I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Gu Yan's mind quickly became active, and he began to think about which cultivation technique to exchange for money.

Simply copying the original cultivation techniques from the game wouldn't be good enough. Most of the techniques in the game are very concise, summarizing the entire method in less than a hundred words.

While modern academic papers share similarities with old-fashioned manuals, they are not entirely the same. They require introductions, overviews, and clear explanations of the essential techniques, along with experimental data...

It can't be like ancient martial arts manuals, which only contain a few words of incantation and mental techniques, with the rest relying either on the master's oral instruction or on exceptional talent to achieve enlightenment on their own.

Therefore, the prerequisite for writing a thesis on a practice technique is that you must first learn it yourself.

If he publishes his paper and a big shot becomes interested in his original technique and asks him a few questions, and he stammers and can't explain it clearly like a graduate student defending his thesis, then people will inevitably doubt whether his technique is truly his own original creation.

If this leads someone to notice that he possesses a cheat code, that would be even more disastrous.

Having extraordinary talent in martial arts is one thing, but having special abilities is another.

Gu Yan thought to himself that he had not yet reached the level of a top expert in this world, and he absolutely could not expose the game cheat he possessed.

Gu Yan knew from his previous life writing papers that every paper needs a "target" to hit. That is, you have to find similar technical methods in your own research field and use experimental data to prove that your technology is better than that of your predecessors.

The same principle applies to martial arts. No unique technique can be created out of thin air; every martial art belongs to a particular school or lineage.

Therefore, a martial arts thesis also needs to select a similar technique as a target. The author needs to prove with examples that the created technique is either more efficient to practice than the old one, or has a lower threshold for practice, or the new technique must have unique features, or at least be unique in some aspect.

This is the "experimental data" of the martial arts thesis.

With his cheat code, Gu Yan possessed access to all the martial arts techniques from various schools within the game, making it an inexhaustible treasure trove of martial arts knowledge. Furthermore, the Demon Suppression Division was a hub for martial arts classics from across the land, so all he needed to do was continuously slay demons and accumulate merit, and all sorts of martial arts techniques would be readily available to him.

At that time, one only needs to select a martial art in the present world as a target, and then go to the Demon Suppression Bureau to find a martial art with a similar approach but more comprehensive and exquisite. Based on this, one can deduce and write articles, and easily make a steady stream of manuscript fees... no, I mean, make a series of papers.

In this way, Gu Yan can produce continuous scientific research results without attracting too much suspicion by constantly creating techniques out of thin air. After all, making money is important, but the game cheat he relies on cannot be exposed, so copying techniques must be done in a traceable way.

Zhong Ding said, "Then let's leave it at that for now. You guys help Junior Brother Gu familiarize himself with the study room. He's new to the Martial Arts Department, so please give him some pointers on the courses and benefits."

Several students responded in unison, "Yes, teacher."

Lu Cheng'an said with a smile, "Teacher seems to be in a particularly good mood today. I suppose it's because you've received a junior brother with exceptional talent this year, and you're overjoyed."

Zhong Ding laughed heartily. Although he held a high position in the academy, he never put on airs in front of the students, and chatting and laughing with them was a common occurrence for him.

"Not entirely," Zhong Ding laughed. "Firstly, we've found a promising talent, and secondly... the weapons company stock I invested in a few days ago has been performing very well lately. I've already heavily invested, and I'm sure I'll make a profit this time."

After saying that, he hummed a little tune and happily pushed open the door and went out.

The teacher was pleased, but Lu Cheng'an's smile froze instantly, turning into one of profound grief.

"It's over...it's all over..."

Lin Ye, a student sitting next to me in the study room, asked, "What's over?"

Lu Cheng'an said dejectedly, "I also bought shares in the weapons company. But since the professor bought them too... is it too late for me to get out and run away?"

The other students couldn't help but laugh, and the study room was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Buying the same stock as Lao Zhong takes real courage.

Lin Ye said, "Alright, the teacher instructed us to show our junior brother around the study room."

Chu Yue volunteered, "I'll do it! I'll do it!"

Lu Cheng'an chuckled, "Huh? There are usually so many miscellaneous tasks in the study room, why haven't I seen Junior Sister being so proactive?"

Chu Yue said, "Of course. I already said I'm your senior sister now, so how could I just be all talk and no action?"

Lin Ye laughed and said, "I don't think so. It's probably because he saw that the new junior brother's cultivation was amazing and he was handsome, so he took a special liking to him."

Chu Yue, however, was neither embarrassed nor annoyed. Instead, she laughed and said, "What? Is someone jealous?"

Lin Ye laughed and shook his head, saying, "I wouldn't dare to be jealous. I'm afraid someone will be so focused on looking at people that they'll even mispronounce the rules of the training room."

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this, and the atmosphere in the room became harmonious and cheerful.

Gu Yan thought to himself that the atmosphere in Professor Zhong's study room was quite harmonious, which was truly rare. It must be because Professor Zhong was usually humble and approachable to his students that such an atmosphere could be achieved.

Chu Yue led Gu Yan on a brief tour.

The training room has sparring robots for practicing boxing and swordsmanship. These are advanced models that would be very expensive to rent from outside venues, but they are free to use in the training room.

Of course, for Gu Yan, leveling up relies entirely on adding skill points, so there's no need for sparring partners, and he doesn't need this benefit.

In addition to this, the training room also has a "Gathering Energy Room". This room is built with modern martial arts technology and is equipped with an energy gathering array that can attract and gather free energy, making its energy concentration extremely high.

Furthermore, the Yuan Energy Gathering Room is equipped with a guiding device. Normally, martial artists need to circulate their qi and breathe to absorb Yuan Energy, but in this room, even if one lies down and does nothing, one can naturally absorb Yuan Energy.

If one meditates and practices breathing exercises within it, the results will be twice as effective.

This Gathering Yuan Room caught Gu Yan's eye.

He didn't care about cultivation efficiency, since he had only achieved a tiny fraction of his cultivation through genuine hard work; ninety percent of it came from external cheats.

However, based on the principle of this Gathering Yuan Chamber, it may also have a beneficial effect on calming and nourishing the body.

Furthermore, he had previously consumed the Qi and Blood Restoration Elixir given to him by Teacher Zhong, which instantly replenished his Qi and blood, restoring him to his original state. While the efficacy of the medicine was undoubtedly powerful, Teacher Zhong's external assistance, by nourishing his lungs and replenishing his Qi Sea with his Yuan Energy while the medicine was taking effect, was equally important.

However, if Gu Yan encounters a similar situation again in the future, it's impossible to always find someone to help him absorb the medicinal effects. But if he practices his internal energy in this Gathering Yuan Room after taking the medicine, even if the effect is not as good as Teacher Zhong's help, it should still be beneficial.

Chu Yue said, "The Gathering Yuan Room is also open to the students in the training room for free. But this thing is really not cheap in terms of construction, power supply and maintenance, so when it is spread out, each of us only has three hours of free use time per week."

If you find the Qi Gathering Room effective, you can cultivate in the academy's public Qi Gathering Room outside of the free hours. Of course, that will be a paid service.

Gu Yan nodded to indicate that he understood. The Gathering Yuan Room in the training center was obviously not open for paid use, because there was only one Gathering Yuan Room, and if people paid to use it, it would inevitably take up the time of other students in the training center.

Gu Yan then inquired about the calming and energy-nourishing medicine. After all, he used it almost every day, making it a daily expense.

He had only wanted to ask where to buy this item and if there were any discounts. But to his surprise, the answer he received was completely unexpected.

"Oh, that one? You don't need to worry about that, junior brother."

Chu Yue smiled and said.

"This is included in the basic benefits of the training center. Every student of Professor Chung can receive a free calming and energy-nourishing medicine every day."

Gu Yan: "!"

Holy crap, was our training center really this well-funded?