《Parallel World: Dungeons Galore》 Chapter 1 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The racket of the classroom slowly stirred Chen¡¯an awake. When he blinked his sleepiness away, his vision focused on a sight that was equal parts familiar and unfamiliar, buried in the depths of his memory. The room was well-lit and spacious. Students were chatting energetically about their hobbies, and a few troublemakers were chasing each other around the classroom in a scuffle, sparking a round of laughter. Isn¡¯t this¡­ from my time as a student? For a long moment, Chen¡¯an sat, stunned. Finally, he picked out some familiar faces in the sea of people, unlocking memories from ages past. There was Jiang Min. A glance at her chest told him she was still as well-endowed as ever. And Chen Shiyu, who had been the prettiest girl in class. And¡­ everyone else. Wasn¡¯t this his class from Grade 12¨CClass 37? Chen¡¯an was baffled. He had just put his head down for a short rest while writing his novel on his laptop. How had he woken up back in his third year of high school? Disbelieving, he sat upright and seized the hand of his classmate, Lu Gang. He squeezed Lu Gang with a vice grip, looking puzzled all the while. ¡°Ow! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Lu Gang snatched his hand back and shook it. Ignoring him, Chen¡¯an said with certainty, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not dreaming.¡± ¡°Dreaming? Did you stay up late watching movies or something?¡± Lu Gang shook his hand a few more times. Only then did the lingering pain dissipate. Out of the blue, Chen¡¯an recalled that he was supposed to meet with his teachers online tonight. He filed the important reminder at the back of his mind, then studied his deskmate for a few seconds and burst out laughing. ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t slimmed down at all, Lu Gang,¡± he said, drawing a confused stare in return. They only had a ten-minute break between classes, and the bell interrupted Lu Gang before he could respond. Although Class 37 was only the second-top class in the school, they were no worse than the top class in terms of discipline, and everyone¨Cwhether they had been playing sports, online games, or engaged in robust discussion¨Cfell silent. Before the bell had even stopped ringing, a middle-aged man with a sizable potbelly and closely-cropped hair emerged in the doorway. ¡°Is it just me, or did Boss Cao become even fatter?¡± Lu Gang muttered under his breath. Boss Cao was their chemistry teacher, Mr Cao Zhijiang. But because the man in question stood no more than 1.7m tall, with a belly that spilled over the waistband of his pants¨Calong with a series of keychains, which jingled with every step¨Che didn¡¯t look at all like a respectable teacher. As such, everyone simply referred to him as Boss Cao. Boss Cao entered the classroom and slammed a heavy stack of papers on the podium. ¡°The results for our first mock-exam are out. Put bluntly, you are the worst class I have ever taught.¡± Everything about this was familiar: Boss Cao¡¯s opening remarks, the whiff of sourness in the air¨Cthe whole process, really. Still, Chen¡¯an couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that this wasn¡¯t as simple as just returning to high school. No, it felt more like¡­ a parallel world of sorts, existing at the outskirts of his consciousness. Just as Chen¡¯an was sieving through his memories of the past, a mechanical voice spoke. ¡°Reality is being copied¡­ Beginner¡¯s dungeon guide is being created¡­¡± ¡°Dungeon is being created¡­¡± ¡°Dungeon has been successfully created. Micro Dungeon [Chemistry Class] has been opened. Main task and side task have been extracted.¡± ¡°Please follow the instructions of the beginner¡¯s guide. All the best.¡± The onload of information caught Chen¡¯an off-guard, but he absorbed it all quickly enough. So the guide contained hacks, then; a cheat sheet of sorts. He was familiar with that sort of thing, from his time writing novels on his laptop. Of course, he would have to get accustomed to the guide in order to figure out what those hacks were exactly. Meanwhile, Boss Cao ordered several students seated near the podium to distribute their mock-exam papers. Chen¡¯an took the opportunity to open the system interface and scan the panel displaying his list of objectives. He had two tasks: a main one and a side one. [Main task: Solve the chemistry questions of your group and get through class without trouble. (Compulsory)] [Side task: Solve the chemistry questions of other groups. Rewards increase by 10% for every question solved successfully. (Optional)] [Note: Use unauthorized violence and other forms of coercion at your own risk.] Hmm. Both tasks didn¡¯t seem that difficult. In fact, they were rather simple, as expected from a beginner¡¯s dungeon. Chen¡¯an opened his stats window and saw a list detailing his various attributes. [Name: Chen¡¯an] [Level: 0] [Title: None] [Experience: 0/10] [Lifeblood: 60] [Vitality: 6] [Power: 6] [Agility: 6] [Spirit: 7] [Charm: 5] [Luck: 1] [Note: Charm and Luck are hidden attributes. The other basic attributes have a maximum level of 10 when developed.] [Potential points: 0] [Achievement points: 0] [Gold coins: 0] [Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English] [Items: None] Additionally, Chen¡¯an found that he had a window for equipment, storage, and even shopping, all of them in a dim state. A cursory examination revealed that navigating the system would be relatively straightforward; he managed to familiarize himself with all the different functions before Boss Cao finished addressing the class. ¡°We will have a 20-minute discussion in your groups. Keep your volume down so you don¡¯t disturb the class next door.¡± Chen¡¯an breathed out a sigh. It was easy to fall into the lull of chemistry class¨Cunlike in math, where losing focus for a few minutes meant inevitable and overwhelming confusion once you snapped back to reality. Here, he could zone out and miss little to nothing. [Attention! The BOSS Chemistry Teacher is forming groups. The dungeon mission has officially begun. Please prepare accordingly.] The system notification alarm went off without warning. At the same time, a name appeared over Boss Cao¡¯s head in bright red. [Level 5 Chemistry Teacher (BOSS)] [Health: 1000/1000] [Skills: ???] [Note: Chemistry Teacher has complete authority in class. Please refrain from provoking him, or the consequences will be severe.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s brows lifted. Only then did he realize that his classmates, too, were marked as ¡®monsters¡¯. Beside him, the name floating above Lu Gang¡¯s head read: [Level 1 Chemistry Failure] [Health: 20/20] [Skills: ???] [Note: Chemistry Failure Lu Gang is at the bottom of the class. With your abilities, you can easily humiliate him as you please.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s gaze drifted to the two girls in front of him. Jiang Min¨Cwho had carved for herself a sizable place in his memory¨Chad a different name hovering over her head. [Level 1 Model Worker] [Health: 40/40] [Skills: ???] [Note: Model Worker Jiang Min is studious, but lacks the aptitude for chemistry.] Gao Tianjie, another one of his female classmates and Jiang Min¡¯s deskmate, shared her title. It couldn¡¯t be denied that these two girls were diligent and earnest about their studies. Even if they sowed twice as much effort but only reaped half the results, at least they were doing their best¨Cunlike Lu Gang. Chen¡¯an recalled that Lu Gang used to secretly read novels in class by hiding his mobile phone in a stack of books. He would keep up a charade of being engaged in discussion with their classmates, while never once glancing at the material at hand. Of course, he wasn¡¯t the only one who made use of such tricks. A quick survey of several classmates¨Call of them barely scraping by in chemistry class¨Cconfirmed Chen¡¯an¡¯s theory. But that didn¡¯t matter now. Chen¡¯an returned his focus to his group members. It was time to start his main task. Chapter 2 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios [Main task: Solve the chemistry questions of your group and get through class without trouble. (Compulsory)] The two girls eyed the test paper lying on Chen¡¯an¡¯s desk¨C88 marks. ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Chen¡¯an,¡± Gao Tianjie said admiringly. ¡°That test was a killer. Mr Cao said that the highest score in our class was only 91 marks. You were just one multiple-choice question short.¡± Jiang Min echoed her sentiments. Lu Gang was the only one who spared Chen¡¯an¡¯s score no more than a glance, before slotting his phone in the middle of his textbook. Chemistry was so foreign to Lu Gang that it might as well have been taught in a different language. He had better things to do than waste time on the subject¨Clike indulge in a novel to take his mind off the sting of his test results. As the two girls fawned over him, Chen¡¯an¡¯s heart swelled with pride. Only after graduation had he realized how purehearted the girls in school had been¨Cespecially Jiang Min and Gao Tianjie, who were hardworking and devoted to their learning. They were so starry-eyed, he couldn¡¯t suppress a smile as memories of chemistry class washed over him. ¡°Which questions don¡¯t you understand? I can help you with them.¡± Perking up with delight, Jiang Min, who was seated in front of Chen¡¯an, pointed to a question with a red cross on her paper. [Model Worker Jiang Min has marked a position in your line of sight. Do not let your eyes stray from the marked position. Otherwise, damage will be incurred.] Before he could take in what the prompt meant, Jiang Min leaned forward, and Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes found that they didn¡¯t care about the question she had pointed out¨Conly a certain amply-sized part of her body. His gaze instinctively flickered in her direction. [Warning! Your eyes strayed from the position marked by Model Worker Jiang Min. This will cause damage lasting 3 seconds. Current Lifeblood: -2] The notification informing him of his damage flashed thrice, and Chen¡¯an hissed under his breath. Who knew Jiang Min could be quite so¡­ lethal? Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t some juvenile teenager. He had already found a technician he was fond of after graduating and working alongside a few good friends. He had merely¡­ responded to her as any hero trying to rescue a damsel would. He was thankful it had only been a glance; after three seconds, his Lifeblood stopped decreasing. Oblivious, Jiang Min continued to describe her confusion to Chen¡¯an. ¡°¡­ the question suggested that the answer was a non-combustible gas, since magnesium burns in it after drying. So why is oxygen incorrect?¡± As she spoke, Chen¡¯an¡¯s chemistry knowledge came flooding back to him, as if he had attempted this question just yesterday; a series of clear steps and smooth, logical thinking. ¡°You have to unpack the question like this¡­¡± Jiang Min leaned in even closer to hear his explanation, until she was practically pressing against the desk. It was a grievous pity that it was only mid-March, and chilly. Jiang Min could have been stretched out on the table in front of him, and he wouldn¡¯t have caught a glimpse of cleavage. Not that it really mattered, because without thinking, his gaze darted to her again. [Warning! Your eyes strayed from the position Model Worker Jiang Min marked out. This will cause damage lasting 3 seconds. Current Lifeblood: -2] The same notification displayed itself three times, and Chen¡¯an cursed himself violently for falling into Jiang Min¡¯s trap again. He was growing numb¨Che had wasted twelve drops of Lifeblood in just two glances. Only forty-eight drops of Lifeblood were left to him. If he failed to control himself, a few more looks her way would be enough to kill him. No¨Cthis was merely a beginner¡¯s dungeon. He refused to die here. It would be too humiliating. Gritting his teeth, Chen¡¯an kept his gaze locked on the paper and hastily finished explaining the question to Jiang Min. When he was done, the position the system had marked on the paper disappeared, and he breathed a sigh of relief. God. Such an arduous trial. He could have died. ¡°Ah, I see. Thanks, Chen¡¯an. If not for you, I¡¯d still be stuck.¡± Jiang Min smiled and turned back to her table. [Through your cleverness, you resolved the challenge posed by Model Worker Jiang Min.] That was it? Surprise flared up in Chen¡¯an. ¡®Resolving the challenge¡¯ was all well and good, but why didn¡¯t Jiang Min lose any Lifeblood? How else was he supposed to deplete her health enough to kill her? A prompt by the beginner¡¯s guide manifested before him: [If you want to cause damage to monsters, you must take the initiative to attack. The variety and degree of damage are determined by your choice of method.] [Friendly reminder: It is recommended that you exercise caution in your use of violence and mental attacks.] The words didn¡¯t sit right with Chen¡¯an. How was he supposed to clear the dungeon without violence? As for mental attacks, though¡­ He looked at Jiang Min, who was taking notes with her back to him. If he just tackled and pinned her to the ground, would she be killed on the spot? The only problem was that Chen¡¯an didn¡¯t know if this was just a simulation of reality, or if it was actually, well, real. And somehow the idea of appearing in the headlines tomorrow wasn¡¯t the most appealing. He could just imagine the bold print: Shocking! You won¡¯t believe what this high-school boy did to his female classmate after going feral in class¡­ Suddenly the caution the system had advised made a lot more sense. If he couldn¡¯t use physical violence¡­ a mental attack would have to do. While he was deep in thought, Gao Tianjie placed her paper on his desk. ¡°Can you help me with this question too, Chen¡¯an? I can¡¯t figure it out.¡± [Model Worker Gao Tianjie has marked a position in your line of sight. Do not let your eyes stray from the marked position. Otherwise, damage will be incurred.] Essentially, it was the same trap¨Conly, the threat Gao Tianjie posed was significantly lesser than Jiang Min. Chen¡¯an guided her through the question without the temptation of so much as a glance, and everything went smoothly. [Through your cleverness, you resolved the challenge posed by Model Worker Gao Tianjie.] Still, Chen¡¯an was itching; he couldn¡¯t just sit still anymore. He had to actively try and attack Gao Tianjie. A sudden spark of inspiration hit him. ¡°Tianjie,¡± he said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m a little hungry. Mind sharing some of your snacks with me after class?¡± ¡°What? I mean¡­ Sure. Okay.¡± [You shamelessly stole Model Worker Gao Tianjie¡¯s snacks, upsetting her. Her current Lifeblood: -21] A gleam entered Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes. Looks like he had succeeded. Chapter 3 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Gao Tianjie, inwardly mourning the loss of her beloved snacks, resumed taking notes for the question she had gotten wrong. She and Jiang Min were both engrossed in their work, so Chen¡¯an decided to shift his sights to another unsuspecting target: Lu Gang. As deskmates, Chen¡¯an and Lu Gang¡¯s drastically different chemistry prowess meant that they were like yin and yang¨Cthat is to say, perfectly balanced. Sometimes, Chen¡¯an found his deskmate¡¯s abilities remarkable. After all, it took a special kind of meticulousness to avoid every correct answer possible, and instead scribble a chemical formula that even Boss Cao had to rack his brains to decipher. But never mind that. Now, he had to find a way to kill this failure of a chemistry student, as the system had so thoughtfully named him. Lu Gang¡¯s Lifeblood was only worth 20 points, compared to the 40 points of a Model Worker. If he had taken the damage that Gao Tianjie had suffered earlier, he would be dead already. His deskmate¡¯s head was still bowed over his textbook, staring intently, as he diligently turned yet another page of his web novel. Chen¡¯an leaned over and whispered, ¡°Boss Cao is here.¡± Lu Gang jolted so violently it was as though a firecracker had gone off under him. His knees banged against the bottom of the table, making his stack of books¨Cand his flabby thighs¨Cwobble. [You leveraged Chemistry Failure Lu Gang¡¯s instinct to guard against enemies to frighten him. His current Lifeblood: -8] Lu Gang¡¯s hand shot out and saved his textbook from crashing to the ground in the nick of time. He lifted his eyes to the sight of Boss Cao sitting at the podium, looking through test papers peacefully. He sucked in a furious breath. ¡°I swear, it¡¯s like you¡¯re trying to kill me.¡± Chen¡¯an smothered a grin. How did you know? ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say that. We¡¯re friends, aren¡¯t we? Besides, seeing as how you got a shining score of thirty marks on the mock-exam, I would¡¯ve thought you¡¯d step up your game in class a little. With, ah, college entrance tests coming up and all.¡± Lu Gang hesitated. He had, in fact, wanted to clarify some questions with Chen¡¯an during the group discussion, but Chen¡¯an had been so busy with the two girls, Lu Gang had become all but invisible, and he had given up. ¡°You seemed occupied,¡± he said with a meaningful glance at Jiang Min and Gao Tianjie. ¡°Me? With them? Never.¡± Chen¡¯an donned a mask of seriousness. ¡°What are women compared to the tried and true solidarity of brotherhood? It would be like sawing off my hands to save a pair of gloves. Come, share with me what baffles you so!¡± Looking touched, Lu Gang wasted no time in pulling out his test paper. ¡°Well, there¡¯s this, and this, and this¡­¡± Chen¡¯an blinked and stared. [Chemistry Failure Lu Gang has just activated his weapon, a half-blank test paper.] [Chemistry Failure Lu Gang¡¯s logic is that if you don¡¯t know something, admitting defeat is the wiser course of action. Not attempting questions he can¡¯t do not only saves him time and ink, it also prevents him from seeming like he overestimated his own abilities. This is the conclusion he derived after many painful trials. It¡¯s quite intelligent. Please kill him, though.] You had to respect the man, really. People were often bashful about asking him just one or two questions. But not Lu Gang¨Cno, clearly not, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be staring expectantly at Chen¡¯an with half his paper blank. Chen¡¯an noted that nearly all the open-ended questions were undone, but Lu Gang had earned thirty marks from the multiple-choice questions alone. Lu Gang had once insisted that you merely had to pick the answer that looked just slightly different from the rest. Maybe his deskmate was a genius of sorts¨Cin his own way. ¡°First, copy the answers from my paper onto yours, even for the questions you answered correctly. Then look at the textbook to see if you can make sense of it yourself. If not, ask me.¡± Chen¡¯an slid his paper over, thinking, This should be enough to drain you of your last 12 points of Lifeblood. However, Lu Gang said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to learn anything from copying blindly. Plus, it¡¯s not like I can understand what the textbook¡¯s saying. You should just teach me directly.¡± [Chemistry Failure Lu Gang has ignored your attack. He aims to take up your time with your female classmates. Please make a choice. Failure to answer after five seconds will automatically be regarded as acquiescence.] [5¡­] [4¡­] Well. Damn it. Of course this bastard would be more troublesome than the two lovely ladies in front. Lu Gang was staring at him with an expression that somehow managed to be very eloquent in articulating: You interrupted my reading time, asshole, this is what you get. Chen¡¯an felt righteous fury unfurl inside him, tipping him over the edge to action. He patted Lu Gang¡¯s meaty thighs with an audible smack. ¡°Nonsense, my friend. Now get on with it or I may stop playing nice.¡± His hand tightened, and Lu Gang¡¯s chubby cheeks quivered. ¡°Fine,¡± he conceded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll do that.¡± [You have successfully intimidated Chemistry Failure Lu Gang. His current Lifeblood: -14] [Congratulations on defeating Chemistry Failure Lu Gang. You have gained 2 experience points and 4 gold coins.] The monster icon floating over Lu Gang¡¯s head gradually faded into nothing, and Chen¡¯an felt a surge of accomplishment. [Congratulations on your first kill. This marks your first accomplishment in the dungeon.] [Achievement points: +1] His stats adjusted to account for the kill. Jiang Min had finished looking over her paper. She turned back to Chen¡¯an. ¡°There¡¯s still two questions I don¡¯t get,¡± she told him. ¡°Would you mind helping me out again?¡± [Model Worker Jiang Min has marked a position in your line of sight. Do not let your eyes stray from the marked position. Otherwise, damage will be incurred.] For someone whose attacks were non-violent, Jiang Min was¨Cin his humble opinion¨Cmassively overpowered. Fortunately, Chen¡¯an knew to keep his eyes from wandering this time, keeping them fixed on the paper as he explained the answers to her. As he bestowed his enlightenment upon her, a sigh slipped from between her parted lips. ¡°You¡¯re so smart, Chen¡¯an. Is there anything you don¡¯t know?¡± [Through your cleverness, you resolved the challenge posed by Model Worker Jiang Min.] Chen¡¯an smiled politely. ¡°I thought about it one step further, that¡¯s all. You just have to remember the framework I taught you and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Jiang Min nodded eagerly, a blush spreading over her fair cheeks. ¡°Got it, thanks!¡± ¡°By the way, have you been eating supper lately?¡± Jiang Min was visibly taken aback. She shook her head. ¡°¡­ No. When we end classes, I go to shower and sleep in my dorm immediately. I don¡¯t eat late-night snacks.¡± Chen¡¯an nodded solemnly. ¡°Well, your face seems a smidge rounder. I thought you were snacking a little more recently.¡± [You have dealt a fatal blow to Model Worker Jiang Min. Her current Lifeblood: -50] [You have defeated Model Worker Jiang Min. You have gained 4 experience points and 8 gold coins.] [Congratulations on landing a fatal blow. With your cunning, you pinpointed the weakness of the monster and killed it in one shot. Good job. But please don¡¯t do it again.] [Achievement points: +5] 5 points? Damn. Chen¡¯an could get used to that. Chapter 4 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Jiang Min looked like she was on the verge of tears. His attack must have been a lot more effective than he thought. ¡°You really think I¡¯ve gained weight, Chen¡¯an?¡± she asked, cupping her cheeks self-consciously. Even the slightest suggestion that she was fat was a hopelessly raw spot for the voluptuous Jiang Min. He hadn¡¯t expected she would be so flustered. Chen¡¯an coughed twice. ¡°No, not really. I mean, it¡¯s not obvious or anything. The extra roundness is kind of cute, actually. Makes me want to pinch it.¡± Jiang Min¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°Dream on,¡± she muttered, wrinkling her nose as she turned away from him. Now Gao Tianjie was the only one left to take down. Then, he could move on to attempt his side task. Coincidentally, his target had just finished taking notes. ¡°Can you help me with this question, Chen¡¯an?¡± she asked. Gao Tianjie loved to eat; she was still wallowing in sorrow over the loss of the snacks Chen¡¯an had asked her for earlier, and was silently praying he wouldn¡¯t request for more. Chen¡¯an wasn¡¯t that shameless¨Cobviously¨Cso he waited till he was done explaining the question before springing his attack. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some snacks later. Want me to get some for you?¡± Gao Tianjie¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°What snacks?¡± ¡°Spicy bars with extra spice,¡± he declared, and her expression crumpled instantly. ¡°I¡¯ll be¡­ indisposed for the next two days, so no spicy food for me. How about something else?¡± [You stumbled upon Model Worker Gao Tianjie¡¯s weakness and exploited it. Her current Lifeblood: -30] [Congratulations on defeating Model Worker Gao Tianjie. You have gained 4 experience points and 8 gold coins.] [Congratulations on leveling up. You have received 1 potential point. Please allocate it as you see fit.] Chen¡¯an was stunned. He hadn¡¯t known it was¡­ that time of the month for her. He had only wanted to turn her off with the prospect of extra spiciness¨Cnot encroach upon sensitive territory. He fought desperately to salvage the situation as the monster icon over Gao Tianjie¡¯s head faded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tianjie. I¡¯ll get you some warm water later, okay?¡± She stared back at him with expectant eyes. ¡°And the snacks?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll get you a roasted sausage. You like them, don¡¯t you?¡± Gao Tianjie nodded eagerly and beamed. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°What about me, Chen¡¯an?¡± Jiang Min piped up. ¡°You¡¯ll get one too,¡± he promised magnanimously. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll taste better if it¡¯s from you.¡± Jiang Min hid a smile and resumed her work. ¡°I want one too, Chen¡¯an,¡± a voice whined from beside him. It was Lu Gang. How predictable. Food, if nothing else, was a surefire way to catch his attention¨Clike a puppy that only behaved itself when it was begging for treats. ¡°Get lost. You¡¯ve got some nerve, considering you still owe me for that time when you stole my spicy bar.¡± He shoved Lu Gang away. ¡°Choosing girls over bros, are we? Fine. Don¡¯t ask to borrow any movies from me in the future, then. Your free supply ends here.¡± ¡°Now, now. I won¡¯t get you one sausage¨CI¡¯ll get you two. How about that? As long as you promise not to tell anyone about the films¡­¡± Chen¡¯an had grown up; looking back at his past self, he could feel his ears turning red from embarrassment. He made a mental note never to borrow such films from Lu Gang again. Having dealt with all his team members, Chen¡¯an directed his focus to the other groups. But first, he had to deal with his new potential point. He activated his stats window. [Name: Chen¡¯an] [Level: 1] [Title: None] [Experience: 0/20] [Lifeblood: 60] [Vitality: 6] [Power: 6] [Agility: 6] [Spirit: 7] [Charm: 5] [Luck: 1] [Potential points: 1] [Achievement points: 6] [Gold coins: 20] [Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English] [Items: None] As any respectable and virtuous young man would, Chen¡¯an added his one potential point to ¡®Spirit¡¯. That way, staying up late to read, or whatever else he was busy with, wouldn¡¯t pose as great a hindrance to his studying the next day. The effect of the boost to his Spirit was instantaneous, a cool, refreshing breath of life throughout his body. His mind sharpened, turning crystal clear. His memories of the past, once fuzzy, turned crisp, and his senses became newly alert. It felt damn good. Or at least, it did, because just a few minutes later, the soothing sensation he had been basking in disappeared. The comfort might have been temporary, but his memory and senses remained heightened, giving him a nudge of confidence to embark on his side task. Chen¡¯an was about to make his way over to the ¡®monsters¡¯ in the other groups when Boss Cao, who had been looking through their scripts, stood up. ¡°Your time is up. Let¡¯s go through the questions now.¡± [Attention! BOSS Chemistry Teacher has arrived. Please prepare accordingly.] Ah, crap. Twenty minutes had passed and he hadn¡¯t even realized it. Being a student could be so demanding at times. If Chen¡¯an¡¯s memory didn¡¯t fail him, Boss Cao would focus on common mistakes he had identified while examining their scripts. And¨Cagain, if he recalled correctly¨CBoss Cao expected his students to take notes; only, most of them didn¡¯t bother, which is why Boss Cao tended to explain the problem-solving process instead of diving deep into content. If students wanted a more detailed walkthrough of the question, they had to find him after class. Essentially, Boss Cao prioritized the class¡¯ collective progress; he was more than willing to take the time to address individual needs outside of his lessons. He was also particularly fond of arrowing a select few lucky students and asking for their views during his lectures¨Cjust like every other teacher. Every time it happened, the class would go as silent as the grave, praying that they wouldn¡¯t be whichever poor soul was about to be called to execution. Boss Cao held a broken piece of chalk to the blackboard. ¡°The first question is too easy, I won¡¯t go through it. Same with the second question. And the third¡­¡± It went on and on, until, ¡°Most of you got question seven wrong, so I¡¯ll go through it. Who answered incorrectly? Raise your hands.¡± Most of the students raised their hands. Chen¡¯an eyed Lu Gang. Shockingly, his deskmate had answered correctly. According to Lu Gang¡¯s wise and mysterious formula for answering multiple-choice questions, the answer that looked just different enough was B¨Cexcept in this case, D was the right answer. ¡°Did you cheat or something?¡± Lu Gang gave a wry laugh, catching Chen¡¯an¡¯s meaning. ¡°Would you believe me if I told you it was an accident? I was going to choose B, but ended up writing D instead.¡± Chen¡¯an met his gaze blankly. Seriously? Chapter 5 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Boss Cao continued, ¡°Hands down. I assume most of you who got the question wrong chose B. The option was there to trick you¡­¡± In fairness, Mr Cao¡¯s lecture was clear and concise, covering all their blind spots and how to rectify them in the future. It was a shame that most of Chen¡¯an¡¯s classmates viewed him as just another dictator because of his position as Year Head. Mr Cao went through the questions one by one, before stopping at one he wanted them to pay extra attention to. ¡°One of you will have the honor of explaining the solution of this question to us.¡± [Warning! Chemistry Teacher has activated his skill: choosing victims for execution.] [There exists a chasm between the knowledge possessed by teacher and student. If Chemistry Teacher¡¯s target fails to meet his standards, they will suffer a ¡®public execution¡¯ for the next minute, during which one point of their Lifeblood will be reduced every second. That is, unless they die before 60 seconds is up.] That was¡­ unexpected. Did this mean Chen¡¯an was about to hear his name called? Mr Cao¡¯s voice rang out, effectively answering his question. ¡°Chen¡¯an, come explain the question to us.¡± Mr Cao¡¯s gaze was uncharacteristically benevolent. Chen¡¯an¡¯s chemistry results had been enough to win his favor¨Cregardless of his performance in his other subjects. He had only scored 88 marks on this mock-exam, but Mr Cao had seen his script and knew that he had lost 6 marks to carelessness, and the remaining 6 on the more challenging questions. All in all, satisfactory results, especially since the higher-order questions had been originally meant for students of Imperial College. Chen¡¯an had a natural gift for chemistry, but he harbored no illusions about getting into Imperial College, which was why he wasn¡¯t fretting over his lost marks. He loosed a breath he had been holding. Considering how dramatic the warning from the system had been, this was a little anticlimactic. This would be a piece of cake. He stood up and explained his solution confidently. ¡°Excellent. Chen¡¯an¡¯s technique of simplifying questions by using the characteristics of matter as a binding principle is effective. You can try it if you encounter any difficulty.¡± [The effects of being the BOSS Chemistry Teacher¡¯s chosen victim have disappeared. You successfully avoided his attack.] Sighs echoed from some of his classmates. ¡°Chen¡¯an¡¯s a real marvel. I heard he only scored 88 marks this time, though,¡± said one of them, who was labeled ¡®Struggling Student¡¯. ¡°Who cares? He¡¯s way above us both, with our¨Cwhat, forty, fifty marks? We¡¯re nothing like him,¡± replied another aptly-named ¡®Struggling Student¡¯. They trailed off into silence. [Your stellar accomplishments have wounded the self-esteem of two Chemistry Failures.] [Chemistry Failure #1¡¯s current Lifeblood: -22] [Chemistry Failure #2¡¯s current Lifeblood: -20] [Congratulations on defeating two Chemistry Failures. You have gained 4 experience points and 8 gold coins.] [Model Worker envies your skill in chemistry and feels inferior. Her current Lifeblood: -14] Chen¡¯an was caught unawares by the influx of notifications¨Cso many defeats, all at once! He eyed the two classmates who had spoken; sure enough, the monster icons over their heads were gone. A thrill shot through his heart. So, I can kill more than one target at a time. It would be like luring every child in the vicinity to him with a couple of sweets, only to eliminate them all without lifting a finger. In other words: a massacre. His breathing hitched sharply. The importance of this discovery couldn¡¯t be understated. Killing individual monsters couldn¡¯t compare to the relish of destroying them in packs, herds, groups, whatever. Once, a game called ¡®Unrivaled Mower¡¯ shot to popularity because of its concept, which involved plowing down monsters like cutting grass. Especially since his experience from earlier had proven that he didn¡¯t have the time to think of ways to defeat monsters one by one¨Ctwenty minutes, and he had only landed three kills! Chen¡¯an was so absorbed in his own excitement that he didn¡¯t notice that Mr Cao¡¯s eyes had been boring into him for ten seconds straight. [Chemistry Teacher has unleashed his skill: Death Stare. He has honed this skill over years of practice. The Death Stare causes damage for every second that it lasts.] [Current Lifeblood: -6] The second notification blinked across his vision repeatedly. Godammit! So much damage¨C Chen¡¯an shook himself back to reality and fixed his gaze on the blackboard. Only then did Mr Cao retract his glare. Those few seconds had cost him 36 drops of Lifeblood. If he had reacted any slower, the Death Stare would have¨Cappropriately¨Ckilled him right then and there! This was bad news. Chen¡¯an hadn¡¯t even had the chance to attack Mr Cao, and he had nearly lost his life to him. He should have expected nothing less from the dungeon BOSS. Once bitten, twice shy. Chen¡¯an kept his stare focused on the blackboard, warding off his complacency¨Cand Mr Cao¡¯s Death Stare. Still, the urge to kill multiple monsters at once was an itch demanding to be scratched. The next time Mr Cao directed a question to the class, several students raised their hands, but Chen¡¯an beat them to it by standing up. Five monsters were defeated in a single stroke, including three Model Workers. Immediately, Chen¡¯an advanced one level and gained one attribute point. The system alarm sounded. [Congratulations on completing the beginner dungeon. You have defeated 11 regular monsters, 0 special monsters, 0 elite monsters, and 0 head monsters.] [Main task: Completed] [Number of side tasks completed: 0] [Rate of increase in rewards, based on your performance: 0%] [You have gained 20 experience points, 50 gold coins, and a micro dungeon treasure chest.] He had passed. Relief flowed through Chen¡¯an¡¯s heart like cool water before checking his updated stats window. [Name: Chen¡¯an] [Level: 2] [Title: None] [Experience: 22/50] [Lifeblood: 60] [Vitality: 6] [Power: 6] [Agility: 6] [Spirit: 8] [Charm: 5] [Luck: 1] [Potential points: 1] [Achievement points: 6] [Gold coins: 64] [Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English] [Items: 1 micro dungeon treasure chest] Chapter 6 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios [You can obtain more Micro Dungeon Treasure Chests by clearing more mini dungeons or micro dungeons. The treasure chests contain a reward.] The treasure chest had automatically been added to the system inventory, but Chen¡¯an didn¡¯t dare to open it now. If it had any peculiar effects, it would be troublesome, to say the least. He would do so later, when no one was around. Chemistry class ended promptly. Mr Cao didn¡¯t drag his lessons out past the bell, unlike some other teachers. Once Mr Cao left, Lu Gang made a beeline for Chen¡¯an. ¡°Hurry up and go buy those sausages, Chen¡¯an. Don¡¯t keep me waiting!¡± Chen¡¯an would have much preferred to take the time to analyze the system, but he had no choice but to relent in the face of Lu Gang¡¯s demand. They made their way to the snack kiosk, which was located just outside the school and on the way from the canteen. The snack kiosk was usually more crowded in the afternoon or evening; few students would rush down in their ten minutes between classes to buy and gobble down their food. Lu Gang had been promised two sausages by Chen¡¯an, so he followed him down. Sure enough, when they got there, they were one of the few students inside. Chen¡¯an bought five sausages: two for Lu Gang, one for Jiang Min, another for Gao Tianjie, and the last one for himself. He had just finished paying when a notification popped up. [Congratulations on your achievement. You bought five sausages at once without needing any loans.] [Achievement points: +2] Chen¡¯an paused. So I can obtain achievements outside of the dungeons? If he could earn achievement points from buying sausages, then what about other snacks? Chen¡¯an stopped himself before he could get carried away; his pocket money didn¡¯t allow him to be that liberal with his spending. He had spent his whole day¡¯s allowance¨Cten yuan¨Calready, and he didn¡¯t want to have to go hungry tomorrow. Back in class, Chen¡¯an gave the still-warm sausages to Jiang Min and Gao Tianjie, which they devoured with relish. ¡°So good,¡± Jiang Min said, savoring each bite. Gao Tianjie, who had practically inhaled her sausage, nodded enthusiastically. Chen¡¯an agreed, finishing his sausage in a few bites before turning his attention to the system. There was a change in the system interface. His stats window and the tab displaying his tasks were the same. However, the system shop was newly lit-up. Most of the panels in the shop were still dim, but two items in front were glowing¨Ca pair of small bottles. The first read ¡®Mini Health Potion¡¯, and the second was labeled ¡®Mini Energy Potion¡¯. Chen¡¯an focused his attention on the two potions, and their attributes immediately appeared. [Mini Health Potion: Available at Level 1. Allows you to restore your Lifeblood by 30 drops in 10 seconds.] [Mini Energy Potion: Available at Level 1. Allows you to restore your Energy by 30 points in 10 seconds.] The health potion made sense; Chen¡¯an¡¯s stats window had a bar allowing him to keep track of how much Lifeblood he had left. But the energy potion? There was nothing in his stats window that mentioned energy. Maybe it was just because he was tired. It made him almost want to give the potion a try. He also uncovered from the potion bottles that the items available for his purchase depended on which level he was at. Right now, Chen¡¯an was only at Level 2, so he could only buy Level 1 items. Each bottle was worth 20 gold coins, he noted before exiting the shop. With his current wealth, he could buy three of them. But could he sell the potions after buying them? It would be such easy money¨Cnot that he had any intention of trying that now. The world the system had created still didn¡¯t feel true to reality; he had to keep it to himself for the time being. Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen¡¯an found himself seated in his most dreaded class: English. He would say that it was like being taught in an entirely different language, except that he was. The lessons¡¯ only redeeming quality was their teacher: a refined, mature beauty of a woman who walked in just as Chen¡¯an had been musing about her. She was dressed fashionably as usual, in a white turtleneck sweater paired with a black jacket, and light makeup that accentuated her immaculate features. Her black skirt billowed with every step of her long, shapely legs, which were clothed in matching silk tights. The plain uniforms of the female students only rendered her outfit all the more striking. Needless to say, many of the boys in class had thoughts about her that were entirely inappropriate for a school setting. Except for Chen¡¯an; he had been a decent boy then, and he was a decent man now. Being honest, he found his youthful female classmates more attractive than their English teacher, although that might have just been him having spent too much time around mature women as an adult. ¡°We¡¯ll be going through our mock-exam papers today. Everyone has their scripts with them, right?¡± [Dungeon detected. Do you wish to open it?] The notification startled Chen¡¯an. Then he realized that the system interface came with an option to unlock the dungeon. [Micro Dungeon: English Class] [Estimated haul: Basic stats points, micro dungeon treasure chest, mini dungeon treasure chest.] [Requirements to begin: 5 achievement points] So that was what achievement points were for: unlocking different dungeon simulations! Currently, Chen¡¯an had 8 achievement points: 1 from his first monster defeat, 5 from his fatal killing blow, and 2 from when he had bought those sausages. He could unlock this dungeon, if he wished. But his experience in chemistry class had forced Chen¡¯an to reconsider his abilities, and he doubted he would be able to clear this dungeon, what with English being his weakest subject and all. He dwelled on it for a moment longer and decided ¡®no¡¯. The pop-up window disappeared. Around him, his classmates had opened their English textbooks. During their break, the English class representative had gone to collect their test papers and distributed them before the lesson. A far more positive example than the chemistry representative¨Cwho, in fairness, may have just been too afraid to enter the department head¡¯s office. Chen¡¯an took out his test paper: 75 marks. Which seemed a decent score until you considered that the mock-exam was worth 150 marks. Memories came flooding back as he stared at his script. Was that a headache coming on? Chapter 7 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Even with the pain gnawing at his temples, he had to shoulder on. What an idiot he was back then, only paying attention to his English teacher instead of¡­ well, her lessons. Not that either of those prospects interested him now. However, as the teacher started going through their scripts, Chen¡¯an realized that her lectures had somehow gotten easier to understand, going from gibberish to something almost coherent and comprehensible. He took a second to revel in this epiphany. And he¡¯d thought he had all but discarded his knowledge of English after graduating. That didn¡¯t mean it was by any means stellar, though. Even with muscle memory to aid him, he still had trouble deciphering the alphabet when it wasn¡¯t arranged into proper words. Which made it a miracle he was able to keep up with the lecture at all. Not only that, Chen¡¯an found himself understanding his own mistakes as the teacher walked them through their scripts¨Cfor the first question, then the second, and third. All it took was aligning his thought process with that of the teacher¡¯s, a feat his past self would have deemed impossible. It all seemed a little too convenient¨Cunnatural, even. Bewilderment dawned on him, followed by realization. His eyes darted to his stats window. When he had first unlocked Level 1, he had used his potential point to boost his Spirit to 8 points. The effect of that extra point on his mental sharpness couldn¡¯t be understated. An impulse seized him. He still had one remaining potential point. How much simpler would this class become if he used it to increase his Spirit again? Chen¡¯an sent the urge dispersing. English no longer posed the burden it had to him now; even if there were gaps in his foundation, he understood enough to follow what was being taught and improve his grades himself. All it would take was some revision. As for his other potential point¡­ he would save it for more optimal use in the future. Time ticked by as Chen¡¯an let himself be swept into the lesson content. ¡°What¡¯s up with you today?¡± Lu Gang whispered, unnerved. ¡°You¡¯re actually listening. That¡¯s not like you!¡± Chen¡¯an¡¯s diligence was wholly foreign to him; part of the reason they were both flunking English was because they spent most of their time in class passing comments back and forth on their teacher¡¯s fashion sense. Now, his deskmate was actually paying attention. It felt like a betrayal. ¡°Ah, what do you know?¡± Chen¡¯an¡¯s mouth was pulled back in a thin line. ¡°I took for granted the joy of learning when I was young.¡± And it didn¡¯t hurt that it felt incredibly satisfying getting questions right for once. Never before had he felt so at ease in English class; gazing at his teacher couldn¡¯t compare. Lu Gang couldn¡¯t believe his ears. He reached out to feel Chen¡¯an¡¯s forehead and was rewarded with a smack on his wrist. ¡°Chen¡¯an, come explain what I said we should look out for in this question.¡± Great. He and Lu Gang¡¯s exchange clearly hadn¡¯t escaped the teacher¡¯s notice. Chen¡¯an remained calm, however. He had been listening attentively to the lecture for the most part, and he stood up and answered her question without hesitation. ¡°Sit down. Everyone, take note of what he said. The focus of this question is¡­¡± The teacher dismissed Chen¡¯an with a wave of her hand. He had answered so effortlessly. Lu Gang¡¯s heart sank. At this rate, he would be at the bottom of the class for their next test. Chen¡¯an was engrossed enough that the rest of the lesson passed in a flash. That had certainly been the most relaxed¨Cand dare he say it, enjoyable¨CEnglish class he¡¯d ever attended. Such an improvement, from just one potential point! If he had a few more, wouldn¡¯t his abilities be far above that of any ordinary human? In hindsight, that was probably why the system had imposed a maximum value of 10 on his basic attributes. Right now, his Spirit was two points away from reaching its limit. One, if he took the liberty of making use of his other potential point. The only thing stopping him was that he didn¡¯t know what would happen when his Spirit exceeded ordinary human capacity. As the saying went, geniuses weren¡¯t too far off from lunatics. Did that mean he would lose his mind after breaking past his normal limits? *** It turned out that the impact of his increased Spirit extended to his other classes as well. He felt a little overpowered. Subjects that he had formerly been adequate in had suddenly become second-nature. And an entire morning¡¯s worth of lessons had failed to exert any discernible mental toll on him. If things went on like this, his grades were sure to shoot up, especially in his weaker subjects like his languages. Before Chen¡¯an knew it, it was recess time. In order to accommodate the third-year students¡¯ needs, they usually ended class before their juniors. Lu Gang dragged Chen¡¯an to the cafeteria without wasting a breath, determined to cut down on queue time and snag the freshest, most popular dishes. When they were done with lunch, Chen¡¯an found an excuse to return to the dormitory. Living on campus was recommended for third-years, but Chen¡¯an lived rather far from school, so he had chosen to stay in the dormitory since his first year. After greeting the dormitory manager, he walked briskly to his room. He switched on the lights, closed his door and windows, and drew the curtains for extra measure. Finally, he could open his treasure chest. He took it out from his inventory with bated breath. It disappeared from his inventory and materialized in front of him: a simple wooden chest, dark brown, with faint yellow lines etched into its frame. It looked heavy, not to mention exquisite. Time to see if its contents were as bountiful as its exterior was beautiful. Chen¡¯an felt certain that they would be; even a Level 1 treasure chest should contain at least a few potions. His hand extended¨Cand halted in midair. There was a superstitious belief that a dark face was akin to a shadow looming over your luck. Nonsensical, as everyone knew, but still¡­ Chen¡¯an let the thought linger. He squeezed some of Lu Gang¡¯s facial cleanser into his palm and bolted to the toilet. He emerged a moment later, refreshed and brimming with confidence. I¡¯ve been so devoted to the game, he thought, please give me something I can use. Even if it¡¯s just one Luck point. At long last, he opened the treasure chest. A pillar of light streamed out from the chest, illuminating the room. Not as earth-shaking as he had expected. Chen¡¯an peered expectantly into the treasure chest. ¡°A¡­ book?¡± Chapter 8 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios A book. For an instant, Chen¡¯an thought he¡¯d uncovered some secret martial arts manual and nearly sprung to his feet. Except, upon further examination, the book became increasingly familiar. Are those¡­ Boss Cao¡¯s lesson notes? Chen¡¯an had been to Boss Cao¡¯s office quite a few times to consult him on challenging chemistry questions, so he recognized the notebook that Boss Cao kept by his side. Mostly because of the stickers of ¡®kawaii¡¯ girls plastered prominently across its cover, with smiles as sweet as their all-pink aesthetic. He forced himself to think rationally. If the system had stolen this notebook from Boss Cao, they must have done so in class¨Cor minimally created a copy of it then. If Boss Cao found out that his notebook was in Chen¡¯an¡¯s possession, would it spell his demise? It in turn begged the question of whether he should take the initiative to return the notebook and simply claim he had picked it up somewhere. Torn with indecision, he decided to keep the notebook for now. He picked it up, and the treasure chest slowly faded into nothing. Chen¡¯an exhaled through his nostrils. All things considered, this reward was a little¡­ underwhelming. He flipped the notebook open, and froze. There were statistics written inside. [Equipment name: Cao Zhijiang¡¯s Lesson Notes] [Equipment grade: Light gray] [Type: Single-handed weapon] [Attributes: Spirit+1] [Durability: 19/20] [Note: This notebook was a gift from Cao Zhijiang¡¯s little daughter, and is greatly treasured by him. If destroyed before his eyes, it will cause huge damage to him¨Cas well as ignite his full hatred for the culprit.] That explained the stickers. Chen¡¯an still didn¡¯t understand why a notebook was classified as a weapon, but its attributes seemed promising. With his new 9 points of Spirit, lessons would be a breeze. That alone was enough to make him rule out the possibility of returning the notebook¨Cat least, not until he had obtained a new weapon. He deposited the notebook into his equipment tab, within fingertips¡¯ reach. Physically, his hands were empty, but all it took was a flick of his will for a copy of the notebook to manifest in front of him. How convenient, he remarked. That wasn¡¯t all. His mind felt like it had been altered, molded somehow¨Chis brain was more agile, and memories that had been lost to him were emerging from forgotten trenches. It confirmed Chen¡¯an¡¯s original suspicion that this world was a parallel reality of sorts. Many things that had never happened in his old world took place here, and vice versa. Only the people were more or less the same. Even so, he couldn¡¯t afford to let his guard down, with or without the system to guide him. With his current strength, he was by no means invincible; if someone discovered the existence of the system, he wouldn¡¯t be able to put up much of a fight. Notebook in place, Chen¡¯an made his way to the staffroom with his mock-exam script, intending to conduct an experiment. Mr Cao had finished eating lunch and was chatting with the other teachers. Because of his position as Year Head, his cubicle was located deep in the staffroom, signifying his rank. Chen¡¯an approached, pretending to ask him about a particularly difficult question¨Cwhile keeping an eye on Mr Cao¡¯s desk. A familiar shade of pink peeked out from beneath a stack of books. So he still has his lesson notes. In other words, the equipment provided by the system was merely a replica. Despite himself, Chen¡¯an felt a tinge of relief. He wouldn¡¯t have wanted to take Boss Cao¡¯s token of his daughter¡¯s love from him. After Boss Cao had explained the question to him, he walked briskly back to class, where a bag of cucumber-flavored chips awaited him on his desk. ¡°Gao Tianjie went to her dormitory to get this for you,¡± Lu Gang said sourly. ¡°She even asked what flavor you like.¡± He had never been gifted snacks by a girl before, and failed to keep the envy from his voice. So Gao Tianjie still remembered the snacks he had asked her for during chemistry class. A woman of her word. She was seated within earshot, causing the tip of her ears to turn red, but she pretended not to hear Lu Gang and made a show of busying herself with work. Wordlessly, Chen¡¯an smiled and accepted the chips. They had an hour for lunch break, during which students could choose to take a nap, or continue studying. It didn¡¯t matter¨Cas long as you kept your volume down. Back then, this would have been Chen¡¯an and Lu Gang¡¯s designated nap time. Lu Gang was about to do just that when he saw Chen¡¯an take out an English book and open it. He gaped openly. ¡°What the heck? Aren¡¯t you going to rest?¡± There was a thread of anxiety in his tone. Without looking up, Chen¡¯an replied quietly, ¡°I think my English is still salvageable. I want to see if I can improve it.¡± He chose his words cautiously, careful not to upset Lu Gang and ruin his afternoon nap. It didn¡¯t work. Lu Gang closed his eyes, but he couldn¡¯t ward off the creeping uneasiness in his heart. With Chen¡¯an being the designated worst student in English class, it had been a burden lifted off his shoulders. Now, he found himself itching with apprehension at his deskmate¡¯s newfound dedication to his studies. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you attempt a few English questions? You¡¯ll be able to sleep earlier tonight.¡± Lu Gang acquiesced and opened his textbook. In five minutes, he was snoring, his breathing deep and rhythmic beside Chen¡¯an. A testament to the hypnotic power of an English textbook. Chen¡¯an did Lu Gang the favor of slipping some tissues under his face before returning to his learning. Needless to say, the process was a smooth one, with his sharpened mental abilities. Chapter 9 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Due to his enhanced Spirit, Chen¡¯an remained alert throughout the whole lunch break. A few students who were equally devoted to their studies noticed him studying, and chastised themselves for not doing the same. If Chen¡¯an was making efforts to improve his weakest subject, they had no excuse to squander precious revision time on a nap¨Cnot when they could be attempting practice papers. On Chen¡¯an¡¯s part, he completed his own paper quickly and easily, without having to cram to finish it within an hour as he would have in the past. The hour-long lunch break passed quickly. There were three lessons after lunch. The first was gym class, which was widely popular among the students. Shangke High¡¯s gym teacher was fit enough to rival the physical education department of any school, and his classes tended to go by smoothly. Except for rainy days, which aggravated his rheumatoid arthritis. If his condition got too serious, he would have to be hospitalized, so substitute teachers would take his place on such days. Not today, though¨Cthe sky was clear, complete with a pleasant breeze. When the bell rang, most of the students had already awoken, with the exception of a few still buried in the muzzy cocoons of sleep. Chen¡¯an closed his textbook. He had recited nearly a hundred English words during lunch, all of which had been imprinted onto his mind. His past self would have forgotten half the words he had learnt in just a few periods¨Cit was partly why he had lost the motivation to study for English¨Cbut now Chen¡¯an had faith that his memory would serve him well. If only he had had this ability then, his English grades might not have been half as dismal. Chen¡¯an patted Lu Gang¡¯s cheek. As expected, his deskmate didn¡¯t stir, so he said, ¡°The teacher¡¯s here to check your phone, Lu Gang.¡± All traces of Lu Gang¡¯s sleepiness vanished. He jolted upright, eyes darting about frantically. ¡°Where?¡± When it became clear there were no teachers lurking in the vicinity, Lu Gang¡¯s shoulders slumped. Chen¡¯an grimaced at the tissue on his face, plastered there by his own saliva. ¡°Wipe yourself off. Don¡¯t be late for gym class.¡± He stood and left his seat. Lu Gang sat there, blinking, before realizing he had been played¨Cagain. ¡°Wait up, you!¡± He unpeeled the tissues from his face and chased after Chen¡¯an, footsteps echoing in the hallway like that of an elephant. The school field was located less than a hundred meters away from the snack kiosk they had visited earlier. Several classes were scattered there, including sports students who spent most of their time training for aptitude-based admissions to the top colleges. The benefits of this strategy were twofold: it reduced pressure to perform in their humanities subjects, and would likely yield better results than burning the midnight oil. Most of Class 37 were already present. Only a few students had yet to arrive, probably still cramming practice questions in whatever time they had left. ¡°What took you so long, Chen¡¯an?¡± Li Chaoqun asked. He was a classmate Chen¡¯an was on friendly terms with. Chen¡¯an greeted him with a wave. ¡°What¡¯s the point of coming early and standing around? You might as well spend the time reading in the classroom.¡± Lu Gang was taken aback. Something must be seriously wrong with Chen¡¯an. His enthusiasm during gym class was unmatched; why would he say such a thing? ¡°Don¡¯t scare me, man. I heard you¡¯ll lose your memory thrice a week. Take care of yourself,¡± Li Chaoqun advised. Chen¡¯an blinked. What did he mean? Or was Chen¡¯an misunderstanding something? His classmate¡¯s voice cut through his thoughts. ¡°I hope I can pass today¡¯s 1km run,¡± he continued. ¡°Last time, I was short by just three seconds.¡± ¡°A test?¡± Chen¡¯an muttered under his breath. The memories were coming back. Finishing the run within 3 and a half minutes meant you had passed with flying colors, and 4 and a half meant you had just passed. In this, his parallel world mirrored the real one. The only difference was that this time, their results would be included in their overall scores for the college entrance examination. Their fitness test was worth 40 marks in total, with the 1km run, 50m sprint, long jump, and pull-ups worth 10 marks each. It was no surprise that everyone was taking gym class as seriously as they would any other subject. ¡°1km? Again?¡± Lu Gang blurted out, agony written all over his face. ¡°I already vomited during the last run, do I have to suffer that again?¡± He was hardly the only one dreading the run, though; it would pose a challenge to most of the boys in Class 37. Being a student of Shangke High meant that one had to possess at least a degree of academic aptitude, and most of Class 37¡¯s students were book-smart, with no particular inclination towards sports. It was fortunate that their school had had requirements for the students¡¯ physical education¨Csimilar to the college entrance examination¨Cso they didn¡¯t neglect their fitness in pursuit of their studies. ¡°What¡¯s so intimidating about it? 1km will take you just three minutes; four at most. If you can¡¯t even handle that, how can you call yourself a man¡­ or get married in the future?¡± Lu Gang stared at Chen¡¯an, failing to piece together the connection between running and his ability to find a wife. Wasn¡¯t the latter simply based on looks¡­ or whatever else the woman had to offer? What was so important about running? Chen¡¯an sensed his bewilderment, but decided against explaining himself. Lu Gang wasn¡¯t mature enough to understand the adult world yet. ¡°Just follow me later,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll run in front so it blocks you from the wind. Do your best so you don¡¯t lose 10 marks for nothing.¡± 1km was a manageable distance for Chen¡¯an, who had made a habit of visiting internet cafes since his 6th grade. Some lesser-known establishments had been far from his house, and in order to save money from taking a car, Chen¡¯an would dutifully walk there instead. As such, he had been in decent shape ever since he was young. He had kept this up till 8th grade, when his family had finally obtained a computer, but the results of all that exercise had stayed with him¨Cenough for him to get full marks in gym class, even if he was no star athlete. A 1km run would be no exception. With Chen¡¯an¡¯s current stamina, he estimated that the run would take him 3 minutes and 20 seconds. His fastest time had been 3 minutes and 15 seconds, but even that extra burst of energy had left him feeling more tired than usual. Amidst the chatter, the gym teacher arrived at the field with a stopwatch in hand. ¡°Listen up,¡± he called, clapping his hands to get everyone¡¯s attention. He looked as strong and sturdy as ever, dressed in short sleeves that bared his biceps¨Cthicker than some of the boys¡¯ thighs¨Cheedless of the chilly weather. Who would dare not to take gym class seriously, with a teacher like that? At that moment, a notification from the system popped up. ¡°Dungeon detected. Do you wish to open it?¡± Chapter 10 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The system¡¯s voice startled Chen¡¯an. He had received no prompts from the system ever since he¡¯d turned down its offer to open the dungeon in English class; he¡¯d thought it had decided to leave him alone for a day. Apparently not. As of now, he didn¡¯t understand what made a dungeon available or not, but he could give this one a try. Before opening it, he took a moment to scan the preview of the dungeon. [Micro dungeon: Gym Class] [Estimated haul: Basic stats points, micro dungeon treasure chest, mini dungeon treasure chest] [Requirements to begin: 8 achievement points] The rewards were adequate. Ever since he had received Mr Cao¡¯s notebook, Chen¡¯an had become increasingly intrigued as to what else he could obtain from them. If even a micro treasure chest had gifted him with a piece of equipment that boosted his Spirit by one point, he would likely stand to gain better equipment from a mini treasure chest. What he hadn¡¯t expected, however, was that this dungeon seemed to have been strategically chosen for him. Activating it required 8 achievement points, the exact number he currently had. A perfect fit. Chen¡¯an willed the dungeon to activate, and the system voice echoed in response: ¡°Dungeon is being created¡­¡± ¡°Dungeon complete. Micro Dungeon [Gym Class] is loading¡­¡± ¡°Main and side tasks have been extracted¡­¡± ¡°Dungeon has been unlocked. All the best.¡± Accordingly, the main and side tasks materialized in his quest tab. [Main task: Pass the assessment criteria of the gym teacher and you will receive 60% of the dungeon rewards. An outstanding performance will earn you 100% of said rewards.] [Side task: Defeat as many Level 3 and above monsters on the field as possible. Rewards increase by 10% for every monster killed.] As the system finished loading, the monster titles of his classmates and teacher manifested above their heads, visible only to Chen¡¯an. Lu Gang¡¯s stats read: [Level 1 Weakling] [Health: 30 / 30] [Skills: ???] [Note: Weakling doesn¡¯t have the strength to throttle a chicken. Maybe a feeble one, if he tried hard enough.] Clearly, the system was identifying Lu Gang as an easy low-level target. On the other hand, Li Chaoqun¡¯s stats were as follows: [Level 2 Average Joe] [Health: 50 / 50] [Skills: ???] [Note: Takes time to warm up, but has potential.] His stats were more favorable than Lu Gang¡¯s, though that wasn¡¯t saying much. They matched most of the students¡¯ in Class 37, apart from a few other Weaklings. So, all one had to do to be classified as Level 2 was to be reasonably fit¨Cwhich only made Lu Gang¡¯s stats all the more unfortunate. A few sports students were stretching in one corner. Chen¡¯an studied the stats of the one closest to him: [Level 3 Athletes] [Health: 100 / 100] [Skills: ???] [Note: Athletes have honed their abilities through rigorous training, and wield a definitive advantage over Average Joes when it comes to specialized skill sets.] Clearly, these were the Level 3 monsters that the side task had described, who had been admitted to the school for their athletic prowess. Lurking on the field, too, were a few special monsters. [Level 3 Cheerleader] [Health: 70 / 70] [Skills: ???] [Note: Worships the top athletes in school and follows them closely around school. Has developed particularly formidable vocal abilities from habitually screaming in delight at said athletes¡¯ abilities.] It was the first such monster Chen¡¯an had seen. He wondered how powerful they were, and if they would be tougher to deal with than the Athletes. And yet, all those monsters paled in comparison to the BOSS that was his gym teacher. [Level 5 Alpha Athlete (BOSS)] [Health: 1500 / 1500] [Skills: ???] [Note: Dominance in gym class is unmatched. All must bow to his commands.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s will nearly evaporated right then and there, taking flight on a pair of coward¡¯s wings. He wasn¡¯t capable of taking on this BOSS, not with his current level of fitness¨Cor even double it. Not unless he broke into the hospital when his teacher¡¯s rheumatoid arthritis was acting up and unplugged his oxygen tanks. Meanwhile, the students had lined up according to their teacher¡¯s instructions. ¡°Today is your 1km run test. Our warm up jog will be canceled to help you conserve energy. Everyone, spread out, with the exception of those in the middle.¡± [Warning! Alpha Athlete is issuing commands. Please do as he says, or heavy damage will be incurred.] The set of Chen¡¯an¡¯s mouth turned grim. Giving orders from the start? This dungeon might be even harder than he had anticipated. He wasn¡¯t about to defy his teacher and risk retribution, though, so he followed his classmates in spreading out. When they were done, their gym teacher¡¯s voice boomed again. ¡°We¡¯ll be stretching now. First, head rotations. Count with me: one, two, three¡­¡± The students fell into a common rhythm. As Chen¡¯an was preoccupied with studying them, he missed a beat and fell out of time. [Warning! You failed to follow the rhythm set by Alpha Athlete. Current Lifeblood: -10] Shock slapped Chen¡¯an across the face. 10 drops? He had only been a beat short! If he refused to participate in the activity, would he die on the spot? God. This dungeon made his earlier ones look like child¡¯s play. He launched himself back into the correct rhythm, anxious not to fall behind again. Thankfully, their teacher wasn¡¯t a sadist, and the tempo he set was easy to follow, as long as you paid attention. Chen¡¯an allowed himself a tiny flicker of relief. The rest of the warm-up passed without a hitch, and their teacher announced their objectives for today. ¡°Your 1km run begins now. Girls start first. If any female students need to sit out, let me know now.¡± Chen¡¯an glanced at Gao Tianjie, remembering what she had said about being ¡®indisposed¡¯ in class. Chapter 11 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Gao Tianjie stood and sat to the side, along with two other girls. Afterwards, the remaining female students lined up at the starting line. At their teacher¡¯s signal, they broke into a sprint. Unlike the boys, they only had to run 800m¨Cless demanding requirements, but enough to present a challenge to them. Chen¡¯an and the other boys cheered them on from the field. ¡°You can do it, Chen Shiyu!¡± Someone trying to suck up to the prettiest girl in class. ¡°Crap, they¡¯ve just started and she¡¯s already so behind.¡± The boys crushing on Chen Shiyu echoed their collective concern. Only the group of gamers in their class ignored the girls and fell into a lively discussion about video games. Lu Gang, too, shouted out encouragement to Chen Shiyu. She had many admirers, but Chen¡¯an wasn¡¯t one of them; he¡¯d long outgrown his childish infatuation with pretty faces. ¡°Keep it up, Jiang Min!¡± he called as she passed by. Lu Gang arched a curious brow at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you usually cheer for Chen Shiyu? Why are you rooting for Jiang Min today?¡± The two of them had had secret¨Cand impassioned¨Cdiscussions about what Chen Shiyu would look like in silken black lingerie. Why was Chen¡¯an acting so different? Chen¡¯an humored him with a snort. ¡°Dear boy, there are better things about a woman to pay attention to when she runs than her face, if you catch my meaning. Move, you¡¯re blocking my view.¡± He shoved Lu Gang aside. His cheering must have spurred Jiang Min on, because she picked up her pace. Her newfound vigor left Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes glued to her body. Why didn¡¯t I take notice of her before? Silly me. Secretly, he gave thanks for the opportunity to savor what he had formerly been too blind to enjoy. 800m was only two laps around the track; before he knew it, Jiang Min was sprinting towards the finish line. She crossed it with Chen¡¯an¡¯s cheers echoing in her ears¨Cand the full force of his gaze on her¨Conly to lose her balance and stumble. Instinctively, he rushed up to her, but she staggered forward more violently than he had expected, and they collided into each other. He caught a whiff of her feminine scent, then he was reeling backwards, unable to bring himself to push her away. They crashed to the ground, his body pinned beneath hers. [You were knocked to the ground by Average Joe Jiang Min, suffering injuries from the collision and subsequent fall. Current Lifeblood: -7] For once, Chen¡¯an brushed off the damage; his classmate was more important. He was trapped under her weight. Jiang Min¡¯s cheeks were flushed, her breathing ragged¨Cclearly winded from the run. [You have flustered Average Joe Jiang Min, sending her into a frenzy. Her current Lifeblood: -10] Huh? Jiang Min was exhausted from running, that was all. What did it have to do with him? Jiang Min made an attempt to rise, but the run had drained her of energy. [You have received continuous damage from Average Joe Jiang Min. Current Lifeblood: -1] The last notification blinked thrice before being replaced by: [Average Joe Jiang Min continues to be increasingly flustered by you. Her current Lifeblood: -15] At the back of his mind, Chen¡¯an mused that he was lucky she hadn¡¯t fallen heavily enough to hurt him; the damage had been minimal. His arms were trapped beneath him, though, and he could neither push her away nor get up. ¡°Quick, help them up and check if they¡¯re hurt!¡± It was Lu Gang, stirred into worry by the sight of his friend lying in a tangle of limbs. Before Lu Gang could move, Chen¡¯an managed to sit up, albeit with difficulty. He waved his friend off with a smile. Jiang Min¡¯s legs were wrapped around his waist. Their eyes met. His expression remained neutral, but her face was still red, her chest rising and falling. [Average Joe Jiang Min has become even more worked up from your physical attack. Her heart rate has increased. Her current Lifeblood: -20] Chen¡¯an wondered if the system had somehow lost brain cells. He was helping her¨Cwhat was this nonsense about an attack? It was a crime to spread such malicious lies! ¡°Are you okay, Jiang Min?¡± Jiang Min nodded. She made an effort to disentangle herself, but she was still too spent from running. Seeing her struggle, Chen¡¯an helped lift her legs, one arm wrapped around her waist to prevent her from falling. [You have ravaged Average Joe Jiang Min¡¯s body. Her current Lifeblood: -30] [Congratulations on defeating Average Joe Jiang Min. You have gained 6 experience points and 12 gold coins.] [Congratulations on your achievement: mastering body language. You used your physical skills to defeat the monster. Impressive. Keep it up.] [Achievement points: +2] The monster icon above Jiang Min¡¯s head faded, leaving Chen¡¯an speechless. He hadn¡¯t wanted to kill her, only help her. With a curse, he wondered if he could lodge a complaint about the system and its repeated slander. Finally able to stand, Chen¡¯an helped Jiang Min over to the lawn. She was still breathless from the exercise. She wouldn¡¯t look him in the eye; maybe she was guilty for bumping into him. Chen¡¯an¡¯s heart melted. Who knew such purehearted girls still existed? Keeping his gaze averted, he said, ¡°Pull up your zipper, please.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ okay.¡± She quickly obeyed, a touch of pink blooming in her cheeks. The slower girls in his class had just crossed the finish line, including Chen Shiyu. Chen¡¯an was the only one with his eyes on Jiang Min. ¡°I heard our teacher say you finished in 3 minutes and 21 seconds. You beat the ideal timing by 9 seconds!¡± ¡°Really? Thank you, Chen¡¯an!¡± Jiang Min flashed a smile to rival the sun itself. Chapter 12 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Some of the girls were walking around, trying to catch their breath; others had given up and simply lay panting on the lawn. Jiang Min had clocked the fastest timing amongst the girls, seven seconds ahead of the first runner-up, which delighted her. Shortly after, their teacher¨CAlpha Athlete¨Cordered the boys to prepare for their run. They had to walk back 200m, to ensure they would end at the same finish line as the girls. They readied themselves and awaited the order to begin. [Warning! The 1km run is about to start. You must complete the trial according to Alpha Athlete¡¯s instructions. For every monster that passes you, the damage done to you will increase by 10%, with a cap of 200%.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s mouth flattened. Wasn¡¯t this penalty a bit much? He thought of his past experiences and shuddered at the notion of what ¡®200% damage¡¯ entailed. With his 40 drops of Lifeblood left, he doubted he could afford it. He had no choice but to give the run his all. ¡°Ready¡­ get set¡­ go!¡± Four Athletes instantly hurled off into the distance. Show offs. They weren¡¯t concerned about their performance during the run itself¨Conly the 200m before where the girls were gathered, so they could charge ahead and earn themselves a round of swooning awe. They were neck to neck, jostling for limelight. Ten seconds later¨Cbefore their peers had even covered 100m¨Cthey were sprinting towards the girls in a reckless burst of energy. One of them shot past the 200m mark, causing the girls to squeal. Once he was out of their line of sight, his pace slowed dramatically, and his posture crumpled, like his strength had abruptly whittled away. Such a sporadic and inconsistent pace couldn¡¯t possibly carry him to the end of the run. After 200m, the difference in stamina between the group Chen¡¯an was running alongside began to show. He and three other boys were in the lead, with most of the others on their heels, and a few Weaklings¨Cincluding Lu Gang¨Cstraggling at the back of the pack. It highlighted the wide range of their abilities. Chen¡¯an was still trying to figure out how to defeat the Athletes in his class. It wasn¡¯t as though he could pull whatever body-language trick he had on Jiang Min again¨Cespecially since he didn¡¯t even know what he had done. Never mind that. He had to focus on not dying, or killing monsters would be the least of his concerns. Chen¡¯an deepened his focus and sped up. It wasn¡¯t his first time running 1km; as long as he regulated his breathing and pace, scoring full marks shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. The rest of the world fell away, narrowing to the track beneath his feet and the tempo of his breaths. Distantly, he registered his own panting, but not much else¨Cnot even Jiang Min¡¯s cheers. One lap down. The boys who had charged ahead earlier were now trailing at the end of the pack behind Chen¡¯an, just barely before the weakest of their classmates. Chen¡¯an was on his second lap now, and his pace and breaths were still steady. The last 200m loomed in the distance, dangling just out of reach. His eyes lit up as he launched into a sprint¨Ca final burst of strength. 150m. He held himself high as he ran, his gaze alive with controlled determination. 100m! His chest rose and fell rapidly, his lungs burning as he squeezed every last drop of speed out of him. He was close enough to hear the girls cheering, Jiang Min loudest of all. Her face was still flushed; as Chen¡¯an approached, she pumped her fist in the air. ¡°You can do it, Chen¡¯an! You¡¯re almost there!¡± The fire in Chen¡¯an swelled into an inferno, fueling him to blaze past his classmates. Finally, he crossed the finish line with Jiang Min¡¯s cheers ringing in his ears. ¡°3 minutes and 8 seconds!¡± His gym teacher paused the stopwatch and shot an appraising glance at Chen¡¯an; his timing was impressive for someone who was a bookworm rather than an athlete. ¡°Wow!¡± Jiang Min exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Chen¡¯an!¡± Panting, Chen¡¯an nodded, walking off the exertion of the run. 7 seconds faster than his former best record, he noted. A seemingly small improvement, but a noteworthy one for someone who had barely had the time to exercise since graduation. Another testament to the effects of his enhanced Spirit. If he had used that potential point to boost his Vitality, it might have given him the edge to clock a truly stellar timing. Behind him, the other boys were streaming past the finish line. ¡°3 minutes and 15 seconds!¡± ¡°3 minutes and 21 seconds!¡± ¡°3 minutes and 25 seconds!¡± Those three boys had gotten full marks, one after the other, but Chen¡¯an was distracted by a notification from the system. [You passed the 1km run trial with flying colors, making up for your earlier damage.] [You came in first-place during the run, so the monsters behind you will suffer damage that increases by 10%, same as what you would have.] The notification preceded an influx of multiple others: [Average Joe Li Chaoqun has suffered damage. His current Lifeblood: -70] [Congratulations on defeating Average Joe Li Chaoqun. You have gained 6 experience points and 12 gold coins.] [Average Joe Fu Liejian has suffered damage. His current Lifeblood: -70] [Congratulations on defeating Average Joe Fu Liejian. You have gained 6 experience points and 12 gold coins.] [Congratulations on leveling up. You have gained 1 potential point. Please allocate it as you see fit.] [Congratulations on your achievement: borrowing fuel for strength. You killed 10 monsters, while playing by the BOSS¡¯ rules. Keep it up!] [Achievement points: +1] The sudden flood of notifications nearly blinded Chen¡¯an, but one thing was clear: his Level 2 classmates had been wiped out! Chapter 13 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios There were a total of 46 students in Chen¡¯an¡¯s class, 24 of whom were boys. Since Chen¡¯an was the first to pass the finish line, under the system, the 23 boys behind him had been utterly annihilated. His notifications were buzzing like a hive of inflamed bees, bringing news of defeats and rewards in rapid succession. Similarly, his stats window had been updated: [Name: Chen¡¯an] [Level: 4] [Title: None] [Experience: 4 / 200] [Lifeblood: 60] [Vitality: 6] [Power: 6] [Agility: 6] [Spirit: 8+1] [Charm: 5] [Luck: 1] [Potential points: 3] [Achievement points: 3] [Gold coins: 336] [Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English] [Items: Mr Cao¡¯s lesson notes (Equipment)] That test had been grueling, and its risks considerable, but it had been exceedingly worth it¨Cif for nothing but the two extra potential points he had earned. He currently had three potential points. If he added them all to his Spirit, his mental prowess would skyrocket above that of a regular adult. He just didn¡¯t know what would happen after tearing through the glass ceiling of his human limitations. Still, Chen¡¯an decided to refrain from squandering all his potential points on his Spirit, since it would be of limited use in his gym class. He still had a side task to complete, and he had no chance of going head-to-head with the athletes in his class¨Cnot without a boost to his own abilities. ¡°You were so fast today, Chen¡¯an,¡± Lu Chaoqun gasped, catching up to him. ¡°You were half a lap ahead of me!¡± Chen¡¯an gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder. ¡°Not my best work, I know. I¡¯ll make it a whole lap next time.¡± He left Li Chaoqun looking stunned and went to cheer for Lu Gang, who had been left in the dust of his faster classmates long ago. With Lu Gang¡¯s considerable weight, a 1km run was as good as a death sentence. His build alone made it difficult for him to pass¨Cand impossible to score full marks¨Ceven with training. Not that Lu Gang had ever held any particular love for exercise. ¡°Come on, Lu Gang! You can do it!¡± Lu Gang was rounding the curve on the other end of the track with visible strain. At this rate, it would probably take him another half a minute to reach the finish line. A figure raced up from behind Lu Gang. If Lu Gang was a crawling snail, they were a cheetah barreling forward at full speed. As they swept past Lu Gang, their shoulder bumped into him. Lu Gang, who was already fighting to remain on both feet, crashed to the ground. With a shout, Chen¡¯an dashed towards his friend. Meanwhile, the culprit continued to run forward as if nothing had happened. It incensed Chen¡¯an, but he had to help Lu Gang first. He was panting from his mad sprint, as well as not having properly caught his breath after the run, but he extended a hand to his friend. ¡°You alright?¡± he asked. Lu Gang¡¯s chest was heaving, his face glistening with sweat. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m¡­ good.¡± Chen¡¯an¡¯s glare burned into the culprit across the whole length of the field. From his attire and build, he was probably a sports student in the midst of his training. But that didn¡¯t give him the right to throw his weight around. The track was so wide; would it have hurt him to run just a little to the right? ¡°Lu Gang, are you hurt?¡± A group of their classmates surrounded them, including Li Chaoqun, Jiang Min, and Gao Tianjie. When he assured them that he was, they were temporarily relieved, before launching into a tirade. ¡°Was that guy blind? The track has more than one lane, why¡¯d he have to run into Lu Gang?¡± ¡°He must have done it on purpose¨CI saw him smiling earlier, I swear!¡± ¡°Seriously? How cocky can this bastard get?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go confront him. He can¡¯t get away with being such a bully!¡± These people didn¡¯t interact often, but they were all classmates¨Cand there was something to be said about the unity they were capable of when one of their own was mistreated by an outsider. ¡°Go wait at the finish line, Lu Gang,¡± Chen¡¯an told him. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± *** After completing his run, Pan Yugan was running a satisfied, approving gaze over the girls of Class 37. As a sports student, he had long grown bored of his tedious, repetitive training. As such, he always took the opportunity to display his skills in front of everyone during gym class, if for no reason other than to make an arbitrary list of which classes had the prettiest girls. And if he earned himself a few admirers along the way, he certainly wouldn¡¯t complain. Today was no exception; most of the students of Class 37 had gathered at the finish line after their run. Pan Yuguan had leapt at the chance to show off his abilities, under the guise of a warm-up jog. Only, that idiot had been blocking his path along the way. He allowed himself a stab of satisfaction at the memory of the fat pig falling to the ground. In his humble opinion, the girls of Class 37 must have been amazed by him. If he was lucky, they would be cheering for him the next time they saw him on the field. Pretending to cool off, he used his top to wipe the sweat off his face, giving the girls a not-so-subtle glimpse of his eight-pack abs. A few eyes flickered his way, and he felt a secret rush of gratification. Looks like his efforts hadn¡¯t been in vain. He was basking in his smugness when an unfriendly voice sounded. ¡°Hey, you. Shouldn¡¯t you apologize for knocking down my friend?¡± Pan Yuguan turned to see Chen¡¯an, flanked by a few other boys. If they thought this would intimidate him, however, they were sorely mistaken. It wasn¡¯t as if they would dare to hit him with their teacher right there, and even if things came to blows, he felt certain he would come out on top. Naturally, with nothing to fear, he didn¡¯t take Chen¡¯an seriously. ¡°Apologize? What did I do?¡± he asked coolly. Chen¡¯an¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Say that again.¡± He closed in on Pan Yuguan. ¡°I dare you.¡± Pan Yuguan had assumed he had nothing to fear from Chen¡¯an and his group of nerds. A thread of fear unraveled in his heart before he cut it off swiftly. ¡°I told you, I didn¡¯t do anything, so why should I apologize?¡± His voice rose with his temper. ¡°Come on. Fight me. Or are you scared?¡± A crowd was beginning to gather, including Class 37¡¯s gym teacher. ¡°What¡¯s all this about? No fighting in school. Get lost, all of you!¡± Shockingly, their teacher was siding with Pan Yuguan. They must have known each other somehow. [Alpha Athlete has activated his skill: the command to disperse. He has honed this ability by controlling and ordering about the pack of students under him.] In that moment, though, Chen¡¯an felt only rage. Chapter 14 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Chen¡¯an was fuming¨Cnot just at Pan Yuguan¡¯s arrogance, but at the biasedness of his teacher. So what if Pan Yuguan was his student? Wasn¡¯t Lu Gang, too? Doing nothing would have been bad enough, but he was openly siding with Pan Yuguan. The thought of destroying his teacher seized him with a vengeance¨Cespecially when considering the prospect of the rewards he would earn from killing a Level 5 BOSS monster. With no choice but to obey Alpha Athlete¡¯s command, the students gradually dispersed. Looking smug, Pan Yuguan made to leave, but Chen¡¯an¡¯s voice halted him in his tracks. ¡°You must be a sports student.¡± Pan Yuguan looked over his shoulder and arched a mocking brow. ¡°Yeah, I am. Why? Are you looking to challenge me?¡± [Athlete Pan Yuguan has activated his skill: provocation. Using words and gestures to rile up his opponent, goading them into action.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s anger was a haze of red, blinding him to all reason. ¡°Now that you mention it: let¡¯s have a contest. Whichever sport you¡¯re best at; it doesn¡¯t matter. Only¨Cif you lose, you have to apologize to my friend.¡± Pan Yuguan¡¯s mouth hung open for a second, before twisting into a sneer. ¡°You¡¯ve got more guts than those nerds who hang around books all day, I¡¯ll give you that.¡± Chen¡¯an kept his expression cool. ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of losing, are you?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Pan Yuguan replied, grinning. ¡°It¡¯s a shame we can¡¯t settle this in a real fight. Alright, I¡¯ll humor you. Let¡¯s have a round of sprints. And if you lose, you have to grovel to me in public.¡± ¡°Done,¡± Chen¡¯an said evenly. Their exchange was overheard by everyone in Class 37. Most of his classmates glared at Pan Yuguan, but a few eyed Chen¡¯an with worry. ¡°Chen¡¯an was too hasty. He¡¯s fallen right into the bastard¡¯s trap.¡± ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. He¡¯s already accepted the challenge in front of everyone; it¡¯s going to look real bad if he loses.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we get our teacher to stop them? We¡¯ll be doing Chen¡¯an a favor. Hurry, before they start.¡± A few of Chen¡¯an¡¯s classmates rushed up to their gym teacher and explained the situation to him, but he only seemed displeased that Chen¡¯an had disobeyed him. He dismissed them, saying that it didn¡¯t matter as long as things didn¡¯t come to physical blows. This spelled nothing but trouble. Unless, by some miracle, Pan Yuguan backed out, the students of Class 37 were certain that Chen¡¯an had just signed himself up for a generous serving of humiliation. To them, sports students were as strong as beasts; untouchable, indomitable. How could Chen¡¯an compare? While everyone was busy fretting, Chen¡¯an and Pan Yuguan had come to an agreement on the terms of the contest. Pan Yuguan specialized in 100m sprints, but he was no slouch with 200m either. To ward off accusations of him having an unfair advantage, he had decided on the latter. As for Chen¡¯an, 100m or 200m made no difference. Once they were done, he wasted no time in adding his three potential points to his Agility, raising it from 6 to 9 points. Instantly, his body loosened, turning relaxed and lithe. That wasn¡¯t all. His dynamic vision¨Chis ability to track moving objects with his eyes¨Chad become sharper, faster. A glance at several female students jogging nearby confirmed this. So his improved Agility extended to his nerves and reaction time, too. Chen¡¯an jumped experimentally, and found that a light bounce of his toes was all it took to reach a height which would have, by right, taken him twice the effort. It was as if a pair of springs had sprouted beneath his soles. Still, best to conserve his strength now. It would only make Pan Yuguan¡¯s defeat later all the more satisfying, like a slap to the face. His opponent was already strolling towards the starting line, blissfully unaware of Chen¡¯an¡¯s newly enhanced abilities, and probably laughing at Chen¡¯an for being an idiot who didn¡¯t know his place. The other sports students eyed Chen¡¯an curiously. When they caught sight of his slender legs, they shared a smile amongst themselves. Chen¡¯an was too scrawny to wield any real explosive power; it was obvious he was far beneath Pan Yuguan, who specialized in sprints. But if Chen¡¯an was so eager for a serving of humble pie, he would soon have the chance to eat his fill. ¡°Where¡¯d you find this novice, Yuguan?¡± one of his friends called out to him. ¡°You¡¯d better give him a 50m head start, or he won¡¯t be able to keep up!¡± ¡°Yuguan must have goaded him into this. Isn¡¯t that the same nerd as before? The one whom Yuguan knocked onto his ass?¡± A chortle. ¡°I wonder how long he can last without crying.¡± The sports students were familiar with Pan Yuguan. Some of them were even exchanging bets on whether Chen¡¯an would start bawling for mercy. Pan Yuguan was waiting for him at the starting line, with Chen¡¯an not far off. Jiang Min hurried up to him, anxious to save him from humiliating himself. ¡°Chen¡¯an, stop this,¡± she urged. ¡°Look at his leg muscles. They don¡¯t even look human.¡± But Chen¡¯an¡¯s confidence didn¡¯t waver. In this case, having muscles didn¡¯t mean he would be faster than Chen¡¯an. He stroked her head, smiling at her obvious concern. ¡°Want to help me out so I¡¯ll win for sure?¡± ¡°Help you¡­ out?¡± ¡°Just remember to cheer me on,¡± Chen¡¯an said, and left it at that. An audience of sports students had gathered around them, plus Class 37. Even his classmates who were resting on the sidelines were watching intently. It was a given conclusion that Chen¡¯an would lose, but that didn¡¯t mean they could stop themselves from playing the role of spectator. If only such excitement happened every day, there wouldn¡¯t be a dull moment of conversation during lunch. A sports student had volunteered to referee the match. ¡°Ready¡­ get set¡­ go!¡± Pan Yuguan dashed forward like a loosed arrow, abandoning Chen¡¯an in the blink of an eye. ¡°See that?¡± A sports student grinned and nudged his neighbor. ¡°That¡¯s how the real athletes do it.¡± His friend nodded. ¡°That kid¡¯s got no chance of winning.¡± ¡°Hey, look! Pan Yuguan¡¯s wearing spiked shoes!¡± Chapter 15 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios As a sports student who specialized in 100m races, Pan Yuguan always wore spiked shoes when training. The soles of said shoes were adorned with blunt spikes; light yet durable. The strong grip they lent him boosted his explosive power, and hence his speed. Additionally, he was more familiar with¨Cand attuned to¨Cthe starting command and timing. Naturally, his superior experience became even more pronounced alongside Chen¡¯an, who was at a disadvantage from the get go. Chen¡¯an¡¯s supporters began to worry¨Cif the gap between them at the start was so apparent, wouldn¡¯t it just widen as the race progressed? But Chen¡¯an shared none of their concerns, even as he kicked into a sprint. Because he had his 3 additional Agility points on his side. From behind, Chen¡¯an noticed that Pan Yuguan¡¯s legs were moving far more rapidly than his. His boosted Spirit allowed him to discern the frequency of his opponent¡¯s steps, which currently exceeded his. In response, he accelerated the movement of his limbs. Faster, he demanded, clenching his jaw. His boosted Agility answered his call¨Cin a burst of speed, he was matching Pan Yuguan stride for stride. They were only 50m apart. Pan Yuguan had maxed out his headstart; Chen¡¯an kicked up the frequency of his steps again. To everyone¡¯s shock, Chen¡¯an sped up, gradually reducing the distance between him and Pan Yuguan! At the 100m mark, they were neck to neck. When Pan Yuguan noticed, he was startled, and tried his best to overtake Chen¡¯an. His veins bulged and his face flushed red from the effort, but still, Chen¡¯an was slowly surpassing him. ¡°Impossible! He caught up to Yuguan! Did that guy cheat?¡± a sports student exclaimed in disbelief. ¡°I don¡¯t know¨Clook, he¡¯s overtaken Yuguan!¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. Yuguan¡¯s wearing spiked shoes. He can¡¯t possibly lose!¡± The sports students were taken aback: Pan Yuguan, whose specialty was sprints, was about to be beaten by a nerd whose talents belonged in the classroom! If news of this got out, Pan Yuguan¡¯s place on the sports team might be threatened. On the other hand, the students of Class 37 were nothing short of elated. Normally, the track was a stage for sports students to showcase their athletic abilities, especially at sporting events. They took an almost animalistic pride in crushing their ordinary peers; just last autumn, Pan Yuguan had left the first runner-up of the 100m race in the dust by nearly 10m. He had crushed his competition so decisively, it had all but cemented the average student¡¯s view that sports students were invincible where athletics were concerned. But today, they had found someone who could put even sports students to shame. Chen¡¯an was blazing ahead, as if in defiance of the norm. Who would have thought that this bookworm, who was more interested in discussing gaming strategies with his friends than paying attention to sports, would be the truly indomitable one? Class 37 was roused to excitement, especially Lu Gang. He had been touched that his friend had gone to such lengths for him, but he hadn¡¯t been optimistic about Chen¡¯an¡¯s chances of victory. He had already been preparing to dig up his collection of precious books to lend to Chen¡¯an as comfort after his inevitable defeat. But Chen¡¯an had exceeded his expectations¨Che could really run! No wonder he beat Lu Gang every time they dashed to the internet cafe to snag a seat. A crouching tiger, hidden dragon indeed. Lu Gang rushed to the finish line and burst into cheers. ¡°Chen¡¯an! You can do it!¡± His classmates followed suit, though none of them with as much enthusiasm as Jiang Min. She was flushed with exhilaration, even more than when she had come in first place earlier. ¡°Come on, Chen¡¯an!¡± she cried. Spurred on by his classmates, Lu Gang continued shouting out encouragement. ¡°Faster!¡± In jest, he added, ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll have your babies!¡± The students, who had been echoing Lu Gang¡¯s cheers, all fell into an abrupt silence and stared at him, bewildered. Only Jiang Min was too thrilled to notice. ¡°Me too, Chen¡¯an! I¡¯ll have your babies!¡± she shouted at the top of her lungs, using her hands as a loudspeaker. It took a second for her words to come crashing down onto her. Her face turned bright red, and she was met with the sudden urge to bury herself alive. *** On Chen¡¯an¡¯s part, he had been focused on the race; when he heard what Lu Gang had said, he nearly choked. Fortunately, 100m was a short distance. With 10m on his opponent, Chen¡¯an dashed past the finish line. A fierce cheer erupted from Class 37, attracting the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Shortly, Pan Yuguan crossed the finish line too. His own expression became contorted as he looked at the cheering students of Class 37. There was no way Chen¡¯an should have been able to beat him so soundly after lagging behind when the race started, especially with the aid of his spiked shoes. It defied all logic¨Call the laws of nature, even. Unless he had finally found someone more talented than him? As Pan Yuguan was grappling with his own internal crisis, Chen¡¯an noticed a series of prompts that had flooded in during the race. [You have caught up with the running frequency of Athlete Pan Yuguan, denting his confidence. His current Lifeblood: -20] [Your feat has shocked spectator Athlete Hong Zhou. His current Lifeblood: -10] [You have caught up with Athlete Pan Yuguan, dealing him a mental blow. His current Lifeblood: -40] [Your feat has further shocked spectator Athlete Hong Zhou. His current Lifeblood: -20] His victims were primarily sports students. Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes glinted. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t managed to inflict any damage on his teacher: Alpha Athlete. But right now, he chose to focus on his achievements from defeating Pan Yuguan. [You defeated Athlete Pan Yuguan in the 200m race, causing heavy psychological damage to him. His current Lifeblood: -70] [Congratulations on defeating Athlete Pan Yuguan. You have gained 12 experience points and 24 gold coins.] [Congratulations on your achievement: annihilating the Athlete.] Chapter 16 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios [You defeated an Athlete, without taking any damage yourself. Keep it up.] [Achievement points: +2] Chen¡¯an surveyed the crowd and discovered that half the Lifeblood of the sports students around him¨Cdisplayed in a healthbar above their heads¨Chad been depleted. A pretty impressive blow, if he did say so himself. Chen¡¯an took a few moments to catch his breath. He had to admit, it was good to be young. It had only been a few minutes after the race, but he had almost recovered. He could even go for another round, if needed. But there were more important things to occupy him now. ¡°I believe you owe my friend an apology,¡± Chen¡¯an said as he approached Pan Yuguan. Pan Yuguan had finally stopped reeling in shock and had been planning to slip away, but it was too late. A crowd began to gather, whispering amongst themselves. Heat rose to Pan Yuguan¡¯s face. Instincts nearly made him push past everyone and flee, but his pride kept him rooted to the ground. ¡°Just apologize, Yuguan. It was your fault earlier,¡± said Class 37¡¯s gym teacher, who had borne witness to the entire saga. Reluctantly, Pan Yuguan dragged his feet towards Lu Gang and muttered an apology under his breath. Lu Gang, who had stopped fuming long ago, brushed off Pan Yuguan¡¯s halfhearted apology and approached Chen¡¯an. ¡°I¡¯ve got a surprise for you tonight, bro!¡± Chen¡¯an raised his eyebrows and backed away. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re good friends. There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Touched, Lu Gang nodded. ¡°Remember the two yuan you owe me from two months ago? Keep it. It¡¯s yours.¡± Chen¡¯an: ?¤Ø ? *** With Chen¡¯an¡¯s victory, the issue concerning Pan Yuguan was finally resolved. His defeat still stinging, Pan Yuguan slunk away, his head bowed in humiliation. With his opponent gone, Chen¡¯an wondered if there were any limits to what he could do in this alternate reality¨Cand if so, what would happen if he overstepped them. After their gym teacher gave them free range to practice by themselves, Chen¡¯an began testing the boundaries of the dungeon. However, just as he was about to step out of the field, a transparent wall suddenly appeared in front of Chen¡¯an. The system also sent him a corresponding notification. [You are about to step out of the dungeon boundary. If you want to continue forward, you need to close the dungeon first. Do you wish to proceed with closing the dungeon?] From the notification, he inferred that he had the ability to leave dungeons halfway through. However, he didn¡¯t know if his achievement points could be regained after quitting¨Cwhich was unlikely. But Pan Yuguan had been able to leave the field, which meant this dungeon boundary applied to Chen¡¯an alone. The others wouldn¡¯t be restricted by it. He had just been experimenting and didn¡¯t want to leave the dungeon, so he promptly chose ¡®No¡¯. As he made his choice, a gentle force nudged him back onto the field. Since Chen¡¯an had already figured out the boundaries of the dungeon, his next step was to kill as many monsters as possible. He could already feel the effects of leveling up his attributes. He had yet to reach his maximum attribute levels, but he was already much stronger than before. As long as he kept it up, one day it wouldn¡¯t even matter if the truth of the system came to light. While Chen¡¯an had been experimenting by the edge of the field, Jiang Min had made a trip to the snack kiosk. She jogged over and handed him an energy drink. ¡°You must be thirsty, Chen¡¯an. I bought you a drink.¡± Chen¡¯an was stunned for an instant. Then he accepted the bottle and downed a large gulp. He made a refreshed noise, matching his pleased expression. ¡°This is even better than what I usually drink. Must be because it¡¯s from you.¡± Jiang Min blushed. ¡°As long as you like it, Chen¡¯an. I¡¯ll go find Tianjie now.¡± She jogged away. Watching her retreating figure, Chen¡¯an sighed, wishing she were running in the opposite direction. After a few mouthfuls of the energy drink, his alertness perked up. It was time to find a target! The sports students were continuing their training in Pan Yuguan¡¯s absence. The other classes were also spread out. Some of them were gathered around sports students training in a sport they enjoyed, mirroring their exercises. Bit by bit, the field turned lively as the sports students took advantage of their audience and began to show off. Normally, their training would be punctuated by screaming from Cheerleaders somewhere in the vicinity, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. Today was no exception, and Chen¡¯an let their hollers lead him to the sandpit. A tall, slender sports student was demonstrating his long jump in front of a crowd. He began by sprinting from a distance, picking up the pace, until he was at the springboard in front of the sandpit. With the barest brush of his foot against the white line painted on the springboard, he would sail through the air before coming to a steady, controlled landing. The cheerleaders broke out into a series of shrieks. ¡°Amazing! That must have been at least 5m!¡± ¡°5m? Try 6m!¡± ¡°I hear his record is 6.5m!¡± ¡°Damn, that far? My toilet at home is only 7m long.¡± ¡°Spectacular, isn¡¯t he?¡± Their remarks brought a smirk to the sports student¨CGao Chao¡¯s¨Cface. He was just basking in their admiration when someone tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Nice jump. I wonder if your 200m sprints are equally impressive?¡± Gao Chao was about to respond that although he was a long jumper, he wasn¡¯t any less of a runner. However, when he turned around, he saw Chen¡¯an smiling back at him. [You have shocked Athlete Gao Chao. His current Lifeblood: -10] Chen¡¯an was momentarily taken aback; he had just been trying to make conversation. ¡°Aren¡¯t you that same Chen¡¯an from earlier? No way I¡¯m running 200m. Not if it¡¯s against you.¡± Gao Chao shook his head and lifted his hands in an exaggerated refusal. Pan Yuguan¡¯s defeat had sealed Chen¡¯an¡¯s name and appearance in the memories of all the sports students present; that alone had been enough for him to turn down the challenge without missing a heartbeat. What a joke, anyway. Why should he leave his admirers at the sandpit to compete against Chen¡¯an, who had beaten someone who specialized in sprints? The idea alone was almost offensive. Chen¡¯an, who had been expecting his answer, said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. Mind imparting some of your long jump skills to me, then?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Gao Chao blinked in confusion. ¡°You heard me,¡± Chen¡¯an replied with a solemn nod. ¡°I¡¯m a pretty lousy jumper.¡± Chapter 17 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Gao Chao eyed Chen¡¯an with suspicion, searching his face for lies. At that moment, Jiang Min dragged Gao Tianjie over to the sandpit. When she saw Chen¡¯an, she said in surprise, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were a jumper too.¡± Her remark made Gao Chao¡¯s eyes light up; Chen¡¯an must have been telling the truth when he said he was a poor jumper. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give me a sense of your abilities first?¡± he asked coolly. ¡°I can give you tips on what you need to improve.¡± Playing the part of the hero¨Cespecially in front of pretty girls¨Cwas a favorite pastime of his. [Athlete Gao Chao is feeling smug. In this state, his offensive abilities have increased, and his defensive abilities have decreased.] Chen¡¯an hadn¡¯t expected that, but he chose to greet Jiang Min with a smile. ¡°Gao Chao is the best jumper in school. I thought I could learn a few tricks from him.¡± [Athlete Gao Chao¡¯s smugness has hardened into resolve. His offensive abilities have increased substantially, and his defensive abilities have decreased greatly.] Chen¡¯an glanced at Gao Chao, wondering if he was a berserker, being so easily roused to action. Not that he was complaining. Lowered defenses just meant the damage would hit harder. ¡°I believe in you, Chen¡¯an,¡± Jiang Min said encouragingly, never once looking at Gao Chao. Gao Tianjie echoed, ¡°You can do it!¡± [Their comments are like poison to Athlete Gao Chao. His current Lifeblood: -5, -5, -5] A spark lit up Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes. Gao Chao¡¯s healthbar hadn¡¯t been at its maximum to begin with; now it had fallen to less than half, with only 45 drops of Lifeblood left. He silently thanked the two girls for their timely arrival as he prepared for the long jump. Meanwhile, Jiang Min got the crowd to spread out and make room for him. Gao Chao moved with them, with all the liveliness of a walking corpse. Chen¡¯an launched himself into a 100m sprint. The crowd gasped as they felt a gust of wind blow past them. In the next instant, Chen¡¯an was sailing over the sandpit. He landed with a thud, his toes grazing the edge of the pit. Everyone gaped¨Cthen exploded into an uproar. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone jump from one end of the sandpit to another without even using the springboard!¡± ¡°He said he was a lousy jumper, but I thought he¡¯d at least know the rules of long jump.¡± ¡°Who cares? Look at the length of that pit!¡± ¡°It must be at least 7m!¡± ¡°Gao Chao¡¯s record is only 6.5m, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re blind. Chen¡¯an¡¯s still one footstep away from the end of the pit. He didn¡¯t beat Gao Chao,¡± one of the sports student¡¯s fans piped up in his defense. ¡°Big deal,¡± someone jeered. ¡°Three of your footsteps might not be worth 50cm.¡± The student stood, stunned, before lunging at the other boy in rage and humiliation. The crowd ignored them as they broke out into a tussle. They were too focused on Chen¡¯an, who had stepped out of the sandpit, cursing the sand in his shoes. ¡°Isn¡¯t this pit a little short? I nearly landed on the track.¡± [Your jump has dealt a heavy mental blow to Athlete Gao Chao. His current Lifeblood: -30] [Your jump has shocked Cheerleader Zhen Dani, denting her view of Athlete Gao Chao¡¯s abilities. Her current Lifeblood: -25] Gao Chao had already been reeling from Chen¡¯an¡¯s jump. The other boy¡¯s remark hit his confidence directly where it hurt. [Your comment has hit a vital spot of Athlete Gao Chao, dealing critical damage. His current Lifeblood: -60] [Congratulations on defeating Athlete Gao Chao. You have gained 12 experience points and 24 gold coins.] The monster icon over Gao Chao¡¯s head faded, and Chen¡¯an turned his attention away from his latest victim. He was just leaving to search for more targets when a girl rushed up to him, her cheeks pink. ¡°Hello! My name is Zhen Dani. I¡¯m a senior from Class 12. Everyone calls me ¡®Salamander¡¯. Can you let me watch every time you jump in the future?¡± Zhen Dani was pretty, but a glance at the monster icon above her head was all it took to remind Chen¡¯an that it would be a waste not to kill her. ¡°Hi there.¡± Chen¡¯an smiled. ¡°My name is Chu Huangzhen. Everyone calls me ¡®know-it-all¡¯.¡± Zhen Dani stared at him and asked in confusion, ¡°Isn¡¯t your name Chen¡¯an?¡± ¡°Oh, you know my name. That¡¯s alright, then.¡± Chen¡¯an waved a hand dismissively. [Your dismissive attitude has made Cheerleader Zhen Dani doubt her ability to win over athletes. Her current Lifeblood: -25.] [Cheerleader Zhen Dani feels insecure about her looks, dealing her a mental blow. Her current Lifeblood: -30.] [Congratulations on defeating Cheerleader Zhen Dani. You have gained 10 experience points and 20 gold coins.] Chen¡¯an froze. She died so easily? She had been the easiest monster to defeat on the entire field; even a hundred of her wouldn¡¯t cause him to break a sweat. Chen¡¯an looked past Zhen Dani to the other Cheerleaders standing nearby. They must have thought he and Zhen Dani had come to an agreement, because they shrieked his name one by one. He waved back in response, riling them up even more. If there weren¡¯t so many people present, they would have swarmed Chen¡¯an immediately. Just as they were about to explode from excitement, Chen¡¯an shouted, ¡°Lu Gang, over here!¡± The Cheerleaders stopped screaming abruptly. [You ignored Li Dandan¡¯s screams and made her doubt her ability to win over athletes. Her current Lifeblood: -25] [You ignored the group of Cheerleaders¡­] Confusion filled the Cheerleaders as they turned around and saw Lu Gang. [Cheerleader Li Dandan¡¯s confidence has suffered a double blow. Her current Lifeblood: -45] Notifications flooded in, informing him of the damage that had been dealt to the horde of Cheerleaders. [Congratulations on defeating a group of Cheerleaders. You have gained 10 experience points and 20 gold coins.] As expected, killing these monsters was truly gratifying! Chapter 18 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios After killing the Cheerleaders, Chen¡¯an left the sandpit in the direction of the high jumpers. Jiang Min pulled Gao Tianjie along and followed Chen¡¯an, a contented smile on her face. Chen¡¯an had rejected those girls from other classes! Lu Gang was still dumbfounded at being called over by Chen¡¯an. Before he could question his friend, he was dragged over to the high jumpers. ¡°What, one kind of jump isn¡¯t enough for you?¡± ¡°Exactly. And why not?¡± ¡°Yes, but look at that sports student. He seems to be packing up already.¡± Taken aback, Chen¡¯an turned around and saw the sports student packing up his jumping equipment in a hurry. No¨Cit wasn¡¯t time for a break yet. How dare he slack off? ¡°Hey, why are you leaving when you haven¡¯t even practiced your high jump?¡± Chen¡¯an rushed forward and pulled the sports student back. The sports student had personally witnessed Chen¡¯an defeat Pan Yuguan and Gao Chao. When he saw Chen¡¯an walking towards him, he decided to spare himself certain embarrassment and leave before he could be issued any sort of challenge. He hadn¡¯t expected that Chen¡¯an would be so shameless as to approach him directly. Chen¡¯an didn¡¯t look like he was leaving anytime soon, so he blurted out desperately, ¡°I stayed up too late jerking off. I¡¯m not at my best today, so I¡¯m resting earlier.¡± Chen¡¯an blinked at him. You were shouting so enthusiastically during the race, now you¡¯re telling me you¡¯re too tired to train? No¨Che wasn¡¯t having it. Even if he was telling the truth, Chen¡¯an had to straighten him out. ¡°Can¡¯t you just push on like a man?¡± he pressed. ¡°I¡¯m still a boy, so, no. Sorry.¡± The sports student ran off without looking back. [Athlete Bao Kaisai received a shock from you. His current Lifeblood: -15] Chen¡¯an winced, at a loss for words, as a potential victim ran away from him. The monsters in this dungeon were too smart. They actually knew to retreat before they lost too much Lifeblood! He had no choice but to select another target. However, the sports students whose specialties lay on the track ran away as soon as Chen¡¯an drew near. Only those sports students whose talents belonged on the field continued to train calmly. On the field, strength and skill were what mattered, and with Chen¡¯an¡¯s slight frame, he was sure to lack at least the former. Naturally, they didn¡¯t panic¨Cwhich suited Chen¡¯an just fine, since he hadn¡¯t set his sights on them. There weren¡¯t many monsters left to kill in the dungeon. Moreover, the forty-five minutes of gym class were almost over. Unfortunately, most of Alpha Athlete¡¯s Lifeblood was still intact, even though the dungeon simulation was about to end. In fact, his health had recovered almost to its maximum level. Dammit. This meant that the dungeon BOSS¡¯s Lifeblood automatically restored itself. He decided to steer clear of his gym teacher before he had leveled up. Otherwise, he might be killed. The bell rang, signifying the end of gym class. [Congratulations on completing Micro Dungeon [Gym Class]. You have killed a total of 24 ordinary monsters, 4 special monsters, 2 elite monsters, and 0 leader monsters.] [Main task: Completed] [Number of side tasks completed: 6] [Rate of increase in rewards, based on your performance: 60%] [You have gained 100 experience points, 200 gold coins, and 1 (160%) micro dungeon treasure chest.] The only pity was that he hadn¡¯t leveled up. He opened his updated attributes panel. [Experience: 168/200] If he had managed to kill more Athletes and Cheerleaders, he might be at Level 5 now. Currently, the only items available in the system store were Level 1 beginner potions. He estimated that the next time a new item would be opened was when he reached Level 5. In addition, he had already earned 464 gold coins, which meant he could buy a total of 23 different bottles of potions. So far, Chen¡¯an hadn¡¯t tested the effects of a mini health potion, or a mini energy potion. There were too many people in school; he would have to wait till he was alone at noon. He had been occupied this afternoon with the treasure chest, and tomorrow was Saturday, so he had to go home right after finishing his morning classes. He would just have to test the potions at home. *** The students reluctantly made their way back to class. When they passed by Chen¡¯an, they all greeted him with a newfound respect. They knew he had stood up for Lu Gang earlier, raising Chen¡¯an in their esteem. They had also witnessed how he had challenged the other sports students; Pan Yuguan had left too early, so Chen¡¯an had taken out his frustration on his peers. Who wouldn¡¯t want him on their side? Chen¡¯an smiled warmly at his classmates¡¯ enthusiasm. When they reached the classroom, the teacher of their next lesson was already distributing their test papers. They spent the rest of the day going through their scripts. Other than his poor English and Chinese results, Chen¡¯an was among the top fifteen students in his class. There were quite a number of stellar pupils in Class 37, so it was considered a decent ranking; his grades were stable. Meanwhile, news of Chen¡¯an¡¯s feats spread amongst the sports students¨Cparticularly his race with Pan Yuguan. Pan Yuguan had been the catalyst for the whole incident, so he received many strange looks from his peers, especially since he had all but fled the field earlier. He fought not to wither under their scrutiny as his hatred for Chen¡¯an swelled. Finally, he stormed out of the sports hall, anger churning in his gut. After he left, the other sports students exchanged confused glances. The bell had already rung; maybe he was going to the field to continue training? Chapter 19 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios There were three regular classes and a period for self-study in the afternoon. Chen¡¯an¡¯s enhanced mental sharpness was a boon to him throughout all of them. In general, classes were no longer an ordeal for him, even if they were Chinese and English. After their third afternoon class ended, the entire third-year cohort commenced their self-study, during which students could choose to revise content in their books or complete their homework. Chen¡¯an went with the former, opening his English textbook. Beside him, Lu Gang had ceased playing games on his phone and begun working on a physics paper. Although Lu Gang¡¯s overall results were slightly beneath Chen An¡¯s, they were relatively on par when it came to physics and mathematics. Every day, he would complete his physics and mathematics homework on time. As for English and Chinese, he would copy Gao Tianjie or Jiang Min¡¯s homework; the two girls¡¯ language prowess far exceeded both of theirs. If only they could marry their complementary skills together¨Ceven if they couldn¡¯t make it into Imperial College, they would have plenty of choices. It was a problem for many of their classmates, unfortunately; not many students in Class 37 could boast about being all-rounders. The entire class slowly fell into the rigor of their own self-study. Even the weaker students like Lu Gang had their preferred subjects to work on. The atmosphere of learning was almost immersive, and time flew by quickly. Only when the period drew to a close did people begin to stir. Even if their form teacher surprised them with an inspection, he would be disappointed. As everyone waited for the bell to ring, a figure appeared in the corridor outside the classroom. The student seated near the front door had been keeping an eye out for him, so he instantly went alert. He looked back at Chen¡¯an, anxiety gnawing at his heart. ¡°Chen¡¯an,¡± he called in a low voice. ¡°I think Pan Yuguan is here for you.¡± Everyone¡¯s heads turned to Chen¡¯an, and he slowly lifted his eyes from his textbook. Pan Yuguan stood in the doorway. He couldn¡¯t spot Chen¡¯an, who was seated all the way at the back, but it didn¡¯t hurt to remind the rest of them who they were dealing with. He hurled his basketball to the ground with a loud thump, causing everyone¡¯s gazes to snap to him. ¡°Tell Chen¡¯an to meet me on the basketball court after the period ends.¡± With that, he walked away, leaving them to the uproar that gradually rose to life amongst them. He had no doubt his challenge had left an impression on them. *** Lu Gang looked at Chen¡¯an worriedly. ¡°I think he¡¯s challenging you to a basketball match.¡± His voice was quiet, laced with guilt at having implicated his friend. ¡°Oh, trust me, he is,¡± Chen¡¯an replied. ¡°What do we do? You¡¯re a little better than me at basketball, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a match for a sports student¡­ right?¡± Chen¡¯an side-eyed him. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised. No offense, but I could take on ten of you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about those basketball games we used to play in the arcade.¡± ¡°Screw off.¡± They shared a laugh before Lu Gang turned serious. ¡°Everyone going to the cafeteria has to pass by the basketball court. Pan Yuguan wants to humiliate you in front of the entire school. Is he an asshole or what?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say so. But we don¡¯t know for sure that he¡¯s better than me.¡± Not to brag, but Chen¡¯an had played plenty of ball games since graduation: table tennis, volleyball, and football. Of course, they were all different from each other and basketball, but it was better than nothing. On the other hand, Pan Yuguan was just a high school student; how much experience could he have? Although, Chen¡¯an had to admit, most of his time playing basketball had been limited to high school and university. His confidence was contagious. Lu Gang¡¯s excitement flared to life. ¡°That¡¯s true. If you beat Pan Yuguan, he won¡¯t have the guts to bother you again!¡± Chen¡¯an pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯ve been starving all afternoon. He can wait on the court, unless he can find someone to indulge him in a match in the meantime. We¡¯ll eat first.¡± The bell rang, and they immediately headed out by the back door, knowing full well of the congestion that tended to happen at the front door. *** As it turned out, using one¡¯s brain was more taxing than most people gave it credit for¨Cespecially since Chen¡¯an had run 1km and participated in a 200m sprint earlier. His stomach was growling. If he hadn¡¯t eaten Gao Tianjie¡¯s melon-flavored chips after their second period, he would probably have been too hungry to revise English during their self-study class. It was a pity that the canteen vendor¡¯s hands were shaking non-stop, turning her braised pork with a spoonful of bamboo shoots into mere broth. Fortunately, Lu Gang was big-hearted enough to use his meal card to buy Chen¡¯an a large chicken drumstick, as thanks for having his back today. Needless to say, Chen¡¯an was pleased. He was less gratified when he turned around and saw Lu Gang happily munching on three large drumsticks. He stared at his friend, unamused. *** As they enjoyed their food and the warmth of the cafeteria, a lone figure waited on the basketball court. It was mid-March, so it was chilly, and the sun set earlier than usual, which meant that what had been a pleasantly cool breeze had turned into a bone-bitingly cold wind. A sneeze pierced the silence. ¡°Damn that Chen¡¯an! Why isn¡¯t he here yet?¡± In order to lend his skills the most optimal conditions, Pan Yuguan had donned his sports attire. If the match had started, he wouldn¡¯t have felt the cold¨Cbut here he was, standing alone in the cold wind. Another sneeze. ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t show his face?¡± Between sniffs, Pan Yuguan surveyed the students streaming by. There were too many of them; he couldn¡¯t find Chen¡¯an. It wasn¡¯t until students started returning after finishing their meals did Pan Yuguan realize he¡¯d been stood up. ¡°How dare that bastard make me look like an idiot!¡± Chapter 20 - The Effect of Dual Cultivation Chapter 20 The Effect of Dual Cultivation Half a month passed in a flash. There were a few iron stakes in the courtyard of the dojo and muffled sounds of hitting the stakes could be heard repeatedly. Wang Yu¡¯s figure quickly shuttled back and forth between these iron stakes. His punches were sometimes fast, sometimes fierce, and sometimes soft, leaving deep or shallow marks in those iron stakes. If one paid close attention, he would discover a specific pattern in Wang Yu¡¯s footsteps. The rhythm of his footsteps was controlled perfectly, turning into a cycle. +3, +5, +2, +4, +5¡­ On his feet and fists, Skill Proficiency popped up from time to time. Only when his stamina was exhausted did Wang Yu, who was covered in sweat, stop this round of training. At this moment, his flushed skin gradually returned to its normal color after the effects of the blood pork faded. ¡°This way, it¡¯s all here!¡± Wang Yu thought to himself. He picked up the towel at the side to wipe himself and took a look at his personal interface. Name: Wang Yu Race: Human Cultivation: Body Tempering Level Three Martial arts: Shadowless Fist+3, Hong Family Fist+1, Soft Yin Palm Technique+1, Unfalling Bell Technique+1, Zu Clan¡¯s Wind Chasing Kick+1 At the Nightsleepers¡¯ Gathering, he spent a lot of money to buy a total of four incomplete body tempering techniques. With the continuous consumption of precious pork, he reached the first level of all four body tempering techniques in just half a month. This was done without delaying the daily accumulation of proficiency of the Shadowless Fist. This cultivation speed was simply superb. The set of circulating steps he had just practiced between the iron stakes was the most effective cultivation method he had figured out himself. In the process of circulating, the proficiency of every body tempering technique he had learned had increased, so he would not lose sight of one. In addition, he initially thought that it was only for the first level of the Body Tempering Technique. No matter how much he practiced, it would not increase his Body Tempering cultivation and physique. It would not even affect his strength. Only when these body tempering techniques were cultivated and gradually caught up to the level of the Shadowless Fist would they truly be of use. And the situation was more or less as he had expected When he cultivated these Body Tempering Techniques to the first level, his overall strength almost did not increase. After all, the Shadowless Fist had already tempered his body, and his physical strength was no longer ordinary. But there were also some discrepancies. The final goal of every body tempering technique was to increase the cultivation, allowing the body to break through its limits and continuously strengthen itself. As for this process, the body tempering technique he cultivated was different, so the emphasis would also be different. Take his Shadowless Fist for example. When his cultivation level increased and his body underwent a transformation, the strengthening of his arms would be especially significant. They would be tacitly strengthened in the way that was most suitable to unleash the Shadowless Fist. This allowed his punches to be faster than martial artists of the same realm. Until it evolved to the final sixth level, Shadowless Ghost Hands! As a result, when Hong Family Fist broke through to the first level, his arms once again felt numb and hot. This was a feeling that only appeared when his cultivation level increased. Although this itch was very minor, it was indeed there. After the numbness subsided, he tried punching again. It was still as fast as the wind, but the wind from his punch became stronger. It was as if even the strength of his punch had increased. That was undoubtedly the part that surprised him. Similarly, the flexibility of the Soft Yin Palm Technique also merged into his punches, making his attacks a little confusing for the opponents. The Unfalling Bell Technique was a body tempering technique that emphasized transforming strength. It emphasized attacking and defending as one, as well as deflecting force. This body tempering technique did not improve him. However, the descriptions in it made him feel enlightened. The last skill, the Zu Clan Wind Chasing Foot, improved his leg technique and speed. Originally, the Shadowless Fist had its own movement technique, but compared to this body tempering technique that focused on leg techniques, it was far inferior. Based on his current feelings, this leg technique had improved him the most. ¡°But it¡¯s not enough.¡± Wang Yu looked quite excited. This was only the effect of the first level of the body tempering technique. If it reached the second or even third level, the effect on his combat strength would definitely be considerable. At noon, Wang Yu prepared to go out for a meal as usual to rest and relax. After training hard for an entire morning, his body would ache and his energy would be lost. It was still very important to recover his body at the right time. When he walked to the courtyard, he saw the commotion outside. ¡°Congratulations, Eldest Senior Brother. You¡¯re really amazing!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Such a young martial artist who reached the fourth level of Body Tempering! You have a promising future!¡± ¡°I wonder what Eldest Senior Brother plans to do in the future. Would he go out and start his own business or join a powerful family? I heard that the Fortune Trading Company and the Li Family in the island town have already invited Eldest Senior Brother to join them.¡± ¡°In my opinion, he should just join the army and fight for our country. That¡¯s what we should do!¡± II 11 Song Hezheng was surrounded by the disciples. From their words, Wang Yu roughly understood the situation. Song He had accumulated a lot of experiences and found the opportunity to break through. After training for more than half a month, he finally completed his breakthrough. His fist technique reached the fourth level, and his cultivation broke through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm. At the age of 28, he could indeed be considered a young talent. It should be noted that martial artists at the fourth level of Body Tempering were qualified to open a martial arts school and become a master. From then on, there was a subtle distance between Song and the other disciples. After Wang Yu understood the situation, he also smiled and went forward to congratulate Song. Wang Yu admired this Eldest Senior Brother from the bottom of his heart as he was all-rounded with a good personality. When he first began learning martial arts, he also received a lot of help from Song Hezheng. ¡°Hahaha, Hezheng, you really didn¡¯t disappoint me. You broke through just like that!¡± In the inner room, Sun Chengshan, who had heard the news, laughed and walked over. He was also extremely satisfied with his eldest disciple. Not only did his cultivation speed increase with age but his other conditions were also outstanding. ¡°This is all thanks to Master¡¯s guidance. You brought me to where I am today.¡± Song Hezheng had already finished celebrating. His expression was calm and respectful. He was neither arrogant nor rash. He did not become complacent from his current martial arts achievements. This made Sun Chengshan even more satisfied. Then, he looked at Wang Yu. Among the disciples, these two were really outstanding. He was relieved in every way. After a while, Sun Chengshan dismissed the other disciples, leaving Song Hezheng and Wang Yu behind. Only then did he turn serious and look at Song ¡°Hezheng, since you¡¯ve already cultivated the fourth level of the Shadowless Fist, you¡¯re qualified to graduate. Do you have other plans in the future?¡± Sung Hezheng was stunned at first, then shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m obsessed with martial arts and won¡¯t go anywhere else. I want to continue cultivating in the dojo.¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re not going anywhere?¡± Sun Chengshan looked surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± Song nodded firmly. ¡°I heard that there are many people recruiting you outside. Even Chief Zheng has some thoughts about inviting you over. You will have access to more cultivation resources than staying in the dojo,¡± Sun Chengshan said honestly. Sung Hezheng hesitated for a moment, but finally said, ¡°I¡¯m different from the other disciples. Master took me in even before the dojo was established. I feel at ease staying by Master¡¯s side.¡± That was what he really thought deep down. Sun Chengshan shook his head. Song treated him like a father. Their relationship was indeed deeper than that of the other disciples. ¡°Forget it. Whether you stay or leave, it¡¯s up to you to decide. Speaking of which, it¡¯s indeed a little troublesome without you in the dojo,¡± Sun Chengshan said with a smile. ¡°Thank you, master,¡± Song said gratefully. Chapter 21 - Graduation Chapter 21 Graduation Three days passed after Song Hezheng broke through. Ji Fei, who had been recuperating in the medical center, returned. And brought back one of his decisions. ¡°You said you were leaving?¡± Sun Chengshan frowned as Ji Fei returned. Not much emotion was shown on Ji Fei¡¯s face as he nodded. ¡°Yes. The Fortune Trading Company came to me earlier and asked me to go over and work for them. I agreed.¡± Sun Chengshan looked a little unhappy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you inform me in advance about such a big matter?¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t at the martial arts school at that time either. I was afraid that I would delay them for too long, so I agreed first.¡± Ji Fei¡¯s face was still calm as he stared at Sun Chengshan and said slowly. Sun Chengshan also looked at him, and his expression changed. In the end, he sighed and said, ¡°With your aptitude, you could have taken the Shadowless Fist a step further. It would have been a better choice to leave then.¡± Only then will you have the leverage to hold on to. Make the other party value you so that you can gain more benefits.¡± Jifei said nothing. He had not come back to discuss anything with his master, Sun Chengshan, but only to inform him of this matter. ¡°You¡¯re just too impetuous. Forget it. I know you won¡¯t listen. Then go.¡± Sun Chengshan shook his head. ¡°Alright, thank you for your guidance, Master. I won¡¯t forget you,¡± Ji Fei said calmly, nodding ¡°Remember, the outside world is not like our dojo. Always be careful when you encounter people.¡± In the end, Sun Chengshan could not help but remind him. ¡°I know.¡± With that, Jifei knelt and kowtowed three times to Sun Chengshan. Then, he got up and strode out of the room without any hesitation. He did not bid his farewell to any of the disciples and left the dojo that he had been with day and night. Another two months have passed. On this day, Wang Yu repeated his routine day after day. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Yu stopped for a while as he felt the heat in his body gradually fade. ¡°Why is the effect of the blood pork shorter today?¡± He frowned slightly but did not think too much about it. He picked out a large piece of steamed blood pork from the small plate beside him and ate it in two bites. The taste of the blood pork was relatively hard, and it usually carried a strong smell of blood. It was really difficult for ordinary people to swallow. It was only because Wang Yu ate it every day that he was used to it. After eating another piece of blood pork, the heat in his body quickly surged again, filling every part of his body. Feeling hot all over, Wang Yu simply took off his clothes. He was bare-chested and straight as a pine tree, revealing his strong muscles. The shapes were distinct. They did not look exaggerated, but they were extremely sturdy and contained immense explosive power. Compared to before he started practicing martial arts, it was as if he had changed to a different body. Under the constant nourishment of the blood pork, even his height had increased greatly in the past two months. He looked slender and was almost 1.9 meters tall. His temperament was no longer gloomy and cold. Instead, it was as fiery as the sun. At the age of 18, he turned into a handsome young man in his prime. It was no wonder that recently, he could not keep a low profile even if he wanted to. The female disciples in the dojo who used to look down on him often paid attention to him. From time to time, they would come over to ask him for guidance on the basis of discussing fist techniques. This made him feel troublesome. He might as well spend most of his time in the inner courtyard practicing his boxing. Under the continuous effects of the blood pork, Wang Yu continued to punch. Suddenly, an idea flashed across his mind. He put down all the other body tempering techniques and focused on practicing Shadowless Fist. Gradually, the feeling of enlightenment became stronger. His face was red and excited. His eyes lit up. It could be faster! It could be stronger! This is far from my physical limit! The effect of the blood pork in his body was being squeezed out, and the heat was becoming more intense, repeatedly washing through his limbs and bones. His muscles, bones, and meridians were all changing, and this change was happening faster and faster. Just as Wang Yu was getting excited, the effect of the blood pork that he had just eaten was squeezed dry. ¡°It¡¯s not enough!¡± Wang Yu moved like a gust of wind and ate the remaining three pieces of pork on the plate. In the past, such a piece of bloody pork could last for at least half a day. But now, it was gone in the blink of an eye. Clearly, today was different! Repeating the path of the Shadowless Fist again and again, his punches became more fierce and faster. He kept hitting each iron stake, and the muffled sounds became louder and louder. Suddenly, Wang Yu¡¯s mind went blank. In the next moment, a cooling sensation seeped out from his spine and spread throughout his body. It was like a basin of ice water pouring on his body in the August heat. Only then did his overheated body temperature ease up. Then, his entire body felt as if he had been electrocuted. The process took about ten minutes before relieving ¡°This feeling!¡± Wang Yu retracted his fist and looked at his hands with bright eyes. On the iron stake in front of him, there was a clear fist mark. The dent was at least a centimeter deep. The fourth level of Body Tempering! This was the only thought in Wang Yu¡¯s mind. ¡°Although I felt that the day of the breakthrough was approaching, I didn¡¯t expect it to be today. It¡¯s much earlier than expected.¡± He thought to himself, but he could not hide his smile. He went to the bathroom to wash away the filth that was secreted from his body. When he came out again, he felt refreshed. His body grew stronger from the inside out. The difficulty of cultivating from the third to the fourth level of Body Tempering increased exponentially. After the corresponding breakthrough, the changes in his body could be said to be earth-shattering. His physique was as tough as iron, and his blood was as vigorous as fire. It was impossible for ordinary colds and illnesses to attack him anymore. This feeling of rebirth was indescribable to Wang Yu. It was no wonder that one could officially graduate upon reaching the fourth level of Body Tempering. The first three levels of Body Tempering were only for disciples. The difference between the two was too great. No matter how smart and skilled the disciple was. However, his physique was completely suppressed by the old master in all aspects. He probably couldn¡¯t even withstand a slap. How could he compare¡­ ¡°If I had a specific attribute value, after advancing to the fourth level of Body Tempering, my strength, agility, defense, and mental strength would probably have doubled.¡± Wang Yu muttered after feeling in his new body. That night, it was time for the dividends again. In Sun Chengshan¡¯s inner room, the three of them gathered again. In the past two months, Second Brother Meng had been like an old tree coming back to life. Ever since they moved to town, the family of three had been living quite comfortably. They also had a considerable amount of savings that could be used to make plans for the future. Unlike Wang Yu and Sun Chengshan, who had spent their share of the mining profits in the blink of an eye immediately after receiving them. ¡°The second round of purple coal ore was also sold to the garrison. The output this time is much higher than in the beginning. The total profit is about 300,000 dollars¡­¡± As usual, Sun Chengshan reported the results. This time, Wang Yu received about 45,000 crystal dollars. Second Brother Meng, on the other hand, received about 60,000 crystal dollars. Sun Chengshan had most of the share. All three were satisfied. Second Brother Meng did not even know how to spend this huge sum of money. Wang Yu only told him to be careful of thieves and not to be too ostentatious. After all, the current environment was not that peaceful. After Second Brother Meng left, Wang Yu remained in Sun Chengshan¡¯s room. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve reached the fourth level of Shadowless Fist,¡± Wang Yu suddenly said. Sun Chengshan, who had just taken a sip of tea, almost spat it out. IIII He instinctively thought that Wang Yu was joking, but on second thought, Wang Yu had never joked with him about cultivation. ¡°Really!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Again there was an eerie silence. Sun Chengshan felt a little bitter. Back then, it took him six years to break through to the fourth level of the Shadowless Fist. As for Wang Yu, this little brat¡­ Chapter 22 - Intense Heat Chapter 22 Intense Heat ¡°Yu, your breakthrough this time is really¡­ unexpected.¡± After the shock, Sun Chengshan didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment. In less than a year, he had reached the fourth level of Body Tempering. The world was too crazy, and the joys and sorrows between people were completely different. Wang Yu didn¡¯t mind and nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it either. I thought it would take ten more days or half a month more to break through.¡± Sun Chengshan silently turned around and recalled the years of bitter cultivation. His eyes were filled with sadness. Geniuses were like this. They cultivated within days. ¡°Master, I¡¯m almost out of blood pork. When will the Nightsleepers¡¯ Gathering be held again?¡± Wang Yu asked. After trying the efficiency of this precious ingredient, it was boring to return to his original punching speed. It just so happened that he received another share of the purple coal ore, so he wanted to get more precious ingredients with the money. Sun Chengshan shook his head and said, ¡°Usually, after the gathering has been held in an area, they won¡¯t hold it again for at least half a year. Our place is remote. Sometimes it¡¯s normal to not see them for a year or two.¡± His response disappointed Wang Yu. ¡°Then can you spare some time to spar with me for an hour or two every day?¡± Wang Yu immediately took a step back and applied for a sparring session. ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. You¡¯re currently at the fourth level of Body Tempering, so you can almost compete with me.¡± Sun Chengshan agreed very readily this time. In his heart, he wanted to bully Wang Yu before he completely rose up. With Wang Yu¡¯s speed of growth in cultivation, it would be difficult for him to teach Wang Yu in the future. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Wang Yu did not know what Sun Chengshan was thinking. Even if he knew, he wouldn¡¯t care so much. After all, in his eyes, his master, Sun Chengshan, was also an awesome source of points. ¡°However, you can graduate with your current cultivation level, aren¡¯t you going out to explore?¡± Sun Chengshan asked as usual. Wang Yu thought for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m still very weak now, and there¡¯s still room for improvement. I can stay in the dojo and become stronger safely. Why should I go out and take risks?¡± Hearing this, Sun Chengshan did not know what to say. Ji Fei was clearly talented, but he was very impetuous and did not listen to advice. In the end, he disappeared before he could master martial arts. As for his junior disciple, Wang Yu, he was a martial arts genius. His personality was stable and obedient, but his weakness was that he was too obedient. He looked like he wanted to train until he was invincible before going out. The two of them were at two extremes. It was no wonder that these two disciples did not interact much at the dojo. They could not possibly get along at all. ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Sun said, shaking his head. He left the inner room with his hands behind his back. He was going to check on the other disciples¡¯ martial arts practice and also patrol the mine. It was his daily routine. December, Year 772 of the Blue Star Calendar. Broken Star No. 5 did not have a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. The temperature here was unpredictable. For the time being, humans had yet to figure out a pattern. He only knew that the climate here was affected by other celestial bodies outside the planet and was also closely related to the quality of the star veins in the core. In the last month of the year, intense heat came instead. On the surface of the Silver Belt Sea, waves of heat rolled over from nowhere, covering more than 30 islands of various sizes, including Island 732. The temperature rose rapidly in a few days and the residents of the island town complained. Even the disciples who had just entered the dojo could not withstand the heat and reduced the intensity of their daily training to prevent their bodies from being unable to withstand it or accidentally dehydrating. Even with Wang Yu¡¯s strong physique, he still felt uncomfortable under this high temperature. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s above 40 degrees.¡± Wang Yu was bare-chested in the inner courtyard. He felt that even breathing in the air could make his lungs burn. ¡°Junior Brother, I think we should forget about today¡¯s sparring session,¡± Song Hezheng quickly suggested. However, Wang Yu rejected him mercilessly. ¡°That won¡¯t do. Senior Brother, if you don¡¯t cultivate for a day, it¡¯ll be like sailing against the current. If you don¡¯t advance, you¡¯ll fall behind.¡± Song was beginning to sweat. It would be fine if it was a sparring session between ordinary disciples. However, when practicing with Wang Yu, he always had to focus and go all out. It was as if he was really experiencing a life-and-death battle. Usually, after training, he would be physically and mentally exhausted. Occasionally, he would even have some bruises on his body. Once or twice was fine, but in the long run, Song Hezheng would not be able to take it. Not only him, but even Sun Chengshan also could not withstand Wang Yu¡¯s bombardment. He hid at the mine from time to time and threw Song Hezheng to practice with Wang Yu. Song Hezheng was still trying to survive, but Wang Yu had already taken a stance. ¡°Senior Brother, be careful!¡± With a shout, Wang Yu exerted strength in his hind legs and rushed towards Song Hezheng. A hot wind gusted on his trouser. He kicked out first. Bang! Song hurriedly raised his arm to block, and a force with an internal spin followed Wang Yu¡¯s leg and slapped his arm. Immediately, a wave of pain and numbness appeared, making him feel that his Junior Brother seemed to have become stronger in just a few days. Song gathered their strength and punched back with their right fists. With a tap of his toes, Wang Yu gracefully retreated into the air, avoiding Song Hezheng¡¯s attack. He was using the Zu Clan¡¯s Wind Chasing Foot. Although it was the first leg technique he had cultivated so his proficiency did not increase so quickly, he had already reached the second level of the cultivation technique yesterday. It was already enough to be used in an actual combat. After all, although he had only cultivated his leg technique to the second level, his physical strength was at the fourth level of Body Tempering As a result, the power of his leg technique was much stronger than that of other martial artists who had practiced the Zu Clan¡¯s Wind Chasing Kick to the second level alone. It was the kind that could crush their cultivation. Song didn¡¯t want to stop there. He ran after her. The fourth level of Shadowless Fist struck out, instantly turning into a bunch of black shadows. Seeing this, Wang Yu was delighted. He also circulated the fourth level of the Shadowless Fist and countered Song Hezheng¡¯s moves. For a moment, there were many shadows if their fists between the two of them. In the blink of an eye, they had over 10 exchanges. ¡°Good, good, good. Looks like Senior Brother¡¯s cultivation has also improved during this period of time. This Shadowless Fist is really powerful.¡± Wang Yu grinned. Even if it was just daily training, as both of them were going all out, he could still fight until his blood boiled. Only such practices were meaningful to him and could maximize the increase in proficiency. If Song went easy on Wang Yu and did not use his full strength, his proficiency would be greatly reduced. It would not even be as fast as him forging iron stakes. While Wang Yu was fighting excitedly, Song Hezheng was secretly complaining. He had indeed comprehended and improved on the Shadowless Fist recently, but when facing this junior brother in front of him, he felt even more powerless. It couldn¡¯t be helped. After this period of hard work, the few martial arts that Wang Yu cultivated were already quite effective. At this moment, it greatly increased Wang Yu¡¯s combat strength. THUD! Wang Yu suddenly threw a straight punch. The sudden force hit Song He¡¯s palm, causing him to stagger two steps back as if he had been electrocuted. As Wang Yu stepped forward, Song Hezheng was enduring the discomfort in his arm. He gritted his teeth and counterattacked, but was blocked by Wang Yu¡¯s soft palm technique. The force on his fist was reduced by more than half. Wang Yu reached out and grabbed Song Hezheng¡¯s wrist, taking the opportunity to exert force. Song lost his balance and almost fell to the ground. Chapter 23 Chapter 23 ¡°I lost this round again, Junior Brother,¡± Song said helplessly although he wasn¡¯t depressed He seemed to have gotten used to losing to Wang Yu. His personality was not the competitive type, so he did not mind. Wang Yu also stopped at the right time. ¡°Thank you for letting me win. Senior Brother is much better than me in terms of Shadowless Fist.¡± Song shook his head and squeezed his sore arm. ¡°Junior Brother¡¯s Shadowless Fist is sometimes fast and sometimes fierce. Why is it so? ¡°Your leg technique is special too. It doesn¡¯t seem to come from the system of the Shadowless Fist. It seemed even more agile and flexible. Could this be a unique insight you developed yourself? If that¡¯s the case, you are really talented.¡± Song was overcome with emotions. Wang Yu shook his head and said with a smile, ¡°this is just some minor moves that I learned from other body tempering techniques. I think it¡¯s not bad to integrate it into the combat. It¡¯s just some unorthodox tricks that I cultivated alongside the Shadowless Fist. I didn¡¯t figure it out myself.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Song Hezheng was enlightened. Then he said, ¡°Even so, Junior Brother¡¯s perception is really impressive.¡± ¡°Even if others want to cultivate other body tempering techniques, they might not be able to achieve as much as Junior Brother and use them so freely in combats.¡± Wang Yu smiled and did not continue the conversation. After all, this was not something he had comprehended himself. It was just that he had mastered these body tempering techniques naturally when his proficiency was at its maximum. ¡°In that case, did you also pick up the soft palm technique and that deflecting technique from other body tempering techniques?¡± ¡°Yes, those too.¡± The two of them reflected on this practice, and then Wang Yu invited Song Hezheng to start the second round. Only when Song was exhausted did the sparring session end. Now, in the entire dojo, only Sun Chengshan and the Eldest Senior Brother could satisfy Wang Yu¡¯s needs to train for cultivation. Training with the other disciples was not even as effective as with the iron stakes. After sending Song Hezheng off, Wang Yu looked at his personal interface. Not long ago, he had just cultivated the Zu Clan¡¯s Wind Chasing Foot to the second level. The proficiency of his leg technique was the most difficult among all the body tempering techniques he had cultivated. Next was the Indestructible Bell Technique, which was both offensive and defensive, and the Soft Yin Palm Technique. He had only cultivated these three techniques to the second level. And the one who improved the fastest was the Hong Family Fist. There was a certain connection between fist techniques, his foundation of the Shadowless Fist made it much easier to practice the Hong Family Fist. His proficiency increased rapidly. He had already reached the third level of the cultivation technique. Its fierce and domineering fist technique complemented the ghostly speed of the Shadowless Fist. It was surprisingly compatible. This allowed Wang Yu to win against Song Hezheng, who was at the same cultivation level as him. In addition, although this booklet of Hong Family Fist technique was incomplete, it contained up till the fourth level for Wang Yu to practice. This body tempering technique was also the most expensive among those he bought. He spent 4,000 crystal dollars to buy it. Wang Yu had now realised that this purchase was very worth it. Previously, he was distressed about the money spent on it. Other than that, the Unfalling Bell Technique and Zu Clan¡¯s Wind Chasing Kick only had three levels. The incomplete Soft Yin Palm Technique only had two levels. He had already learnt all that was in the booklet. ¡°Sigh, if there¡¯s more blood pork, I can practice these few skills even faster¡­¡± Wang Yu felt deeply regretful that he did not have the money to buy more precious ingredients when he went to the Nightsleepers¡¯ Gathering that time. If he wanted to obtain a large number of precious ingredients now, he could only wait for an opportunity to try his luck. The second day in the sweltering climate. ¡°Here¡¯s my chance!¡± Sun Chengshan hurried back to the dojo, looking excited. In the inner courtyard, Wang Yu stopped practicing and looked at Sun Chengshan. Song Hezheng who was beside him looked like he had been saved. ¡°Master, you¡¯re finally back.¡± At this moment, Sun Chengshan¡¯s clothes were covered in water stains. Even his hair and beard looked wet. They were stuck to his scalp as if he had just washed them. He looked a little comical. The image of a powerful master has left him. However, Sun Chengshan did not seem to care about his image. He was only concerned with his inexplicable excitement. ¡°Master, what opportunity has come?¡± Wang Yu asked curiously. Sun Chengshan smiled and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you worry about finding precious ingredients? This is your chance to get them!¡± At this moment, Wang Yu also became energized. Song Hezheng seemed to have thought of something and immediately said in surprise, ¡°could it be that the tide of the Silver Belt Sea is coming?¡± ¡°Indeed!¡± Sun nodded. ¡°Originally, the tide of the Silver Belt Sea should have come long ago. For some reason, it was delayed by two months this year. Yesterday, a heat wave swept through several coastal waters. The source of the heat wave was the Silver Belt Sea. With such a phenomenon, the garrison immediately summoned the reconnaissance troops to the seaside. It¡¯s only today that they could conclude that the tide is coming under the heat wave!¡± Sun Chengshan was thirsty and hurriedly poured himself a pot of cold water to drink. Wang Yu silently put on a thin undershirt and waited for Sun Chengshan to continue. ¡°Every time a tide comes, it¡¯s a great thing for us martial artists in town. At that time, countless deep-sea creatures will climb up from the bottom of the sea. After surviving through the poisonous sea, they will become live precious ingredients. According to the olden rules, these deep-sea creatures belonged to whoever killed them. Among them were fresh precious ingredients that were better than blood pork! ¡°Back then, I took a fancy to a large number of precious ingredients under this tide, so I decided to settle down here and develop. The martial artists on the island will firmly grasp such a great opportunity. At that time, everyone will obtain the benefits based on their own abilities!¡± The more Sun Chengshan spoke, the more excited he became. He was quite confident in his own strength. When the time came, he would definitely benefit greatly. More importantly, his blood pork had also been exhausted. Whether he could rush to the sixth level of the Shadowless Fist in one go would depend on the harvest of this tide! No matter what, this tide was crucial to him! No wonder he was so excited. Wang Yu recalled his past memories and also had some impression of this tide. The tide of the Silver Belt Sea was more like a disaster to the ordinary people. Although the tide would only drown the beach at the edge of the island, with the worst case being that the port could be affected. The seawater could not reach the island town. However, those deep-sea creatures that came ashore often escaped into the island town. To ordinary people, these deep-sea creatures could threaten their lives. Every year, people died in the tides. Therefore, ordinary people would usually hide at home in fear when the tide came. Those monsters that crawled out of the sea would be handed over to the defending army and the martial artists in the other towns to deal with. ¡°However, this time, the tide is too strong. I¡¯m afraid the risk will be greater than in previous years. When the time comes, if you want to follow, you have to be careful and act within your capabilities. Every year, there would be many martial artists who die for their greed.¡± Wang Yu nodded. He was not a rash person. He would not approach a battle he had no confidence in. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master, I won¡¯t hold you back,¡± Song said seriously. ¡°Yes, I trust the two of you. I¡¯m just afraid that some of the young disciples in the dojo won¡¯t be able to hold back. Hezheng, when the time comes, remind them a few more times so that they are also crisis conscious.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Song agreed. However, besides his excitement, Sun Chengshan was still a little worried about his disciples. ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s best if disciples at the first level of Body Tempering don¡¯t go. Even if disciples at the second level of Body Tempering were to go, they have to stay at the edge and join forces to deal with some fish that slipped through the net. Don¡¯t go deep into the harbor and the beach. It¡¯s still too dangerous there. Coupled with the unusual heat wave this time, we don¡¯t know what will happen then¡­¡± Chapter 24 - The Garrison Chapter 24 The Garrison The various departments such as the garrison and the Security Bureau had already begun the overall deployment that very afternoon. As the news about the tide spread, the residents of the town also stopped what they were doing and prepared to gather food and supplies, and seek shelter at home. ¡°I didn¡¯t think the tide would come this year, but it did in the last month.¡± ¡°Ah, what a grind. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to worry again for the next few days.¡± ¡®I just hope we get through the year safely, too.¡¯ All the shops in town also decided to close after hearing the news. Some grain stores and butcher shops were raided by the residents and their goods were sold out immediately. It was never wrong to stock up on food when the tide came. Sun Chengshan¡¯s mine was also closed today. All the miners hurriedly returned to their homes. Second Brother Meng was also anxious. He was just an ordinary person and was also worried about the safety of his wife and children. In the end, Sun Chengshan let their family stay in the dojo for the time being. At that time, there would also be some first-stage Body Tempering disciples left in the dojo. It would at least be safer to stay here than in ordinary residential houses. That night, it was unusual for Wang Yu to finally relax and not continue cultivating. Because perhaps the tide would surge ashore the next day. He needed to prepare and adjust himself for it. At night, the island town was still very hot. There was still a lingering salty smell of seawater in the air. Under the night sky, the mist above the island town made the night seem dark. Some disciples who lived in the dojo were pretty annoyed and went into the courtyard for some fresh air. Not every room in the dojo was installed with air-conditioning. The temperature of more than 40 degrees made the entire island town feel like a furnace, burning everyone in it. Coupled with the worry about the tide, this night was destined to be difficult for everyone. Early the next morning, the rain and fog gathered into clouds, and it started to drizzle all over the sea. However, the heat wave still did not subside. Even the rain felt like a hot shower. Sun Chengshan brought Wang Yu and Song Hezheng out of the dojo, along with some second-level Body Tempering core disciples. Zhang Yi, Willow Brows, Liu Mei, Iron He, Zhang Erdan, and the others were among them. The rain fell on them and the wetness made them uncomfortable. ess made It was especially so for the women like Willow Brows and Liu Mei. They frowned and glared at the sky from time to time, as if they were complaining to the sky. Why must the climate be uncooperative at this time? There were no ordinary residents on the streets at all by this point in time. Those who were walking around were basically martial artists from the island town. From time to time, some disciples could be seen setting off in groups towards the harbor dam outside the island town. Among them was a team in tawny uniforms. Every disciple had a steel saber slung across their waists. ¡°Yo, isn¡¯t this Tiger Killing Dojo? We¡¯re old acquaintances,¡± Zhang Erdan said sarcastically at the top of his lungs. Wang Yu looked over and saw that it was really the team from the Tiger Killing Dojo. On the back of the tawny uniform was a painting of a ferocious tiger baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. It was a high-profile painting. This Tiger Killing Dojo had some grudges with them back then. The disciple of the dojo Iron He was beaten up and the female disciple Willow Brows was teased in public. These things made everyone from the dojo have a bad impression of Tiger Killing Dojo. After that, in a fit of anger, Sun Chengshan even led his men beat Wind¡¯s Aid Hall and Tiger Killing Dojo. Now that Wind¡¯s Aid Hall had been completely seized and their Master He Xuyang had also been arrested and sent to jail. There is only Tiger Killing Dojo left. Meeting them was indeed as the saying goes enemies are bound to meet. Both parties did not seem too pleased. When they saw the other party¡¯s eldest disciple Fang Shihao, their gazes were still unfriendly, especially Iron He and Willow Brows. Fang Shihao was a man with long hair. He had some looks, but his eyes were a little demonic. He did not look like a decent guy. It was rumored that he relied on his looks to seduce young women outside and even made them commit suicide for him. It was also because of him that the reputation of the entire Tiger Killing Dojo had become a little tarnished. Speaking of this, Sun Chengshan had once said that Ding Lei, the master of the Tiger Killing Dojo, was also responsible for this as he was conniving. Now, the Tiger Killing Dojo had already become one of the stepping stones for Sun Chengshan to make a name for himself. ¡°Hmph, how unlucky!¡± Ding Lei¡¯s face was cold as he stared at Sun Chengshan¡¯s team and cursed. He really wanted to get back at Sun Chengshan, but he wasn¡¯t confident that he could defeat him. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Strength was his weakness. Ding Lei tightened his saber and could only lead the team in another direction. He did not want to have any interaction with the Shadowless Fist Dojo now. ¡°Just you wait, Old Dog Sun. When I obtain the precious ingredients from the Silver Belt Sea and improve my saber technique, I¡¯ll settle this score!¡± He could only curse and roar in his heart. On the other hand, Sun Chengshan only glanced indifferently at the departing other party and did not take Ding Lei too seriously. Ding Lei¡¯s Tiger Killing Saber Technique was only at the beginning of the fifth level of Body Tempering, much weaker than his. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up with him anytime soon. And when he reached the sixth level of the fist technique, with all due respect, all the dojos on the entire island would not be enough for him! His ego was that high right now. Ever since he had hit the jackpot from the mines, his horizons had opened up. His requirements for himself were not as simple as just being an ordinary dojo master. He wanted to take another step on the path of martial arts in the future and advance to the new realm that he had dreamed of! He firmly believed that he had such a chance. If he dared to think, there was hope! When they reached the entrance of the town, they could hear the sound of waves sweeping over from afar. Rain poured off the sea like a curtain, and the dim sky admitted no sunlight. In the darkness, a huge storm enveloped the entire Silver Belt Sea region. The splitting sound of the wind was extremely shocking, as if a huge disaster had descended. Huge waves were swept high into the sky, blotting out the sky. Some of the ships docked at the port, no matter their size, had long been smashed by the huge waves and were swept into the bottom of the sea. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the environment at sea to become so harsh in just a day.¡± Sun Chengshan watched this scene with an extremely worried expression. Compared to the previous tides, the commotion this time was clearly much more terrifying Wang Yu looked past Sun Chengshan and at the other martial arts teams that had already arrived outside the town. Apart from the teams of several martial arts schools in the island town, there were also many other idle martial artists standing scattered outside the town. They were also focused on the situation in the sea. There were at least thousands of people. Among them were local martial artists from the island town and some who had rushed over overnight from some neighboring island towns. They wanted to take a share of the tide in the Silver Belt Sea. Apart from these civilian martial artists, the main force fighting against the tide was actually the large number of experts led by the garrison. They were standing in trained groups at various important locations outside the island town. These locations were the main locations where deep-sea creatures had come ashore over the years. a C Their first priority was not to capture the precious ingredients, but to stop all the deep-sea creatures and ensure that the entire Island Town behind them was safe and sound. They fought for this purpose, which was completely different from the martial artists! At the same time, Wang Yu also saw the guardian of the island town, Lu Pan. Standing in the wind and rain outside the town, wearing armor and holding a two-meter-long iron halberd, he looked stern and awe-inspiring. He stared at the entire sea storm in front of him and did not waver at all. Even though Wang Yu was only looking at him from afar, he could sense that this guardian was not someone to be trifled with. This was also the first time he had seen the Guardian. His former identity was far inferior to this guardian, so even though they were in the same island town, he had never seen this big shot with his own eyes. ¡°Master, are the guardians also martial artists?¡± Wang Yu asked. Previously, when he saw that the director of the Security Bureau, Zheng Anbang, was just an ordinary person, he thought that these officials were all the same. They were usually busy with political affairs and did not focus on strengthening their bodies. ¡°Of course,¡± Sun Chengshan said, tilting his head with a look of admiration. ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as a martial artist. He used martial arts to establish himself in the army. It¡¯s not an exaggeration to call him the number one expert in this island town. Back thena€¡± Sun Chengshan didn¡¯t go on, but it was enough to make people wonder. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Guardian to be so powerful.¡± Song Hezheng, who was beside Wang Yu, couldn¡¯t help but mutter when he heard Sun Chengshan¡¯s story. Similarly, he did not know this guardian very well. However, if he could govern an entire island town, he must be a powerful person. Not to mention that Sun Chengshan regarded him as the strongest person in town. With Sun Chengshan¡¯s foresight, he naturally wouldn¡¯t spout nonsense. It was very likely that this was true. Chapter 25 - Military Combat Strength Chapter 25 Military Combat Strength Just as Sun Chengshan and the other two were discussing the guardian, he suddenly looked over and walked over with a few soldiers. Sun Chengshan immediately became serious and cupped his hands. ¡°Greetings, Lord Guardian.¡± The guardian was in a good mood. He smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. The purple coal ore you provided previously helped me alleviate the coal shortage in town some time ago and prevented it from becoming a bigger problem. Brother Sun, I have to thank you.¡± ¡°Lord, you¡¯re too polite. My ore is for sale anyway. Since you need it, of course I will sell it to you unconditionally,¡± Sun Chengshan said politely. They exchanged pleasantries. They were considered to be acquaintances from the ore sale. The guardian had investigated Sun Chengshan. Whether it was the results of the challenge after arriving at Island Town, the Shadowless Fist Dojo that had already been well-established, or the mining business this time. All of these showed that Sun Chengshan was a capable person. Previously, when they were discussing the meeting, he had even thought of recruiting Sun Chengshan to be his subordinate. Unfortunately, Sun rejected him. Compared to working for the Garrison, Sun Chengshan preferred to continue running his dojo. ¡°Lord Guardian, the tide this time is extraordinary. We will definitely defend this place and share your burden to protect the safety of the people of the island town.¡± Speaking of the impending tide, Sun Chengshan immediately became righteous. He stood with his hands behind his back and created a glorious image of himself. This change made Wang Yu¡¯s lips twitch. Sun Chengshan had previously been excited about the precious ingredients in the deep sea, but now, he was saying that he was doing it for the country and the people. ¡°Alright, thank you for your efforts,¡± the guardian said with a smile. The atmosphere of the conversation was passable. Wang Yu¡¯s attention fell on the halberd in the guardian¡¯s hand. The shaft was about the thickness of a forearm, and it looked extremely heavy. The armor worn by the guardian also looked very heavy and well-made. There were brocade clouds carved on it, giving off a murderous aura. According to Sun Chengshan, this guardian was a hero who had returned from the battlefield. His achievements were all earned through his own hard work in his early years. The few personal guards behind him were wearing the uniforms of the Nance Kingdom¡¯s army. The main color scheme was dark green with embroidered clouds. A delicate word ¡°Lu¡± was printed on the collar. The guardian¡¯s expression remained solemn as he held his weapon and guarded his surroundings seriously. Surr Not to mention the majestic aura of the guardian, even these personal guards gave Wang Yu a lot of pressure. To be able to make him feel this way, these personal guards must have been at least at the fifth level of Body Tempering. They were probably martial artists who were on the same level as his master, Sun Chengshan. However, such experts were only personal guards by the guardian¡¯s side, with no fame and glory. Wang Yu felt a little emotional. From what it seems to be like, he might not even be qualified to become such a personal guard. It had to be said that the military was indeed powerful. There were probably many people like these personal guards in the military. Thinking about it, if the army was not strong enough, how could it repress the civilian martial artists and protect the safety of the entire island town? ¡°Lord Guardian, Commander Lu is looking for you.¡± A soldier ran over quickly and reported hurriedly. The guardian nodded and immediately ended the conversation. He bid farewell to Sun Chengshan and walked back. The rain began to fall harder, turning the entire beach into the mud. The sand was constantly swept ashore by the waves, and some of the trash that had been released earlier was also pushed back. Suddenly, a lonely whistle that sounded like it came from an abyss resounded throughout the coast and entered everyone¡¯s ears. Everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the sound, at the dark, hazy sea. A huge wave rolled over, and at the same time, half of a huge fish-like tail was revealed. Then, it slapped the water and created huge waves before disappearing into ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a sea whale?¡± Wang Yu said in surprise. He was surprised that in this stormy sea, half the tail of the sea whale that emerged was surprisingly large. This tail alone was the size of a large sailboat. It was hard to imagine what kind of huge outline that whale would have. Even Sun Chengshan was shocked. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since the sea was poisonous. Those that appear in the Silver Belt Sea at this time are basically not ordinary creatures, so it¡¯s very likely that it¡¯s a sea whale that survived in the poisonous sea!¡± ¡°So!¡± Song Hezheng said with his eyes wide open. ¡°That sea whale is a precious ingredient too?¡± ¡°Christ, if we kill it, we could all eat it together for years.¡± Wang Yu was stunned when he heard that. Then, he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Eldest Senior Brother to be so bold. I¡¯m afraid that a slap from the sea whale¡¯s tail can kill all of us. I think it¡¯s better not to have any plans about this big fellow.¡± He still followed the code of discretion and steadiness. No matter how many precious ingredients and meat there were, he would not make a move unless he was 80 to 90 percent sure. ¡°Um, I was just saying,¡± Song added quietly. Sun Chengshan nodded and said, ¡°Yu is right. It¡¯s best if that big guy doesn¡¯t go ashore, and don¡¯t expect it to be stranded and at the mercy of us. Generally, creatures that can become precious ingredients have already evolved with extraordinary characteristics. If it wants to come up, it will be able to adapt to land movement. If that¡¯s the case, it will definitely be a great disaster if it comes ashore!¡± Hearing their master¡¯s words, the disciples¡¯ faces turned pale. They silently prayed that the whale would not come up. The guardian on the other side also stared at the giant whale and tightened his grip on the halberd. Only after the whale disappeared for a long time did he heave a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s indeed as predicted. Under this heat wave, this year¡¯s tide situation is harsher than any of the previous years. Even such a creature that lives in the ten thousand-meter deep sea has emerged!¡± The guardian¡¯s tone was extremely solemn. ¡°Good thing it didn¡¯t come ashore. Guess it wasn¡¯t interested in our place.¡± Beside the guardian, a tall man who was also wearing armor and holding a large iron spear spoke calmly. He was the commander of the troops under the garrison and was in charge of the local army camp. ¡°Yes, but we can¡¯t gamble with the fate of the island town on this uncertainty. The tide will last for a few days. There¡¯s no guarantee that we won¡¯t lose control next,¡± the guardian said grimly, quietly making a decision in his heart. The commander glanced at the guardian and remained silent, asking no further. In the afternoon, even more martial artists gathered outside the town. Everyone was drenched in rain, but no one would leave at this juncture. BOOM! Waves crashed against the reef dam on the shore with a deafening crash. The water level had already reached the entire beach, and most of the limestone road at the port was submerged. ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡± When the experienced local martial artists saw this scene, they knew that the sea beasts that had been swept over should appear. Some of the bolder ones had already approached the water level, wanting to occupy some advantageous terrain to stop the sea beasts. Sun Chengshan had also experienced it three times before. He immediately led the group of disciples to a slope made of rocks. This place was not far from the current water level. It was high and safe. Even if the water level rose again, this place would not be flooded for at least a while. Moreover, some weak small fish would be stuck in the gaps between the rocks after being washed ashore by the tide. Although their nutritional value was not too high, they could still be considered precious ingredients and were not ordinary. Picking them up was a win too. Chapter 20 - Just You Wait Chapter 20 Just You Wait The sky gradually darkened. After they were done eating, Chen¡¯an and Lu Gang started walking back to class. Perhaps it was his imagination, but Chen¡¯an¡¯s appetite had seemed even heartier during the meal, just as his sense of taste felt more acute. The food in the school cafeteria hadn¡¯t changed much in the past three years, so he was familiar with how the dishes tasted. But today, his braised pork with bamboo shoots had gone from mediocre to delicious-more fragrant, somehow, just like the drumstick Lu Gang had bought him. In one bite, the two flavors had melded together in an appetizing blend. He guessed that it might have something to do with his increased Agility, enhancing the keenness of his taste buds as well as his reflexes. Not that the food hadn¡¯t been passable to begin with, since the school didn¡¯t outsource their cafeteria vendors. ¡°Don¡¯t you think they ought to switch up their menu? It¡¯s been three years, and the food is still the same,¡± Lu Gang complained, picking at his teeth. He had a hungry ghost¡¯s bottomless pit of a stomach. ¡°If you hate it, I can help you finish it next time.¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± Lu Gang dismissed his offer with a wave of his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t want to starve to death in class.¡± A figure stepped in their path. It was Pan Yuguan, looking utterly livid. Tension thickened the air for an instant. Then Pan Yuguan¡¯s nose wrinkled. A hint of snot began to drip from his nostril; he sucked it up quickly. ¡°I thought I told you to meet me at the court,¡± he said darkly. ¡°When did I ever make that promise?¡± Chen¡¯an asked innocently. ¡°You,¡± Pan Yuguan¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I told you to meet me here! Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting?¡± The thought alone aggrieved him. He had felt like an utter fool, standing alone on the court with the third-year students eying him like he was a strange specimen in a cage. All that, for Chen¡¯an to treat him with such blithe dismissal? Pan Yuguan¡¯s temper surged to life. ¡°Do you know what the weather is like out there? I could have caught a cold from all that waiting!¡± His voice rose, bordering on a roar, attracting the gazes of a few passer-bys. Chen¡¯an frowned. ¡°Okay, and¡­? I never agreed to meet you in the first place.¡± ¡°Why not? Afraid you¡¯ll lose because you¡¯re not a match for me?¡± The notion tempered Pan Yuguan¡¯s anger just slightly. He had challenged Chen¡¯an in front of his whole class; if he didn¡¯t show up, it had to be because he was a poor player. Even so, he could have just admitted defeat. There wasn¡¯t a need to put on an act like this! It soothed Pan Yuguan¡¯s wounded ego, as if he had successfully humiliated Chen¡¯an. This would be the best way for him to vent his anger on Chen¡¯an in the future. ¡°Why not settle this now, if you¡¯ve got the balls for it?¡± If this were part of a dungeon simulation, Chen¡¯an would have gladly accepted his offer. But he wasn¡¯t, and he had just eaten, so now wasn¡¯t the time to exert himself. Pan Yuguan¡¯s provocation passed over him like a harmless breeze. ¡°Settle it yourself. I¡¯ve just eaten, so I¡¯m not interested.¡± Chen¡¯an brushed him off and made to walk away. In a lightning strike of rage, Pan Yuguan hurled his basketball at Chen¡¯an¡¯s head. A gasp rang out from the crowd. Before they could blink, Chen¡¯an¡¯s hand shot out and caught the ball. He tucked the ball under his arm, scowling. ¡°Were you trying to send me to the school nurse with that shot? Is that why you wanted me to meet you on the court?¡± Fear rolled through Pan Yuguan, but he steeled himself and stepped forward. ¡°I want a match with you,¡± he demanded through clenched teeth. ¡°I want to prove to everyone that I¡¯m better than you.¡± Chen¡¯an nodded impassively. ¡°Very well. You have my word. On one condition.¡± A fire sparked to life in Pan Yuguan. He had waited in the cold, enduring the humiliation of everyone¡¯s puzzled stares. Now, he was finally getting what he had been waiting for. ¡°Name it. Anything you want.¡± So long as he could crush Chen¡¯an into the dust later. ¡°Come with me, then.¡± Without waiting for a response, Chen¡¯an made his way briskly to the field, basketball still in hand. Pan Yuguan was confused, but he followed. When he reached the field, Chen¡¯an suddenly sped up. He neared the edge of the field, beyond which loomed the school fence. Behind the fence was a small park. Other than a few elderly folks in the morning and night, it was basically devoid of people. Chen¡¯an raced towards the fence at full speed and aimed for a patch of grass in the park. ¡°Take that!¡± he yelled. With all his strength, he threw the ball over the fence. Pan Yuguan¡¯s mouth hung open. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± he shouted as the basketball bounced off the grass and rolled into a nearby bush. Chen¡¯an shrugged at him. ¡°Here¡¯s my condition: get your ball back first, and I¡¯ll fight you.¡± Pan Yuguan looked like he might implode, so Chen¡¯an added, ¡°You said you¡¯d do anything. Giving up so easily?¡± Fury flushed Pan Yuguan¡¯s face and turned his fists white. If the school hadn¡¯t forbidden fighting on campus, he would have beaten Chen¡¯an to death. He stood, trembling with rage, until he finally regained some of his senses in the icy wind. ¡°Just you wait,¡± he snarled, and dashed towards the school gate. Chapter 21 - Broaden Your Horizons Chapter 21 Broaden Your Horizons In the cozy warmth of the classroom, Chen¡¯an took out the revision papers his teacher had assigned and prepared to complete as much of it as possible during the evening self-study period. Today was Friday, and they would be able to leave school by tomorrow afternoon, so some of their homework for over the weekend had already been issued. He was about to begin his mathematics paper when he felt Lu Gang elbowing him. ¡°What?¡± Chen¡¯an glanced at him, confused. ¡°Are you sure Pan Yuguan won¡¯t cause any more trouble?¡± Lu Gang asked, looking vaguely worried. Just now, Chen¡¯an had dragged him back to the classroom when Pan Yuguan ran out to retrieve his basketball. Chen¡¯an rolled his eyes. ¡°Who knows how long he¡¯ll take to get back here? The park isn¡¯t exactly accessible from our school. Plus, I¡¯m not stupid enough to wait for him in this weather.¡± The sky had turned dark, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Coupled with the cold wind on the basketball court, only a fool would choose to stay out there instead of eating dinner, as they should. ¡°True,¡± Lu Gang agreed. ¡°But what if he gets angry and tries to pick a fistfight with you? He¡¯s a sports student; you can¡¯t beat him.¡± Chen¡¯an waved a hand. ¡°Fighting isn¡¯t allowed at school. He wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± ¡°And what about tomorrow at noon, after school ends?¡± Chen¡¯an nodded seriously. ¡°You¡¯re right. When I get home tomorrow, I¡¯m going to go to the internet cafe for a while, so I should catch up on homework now.¡± Lu Gang just stared at him in bewilderment. *** Pan Yuguan, who had finally made his way to the park, braved the cold wind as he searched through the bushes. Finally, he found his basketball buried in a pile of shrubbery that smelled inexplicably foul. His face was as dark as a thundercloud, but the thought of being able to put Chen¡¯an in his place filled him with relish. However, when Pan Yuguan arrived at the basketball court with his-now clean-basketball, it was empty. There was no sign of Chen¡¯an. His knees threatened to buckle in the same instant that his head started swimming. ¡°How dare that motherfu¨C¡±. He cut himself off with a sneeze. He was slightly dizzy, and his temperature was burning up. He had better see the school nurse. A dazed Pan Yuguan left the basketball court, sniffling. He wasn¡¯t finished, though. At noon tomorrow, he would get his friends from outside school to wait for Chen¡¯an at the school gate! Let¡¯s see if Chen¡¯an still had any tricks up his sleeve then. He sneezed again. ¡°Why does my damn throat hurt too?¡± * * * As Pan Yuguan went to the nurse¡¯s office, swearing, Chen¡¯an sneezed in the classroom. ¡°Is someone cursing me?¡± he muttered, rubbing his nose. ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± Lu Gang said. ¡°If I were Pan Yuguan, I¡¯d be so mad at you I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep at night.¡± Their evening self-study periods were his favorite time of the day, because he could read web novels from 6.30-9.30pm straight. That was more than enough time for him to catch up on all the novels he was keeping up with. Unfortunately, some of them were updated too slowly, with only one new chapter a day, when all he wanted to do was binge on dozens of them. However, he was still worried that Pan Yuguan would fly into a rage after being humiliated. ¡°Why don¡¯t I accompany you out of school tomorrow?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. There are more important things to worry about. As for you¡­ there are only a few days left until the college entrance examination. You could afford to pull your weight a little more.¡± Chen¡¯an cast a meaningful glance at the phone in Lu Gang¡¯s hand. Chen¡¯an was already halfway through his paper. Lu Gang surveyed his surroundings and perked up when he found everyone engrossed in their work. ¡°Do me a favor and help me keep a look out while I watch this video.¡± *** The evening self-study period ended in a flash. What Lu Gang had claimed would be one video had turned into several, long enough to last the whole three hours. With Chen¡¯an¡¯s help, he had managed to evade the surveillance of their form teacher, who had appeared in the window twice for a spot check. Perhaps Chen¡¯an was delusional, but as long as their teacher was standing outside the class, Chen¡¯an could vaguely feel his gaze even without turning around-a once-impossible feat. Class 37¡¯s form teacher was an elderly man; many of his former students were already grown up and married. With his experience spying on students, most of them wouldn¡¯t be able to detect his presence. But now Chen¡¯an was different. It was as if he had developed a sixth sense. The feeling was indescribable-but also undeniable. Thanks to Chen¡¯an¡¯s acute senses, Lu Gang managed to avoid all their teacher¡¯s sudden inspections. It was only after self-study ended that he pulled Chen¡¯an aside with a quizzical expression. ¡°There¡¯s something off about you today,¡± he said, sizing his friend up. ¡°What?¡± Chen¡¯an hadn¡¯t revealed anything about the system, so there was no way Lu Gang could have detected it. Lu Gang circled Chen¡¯an and gave a sigh. ¡°For a second I thought you had sprouted a pair of eyes on your back. How did you detect whenever our teacher was near?¡± He paused, deep in thought, before his eyes lit up. ¡°Have you finally decided to broaden your horizons and check out those videos too? Is that why you¡¯re suddenly so much better at keeping an eye out?¡± ¡°Please shut up.¡± * * * The first day in this alternate reality was finally over. The benefits of having the system on his side had already made themselves clear. His mind was more focused and his thoughts were sharper, and his body had become lighter and more agile. Even his sixth sense had become much more sensitive, as his evening self-study had proven. He had never felt anything like this before-and it was only the beginning! His only regret was that his current achievement points were insufficient to open the next dungeon. It was a pity, but he had to accumulate them himself, and even then, there was no guarantee of how many each task would earn him. Currently, the most achievement points he had gotten in a row were the five points from when he had killed several monsters in one shot. Excluding that, his usual rate of one or two points was too slow. But such things couldn¡¯t be rushed. After all, he had only entered this alternate reality a day ago. He hadn¡¯t even left the school campus. And it wasn¡¯t as if he were completely clueless about how this world operated-if he had been able to earn points from buying sausages, perhaps that would apply to other foods too: green melons, eggplants, fish snacks¡­ Chen¡¯an returned to his dormitory room with Lu Gang, which they shared with two other top students. They were what others would call quirky; they spent almost all their time studying. More than ten minutes had passed since self-study ended, and the two of them had yet to return to their room. From experience, they were likely still in the classroom doing papers. They would only return to the dormitory when the security guards started chasing them away. Since they were alone, Lu Gang approached Chen¡¯an with his phone. ¡°Thanks for helping me out during gym class today. I¡¯ve got a rare collection of books here. Want to see if you like them?¡± ¡°Do I look that horny to you?¡± Chen¡¯an shot him an unamused smile. ¡°One of them is about Yui.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll need to borrow your charger tonight.¡± Chapter 22 - Car Full Of People Chapter 22 Car Full Of People It was noon on Saturday-the beginning of the weekend, and the happiest time of the week for the third-years of Shangke High. All the first and second years had already gone home on Friday evening. Only the miserable third-years had to trudge through another morning of classes on Saturday. When the bell of the last class rang, the entire Year Three building gradually became lively. They could go home and play all the games they wanted, even if they only had one day to themselves-although they had a frustrating amount of homework. However, Chen¡¯an had already finished a few test papers during last evening¡¯s self-study; more efficiently than ever, which meant he only had two test papers left. He didn¡¯t bother bringing them back with him; he could complete them after returning to school on Sunday afternoon. It wasn¡¯t easy reverting to his high school self, and he didn¡¯t want to be burdened with homework after going home. Being a genius didn¡¯t seem that desirable; boosting his attribute points had all but stripped the challenge out of his learning. Lu Gang, who was packing his bag, was shocked when he saw Chen¡¯an standing by with his hands in his pockets. ¡°You¡¯re not bringing your bag?¡± he asked. ¡°I only have two test papers left. I¡¯ll do them when I get back this weekend,¡± Chen¡¯an said flatly. Lu Gang¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Then I won¡¯t bring mine either. Lend me your paper to copy tomorrow night.¡± He threw his bag under his desk. Chen¡¯an eyes twitched. Did Lu Gang really not care about getting into college? At this rate, he was fated to flunk his college entrance examination. He was about to protest when Lu Gang flung an arm around his shoulder. ¡°Lots of people are leaving school now. We probably won¡¯t be able to squeeze onto the bus. Let¡¯s go to the internet cafe and have some fun. We can go home when there are fewer people.¡± It just so happened that Chen¡¯an had something he needed to verify, so he let himself be helplessly dragged out of the classroom by Lu Gang. Students streamed happily out of the school gates, carrying their bags. Chen¡¯an could go home empty-handed because he had washed his own clothes, which were drying on the balcony at that very moment. When he came back tomorrow, he would have a fresh set of clothing to wear. The two of them followed the crowd out of the school and walked briskly towards the internet cafe they frequented. Although it wasn¡¯t usually crowded on Saturday afternoons, the earlier they got there, the better their chances of snagging a good seat. As they were crossing a wooded path, Chen¡¯an suddenly felt that someone was staring at him. It wasn¡¯t the same sensation as that of his form teacher¡¯s gaze, but it was similar. Chen¡¯an turned back and saw three punks looking at him with malicious grins. Most prominent of them was the one in the middle with a scorpion tattooed on his neck. Chen¡¯an frowned. He instinctively knew that he was their target, and that the young man he had singled out-muscled and half a head taller than him-wasn¡¯t someone he could take on. What did I do to piss them off? Chen¡¯an searched his memory, but could think of nothing. Lu Gang gave his arm an abrupt tug. When Chen¡¯an looked the other way, he was greeted by the sight of Pan Yuguan, flanked by two other young men. Realization hit Chen¡¯an like a slap. The tattooed young punk behind him must have been hired by Pan Yuguan to ensure Chen¡¯an couldn¡¯t escape. Which he doubted he could, from the looks of Pan Yuguan stepped forward, smirking, till he was directly in Chen¡¯an¡¯s path. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re out of ideas,¡± he crooned. As a show of force, he had spent a near-obscene sum of money to hire his gang of buddies-all to teach Chen¡¯an a lesson. Seeing as how Chen¡¯an was trapped now, it seemed like it had been worth it. ¡°You brought your fat friend,¡± he said, eying Lu Gang. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to take care of him too.¡± It was no secret what he planned to do with both of them. Lu Gang¡¯s face darkened, but he didn¡¯t dare to open his mouth. Chen¡¯an snorted. ¡°Ganging up on us, are you? I could get a whole car of people to beat you up with just a phone call.¡± Pan Yuguan burst into laughter. ¡°Did you hear what this nerd said, Scorpion?¡± The gang of punks echoed his laughter. ¡°Just try it, kid,¡± Scorpion sneered. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance. If all those people show up as promised, I¡¯ll leave you alone. But if they don¡¯t, don¡¯t expect any mercy from us.¡± His lackeys grinned, closing in on them. Chen¡¯an whipped out his phone. ¡°Ten minutes¡­ no, five at most. One phone call, and I guarantee you a car full of people will be here to deal with you!¡± Chen¡¯an spoke so earnestly that Scorpion felt himself growing wary. He was just a hooligan who bullied poor students around school; he didn¡¯t have the guts to deal with someone who was under the protection of some bigshot. Chen¡¯an was so serious, Scorpion couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he was from a rich family of some sort. But he said, ¡°Like I told you: If they show up, we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± ¡°Sure. Give me a moment.¡± Chen¡¯an gestured to his phone, and Scorpion nodded impassively. Pan Yuguan moved to stop him, but a look from Scorpion froze him in his tracks. Scorpion didn¡¯t know Chen¡¯an¡¯s background yet, but he was well-acquainted with Pan Yuguan¡¯s. They were allies, not friends. Chen¡¯an ducked behind Lu Gang and made the call, out of everyone else¡¯s view. A voice came from the other end of the speaker. ¡°Good afternoon. This is the police¡­¡± Earlier, Chen¡¯an had used Lu Gang as a shield so they couldn¡¯t see the number he was dialing. Nor would they have guessed it, from how deliberately vague he was being earlier. He had seemed as if he were genuinely calling for help. In that instant, Scorpion decided it wasn¡¯t worth messing with Chen¡¯an. They were gangsters, but it was clear that no amount of money was worth making an enemy of him. If they wanted to vent their anger, they could take it out on Pan Yuguan. Chapter 23 - What Did You Do This Time? Chapter 23 What Did You Do This Time? Every year, the college entrance examination would birth plenty of top talent from Shangke High, as was befitting such a prominent school in the city. Naturally, the local authorities would have an interest in the safety of its students. Not only was the police station near to the school, special police officers were personally involved in its internal security. All in all, the police were less than a kilometer away, and the main station had already been alerted. Less than three minutes after Chen¡¯an¡¯s call, two police cars arrived at the end of the tree-lined path. Chen¡¯an had been keeping an eye on the two openings in the boulevard. He smiled. Scorpion had been anticipating the police¡¯s arrival too; he went as rigid as a statue, like prey watching a predator closing in. Without warning, Chen¡¯an seized his hand and screamed. Scorpion¡¯s confusion evaporated as he flinched back from the shrill noise. ¡°Stop! It hurts! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Chen¡¯an was giving a very convincing portrayal of agony, with his face contorted and his neck flushed red. The police didn¡¯t see Chen¡¯an grab Scorpion¡¯s hand because of the people blocking him, but his pained expression was unmistakable. A siren pierced the air. Alarmed, Scorpion tried to shake off Chen¡¯an, but the other boy held on tight and continued shrieking even louder, playing the part of an abused victim in front of the police. This was unacceptable! An officer slammed on the brakes and flung open the car door. ¡°You again,¡± he barked, pointing at Scorpion. ¡°You¡¯re going to get what you deserve this time, you brat.¡± He was all too familiar with this troublemaker. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, Officer He!¡± Scorpion protested. ¡°He grabbed my hand and refused to let go!¡± Chen¡¯an had released him. Innocence and terror decorated his face. Officer He¡¯s gaze flickered between them both in obvious skepticism of Scorpion¡¯s claims. A total of two police officers and six auxiliary officers disembarked. They had clearly taken Chen¡¯an¡¯s calls for backup very seriously. Surrounded by eight officers, Scorpion and his gang put up no attempts at resistance, staying rooted to the ground. Even Pan Yuguan was no exception. Officer He, who was leading the team, approached Chen¡¯an. ¡°Was it you who made the call?¡± he asked, moderating his tone so as to not frighten the perceived victim. Chen¡¯an nodded. ¡°They said they were going to beat me up. My teacher said I had to call the police if I ran into any bad people, so¡­¡± ¡°You did the right thing, boy. But you have to come to the station with us to make a report. You¡¯re not in trouble, we just need you to tell us what happened.¡± ¡°Absolutely, sir.¡± * * * It was past two in the afternoon when Chen¡¯an left the police station. They had only gone there to make a report, but it had been lunchtime when they got there, and when the police learned that he and Lu Gang hadn¡¯t eaten, they treated them to a meal at the cafeteria inside. Afterwards, the police had gotten their prettiest female officer to take down their report, to ¡®calm them down¡¯ so they could get everything over and done with without stress. When they were done, the police assured Chen¡¯an that he didn¡¯t have anything to worry about, and to drop them a call if he encountered similar situations again. Chen¡¯an was grateful for their efficiency, attitude, and even warmth. He looked back at the station. ¡°Their cafeteria food suits my taste-just like that policewoman. We should come here more often.¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± Lu Gang said sullenly. ¡°I just wasted two hours of my gaming time. Now I can only continue playing at home.¡± Chen¡¯an glanced at him. No point lowering himself to a child¡¯s level. ¡°I¡¯ll be off, then. I¡¯m taking the bus.¡± Chen¡¯an bade him farewell with a wave. ¡°Okay. Take care.¡± When Chen¡¯an left, Lu Gang took out his phone and dialed his uncle¡¯s number, asking to be picked up from the police station. * * * Chen¡¯an¡¯s home was in Fu Shui Town. It was part of what the people in the city called the ¡®country district¡¯. It was past four when Chenlan got off the bus, a little dizzy after two hours of travel. The fresh air was all it took to give him a new spring in his step, though. ¡°There¡¯s no place like home.¡± He surveyed his surroundings. They were foreign but familiar, if sporting a little less wear than he remembered from his previous life. It was a ten-minute walk from the bus stop to the resettlement house where Chen¡¯an lived. As usual, his parents weren¡¯t home. His father was a small-time worker in a nearby construction site, and his mother was an employee in a textile factory. Their household monthly income was just shy of 10,000 yuan. They didn¡¯t face pressure from the mortgage because they were living in a resettlement house; they weren¡¯t rich, but they were content with their lives. As an only child, Chen¡¯an had learned to provide for himself and cook his own meals since junior high. When he entered the kitchen, he took out some ingredients from the fridge to defrost them. If Chen¡¯an recalled correctly, his parents would be home around 6.30pm, just in time for dinner. *** Sure enough, his memory hadn¡¯t failed him. ¡°Hi, Dad. Hi, Mum. Dinner¡¯s ready. I was just waiting for you,¡± he greeted with a smile. His mother raised her eyebrows. ¡°What did you do this time, Chen¡¯an?¡± Chapter 24 - Never Be As Smart Chapter 24 Never Be As Smart Chen¡¯an¡¯s parents¡¯ only wish was to make an honest living and spend their days in peace. Of course, they had hopes for their son too-such as that he would marry the girl next door. But overall, as long as their son was filial and well-behaved, they were happy. It just wasn¡¯t like him to take the initiative to prepare dinner. Only Chen¡¯an knew that he was trying to make up for not spending enough time with his parents in his previous life. *** After dinner, the three of them went about their business. Chen¡¯an¡¯s father, Chen Xing, indulged in a drink before logging on to the antique computer in his bedroom to play cards with a few old friends. Chen¡¯an¡¯s mother, Ye Juan, took the account book and calculated their household monthly expenses, wondering if she would be able to keep some of her savings for herself after her husband received his salary. As for Chen¡¯an, he returned to his room. His parents wouldn¡¯t disturb him; they had already made most of the conversation they needed to over the dinner table, asking how his studies and classmates were. In his previous life, Chen¡¯an had been an immature teenager, easily frustrated with his parents. Now, he answered all their questions patiently, knowing it was one of the few chances they had to communicate with him amidst their busy schedules. His mother sighed in her heart that her son had finally grown up. With practiced ease, Chen¡¯an turned on the computer in his room, which was much newer than the one his father was using. In fact, the latter had originally belonged to Chen¡¯an before falling into disuse. Chen¡¯an did a search for notable events prior to his senior year of high school in his previous life. Just as he had suspected, several of them didn¡¯t exist. It confirmed his theory that this was a parallel world. And that he was not, unfortunately, destined to make a fortune from gambling Thankfully, with the system on his side, Chen¡¯an was confident that he could make a name for himself nonetheless. There was a knock on the door. ¡°Can I come in, Chen¡¯an?¡± his mother asked. She always knocked on his door to request permission to enter, after one incident when she had barged into her son¡¯s room during his freshman year-during which he had been staring at his laptop as if in a trance-and left him disgruntled. ¡°Come in,¡± Chen¡¯an said, not looking back. The door opened and his mother came in with a plate of tangerines. Seeing that Chen¡¯an was busy staring at his laptop, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve brought you some tangerines. Call me if you want more.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mum,¡± he replied, still scrolling through events from the past. ¡°If I want them, I¡¯ll get them myself.¡± He was absorbed in his task when he looked up and found his mother seated beside him on a stool. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asked warily. His mother smiled, leaning over to whisper conspiratorially, ¡°I spoke to Lingling¡¯s mother last night. She said that Lingling is coming home next Wednesday.¡± Lingling was the only daughter of their neighbor who lived across the street. Chen¡¯an¡¯s parents were good friends with the Zhongs; it was even said that Chen¡¯an¡¯s grandfather and Lingling¡¯s had been war comrades. The two families had only grown closer after becoming neighbors following the resettlement. The deaths of Chen¡¯an and Lingling¡¯s respective grandfathers had done little to change this; they had been as close as brothers, and it wasn¡¯t uncommon for their families to help each other with their problems, or gather regularly for meals. Zhang Ling¡¯s parents were often busy, so she had all but grown up in Chen¡¯an¡¯s house since elementary school. They had even slept in the same bed till his fourth grade, since Zhong Ling had been afraid of the dark and needed to hug Chen¡¯an to soothe her fears. It was a little amusing, considering he was three years younger than her. Chen¡¯an¡¯s parents had watched Zhong Ling grow up, and had their sights set on her as a prospective match for their son-a match which Zhong Ling¡¯s parents shared their support for. If formal betrothals hadn¡¯t been a thing of the past, Chen¡¯an had no doubt they would have considered one long ago. That hadn¡¯t stopped their fathers from referring to each other as in-laws since Chen¡¯an was in elementary school, though. His mother¡¯s words dredged up memories of Zhong Ling. She hadn¡¯t left much of an impression on Chen¡¯an, other than that she was three years older. And bighearted and carefree, if a little temperamental. Rambunctious. Unpredictable. Difficult to read-and restrain. In his previous life, when Chen¡¯an had graduated, she had already been working in a prominent company in a big city for three years. It didn¡¯t mean he was about to accept his parents¡¯ wishes. He had grown up with Zhong Ling and been picked on by her-as far as he was concerned, her desirable traits were few and far between. Just like how a younger brother frequently questioned the taste of whichever man was interested in his elder sister. In Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes, Zhong Ling¡¯s flaws far exceeded her strengths-if one didn¡¯t count his literal eyes, which had wandered up and down her body and found several treasures worth gazing at before. But that was all there was to it. Zhong Ling was the equivalent of having your girlfriend appear next to you dressed in lingerie while you were busy playing League of Legends: no matter how attractive she was, you would pay her no more than a glance. That is, if you didn¡¯t tell her to get out and stop distracting you. Zhong Ling had, admittedly, crossed his mind once or twice, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted anything to do with her in real life. His parents had doted on her so much, she could turn his bedroom into a war zone and it would be his fault. Needless to say, he had put up with too much oppressive bullying from her! Now that he heard that Zhong Ling was coming back next Wednesday, Chen¡¯an began to feel uneasy. ¡°I¡¯ll stay in school next Saturday. I have a mock-test coming up that I need to study for.¡± His mother calmly picked up a tangerine and split it in half. ¡°Lingling is a top student at a prestigious university. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to get some tips from her?¡± ¡°No. I want to do my revision papers in school.¡± ¡°Papers? At this rate, you¡¯ll never be smart enough to catch up to Lingling. You might as well see if you can learn any shortcuts from her.¡± Chen¡¯an resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Chapter 25 - Have You Gone Crazy? Chapter 25 Have You Gone Crazy? Chen¡¯an finally finished dealing with his mother and sent her out of the room. After doing those searches, he had confirmed that this was a parallel world, so no matter what happened, he wouldn¡¯t be caught unawares. It was nighttime, and his parents, who had work the next day, were in their bedroom preparing to sleep soon. After making sure they weren¡¯t still in the living room, Chen¡¯an locked his bedroom door and drew the curtains. He withdrew the micro dungeon treasure chest from his inventory. It was an ancient brass-edged chest that fit in the palm of his hand. Chen¡¯an opened it without hesitation, which it did without any pomp or flare. Inside was a whistle and a gold coin. This was what 160% of a reward earned him? However, that gold coin looked to be of a decent weight; it should be worth no small amount of money. He picked it up. [Congratulations on obtaining 160 gold coins.) As the system notification sounded, the gold coin slowly disappeared in his palm. Chen¡¯an was flummoxed. So the coin had been in the box for no reason other than to lend him a fleeting touch of it? He blamed himself, thinking he could exchange it for money. Damn that system, for playing with his feelings. He picked up the whistle and examined it, as the dungeon treasure chest gradually vanished. [Equipment name: Hong Zhou¡¯s Ancestral Whistle] [Equipment grade: Gray-white) [Equipment Type: Necklace] [Equipment Attribute: Vitality +1] [Equipment Durability: 25/30] [Note: This whistle has been passed down from Hong Zhou¡¯s ancestors. After being intimately acquainted with the sweat and saliva of previous generations, he regards it as a family heirloom. Smashing it in front of Hong Zhou can trigger him into violence.) Another piece of equipment that increased his attributes! Chen¡¯an pocketed the whistle without needing to think. Instantly, heat spread across his body, extending to his limbs and bones. In that split second, Chen¡¯an felt his durability strengthen-the sensation abrupt, yet palpable. His temperature had risen; even after removing his school jacket, the chill of the room failed to touch him. In this weather, wearing long sleeves alone would be insufficient to shield most people from the cold. If this was the effect of adding one point to his Vitality, it couldn¡¯t be more apparent. On top of that, Chen¡¯an was attentive enough to discover that when the whistle was added to his list of equipment and his attributes increased, his health, or Lifeblood, had also increased from 60 to 70 points. From this, he could decipher that 1 Vitality point was also worth 10 drops of Lifeblood. Chen¡¯an eyed the two potions in the system shop. [Mini Health Potion: Available at Level 1. Allows you to restore your Lifeblood by 30 drops in 10 seconds.] [Mini Energy Potion: Available at Level 1. Allows you to restore your energy by 30 points in 10 seconds.] These potions cost 20 gold coins each, and Chen¡¯an had yet to try either of them. Now that he had accumulated 624 gold coins, he could afford to spend that much. The moment he purchased the potions, they appeared in his inventory. With a nudge of his will, the mini health potion manifested in his hand. No strange effects, as far as he could tell, but it deserved to be kept secret regardless. Chen¡¯an was about to empty the vial of pale red liquid into his mouth when he halted. His Lifeblood was still full. It would be a waste to use the potion now; it would only be effective if his Lifeblood was reduced first. It begged the question: how would he go about doing that? Chen¡¯an stroked his chin in consideration. He was weighing ideas and coming up short when a notification popped up, without any hint of an attack: (Current Lifeblood: -5] Since his Lifeblood was no longer full, Chen¡¯an uncapped the mini health potion and took a sip. (You drank a mini health potion and entered a state of recovery. In this state, you will recover 3 drops of Lifeblood every second, for two seconds.] Before Chen¡¯an could take a closer look at his recovery status, two seconds had passed, and it disappeared. But it was enough for him to understand how the mini health potion worked. He looked at the bottle in his hand. He had drunk almost a fifth of it. It seemed that the duration of recovery was related to how much he drank, but the strength of its effects shouldn¡¯t be affected. He sat upright. The scar on his hand that was holding the bottle had disappeared! As a child, Chen¡¯an had found it fun to watch his mother cut vegetables, so he had picked up a knife and decided to try it himself. Obviously, it hadn¡¯t gone well. After so many years, the scar had faded; it was barely visible-except, now it had disappeared completely. He touched the skin where the scar had been; it was smooth and unblemished as if it had never borne the stroke of a knife. You couldn¡¯t even tell a scar had existed there! This discovery made Chen¡¯an¡¯s spirits soar. If he used this scar-removing potion to make money, it would earn him a fortune. After all, consumers who tended to spend the most were women, followed by children, the elderly, dogs, then men. And women were the most likely of them all to be self-conscious about scars. Whatever the peak of his life was, this felt pretty close to it. Excited, he bought five bottles of mini health potions and made his way to his parents¡¯ bedroom. When they saw him cupping the air and talking about making a fortune with it, Chen¡¯an¡¯s mother went from sleepy to instantly awake. ¡°Chen¡¯an, don¡¯t scare me! Have you gone crazy? You were fine just now!¡± Her face turned as pale as a ghost. Chen¡¯an¡¯s smile wavered, then dropped. Chapter 26 - Too Old Chapter 26 Too Old It was clear from his parents¡¯ faces that they couldn¡¯t see the potions he was holding. It was like a splash of cold water to his face, sending the sparks of excitement in his heart sizzling and sputtering into nothing. He had even poured some of the potion into a small bowl for his mother to try, but her expression only went from worried to horrified: if her son wanted her to drink air, he must have lost his mind from studying. He was their only son; nothing could happen to him. After a hurried discussion, Chen¡¯an¡¯s parents decided to bring him to the mental hospital in the city. Chen¡¯an had to quickly assure them that his brain remained perfectly functional and rational. It took a while before he convinced them that he wasn¡¯t a lunatic-really, yes, he was fine, and no, he hadn¡¯t gone insane from studying Only when he was back in his room did he let out a long, deep breath. The results of his experiment were somewhat depressing. It was basically impossible to make a fortune with this mini health potion. *** The weekend breezed past; enough for students to go home and spend time with their families, nothing more. As for the revision papers distributed by the teachers, most students could only complete their homework during the evening self-study period after returning to school-with the exception of a few muggers. Chen¡¯an fell into the former category. After returning to school, the first thing he did was to focus on his homework. Fortunately, he only had two revision papers left, so he managed to complete his homework with surprising efficiency. Lu Gang was no different; he was done in less than 15 minutes, arguably even more efficiently than Chen¡¯an. And so resumed the rigorous cycle of studying for the third-years. The college entrance examination was a major milestone in their lives, so they had to do their best to absorb the knowledge in their textbooks. However, Chen¡¯an didn¡¯t have to struggle. With his enhanced mental abilities, classes were a lot more relaxing than before. He had faith this would be reflected in his results. He was half an hour away from the end of his evening self-study when a voice pulled him out of his concentration. ¡°Tell Chen¡¯an to come out for a while.¡± It was a young woman in a cap and tracksuit. She had been his gym teacher in his first year of high school: Han Ya. Why was she looking for him? Baffled, Chen¡¯an walked out of the classroom. Seeing Chen¡¯an being called away by Han Ya, Jiang Min and Gao Tianjie turned to look at Lu Gang. ¡°Did something happen to Chen¡¯an? Why are teachers from other classes looking for him?¡± Jiang Min asked. The only adults who would be in Shangke High at this time were teachers and security guards-and clearly, that woman was one of the former. Lu Gang answered with a dumbfounded expression. He remembered Han Ya, if for nothing other than her distinct resemblance to Yui. It wasn¡¯t easy to forget such a beautiful female teacher. But he had no idea why she was here. Could it be about Pan Yuguan again? Meanwhile, Chen¡¯an followed Han Ya, equally puzzled. He had to admit, gym teachers were a different breed. In this cold weather, Han Ya was only wearing a flimsy sports jacket and athletic leggings-which did little to hide the curves of her body. Just today, his mother had wanted him to go to school in his long johns. In response, Chen¡¯an had made a very serious vow about how he would rather die than sacrifice his dignity like that. How else could he preserve his masculinity, once everyone in the dormitory took off their pants at night? Especially since people of Lu Gang¡¯s weight didn¡¯t need them! They passed through the corridor that connected the teaching buildings of the different cohorts, before arriving at the teaching building for first-years. Han Ya seated Chen¡¯an in her office and closed the door, after which she began to take off her jacket to reveal the sports vest underneath. Chen¡¯an got a shock. Wasn¡¯t this a little too direct? He wasn¡¯t ready! While he was panicking, Han Ya donned a long-sleeved shirt, then slipped her jacket back on. ¡°Phew! That was a mistake. It¡¯s so cold outside.¡± She hugged her arms and rubbed them for warmth. When she had somewhat recovered, she turned to Chen¡¯an. ¡°Do you still remember me?¡± Chen¡¯an looked at the exquisite, statuesque Han Ya and thought, How could I not remember you? You¡¯re the woman closest to Yui in my heart! ¡°Yeah. You used to teach me.¡± He scratched the back of his head shyly. Han Ya smiled faintly. ¡°Good. I have a few questions for you.¡± ¡°Please, go ahead,¡± he replied without missing a heartbeat. Satisfied with Chen¡¯an¡¯s enthusiasm, Han Ya nodded. ¡°You beat Pan Yuguan in a race last Friday, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Yes.¡± Don¡¯t tell me this guy can still cause trouble for me while he¡¯s locked up in the station. He had still been in police custody, alongside Scorpion, when he and Lu Gang left. ¡°Take off your pants.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± This was even more direct than before! As if sensing that her words were inappropriate, Han Ya coughed twice and instructed, ¡°Come closer so I can feel your thigh.¡± Chen¡¯an was dumbfounded. Han Ya¡¯s requests were¡­ unusual, to say the least, but he glimpsed Han Ya¡¯s face, with her features so like Yui¡¯s, and his body obeyed before his mind did. Without hesitation, Han Ya bent down and pinched his thigh. Chen¡¯an tensed. Again, Han Ya pinched his thigh, clicking her tongue in wonder. ¡°Strange. Your thigh muscles are loose. It doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯ve trained at all. How could you outrun Pan Yuguan?¡± She looked like she was picking out a slice of pork at the market. She was pinching and poking everywhere, all while making confused remarks. What she didn¡¯t know was that their positions gave Chen¡¯an an excellent view of her cleavage from above. It went on just a little too long, and his body-still vigorous with youth-couldn¡¯t be repressed. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough, please. It¡¯s ticklish.¡± He shrank back and successfully avoided Han Ya¡¯s gaze. Brushing him off, she said, ¡°Jump so I can get a gauge of your leaping ability.¡± Chen¡¯an was stunned-but now he understood why Han Ya was looking for him. Han Ya was treating him as an unrefined athletic prodigy after that boost to his Agility. She was probably trying to decipher from his jump if he had undergone any prior training. Thing is, she didn¡¯t know what exactly a jump from him now entailed. She was staring straight at him, so he had no choice but to turn around and jump. Han Ya crossed her arms, hand on her chin in scrutiny. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, but I think you¡¯re too old.¡± Chapter 27 - Are You a Cultivator? Chapter 27 Are You a Cultivator? Han Ya didn¡¯t know that Chen¡¯an¡¯s hearing had also been enhanced along with his Agility. She muttered the words under her breath, but they reached his ears, making him even more confused. Could it be that his teacher was having some incredibly inappropriate thoughts about him? He was 18 years old-it wasn¡¯t as if he could push everything to her and get away scot-free. He glanced at Han Ya¡¯s exquisite face and graceful figure. Might be worth it, though. Just as Chen¡¯an was becoming lost in thought, the system¡¯s voice sounded. [Congratulations on activating the task of this strange encounter: become Han Ya¡¯s disciple, and you stand to earn several special achievements. ] [Note: The points obtained from special achievements are 10 times that of regular achievements. Please cherish every one.] That alone was enough to entice Chen¡¯an. But there was one thing he didn¡¯t understand: how was he supposed to become Han Ya¡¯s disciple? And in what sense? Han Ya was now a first-year teacher, just like how she had taught Chen¡¯an in his first year of high school. When you looked at it that way, he supposed she could pass for his ¡®master¡¯. But the system hadn¡¯t indicated that his task had been completed, so that wasn¡¯t it. Maybe they were referring to what a student-master dynamic traditionally entailed-a relationship in which both parties would share weal and woe, to be treated as seriously as that of a parent to their child. Chen¡¯an weighed the stakes carefully. Why was Han Ya the only one-out of all the teachers he had met-who had triggered this task? Even the system had labeled the encounter ¡®strange¡¯, and Chen¡¯an couldn¡¯t help but ponder what it meant. Ever since being planted in this parallel reality, he had been trying to pinpoint something distinctive about this world-if it contained grand secrets about martial arts or one¡¯s Qi. Unfortunately, the results of his internet searches had been nothing but mundane. The chances of supernatural individuals lurking in this world were low; even if they existed, they must be rare and hidden from the rest of society. But his current task gave Chen¡¯an a different idea. This might be a rare opportunity for him to interact with people with extraordinary abilities! With the system¡¯s help, even if a supernatural side to this world really existed, he should be able to handle it. Chen¡¯an made up his mind. But first, he had some questions for Han Ya. ¡°Ms Han,¡± She cut him off. ¡°We¡¯re done. You can leave now.¡± Chen¡¯an floundered. ¡°Weren¡¯t you just¡­ feeling my muscles earlier?¡± Already, he had crafted a narrative in his head about Han Ya as the hero¡¯s source of temptation; the greatest threat to his purity. Han Ya looked at him like he was intolerably stupid. ¡°I was just curious how a regular student like you could have outran Pan Yuguan. I thought you had practiced before, but your legs are quite soft.¡± Cracks were beginning to appear in the image he had crafted of Han Ya. Could she have been using curiosity as an excuse to take advantage of him? Now she was calling him soft after only squeezing him twice. Didn¡¯t she know that men sometimes took longer to harden? ¡°I think you may be underestimating the full potential of my body, Ms Han.¡± He paused. ¡°Also, if you happen to be looking for a disciple, I think I¡¯m more than up to it.¡± A flicker passed over Han Ya¡¯s expression-there and then gone. ¡°You must be joking,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°What do I need a disciple for? Run along now.¡± Chen¡¯an hadn¡¯t missed her microexpression, though; the system wasn¡¯t lying to him. Han Ya really was something special! The realization thrilled Chen¡¯an. From the look in her eyes earlier, he had even thought of what he would say when he unlocked his full supernatural potential. If she wasn¡¯t going to give in, he had no choice but to use his ultimate move. He turned his gaze to her desk. It was empty except for a computer and a stationery holder containing several pens and a penknife-as expected of a gym teacher¡¯s desk. He seized the penknife. Before she could blink, he had extended the blade and gently sliced it across the back of his hand. ¡°Dammit.¡± No sign of blood. He slit the penknife across his skin-without mercy this time-and beads of blood flowed out. He gave a hiss of pain. He might have gone a little overboard there. (You have attacked yourself. Your current Lifeblood: -3. You have entered a state of bleeding lasting 3 seconds. In this state, your Lifeblood will decrease by 1 drop per second.] One drop was the lowest possible level of damage; token resistance, nothing more. He doubted it would kill him-he thought. A shocked Han Ya snatched the penknife from him as he was grimacing. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she demanded. ¡°This penknife is rusty! What if your cut gets infected?¡± Chen¡¯an froze. He hadn¡¯t considered that. But he had achieved his objective. He showed the back of his hand to Han Ya. Ignoring her bewildered stare, he said, ¡°Ms Han, I should let you know: I¡¯m really a one-in-a-million prodigy. I can completely heal this wound by gym class two days later-at most. I don¡¯t think most people have the ability to heal themselves so quickly, do they?¡± He could drink a health potion to heal his wound now, if he wanted, but he didn¡¯t dare, so he had to extend the deadline till Tuesday. The shock on Han Ya¡¯s face had faded. Chen¡¯an¡¯s wound wasn¡¯t serious, but it was unlikely that it would finish healing by Tuesday. By then, he would be nursing a scab at best. ¡°Healed, you say? Not scabbing?¡± He gave her a nod of confirmation. Her face turned serious. ¡°If you can heal yourself by Tuesday, I¡¯ll take you in as my disciple.¡± Chen¡¯an¡¯s face lit up. He walked to Han Ya¡¯s side and whispered in her ear, ¡°Ms Han, are you a cultivator?¡± Do you possess knowledge of how to wield ice and fire? Or the powers of Heaven? Will you teach me how to move mountains and drain the seas, or how to control a magical blade?¡± Han Ya cast him a quizzical look. Chapter 28 - What A Legend! Chapter 28 What A Legend! Chen¡¯an¡¯s dreams shattered. Han Ya told him that she was just a gym teacher and knew a little kickboxing, that¡¯s all. He all but shriveled up as his spirits drained from him. Still, he had to complete the task the system had assigned him; the achievement points were worth ten times as much as usual. Which meant that even if he only gained one achievement, the rewards would be ten times as much. Not a bad deal. *** After returning to the classroom, Lu Gang whispered to him, ¡°Why did Ms Han call you out?¡± Chen¡¯an was still sulking over his crushed fantasies of ascending to supernatural planes, but he willed away his disappointment and said, ¡°A handsome man and a beautiful woman were alone in a room. What do you think happened?¡± Lu Gang snorted. ¡°Yeah, right. If you grow the balls for that, I¡¯ll call you ¡®Sir¡¯ from now on.¡± Chen¡¯an smiled and extended his hand to Lu Gang, which was covered with a plaster. ¡°Smell anything?¡± he asked. Confused, Lu Gang sniffed, and a faint fragrance entered his nose. Memories came flooding back: It was exactly the same fragrance as when Ms Han had pulled his ear! Don¡¯t tell me he really¡­ Lu Gang gaped. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Chen¡¯an scoffed at the look on his face. ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m kidding?¡± Lu Gang¡¯s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Once, he and Chen¡¯an had discussed Ms Han and Yui¡¯s assets-both in the front and back. He hadn¡¯t expected that Chen¡¯an would have advanced to hands-on interaction while he was still busy fantasizing! ¡°Impressive.¡± He plastered a simpering smile on his face. ¡°Mind imparting some of your wisdom onto me?¡± ¡°I was born with good looks.¡± Chen¡¯an smiled politely. ¡°That can¡¯t be taught.¡± Lu Gang replied with a predictable yet articulate hand gesture. *** Two days later on Tuesday, Class 37 gathered on the field. After their last gym class, Chen¡¯an had become a celebrity of sorts. And not just among his classmates-when the sports students learnt that Class 37 was coming, some of them quietly put away their training tools and retreated to the sports hall, eager to avoid a showdown with Chen¡¯an. Class 37 began with their usual warm-up jog. Surprisingly, Lu Gang didn¡¯t lag behind as usual, instead keeping pace with the cluster of his classmates and putting effort into his three rounds. When Chen¡¯an questioned him about it, Lu Gang simply said that he was going to work hard to lose weight and improve his ¡®physical appeal¡¯. So that was why he was sulking. Guilt compelled Chen¡¯an to support his friend. He patted Lu Gang on the shoulder. ¡°Why don¡¯t I confiscate all your snacks tonight?¡± he offered. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them in my cabinet. You won¡¯t get to touch them.¡± Lu Gang glanced at him. ¡°I choose to trust in my own willpower. I won¡¯t allow myself even a single bite of snacks after today!¡± ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Chen¡¯an shrugged. Just then, Jiang Min came back from the snack kiosk with a bottle in hand. When she saw Chen¡¯an, a smile appeared on her face. ¡°This is for you, Chen¡¯an.¡± She handed him an energy drink. Chen¡¯an accepted it with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re the best, Jiang Min.¡± Jiang Min blushed slightly, while Lu Gang pursed his lips sullenly. ¡°I¡¯ll be off to the classroom to study,¡± she said, cheeks still rosy. ¡°Sure thing.¡± As soon as Jiang Min left, Chen¡¯an saw Han Ya walking onto the field. He clapped Lu Gang on the shoulder. ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Without waiting for Lu Gang¡¯s reply, he approached Han Ya. Han Ya smiled when she caught sight of him. He had certainly sparked her interest more than when they had first met two years ago. Two days ago, he had actually asked her if she was an immortal cultivator; she didn¡¯t expect this kid to still be so childish in his third year of high school. ¡°Ms Han,¡± he called. Han Ya nodded in greeting. ¡°Today is the day you prove yourself a prodigy. So, has the wound healed?¡± She spoke teasingly, curious about how a teenage boy would react when embarrassed. Unfortunately for her, she was about to be disappointed. Chen¡¯an had healed the wound over the weekend once he returned to his dormitory. All it had taken was a sip of the mini health potion. His plaster was just there for show-and it had fooled Han Ya, if her smile was any indication. ¡°Looks like your wound hasn¡¯t completely healed,¡± she commented, refraining from making fun of him to spare his feelings. However, instead of looking bashful, he extended his hand to her. Her gaze turned puzzled. ¡°You can take the plaster off now, Ms Han.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to be joking. Her smile faded. She took his hand, as gently as she had when helping him put on the plaster. They were close enough for Chen¡¯an to catch a whiff of her hand cream. When Lu Gang saw how she took his hand, his respect for Chen¡¯an immediately doubled. He might have to make good on that promise about calling him ¡®Sir¡¯. Han Ya slowly peeled back the plaster on Chen¡¯an¡¯s hand. Her eyes widened in shock, then amazement. There was no sign of the cut Chen¡¯an had made with the penknife. She ran her fingers over his skin. It was as smooth as ever, with no traces of a wound. It was extraordinary-no ointment could eliminate every last trace of the wound, in less than two days too! Maybe Chen¡¯an hadn¡¯t been bragging. Maybe he really was a prodigy. Instinctively, she began to tremble from excitement; it took her a while to calm down. She took hold of Chen¡¯an¡¯s arm, her lovely eyes wide and eager. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to be my disciple? Come with me. We¡¯ll make it official now.¡± With that, she dragged Chen¡¯an to her office. It nearly brought Lu Gang, watching from afar, to his knees. He couldn¡¯t fathom what had gotten Ms Han so excited that she started to tremble-not to mention why she would pull Chen¡¯an to her office. It was illogical. Incomprehensible. Unless¡­ What a legend, that Chen¡¯an! Chapter 29 - What Revelation? Chapter 29 What Revelation? At the end of gym class, Chen¡¯an returned to the classroom looking exhausted. Lu Gang, who had been waiting in the classroom, saw Chen¡¯an¡¯s weary appearance and exclaimed that he was awesome. What he didn¡¯t know was that Chen¡¯an was grieving over the life he was about to experience. Chen¡¯an had completed his task to become Han Ya¡¯s disciple. He had also earned a generous 20 achievement points. And a very useless title. (As Han Ya¡¯s disciple, as long as you appear in the vicinity under her control, you can increase your Spirit by 1 point.) [Note: Being spotted by Han Ya¡¯s enemies might attract unexpected danger. Please exercise caution.] That meant that his title from his ¡®strange encounter¡¯ with Han Ya was likely to stick-along with ten times the usual rate of achievement points. If such unusual tasks were presented to him in the future, Chen¡¯an would have a hard time turning them down. So far, everything had been going wonderfully well. Even if his subsequent responsibilities included serving Han Ya tea on his knees, that would be nothing. The real ordeal lay in how Han Ya had proposed to help Chen¡¯an develop his body¡¯s potential after taking him in as her disciple. In her mind, Chen¡¯an was very talented, having beaten Pan Yuguan-a specialized sprinter-without long-term training. His raw ability was undeniable. All they needed were specific techniques to hone Chen¡¯an¡¯s physical fitness without affecting his culture classes. If possible, she would even impart some of her kickboxing skills to him. This was what Han Ya had promised Chen¡¯an after he had kowtowed to her and offered her tea. What she didn¡¯t know was that once Chen¡¯an had discovered she wasn¡¯t a cultivator, he saw being her disciple as more of an obligation than anything. He had wanted to slip away after the ritual, but Han Ya took her new role far more seriously than he ever imagined. In order not to affect Chen¡¯an¡¯s morning classes, Han Ya instructed him to wake up before 4:30am every morning and meet her at the field for a one-hour special training session. From now on, he would train under her, no longer needing to attend gym classes with his classmates. It was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. Chen¡¯an rejected her absurd proposal on the spot. Until Han Ya took out an old leather whip and placed it on her desk. Only then did Chen¡¯an agree, tears pricking at his eyes. When he left her office, he couldn¡¯t help but ask himself: What was the point of becoming her disciple? He hadn¡¯t gained a new master, but a new slave-driver. 4.30am! True, they used to wake up around that time to play video games on the weekend during their first and second years of high school, but at least video games were fun! Unlike fitness training. Chen¡¯an had gone from being a player to being played-it simply wasn¡¯t the same. At the time, he had had no choice but to agree to Han Ya¡¯s request. However, he secretly decided to wake up at 6am tomorrow according to his usual schedule. It was impossible for him to wake up at 4.30am! Shoving away his boorish deskmate, Chen¡¯an said weakly, ¡°Just this afternoon, leave me alone.¡± Then he placed his head down on the table and fell into deep contemplation about his life choices. Beside him, Lu Gang saw Chen¡¯an¡¯s brooding demeanor and was filled with disdain. With the disproportionate gap between their experience, would it hurt for Chen¡¯an to share with him a few tips? It was a pity Chen¡¯an was in no mood to entertain him. *** After the evening self-study, Chen¡¯an and Lu Gang returned to their dormitory room. Chen¡¯an had finally shaken off some off his listlessness after reflecting for an entire afternoon. Although he had still gotten the-extremely-short end of the stick striking that deal with Han Ya, gaining 20 achievement points was still no small feat. He could open two dungeons worth as many points as the one in gym class, if he so desired. However, the system hadn¡¯t notified him of any available dungeon simulations since gym class, so his achievement points were temporarily useless. Just as Chen¡¯an was about to wash up and go to bed, Lu Gang walked over with two cans of Coke in hand. ¡°Here.¡± He generously offered Chen¡¯an one can. Without thinking, Chen¡¯an reached out to accept the can-then stopped. It was a cold drink, too. ¡°Okay, spit it out. What do you want?¡± Chen¡¯an cracked the can open and took a sip, savoring the cool beverage despite the cold weather. It was clear Lu Gang had specially bought the drinks from the snack kiosk. Lu Gang chuckled. He brandished a packet of spicy chicken wings from his pocket and placed it on Chen¡¯an¡¯s table. ¡°We¡¯ve been friends for three years, Chen¡¯an. In all that time, have I ever asked you to do me a favor?¡± ¡°Yes, and many times.¡± Lu Gang was speechless for a moment, but he recovered quickly. ¡°In that case, one more time won¡¯t hurt.¡± He pushed his token of spicy chicken wings towards Chen¡¯an. ¡°Teach me your skills, Chen¡¯an,¡± he said with entreating sincerity. ¡°I¡¯m tired of entertaining myself with no real action.¡± Chen¡¯an almost spat his drink out onto Lu Gang. Forget everything else-ultimately, he was still a virgin. Why was Lu Gang asking for his advice as though Chen¡¯an had any relevant experience to speak of? ¡°Sure. As long as you¡¯ve got the guts to learn.¡± ¡°I do!¡± Lu Gang declared solemnly. He looked genuinely determined. Chen¡¯an busied himself with his thoughts. As Lu Gang¡¯s elder-technically-it was Chen¡¯an¡¯s responsibility to show him some of the ropes of the world. He could begin by enlightening Lu Gang on the magic of money when it came to winning over women. Chen¡¯an coughed. ¡°Lu Gang, do you know what you lack most in your life right now?¡± he asked seriously. Lu Gang gave himself an appraising once-over and said uncertainly, ¡°Looks?¡± ¡°No, no, and no!¡± Chen¡¯an waved his hand, as though slicing the ridiculous notion in two. ¡°Then what is it?¡± Lu Gang looked confused. ¡°Did you know sumo wrestlers existed in the Eastern Roman Empire? Many of them had beautiful wives. Do you think they won the ladies over with their looks?¡± When Lu Gang heard this, he sprung up in shock. ¡°I¡¯ve got it! Chen¡¯an, I¡¯ve got it!¡± He leapt up and down in excitement before grabbing Chen¡¯an¡¯s hand. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll do my best and work hard.¡± Chen¡¯an had had more pearls of wisdom to impart, but Lu Gang seemed to have deciphered the lesson for himself. He opened his cabinet happily. A treasure trove of snacks greeted him, and he laughed out loud. ¡°I can finally enjoy my snacks!¡± Chen¡¯an¡¯s head swam. Exactly what revelation had Lu Gang come to? Chapter 30 - Kickboxing Class Chapter 30 Kickboxing Class The next morning, the two muggers who shared a room with Chen¡¯an rose before dawn and prepared to wash up. Without warning, the door opened. Before either of them could react, an aggressive figure rushed into the dormitory. Upon closer inspection, it was a female teacher! In their panic, the two of them dove back under their blankets, till only two pairs of wide eyes were peeking out at the intruder. She surveyed her surroundings, paying the two muggers and Lu Gang no mind, and headed straight for Chen¡¯an¡¯s bed. In the next instant, Chen¡¯an¡¯s blanket was being ruthlessly ripped from him and tossed on Lu Gang, who merely rolled over and continued to snore. It was a rough start to Chen¡¯an¡¯s morning. He had just been snuggled up in his blanket when it had been torn from him, and the cozy warmth he had been basking in was replaced by a chill that invaded his body. Even the little sentry who usually stood alert all night between his legs was enveloped by the cold. [Congratulations on your achievement: your remarkable endurance.) (You have been frightened during critical moments at least 10 times since you were born, and your manhood has never wavered.] [Achievement points: +3] But Chen¡¯an couldn¡¯t care less about the system right now. ¡°Who the hell stole my damn blanket?¡± he swore. He looked over the edge of his bunk, and the first thing he saw was Han Ya¡¯s cold face. His heart skipped a beat. VI Today was the day Han Ya said that their training would begin. He repressed a shiver and laughed nervously. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you, Ms Han. What brings you to our dorm so bright and early?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Master¡¯ to you.¡± She glared at him icily. ¡°I told you to get up before 4:30am yesterday. It¡¯s already 4:45am now. Did you think I was joking?¡± ¡°4.30am is way too early, Master,¡± Chen¡¯an said sullenly. ¡°I¡¯ll be sleepy during the day.¡± ¡°What a load of crap. Don¡¯t you see that your two roommates are getting up? Won¡¯t they be sleepy later too?¡± Han Ya pointed at the two muggers quivering under their blankets. Chen¡¯an tried to mount an argument and found he had none. Muggers like those two were truly the scum of this earth. ¡°I¡¯ll give you five minutes to get out of bed and wash up. Any longer, and I¡¯ll¡­¡± She shot a meaningful glance at the tent in Chen¡¯an¡¯s pants and mimicked a gesture like snapping a twig. Chen¡¯an shot up from the bed. In a moment¡¯s time, he was being led out of the dormitory by Han Ya. Before she left, Han Ya returned the key that she had borrowed from the dormitory manager-along with some snacks she had filched from the collection in Chen¡¯an¡¯s room. *** It was just after 5am when they reached the field. It was deserted; they were the only two figures on the field. Even the snack kiosk wasn¡¯t open yet. ¡°Today is your first day of training, so I¡¯ll go easy on you. Follow me and run five rounds on the field to warm up.¡± Han Ya promptly broke into a jog Chen¡¯an had no choice but to follow. Han Ya was dressed in light sportswear. She wasn¡¯t even wearing long sleeves, perhaps because she was concerned her clothes would cling to her body after sweating. Behind her, Chen¡¯an¡¯s gaze unconsciously slid to the curves she flaunted while running. They were even more¡­ striking than when she was walking, to say the least. ¡°Don¡¯t fall behind. Run beside me.¡± With a sigh, Chen¡¯an sped up to catch up with Han Ya. When they were side by side, he glanced at Han Ya and was taken aback. If he ran ahead of her, Chen¡¯an would have nothing of her to feast his eyes on. But from this angle, he could catch a brief glimpse of the treasures that lay beneath her sports jacket-not to mention her stunning side profile. Maybe this whole ¡®waking up at ungodly hours in the morning to train¡¯ deal wasn¡¯t such a bad one after all. At the very least, it was far more pleasing to the eye than waking up to the view of the two sagging lumps of fat that Lu Gang boasted. The way Chen¡¯an kept turning his head to her attracted Han Ya¡¯s attention. She frowned and said, ¡°Focus when you¡¯re running. Don¡¯t look around, or you might fall.¡± ¡°Of course, Master,¡± Chen¡¯an agreed, but his eyes obeyed his hero¡¯s instincts. After running five rounds, Han Ya was a little breathless, but other than that, she barely even seemed to sweat. On the other hand, Chen¡¯an was panting with his hands on his knees. ¡°Master, you¡¯re too¡­ too fast,¡± he gasped. He had thought he was going for a warm-up jog, but the pace she had set wasn¡¯t far off from that of his 1km run. Fortunately, Chen¡¯an¡¯s Vitality had increased by 1 point after obtaining (Hong Zhou¡¯s Ancestral Whistle), so he could keep up with her-if barely. Han Ya was vaguely surprised. For her first session with Chen¡¯an, she¡¯d intended to put him in his place and establish that his fitness was not up to standard, so she had quickened her pace as she ran. But he hadn¡¯t just caught up with her, he had completed all five rounds! Honestly speaking, he had exceeded her expectations. ¡°Your endurance is good, but your raw power could be better. From now on, develop your potential according to the fitness plan I¡¯ve designed for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll teach you kickboxing in a few days. When you¡¯ve made a worthy amount of progress, you can help me out with something.¡± Chen¡¯an was stunned. Had this been Han Ya¡¯s real motive? Maybe the ¡®strange encounter¡¯ the system had dropped into his lap wasn¡¯t by chance. Han Ya might be more than a simple physical education teacher. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master,¡± he said, nodding seriously. ¡°I¡¯ll agree to anything as long as this isn¡¯t some honey trap to scam me.¡± Han Ya rolled her eyes. ¡°Even if I wanted to lure some unsuspecting target, it wouldn¡¯t be you. You could afford to train harder.¡± She withdrew a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Chen¡¯an. ¡°Here¡¯s the training I¡¯ve planned for you from Monday to Saturday. You¡¯ll follow this fitness plan from now on.¡± Chen¡¯an took the paper from her. He was shocked to see that he would be attending a kickboxing class with Han Ya on Saturday afternoon. ¡°Master, my weekend is only a day and a half long!¡± he protested, trying to subtly air his grievances. Han Ya glanced at him. ¡°There are quite a few female trainees in the kickboxing club I attend. They¡¯ve been practicing since they were children.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through, Master. I¡¯ll pursue kickboxing as my major and bring glory to you!¡± Chen¡¯an was suddenly looking forward to the weekend. Chapter 31 - Write Me an IOU Chapter 31 Write Me an IOU Although Han Ya¡¯s training had been rushed, its effects were obvious. Chen¡¯an¡¯s Agility was now worth 9 points, but his running speed fell short of what it should have been. This was what Han Ya meant by ¡®buried talent¡¯. With her training, Chen¡¯an could feel his body gradually becoming stronger. His attributes remained unchanged, but he was making steady progress. After that Wednesday morning when Han Ya had dragged him out of bed, Chen¡¯an was never late again. All things considered, their training sessions presented an excellent opportunity for him to admire Han Ya¡¯s figure with no one around. What was one hour of lost sleep compared to that? Even if this was a honey trap, he deserved to be her first target-considering how early he slept and rose! And so began Chen¡¯an¡¯s routine of waking up before 4:30am every morning, after which he would meet with an already-waiting Han Ya to commence the day¡¯s training. When it was almost 6am, they would stop training and go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Naturally, Han Ya would treat him; Chen¡¯an could order whatever he wanted. There was no need to stand on ceremony. Their daily breakfasts together stirred the jealousy of several boys. ¡°Who¡¯s that guy? Why is he sitting so close to Ms Han?¡± ¡°Who knows? When I woke up this morning, I saw Ms Han guiding that guy in his training.¡± ¡°Oh? Is he some sort of outstanding sports student?¡± ¡°Maybe. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not good at sports, so I can¡¯t get close to Ms Han.¡± Every time Chen¡¯an followed Han Ya to the cafeteria for breakfast, several male students¡¯ gazes would follow them. Fortunately, Chen¡¯an was shameless at heart; instead of withering under their scrutiny, he happily filched some beef from Han Ya¡¯s bowl of noodles. ¡°Go away. You have so much meat in your bowl. Must you steal mine?¡± Han Ya batted his chopsticks away with her own. ¡°I¡¯m still young, Master, and you¡¯re a full-grown adult. It doesn¡¯t matter if you eat a little less.¡± ¡°Yes, it does,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Without the meat, I might as well have ordered plain noodles.¡± ¡°Alright, you can have my meat, then.¡± He picked up the beef from his bowl and placed it in Han Ya¡¯s. ¡°Why would I want meat that your saliva has already touched?¡± She tossed the beef back in his bowl in disdain. The students watching nearby, who had already finished their meals, looked uncomfortable. Was this a public display of affection? Wasn¡¯t that a little inappropriate between a student and teacher? But Chen¡¯an and Han Ya remained unbothered. While they had been chatting during training, Chen¡¯an had realized that Han Ya was only four years older than him! He was 18, so that made her 22. If not for their relationship as master and disciple, Chen¡¯an would have no problem calling her ¡®Sis¡¯. However, how he addressed her was one of the few details that Han Ya was particular about. Once, he had playfully addressed her as ¡®Sis¡¯ and received a blow to the head for it. She had nearly cracked his skull open; her strength wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly. Needless to say, he only ever dared to call her ¡®Master¡¯ from then on. * * * In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday afternoon. As usual, Chen¡¯an had completed some of his homework during last evening¡¯s self-study, so he could leave his bag in the classroom without any worries. He was scheduled to attend kickboxing class with Han Ya this afternoon. According to Han Ya, she was a coach at the club they would be attending, and had won the most gold medals out of them. She had come in first runner-up in kickboxing in Shangke City when she was just 18, so the top coaching position belonged to her. It made Chen¡¯an curious about what the kickboxing club was like; he wondered if Han Ya was telling the truth. If she had been exaggerating about the number of female trainees there, could he pull out of the classes? After declining Lu Gang¡¯s invitation to visit the internet cafe together, Chen¡¯an found Han Ya waiting in a parking lot outside the school gate. ¡°You¡¯re too slow. I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time,¡± she said with a frown. ¡°Master, you¡¯re too impatient. I only took a little longer than expected.¡± He shrugged helplessly. ¡°Cut the crap. Get in the car. I¡¯ll take you to class today, but you¡¯ll have to go alone next time,¡± Han Ya instructed as she got into the driver¡¯s seat. Chen¡¯an said no more and obediently got into the passenger seat. The scene happened to be witnessed by Lu Gang, who had just walked out of the school gate. Shock filled his face. ¡°Chen¡¯an is really amazing. I have to work harder!¡± He took out his phone and dialed Uncle Li¡¯s number. ¡°Hello, Uncle Li? Which parking lot next to the school are you at? ¡­ Yes, do you mind sending me somewhere¡­?¡± *** Han Ya¡¯s car raced through the congested city, and Chen¡¯an understood for the first time what it was like to be speeding so fast that one was forcefully pressed back into their seat. He stole a glance at her beautiful side profile before silently fastening his seatbelt beside him and grabbing the armrest of the car with his right hand. ¡°Can we go slower, Master?¡± ¡°Spare me your nonsense. If you distract me and I mix up the brakes and accelerator, will you take responsibility for anything that happens?¡± she replied without turning her head. Chen¡¯an fell quiet, wondering if it was too late to get out of the car. He didn¡¯t want to die yet! A large Pentium G car was headed straight for them. ¡°Dammit! We¡¯re going to crash!¡± Chen¡¯an prayed that Han Ya¡¯s insurance would be enough to cover them. Just as he thought a collision was imminent, Han Ya swerved the steering wheel and righted herself at lightning speed. The Pentium G¡¯s honk blared out. As it passed by them, Chen¡¯an vaguely heard the driver cursing. However, Han Ya didn¡¯t stop, instead continuing to speed along the city road at 50 yards an hour. Finally, she pulled into a parking lot in front of a bank. Chen¡¯an was dizzy from all that shaking. He disembarked, holding the car door for support. When he finally caught his breath, he was puzzled to see the bank in front of him. Han Ya noticed his confusion and pointed to a small door beside the bank. Above it was a sign that read ¡®Jin Yu Freestyle Fight Club¡¯. He looked above the bank. Sure enough, a row of advertisements was displayed prominently around the fourth floor. ¡°Go up first. I¡¯ll withdraw some money from the bank.¡± ¡°Huh? For what, Master?¡± Chen¡¯an asked, puzzled. ¡°The lesson fees, of course. Do you think you can learn kickboxing for free?¡± Han Ya rolled her eyes and walked to the ATM in one corner. Chen¡¯an was embarrassed. He had thought that his kickboxing classes under Han Ya would be free, but she actually had to fork out money on his behalf. To be honest, although Han Ya was Chen¡¯an¡¯s master in name, he hadn¡¯t seen her as such-until now, when she was fulfilling her duty out of the sincerity of her heart. ¡°By the way, I know you can¡¯t pay me back yet, so you¡¯ll just be in my debt for now. Remember to write me an IOU later.¡± Well. Never mind. Chapter 32 - Mini Dungeon (Freestyle Fight Club] Chapter 32 Mini Dungeon (Freestyle Fight Club] The ¡®Jin Yu Freestyle Fight Club¡¯ looked rather high-class; it made Chen¡¯an realize that he might be more in need of exercise than he thought. Was that why he was here? To serve as a demonstration? Fortunately, Han Ya was entitled to a 20% discount because of her position as a top coach, reducing the lesson fees from 5,000 yuan a year to 4,000 yuan. After she took the money from the ATM, she led Chen¡¯an to the fourth floor via the elevator. This was the first time Chen¡¯an was visiting a fight club, and he was a little excited. The elevator dinged, and the door opened to reveal a front desk with a sign that read ¡®Jin Yu Freestyle Fight Club¡¯. They walked out of the elevator and were greeted by a stunning receptionist behind the counter. ¡°Welcome back, Coach Han!¡± Han Ya nodded with a faint smile. ¡°This is one of my students. Help him get a membership card. This is his membership fee.¡± She placed the money on the counter. ¡°Alright, Coach Han. You can go in first. You can get the membership card from me when you leave.¡± Han Ya nodded and led Chen¡¯an in. When they arrived inside the club, they were met with the sight of various training equipment. Most eye-catching of all, though, were the two arenas; one big and one small. There were already a number of trainees in the club, some of whom were sparring in the arenas. Chen¡¯an did a rough count. There were about twenty-five people in total. Ten of them were students like him. Both males and females were present, with the latter outnumbering the former! The others looked to be adults, three of which were women. The remaining few members, dressed in tank tops that showed off their firm muscles, were probably coaches or professional fighters. ¡°Our club offers lessons in combat and fitness.¡± Han Ya pointed to the two arenas in the middle of the arena. ¡°I signed you up for fitness lessons because they¡¯re cheaper. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll teach you combat skills too.¡± There was a clear disparity between the two; the combat course cost 20,000 yuan a year. Chen¡¯an simply didn¡¯t have the financial means to afford it right now. Paying Han Ya back for this fitness lesson alone would require his past New Year¡¯s money and him to scrimp and save for at least a semester. Maybe even that wouldn¡¯t be enough. This was his last year of high school, so his parents had told him that his New Year¡¯s money wouldn¡¯t go to his bank account. Chen¡¯an had wanted to use that money to buy a new laptop; now it seemed he would have to put it on hold. When the people in the fight club saw Han Ya enter, they all greeted her warmly. ¡°Coach Han, you¡¯re finally here,¡± one of the coaches said. They had been pestered by several students asking questions prior to her arrival. A burly coach asked, ¡°Coach Han, why don¡¯t we practice again today? I¡¯ve improved a little after being defeated by you last time.¡± Chen¡¯an was taken aback. ¡°Coach Han, teach me, please. I want to be as skilled as you. No one will dare to take any liberties with me in the future.¡± A female fighter with freckles, dressed in a tank top and looking like she weighed more than 150 pounds. Chen¡¯an mused that she already seemed more than capable of warding off threats-physically or otherwise-even without Han Ya¡¯s help. However, it was clear that the crowd¡¯s enthusiasm was genuine. At this moment, the system, which had been silent for a long time, finally came to life again. ¡°Dungeon detected. Do you wish to open it?¡± Chen¡¯an¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He immediately focused on the preview interface of the dungeon. [Mini Dungeon: Freestyle Fight Club] (Estimated Haul: Basic attribute points, micro dungeon treasure chest, mini dungeon treasure chest, medium dungeon treasure chest.) [Requirements to begin: 15 achievement points] Chen¡¯an realized that this dungeon wasn¡¯t the same as the previous micro dungeons. Its rewards included medium-sized treasure chests, which was new. It seemed that this kickboxing club presented a far higher level of difficulty than his gym class-as seen in the required achievement points. Fortunately, he had completed the task from his ¡®strange encounter¡¯ with Han Ya. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have sufficient achievement points to unlock the dungeon. He might have to place making a trip to the snack kiosk outside school on his agenda, lest he didn¡¯t have enough achievement points to unlock the next dungeon he encountered. Chen¡¯an had already tasted the benefits of increasing his attribute points; he had no reason to turn down this rare opportunity. He chose to unlock the dungeon. ¡°Dungeon is being created¡­¡± ¡°Dungeon complete. Mini Dungeon (Freestyle Fight Club) is loading¡­¡± ¡°Main and side tasks have been extracted¡­¡± ¡°Dungeon has been unlocked. All the best.¡± When the system finished updating, Chen¡¯an¡¯s gaze fell on the panel displaying his tasks. [Main task: Complete the training requirements of the club coach.] (Side task: Defeat as many club members as possible. For every fitness course student defeated, rewards will increase by 5%. For every combat course student defeated, rewards will increase by 15%. For every fitness course student defeated, rewards will increase by 50%.] Both tasks didn¡¯t seem very difficult, but how was he supposed to differentiate a fitness course student from a combat course student? Just as he was thinking about it, he caught sight of the monster titles floating above each member¡¯s head. (Level 1 Kickboxing Weakling] (Health: 50 / 50] (Skills:???] [Note: The low-level trainees who signed up for the fitness course have poor physical fitness and have not received any combat training. They are neither strong nor skilled.] Most of the students had this title, along with one adult woman. (Level 2 Kickboxing Amateur] (Health: 70 / 70] (Skills:???] [Note: The junior trainees who signed up for the fitness course have a certain level of fitness and exercise often, but they don¡¯t have much professional ability related to kickboxing. They are more skilled than Kickboxing Weaklings, if barely.) A few students and weak-looking adults had this label, including the remaining two grown women. [Level 4 Kickboxing Fighter] [Health: 100 / 100] (Skills:???] [Note: This trainee¡¯s skills are stable, and they have undergone enough combat training to be a threat. Be careful!) To Chen¡¯an¡¯s surprise, the freckled female tank whom he had characterized as being well-capable of defending herself was also at Level 4. [Level 5 Kickboxing Photographer] (Health: 120/120] [Skills:???] [Note: A senior member of the club. He has been in the kickboxing club all year round and is not passionate about improving his strength-only watching the female students and coaches spar. Still, he shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.) Good god, why were there so many questionable people around? Chen¡¯an ought to counsel him. Chapter 33 - Full of Talent Chapter 33 Full of Talent After checking out the trainees in the club, Chen¡¯an turned his attention to the coaches. Right now, there were three of them in the club, including Han Ya. To his surprise, there was a difference in the levels of the three coaches! (Level 8 Kickboxing Master (BOSS)] (Health: 1700/1700] [Skills:???] (Note: Kickboxing Masters are decently accomplished in the sport. They can order lower-level kickboxing monsters around and even shout at them if desired. Please exercise caution when engaging!) There were two such boxing instructors. Both of them were well-built men who looked like they could split someone¡¯s skull open with a single merciless punch. But Han Ya¡¯s title was different: (Level 10: Kickboxing Goddess (BOSS)] [Health: 2500/2500] [Skills:???] (Note: Kickboxing Goddess has been accomplished in kickboxing since a young age and has undergone long-term training, as well as formal combat. Attacking her is extremely dangerous. If you must do so, please exercise caution!] Han Ya was indeed fearsome if she had come in first runner-up in the city-wide tournament at 18-to think that her level exceeded that of the other two muscular coaches! It was no wonder she was the top coach here. ¡°Why are you in a daze? Come with me to get your clothes and change.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m coming.¡± Chen¡¯an came back to his senses and jogged after Han Ya. Seeing that the two of them had gone to the changing room, the other trainees began to whisper to each other. ¡°Coach Han actually personally brought someone here. She¡¯s never done that before!¡± ¡°I think that boy was wearing Shangke High School¡¯s uniform. He should be her student in school.¡± ¡°That young man is so handsome. Could he be up to no good with me?¡± The formidable female tank was-inexplicably-worried. Everyone moved aside silently, not wanting to burst her bubble. *** Chen¡¯an followed Han Ya to the men¡¯s locker room. Since the trainees and coaches were already outside, the locker room was empty. ¡°Here, change into this set of clothes.¡± Han Ya took out an unopened bag of clothes from a cabinet at the door of the changing room and tossed it to Chen¡¯an. He opened the bag and examined its contents: a loose sportswear set with the words ¡®Jin Ya Freestyle Fight Club¡¯ printed in front. ¡°If you feel hot later, you can take off your shirt. Trainees normally go shirtless during kickboxing matches anyway.¡± Chen¡¯an nodded, before his mind suddenly went blank. Casually, he asked, ¡°What about the women?¡± (Warning! You have been targeted by Kickboxing Goddess. Your opponent is about to attack. Please exercise care when defending!) Chen¡¯an¡¯s expression faltered. Before he could defend himself, a force collided with his head, and sparks exploded across his vision. [You received a blow from Kickboxing Goddess. Current Lifeblood: -60] Dammit! He was nearly killed on the spot! Chen¡¯an broke out in a cold sweat. That was a close shave. This level of damage was ridiculous-it was comparable to that of ¡®Alpha Athlete¡¯ during gym class! ¡°What are you talking about, brat? How can the women possibly go topless too?¡± Han Ya rolled her eyes. Chen¡¯an rubbed the top of his head and smiled apologetically at Han Ya, not at all eager to suffer another one of her blows. ¡°I¡¯m going out. Come out as soon as you¡¯re dressed. We have no time to waste.¡± She walked out, and Chen¡¯an quickly took the opportunity to use two mini health potions from his inventory. They could be removed and drunk as liquids, or used directly in the inventory. Seeing that his Lifeblood had decreased by 60 drops, Chen¡¯an chose the latter option. His Lifeblood gradually restored itself, and he sighed in relief. That punch from Han Ya had lent a whole new meaning to the term ¡®killing blow¡¯. If she sed just a little more force, he would be dead by now! ¡°The BOSS is too difficult to fight. I have to think of a way to start with the little monsters.¡± He contemplated what to do as he changed. In no time, he was standing in his baggy sportswear. Honestly speaking, after wearing the school uniform, he wasn¡¯t used to wearing sweatpants that left his crotch area feeling so breezy. He had stripped off his underwear to prevent it from becoming damp with sweat, so he could be completely fresh-smelling after showering later. When Chen¡¯an came out of the changing room, Han Ya was already waiting for him in the small arena with her boxing gloves on. ¡°Put on the protective gear over there. I want to test the effects of your physical training over the past few days.¡± She pointed to the protective gear beside her. (Warning! Kickboxing Goddess has entered teaching mode. You will be forced into a defensive state. In this state, the protective ability of your equipment will be doubled.] Oh, for crying out loud. Chen¡¯an barely stopped himself from releasing a string of curses. After all that effort to unlock this dungeon, he had to receive a beating from the BOSS first? What kind of lousy system was this? His heart began to pound as he looked at Han Ya, who was practicing her punches in the arena. She was obviously about to unleash a beating onto him; he didn¡¯t know what paltry defense he was capable of mounting in this state. What if he was instantly killed by her? Just as Chen¡¯an was worrying, Han Ya urged him again. ¡°Hurry up. You¡¯re dawdling like a woman.¡± She beckoned him forward with one hand-already wearing her boxing gloves. Chen¡¯an had no choice but to put on his protective gear and step into the arena. He had already thought it through: if the mini health potions in his backpack weren¡¯t enough, he would immediately stop Han Ya and buy the spare potions from the system store. Even if it meant draining all his spare Lifeblood, he had to survive the BOSS¡¯ attack! ¡°Get ready,¡± Han Ya warned. ¡°I¡¯m going to attack.¡± Chen¡¯an was no longer distracted. ¡°Come on! I can take it!¡± Without wasting a breath, Han Ya threw a punch directly at Chen¡¯an¡¯s arm guard. She seemed a little off-target; he carefully moved his arm so it caught her punch head-on. There was a dull thud. Chen¡¯an felt a slight tremor in his arm before it disappeared. [You have been attacked by Kickboxing Goddess. Current Lifeblood: -5] He didn¡¯t expect the protective gear¡¯s damage reduction to be so impressive! Han Ya looked at him in surprise. ¡°You noticed the trajectory of my punch on your first try?¡± Chen¡¯an nodded. ¡°More or less.¡± In his defensive state, his equipment lent him twice as much protection as usual. He had 8 points of Spirit; with the 2 additional points provided by ¡®Cao Zhijiang¡¯s Lesson Notes¡¯, that was 10 points in total, the maximum ability of an ordinary adult! It greatly heightened Chen¡¯an¡¯s focus, along with his sharpened reflexes from his 9 points of Agility. Han Ya¡¯s punches weren¡¯t fast enough to catch him off-guard. At least he could adjust his bearing while she was throwing her punches, allowing her to hit the center of his arm guards as much as possible. Chen¡¯an¡¯s answer made Han Ya¡¯s eyes light up; she suddenly realized that Chen¡¯an might be even more full of talent than she had imagined! Chapter 34 - Be My Target Chapter 34 Be My Target Freestyle sparring was a combination of rules and freedom. There were high requirements for the combatants¡¯ physical fitness, resistance, tactical abilities, willpower, and many other abilities. Chen¡¯an had signed up for a fitness course, but Han Ya¡¯s request was more akin to that of the combat course. She had asked Chen¡¯an to be her target from the outset to see if he had a passable resistance to beatings. Otherwise, she might have to hold back during their subsequent training sessions. Inside the arena, Han Ya¡¯s punches became faster and stronger. Even with his defensive equipment, Chen¡¯an could clearly feel the increasing vibrations. Of course, most obvious was the gradually rising stream of system notifications. (You have been attacked by Kickboxing Goddess. Current Lifeblood: -5] (You have been attacked by Kickboxing Goddess. Current Lifeblood: -6] (You have been attacked by Kickboxing Goddess: Current Lifeblood: -7] Seeing that his healthbar was rapidly decreasing, Chen¡¯an had no choice but to take a mini health potion in advance. [Mini Health Potion: Available at Level 1. Allows you to recover 30 drops of Lifeblood in 10 seconds.] Due to his equipment¡¯s defense doubling, his 1 point of Vitality from receiving ¡®Hong Zhou¡¯s Ancestral Whistle¡¯ had also risen to 2. As such, his Vitality was currently worth 8 points-6 from his basic attributes, 2 from his equipment-boosting his Lifeblood to 80 drops. Although the five or six points of damage from Han Ya¡¯s punches hurt a little, Chen¡¯an¡¯s healthbar remained stable with the aid of the mini health potion. Han Ya finally stopped. She nodded to herself as she watched Chen¡¯an frown wordlessly. His willpower wasn¡¯t half bad, and his resistance was passable. ¡°You¡¯re in pretty solid shape overall, and your fitness has improved a little in the past three days. I¡¯ll teach you some basic combat skills today.¡± She gestured for Chen¡¯an to take off his protective gear. (You successfully survived the mandatory trial issued by Kickboxing Goddess.) Chen¡¯an breathed a sigh of relief. That alone had cost him 11 bottles of mini health potions. If this went on, he would run out of money. The thought made his brows pinch together. ¡°Come with me.¡± Han Ya led him to an upright sandbag. ¡°We¡¯ll begin by learning the most basic of punches.¡± She handed him a pair of boxing gloves. ¡°One must exercise care when punching. The right technique can maximize the force of the blow-and the overall power of your attack. For now, watch and learn.¡± As she spoke, Han Ya assumed a stance beside Chen¡¯an, who positioned himself in a passable imitation of her. ¡°Now try punching the sandbag.¡± Chen¡¯an obeyed. He had the necessary momentum, although his strength could be better. Han Ya came behind him to adjust his stance. ¡°Open your legs a little more and lower your waist. This will help increase your force when punching forward. Punch hard. Concentrate all your strength. Imagine that there¡¯s a huge build up of energy in your body, and you need to find a hole to vent it.¡± She instructed, ¡°Again!¡± and Chen¡¯an¡¯s fist struck out. There was a dull thud as the sandbag in front of him shook slightly. Her feedback worked! Chen¡¯an was pleasantly surprised; just following her instructions had increased the strength of his punches so noticeably. Han Ya nodded in satisfaction; Chen¡¯an had been smart enough to remember the gist of the technique after his first try. ¡°Try it again, the way I told you. Don¡¯t rush. Take your time.¡± She walked to the side. Chen¡¯an nodded, held his breath, and punched again-maintaining the strength behind his previous attempts. Han Ya nodded again, satisfied. ¡°Keep going!¡± Thuds rang out as Chen¡¯an swung his fists at the sandbag-once, twice, again and again, until his irregular tempo turned consistent. His blows became faster, louder, attracting the attention of the Weaklings and Amateurs. ¡°Damn! This kid just learnt how to punch from Coach Han earlier. He sure picks up fast!¡± ¡°What a strong young man!¡± ¡°Chen Guifen, you¡¯re already 36 years old. Have you no shame?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. I¡¯m 18 years old at heart-I want to feel the strength of all that youth!¡± ¡°Mind if I watch?¡± ¡°Screw off.¡± Chen¡¯an was so busy practicing boxing that he didn¡¯t notice the notification from the system. His eyes were rooted on the sandbag in front of him. Straighten. Muster. Punch. Every time he repeated the routine, Chen¡¯an¡¯s sharp senses picked up on his areas for improvement; if his proficiency had been 60% when he began, he was getting better with every punch. Relying on his extraordinary focus and heightened reflexes, his speed increased, and his posture became more natural. Finally, when Chen¡¯an had more or less perfected his technique, he swung hard at the sandbag. A muffled thud echoed through the room, attracting the attention of everyone present. Chen¡¯an looked at the sandbag, which wasn¡¯t swaying as hard as it used to. He gave a silent sigh. He was still a little lacking in Power; even with all his might, the noise he produced upon impact still wasn¡¯t as loud as it could be. But that didn¡¯t mean his audience wasn¡¯t satisfied. Han Ya, for that matter, was overjoyed. Once again, Chen¡¯an¡¯s performance had surprised her. ¡°You¡¯re a fast learner. I¡¯ll teach you some basic footwork next¡­¡± *** Just like that, Chen¡¯an learned punching and footwork from Han Ya. His progress was so fast that she was a little stunned. It was the first time Han Ya had felt that her talent was far beneath that of someone else-her disciple, nonetheless! Just as she was about to give Chen¡¯an a break, he made a request. ¡°Master, why don¡¯t you be my target?¡± Chapter 35 - First Dungeon BOSS Kill! Chapter 35 First Dungeon BOSS Kill! The reason why Chen¡¯an wanted to spar with Han Ya was so he could fight monsters. After his last punch, he had taken a moment to check the system notifications. (Your rapid improvement has wounded the self-esteem of Kickboxing Weakling Wei Sheng. His current Lifeblood: -20) [Your rapid improvement has triggered the envy of Kickboxing Weakling Fei Shi, making her dizzy. Her current Lifeblood: -15] (Your boxing attracted the attention of Kickboxing Fighter Yang Guifen, activating her skill: ogling you. However, you were too focused to notice her, making you immune to her advances and causing her attack to backfire onto her. Her current Lifeblood: -30] Chen¡¯an noticed that the healthbars of many of the trainees were no longer full. He wanted to spar with them-after he tried killing the dungeon BOSS: Han Ya! He knew how the system worked; even something as simple as a scratch would cost him 1 drop of Lifeblood. Han Ya had 2,500 drops of Lifeblood, which meant it would only take 2,500 punches to kill her. If his speed and frequency increased, he could throw two punches per second-and kill her in 25 minutes at most! Han Ya didn¡¯t think too much about Chen¡¯an¡¯s request. She picked up two arm guards and put them on. ¡°Sure, but I won¡¯t stand still and let you hit me. Whether you can hit me or not depends on your footwork,¡± she said. That would clearly take longer than if she just stood there and absorbed his attacks, but Chen¡¯an had no choice. ¡°I¡¯m going to attack, Master!¡± He stepped forward and threw a straight punch at Han Ya¡¯s arm guard. Han Ya didn¡¯t dodge, and his fist hit the center of his target firmly. (You attacked Kickboxing Goddess. Her current Lifeblood: -3] Chen¡¯an became excited; the damage he inflicted had been higher than expected. However, his elation was short-lived as Han Ya effortlessly dodged his next punch. ¡°You make it too obvious that you¡¯re moving in for a punch. I can dodge your attack easily. Remember, you have to be fast, accurate, and ruthless. You have to hit me like you mean it!¡± Chen¡¯an nodded grimly and resumed his stance. He darted out with a few more punches. (You attacked Kickboxing Goddess. Her current Lifeblood: -2] The notifications continued to flood in as Chen¡¯an kept striking at Han Ya. She made an attempt to dodge, but three in every five of his blows met their targets. Of course, she was going easy on him; at his level, she could pinpoint the direction and timing of Chen¡¯an¡¯s punches before he even attacked. She hadn¡¯t taught him how to kick properly yet, so he could only use his fists to attack. Each punch only dealt damage worth 2 or 3 drops of Lifeblood, but the frequency of Chen¡¯an¡¯s attacks was increasing, and his fists found their targets more often than not, causing Han Ya¡¯s healthbar to decrease steadily. The noise of their sparring attracted the attention of a few nearby trainees. Half an hour flew by, and Chen¡¯an was still punching away. He was sweating and panting; his strength and speed had dropped sharply, reducing his damage to just 1 drop of Lifeblood per blow. It wasn¡¯t the only sign that Chen¡¯an¡¯s body had reached its limit-he had skipped lunch, and he was tired and hungry. Han Ya only had 158 drops of Lifeblood left. If not for the fact that her health automatically restored itself, she would have fallen victim to Chen¡¯an¡¯s attacks long ago! Seeing that Chen¡¯an was panting from exhaustion, Han Ya placed a hand on his shoulder in concern. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a break?¡± she asked. ¡°This workout might be a bit too long and strenuous for your current level.¡± [Attention! Kickboxing Goddess is about to leave the battle, after which she will enter a ¡®recovery¡¯ state. In this state, she will recover 10% of her Lifeblood every second until her healthbar is full.) Oh, for crying out loud. What a way to crap on his almost-victory. Chen¡¯an was anxious. Just as he was scanning his inventory for usable items, an idea struck him. He immediately opened the system store and bought three bottles of mini energy potions without looking at them closely. [Mini Energy Potion: Available at Level 1. Allows you to recover 30 points of energy in 10 seconds.] He still did not understand what an energy point was, but if he took it literally, it should be able to replenish his stamina, to some extent. The way middle-aged men could dominate the battlefield in the day but feel sleepy after returning to their wives at night was a sign of mental and physical inadequacy. With that in mind, he quickly used a mini energy potion in his inventory. After consuming a mini energy potion, Chen¡¯an¡¯s mental state recovered at a noticeable rate. And he was right-his stamina had improved! The discovery made his spirits soar. He swiftly rejected Han Ya¡¯s offer. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master. I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Han Ya resumed her stance, doubtful that Chen¡¯an could muster much strength in this state. In the next instant, he struck out with a powerful blow, and her skepticism vanished. As it turned out: yes, he did still have the strength! She was a little speechless. In her mind, with Chen¡¯an¡¯s stamina, he would have to rest for at least half an hour after such a long period of exertion. However, after just a few breaths, he had been able to unleash such a powerful attack again. His rate of recovery was astounding! She contemplated all this while absorbing Chen¡¯an¡¯s stream of punches. The frequency of his attacks was as fast as ever, without compromising too much on power. Chen¡¯an had lost count of how many blows he had landed. He only knew that Han Ya¡¯s health bar was close to being depleted. If he persisted a little longer, he would be able to defeat the dungeon BOSS! With one final punch, the healthbar above Han Ya¡¯s head vanished. In the next second, the system swarmed him with notifications. [Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Goddess (BOSS). You have gained 500 experience points, 1,000 gold coins, and 1 chief treasure chest.) [Congratulations on leveling up. You have gained 1 potential point. Please allocate it as you see fit.] [Congratulations on your achievement: defeating the dungeon BOSS. Although you used shameless methods, your courage and wisdom are commendable. Keep it up!) (Achievement points: +5] (A new item has been unlocked in the system store. Please check it yourself.] Chapter 36 - Rewards Chapter 36 Rewards Chen¡¯an could have sobbed in the wake of BOSS Han Ya¡¯s defeat. It had been so damn difficult to kill her. Han Ya stood and let Chen¡¯an rest for more than half an hour. He must have been exhausted; even her arms were a little sore! Fortunately, it had been worth it. The dungeon BOSS had finally been defeated! The system notifications were a little overwhelming, so Chen¡¯an wanted to be alone for a while to cool down. ¡°Master, I need to use the bathroom!¡± He ran to the men¡¯s washroom without looking back. When he reached the toilet, the first thing he did was find an empty stall and lock the door. Now came the most exciting part. This was the first time Chen¡¯an had defeated a dungeon BOSS-and his first time receiving a chief treasure chest! He took the chest out from his inventory. It appeared in his hands; the size of a food delivery carrier, dark red and sporting carvings of various birds and beasts. Chen¡¯an rubbed his hands together and slowly opened the chief treasure chest. There were no special effects. He peered into the treasure chest. Inside the huge box lay a female vest and a gold coin. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Chen¡¯an picked up the vest. [Congratulations on obtaining new equipment: Han Ya¡¯s Sports Vest] (Equipment Name: Han Ya¡¯s Sports Vest] (Equipment grade: Light gray] [Equipment Type: Clothing) (Equipment Attribute: Vitality +1] (Equipment Durability: 22/30] [Note: Han Ya often wears this sports vest during her kickboxing training. It represents her years of sweat and tears. Wearing it in front of Han Ya has a chance of making her enter a violent, or shy mode.] Great. He had worked so hard to kill the dungeon BOSS, only to end up with a reward that he couldn¡¯t even¡­ Well¡­ Chen¡¯an placed the sports vest in his inventory and was rewarded with shock. He was dressed in Han Ya¡¯s sports vest! And all it had taken was a flicker of his will. To his surprise, it fit perfectly; the sensation soft and comfortable. The only downside was that it was a little short, exposing his navel. After discovering that the sports vest could be worn, Chen¡¯an¡¯s mood improved. Other than it being too short, there would be no trouble-as long as his secret wasn¡¯t revealed, only he would know what he was wearing! He stole a glance at his attribute bar. [Name: Chen¡¯an] (Level: 5] [Title: Han Ya¡¯s Disciple] [Experience: 468/500) (Lifeblood: 80] (Vitality: 6+2] (Power: 6] [Agility: 9] [Spirit: 8+1] (Charm: 5] (Luck: 1] [Potential points: 1] [Achievement points: 17) (Gold coins: 1304) (Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English, beginner kickboxing] [Items: Cao Zhijiang¡¯s Lesson Notes (Equipment), Hong Zhou¡¯s Ancestral Whistle (Equipment), Han Ya¡¯s Sports Vest (Equipment)] He was no longer in his defensive mode, so his equipment attributes returned to their original values. Chen¡¯an removed the gold coins from the chest. [Congratulations on obtaining 200 gold coins.] There were only two items in the treasure chest. After taking them out, it slowly disappeared. The rewards from the chief treasure chest had been pretty good, especially the sports vest. The additional Vitality point had increased Chen¡¯an¡¯s endurance and Lifeblood, which would bode well for his training down the road. Just then, he noticed another notification from the system. [A new item has been unlocked in the system store. Please check it yourself.] Chen¡¯an quickly opened the system store and found that the items available were no longer limited to the two mini potions he had unlocked at Level 1. A short survey told him that he now had eight items in total. The new items included: a medium health potion, medium energy potion, double EXP card, double gold card, double achievement card, and an equipment repair talisman. (Medium Health Potion: Available at Level 5. Allows you to restore 100 drops of Lifeblood in 10 seconds.] [Medium Energy Potion: Available at Level 5. Allows you to restore 100 energy points in 10 seconds.] The price of both potions was 100 gold coins a bottle. He moved on to the three cards. As their names suggested, his total experience points, gold coins, and achievement points would double for the duration of an hour. The double EXP card was worth 200 gold coins; the double gold card cost 300 gold coins; and the double achievement card would require 500 gold coins to purchase. Finally, there was the equipment repair talisman worth 1,000 gold coins. [Equipment Repair Talisman: When used on equipment with insufficient durability, it can restore the durability of the equipment by 20 points. However, its effects cannot exceed the maximum durability of the equipment.] The repair talisman wasn¡¯t very useful to Chen¡¯an now, because his least durable piece of equipment was ¡®Cao Zhijiang¡¯s Lesson Notes¡¯, and even it was worth 17 durability points. There was no telling how long it would be before the repair talisman came in handy. The most useful items he had unlocked were undoubtedly the double cards. As Chen¡¯an¡¯s level increased, so did the experience points needed to level up. The experience points he earned from killing monsters were generally only around a dozen-far too slow a rate to gain hundreds of such points. The double EXP card would change that. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t reached Level 5 before defeating the dungeon BOSS, and hence missed out on a huge number of experience points. There were still some trainees in the kickboxing arena. Chen¡¯an scanned the price of the double EXP card and decided to buy one to try out. The card appeared in his inventory, and his gold coins decreased by 200. Afterwards, Chen¡¯an added the 1 potential point he had earned to his Power. For a moment, he felt as if his body had grown a little stronger-including his arm muscles! After confirming that there were no other attributes he could improve, Chen¡¯an left the toilet and returned to the kickboxing club. Han Ya looked puzzled when he came back. It might have been her imagination, but Chen¡¯an¡¯s whole demeanor seemed to have shifted after his visit to the washroom-not to mention his overly fast rate of recovery! ¡°Master, I should be able to practice with the other trainees now, right?¡± Han Ya came back to her senses and looked at Chen¡¯an, who was breathing steadily. Finally, she nodded. ¡°Although you¡¯re only a beginner, you¡¯re improving faster than usual. Yes, you can spar with the others.¡± Chapter 37 - Its Natural to Lose Chapter 37 It¡¯s Natural to Lose After confirming Chen¡¯an¡¯s ability, Han Ya began to find people for him to practice with. The coaches were out. Han Ya, too, was a combat coach, so she had to find someone relatively on par with Chen¡¯an. To pair him with one of the coaches would be asking for trouble; she narrowed her selection to the other combat trainees. ¡°Liu Zihao, come here for a moment.¡± Han Ya waved at a nearby student who was about the same age as Chen¡¯an. When the latter saw that Han Ya was looking for him, he ran over eagerly. ¡°Coach Han, why are you looking for me?¡± Liu Zihao smiled, happy to be called over by Han Ya. Chen¡¯an studied the monster mark on Liu Zihao¡¯s head. (Level 1 Kickboxing Weakling] Ah, someone around his level! Han Ya nodded at Liu Zihao and pointed at Chen¡¯an. ¡°This kid here wants to find a partner for sparring. You can spar with him for now.¡± Liu Zihao looked at Chen¡¯an and grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Liu Zihao. Nice to meet you.¡± As he spoke, he extended his boxing gloves to Chen¡¯an. ¡°I¡¯m Chen¡¯an.¡± Chen¡¯an raised his own glove in a fist-bump. The two of them went to the small arena at the side. Most of the other trainees knew each other, so Chen¡¯an, as a newcomer, had attracted their attention. After realizing he was about to get into a sparring match on his first day, they couldn¡¯t help but watch. Liu Zihao had been learning kickboxing for about a month. Even if he was the least skilled of everyone present, Chen¡¯an was even more of an amateur. Sure, his punches earlier had been impressive, but how hard was it to hit the same target again and again? Some of the trainees could hit hard enough to knock down stationary sandbags, but that didn¡¯t automatically make them the strongest fighters. ¡°Do you think the kid will cry after being punched?¡± ¡°Look at his fair, pretty face. I think he will cry-and for a long time, too.¡± ¡°Shut up, both of you. All you can talk about is violence, when what this young man needs is a little tenderness,¡± Chen Guifen interjected, exasperated. The two men who had spoken pursed their lips and said no more. In the arena, Chen¡¯an and Liu Zihao assumed their stances. [You have entered the arena with Kickboxing Weakling Liu Zihao.] (You are not allowed to leave the arena without permission before the outcome of the battle is determined. Whoever leaves without permission will automatically lose, and their current Lifeblood will decrease by 100 drops.] Chen¡¯an raised his eyebrows. Not a bad deal, especially if it prevented his opponent from backing out halfway. Liu Zihao leapt up and down barefooted and stretched his limbs. His confidence rose; he felt equipped for the fight. ¡°Be careful, Chen¡¯an. I¡¯ve only been practicing kickboxing for a month, but I can pack a punch.¡± He mimicked one of said punches with a flourish, causing the female tank by the side to squeal. Chen¡¯an glanced her way nervously, then smiled politely at Liu Zihao. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back, Zihao. I know I¡¯m weak, so I¡¯ll be more careful.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± the other boy replied candidly. At this moment, Han Ya, who was acting as the referee, walked onto the arena. She looked at the two ready combatants and gave the order to start. Everyone¡¯s eyes were fixed on the arena, other than the two coaches who had better things to do than watch two rookies bat their fists at each other. The scrutiny sent a fire rolling through Liu Zihao¡¯s veins. ¡°Watch out!¡± He gritted his teeth and swung at Chen¡¯an¡¯s head with his right fist. They were both wearing protective gear on their heads, they wouldn¡¯t suffer much damage even if they took a blow. At most, they would lose their balance. Liu Zihao had been practicing this punch for a month. It was his trump card-a swift attack, a preemptive strike before he crushed his opponent. Unfortunately, Liu Zihao¡¯s technique was full of flaws in Chen¡¯an¡¯s eyes. The moment he stepped out, Chen¡¯an had already deduced the trajectory of his punch and reacted before his opponent¡¯s fist came his way. There was a whoosh of air as Liu Zihao¡¯s fist barely grazed the top of Chen¡¯an¡¯s head. Liu Zihao¡¯s expression crumpled. Before he could react, Chen¡¯an¡¯s fist darted out at him and made direct contact with his head, causing him to stagger and reel back. Thrown off-balance, he swayed and fell. The audience went silent as the grave. Chen¡¯an had dodged and attacked in one seamless motion; before they could blink, Liu Zihao was on the ground. [Kickboxing Weakling Liu Zihao attacked you, but you dodged his attack.] [You attacked Kickboxing Weakling Liu Zihao and hit his head, inflicting critical damage. His current Lifeblood: -10] [Kickboxing Weakling Liu Zihao is injured on the ground. His current Lifeblood: -15] [You made Kickboxing Weakling Liu Zihao fear for his life. His current Lifeblood: -25] [Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Weakling Liu Zihao. You have gained 10 experience points and 10 gold coins.] Damn. He had inflicted a series of damage with just one punch-and killed the monster, whose healthbar hadn¡¯t been full to begin with. Han Ya rushed over to help Liu Zihao up. ¡°How are you? Are you hurt?¡± Liu Zihao turned to look at Han Ya blankly. ¡°Coach, what happened? Did I just lose?¡± Han Ya nodded. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯ve only been learning for a month. It¡¯s only natural.¡± The spectators were speechless. It was true that Liu Zihao had only been practicing kickboxing for a month, but that newcomer Chen¡¯an had only been training for a day-no, less than that! [Your rapid improvement has dealt a blow to Kickboxing Weakling Lu Mincai. His current Lifeblood: -10] [Your rapid improvement has dealt a blow to Kickboxing Amateur Chen Ju. His current Lifeblood: -10] (Your rapid improvement has riled up Kickboxing Fighter Chen Guifen. She will pay more attention to you from now on.] The sudden excitement in the group made Chen¡¯an a little uncomfortable. He eyed the middle-aged woman in the audience-the only one smiling at him-and fell into deep thought. Seeing that Liu Zihao was fine, Han Ya comforted him and asked him to rest downstairs. Then she approached Chen¡¯an and whispered, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have gone easier on a beginner? If you keep this up, no one¡¯s going to dare to spar with you.¡± Chen¡¯an coughed dryly and quickly explained in a low voice that he hadn¡¯t done it on purpose; he had just been lucky. Han Ya rolled her eyes, but said nothing more. ¡°Niu Yanghui, come up and practice with Chen¡¯an. The kid got lucky earlier.¡± Chen¡¯an looked in the newcomer¡¯s direction and saw that he was labeled as a ¡®Level 4 Kickboxing Fighter¡¯. For the first time, he felt a hint of worry. Chapter 38 - Worse Than a Beast Chapter 38 Worse Than a Beast When Han Ya called up a Level 4 Kickboxing Fighter to spar with Chen¡¯an, he knew his next match would be a more challenging one. However, what surprised him wasn¡¯t the strength of his opponent but their endurance. The trainee Han Ya had addressed as Niu Yanghui had been practicing kickboxing for more than a year. His fitness was far above that of Liu Zihao. Chen¡¯an¡¯s reflexes and attacks were swift, but Niu Yanghui had the resistance to withstand his punches. He struck out again. (You have attacked Kickboxing Fighter Niu Yanghui. His current Lifeblood: -8] The damage was far from satisfactory, but they were both wearing protective gear, and unless they went so far as to incorporate elbows and knees into their attacks, it was difficult to deal high levels of damage at once. At the start, Niu Yanghui had had 100 drops of Lifeblood. Before entering the arena, he had lost 20 drops to Chen¡¯an¡¯s attack. Nearly ten minutes into the match, he had been on the receiving end of seven or eight punches, and still had more than 10 drops left. However, being attacked by Chen¡¯an made Niu Yanghui angry. When Chen¡¯an¡¯s fist swung again, Niu Yanghui chose to meet his attack head-on, before responding with one of his own. His punch collided with Chen¡¯an¡¯s head. They each took a punch, but Chen¡¯an recovered first. Before Niu Yanghui could stabilize himself, he met with another of Chen¡¯an¡¯s blows. (You attacked Kickboxing Fighter Niu Yanghui and hit him in the head, inflicting critical damage. His current Lifeblood: -15] [Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Fighter Niu Yanghui. You have gained 20 experience points and 20 gold coins.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s expression brightened. His experience points were now 498/500-two points till he could level up! Niu Yanghui, who had taken two punches in a row, held onto the rope enclosing the arena and regained his balance. ¡°Is this really your first day learning kickboxing, boy?¡± he asked helplessly. ¡°I hardly feel like a match for you.¡± (Your rapid improvement has dealt a blow to Kickboxing Weakling Lu Mincai. His current Lifeblood: -10) (Your rapid improvement has attracted the attention of Level 5 Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu. He has marked you as someone to keep an eye on.) Chen¡¯an nodded at Niu Yanghui before turning his gaze to a proper-looking man in the crowd. Their eyes met, and Hao Wu offered him a friendly smile. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± Han Ya stood up, not daring to let Chen¡¯an continue sparring with anyone else. If this went on, only a coach would be a match for him. Unless they lost too, in which case Han Ya had little faith in the survival of their kickboxing club. With the sparring drawn to a close, everyone quickly dispersed. Han Ya came to Chen¡¯an¡¯s side and gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder. ¡°Not bad, kid. You¡¯ve made me proud today,¡± she said with a smile. Chen¡¯an coughed dryly. ¡°Only because my master taught me well.¡± ¡°You sure know how to pile on the flattery. Go sit aside and rest first. If you want to eat something, go to the front desk; you can buy snacks there. Put it on my tab.¡± Han Ya pointed to the rest area. Chen¡¯an was a little hungry, so he followed her instructions and bought two loaves of bread and a bottle of milk, which he ate at the rest area. The dungeon simulation had been ongoing for almost two hours, with no signs that it was about to end. Clearly, it wasn¡¯t set in stone how long dungeons remained open; classes in school usually lasted for 45 minutes, so the simulations would end then. But the kickboxing club didn¡¯t close until 10pm-if its closing hours were anything to go by. It was now 2pm, so he had 8 hours more! Even if he didn¡¯t stay that late, he could afford another hour or two in this place. Plus, he could use the time to verify a few things. Namely, whether anyone who entered the club while it was open would be automatically marked as a monster. If so, wouldn¡¯t that mean he could choose an even more crowded location, with potential victims aplenty? Chen¡¯an had his double EXP card at his disposal, but, unfortunately, he was supposed to be taking a break, and his audience had dispersed. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to find another monster to kill. As he was thinking, a faint fragrance wafted into his nose from beside him. Chen¡¯an looked up and saw the beautiful middle-aged woman-the one who had smiled at him earlier-seated in a chair. ¡°Are you a student at Shangke High, handsome?¡± Chen¡¯an studied her, and her name came back to him: Chen Guifen. From her demeanor, he could tell it wasn¡¯t her first time in such a situation. He had to admit, she paid a respectable amount of attention to her appearance; her skin was fair and rosy, and her face was absent of wrinkles. Her figure was even more eye-catching. Eying the ¡®Level 4 Kickboxing Fighter¡¯ title over her head, Chen¡¯an replied politely, ¡°I am.¡± IC Chen Guifen giggled. ¡°Looks like my memory didn¡¯t fail me. I thought that was a Shangke High uniform you were wearing earlier. Which year of high school is it for you?¡± She was wearing a sports vest with a loose collar, and her breasts rippled along with the vibrations from her laughter. Chen¡¯an held her gaze and replied flatly, ¡°I¡¯m in my third year. I¡¯m a senior.¡± Chen Guifen¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Meaning, you¡¯re 18 years old?¡± That was excellent-he was considered a legal adult! ¡°I noticed you weren¡¯t panting even after punching for so long, handsome. Your stamina is impressive.¡± She reached out to touch his arm. Startled, Chen¡¯an pulled away and coughed. ¡°I just ran 1km in school today. If there¡¯s nothing else, Auntie, I¡¯d like to rest.¡± (Your inappropriate address made Kickboxing Fighter Chen Guifen¡¯s blood rush to her brain. Her current Lifeblood: -20] Her smile froze. Auntie? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she had placed Chen¡¯an high in her sights, she would have taught this unchivalrous brat a lesson. She sucked in two sharp breaths, suppressing her indignation. ¡°Since you want to rest, I won¡¯t disturb you. Can you leave me your phone number so we can stay in touch?¡± She straightened, giving him a clearer view of her chest-a temptation no teenage boy could refuse. But Chen¡¯an¡¯s answer surprised her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Auntie. I don¡¯t bring my phone to school because my mother doesn¡¯t allow me to use it there.¡± [Your inappropriate address made Kickboxing Fighter Chen Guifen¡¯s blood rush to her brain-again. Her current Lifeblood: -25] (Kickboxing Fighter Chen Guifen recognizes your clumsy lie for what it is, severely wounding her confidence. Her current Lifeblood: -30] (Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Fighter Chen Guifen. You have gained 14 experience points and 14 gold coins.) (Congratulations on leveling up. You have gained 1 potential point. Please allocate it as you see fit.] (Congratulations on your achievement: behaving worse than a beast. You actually rejected the subtle invitation of a delicate beauty. How monstrous of you.] [Achievement points: +2] Chapter 39 - Aerobic Exercise Chapter 39 Aerobic Exercise Chen Guifen stormed off. When Chen¡¯an put his point across like that, how could she-the belle of the club-bear the humiliation? She refused to stay a minute longer, throwing on her jacket and leaving in a temper. When she arrived downstairs, she looked upstairs angrily and snorted. She walked to an alley, took out her phone and sent a string of names and phone numbers recorded in a memo to a friend over WeChat. Afterwards, she made a voice call, which was answered promptly. ¡°Hello, is this Sister Chen?¡± A rough male voice came from the other end. ¡°It¡¯s me. The people whose information I sent you earlier are from the south of the city. I¡¯ve talked to all of them; they¡¯re an old-fashioned lot. You don¡¯t even need to provide them with photos to add them as friends.¡± ¡°Alright. I knew I could count on you. We gained hundreds of thousands from the last batch of people; we should be able to do it again with this one.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky yet. We still have work to do. I, for one, have to snag our next set of targets.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll add them as friends!¡± His voice trailed off as the call ended. Chen Guifen looked back at the Jin Yu Freestyle Fight Club not far away. ¡°That brat was a rare gem who caught my eye¡­ but he kept calling me auntie!¡± a She looked at her face with her phone¡¯s front camera. ¡°Do I really look that old? Looks like I need to keep up with my rejuvenation beauty package.¡± *** Inside the kickboxing club, Chen¡¯an had barely taken two bites of his meal when he saw someone else sitting beside him. A refined-looking young man, with the title ¡®Level 5 Kickboxing Photographer¡¯ over his head. If Chen¡¯an recalled correctly, his name was Hao Wu. Hao Wu gave Chen¡¯an¡¯s shoulder a friendly pat and said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re really something, boy, ignoring Chen Guifen¡¯s invitation like that.¡± Hao Wu had wanted to look for Chen¡¯an earlier, but Chen Guifen had beaten him to it, so he sat nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation. When he heard Chen¡¯an refuse to give Chen Guifen his phone number, he had been impressed. He himself hadn¡¯t been able to resist the temptation of a woman like Chen Guifen; he had eagerly obliged when she had asked him for his number. Chen¡¯an took the time to savor two large bites of bread and a sip of milk before paying Hao Wu any mind. ¡°From what I can tell, you must have had your sights set on Chen Guifen for a long time,¡± he said. ¡°How is it going? Has she contacted you?¡± Hao Wu laughed dryly. ¡°She took my phone number, but didn¡¯t have the time to contact me. As for you, Chen Guifen asked for your phone number on the first day you arrived. You¡¯re quite impressive.¡± (Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu is jealous of you, worsening his mood. His current Lifeblood: -10] Wow. It seemed like this monster was going to start making a move on Chen Guifen. Chen¡¯an thought for a moment and said, ¡°She said I¡¯m pretty fit and should be capable of some pretty intense cardio-even though I personally don¡¯t think so.¡± (Your careless words have been misunderstood by Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu, deeping his jealousy of you. His current Lifeblood: -20] ¡°Even for aerobics, half an hour is a long time. Any longer than that will strain your body. Just because you¡¯re fit doesn¡¯t mean you have the stamina for prolonged aerobics,¡± Hao Wu replied, straightening his spine. Chen¡¯an nodded. ¡°I see. No wonder I always feel very tired after an hour of continuous aerobic exercise.¡± [Your exaggerated boasting has dealt a heavy blow to Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu¡¯s confidence. His current Lifeblood: -25] ¡°An¡­ hour?¡± he echoed, shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to rest?¡± Chen¡¯an gave him an odd look. ¡°Of course. You have to rest for at least half an hour after each exercise before you can continue. Otherwise, would that be considered aerobics?¡± (Your words have shocked Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu, making him seriously doubt and despise his own abilities. His current Lifeblood: -30] Shock was plastered all over Hao Wu¡¯s face. ¡°Boy, can you tell me how you trained? I¡¯ll do anything, as long as you share with me your secrets!¡± He stared at Chen¡¯an earnestly. Chen¡¯an was puzzled. ¡°I don¡¯t see what secrets there are concerning aerobics like jogging or swimming. You can always run even if you can¡¯t swim.¡± Hao Wu gaped, and Chen¡¯an gazed back at him innocently. (Your words have mentally unsettled Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu, causing him to enter a state of Qi deterioration. He will now lose 20 drops of Lifeblood per second for 5 seconds.] [Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu is undergoing Qi deterioration. His current Lifeblood: -20] [¡­ -20) [Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu. You have gained 48 experience points and 48 gold coins.] Chen¡¯an was delighted-killing special monsters earned him higher experience points! Beside him, Hao Wu was stunned for a full three seconds until the monster icon above his head began to fade. ¡°So you were referring to jogging and swimming.¡± He didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. It dawned on him for the first time that Chen¡¯an was just a student. Guilt lanced through him when he met Chen¡¯an¡¯s pure-eyed gaze. Maybe he was a pervert-the schoolboy had probably never even held a girl¡¯s hand before. How would he know that there was a type of aerobics workout that involved two people? Perhaps it was such innocence that had led Chen¡¯an to reject a woman like Chen Guifen-what secret intentions could he possibly be harboring? Hao Wu heaved a sigh of relief and patted Chen¡¯an on the shoulder, deciding not to corrupt this pure boy. ¡°It was a pleasure to meet you today, boy. If you have any relationship problems in the future, just come and find me. I can help you.¡± With another sigh, he left and walked towards the only two adult female trainees in the venue. When Hao Wu¡¯s figure was far in the distance, Chen¡¯an looked at his remaining time for his double EXP card. 22 minutes and 35 seconds. At this moment, almost all the remaining trainees¡¯ healthbars had been depleted by half, with the exception of a few of them. Determined to maximize his results, Chen¡¯an left the rest area to find Han Ya, who was guiding the combat trainees. ¡°Master, I want to try practicing with the coaches.¡± He eyed the two coaches who were instructing a few other trainees nearby. [Your actions have shocked Kickboxing Amateur Guo Tu, causing his heart to twitch violently. His current Lifeblood: -40] (Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Amateur Guo Tu. You have gained 14 experience points and 14 gold coins.] Chen¡¯an looked speechlessly at Han Ya¡¯s trainee, whom he had just defeated. All things considered, he was still at Level 2. Was that sentence alone really enough to kill him? Chapter 40 - Evidence of Crimes Chapter 40 Evidence of Crimes Chen¡¯an¡¯s words didn¡¯t just kill one of the trainees-even Han Ya was nearly shocked to death. ¡°Have you forgotten that kickboxing involves more than your fists? Niu Yanghui was going easy on you. If he had incorporated his legs into the fight, you might not be standing here right now,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. Chen¡¯an paused. ¡°Huh. You can use your legs in kickboxing?¡± Han Ya reached out and tapped his head. ¡°It¡¯s freestyle fighting. Other than a few lethal moves that can¡¯t be used, there are no hard rules!¡± Only then did Chen¡¯an realize he might have overstepped. There was no way his arm muscles were stronger than a trained opponent¡¯s thigh muscles, and he had just learned how to punch, so he was a long way from being able to flexibly alternate between upper and lower body attacks. ¡°Get it now?¡± Han Ya asked. ¡°You should go and train your footwork and punches. I¡¯ll teach you how to kick next week.¡± Chen¡¯an nodded and obediently went to the upright sandbag in one corner. His next two hours were a blur of non-stop punching To everyone¡¯s shock, his fists never stopped colliding with the sandbag-until two hours later, when he had ¡®scared to death¡¯ seven Level 1 Weaklings, four Level 2 Amateurs, and one Level 4 Fighter with his formidable stamina. The rewards he reaped were decent, but his experience points were still 195/1000. He had to work harder in order to level up. Unfortunately, one hour wasn¡¯t enough to make full use of his double EXP card; he missed out on a few Level 1 and Level 4 monsters. But one thing Chen¡¯an had noticed was that anyone who entered the dungeon halfway would also be marked as a monster! For example, a trainee had arrived an hour ago, and the title ¡®Level 2 Kickboxing Amateur¡¯ had manifested above his head as soon as he was within the vicinity of the club. It planted an idea in Chen¡¯an¡¯s mind: he would go to a location with higher human traffic-and an abundance of prospective victims. But first, he had to accumulate sufficient achievement points, which he planned to earn by splurging on food at the snack kiosk once he returned to school. At least, he hoped that would count as achievements. * * * It was 4pm when his two hours of practice alone ended, about time he left. He had only been able to stay for so long because the Jin Ya Freestyle Fight Club wasn¡¯t too far from his home. After saying goodbye to Han Ya and collecting his membership card at the front desk, Chen¡¯an exited the club. (You are about to step out of the dungeon boundary. If you want to continue forward, you need to close the dungeon first. Do you wish to proceed with closing the dungeon?] This time, Chen¡¯an chose ¡®Yes¡¯. The system sent him a corresponding notification: [Congratulations on completing the Mini Dungeon (Freestyle Fight Club). You have killed a total of 8 Kickboxing Weaklings, 5 Kickboxing Amateurs, 2 Kickboxing Fighters, 1 Kickboxing Photographer, o Kickboxing Masters, and 1 Kickboxing Goddess.) [Main task: Completed] [Number of side tasks completed: 10] (Rate of increase in rewards, according to your performance: 100%] (You have gained 200 experience points, 400 gold coins, and 1 (200%) mini dungeon treasure chest.) The number of experience points and gold coins were fixed-and pretty decent-but what concerned Chen¡¯an was the mini dungeon treasure chest. He had already left the Jin Ya Freestyle Fight Club, so he could only open the chest at home. All in all, he had earned a satisfactory amount of rewards-especially increasing his martial prowess. With his current strength, he would probably be able to hold his own against Scorpion and his gang if he encountered them again. That is, if he didn¡¯t choose to call another car full of people to teach them a lesson. * * * After an hour and a half on the bus, Chen¡¯an finally reached home. He only had half an hour before his parents arrived, so he was lucky he didn¡¯t have to prepare dishes for dinner. The (200%) mini dungeon treasure chest was simply too enticing; he could hardly contain his racing heart. From his experience with the previous two chests, his current one likely held equipment or items related to Han Ya, which would in turn boost his Vitality or Power. Just as well, since those were his two most desired attributes at the moment. After washing the rice and putting it in the cooker, Chen¡¯an washed his face briskly and lit one of his father¡¯s cigarettes in front of the idols in the kitchen to pay his respects. Then he happily went to his room and locked the door. He withdrew the mini dungeon treasure chest from his inventory, and it appeared in front of him, its edges trimmed with black. Slowly, he opened it in anticipation. When he looked into the treasure chest, he realized that there were three items inside! No wonder they had said the rewards would be worth 200% their usual rate. Chen¡¯an ignored the gold coins in the chest and picked up an item that looked like a ring. (Congratulations on obtaining new equipment: Han Ya¡¯s Lucky Ring] (Equipment Name: Han Ya¡¯s Lucky Ring] (Equipment Grade: Bronze] [Equipment Type: Ring] [Equipment Attribute: Luck +1] [Equipment Durability: 15/25] [Note: Han Ya¡¯s only relic from her late mother, representing a mother¡¯s heartfelt wishes for her daughter. Wearing it will give you good luck.] Chen¡¯an¡¯s face lit up. So Han Ya¡¯s mother had already passed away. From the description of the ring, she must have loved her daughter very much. It was a shame she died so soon. He sighed and slipped the ring on. He had four pieces of equipment now, and his collection-worth eight panels in total, looked less sparse. In addition to his existing weapons, necklaces, clothes, and ring, there were also helmets, belts, bottoms, and shoes. If he earned them all, he should be able to boost his attributes. Now that he had a ring to increase his luck, he was relatively confident that he would be able to obtain the full set of equipment. After putting the ring away, Chen¡¯an picked up another item that looked like a portfolio. [Congratulations on obtaining new equipment: Evidence of Chen Guifen¡¯s crimes] What the hell? Chen Guifen-that charming auntie from earlier-was a criminal? The discovery shocked Chen¡¯an. He pulled himself back to reality and read the description of the supposed evidence. [Evidence of Chen Guifen¡¯s crimes: Contains detailed information on her crimes as well as evidence. You stand to gain rewards if you turn her in to the authorities.] Chen¡¯an pounced on the keywords: the authorities. In other words, he could give this folder to them directly! Did that mean items could only be used by others after being removed from the treasure chests? A spark danced in Chen¡¯an¡¯s gaze.