In the days that followed, just as He Yifeng had predicted, Xu Wuyi’s name was repeatedly mentioned on the campus intranet forums. The calls for him to be named "Number One of This Year’s Class" grew louder and louder.

Whether it was his dominant victory over Qin Rui or his brutal, hard-fought battle against Tana, the immense strength and tenacious will he displayed were deeply seared into the minds of all the new students, and even some of the upperclassmen.

But Xu Wuyi, the center of this storm of public opinion, seemed a world away from it all.

He didn’t attend any celebratory events, post any comments on the forums, or even show his face much in public.

His life once again fell into a simple, disciplined routine: villa, Cultivation Room, Star Martial Battle Network virtual training ground.

His only occasional trips out were to the resource repository to exchange for the Potions he needed.

...

Inside the underground Cultivation Room, the Earth Fire Marrow Lamp steadily radiated light and heat.

Xu Wuyi sat cross-legged in the center. Driven by the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, his Qi and Blood surged ceaselessly. Within the dark red Qi and Blood, the faint, almost imperceptible golden glint seemed to have grown slightly stronger.

A tingling, itching sensation spread from the depths of his bones—a sign that the Bone Tempering Spirit Liquid, Earth-Fire Energy, and his own Qi and Blood were working together to temper his marrow.

In such a highly efficient cultivation environment, his Life Energy Level was steadily increasing at a visible rate.

However, while focusing on his Body Refining Technique and increasing his Life Energy Level, Xu Wuyi also began to devote some of his energy to another Martial Art: Instant Shadow Step.

His consciousness connected to the Star Martial Battle Network, inside his exclusive Battle Network Cultivation Space.

After a short-distance dash, Xu Wuyi’s figure left behind a faint afterimage.

But when his real body appeared at the intended location, his footing was slightly stiff, failing to achieve the perfect state for force exertion.

He frowned slightly and stopped.

"Anna, bring up the force exertion data and Qi and Blood circulation simulation for the third form of Instant Shadow Step, ’Shadow Follows Form Movement,’ from that last move."

"Data retrieved," Anna responded swiftly. Complex lines and values appeared on the light screen. "Analysis shows that during the step transition, the infusion of Qi and Blood into your left foot was delayed by 0.02 seconds. This caused a micro-adjustment of your center of gravity to exceed its limit, affecting your dash speed and landing stability."

Xu Wuyi stared at the data, replaying scenes from the Inter-Departmental Tournament in his mind.

In his fight with Tana, he had tried to dodge and weave, but his Body Technique wasn’t agile enough. He’d been unable to completely evade the attack range of her Heavy Hammer, forced to endure the aftershocks, which worsened his injuries.

If his Instant Shadow Step had been just a bit more refined, he might have been able to stall for longer at a much lower cost, or even find a better opportunity to counterattack.

In his climactic duel with Qin Rui, Qin Rui’s Light-Splitting Shadow-Stealing Sword, which perfectly combined speed and offense, had also left a deep impression on him.

Although Qin Rui’s Swordsmanship was of a higher level than its official grade, his use of and reliance on his Body Technique had undoubtedly maximized its offensive potential.

’It’s a minor but significant weakness...’ Xu Wuyi muttered to himself.

The foundation polished by the Basic Body Refining Technique, the quality and explosive power of his Qi and Blood provided by the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, and the Spiritual Attack and Domain Suppression granted by the Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear—all of these formed the basis of his formidable combat power.

But in terms of agility, his Instant Shadow Step, which was only at the Entry Level and possessed the "Rapid Speed" trait, was indeed starting to lag behind his other areas of development.

This deficiency in his Body Technique became especially prominent in moments that required kiting, dodging, or pursuit.

’I have to get Instant Shadow Step to the Minor Success Realm as soon as possible. Great Success would be even better,’ Xu Wuyi resolved.

After advancing to a Martial Artist, the ceiling on Xu Wuyi’s Martial Arts proficiency had been raised again. C-level Martial Arts were no longer limited to the Minor Success Realm.

However, reaching the Great Success level in a Martial Art was not so easy. Judging by the Inter-Departmental Tournament, even the geniuses who had now advanced to Martial Artist had yet to master a Great Success Level Martial Art.

Xu Wuyi’s Basic Body Refining Technique was a possible exception, but its enhancements were reflected in all aspects of his being, making it imperceptible to others.

Every day, he would set aside two hours in the Battle Network Cultivation Space to perform thousands of repetitive practices and micro-adjustments for every force exertion technique in Instant Shadow Step.

Anna was responsible for recording the data from each attempt, comparing it to the standard model, and pointing out the slightest deviations.

In the real-world underground Cultivation Room, he would also use the breaks in his Body Refining cultivation to practice extreme, small-scale dodges, turns, and evasions. He relied on his powerful physical control to adapt his Body Technique to different pressures and environments.

The effects of this high-intensity, focused training were significant.

On the Martial Arts Diligence Record, the proficiency value for Instant Shadow Step began to grow at an unprecedented rate.

[Martial Art: Instant Shadow Step]

[Current Realm: Entry Level (67.3%)]

[Martial Arts Traits: Rapid Speed (Initial Stage)]

[Evaluation: As swift as a startled bird, a body like lightning. Short-distance evasion speed is significantly enhanced.]

From 21.5% at the end of the tournament to its current 67.3%, the rate of improvement was astonishing. At this pace, it might not even take a month for him to cultivate this C-level Body Technique to the Minor Success Realm.

...

「Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of January.」

The furor of the Inter-Departmental Tournament gradually faded as the students of Star Martial University immersed themselves once again in their busy cultivation schedules.

In the underground Cultivation Room, Xu Wuyi’s figure blurred into a gray shadow, moving at Extreme Speed within the limited space.

His footsteps made only an extremely faint "TAP-TAP" sound on the floor, as swift and dense as raindrops on a windowpane.

Every change in direction was clean and decisive, with none of the previous stiffness.

The afterimages he left in his wake were also becoming clearer. Although they still couldn’t exist for long, they were enough to play a key role in confusing an opponent in the heat of battle.

He stopped abruptly, his breathing steady and his gaze sharp.

[Martial Art: Instant Shadow Step]

[Current Realm: Minor Achievement (12.8%)]

[Martial Arts Traits: Rapid Speed (Mid-Stage)]

[Evaluation: As swift as a startled bird, a body like lightning.]

"Congratulations, Student Xu Wuyi. Your Instant Shadow Step has successfully broken through to the Minor Success Realm, and your proficiency accumulation has exceeded expectations."

Anna’s electronic voice sounded at the perfect moment, carrying a hint of simulated congratulation. "Your training efficiency is thirty-seven percent higher than the preset model."

Xu Wuyi let out a soft breath, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Nearly a month of arduous training had not been in vain. This weak point in his skillset had finally been shored up. An Instant Shadow Step at the Minor Success Realm was enough to give him a significant mobility advantage in battles against opponents of the same level.

Not only that, but thanks to the continuous nourishment of the Earth Fire Marrow, his Life Energy Level had also steadily risen to 22, taking a solid step toward the Level 25 threshold for becoming a Martial Artist.

His cultivation of the Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear had not slacked off either.

Just as he was preparing to begin today’s training, Anna’s voice chimed in with another notification.

"Important message detected. Your specially monitored contact, ’Associate Professor Han Mo,’ updated his personal status three minutes ago: ’Back on campus, handling affairs.’"

Xu Wuyi’s eyes lit up. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’Professor Han Mo is back!’