Chapter 12: Breaking through to the Second Stage!

Yu Qianqian had a pretty good impression of Ye Li.

Although they had just met, Ye Li was the first person who didn't have the slightest complaint after being let down by her.

This made Yu Qianqian regard him as a friend in her heart.

So, after coming to her senses, she immediately rushed here from the third floor, fearing that the three of them would be too harsh on Ye Li.

After all, Ye Li only had the strength of the fifth level of the first stage. Even with a good personality, it was hard for him not to suffer at the hands of the three.

But at this moment, everything that happened in front of her made Yu Qianqian unable to help but doubt her eyes

In the training room, Ye Li stood there with an indifferent expression, his back straight, and his pair of black eyes extremely cold.

Around him, the two lackeys of Liu Yangde were lying on the ground, with weak auras, motionless.

As for Liu Yangde himself, he was just sent flying by Ye Li's violent punch and passed out on the spot.

Obviously, he was severely injured.

Yu Qianqian was filled with intense shock.

In less than a minute, he severely injured two martial artists in the later stage of the first stage and one at the peak of the first stage. What terrifying strength this was!

He couldn't possibly be at the fifth level of the first stage. His true strength was probably on par with Senior Jiang!

In Yu Qianqian's impression, only Senior Jiang Qingzhu might be able to do such a thing.

But who was she?

She was a recognized genius martial artist in the entire Linhai City. Not only did she break through to the second stage before graduation, but she also used an S - grade breathing method passed down through generations in her family.

Even if all the martial arts high schools in Ying Province were combined, Jiang Qingzhu's strength would definitely be among the top.

And Ye Li... was just a substitute who had just joined the school team.

Thinking of this, Yu Qianqian was greatly shocked.

There was an involuntary hint of fear in her gaze towards Ye Li.

If the other party could kill Liu Yangde in an instant, he could definitely kill her just as easily.

Thinking of her previous worries, Yu Qianqian somehow felt a bit ridiculous.

After sensing her gaze.

Ye Li turned around, nodded politely, then gestured at the three people on the ground and asked:

"What should we do about this?"

"...It's easy."

Yu Qianqian calmed her emotions and explained: "They came to trouble you first. Even if they are severely injured by you now, they have to bear it themselves."

"Because in a situation like this, the school won't hold you responsible."

"I see." Ye Li's eyes lit up.

This is truly a high - martial - arts world.

If this were in his previous life's high school, it would probably be a case of both sides being punished equally.

He thought for two seconds and then asked:

"Does that mean that as long as someone tries to trouble me, I can retaliate however I want?"

"Well..."

Yu Qianqian hesitated for a moment before replying: "As long as you don't go too far, it should be fine."

"I see." Ye Li nodded, then looked at the three people on the ground and asked:

"Then just leave them here?"

"Of course not." Yu Qianqian said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

"We need to call the instructor to deal with it. But I can help you with this. If you have other things to attend to, you can go ahead."

Ye Li thanked her and got up, ready to leave.

Just as he walked out of the training room door, Yu Qianqian called out to him again: "Oh, one more thing."

"Go ahead."

"Senior Jiang... she's our team captain. According to the rules, she'll talk to you in the next couple of days to get a preliminary understanding of your situation."

"I see." Ye Li nodded and turned to leave.

Yu Qianqian looked in the direction where the young man disappeared and murmured in a daze:

"Here comes another monster..."

Returning to the third floor.

Ye Li walked into his training room and casually closed the door.

The feeling of an impending breakthrough became even more obvious.

Originally, he was just one step away from the second stage, and after experiencing a battle, the true qi in his body not only didn't decrease but increased, and his aura became a bit chaotic.

It wasn't that he couldn't break through now, but he just hadn't found a suitable breathing method, and he always felt a bit uneasy.

Forget it. Since things have come to this, let's break through first.

Although the breathing methods in the school's Library Pavilion aren't of high grade, breathing methods can be changed midway, so it's not that they can't be used as a temporary measure.

If necessary, he can just replace it when he finds a suitable one.

Ye Li sat down by the bed and summoned the panel.

[Seriously injuring a young martial artist at the peak of the first stage. Malice Value +1000!]

[Detected the collapse of Liu Yangde's confidence. Malice Value +500!]

[Detected that the three people have a great deal of fear towards you. Malice Value +1500!]

[Current Malice Value: 4700 points]

"Quite a haul."

The corners of Ye Li's mouth turned up slightly.

Although it couldn't compare to the windfall from Shen Lian, it was still his biggest gain other than that.

It should be enough for him to break through to the second stage.

He sat cross - legged on the bed, slowly closed his eyes, and focused his mind on the panel.

[Current level: Peak of the ninth level of the first stage (Perfected)]

[Ding!]

[The cultivation target for this time has been set as "Breaking through to the second stage". Cultivation begins...]

[The Jade of the second stage is to gradually blend the abundant true qi with the meridians and bones to enhance the power of qi and blood.]

[In the past two days, your continuous hard cultivation of martial arts, equivalent to nearly twenty years of hard work, has made you already have complete control over the true qi in your body. Naturally, this will be twice as effective with half the effort...]

[Gain Buff: Cultivation speed increased by 50%!]

[You start to strengthen the meridians with true qi and nourish the qi and blood. However, due to the lack of a breathing method to replenish true qi in time, this process is rather slow...]

[Gain negative Buff: Cultivation speed reduced by 20%]

[Gain negative Buff: Emotion.Anxiety]

The moment the words emerged from the panel, Ye Li actually felt a sense of anxiety in his heart.

This surprised him a bit.

However, this trace of anxiety didn't have much of an impact on him. After all, Ye Li was just adding points in a simple and straightforward way.

[Accelerated cultivation in progress...!]

[With unremitting efforts, you have finally completed the strengthening of some meridians. The power of qi and blood has greatly increased, and you have successfully broken through to the first level of the second stage!]

[Your punching force has increased significantly...]

[Your reaction speed has increased significantly...]

[Cultivation completed!]

[Comment: This cultivation was a natural progression and didn't consume too much of your mental energy. A total of 200 points of Malice Value were consumed.]

As the last line of text emerged, a clear sound suddenly came from Ye Li's bones.

Immediately, some of his meridians completed a transformation in an instant, emitting a luster like jade, nourishing the qi and blood throughout his body.

Ye Li's aura around him suddenly became much stronger.

The surging true qi in his body had increased by several times compared to a few minutes ago, and even his qi and blood instantly returned to their peak state.

The consumption caused by the previous battle was completely swept away at this moment.

"Hoo "

Ye Li exhaled a breath of white qi. The moment he opened his eyes, his eyes sparkled with brilliance.

He raised his palm and circulated the true qi.

A wisp of ethereal white qi quickly surged out from his fingertips, rapidly dissolving the flesh. From a distance, it had a semi - transparent appearance.

Tiankui Void - Treading Technique.

At this moment, he could finally unleash the full power of this second - stage martial art.

According to Ye Li's estimation, yesterday, when he fully activated this martial art, when facing the attack of a martial artist of the same stage, he could only dissolve at most 50% of the force.

But now, with just a thought, he can dissolve at least 70% of the attack from a martial artist of the same stage!

Seventy percent damage reduction, truly a monster - like ability.

In the future, no matter which second - stage martial artist wants to confront him head - on, they will have to pay a price!

"I'm really going all the way on the path of a brute..."

Ye Li looked at his palm with white qi surging, somewhat emotionally.

With each breath, the consumed true qi began to slowly recover.

Now, he can no longer only rely on cultivation to recover his true qi. Instead, he can recover it through breathing.

Although it's not as efficient as with a breathing method, this is one of the hallmarks of a second - stage martial artist!

"I used to think that recovering health through breathing in games was absurd. Now, it feels quite normal for me to recover mana through breathing."

Ye Li casually dispersed the white qi from his palm and said with a light smile.

Feeling all the changes in his body.

At this moment, he was finally certain that he had stepped into the second stage of a martial artist, the Jade!

If he were to encounter Liu Yangde and the other two again now, Ye Li was confident that even without using the Tiankui Void - Treading Technique, he could defeat the three of them within half a minute!

Next, he should start preparing for the breathing method.

Otherwise, for every level - up in the future, there would mostly be a negative buff of [Cultivation speed reduced by 20%].