”

“Unlocking the martial skill learning and upgrade function? So I’ll be able to learn martial skills—that I understand. But upgrade? Does that mean martial skills themselves can be leveled up?” Xin Lang wondered with anticipation.

“If I can get five more points, I’ll know for sure!” Since he couldn’t be certain yet, he’d have to wait until he could unlock the martial skills section.

The afternoon was short; Xin Lang hurried to prepare more batches of ‘Floral Goji Dew.’ Once Fatty Gu Ge bought the herbs, he’d need to make him some invigorating tonics as well.

While he was brewing the Floral Goji Dew, Xin Lang checked the system’s task board. Last time, when he planned to make the dew, a side quest had appeared; he hoped another would show up this time so he could earn more experience points.

Opening the task board, he found that the daily task counts had increased to four hundred repetitions, but no other quests were available.

“Why is that?” he wondered. “Is there a limit of one side quest per day, or do they require specific conditions to trigger?”

PS: I just checked the fantasy new releases ranking—brothers, you’re amazing! We’ve actually reached fourteenth place. Let’s keep pushing! If we break into the top twelve, as promised, there will be five explosive updates! Let the votes pour in, and my updates will come even more fiercely!