Realm-Hopping Martial Master

The start of senior year always arrived exceptionally early.

Ji City No. 5 High School.

Jiang Shu first jogged twice around the track, then headed to the corridor, spent several minutes regulating his breathing, and settled into a solid Horse Stance, his body rising and falling gently like waves.

At this moment, the sky was dim, and a thin layer of unresolved ice still lingered on the surface of the lake in front of the corridor.

"Martial Arts... what did it really mean to step into the Martial Arts Realm?"

*Jiang Shu muttered inwardly. In his previous life, he had been seriously ill, bedridden, and died early, not even making it past thirty. So, in this life, ever since he broke the fetal mystery three months ago and awakened his special ability, he intended to follow only one path—Martial Arts.*

*Only by returning true power to oneself could one truly control their own destiny!*

*His drifting thoughts were quickly pulled back. Jiang Shu imagined himself as a bowl of murky water, settling down, letting the impurities sink, until the water became clear.*

This was the "Bowl of Water Method" he had brought from his past life. Combined with the Horse Stance, they complemented each other, working with half the effort for twice the result.

When rising, his toes gripped the ground like chicken claws, legs tensed, waist lifted, and belly drawn in.

When lowering, his toes relaxed like duck webs, legs loosened, waist settled, and belly expanded.

During this repeated cycle of rising and lowering, a red sun rose from beyond the distant mountains.

The warm-toned sunlight, along with the cold winds of January, shone down on Jiang Shu's hair, which was already touching his ears.

Beneath his thick hair, the steam from sweat rose, his temples bulged—yet no one could see it.

…

Not until Jiang Shu finished his stance, took a shower in the dorm, and came out again, did the morning alarm in the room finally ring.

At the school gate, small groups of students also began entering the campus together.

He strolled across campus, hearing every bit of his classmates' conversations with sharp ears and keen eyes.

"A pen, a lamp, and a miracle every night. Yesterday really almost killed me. I wish I could switch to being a Martial Arts Student—heard all you have to do is stand in Horse Stance every day, and do whatever you want with the rest of your time. Us? Morning self-study at seven, night self-study till nine-thirty, eat worse than pigs, go to bed later than dogs, and wake up earlier than chickens."

"Jealous? Only losers would become Martial Arts Students. Didn't the homeroom teacher say it? This so-called Martial Arts track, it's just the country's experiment for high school reform. The schools you can enter as a Martial Arts Student are basically all junior colleges. Nowhere near as good as us future undergrads."

"Can't say that. As long as you sense your inner blood and qi, you can apply for exemption and get into a regular university. And if you can actually move your qi and blood, that's something else—you get straight into a top-tier school! How many top-tier students does our school have, anyway? If you go further, academies..."

"Heh, what do you think Horse Stance is, some ultimate martial art? It's just basic training! Even if you get the hang of it, basic training won't suddenly make you superhuman. Go check out the coaches at those martial arts gyms—they look tough pounding sandbags, but how many have really achieved small success in Horse Stance, with their temples bulging? All show and no substance—they're still just modern fighters, not real Martial Artists! Better buckle down and study, hometown nerd."

"Pfft, what's so bad about being a hometown nerd? Get into college, graduate, find a stable and respectable job. That's the dream for so many people—learn to be content."

In 2026, on the Xuanxing calendar, November, the top officials of Xia Country issued an order: high school students, whether in science or liberal arts, could all switch to the Martial Arts track and practice Horse Stance.

Anyone who achieved small success in Horse Stance and sensed their own qi and blood could directly enter any regular university without an entrance exam.

But at most high schools, except for students who already had no hope for college and planned to slack off and go to junior college, almost nobody chose the Martial Arts track.

In senior year, no one would joke around with their own future.

Some freshmen who had just entered, with less academic pressure and more curiosity, however, were eager to watch the education bureau's Horse Stance videos, daydreaming that one day they'd achieve small success and get into university without the Gaokao.

Jiang Shu walked through the crowd, climbed to the fifth floor, and knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

The voice of the homeroom teacher, Old Yan, sounded. Jiang Shu pushed open the door and entered. He found Old Yan still tapping rapidly away at his computer, seemingly sorting through materials for the start of term.

"Jiang Shu, what's up? You need something?"

Yan Dehou looked up, a bit surprised.

Jiang Shu's grades were middle-of-the-pack. If he worked hard, and got lucky, maybe he could get into a university.

Students like this tended to be almost invisible in the class. A whole semester might go by without them entering the office once. He wondered what brought him today, coming of his own accord.

"Mr. Yan, I'm here to apply for a leave of absence."

Jiang Shu got straight to the point.

*After taking up martial arts, his thoughts became even more crystal clear. He simplified everything to its essentials.*

"Leave of absence? Did something happen at home?"

Yan Dehou couldn't be bothered with his work. Frowning slightly, he actually got up from his seat and asked with concern.

"No, I'm planning to switch to the Martial Arts track. For the last semester, I want to practice Horse Stance at home."

"Martial Arts Student... this..."

Hearing those three words, Martial Arts Student, Yan Dehou fell silent; all the words he meant as persuasion stuck in his throat.

Last November, the school leadership held a meeting. The message was clear: as long as a student applied to become a Martial Arts Student, the homeroom teacher couldn't raise any obstacles and had to approve as soon as possible.

"Jiang Shu, maybe you should think it over again. Honestly, with your grades, if you push yourself, you still have a shot at college. And even if you switch to the Martial Arts track, you still have to take the college entrance exam. If you don't achieve the ability to sense qi and blood, you can't actually skip the exam for university..."

"Mr. Yan isn't asking you to do what the others do; just come to class when you have time, listen in, do some exercises now and then. That way, if you end up taking the exam, your mind won't be blank, and you'll have both martial and academic options. There's still time before the exams, no need to rush your decision..."

At the moment, there wasn't another teacher in the office. Yan Dehou couldn't help but speak up. He had been teaching for more than twenty years, a traditional educator, hoping every one of his students could smoothly get into a university they'd be happy with.

*This so-called Martial Arts, practicing Horse Stance—in his eyes, it wasn't truly the Great Dao, just a detour.*

If the applicant were really at the bottom of the class, he wouldn't have minded so much.

*But Jiang Shu clearly had the potential to make a run at university.*

"Mr. Yan, my mind's made up."

Without saying much else, Jiang Shu handed over his application. He had already looked into the process; if it involved Martial Arts Students, the school would always approve right away.

*This could only prove that Martial Arts in this world wasn't as simple as his classmates thought.*

"All right."

Yan Dehou looked at Jiang Shu several times, then glanced at the signed parental section on the application form.

Yan Dehou let out a long sigh—at this point, he could only hope that this leave of absence was a decision his student had made after repeatedly careful consideration.

"Thank you, Mr. Yan."

"If there's nothing else, Jiang Shu, why don't you head back to class? In a bit, I'll talk to everyone and maybe set up a small farewell—after all, we've spent over a year together, there must be some feelings."

"No need—it's just a leave of absence. We'll meet again."

Jiang Shu refused Old Yan simply, then turned and left.

*After solving the fetal mystery, his previous life's consciousness took over. In this world, besides the parents who gave birth to and raised him, and the little sister who grew up with him, nobody else could stir an ounce of emotion in his heart.*

*What's more, in his previous life, he was already thirty.*

*Living again, he was even sharper than before. What did he have to say to a bunch of high schoolers who hadn't even stepped into the world?*

The school filled with more and more students, all chattering like sparrows.

Inside the classroom, some were already furiously copying their winter break homework.

Jiang Shu didn't bother packing up the pile of books at his desk; he simply walked from the classroom building straight back to his empty dorm.

A translucent panel appeared in his mind:

Jiang Shu—

Da Jing Dynasty Language/Writing: entry-level (926/1000)

Horse Stance: small success (526/1000)

Two Realms Shuttle countdown: 00:00

"Never thought that after three months of waiting, Xia Country still hasn't announced the real methods for Martial Arts cultivation. Even if the panel verifies everything, the further I get, the slower Horse Stance improves."

"Before the college entrance exams, I'll probably only reach Great Success, be able to move my qi and blood, and get a top university exemption, that's all."

"Getting into a top university already puts me ahead of ninety percent of students in No. 5 High, but with Mom and Dad supporting me this much, why shouldn't I fight for the Academy!"

"Da Jing Dynasty, eighteen provinces, two hundred seventy counties, thousands of county cities. Any random county city has Martial Artists at the Refining Internal Realm. As long as you have enough silver tael and can join a county's martial arts school, you can learn real martial arts!"

Jiang Shu recalled all kinds of news he'd gathered in Pingling County; he didn't know how Martial Arts Realms were structured on Xuanxing, or how cultivation there worked.

But he did know about the other world. In the Da Jing Dynasty, in Pingling County's city, there were three Realms for Martial Artists.

Skin Tempering. Bone Forging. Refining Internal.

He clearly remembered what a storyteller had said, snapping his fan shut at the end:

"Refining Internal Realm Martial Artists, force penetrates the organs, lifespan exceeds two cycles of sixty years!"