Chapter 18: Heavy Weapons
Having finished reading all of the introductions, Chen Chu leaned back on the sofa, contemplating slightly.
He discovered that all of these arts only had three stages, with a cultivation limit of the Third Heavenly Realm. This was the limitation of low-level martial arts.
Since there were low-level ones, there were likely high-level or even top-level ones. Ordinary people could not learn such arts; they required higher permissions, which were equivalent to the time they broke through their Foundation Building. The faster the breakthrough, the higher the initial permissions.
No wonder people like Lin Xue were willing to expend a large amount of resources to break through their Foundation Building quickly, even though they had natural talent. They probably knew about the importance of permissions early on.
Contemplating this, Chen Chu couldn't help but remember the day when Xia Youhui had specifically waited for him. He had shared valuable information, explaining how supplements could replenish one's vitality and expedite the cultivation process.
Xia Youhui might not have just reminded him to take care of his physical well-being; there could have also been a subtle suggestion to use money to purchase resources, hinting at accelerating the process of early Foundation Building.
Unfortunately, even if Xia Youhui had explicitly stated it at the time, there wouldn't have been much Chen Chu could do. With a lack of funds and his inherently poor aptitude, he was only able to break through within half a month because of his avatar’s evolution and the solidification of proficiency in the attributes panel.
Chen Chu's attention returned to the selection of martial arts. They each had their inclinations, but they could generally be categorized into two types: those focused on cultivating the body and those emphasizing weapon usage.
The first set of arts were further divided into strength training, defense, explosive speed, and short-distance teleportation. On the other hand, weapon-based arts encompassed a greater variety.
But regardless of the type of weapon, Chen Chu found all of them to be extremely exaggerated. The sword related arts had specific requirements for the weapon to be used; they stipulated that the chosen companion sword should not be shorter than one and a half meters, and its length should not exceed two meters.
Damn, two meters is practically a giant sword, isn't it?
For the Meteor Hammer Art, the recommended equipment was astounding. The hammerhead alone was advised to weigh at least one hundred kilograms, or else it wouldn’t be able to unleash its full power. The heavier the weapon, the better.
Several saber arts were no exception. The most exaggerated one was called the Heavenly Decimation of Ten Strikes, which required a saber with a length of three meters and a width of half a meter.
What kind of saber is that? It's more like a door panel!
However, considering that the creators of these arts aimed to deal with mutated beasts, Chen Chu could somewhat understand the rationale behind it. The beasts had body sizes ranging from several meters to over ten meters, to say nothing of the massive colossal beasts. If the weapons were too small, wouldn't any attacks just be more like an itch for them?
After some contemplation, Chen Chu ultimately chose the Dragon Elephant Art as his primary, as well as a saber art called the Insightful Blade. The suggested length for the weapon was two meters.
Having confirmed his choices, Chen Chu let out a sigh of relief. Navigating the challenge of decision-making, particularly with numerous options, had proved to be quite troublesome for him. Despite the fact that all these martial arts were classified as low-level, each one held promise.
As long as he reached the advanced level for the ones he’d chosen, however, he could easily dismiss minor threats. Each martial art was tailored to unleash a specific advantage within an individual, crafted with the sole purpose of excelling in combat and slaughter.
The next step of the process would be acquiring the needed materials for cultivating the chosen arts. True martial arts were indeed powerful, but the cultivation process could be intricate. Many body-focused arts required supplementary resources to get started.
Such as the Dragon Elephant Art. To initiate it, one needed to smear the blood of a mutated beast called the Tyrant Elephant on their body while practicing, allowing the body to absorb a trace of the elephant's characteristics. Once the art was successfully cultivated, the practitioner’s strength would significantly increase.
Upon Chen Chu's confirmation of the chosen arts, a VR helmet-like object descended slowly from above. Having already read the instructions, he placed the helmet on his head without hesitation.
"Identity verification in progress... Verification successful. Please relax, student. Don't be nervous. Initiating data transfer for Dragon Elephant, Insightful Blade..."
The screen in front of Chen Chu’s eyes lit up, and an image appeared showing a sturdy middle-aged man with a height of at least two meters, beginning to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Art. On his body, there appeared to be lines indicating the circulation route of vitality, resembling arrows following a certain pattern in motion...
A special beam could fully imprint these images into the brain for a month, ensuring an eidetic memory. One month's time was usually sufficient for newcomers to grasp the basics.
***
By the time Chen Chu left the room, Pang Long had already departed.
Upon reaching the third floor via the elevator, Chen Chu found no trace of the teacher. However, he spotted Xia Youhui practicing not far away, whose eyes lit up upon noticing him. He enthusiastically approached, ready to give a pat on the shoulder with hands covered in spiked boxing gloves, reminiscent of a motorcycle helmet in size.
Chen Chu promptly intercepted the gesture. "Are you trying to murder me?"
"Ha... Sorry, it's a habit." Xia Youhui chuckled as he lowered his hands, then curiously asked, "Ah Chu, spill the beans. What are your basic stats?"
There was no need to conceal this, and Chen Chu casually replied, "Arm strength 102, punching power 210, kicking power 290, just enough to reach the First Heavenly Realm threshold."
"Arm strength 102, punching power only 200 kilograms. It seems you haven’t learned any combat moves, huh, Ah Chu?"
For someone with professional training, their punching power could reach three times their arm strength, or even four times for those specifically training muscle enhancement.
Xia Youhui grinned. "But that's not bad at all. Since you reached the First Realm’s threshold, you'll get contribution points every month as a reward. It can help you advance quickly in true martial arts."
The threshold for the First Heavenly Realm was having a basic arm strength exceeding one hundred kilograms after Foundation Building, which required a physique strengthened to twice that of an ordinary person.
"And I remember, your physique started out average. You probably didn't even meet the standards of an ordinary person."
"Exactly." Chen Chu nodded. His physique was originally weak, and he had seemed somewhat undernourished.
"So, it seems that you’ve got a high compatibility with martial arts related to physique and strength. Practicing the Body Refining Art boosted your physique by 0.6 times. That’s the only way it makes sense that you were able to break through to the First Realm in one go." As he spoke, Xia Youhui couldn't hide the envious expression on his face.
Certain arts had a high compatibility to things such as strength and defense, which fell under a kind of latent talent. Opting for the right martial art could yield twice the result with half the effort.
"Just lucky," Chen Chu humbly replied. He knew that Xia Youhui misunderstood, but it was better this way.
When the avatar evolved again, his physique would undoubtedly see a significant improvement. This reason could be used to explain the sudden surge in strength in the future.
"Oh right, Old Xia, what were your stats after you completed Foundation Building?" asked Chen Chu, wanting to know the stats of a genius who completed foundation building in a week.
"Me? It’s alright." Xia Youhui grinned, beaming with pride. "At that time, my arm strength was 140, punching power 340, kicking power 420. How about that? Pretty impressive, right? You should know that Lin Xue had only 130 in arm strength when she completed her foundation. I'm even stronger than her."
Chen Chu nodded. "Indeed, impressive."
Calculating based on the average arm strength of an untrained ordinary person being around fifty kilograms, Xia Youhui's physique was at least 28 points when he completed his foundation, surpassing Chen Chu by 6 points. However, the enhancement provided by the Body Refining Art probably only contributed to an increase of 2 or 3 points in physique for Xia Youhui. Otherwise, he wouldn't envy Chen Chu's 0.6 times improvement.
Considering an estimated increase of around 10 points during Foundation Building, his physique should have reached approximately 16 points before cultivation. This baseline far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Coupled with some supplements, it was no wonder his and the others’ cultivation speed was so fast.
"Chen Chu, don't listen to his nonsense."
Luo Fei walked over. "Xia Youhui, don't forget that the average arm strength for women is only forty kilograms. Even if the class monitor had prior combat training, having an arm strength of 130 kilograms after completing Foundation Building would mean that her basic physique is three times that of an ordinary person, surpassing your enhancement."
Xia Youhui appeared utterly bewildered. "Is that so? Did I remember incorrectly? Aren't the basic strength levels the same for men and women?"
Comments
Top