Starry Sky Professional

【Name: Fang Xing】

【Age: 17】

【Occupation: Martial Artist】

【Second Stage: Muscles and Bones】

【Military Boxing Twelve Techniques: 56/100】

【Great Dragon Stake: 9/200】

【Gateway of the Heavens】

……

"Seventeen already..."

In the Happiness Homeland neighborhood.

Fang Xing focused on the attribute panel, letting out a sigh.

With Qinglin Market disturbed by the demon birds, there’s bound to be turmoil for some time.

At least, today will undoubtedly be chaotic.

Thus, he chose to travel back directly.

According to the rules of the Gateway of the Heavens, when he crosses over again, he should end up in the basement of his rental at Apartment 57 in the T sector.

"A perfect way to avoid the turmoil... After all, sitting on a mountain of gold, it is ridiculous to fight for pennies."

Fang Xing stroked his chin: "With the current beast rampage, not having a laser gun is rather unsettling... Besides that, I also need to quickly procure and master an A-class martial technique."

As for how to acquire A-class martial techniques?

Apart from the unreliable black market routes, he has two main options right now.

The first one, naturally, is Teacher Xia Long. He could give him a call — he might disturb his vacation, but Teacher Xia Long shouldn't mind...right?

The second target was Gu Yun!

This future schoolmate had definitely received the inheritance of the 'Ghostblade'.

Of course, having the Ghostblade inheritance wasn't too surprising, given that techniques like Ghostblade, Mad Eighteen Strikes, and Frenzied Staff Techniques were part of the high school curriculum.

Anyone at the right level could apply to learn them.

However, she might have received some preliminary guidance to help ease her initiation.

'Without the Demon Blade, mastering the Ghostblade would be challenging, but perhaps with my attribute panel, I could give it a try?'

Fang Xing pondered for a moment, then decided it was more reliable to contact Teacher Xia Long first, so he called him.

"Beep, the number you have dialed is currently out of service. Please try again later..."

A sweet voice replied swiftly.

"Out of service?"

Fang Xing was momentarily dumbfounded. "Could Teacher Xia Long have gone off-planet?"

Interstellar communication was exceptionally costly and couldn't possibly cover the entire fledgling planet.

If Xia Long had indeed gone on a vacation to another planet, it made sense his phone was unreachable.

"Looks like I'll have to wait until school starts to meet Teacher Xia Long... Darn it, I want to tour the stars too... The Federation's entertainment industry is quite advanced, with entire planets dedicated to leisure and enjoyment..."

After grumbling for a while, Fang Xing decided to call Gu Yun.

This prodigious student was always present and connected immediately.

"Is that you? What's the matter?" Gu Yun asked, her expression cool and straightforward.

"Here's the thing, I want to learn the 'Ghostblade'! Could you send me the detailed material?" Fang Xing knew Gu Yun liked to get straight to the point.

"The Ghostblade? Have you mastered the Demon Blade?" Gu Yun's eyes lit up.

"No, I've never studied it..."

Fang Xing shook his head.

Gu Yun fell silent. After a moment, she sent over a few video clips and materials: "I've sent my private coaching videos to you. Though this version of the Ghostblade has more depth than the textbook, with various tips and tricks, I must tell you... This was taught to me by my teacher and carries my personal style, which might not suit you. Moreover, without mastering the demonic nature, getting started with the Ghostblade can be incredibly difficult. Even if you manage to grasp the basics, there’s a chance you could go astray!"

"I know, I'm just trying to get a head start on the new material. Thank you."

Fang Xing smiled at Gu Yun and ended the communication.

He fully understood that the best way to learn martial arts was through direct, hands-on teaching. While Gu Yun's instructions were undoubtedly richer than what's publicly available, they could also be heavily personalized.

What suited Gu Yun might not necessarily work for him, and he risked making more mistakes the more he practiced!

‘But I have an attribute panel, I can still give it a shot...’

‘If it doesn’t work out, I can hire another private coach. Even if a session costs tens of thousands, I've accumulated some wealth by now...’

Fang Xing calmed himself before opening up the materials Gu Yun had sent.

Naturally, he started with the comprehensive manual of the ‘Ghostblade,’ along with numerous annotations.

He skimmed through it to get a general understanding, before clicking on a video clip.

A screen appeared, showing a woman in her thirties, clad in tight black clothes, with a centipede-like scar across her face.

She seemed to have intentionally kept that scar, suggesting it held significant meaning, though whether it was tied to love or hatred was unclear…

“Grade A martial arts, the dazzling result of various masters assembling within the Federation, capable of emulating the power of Intent-level martial arts, and protecting one's spirit. It touches on multiple disciplines. When parsed, the Ghostblade can actually be broken into several stages: Meditation Method, Hypnosis Technique, Ghost Slaying, God Striking, Ghost God Fighting… To get started with the Ghostblade, it's best to first master the Demonic Blade, controlling its demonic nature and commanding it as you please…”

“The first step in the Meditation Method is to contemplate the ‘Intent of the Ghostblade’, its essence being ‘With one blade in hand, no ghost or god remains.’ Some martial artists reinterpret it as the ‘Intent of Slaughter’, only to prove it wrong… During meditation, distracting thoughts can abound, and murderous intent can surge. At this time, it is necessary to use the demonic nature of the blade to subdue them…”

...

The woman in black spoke eloquently, leaving Fang Xing feeling he had gained substantial insights.

“Indeed, the Ghostblade does not necessarily require the Demonic Blade as a prerequisite. It’s possible to start directly, although the difficulty is high. One needs profound meditative skills and a mind reaching a state of ‘no thoughts, no distractions’ to use in place of the Demonic Blade's nature…”

“The real question is… what exactly is the intent behind ‘With one blade in hand, no ghost or god remains’?”

Fang Xing felt a strong urge to comment on this.

In the video, the woman clad in black simply drew her sword, letting Gu Yun feel its aura.

Yet through the screen, he couldn’t feel a thing!

"Ah, indeed, there's nothing like learning through direct experience... That’s the mark of a great teacher. If only Xia Long were here, he could probably create an aura for me to experience. But now..."

Fang Xing shook his head in frustration. "Even if the Federation were to legalize 'learning devices', such profound insights couldn't be simply imparted through mental transmission..."

"Ghostblade... Ghostblade... To even get started, I'd likely need to hire a warrior adept in the Ghostblade to demonstrate its essence. Most A-level martial arts seem like that... Even just to witness the essence one needs to earn the qualification to train, let alone genuinely start the path..."

Fang Xing sighed at the daunting difficulty of A-level martial arts.

...

The next day.

In the old district, at the black market.

Having disguised himself once more, Fang Xing returned here.

There's no choice, he still needed money!

Thus, he had gone to the market and purchased a large amount of gold at dirt-cheap prices with spirit sand, intending to sell it here.

Selling the gold and laundering some money had been rather smooth.

As he passed the Blood Cage fighting arena, Fang Xing felt a spark of curiosity and entered.

Today's receptionist at the arena's front was still the bunny girl.

"Hello, Bunny... Uh, that code name is rather distracting, can it be changed?"

Fang Xing's gaze moved from her plump red lips to the two white fluffy ears, and he spoke up immediately.

"You can call me by my name—Zhang Jiarui!"

Zhang Jiarui smiled as she replied, "You're early today; the Blood Cage fights haven’t started yet..."

"Ahem... if I wished to understand the essence of the 'Ghostblade', is there a way I might achieve that?"

Fang Xing cleared his throat and expressed his desire.

“The Ghostblade, is it? As one of the most popular A-grade martial arts styles, many fighters in the arena have mastered it. The most famous practitioners are 'Black Sparrow', 'Iron Hand', and 'Multi-arm Blade'...”

Zhang Jiarui thought for a moment and replied, “You can book a weaponry fight match that includes these three fighters. There’s a good chance you’ll witness the essence of the Ghostblade... But the spirit expressed during a fight is entirely different from what is taught...”

Trying to grasp such an essence from just watching a match is akin to daydreaming.

“Is that so? Very well, reserve the nearest match featuring these three for me.”

Fang Xing took out his black market communicator.

“Certainly, the next match is two days from now, at nine in the evening, featuring 'Iron Hand'!” Zhang Jiarui checked some information and immediately provided the time and location: “Regular seating is 5000 Star Coins per person, while VIP seating...”

“Just a standard seat, please.”

Fang Xing waved his hand. No matter how many times he looked, the black market prices always made his heart race.

He received an invitation to the arena and wandered around the black market before heading towards the new district.

In the darkness, a lizard seemed to glance his way before flicking its tail and disappearing swiftly into the sewer...

…

In the sewer, pipes crisscrossed, exuding a pungent stench.

The old district’s underground blueprint had long been buried in history, turning into an impenetrable maze.

In a certain hidden room, a large, rough hand seized the lizard, a sly smile appearing in his triangular eyes: “Finally, a suitable target? With these recent actions, the haul should be no less than 500,000 Star Coins, right?”

To be honest, this amount barely attracts skilled individuals, nor does it justify the use of black market firearms—there’s just no way to cover the costs.

But he didn’t mind making a move this time.

After all, the target seemed rather weak.

‘Carrion-Eater’ Lance was a negligible figure in the black market, but he was also a martial artist of the Unpolished Gem realm, having awakened a special ability that allowed him to communicate with small animals.

This time, he’s set his sights on Fang Xing!

]

(End of Chapter)