Chapter 11: Home Late at Night
Parker returned to the martial training classroom.
Glancing around, he saw that fewer than ten students remained—the room felt empty.
Many students in Class 3-2 had chosen to focus on cultural studies, which was the most common path.
"Getting into a Martial Arts Universities really is tough." Parker thought to himself.
Every year, over a million students in Norhaven Province took the college entrance exams.
Yet the province's only Martial Arts Universities—Norhaven Martial University—admitted fewer than ten thousand students annually, making up less than 1% of all test-takers.
As a prestigious provincial school, Northridge First High saw fewer than a hundred of its students make it into a Martial Arts Universities each year.
The sky had yet to darken.
Inside the classroom, the remaining students were chatting idly with one another.
Evening martial training had no supervision from teachers—everything depended on self-discipline.
Parker's gaze drifted toward a lone figure in the corner of the classroom.
Ethan Reeves.
The boy stood about 1.8 meters tall, with a lean face and dressed in martial attire. He remained silent, fully focused on cultivating a basic martial training method.
The chatter around him did nothing to distract him.
Sweat trickled down his forehead—he had clearly been training for some time.
"What a grinder." Parker sighed inwardly. "No wonder he's the top Grind King in class."
Not disturbing anyone, Parker retrieved his spear from his weapon locker and found a spacious spot in the classroom to begin practicing his spear techniques.
Why not train in basic martial training?
Because Parker had already woken up at three in the morning, arriving at school before anyone else to train alone in the empty martial training room for over two hours.
Then, just before six, he'd head to the cafeteria for breakfast before attending self-study in the cultural classroom.
In the afternoon, he trained another two hours alongside the others.
The best training schedule, as proven through countless experiments by martial experts, was to split cultivation into two or three sessions a day, totaling four hours.
Life evolution—the refinement, recovery, and growth of one's body and bones—required time.
Too much or too little would both be counterproductive.
The rest of Parker's time was spent honing his spear techniques and movement skills.
Two hours passed.
The dismissal bell echoed across the campus. The classroom had mostly emptied, leaving only Parker practicing his spear techniques and Ethan Reeves refining his blade techniques.
Suddenly.
A notification appeared in Parker's field of vision—one that only he could see.
[Your Gun Technique Realm has increased from Tier 3 (36%) to Tier 3 (37%).]
"Up to 37% already?"
"I haven't even noticed any obvious changes, yet the Divine Palace Interface has precisely detected it." Parker's eyes lit up slightly.
The Divine Palace Interface couldn't directly enhance his martial cultivation.
However, its greatest benefit was that it provided direct feedback on his efforts and progress in the form of numerical data—
Like a progress bar.
A form of absolute positive feedback.
No one dislikes success, but many fear that their efforts might yield no results.
With the Divine Palace Interface clearly showing his progress, Parker felt even more motivated to cultivate.
Cultivation was tough but rewarding.
"But the rewards are immense." Parker suddenly exerted force, his spear becoming a blur as it thrust forward.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Sharp whistling sounds echoed through the air as countless afterimages of the spear emerged.
"Martial arts training is about constantly pushing the limits of one's body. It's truly exhilarating." Parker abruptly retracted his spear, a smile appearing on his face.
Over a hundred years ago, before cultivation methods became widespread, people only had traditional martial arts. Even ordinary fitness training could become addictive for many.
Not to mention high-level martial arts cultivation?
Parker thoroughly enjoyed the process of growing stronger.
It was tiring, but also thrilling.
"Parker, your spear technique is seriously impressive." A sincere voice suddenly rang out.
Parker turned his head and smiled. "Ethan, your blade technique is quite impressive too. If I recall correctly, your martial arts skill score today was 312."
Standing nearby, Ethan Reeves had a lean face, but his eyes shone brightly.
"I can't keep up with you." Ethan chuckled, standing tall.
"It's already nine. Everyone else has left." Parker glanced around. "Aren't you heading home?"
The Ministry of Education mandated that morning self-study started at 7 AM, and evening self-study ended at 9 PM.
Classes were held six days a week.
Perhaps in smaller county schools, the competition was even fiercer, but as a top school in the provincial capital, strict adherence to regulations was expected.
"I'll train a little longer," Ethan replied.
"Alright." Parker smiled. "I'll head out first."
"Mm." Ethan nodded.
Parker stored his spear in the weapons rack and stepped out of the training hall.
As he watched Parker disappear into the night, the smile on Ethan's face faded. He murmured to himself, "Why isn't my blade technique as refined as Li Yuan's spear technique?"
"If only I could awaken Martial Intuition…"
In Class 2 of the senior year, Ethan consistently ranked in the top five in martial arts scores, occasionally reaching third place. But there was still a gap between him and Knox Xavier, not to mention Parker.
Shaking his head, he pushed away distracting thoughts, picked up his longsword, and resumed training with unwavering focus.
Outside, the night was deep and quiet.
Most of the training halls had already gone dark.
Only this martial arts training room remained lit.
Ethan, already lean, looked particularly solitary at this moment.
—
Nightfall, Jade River Street
After an entire day of training, Parker's clothes were drenched in sweat as he boarded the self-driving Route 517 electric tram.
There weren't many passengers.
In this era of highly advanced virtual networks and abundant material wealth, most people worked online.
Even those with physical jobs had already finished work and gone home.
"…In late August, the national authorities, in coordination with the Solara branch of the Astral Martial Hall, launched a joint operation to eliminate the aquatic Star Realm beings in the Silverflow Basin of Norhaven Province. Though the operation was a success, some managed to escape. Residents along the river are advised to remain cautious…"
"Next, we bring you updates on the ongoing conflicts in the Secondary Star Realms—Lobu Sea in the Northern Frontier Province and Os Moon Sea on Firefly Star…"
The electronic display above the self-driving tram continuously broadcast the latest news.
Parker sat by himself and pushed the window open. A cool breeze drifted in as he watched the scenery outside blur past.
It felt refreshing.
"Both the stars and love should be pursued without hesitation. Starsea World reminds you: Spring Eye Station has arrived."
The sudden station announcement pulled Parker's thoughts back to reality.
"The advertisements for the Starsea World sure are everywhere." Parker shook his head slightly.
As he stepped off the tram, he glanced ahead.
A little over ten meters away was the entrance to his residential complex—Platinum Gardens.
The name sounded prestigious, but the buildings themselves were quite average. Compared to the newer complex next door, Imperial Horizon, Platinum Gardens even looked a little outdated.