My Core is the Boss

Chapter 280: Throwing Hands! The Ten Thousand Path Martial God!

Arch Star, Tianyue City, Junan Residential Complex.The roar of motorcycles tearing through the streets echoed endlessly, sharp metallic bangs erupted now and then.

On the bed lay a man with a complexion as pale as paper, utterly drained of color. Only his bloodshot eyes burned with a fierce, almost unsettling intensity.

He trembled. "Reset..."

The world around him seemed to dim and spin. His hand brushed against his phone, knocking it off the bed. Nevertheless, the expected thud never came. A fair, delicate hand caught it midair. The screen was still lit as a single unread message lingered there.

Qi Yuan stood beside the bed, looking down at the figure identical to himself, the Primordial Seed.

A strange expression crossed his face. "That's one serious illness... Could it be kidney deficiency?"

Due to his lack of knowledge about medicine, every illness boiled down to kidney deficiency.

When the Primordial Seed looked back at him, Qi Yuan smiled. The frail man dissolved into a drop of blood and fused back into him. In an instant, a flood of memories surged through him.

Curiosity flickered in his eyes. "So this is a world similar to Blue Planet? No, its technology is far more advanced. Also... space travel?"

He pulled back the curtains and gazed up at the sky. It was too bright to easily spot the stars, but he could still make out a few.

"My Golden Core didn't come with me?"

His Star Golden Core hadn't manifested in this universe, not even as a projection.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "So this universe isn't connected to the Canglan World?"

Still, he had a feeling that once this body cultivated to the Core Formation realm, his core would project itself into this world. By then, Ning Tao should be free and he could summon her over. Sustaining her presence wouldn’t be an issue with how much spiritual energy he had. Single-player just couldn’t compare to co-op.

He glanced at his reflection. "But this body is ridiculously weak."

Right now, he appeared like a terminal patient, barely hanging on to life. After fusing with the Primordial Seed, he'd inherited its condition as well.

[Qi Yuan. Afflicted by an unknown curse. All attributes severely weakened. Estimated lifespan: ~11 months.]

That was the hidden information his eyes revealed.

He couldn’t help but recall the female doctor's dream. "A curse..."

Was that grotesque, blood-soaked bird the source of the curse?

"I heard that bird's cry before the reset too. Definitely not something ordinary." Still, he was too sickly to dwell on it. "I'm way too weak."

Just then, a system prompt rang out.

[Main Quest: Grow Stronger

"Ten Thousand Paths Martial God ?" Qi Yuan paused. "So this time the game is about fighting?"

This world's technology surpassed Blue Planet's, even allowing interstellar travel. Moreover, Arch Star wasn’t the pinnacle. Beyond it lay another inhabited planet with an even more advanced civilization: Brilliant Star.

Despite its technological focus, martial arts still existed on Arch Star, and from his Primordial Seed’s memories, they weren’t much different from the techniques of the mortal world in Canglan.

A martial artist who could leap ten meters was already considered skilled. On Blue Planet, long jump records barely reached nine, so their strength had clear limits. As technology advanced, high-precision weapons pushed martial arts into obscurity, reducing it to a niche discipline—much like chess in his previous life.

Qi Yuan said weakly, "Zero-One, tell me about Mortal Martial God, Spirit Martial God, and Martial God of Ten Thousand Paths."

Zero-One was the household robot and also his caretaker. His Primordial Seed’s parents had died on a mission to Brilliant Star, earning military merits and leaving behind a decent inheritance. Thus, Qi Yuan had a three-bedroom apartment in the city center and a high-end robot.

The cyber-styled humanoid robot stepped in. Its intelligence was only somewhat better than the average AI. True self-awareness was still a fantasy.

Zero-One explained, "Mortal Martial God is a legendary title from 1,370 years ago. Historical records state that in the Moro Nation, martial tournaments were held, gathering elites from across the land. The strongest was crowned the Human Martial God. Legend says that one who wins a hundred consecutive tournaments over a century may ascend to become a Mortal Martial God. No records have been found for 'Spirit Martial God' or 'Martial God of Ten Thousand Paths.'"

"Do these tournaments still exist?"

"Yes, the next tournament begins in nine months and seventeen days."

"So I need to win a hundred tournaments just to complete one-third of the quest?" Qi Yuan frowned. "A hundred years, what if the Qin Yuan Kingdom collapses before that? What if Arch Star gets wiped out? How am I supposed to clear this quest?"

He sighed and dismissed the thought. It was still too early to think about this.

For now, he decided to take a closer look at the martial arts of this world. "Zero-One, if I want to train in martial arts, how do I start?"

All his previous games had a clear final boss. This time, however, there was none. That alone piqued his curiosity, especially about how martial arts functioned in this world.

"Apologies, Master. Your physical condition is extremely poor. Martial training is not recommended."

That was putting it lightly. Not only did he resemble a drowned corpse, he was barely able to stand.

He rephrashed his question, "If I recover, how do I start training in martial arts?"

Zero-One replied bluntly, without a hint of tact, "Apologies. As a Type-A3 psychiatric patient, you are not eligible to practice martial arts."

In the Qin Yuan Kingdom, the actions of psychiatric patients were already under restriction. Letting one of them train in martial arts? No dojo would dare take that risk. After all, if they taught a mentally ill person how to fight and something went wrong, who would take responsibility?

Speechless, Qi Yuan glanced at the certificate by his bedside. "I'm not mentally ill."

"Zero-One understands your distress, Master, but you should accept reality. In fact, psychiatric patients in Qin Yuan Kingdom receive numerous benefits, monthly subsidies, as well as certain special privileges."

"Huh?" Qi Yuan froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "So being mentally ill actually comes with perks? Doesn't that mean I could just pretend?"

He already had the diagnosis on paper. Faking it shouldn't be too hard. The only concern was whether his acting would be convincing enough.

If he rushed into martial arts training as he was, he would probably die on the spot. Only after gaining some means of self-preservation would he consider it. Thus, his plan was simple: start cultivating, get better, or summon his core projection. In the end, he chose to cultivate. If he wanted faster results, he'd require external resources to assist him.

"Zero-One, how much cash do I have left?"

"One hundred thirty-seven thousand, two hundred fifty-four Qin Yuan Coins remain," Zero-One answered truthfully.

He listed out the materials he required. "Alright. Buy me some materials..."

The robot reminded him, "Master, your classmates will be visiting at 4:10 PM."

After graduation, the class monitor entered government service. Since Qi Yuan was the gravely ill child of fallen heroes, the monitor had organized a visit with several former classmates.

Qi Yuan glanced at the time on his phone. There was about an hour left. "It's fine. I can still handle a few guests. Go ahead and get the materials."

Zero-One left the room.

Qi Yuan watched its departing figure, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes. "The Canglan World, Mortal Heart World, Flowing Wind World and even Moonwatch Continent all use the same language... But on Arch Star, there are multiple languages? That's strange."