"Begin training."

As Jiang Qiu gave the command, the colors inside the entire pod swirled like a storm. The inscribed patterns on the floor began to flow outward from the faceless man’s feet like channels of blood, spreading in all directions.

The moment those blood channels passed under his feet, an ancient, spiritual sensation washed over him like a cold wind, causing the hem of his clothes to flutter up.

Jiang Qiu’s heart skipped a beat in response. When he blinked again, he was standing in a barren mountain landscape, just like the Secret Realm in Qingmu Town. It was desolate and boundless, free from the constraints of walls and a ceiling.

The faceless man’s fluorescent blue body absorbed the color like a sponge soaking up ink. The color seeped up from its feet, and its pitch-black capri pants slapped against its thighs. Its exposed ankles were like the base of pillars supporting the heavens, standing firm and unmoving.

The tawny muscles of its upper body were like mountains and hills carved by a blade—refined, domineering, and radiating a wild, murderous aura. Its well-defined knuckles looked as if they could crush a human skull with a single squeeze.

’Good thing it doesn’t have a face,’ Jiang Qiu thought. ’If its body alone radiates such a murderous aura, I can’t imagine how ferocious its true appearance would be.’

Sighing inwardly, Jiang Qiu clenched his fists, bent his knees slightly, and assumed a half-horse stance to face his opponent.

[Sparring Commences]

The moment the electronic voice faded, Jiang Qiu’s heart stopped. He felt like a little white mouse targeted by a falcon as a chill seeped from his spine.

SWISH—

A sharp gust of wind cut through the air and rushed toward his face. The faceless man’s figure, ten steps away, flickered. Gritting his teeth, Jiang Qiu instinctively raised his arms to protect his chest!

[Steel Arm]

BANG—

The explosive sound of metal clashing rang out. A fist carrying the force of ten thousand tons flashed against Jiang Qiu’s arms, and the afterimage the faceless man left behind dissipated.

In that same instant, with a WHOOSH, Jiang Qiu slid backward. His pupils contracted—the faceless man had already taken the spot where he had just been standing!

The opponent unhurriedly straightened its back, which had been bent forward from the punch. Its lats swelled like rising mountains, and waves of energy rolled off its right fist.

’It’s like I anticipated the timing of the punch, but I couldn’t see the fist at all.’

That surging power was simple and pure, unadulterated by any boxing technique. It just took a step and threw a punch, but it hit like a locomotive!

[Activating Qi Blood Vision]

The stiff electronic voice followed Jiang Qiu’s retreating figure. He clenched his jaw, sank into his horse stance, and with a scrape, his feet dug two shallow ten-meter-long trenches in the barren earth before he could barely halt his momentum. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Focusing his gaze, he saw red colors swirling and converging over the stationary faceless man’s body like a satellite weather map. The energy concentrated in its feet, waist, and fists, revealing the pathways of its Qi Blood flow...

STOMP.

Another explosive sound. His sharp gaze followed the trajectory of the Qi Blood, and Jiang Qiu suddenly saw a trail of ethereal blood-mist hurtle toward him, seemingly crossing an impossible distance in an instant!

BANG—

Another punch slammed into his arms. Like a small wooden block struck by a sledgehammer, Jiang Qiu slid backward again.

He was prepared this time. The Qi Blood in his chest surged out, converging entirely in his vein-popped arms. Streamers of Qi Blood, like drifting snow, suddenly materialized from the air and swirled around him.

"My Qi Blood is being directly replenished!"

Jiang Qiu’s eyes snapped open, a murderous glint solidifying within them. With a THUD, his back heel dug into the barren ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. His figure rooted to the spot like a wooden pile. This time, the gash he carved in the earth between himself and the faceless man was only about five meters long.

’In this Virtual Training Pod, I can use up my Qi Blood without restraint. I’ll just follow its Qi Blood circulation patterns and Body Technique, and fight to my heart’s content!’

[Steel Arm], [Copper Transformation], [Blood Circulation], [Powerful Penetration].

With a BOOM, Jiang Qiu shot forward, raising his right fist to strike the faceless man’s stationary figure!

The extreme burst of power gave him speed that surpassed the gales. His eyes gradually began to see the faceless man’s traceless Shadow Stepping, and he threw punch after punch, aiming for its blank face.

WHOOSH—

His fists repeatedly missed, grazing empty air, but he was getting closer with each attempt. The faceless man’s fists hammered down on him like a blacksmith’s sledge, but they couldn’t break through his defense.

However, every time the faceless man’s fist landed on Jiang Qiu’s arms, his Qi Blood flared like sparks. And every time Jiang Qiu withstood a blow, he had to forcefully stop his momentum by channeling Qi Blood from his chest to his legs. His bones and muscles were squeezed until they ached terribly, tempering his body in the process.

Time passed in a flash.

[Body Technique Practice: 1]

[Shadow Stepping (Unmastered)]

[1/100]

"Stop!"

Jiang Qiu shouted. The afterimage of the faceless man three steps away scattered in the wind. A sudden gale lifted his black hair, and a massive fist appeared right before his eyes, only to slowly retract.

"Huuuh... Haaah..."

He rested his hands on his trembling knees. His calves felt as if the muscles and bones were torn apart. His soaked clothes seemed like they’d been left to drip dry after a soak, and beads of sweat slapped against the floor, shattering like tiny splashes.

He lifted his head to watch the back of the faceless man as it strolled toward the center. His chest burned like a furnace. Swallowing a mouthful of hot saliva, he asked, "How much time has passed?"

[One hour, forty-five minutes, fifty-six seconds]

"It took almost two hours for a single Body Technique practice session?" Jiang Qiu’s cheek twitched, and his heart ached as if it were a high-pressure boiler. "Body Techniques really are hard to learn."

With a THUD, he plopped onto the ground. He supported himself with his shaking hands on the dry, barren earth and glanced at the chaotic skid marks that crisscrossed the area like cursive script. He called out casually, "Bring up the rankings."

DING! A panel materialized before Jiang Qiu, and lines of names rapidly appeared.

[Body Technique Rankings]

[First Place — Lin Wei — Shadow Stepping (Five Stars)]

[Second Place — Wu Hao — Martial Gang Step (Five Stars)]

[...]

[Fifth Place — Zhang Yue — Water Leaping Step (Four Stars)]

There were five names in total. These were the students among the thirty Optimizers of their year who had managed to learn a Body Technique. One could say they didn’t even have enough people to fill the reserve slots for the top ten prodigies.

After all, Body Techniques were typically learned only after enrolling in Northwest Martial University. They were incredibly difficult, and only a rare few could master one ahead of time.

Even these top prodigies had to spend at least a year learning a single Body Technique.

’It may be hard to learn, but as long as I can make 3% progress every day, a month should be enough. I need to push myself to be as fast as possible.’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu took a deep breath. He slightly straightened up and clenched his fists, and a sharp pain shot through his arms as if they were being pierced by iron nails. A long, ragged exhale blew away some of the molten-lava-like heat burning inside him.

"I wonder what the principle behind the Virtual Training Pod is," he muttered. "Getting hit by that projection hurts so much..."

Mumbling to himself, Jiang Qiu stared intently at the faceless man’s back.

’Besides the Demon Plant and King Niu, this is the first time I’ve been forced to take such a beating.’

’The faceless man’s physical strength is immense, but this feeling of not being able to land a single punch is as frustrating as trying to catch a greased-up eel.’

As his thoughts reached this point, he let out a dry laugh. "If I can’t even hit a projection that has perfected the torso stage of the Steel Bone Realm, then I can forget about competing with Lin Wei for the top spot among the ten prodigies."

"I will master [Shadow Stepping] within twenty days!"

After an hour’s rest, the body heat had dried Jiang Qiu’s black shirt. Taking advantage of the cold wind that naturally blew across the landscape, he pushed himself up from the ground and faced the faceless man, his eyes shining brighter than Polaris in the long night.

"Begin training."

[Body Technique Practice: 1]

[Body Technique Practice: 1]

[...]

An entire day passed. The illusion of the barren landscape faded like ink dissolving in water, and the faceless man’s figure vanished along with it. In the blink of an eye, he was back in the spacious, empty metal pod. The crimson glow of the strange patterns under his feet subsided, leaving the floor slightly hot to the touch.

Jiang Qiu propped his right hand against the cool wall, the Body Technique panel reflected in his shimmering, jet-black eyes.

[Shadow Stepping (Unmastered)]

[5/100]

"This intensity is a bit high. My body’s strength can’t keep up with a full day of [Shadow Stepping] training," Jiang Qiu said, glancing down at the damp black shirt clinging to the contours of his pectoral muscles and at his two stiff, unmoving legs. "Once the rewards for placing first in the Military Department’s test are distributed, I’ll take a medicinal bath. Maybe my progress will speed up then..."

DING—

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed from all directions, and an electronic voice transmitted through his propped-up right arm and into his mind.

[Optimizer Wu Hao has requested to project into Pod 8]

[Do you consent?]