Throwing Punches! Myriad Dao Martial God!

Arch Star. Tianyue City. Jun'an Community. The roar of street-racing motorcycles tore through the air, punctuated from time to time by sharp, clattering backfires. The man on the bed was deathly pale, drained of all color, save for bloodshot eyes that gave him a hideous, menacing appearance. "Reset..." A shiver ran through him as his world seemed to plunge into darkness. Involuntarily, his hand brushed against a phone, nudging it off the bed. The expected clatter never came; a fair, slender hand caught the phone steadily. The screen was lit, displaying an unread text message. Qi Yuan looked at the Innate Seed lying on the bed, who looked identical to him. A bizarre expression crossed his face. "Terribly ill... Could it be a kidney deficiency?" Qi Yuan knew nothing about diagnosing illnesses. To him, every ailment was a kidney deficiency. The Innate Seed looked back at Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan smiled. The pale man on the bed dissolved into a single droplet of blood, merging into Qi Yuan's body. Instantly, a vast torrent of memories swept over him. Curiosity flared in Qi Yuan's eyes. "A world similar to Blue Star?" "No, the technology is much more advanced than Blue Star's!" "And... the cosmos!" Qi Yuan pulled back the curtains and looked toward the sky. It was very bright, and the stars seemed invisible. Yet Qi Yuan could still make out quite a few stars. "My Golden Core didn't come along?" Indeed, his Stellar Golden Core had not appeared in this universe—not even as a phantom projection. "Is the universe this world belongs to not in the same universe as the Canglan Realm?" A sharp glint flashed in Qi Yuan's eyes. Even so, he had a premonition: if he cultivated this body to the Origin Core realm, then... the projection of his Stellar Golden Core would manifest in this world as well. Judging by the timeline, Ning Tao should be free around that point. Then he could summon Ning Tao here. After all, with the spiritual energy currently in his dantian, he had more than enough to sustain Ning Tao staying in this world indefinitely. Playing a game alone could never beat playing with two people, could it? "Except... is this body a weakling with a combat power of five?" Qi Yuan glanced at himself in the mirror. After fusing with the Innate Seed, he had inevitably inherited its condition. Right now, he looked like a total invalid, and the kind with very little time left to live at that. [Qi Yuan: afflicted by an unknown curse, experiencing comprehensive physical debility, remaining lifespan approximately 11 months.] This was the hidden information his eyes perceived. "A curse?" Qi Yuan remembered the female doctor's dream. In that dream, there had been a terrifying, blood-drenched bird. Was the curse on this body derived from that bird? "I heard that bird's cry before the world reset as well. It seems that bird is truly extraordinary," Qi Yuan mused. At present, he naturally couldn't afford to dwell on things so far off. Looking at himself, he really wanted to get some exercise, but taking even a few steps left him feeling short of breath—an absolute weakling. "I'm so weak right now." Just then, a game notification chimed. [Main Quest: Grow stronger. Become a true Human Dao Martial Master and Spirit Dao Martial Master, reaching the realm of Myriad Dao Martial God!] "Myriad Dao Martial God?" Qi Yuan was startled. "This time the game quest is about throwing punches?" The technological level of this world surpassed Blue Star's, even capable of interstellar travel. Above Arch Star, there was another planet named Can Star. Humans inhabited that planet as well, and its technological civilization was a notch above Arch Star's. On Arch Star, alongside technology, martial arts also existed. In Qi Yuan's memories, the martial arts on Arch Star bore some resemblance to the martial arts of the mortal world in the Canglan Realm, yet they were not entirely the same. Among martial artists here, leaping ten meters was already considered an adept feat. Meanwhile, back on Blue Star, the long jump record approached nine meters. In other words, the strength of martial artists was quite limited. Especially as technology grew increasingly advanced and various high-precision weaponry emerged, martial arts had gradually degenerated into a niche sport. It was somewhat akin to Go in his previous life. "Zero-One, tell me about the Human Dao Martial Master, Spirit Dao Martial Master, and Myriad Dao Martial God," Qi Yuan spoke, his voice rather weak. Zero-One was the robot in Qi Yuan's home, and also his guardian. This body's parents had died on a mission to Can Star, accumulating substantial military merits. Consequently, they had left Qi Yuan a decent inheritance: a three-bedroom apartment in the city center, plus a high-value robot. The humanoid robot, sporting a cyberpunk design, pushed open the door. Though called an intelligent robot, it was merely a substantial cut above Blue Star's "artificial idiots"; as for awakening self-awareness, that was utter nonsense. "The Human Dao Martial Master is a mythological legend of the martial dao that emerged one thousand three hundred and seventy years ago. "Historical records state that at the time, the Moluo Kingdom held a Martial Arts Tournament, gathering heroes from across the world to compete; the strongest was hailed as the Mortal Martial Master. "Mythological legend says that anyone who wins one hundred consecutive Martial Arts Tournaments, holding the title of Mortal Martial Master for one hundred years, may be called the Human Dao Martial Master. "No information retrieved regarding Spirit Dao Martial Master or Myriad Dao Martial God." The robot Zero-One was connected to the entire network; virtually any information searchable online could be retrieved and organized by it. "Is there still a Martial Arts Tournament now?" Qi Yuan asked. "Yes," Zero-One answered truthfully. "There are nine months and seventeen days until the next Martial Arts Tournament begins." "So I have to throw punches and win one hundred Mortal Martial Master titles just to complete one-third of the quest?" Qi Yuan thought to himself. "What if... One hundred years is far too long. What if the Qinyuan Kingdom collapses during that time, or Arch Star is destroyed... How would I complete the quest then?" Qi Yuan was troubled. After all, relations between Can Star and Arch Star had always been poor. Seventy years ago, a great war had even broken out. In recent years, friction had flared up from time to time. If another major war erupted, leading to the fall of the Qinyuan Kingdom and the cancellation of the tournament, what was he supposed to do? Qi Yuan considered it for a moment, then stopped dwelling on it; after all, that was still a long way off. "Zero-One, I want to cultivate the martial dao. How do I get started?" Qi Yuan still intended to see what this world's martial dao was all about. After all, previous quests always had a big boss. This time, there wasn't one. He was also quite curious about this world's martial arts. "Apologies, Master. Your physical condition is extremely poor; practicing martial arts is not recommended." The robot Zero-One offered a reasonable response. After all, the current Qi Yuan was as pale as a drowned corpse pulled from water, gasping for breath with every step he took. "And if my health recovers? How does one practice martial arts then? How do I get started?" Qi Yuan asked again. Robot Zero-One replied bluntly: "Apologies. Master suffers from Type-A3 obstructive mental illness and is ineligible to obtain martial arts qualifications." In the Qinyuan Kingdom, the actions of psychiatric patients were restricted. A mental patient learning martial arts? No martial arts dojo would dare teach one. After all, if they taught a mental patient and he went around beating people up, who would take the blame? Qi Yuan was speechless. Looking at the certificate on his headboard, he said, "I'm not sick." "Zero-One understands Master's distress, but please accept reality. "In truth, psychiatric patients in the Qinyuan Kingdom enjoy numerous benefits. "Not only can you receive a monthly stipend, but you also enjoy special privileges in certain matters." "Hm?" Qi Yuan froze at those words. "A mental illness has this many benefits? Doesn't that mean I can pretend to be mentally ill?" He already had the mental illness certificate, so playing the part shouldn't be much of a problem. His only worry was that his acting skills were subpar and he wouldn't pull it off convincingly. "Zero-One, how much cash do we currently have?" Qi Yuan asked. Right now, he was indeed far too weak. If he rashly attempted martial arts, he might drop dead right on the spot. Therefore, Qi Yuan's idea was to first step onto the immortal path, resolve his physical ailments, or summon the projection of his Stellar Golden Core. Once he had the ability to protect himself, he would tackle the martial dao. "There are 137,254 Qinyuan coins remaining," Zero-One replied truthfully. "Good. Buy some things for me..." Qi Yuan instructed. He wanted to start cultivating immortality; to cultivate quickly, he needed the assistance of external materials. He listed the materials he lacked to Zero-One. "Master, at 4:10 p.m., your classmates will be visiting you here," Zero-One reminded him. After graduation, the class monitor had entered the civil service. Qi Yuan was the descendant of martyrs, so after he fell gravely ill, the class monitor had organized a few old classmates to come visit. Qi Yuan glanced at the time on his phone; there was still about an hour before 4:10. "Don't worry, I'm holding up fine. Entertaining a few guests won't be an issue. "Go ahead and buy the materials without worry." Having received its orders, Zero-One left the room. Qi Yuan gazed at Zero-One's departing figure, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "The Canglan Realm, Mortal Heart Realm, Liufeng Realm, and even the Wangyue Continent all use the exact same language. "Yet here on Arch Star, other languages actually exist. How strange."