I Will Eventually Grind My Way to Godhood

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Novel Synopsis:

From [Running] to the physics-defying [Godspeed].

From [Aiming] to the cause-and-effect transcending [Certain Hit].

From [Health Preservation] to the longevity-granting [Eternal Life].

From [Physical Fitness] to the flesh and blood ascending [Dragon Transformation].

Xue Jing, who has been reborn, sets a small goal after obtaining a panel that can infinitely grind skills.

In this dangerous world filled with martial artists, blessed ones, and cyborgs, he aims to rise above all as the true god of mankind, relying solely on his mortal flesh and blood.

Novel Tags:

Genius Flow, Rebirth, Raising, System Flow, Mature, Light-hearted, Action

 

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***
On the spacious playground, eight high school boys in sports uniforms were sprinting on the plastic track.

This was a 1000-meter run physical test for the boys.

For some reason, despite it being just a class test, there were quite a few students gathered around the track.

Especially the girls.

They were wearing short skirt uniforms that were not suitable for physical activity, clearly not there for the PE class. Their eyes were all locked onto the male student who was far ahead of the pack.

As the male student crossed the finish line, the Physical Education Teacher accurately pressed the stopwatch in his hand.

"Xue Jing, 2 minutes 36.79 seconds."

The Physical Education Teacher reported the result with a hint of disbelief, and the student responsible for recording the results was momentarily stunned before picking up the pen to note it down.

Xue Jing slowly came to a stop, breathing slightly heavily.

The girls nearby were chattering, but he ignored them and looked at the semi-transparent panel that only he could see.

[Completed 1000-meter run, Running Experience +20]

[Running Lv3 (258/800)]

'20 points, a bit more than usual...'

He then looked at another skill on the panel.

[Charm Lv2 (89/500)]

[Someone has developed a liking for you, Charm Experience +1]

[Someone has developed a liking for you, Charm Experience +1]

[Someone has developed a liking for you, Charm Experience +1]

[Someone has developed a liking for you...]

The screen was flooded with notifications, and the 'Charm' skill visibly increased by 1, 1, 1, quickly reaching (151/500). The speed slowed down but still occasionally increased by 1.

'This useless skill is growing so fast.' Xue Jing felt a bit helpless.

He looked at all the skills on his panel.

[Fitness Lv2 (258/500)]

[Health Preservation Lv1 (199/300)]

[Cooking Lv2 (257/500)]

[Running Lv3 (258/800)]

[Charm Lv2 (153/500)]

'This is what I've gained this month.' Xue Jing felt a faint sense of satisfaction.

He was a穿越者 (穿越者 literally means '穿越者', but can be translated as '穿越er' for context).

A month ago, he mysteriously arrived in a world similar yet different from his previous Earth, becoming a third-year high school student named Xue Jing and inheriting the memories of his predecessor.

And along with the穿越, he received the semi-transparent panel in front of him.

Xue Jing called it the Skill Panel.

As long as he mastered something to a certain degree, the corresponding skill would be activated on the panel.

Then, as long as he continued to practice the skill, he would continuously gain experience, and his understanding and proficiency would improve accordingly.

As long as he practiced, the skill would improve, and effort would not be wasted.

For example, 'Running'. After activating this skill half a month ago, he reached Lv3 in just half a month, improving his 1000-meter run time from 3 minutes 42 seconds to 2 minutes 36 seconds.

Without much effort and without professional guidance, such progress was impossible.

But with the help of the Skill Panel, he achieved it effortlessly.

Moreover, the level-up of 'Running' not only improved his understanding and speed of running but also significantly enhanced his physical fitness.

'Is this the joy of having a cheat?' Xue Jing mused.

At this moment, another male student crossed the finish line.

"Li Ge, 3 minutes 22.17 seconds."

The Physical Education Teacher pressed the stopwatch.

It was a very good score for a high school student, but with Xue Jing's outstanding performance, the teacher's expression remained unchanged.

Li Ge, panting heavily, slowed down and walked up to Xue Jing, one hand on his knee and the other on Xue Jing's shoulder, speaking in broken breaths:

"I demand you take a urine test... You must be on drugs, how could you run so fast..."

Xue Jing smiled, about to reply, but noticed a few female students in school uniforms chattering by the track.

Then, a girl with a delicate and beautiful face and a slender figure, her face slightly red, walked towards Xue Jing.

In her hands, she held a stack of white towels, and her long, slender legs, visible beneath her short skirt, almost seemed to reflect the midday sun.

Li Ge also noticed this scene and said nothing, silently withdrawing his hand from Xue Jing's shoulder and stepping aside.

As he walked, he shook his head and muttered, "Pointless effort."

The star of our elite class, even the girls in our class can't get, let alone you little girls?

The girl with the towels, oblivious to his muttering, shyly approached Xue Jing, looked up at his face, mustered her courage, and said:

"Senior, wipe your sweat."

Xue Jing glanced around, hesitated for a moment, and then took the towel, saying, "Thank you."

Seemingly surprised that Xue Jing actually took the towel, the girl blushed, "You... you're welcome."

After saying this, she immediately turned and ran back to her friends, her steps light and joyful.

As soon as she returned, her friends began to tease her, laughing loudly. Some of them said something embarrassing, and the girl couldn't help but chase after them, hitting them a few times. In the process, she secretly glanced at Xue Jing a few times, thinking she was being discreet.

Xue Jing's classmates, who were also in PE class, saw this scene and shook their heads, smiling. Some of the girls even clicked their tongues, seemingly disapproving.

Xue Jing wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel. It wasn't much, but he wondered if it was his imagination or because the towel had been held in the girl's arms for too long, it had a faint fragrance.

[Someone has developed a lot of liking for you, Charm Experience +45]

Li Ge walked up, pinching his chin curiously, "Strange, you didn't refuse. Did you finally come to your senses?"

"Hey, I'm just saying, don't let the good stuff go to others. If you really want to, we have plenty of girls in our class..."

Xue Jing shook his head, interrupting, "No interest."

"Why not?" Li Ge asked.

Xue Jing spun the towel in his hand like a basketball, saying casually, "Coming over to give me a towel in front of so many people takes a lot of courage. If I refused, someone with a thin skin might be left with a psychological scar."

Pausing, Xue Jing continued, "If she really has feelings for me, I'll reject her when she comes to see me alone."

Li Ge shook his head, sighing, "You're so mature, like a seasoned worker... That's why these juniors keep coming over even though they know there's little hope."

"You should just pick someone from the class to date and let everyone else give up."

"The boys at Qingcheng Affiliated High School have suffered long enough because of you, Xue Jing. The juniors are pining for you, and the seniors are left with nothing. Aren't you afraid they'll team up and challenge you to a Dark Duel?"

Xue Jing glanced at the Charm skill on his panel.

[Lv2 (209/500)]

He closed the panel and patted Li Ge's shoulder, "When that happens, I'll count on you, good brother."

Li Ge waved his hands, "No need for that."

...

Please follow and read!

(End of Chapter)

 

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***
Qingcheng Affiliated High School.

The full name is Qingcheng University Affiliated High School.

As the affiliated high school of a top university in the outer ring, Qingcheng High School is also one of the leading key high schools in the outer ring. Students who can study here are generally considered to be outstanding.

"... After that, the administrative divisions of Zhuxia were re-planned..."

The geography teacher on the podium was speaking while writing on the blackboard.

Unlike in Xue Jing's previous life, this planet called Earth Star, while the national powers can roughly be matched, many things are vastly different.

One of the biggest differences is the event that occurred at the end of the 19th century, which affected the entire globe and is now known as the 'Death of God.'

Because of that event, the Gregorian calendar, which started from the birth of Jesus, officially ended, and the 'New Era' calendar, which began the year after God's death, was adopted. The history before the 'Death of God' is referred to as the 'Old Era' or 'Ancient Age.'

It is now the 267th year of the New Era.

Xue Jing deftly twirled his pen, seemingly focused on the podium, but in reality, his mind was elsewhere, barely paying attention to the lesson.

He opened his skill panel, but there were no skills related to studying.

As a student in the elite class of a key high school, his grades were excellent. Based on the activation conditions of other skills, it was impossible for him not to meet the basic Level 1 activation condition in his studies.

But on the panel, there were none for Chinese, Math, Physics, Politics, History...

'Maybe... these subjects themselves can only be considered 'knowledge,' not 'skills'?'

Xue Jing speculated.

The skills recognized by the skill panel should refer to specific abilities, while subjects like Chinese and Math could only be considered knowledge stored in the brain, not skills.

'If that's the case, attending class would be a bit of a waste of time...'

Xue Jing twirled his pen rapidly, considering whether to feign illness and skip class to go home and grind skills. Suddenly, he noticed that the 'Charm' skill on the panel was gaining experience again.

[Someone has developed a liking for you, Charm experience +1]

[Someone has developed a liking for you, Charm experience +1]

Without showing any reaction, he suddenly turned his head to look around and met the gaze of a bespectacled female classmate who was secretly looking at him. She blushed, quickly averted her gaze, and adjusted her glasses to cover her embarrassment.

Xue Jing felt a bit helpless.

The 'Charm' skill had been activated just two days ago.

As the name suggests, it increases one's charm and attracts others.

Its effect makes his behavior and mannerisms more appealing, improves his expression management, and even causes physical changes as the level increases, making his figure more proportionate and his appearance more refined.

However, he didn't need this skill.

In this life, he could be described in six words.

Innate Soft-Rice Saint Body.

He didn't need anything like Charm; just standing there made him a human aphrodisiac.

Yet, this skill, which he needed the least, was the easiest for him to level up.

One of the conditions for gaining experience is when someone develops 'liking' or 'affection' towards him. The stronger the emotion, the more experience gained.

Additionally, if he actively performs actions that make others like him, the experience gain is even faster. For example, when he accepted a towel from a junior during the physical test at noon, he gained 45 points directly.

This is why he had reached Level 2 in two days without deliberately grinding 'Charm.'

He could gain a lot of experience just by walking around the streets, so it naturally leveled up quickly.

'If other skills were this easy, that would be great...'

Xue Jing twirled his pen, feeling bored and aimless.

...

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Xue Jing packed his things, preparing to call Li Ge to leave together, but he saw a middle-aged man standing at the classroom door, slightly taller and with a slightly higher hairline, beckoning him over.

It was their class teacher, Chinese teacher Du Shiwei.

Seeing this, Xue Jing gestured to Li Ge to go ahead and then slung his backpack over one shoulder, walking up to Du Shiwei and asked curiously:

"Mr. Du, did you need me?"

"Yeah." Du Shiwei nodded, glancing at Xue Jing with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

This student not only had excellent grades, which was expected of an elite class student, but his appearance was truly outstanding.

Whenever there was an event that required students to represent the class, bringing him along was always a face-saver.

Unexpectedly, his athletic ability was also excellent.

"Xue Jing, I heard from Teacher Chen that your long-distance running score in the physical test was quite impressive. The School Sports Meet is next month. Are you interested in participating and bringing glory to our elite class?" Du Shiwei patted Xue Jing's shoulder and smiled.

Xue Jing instinctively wanted to refuse; he had no interest in competing. But suddenly, he seemed to have an idea, thought for a moment, and then nodded:

"Since you put it that way, I'll participate."

Du Shiwei beamed, "Great, great, great. I'll register you then. Do you want to run the 800 meters or the 1500 meters?"

Xue Jing asked, "Teacher, what are all the running events?"

"Pure running events include the 50 meters, 100 meters... 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters... and the relay race." Du Shiwei counted them off on his fingers.

Xue Jing thought for a moment and said, "Can I participate in all of them?"

Du Shiwei was taken aback, "You're aiming to dominate all the events, huh? Ambitious."

"Yeah... it's possible, but a few of the events are on the same day. Can you handle the physical strain?" Du Shiwei looked concerned.

Xue Jing nodded, "Don't worry, teacher, I think I can manage."

Even if he couldn't now... he definitely could next month.

Xue Jing glanced at the 'Running' and 'Fitness' skills on his panel.

"Alright, I trust you." Du Shiwei patted his shoulder again.

"Let's leave it at that. I'll register you now. If you win all the events, it will be a great honor for me too."

With that, Du Shiwei turned and walked away with a light step.

After he left, Li Ge, who had been waiting nearby, walked over and asked, "What did Old Du want?"

Xue Jing adjusted his backpack and walked out of the building with him, replying, "He wants me to participate in the long-distance running events at next month's School Sports Meet."

"You agreed?" Li Ge asked.

Xue Jing nodded.

"Something's off, very off." Li Ge fell into deep thought.

He and Xue Jing had been classmates and close friends for years, and he knew Xue Jing very well.

Because Xue Jing naturally attracted attention, he never lacked for it, so he had no interest in such public appearances. For three years of high school, he hadn't participated in any avoidable activities.

Now, he was going to participate in the School Sports Meet, and Li Ge could already imagine the hearts in the eyes of the junior girls when Xue Jing crossed the finish line in first place.

He didn't doubt that Xue Jing would come in first; the score he ran at noon was unmatched by anyone in the school.

"Not just long-distance running, I'll participate in all the running events." Xue Jing added.

Li Ge stopped in his tracks, "Outrageous! Xue Jing, do you really intend to win the hearts of all the junior girls? I see a sure path to your downfall!"

Xue Jing playfully hit him on the head, laughing, "Cut it out. You have a girlfriend, worrying about the distribution of junior girls?"

"Not exactly. I was the former student council president, so I should have a sense of responsibility for the students..."

The two walked to the school gate, chatting and laughing all the way.

"Weren't you planning to apply to Xingcheng University? How's that going?"

On the way, Xue Jing asked.

Li Ge shook his head and sighed, "Slim chances. It's incredibly difficult for someone from the outer ring to get into an inner ring university. I tried some past papers from recent years, and I'm far from the admission line. Do these inner ring universities really plan to admit students from the outer ring? It feels like a carrot dangled in front of a donkey, visible but out of reach."

Xingcheng University, in full, is Xingcheng University, a municipal university in Xingcheng.

Within Zhuxia, there are nine 'urban circles,' with cities classified as 'inner ring,' 'outer ring,' or 'periphery.'

Xingcheng and Qingcheng are both in the 'Fifth Urban Circle,' but Qingcheng is an outer ring city, while Xingcheng is an inner ring city.

Inner ring cities are extremely developed, and even a well-developed city like Qingcheng is considered a 'rural area' compared to inner ring cities.

If someone from the outer ring could get into Xingcheng University, it would truly be a leap from a fish to a dragon.

Xue Jing patted Li Ge on the shoulder, "Keep trying."

"What about you? What are your plans?" Li Ge countered.

"Graduation is in one semester. Are you planning to go straight to Qingcheng University, or will you try like me?"

Xue Jing shook his head, "I haven't decided yet."

His overall grades were slightly lower than Li Ge's. Even Li Ge had little hope of getting into an inner ring university, so Xue Jing had even less.

Even if he did get in, he would have to pay a hefty tuition fee as an outer ring student. This fee, in reality, was a 'residency fee' for outer ring residents to become inner ring residents, often bankrupting even wealthy families.

Of course, despite this, countless people still pursued it, as it represented a true leap in social status.

"I might... start practicing martial arts."

Li Ge frowned, not entirely agreeing, "Martial arts? You want to be a Martial Artist? That path is extremely competitive and dangerous. You don't even have a foundation. Are you going to be cannon fodder?"

"Not necessarily."

"Maybe I'm a one-in-a-million genius."

Xue Jing glanced at his skill panel, speaking softly.

...

Please follow and support!

(End of Chapter)

 

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***

Li Ge rode his bicycle to school, while Xue Jing took the bus. After they parted ways, Xue Jing got on the bus, got off after three stops, and walked a few hundred meters to get home.

Greeting the security guard, Xue Jing entered the residential complex, went to his apartment building, took the elevator to the ninth floor, and took out his keys to open the door.

After entering, he threw his schoolbag onto the sofa, stretched his limbs, and walked into the 'Fitness Room'.

Calling it a Fitness Room, it was originally a storage room. After the Skill Panel awakened, Xue Jing cleared out the clutter and bought several pieces of fitness equipment, turning it into a small gym. For this, he almost spent all the money he saved each month.

Fortunately, in this life, he was not a part of the Heavenly Orphanage. His parents were both alive, and he had an older sister who started university last year. Although the family was not wealthy, it was still quite happy.

The only issue was that his parents were very busy, often traveling on business, and his sister Xue Wan had been studying out of town since last year, leaving Xue Jing in a state of near-solitude.

Xue Jing first did a set of stretching exercises, then stepped onto the treadmill, turned it on, and set the speed to 12 km/h, planning to run for ten minutes as a warm-up.

As he ran, he fell into deep thought.

"When I ran a thousand meters during the physical test at noon, I gained 10 more points of experience than usual..."

"So, does this mean that 'participating in specific events' is the key to quickly gaining experience?"

The reason Xue Jing agreed to the head teacher Du Shiwei's request to participate in the School Sports Meet was to confirm this point.

If this was the way to gain more experience, then a regular physical test could increase his experience, and participating in an official competition would likely increase it even more.

...

An hour later, Xue Jing was drenched in sweat, panting heavily. He twisted open a 500ml bottle of mineral water and drank it all in one go.

He opened the panel.

[You have completed a strenuous workout, Fitness Experience +98]

[Fitness Lv2 (356/500)]

He calmed down for a moment, feeling the changes in his body.

Hmm, just by feeling, he couldn't sense much.

But he knew that his physical fitness had improved a bit.

The changes in skill experience were reflected in his body in real-time, not just when he leveled up.

"Practicing the Fitness skill specifically is actually not very cost-effective," Xue Jing mused.

From what he had learned over the past period, the 'Fitness' skill could comprehensively enhance all aspects of his physical fitness, making it a very useful skill and a key target for gaining experience.

However, he didn't need to specifically go to the gym to practice this skill.

Based on his observations, the way to gain experience for this skill was 'any action that could exercise the body'.

For example, when he ran, he could gain both 'Running' experience and some 'Fitness' experience.

Since that was the case, doing other activities that could exercise his body would also increase his 'Fitness' experience, without the need to specifically spend time using fitness equipment.

For example... practicing martial arts.

In this world, martial arts were far more advanced than in his previous life.

He had personally seen videos of martial arts competitions online where a martial artist could kick an opponent several meters away, leaving a human-shaped imprint on the wall.

The movements were incredibly fast.

He wanted to learn martial arts, but... he didn't know where to start.

Not long after his Skill Panel awakened, he found videos and manuals online and practiced diligently, but so far, there had been no progress on the panel.

Activating a skill wasn't as simple as practicing randomly; it required genuine knowledge, otherwise, he would have a bunch of skills by now.

There were a few martial arts training halls in Sunny City, but they were extremely expensive, and he couldn't afford them. He also felt embarrassed to ask his parents for the money, as it was really too expensive.

"As long as I can get started, with my unparalleled talent and extraordinary wisdom, achieving a powerful and majestic martial arts skill would be a piece of cake."

But no matter how strong his talent or high his wisdom, without a master to guide him, it was like trying to cook without ingredients.

The Skill Panel could help him go from 1 to 100, but it couldn't help him start from 0.

Xue Jing rested for a while, then got up and headed to the bathroom.

...

After washing his hair, rinsing his body, and soaking in the bathtub for fifteen minutes, all his fatigue was gone, but his muscles were still a bit sore.

In the bathroom, Xue Jing looked at himself in the mirror.

He had a very refined appearance, intellectual and restrained. When he didn't show any expression, he looked quite cold, but when he smiled, it was like a warm sun in winter, not intense, but enough to warm the heart.

His body was slim but not bony. After practicing the skill for some time, beautiful muscles had started to appear. Since the skill enhanced his physical fitness comprehensively, these muscles were perfectly proportioned.

His gaze moved downward... a slight six-pack.

Tugging at his half-long black hair, Xue Jing put on his clothes, left the bathroom, and prepared to go out to replenish groceries.

Putting on his shoes, he left the house, exited the residential complex, and walked to the nearest supermarket.

It was now 7:30 PM, and the sky had darkened. Most people had already had dinner, and there were many pedestrians on the streets.

While waiting for the traffic light to change, Xue Jing suddenly heard a few screams nearby.

Curious, he looked in the direction of the screams.

On the other side of the road, an old man with a balding head, wearing a classic sleeveless white T-shirt, was sitting in a wheelchair. He was manually spinning the wheels, skillfully maneuvering the wheelchair through the crowd.

Was he... drifting?

Strangely, the old man was indeed drifting in a manual wheelchair, and his technique was excellent. He spun and maneuvered with ease, taking turns around the drains with the smoothness of a professional figure skater.

As the wheelchair moved, it created a breeze that lifted the skirts of the female students nearby, causing more screams. The old man even took a moment to whistle at the girls, drawing angry scolding.

Watching the old man drift away with a graceful back view, Xue Jing fell into deep thought.

If sitting in a wheelchair counted as a skill, this old man must be at least Level 10.

It was quite an amusing sight.

Shaking his head, the green light turned on, and Xue Jing crossed the road and entered the supermarket.

He bought some beef, pork, vegetables, eggs, sausages, noodles, scallions, ginger, garlic, spices, and some snacks and fruits. After paying at the cash register, he carried a large bag out of the supermarket.

Xue Jing retraced his steps but stopped when he passed a dark alley.

"Huh?"

A little black cat with four white paws jumped down from somewhere and stood in front of him.

The cat had no collar, but there was a white-gold metal ring on its tail, which might have been a decoration from its owner or a prank by a passerby.

Its fur was dirty and matted, and some areas were bald, likely from fights with other cats. There were even spots of dried blood on its fur, showing it had suffered a lot.

The cat wobbled over to Xue Jing, looked at him with emerald green vertical pupils, and then fell to the side.

"Is it trying to scam me?"

Xue Jing chuckled.

However, the cat looked quite pitiful, and they seemed to have a connection. He squatted down, preparing to take out a few sausages to feed it.

Just then, the fallen cat, in a daze, muttered in a human voice, "I didn't expect... the world of stray cats... to be so cruel..."

After saying that, it closed its eyes and fainted.

...

Please follow and read.

(End of Chapter)

 

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***

Huh?"

Xue Jing was utterly confused. At first, he suspected it was just his imagination, but after checking his surroundings and finding no one around, he realized it wasn't a prank. He also examined the cat but found no device that could produce sound.

Xue Jing pondered for a moment, calming down and suppressing his curiosity.

A talking cat, while a common trope in fantasy works, was quite eerie to encounter in real life. It was best not to get involved.

He quickly pulled out a few sausages from the supermarket bag, peeled off the packaging, and placed them on the ground. Then, he immediately stood up, ready to leave.

But just as he stood up, the unconscious cat's tail twitched, causing the White-Gold Tail Ring to brush against his finger.

[Detected Divine Substance, absorbing Divinity...]

[Contact lost, Divinity absorption failed]

A semi-transparent Skill Panel suddenly appeared, displaying two lines of text he had never seen before.

Xue Jing paused, stopping his attempt to leave.

"Well... there's no other way. The Skill Panel is my lifeline. To investigate this anomaly, I have to take it back with me."

He sighed, but for some reason, he felt a strange excitement.

Xue Jing bent down, not minding the dirt, and picked up the black cat with white gloves, ensuring the White-Gold Tail Ring on its tail touched his body.

[Detected Divine Substance, absorbing Divinity...]

On the Skill Panel, the originally pale blue interface began to glow with golden light, which slowly gathered at the bottom, hinting at a new skill emerging.

"Divinity... sounds pretty high-level."

Xue Jing was excited. He held the cat and was about to head home when he remembered something and turned back to the supermarket.

Inside the supermarket, he bought a bag of cat food and asked the cashier for a large bag. He packed the cat food and the items he had bought, then left the supermarket, carrying the cat in one hand and the large bag in the other, heading back to his home.

Once inside, he placed the plastic bag containing the ingredients and cat food on the table, then sat on the sofa with the cat in his arms.

Due to the Skill Panel's prompt, he couldn't break contact with the cat's tail ring to avoid failing the Divinity absorption.

Although he didn't know what would happen if the Divinity absorption succeeded, he assumed it wouldn't be bad.

The golden light points on the Skill Panel continued to gather. Xue Jing held the cat with one hand and gently stroked its body with the other.

The cat's fur was dirty and patchy, but upon closer inspection, it was a fine breed. Its fur was not mixed, the white gloves on its paws were clearly defined, its whiskers were neat, and it had delicate white lines around its eyes, making it look like a beautiful and refined cat.

"Little Precious looks pretty decent."

Xue Jing stroked the cat, feeling a mix of anticipation.

He wasn't sure what he was waiting for—whether it was the changes in the Skill Panel after the Divinity absorption or the excitement of how this talking cat might bring some changes to his life.

"..."

Xue Jing suddenly smiled.

"I'm still Xue Jing after all..."

Finding a talking cat and bringing it home, his mind was filled with excitement over the changes to come, rather than fear of the unknown risks.

This was the mindset of a young person, not the cautious heart of a middle-aged man.

Resolving this deep-seated doubt, Xue Jing felt at ease. He waited for the Divinity absorption to complete while turning on the TV with the remote and switching to the news channel.

"...The 37th U19 Unlimited Elite Fighting Tournament is about to start its preliminary rounds. Young stars from various clubs are eager to participate... Today, we interview one of the top seeds..."

"...At 2 PM on October 8th, a brief 'Boundary Quake' occurred on Huaijiang Road in the East District of Sunny City, with a magnitude of 4.1. Under the direction of Councilor Chu Minyi, the public evacuated in an orderly manner, with no casualties..."

"...Kangde Security Company recently announced the successful dismantling of the large criminal organization 'Dragon Sect.' The head of Kangde, Guan Yingzhi, stated that the Dragon Sect is an illegal and violent gang disguised as a religious organization, which has plagued society for over sixty years. To maintain social stability and ensure public safety, Kangde Security will not tolerate any illegal activities..."

"...Recently, a batch of smugglers from the Borderlands has brought a large amount of illegal goods through the Border City defenses, heading inland. Citizens of Sunny City are advised to take safety precautions..."

...

After an unknown amount of time, [Divinity absorption complete]

The golden light points on the Skill Panel dispersed.

At the bottom of the Skill Panel, a new skill appeared, with golden text instead of the usual black.

[Twin Lives (Inactive): Divine Skill, Activation Requirement: Divinity 525/500]

[Conditions met, activate?]

[Yes/No]

Divine Skill?

Xue Jing's eyes narrowed.

Clearly, this was not on the same level as ordinary skills.

Without hesitation, Xue Jing tapped the [Yes] option.

[Activation successful]

[Twin Lives Lv1 (Upgrade Requirement: Divinity 25/100)]

[Effect:

Passive: Two lives. After death, can freely choose resurrection time within seven days. Cooldown: Three months

Active: Locked (Unlock Requirement: Divinity 25/500)

Divine Incarnation: Locked (Unlock Requirement: Lv10, Divinity 25/2000)]

"!?"

He was shocked.

Although he had prepared himself for something extraordinary, Xue Jing never expected it to be this outrageous.

"Panel, are you finally showing your true colors? You don't plan to stay as a regular Golden Finger anymore?"

Until now, the Skill Panel had been a relatively ordinary Golden Finger, growing a bit faster but still within reasonable limits.

But with the appearance of [Twin Lives], he was suddenly thrust into the realm of the Transcendent.

This skill defied logic and physics.

Two lives and the ability to choose resurrection time meant no fear of being killed repeatedly.

This was an ultimate life-saving skill, not just a one-time resurrection token, but one that could be used again after the cooldown.

Although the cooldown was long, it was essentially infinite resurrection.

According to the Skill Panel, this was just the passive effect of [Twin Lives].

"Damn, why?"

Xue Jing felt a crawling sensation on his skin.

If the passive effect was this powerful, the active effect must be even more impressive.

But it required more Divinity to unlock, and he had no idea where to get it.

And what about the 'Divine Incarnation'... what effect did it have?

Numerous thoughts raced through Xue Jing's mind, his expression flickering between light and dark.

At that moment, the cat in his arms stirred, slowly opening its eyes.

It looked up at Xue Jing, its beautiful green, vertical pupils gazing at him.

Seeing this, Xue Jing temporarily set aside his thoughts and gently stroked the cat's head.

Feeling a bit guilty, he said, "You're awake?"

He had absorbed Divinity without the cat's consent, unsure of the effects it might have on the cat.

In the heat of the moment, he hadn't noticed, but now, he realized that taking something without permission was... wrong.

Xue Jing, despite his flexible moral standards, would still secretly absorb Divinity for the Skill Panel, but seeing the 'victim' wake up, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

The cat, nestled in Xue Jing's arms, looked at him for a moment, seemingly confused about its current situation.

It glanced around, then returned its gaze to Xue Jing's face.

A glint of light flashed in its green, vertical pupils.

The cat spoke.

"Meow~"

The sound sent shivers down Xue Jing's spine.

...

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(End of Chapter)

 

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***

"……"

Xue Jing's expression was somewhat subtle.

Does this Kitty not know how ordinary cats meow? It's so restrained.

What are you pretending?

Xue Jing inserted his hands under Kitty's front paws and lifted it up to eye level.

Kitty wore an innocent and naive expression, like a regular little kitten.

"……"

"Can you speak human language, right?"

Xue Jing decided to be honest and have a proper conversation with Kitty. He wanted to know what it was, why it could speak, what the platinum tail ring on its tail was, how to find similar items, and why a speaking, divine Kitty would end up almost being torn apart in the stray cat world.

However, the Kitty in front of him wore an expression of complete innocence, as if it didn't understand a word he was saying, like an ordinary Kitty.

"Meow~~"

"Stop pretending. I heard everything. Speak properly."

"Meow?"

"As long as you speak, you can have as much fish jerky as you want."

"Meow~"

Kitty licked its paw, indifferent.

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow: "Still pretending?"

He placed Kitty on his lap, one hand pressing its nape, the other reaching towards its tail base.

This is one of the most nerve-dense areas of a cat's body. Most cats love being petted here and will arch their backs in pleasure.

Xue Jing's fingers skillfully moved, scratching the fur at the tail base. The little black cat's eyes instantly widened.

"Meow!!"

It let out a nearly heart-wrenching cry, its buttocks lifting involuntarily, its limbs struggling but held firmly by Xue Jing's grip on its nape. It could only meow continuously.

After a while, Xue Jing stopped. By then, Kitty had given up struggling, lying on Xue Jing's thigh, completely limp, tongue out, eyes rolling, panting, looking thoroughly played out.

But even under such torture, it didn't say a single word, maintaining the appearance of an ordinary little kitten.

This made Xue Jing a bit unsure.

Could the Divine Absorption skill have taken away its ability to speak human language, turning it into a regular kitten?

If not for that extremely restrained meow when it woke up, Xue Jing would have believed it.

But Xue Jing was at a loss.

As long as Kitty didn't want to communicate honestly with him, he couldn't really torture it to force it to speak.

He had just received a favor from it, and even with his flexible moral底线, he couldn't do such a thing.

Shaking his head, he said, "Alright, let's leave it at that. Are you hungry?"

Kitty weakly "meowed."

Xue Jing took it as a sign of hunger.

He placed Kitty on the sofa, stood up, went to the kitchen, and got a large bowl. He came to the table, opened the supermarket bag, took out the bag of cat food, tore it open, and poured it into the bowl.

He placed the bowl of cat food in front of Kitty, expecting it to start eating immediately, given its suffering in the stray cat world.

But to his surprise, Kitty only glanced at the cat food, then made a sound of dissatisfaction and turned its head away, not looking at it again.

"Huh?"

Seeing this, Xue Jing's heart stirred.

This reaction… was not right.

It didn't seem like a picky cat disliking the food; it was more like… the food wasn't even in its dietary range.

A light flashed in Xue Jing's mind, and he suddenly realized.

He might have misunderstood from the beginning.

He recalled what the cat had said earlier.

"Who would have thought… the world of stray cats… is so cruel."

This sentence contained two possibilities.

The first: it was a house cat that had never been outside, so it was unfamiliar with the world of stray cats.

This, along with its weakness to the point of being bullied by stray cats, made Xue Jing subconsciously think it was essentially a cat that had learned to speak human language for some unknown reason.

But there was another possibility… it was unfamiliar with the stray cat world and could speak human language because it wasn't a cat at all, but some other creature that had taken the form of a cat.

The most likely possibility was… a human.

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes, said nothing, and turned to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

After he left the living room, Kitty, unaware that Xue Jing had deduced much from its unintentional actions, immediately stood up from the sofa.

It jumped to the ground, walked silently to the corner of the living room leading to the kitchen, stealthily peeked out to confirm that Xue Jing was indeed cooking, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

'I didn't expect it to hear me when I spoke.'

Kitty was troubled, its tail twitching, its gaze fixed on the tail ring.

'GOD-1391·Cat Tail Ring… that scoundrel, after taking so much money, didn't explain the specific effects of this divine relic clearly. Once transformed, I can't change back!'

Kitty's face showed a human-like expression of frustration.

After a moment of helpless rage, Kitty calmed down and looked around the house.

'This is a good place to hide. The security company won't think I've turned into a cat and am hiding in an ordinary person's home.'

Recalling its experience being chased and bitten by stray cats, it shuddered.

'I'll stay here until I adapt to this divine relic and can change back, then I'll leave.'

Kitty thought.

'But… to avoid involving this kind-hearted young man, I'll act like an ordinary cat.'

It knew that kind-hearted people who would take in a talking, strange Kitty and form a bond with it could easily be dragged into danger.

Therefore, it had to cut off this possibility from the start.

No communication means no entanglement. When the time comes, it would leave without a trace, and they would have no further connection.

'Even though he heard me speak, it's fine. This is all his imagination. I just need to make him think he's a cat lover who hears things!'

'As long as I don't admit it and act like an ordinary cat, no one can expose me!'

Having made up its mind, Kitty nodded in satisfaction, its tail wagging happily.

……

Xue Jing spent a long time in the kitchen, preparing three simple home-cooked dishes: Spicy Stir-Fried Beef, Bitter Melon and Egg Stir-Fry, and Tomato and Sliding Meat Soup.

[You have completed a dish. Cooking experience +20]

[You have completed a dish. Cooking experience +21]

[You have completed a dish. Cooking experience +20]

[Cooking Lv2 (318/500)]

Xue Jing opened the fridge, took out the leftover rice from yesterday, and heated it in the microwave. He placed two bowls of rice and the dishes on the dining table.

He didn't speak, picked up one bowl of rice, and started eating.

Kitty, who had been hungry for two days and was planning to force itself to eat the cat food, stared at the aromatic and appetizing dishes on the table, its eyes widening.

The aroma seemed to reach out, pulling it closer to the table, and it didn't even notice when it knocked over the bowl of cat food.

When it came to its senses, it found itself sitting on the dining table, with a bowl of white rice in front of it, placed there by Xue Jing.

It awkwardly turned its head and saw the handsome young man eating rice, looking at it with a half-smile.

As if to say, are you still pretending?

 

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***
Kitty's face stung from Xue Jing's nearly mocking gaze, and all it wanted was to jump off the table immediately, but its body wouldn't listen.

"..."

After a couple of seconds of silence, it pretended not to understand Xue Jing's gaze, meowed, and lowered its head to take a bite of White Rice.

There are cats that eat whatever their owners eat, so it was perfectly normal and logical for a regular Kitty to share the same food as its owner. There was nothing strange about it.

Eating the same food as humans ≠ being a human.

Convinced of this, Kitty completely ignored Xue Jing's increasingly mocking gaze and started to enjoy its meal. It took a bite of rice, then extended its paw, using it like chopsticks to pick up a piece of Spicy Stir-Fried Beef, blowing on it softly, "Huff~ huff~"

Xue Jing watched speechlessly as Kitty blew on the food to cool it down with its tongue.

After a few blows, Kitty cautiously bit into the beef.

The delicious taste spread through its mouth, and Kitty, which hadn't eaten anything for two whole days, couldn't help but show a blissful, almost human-like expression.

As the first bite activated its taste buds and opened its stomach, it broke its inner boundaries and sped up its eating pace, alternating between rice and dishes, enjoying every bite.

Occasionally, it would get burned and let out a "rua" sound because it was eating too fast and didn't have time to blow on the food.

"Eat slower, I'm not going to snatch it from you."

Xue Jing chuckled helplessly, seeing how difficult it was for Kitty to pick up food with its paws, and started helping by serving it into its bowl, so it only had to focus on eating. He also served it a bowl of Meat Broth filled with meat.

By the time the meal was over, the dishes on the table were empty, and a third of them had ended up in Kitty's stomach, which was quite an impressive feat for its size.

The bowl of White Rice was licked clean, not a single grain left. The cat lay on its side on the table, its belly so full it looked like it was pregnant.

Xue Jing tidied up the bowls and cutlery, wiped the table, washed his hands, and then picked up Kitty from the table and placed it on the sofa.

Watching Kitty lick its paws like a human flossing its teeth, Xue Jing cleared his throat and said, "Well, you've exposed yourself completely. Can we talk now?"

Kitty's ears twitched, and it stopped licking its paws, looking at Xue Jing with an innocent face.

"Meow?"

I have no idea what you're talking about. After all, I'm just a harmless little kitty.

"..."

"What, you ate for free and now you're not going to own up to it?"

Xue Jing laughed in exasperation.

He reached out with both hands, pinched Kitty's face, and started scratching its cheeks, a part of the body cats love to be touched.

It felt great.

"Meow~"

Kitty couldn't resist, closing its eyes and meowing in pleasure.

It had made up its mind to pretend, no matter what.

As long as it didn't speak, no communication would occur, and no problems would arise.

"..."

Seeing that Kitty still refused to admit anything, Xue Jing was at a loss for a moment.

"Forget it, I'll take a shower first."

Although he had already showered, he had carried Kitty, and many parts of his body were dirty from the greasy dishes. He wasn't clean anymore.

Thinking of the shower, Xue Jing glanced at Kitty, which had already dirtied the sofa, and his lips twitched. He reached out and picked it up.

"Come, take a shower with me."

Kitty was taken aback by this, then it waved its paws in a French military salute, shaking its head vigorously, and its ears flattened back like airplane wings.

"Meow meow meow meow meow!"

"You meow your mother, you're definitely taking this shower, even Jesus can't stop me, I said so!"

Xue Jing snorted, picked up Kitty, and walked to the bathroom.

"Meow!!!"

...

In the glass shower stall, Xue Jing brought a small stool inside, sat down, squeezed some shower gel onto his hands, and started to rub and scratch the already wet Kitty.

Kitty had resisted, but it was futile. It could only lie there, looking like it had given up on life, as Xue Jing's hands moved over its body.

"Meow meow meow meow meow..."

Speaking in cat language, Xue Jing continued to rub and scratch, unfazed.

I have no idea what you're saying. After all, I'm just a harmless, terrifyingly upright ape.

During the process, Xue Jing tried to remove the platinum tail ring on Kitty's tail but found that it seemed to be embedded in the tail, immovable.

He didn't use too much force to avoid hurting Kitty, but he understood that this thing couldn't be removed. It was a 'Divine Substance' certified by the panel, so it wasn't surprising that it had some mystical properties.

After thoroughly rubbing and scratching every part of Kitty's body, Xue Jing nodded in satisfaction and turned on the showerhead to rinse.

After the rinse, Kitty's fur, wet and plastered to its body, looked a bit comical.

"Meow."

Kitty started shaking off the water and was about to leave the bathroom when Xue Jing called out, "Wait a moment."

Xue Jing quickly rinsed himself, then picked up Kitty and walked out of the glass shower stall.

They came to the bathtub, turned on the hot water, adjusted the temperature, and filled the tub.

He then carried Kitty into the bathtub.

"Meow~~" "Ah~~"

The water level rose, and both the human and the cat let out sounds of pleasure.

Xue Jing leaned back, his head above water, while Kitty lay on his chest, its head resting on the edge of the tub, its tail swishing in the water, creating ripples.

It closed its eyes contentedly, purring.

"Hmph, you're not a human, huh?"

Xue Jing said coolly.

No cat enjoys a bath this much.

"Meow~~"

Kitty didn't even bother to pretend anymore, just meowing half-heartedly in response, completely unmoved.

Lying on Xue Jing's chest, feeling his strong heartbeat, Kitty felt a bit dazed.

How long had it been since it last felt such a sense of security?

This guy, who looked slim in clothes, was surprisingly well-built. Those pecs...

Feeling finally at ease, Kitty began to notice that the teenager in front of it was quite handsome.

Once this thought crossed its mind, more followed, like a tiny ant hole in a dam.

Unable to resist, Kitty sneakily glanced at the teenager's abs...

While soaking in the tub, Xue Jing idly flipped through his Skill Panel and suddenly saw a notification.

[Someone has developed a liking for you, Charm experience +1]

"Hmm?"

He looked at Kitty, his expression subtle.

...

After the bath, they got out of the tub. Xue Jing dried himself with a towel and then wrapped another towel around Kitty, rubbing it dry.

He then carried it to his room, took out a hairdryer and a comb, plugged in the hairdryer, and started drying its fur.

Kitty had given up all resistance and let Xue Jing do as he pleased.

"Meow~~"

Since it was already like this, what else could it do? Let him do as he wished.

When the fur was completely dry, a sleek, high-quality black cat appeared before them.

The green, vertical pupils and the thin white eyeliner gave the cat's face a delicate, charming look.

Xue Jing nodded in satisfaction, "Factory reset successful~"

At this moment, he noticed that the patches of missing fur on Kitty's body... seemed to have grown back?

And the belly, which had been swollen from eating too much, had returned to its flat state.

"Interesting."

Kitty seemed to realize it had exposed something again, pretended to stretch lazily, and turned away, not letting Xue Jing see its belly.

"Meow~"

Xue Jing didn't say anything more, turned, and left the room, heading to the living room.

On one corner of the living room wall hung a plastic dartboard, covered in tiny holes, and the surrounding white walls were marked with scratches and pinholes, clearly the result of some violent behavior.

Xue Jing took out three or four darts from the holder next to the dartboard and walked to the door, the farthest point from the dartboard, about five meters away.

He picked up a dart, held it with three fingers, and aimed for a moment.

"Whoosh!"

The dart shot out, piercing the dartboard with a loud thud, giving the impression of immense force, almost as if it had penetrated the board.

It didn't hit the bullseye, but at that distance, hitting the dartboard was already quite accurate, showing his skill.

Xue Jing threw the remaining darts one by one, all hitting the dartboard, with one almost hitting the bullseye.

In the past week, he had practiced darts every evening, hoping to develop a throwing skill.

The living room echoed with the sound of darts hitting the board. During this time, Kitty walked out of the room, lazily glanced at Xue Jing, jumped onto the sofa, and used its paw to press the remote, turning on the TV. It found an animation to watch using a streaming app.

After giving up all pretense, it no longer even bothered to pretend it wasn't human.

Xue Jing only glanced at it, resisting the urge to throw a dart at it, and continued his practice, throwing and retrieving darts.

After about forty to fifty minutes, Xue Jing, holding a dart and aiming, suddenly had a strong premonition.

This dart would definitely hit the bullseye.

There was no reason for it, but he was absolutely certain, and it would be easy!

His eyes lit up, and the dart shot out.

Thud!

The unprecedentedly loud sound startled Kitty, which was watching TV, making its fur stand on end.

The dartboard showed the dart deeply embedded in the bullseye, right at the center, piercing through the board.

Xue Jing looked at the panel.

[Condition met, skill activated: Aiming]

[Aiming Lv1: (0/300)]

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

At exactly five o'clock in the morning, Xue Jing opened his eyes from sleep.

Although he had just woken up, he felt no fatigue at all, his spirit was fully restored as if the moment he opened his eyes, all sleepiness had vanished.

He opened the skill panel.

[Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Health Preservation Experience +37]

[Health Preservation Lv1 (236/300)]

The Health Preservation skill was activated by Xue Jing a week ago.

Based on his observations, it enhanced his physical attributes, significantly improved his sleep quality, and most notably, increased his energy levels.

Since the activation of the Health Preservation skill, he hardly felt tired throughout the day, brimming with enthusiasm. He could immediately act on his thoughts, greatly reducing his tendency to procrastinate. Moreover, he could fall asleep quickly once he closed his eyes, completely overcoming his insomnia.

It could be said that this was the most satisfying ordinary skill he had.

However, this skill seemed to only gain experience through the method of Early to Bed, Early to Rise. He had tried other Health Preservation tips like taking health supplements, maintaining a regular diet, but they barely had any effect.

Xue Jing closed the panel and prepared to get up, wash his face, and go running. However, he noticed that his left arm felt furry. Lifting the thin blanket, he saw that Kitty was indeed hugging his arm with its white paws, sleeping soundly.

Xue Jing felt a bit of a headache.

Yesterday, although he had made Kitty completely reveal that it was not a cat, he still couldn't get it to speak.

As long as Kitty didn't speak, he couldn't obtain any information about the 'Divine Substance,' and the unlock of the 'Twin Lives' active effect would remain a distant dream.

He couldn't openly say that he needed this 'Divine Substance.' Concerning everything related to the skill panel, he was extremely cautious and didn't intend to reveal anything to anyone.

"Well, there will always be a way when we get to the mountain."

He gently pulled his arm out of Kitty's embrace, got up, and covered Kitty with the thin blanket, leaving only its head exposed.

The sky was still dark. He went to the bathroom, turned on the light, and started washing up.

After washing up, he changed into a set of convenient sportswear, put on his sports watch, and went out to run.

Not far from the residential complex where Xue Jing lived was a Small Garden for people to walk and play. Outside the garden was a red brick path, specifically built around the garden, which was perfect for running when there were few people around.

At this time, Xue Jing was the only one there.

The sky was still dark, and the streetlights had not been turned off. Under the illumination of the streetlights, Xue Jing walked to the 'Running Track' and did some stretching exercises.

Then, he started running at a pace far exceeding that of an ordinary person, almost like a sprint for a slightly weaker ordinary person.

This was his current 'jogging' speed.

One lap, two laps, three laps...

An hour later, Xue Jing gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.

He was panting heavily, drenched in sweat, feeling a burning sensation from his toes to his thighs, and his lungs felt as if they were being squeezed by a hand, making it impossible to relieve the oxygen deprivation.

After a few minutes, he gradually calmed down and caught his breath. He raised his right hand and checked the data on his sports watch.

Running duration: 1 hour 02 minutes 13 seconds, average speed: 18.3 km/h

This average speed was close to the level of professional half-marathon athletes in his previous life.

Running at this speed for an hour without stopping was a huge challenge for Xue Jing's current body.

He had been running like this every morning recently.

Originally, he couldn't run like this every day; muscle damage wouldn't recover in time.

But since the activation of 'Health Preservation,' his body's recovery ability had greatly improved. No matter how tired he was, he would feel completely restored after a good night's sleep.

Xue Jing opened the panel.

[You have completed a long run, Running Experience +205]

[Running Lv3 (463/800)]

Running a distance of over 18 kilometers had increased the 'Running' skill by 205 experience points.

As the skill's experience grew and its level increased, everything related to running would be enhanced.

His posture and power generation would become increasingly perfect, how to generate power to avoid injury while maximizing strength, what posture could reduce wind resistance and run faster, and how to coordinate breathing, all of these would be instinctively ingrained in his body.

His physical attributes, especially lung capacity and leg explosive power, would also be enhanced.

Xue Jing glanced at the 'Fitness' skill.

[You have completed a long run, Fitness Experience +32]

[Fitness Lv2 (288/500)]

He sat down on a bench in the garden to rest for a while.

"Comfortable."

Although he was very tired, the satisfaction of visibly improving himself gave him a joy far exceeding the fatigue.

Even without considering the growth rate of the panel, just being able to clearly see one's own progress was already an incredible cheat.

It was like how someone might not stick to learning or exercising for long, but could stay up for days playing a game. The biggest difference was whether one could accurately recognize their own progress.

The certainty of real-time positive feedback and the anticipation of knowing one would be strong in the future could make most people genuinely motivated.

This almost put one half a step into the realm of 'Unity of Knowledge and Action,' the realm of sages.

It was already past six, and the sky was bright. People gradually started to appear around.

Xue Jing wiped the sweat from his forehead and slowly walked back home.

After returning home, he took off his clothes and threw them into the washing machine, then went into the bathroom to rinse his body, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Kitty was still asleep, despite having slept with him the night before, its biological clock was clearly not that of a cat.

Xue Jing went to the kitchen, took six eggs from the refrigerator, put them in a pot, added enough water to cover the eggs, and placed them on the induction cooker to boil.

He then poured a large bottle of pure milk into another pot, heated it on the gas stove until it was warm, turned off the fire, added oatmeal and some sugar, and made a pot of sweet oatmeal milk.

He also took out the bread slices he had bought the previous morning that he hadn't finished, which would be his breakfast today.

Because it was too simple and didn't count as cooking, the 'Cooking' skill experience did not increase.

He ate four of the boiled eggs, peeled the shells off the remaining two, and placed them in a small plate. He also left some of the oatmeal milk and bread on the dining table for Kitty to eat when it woke up.

Although the cat had consistently refused to communicate, which he found very unsatisfactory, it had provided him with the opportunity for the skill panel to transform, and Xue Jing was very grateful to it.

After doing all this, Xue Jing changed into his school uniform, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and casually picked up a dart from the dartboard's holder.

At the door, as he opened it, he turned and threw the dart, immediately turned back, and walked out, locking the door.

A dart was deeply embedded in the bullseye of the dartboard hanging in the corner.

[Accurately hit the bullseye, Aiming Experience +1]

Xue Jing left home, walked for a while, and boarded a bus. He rode for three stops, gaining some Charm skill experience while female students on the bus stole glances at him. He got off at his stop and arrived at Qingcheng Affiliated High School.

It was around six-thirty in the morning, and the school gate was bustling with people. Xue Jing followed the crowd into the campus but didn't head to his class. Instead, he walked to the opposite side of the high school teaching building.

As the affiliated high school of Qingcheng University, Qingcheng High School was connected to the university campus, and students could visit each other at any time.

Xue Jing's destination was the Qingcheng University Library.

In this world, there were some abnormal things that did not exist on Earth in his previous life.

However, due to various considerations, the official information on these things was tightly controlled. Some information could be found online, but it was vague and incomplete.

However, just because it couldn't be found online didn't mean it couldn't be found at Qingcheng University.

As one of the top universities in the outer ring, the students there were the future elite of society and were eligible to know some secrets.

Xue Jing was a student in the Special Elite Class of Qingcheng High School.

The elite class was a special class and received special treatment. As long as the students in the elite class maintained their grades and kept their status, they could choose not to take the college entrance exam and directly enroll in Qingcheng University upon graduation.

Therefore, the students in the elite class had some privileges of Qingcheng University students in advance, such as... visiting the Seventh Floor of the Qingcheng University Library.

The first six floors of the library were accessible to ordinary students of the high school, but the Seventh Floor was not. It contained documents and archives that could not be found online, and only Qingcheng University students or high school elite class students could enter.

Xue Jing had visited the Seventh Floor once out of curiosity, but the documents and archives there were too numerous, disorganized, and lacked a computer system for searching and locating books. It was difficult to find the specific information he wanted, so he never came back.

However, this was the only place where he might find information related to the 'Divine Substance,' so he had to come here to search for a needle in a haystack.

The Qingcheng University Library covered a vast area. At the entrance, several access gates were placed. Xue Jing took out his library card, swiped it at the gate, and entered the library.

He went straight up without stopping, directly to the sixth floor. At the entrance to the stairs leading to the Seventh Floor, there was another access gate. He swiped his card again and entered the Seventh Floor.

Compared to the modernly decorated first six floors, the Seventh Floor of the library was simple and unadorned, with old bookshelves, old tables and chairs, old books and documents, and old-fashioned yellow lights hanging from the ceiling. Entering the floor gave one a sense of crossing time and being transported to the past.

However, it had a sense of historical depth that the first six floors lacked.

The Seventh Floor was rarely visited, especially in the early morning. Xue Jing thought it would be empty.

But to his surprise, there was already a girl sitting in the rest area with old tables and chairs.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

The girl sat by the window, wearing a pure white fitted T-shirt and light-colored tight jeans, with a pair of white canvas shoes on her feet. Her posture was impeccable, the kind that could not be faulted, which made her buttocks taut and outlined a beautiful curve.

Her hair, smooth and black, was tied into a high ponytail with a white hair tie, reaching down to her waist. Her bangs framed eyes that were calm and focused, reading the book she held in her hands, occasionally turning the pages with her neatly trimmed fingers.

Perhaps because she was too engrossed in her reading, Xue Jing's arrival did not elicit any reaction from her.

'A Qing University student? Judging by her age... unlikely.'

Xue Jing glanced at the girl a couple of times, his eyes lingering on her slightly purplish, beautiful irises.

She wasn't wearing a school uniform, so she probably wasn't a student from the Affiliated High School. She might be a university student who looked younger than her age.

He didn't pay too much attention and turned to walk towards the bookshelves.

The seventh floor had four rows of sixteen double-sided wooden bookshelves, plus wall-mounted shelves that covered three walls, leaving only a rest area. The shelves were packed, even crammed, with old books and documents.

The collection was impressive.

Without a computer to search and categorize the books, finding the desired information in this sea of books was nearly impossible, which explained why this place was rarely visited.

Xue Jing randomly chose a row of bookshelves, walked to the middle, and looked at the messy old documents, unsure where to start.

He picked up a relatively intact book, wiped off the dust, and saw that the maroon hardcover had no pattern, with a white title in Song typeface in the center, and the author's name and publication date in smaller white letters at the bottom right.

"Theories on the Overlap of Two Worlds Phenomenon," Author: Ning Furen, Publication Date: Year 87 of the New Era.

'A nearly two-hundred-year-old antique book...'

The Overlap of Two Worlds was a special phenomenon that occurred on Earth Star after 'God' died.

As the name suggested, the Overlap of Two Worlds referred to 'two worlds overlapping.'

If the world were a car constantly moving on a road, then the Overlap of Two Worlds would be two cars colliding.

This phenomenon caused parts of the two worlds to embed into each other's 'bodies,' and the overlapping regions were called 'Borderlands.'

The reason for this phenomenon, as globally acknowledged, was that the 'driver' had died.

Without 'God' to steer the car, it would naturally crash into other cars without drivers.

"..."

Xue Jing flipped through a few pages of the book. The theories were outdated by today's standards, but they were the cutting-edge research materials of their time, laying the foundation for the current studies on the overlap phenomenon. Although they were no longer useful as theoretical materials, they were precious as historical documents.

He put the book back and continued his search, looking for any clues related to 'Divine Substance.'

An hour later.

After skimming through a few pages of the "Chronicle of the Eternal Night War" and placing it back on the shelf, Xue Jing shook his head. As expected, he found nothing.

Since he had anticipated this, he wasn't disappointed.

He straightened his thoughts, checked the time on his phone—it was already 7:30, time for class.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw the girl he had noticed earlier in the rest area walking towards him with a book in her hands.

Xue Jing's gaze fell on the well-developed area of the girl—though not for the obvious reason, but because of the book she was holding.

It was a book about three fingers thick, bound in black hardcover, with a strange cover illustration.

A glowing humanoid figure with a halo on its head, countless wings, and radiating light, held a blue Earth Star in its hands. Its face was obscured, but it seemed to be shouting something, with light flowing from its body like blood, falling into an unknown abyss from its feet.

The meaning of this cover was known to everyone in the world—it represented 'The Death of God,' or more formally, 'The Death of the Deity.'

Xue Jing had seen similar scenes in countless paintings, movies, and games.

He looked at the title of the book.

"What if God Hadn't Died."

He politely nodded and stepped aside to let the girl pass. Up close, he could see her face clearly—a delicate and clean beauty, not the type that would immediately stun someone, but one that grew more attractive the more you looked at her.

The girl nodded back and tried to slide the book into a gap on the top shelf, but her height made it difficult, and she had to tiptoe.

Xue Jing spoke softly, "Let me help you."

He extended his hand, and the girl handed him the book without hesitation.

Seeing Xue Jing easily slide the book into the gap without tiptoeing, the girl blinked her clear, slightly purplish eyes and said, "Thank you."

Xue Jing nodded, not considering it a big deal.

After helping, he left the library and headed towards the Affiliated High School Teaching Building.

...

By the time he entered the classroom, the morning reading session was almost over, and the class was about to start.

All the students were present, with only a few whispering. Most were quietly reading or doing their homework.

The pressure on the Elite Class students was significant.

Xue Jing was well-liked in the class. Despite the unsuitable atmosphere for conversation during morning reading, many students nodded at him in greeting.

Xue Jing acknowledged them one by one. When he reached his seat, he stopped.

His desk and chair had been scratched.

The wooden fiberboard was covered with crisscrossing scratches, and there were many words written on the desk, mostly threats like 'kill kill kill,' 'you're dead,' and 'be careful on your way home.'

"Tsk, what ugly handwriting."

Li Ge walked over and tsked at the words on Xue Jing's desk.

"What happened?" Xue Jing's expression remained unchanged.

Such bullying, if it happened to a high school student or even an adult, would naturally cause some worry.

However, he was as calm as his appearance, with no inner turmoil, only a genuine curiosity about what had happened.

Just as regular exercise builds confidence, physical strength naturally strengthens the mind.

To him, facing high school-level bullying was like a lion seeing a kitten trying to intimidate it.

"I don't know, it was already like this when I came in this morning." Li Ge leaned on the adjacent desk and shrugged.

"The drawer was also filled with dead mice and cockroaches, but I cleaned them up for you. The words on the desk are written in permanent marker, so there's nothing I can do about them for now."

Xue Jing patted his shoulder and sincerely thanked him, "Thanks."

"No problem, we're friends." Li Ge replied and then said,

"The priority now is to find the culprit. Otherwise, this will keep happening, and it will eventually drive you crazy."

"Have you offended anyone recently?"

Xue Jing thought carefully. He felt he had been quite well-behaved and couldn't recall offending anyone.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. From the words on the desk, this isn't just a prank by a cowardly person; it's a threat."

Xue Jing ran his fingers over the scratched desk, stopping at the words 'be careful on your way home.'

"I think the person will reveal themselves during lunch or after school. We'll just wait and see."

Being exceptional naturally attracts resentment and obstruction, even if you haven't done anything wrong. He had experienced this in both his past and present life.

There was no need to reflect on what he had done wrong; thinking about it was pointless. When problems arise, solve them. That's all that matters.

Xue Jing sat down, intending to put his backpack in the drawer but stopped, feeling uneasy. After all, the drawer had previously contained dead mice and cockroaches, so he hung his backpack on the hook on the side of the desk.

He then crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and prepared for class.

Seeing Xue Jing's calm and composed demeanor, as if nothing had happened, Li Ge couldn't help but comment, "So cool, Jing."

"But why don't we tell the teacher?"

Li Ge was puzzled.

Xue Jing, with his eyes still closed, said casually, "Just as calling the police isn't a cure-all, teachers aren't either. Telling the teacher might solve the problem, but the process would be complicated and could lead to further trouble."

"I have a simpler solution, no need to involve the teacher."

Li Ge nodded, fell silent for a moment, and then couldn't resist saying, "You're so cool, with a strange adult-like demeanor... or rather, the ease of the strong? Your words are so full of confidence..."

As they were talking, a voice suddenly came from the classroom door, "Xue Jing, someone's looking for you!"

Xue Jing turned to see a pretty girl in a school uniform skirt standing at the door.

It was the junior girl who had brought him a towel during the physical test yesterday.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

The junior girl's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had just been crying, giving her a delicate and pitiable appearance.

She waved at Xue Jing from a distance, managing to force a smile, which served as a greeting.

Seeing her like this, Xue Jing understood, muttering to himself, "So that's how it is…"

"Huh? Why is this junior girl here? She's pretty bold, not even waiting for lunch break to end before coming to our class to find you." Li Ge was taken aback.

He was a bit nearsighted and wasn't wearing his glasses, so he didn't see the junior girl's expression clearly. He just smiled at Xue Jing and said, "Be gentle when you reject her. Don't hurt the little sister's heart too much. Actually, trying out a relationship might not be bad. Those long legs aren't a waste for you…"

Xue Jing didn't say much, just nodded and got up to walk out of the classroom.

Many people in the class noticed the pretty junior girl at the door. With someone shouting out, everyone knew she was there to find Xue Jing. They all watched as Xue Jing walked out of the classroom.

After Xue Jing and the junior girl left together, the gossip in the class erupted, and a wave of discussion began.

---

Xue Jing followed the junior girl to the end of the corridor, where the stairs were. Since it was almost time for class, all the students had gone into their classrooms, and no one else was in the corridor.

"Let's talk here."

Xue Jing said.

"Go ahead, what's the matter?"

As soon as Xue Jing spoke, the junior girl couldn't hold back her tears.

"I'm sorry, senior, it's all my fault…"

She started to explain what had happened. She was crying so hard that her words were broken and hard to understand, but Xue Jing didn't rush her. He listened patiently, only asking for clarification when he really couldn't understand something.

By the time she finished telling the whole story, Xue Jing understood what had happened.

In short, this pretty junior girl had a classmate who was pursuing her, named Pei Youguang.

This name was well-known at Fuzhong High School. Xue Jing remembered him as one of those students who could "make the wind blow and the rain pour" in school.

The problem still stemmed from the physical test yesterday, when the junior girl brought him a towel.

Someone had told Pei Youguang about Xue Jing receiving the towel, and this morning, Pei Youguang had announced in class that he would teach Xue Jing a lesson.

"…"

Although Xue Jing had a hunch when he saw the junior girl come to him with teary eyes, he still felt a bit amused when it was confirmed.

"Senior, I'm really sorry. I begged him not to cause you trouble, but he wouldn't listen…" The junior girl sobbed, wiping away her tears.

Xue Jing: "…"

Are you sure this isn't just making things worse?

He was speechless.

If he didn't know that teenagers often didn't think things through, he would have suspected that the junior girl was deliberately stirring up trouble.

Such a young man, who would resort to violence to compete for affection, was clearly very impulsive. Hearing that the girl he liked was pleading for someone else would only fuel his anger, making him feel even more justified in his actions, which is why the junior girl was so afraid.

However, Xue Jing didn't blame her.

He nodded and said, "I understand. You can go back."

He paused for a moment, "This isn't your fault. Don't worry about it. I'll handle it."

The junior girl did have some issues, but they weren't significant enough to warrant much concern.

Even if Bao Si, Da Ji, and Yang Guifei had their faults, the biggest blame would never fall on them.

"Senior…"

The junior girl was deeply moved.

"I've actually always…"

She wanted to say something at this moment, but Xue Jing turned and walked back to his class, clearly not interested in hearing what she had to say.

"…"

The junior girl understood his meaning. It was a cold but gentle rejection. She sighed to herself and left, feeling dejected.

---

"So the person causing you trouble is Pei Youguang?"

Li Ge pinched his chin, his brows furrowed after hearing Xue Jing's account.

"This isn't good, Brother Jing."

Xue Jing took out his Chinese textbook for the first class, placed it on the desk, and replied casually, "Why is that?"

"You don't usually keep up with these things, so you might not know, but Pei Youguang is quite troublesome."

Li Ge explained.

"Let me put it this way: if we had a Sorting Hat at Fuzhong High School, he'd be sent straight to Azkaban."

"This guy is in the Martial Arts Club. He relies on his martial arts skills to bully classmates, and we hear about him beating someone up every few days. I've also heard that he often harasses girls."

Li Ge moved his chair closer to Xue Jing and lowered his voice, "These aren't the main issues. I've also heard that he's killed someone and raped a female classmate."

"I remember last semester, a girl from Grade 2, Class 7 suddenly transferred schools. It's said that she transferred because he bullied her."

Xue Jing frowned, "That's not true, right? If he really did that, he wouldn't still be in school."

Li Ge: "I thought the same thing at first, but then I realized that the students he bullied didn't dare tell their teachers or parents, and the school seems to turn a blind eye."

"So I asked some second-year students, and I found out that Pei Youguang's father works for a Ruling Councilor, which gives him a very strong background."

"Think about it, a bully like him wouldn't be able to get into Fuzhong High School without a strong background."

A Ruling Councilor is at the top of the power pyramid in a city. There are about thirty in Sunny City, including one Chief Councilor and three Vice Chief Councilors.

Working under a Ruling Councilor is indeed a powerful background.

Xue Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Has he really killed someone?"

Li Ge shook his head, "There's no concrete evidence of that, but many people have seen Pei Youguang carrying a knife. If he's willing to do that, it's not surprising if he's killed someone."

"Let's tell the teacher. What if Pei Youguang really tries to hurt you?"

Li Ge was very worried.

Xue Jing smiled.

It's quite intimidating. Most students would probably be scared out of their wits by now after hearing about Pei Youguang.

But Xue Jing didn't find him particularly scary.

The world operates according to its own logic. Once you reach a certain level of understanding, you can easily see through the surface to the core.

Such heinous acts are absolute taboos in human society. Even if his father works for a Ruling Councilor, or even if he is a Ruling Councilor himself, they wouldn't act so brazenly that they want the whole world to know.

Those at the top of the power structure still need to follow the rules on the surface, let alone a mere schoolyard bully?

Most students, who haven't yet entered society and lack sufficient understanding, would be terrified by these rumors, adding layer upon layer of fear to Pei Youguang's image.

Xue Jing, however, found that the more he heard, the less intimidating Pei Youguang became.

Some people emphasize what they lack the most.

"No need to tell the teacher."

"I'll have a good talk with Pei Youguang."

Xue Jing said softly.

The bell rang, and the Chinese teacher, Mr. Du Shiwei, walked in.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

This morning's classes were Chinese, English, Physics, and Physical Education.

Unlike Xue Jing's previous life, Zhuxia seemed to place a high emphasis on physical education, at least at Qing Affiliated High School. There were quite a few PE classes each week, and the PE teachers were never 'on leave.'

After three academic classes, the elite class students took a short break before heading to the changing rooms to swap their school uniforms for indoor sports attire.

"Hey, those abs!"

A tall, bespectacled classmate was taken aback when Xue Jing took off his shirt.

"Not bad, Xue Jing. I never noticed before, you've really trained well!"

As soon as he spoke, all the boys in the changing room turned their heads.

"Wow!"

"Bro, Jing's abs are amazing. How do you train them? Teach us!"

"First, I'm not a Nan Tong. Second, can I touch them?"

"I envy your future wife, Xue."

"Can you take a picture? Not that I want to see, but I have a teenage sister at home who's eager to see this."

Xue Jing quickly put on his short-sleeved sports shirt, looking speechless. "Can you guys not be so gay? You're scaring me."

Li Ge, who had just finished changing, laughed and teased, "You're scared of a little joke? Being homophobic means you're in the closet. With your looks, you should have a girlfriend already, don't blame us for thinking too much."

Xue Jing kicked him, making him stumble. "Get lost, you."

...

"Good shot!"

In the gym, Xue Jing made a long jump shot. The basketball flew out of his hand and accurately landed in the basket, drawing cheers from the crowd.

After a quick high-five with his teammates to celebrate, Xue Jing caught his breath and glanced at the panel.

【Accurate Shooting, Aiming Experience +2】

【Aiming Lv1 (78/300)】

The Aiming skill he had just activated last night was a game-changer in basketball, a sport that required precision.

Within the three-point line, he could make nine out of ten shots even under pressure. Beyond the three-point line, he still had a high chance of scoring. Just with his shooting ability, he was already at a professional level.

Even without relying on his physical strength to dominate, he still made his classmates look hopeless.

Especially with the female classmates watching from the sidelines.

Even though the girls were quiet, the awkwardness of being a backdrop for his showboating lingered.

Xue Jing wasn't the type to seek attention. He had only intended to play casually and not bully his classmates.

This thought lasted until he made his first shot and saw his Aiming experience increase by 2.

"Come on, come on, there's still a chance. We can win this!"

On the opposing team, Li Ge clapped his hands to encourage his teammates, barely reigniting their fighting spirit.

The sound of the PE teacher's whistle signaled the resumption of the game.

"Stop him, stop him! Block his shot!"

"Oh..."

The elite class students were engrossed in the basketball game, and none of them noticed a few students in school uniforms entering the gym.

The leader was a tall, somewhat chubby boy who, upon entering, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, nonchalantly took one, and put it in his mouth. Someone immediately took out a lighter to light it for him, just like a henchman lighting a cigarette for a boss in a movie.

The boy held the cigarette between his fingers, skillfully puffing smoke, eyes half-closed, watching the basketball game. He asked, "Which one is Xue Jing?"

Someone immediately pointed out, "That's him, the one who just made the shot!"

The chubby boy stared for a moment and clicked his tongue. "This pretty boy looks so good, no wonder Shi Yu likes him."

Someone hesitated and spoke up, "Bro Pei, maybe we should drop it. Xue Jing is in the elite class, and the school..."

Pei Youguang turned and gave the speaker a glance, and he immediately shut up.

"What's there to be afraid of? Even the principal has to be polite to my dad. What's there to fear? The elite class is nothing. If I want to take care of him, I will!"

Pei Youguang took a puff of his cigarette, speaking with confidence and authority.

His henchmen were immediately impressed by his presence, showing signs of admiration.

"Let's go. We've identified him. We can't do anything here, we'll get him after school."

Pei Youguang turned and left, his henchmen following a step behind, making quite a scene.

...

One PE class later, Xue Jing's Aiming experience had already reached (158/300), progressing rapidly.

The skill experience increased in real-time, so the more he shot, the smoother it became, and his accuracy steadily improved, leaving his male classmates with pained expressions.

"Damn it, if I play basketball with you again, I'm a dog!"

Li Ge cursed in the classroom.

He quickly added, "Unless I'm on your team."

Xue Jing, who was packing his things into his backpack, smiled. "Alright, next time I'll carry you."

Practicing darts at home only gained 1 point of experience per bullseye, while playing basketball gained 2 points per shot. The panel clearly didn't encourage solitary practice.

After a while, Li Ge also packed his things, put on his backpack, and walked to Xue Jing's side, his expression serious. "Let's go, I'll go back with you."

Xue Jing found his expression amusing and also a bit touching.

Unlike Xue Jing, Li Ge had a deep fear of Pei Youguang. In his eyes, Pei was a violent thug who could do anything, from murder to bullying classmates. Knowing that this thug might cause trouble for Xue Jing after school, Li Ge still offered to go back with him, showing great loyalty.

Xue Jing shook his head. "No need, I'll go back alone."

Li Ge insisted, "No need to argue, I'm not that kind of person. If I say I'll go with you, I will."

"Alright." Xue Jing stopped arguing.

He added, "But remember, I'll handle the situation. You just watch from the side, got it?"

Li Ge was a bit puzzled but nodded.

The two left the classroom and headed towards the school gate.

Compared to Xue Jing, who walked as usual, Li Ge's steps were heavy, his face full of worry, as if he were going to be executed.

As they walked to the playground, Xue Jing suddenly remembered something.

'Hmm... He said he trained a bit in martial arts? Just in case, I should prepare. '

Xue Jing thought to himself.

He bent down and picked up a few pebbles from a gravel path, putting them in his pocket.

Li Ge, seeing Xue Jing suddenly squat down and pick up pebbles, asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Xue Jing felt the pebbles in his pocket, confirming their size and feel, and said casually, "I'm revealing my true identity. I'm actually a descendant of the Flying Dagger Li."

Li Ge: "Huh?"

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

Xue Jing and Li Ge had just reached the school gate when Li Ge suddenly patted Xue Jing's shoulder and pointed at a student walking straight toward them, his expression serious.

"Here he comes! That's one of Pei Youguang's regular lackeys."

The student approaching them had shoulder-length hair and a lazy gait, wearing his school uniform in a deliberately disheveled manner to show off his individuality. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, he wasn't wearing a tie, and his jacket sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He was holding a cigarette, looking smug and confident.

"Xue Jing, right? Brother Pei Youguang wants to see you. Follow me."

The student stood in front of Xue Jing, his head held high to compensate for his lack of height, and looked down his nose at them.

"..."

Li Ge's expression grew even more serious. Although he had decided to stand by Xue Jing out of a sense of loyalty, a deep sense of fear still lingered in his heart.

Xue Jing lowered his head slightly and smiled. "Let's go."

This calm and composed demeanor made the student involuntarily show a hint of surprise.

In the past, whenever students heard that Brother Pei wanted to see them, they usually trembled like leaves. This guy was actually smiling?

But seeing Xue Jing's compliance, the student didn't have much to say. He just grunted and led the way out of the school gate.

Xue Jing and Li Ge followed him, and many students witnessed the scene. The usually bustling school gate became eerily quiet.

Only after the group had walked away did the students start to discuss.

"That's Pei Youguang's lackey, Zhou Juncheng. Are they going to bully someone again?"

"Who's the guy following him? He's really good-looking."

"You don't know Senior Xue Jing? Have you been wasting your time at Fuzhong High School for two years? He's the school's top heartthrob."

"Pei Youguang seems to want to bully him. What should we do?"

"Tell the teacher?"

"No way. Pei Youguang's family has a lot of clout. Reporting to the teacher won't help, and he'll remember it!"

The school gate buzzed with whispers and discussions.

...

"Sir Jing, why don't we run?"

On the way, Li Ge whispered to Xue Jing, keeping his voice low.

"These are all back alleys. There are fewer and fewer people around. They're definitely going to take us somewhere secluded. If something happens, we won't even be able to call for help!"

Xue Jing looked at the cowardly but loyal Li Ge with a mix of amusement and sympathy. It was hard for him to have followed all the way here despite his fear.

He thought for a moment and said, "I have a favor to ask."

Li Ge was taken aback. "What is it?"

"Do this..." Xue Jing whispered a few words and then handed him his phone.

Li Ge took the phone and nodded.

The student leading the way didn't notice what the two 'lambs to the slaughter' were doing. He was too busy smoking and thinking about how he would deal with Xue Jing.

The chance to bully a student from the elite class, who was usually high and mighty, filled him with a twisted sense of excitement.

Thus, the three of them entered a dark alley.

Xue Jing looked around.

This was an old, dark alley with walls made of brick and tiles, their color darkened by age and oxidation. The ground was littered with garbage, and there was a faint stench. At the end of the alley stood five or six students in Fuzhong High School uniforms, most of them smoking. The leader, a plump teenager, was posing with his back to them, while his lackeys watched Xue Jing with malicious intent.

As if waiting for Xue Jing to arrive, the plump teenager, Pei Youguang, slowly turned around. His triangular eyes fixed on Xue Jing, he took a deep drag on his cigarette and then flicked it to the ground, stomping it out.

"Xue Jing... right?"

His voice was low and menacing.

As he spoke, his lackeys began to grin and pull out weapons like baseball bats, wooden sticks, and knives.

They were experts at this intimidation routine. Usually, by this point, the students they called out would beg for mercy, and some even wet their pants from fear.

But this time, it seemed different.

Xue Jing didn't say a word. He calmly took off his school uniform jacket and handed it to Li Ge, who was standing behind him.

He then unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves, revealing well-defined forearms.

Li Ge swallowed hard, terrified, but still followed Xue Jing's instructions, stepping back a few meters and taking out his phone to start recording the scene.

"..."

"Huh? What's this kid up to?"

Before Pei Youguang and his gang could figure it out, Xue Jing suddenly crouched, assuming a starting position.

In that instant, Pei Youguang was reminded of a nature show he had seen, where a tiger, about to pounce, crouched and gathered its strength before lunging forward.

And then, he saw it.

The 'tiger' shot forward like a bullet from a gun.

In the blink of an eye, Xue Jing sprinted from several meters away, moving like an arrow released from a bow. He reached Pei Youguang and his gang, swinging a punch that hit the face of the student in front, making a loud thud. The student's upper body jerked backward violently, dropping his baseball bat and falling to the ground unconscious without a sound.

"Damn it, get him! Take him down!"

Pei Youguang shouted in anger, and his lackeys reacted, rushing at Xue Jing with their weapons.

Xue Jing's gaze was calm as he watched the slow-motion approach of the bats and knives.

With the 'Aiming' skill activated, Xue Jing found that his vision had been greatly enhanced, both in static and dynamic vision.

Especially when he concentrated, his dynamic vision was so superior that it gave him a 'bullet time' effect.

This was the source of his confidence in his combat abilities. The physical fitness and running he had done couldn't make him a strong fighter, and a single stab from an armed opponent could still take him out. But with Aiming, the slowed-down dynamic vision gave him the perceptive abilities of a martial arts master, almost like having the Sharingan (a concept from Naruto).

This was his confidence in facing Pei Youguang and his gang alone.

Of course, his greatest confidence came from 'Twin Lives.' The extra life gave him the capital to take risks without fear.

Dodging several attacks in quick succession, Xue Jing found an opening. His eyes flashed, and as he jumped back to avoid an attack, he swung a precise punch that grazed the chin of one of the students.

The precision brought by Aiming wasn't just useful for throwing or shooting; it was equally effective in combat.

In fact, combat is a sport that requires a high degree of precision. Even though the distance of a punch is short, hitting a moving target in a chaotic fight is extremely difficult.

Therefore, the precision of a punch is also an important indicator of a fighter's strength.

Now, with the Aiming skill, Xue Jing, who had almost no combat experience, achieved an incredible level of punching precision.

Aiming, which seemed to only be useful for throwing or shooting, actually provided a terrifying boost to hand-to-hand combat.

The student hit in the chin immediately felt his brain rattling inside his skull, the world spinning, and he collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

"Chen Hao, what are you doing? Staging a play?"

The punch was so fast and subtle that no one except Xue Jing and Chen Hao noticed it. Pei Youguang only saw Xue Jing dodge a bat and then fall to the ground, looking like an act, and he couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it, everyone back off, let me handle it!"

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

Pei Youguang pushed through the crowd, intent on personally taking care of Xue Jing.

Although the unexpectedly strong fighting ability of this pretty-boy senior caught him off guard, Pei Youguang was confident that he would never be his match.

After all, he had trained in the martial arts hall and received genuine instruction!

However, just as he stepped forward and was about to throw a few more threats, his vision suddenly went dark, and a sharp pain shot through his left eye.

"Ahh!!"

Pei Youguang clutched his left eye and let out a blood-curdling scream, blood seeping through his fingers.

"Despicable scum!"

Xue Jing had casually pulled out a quail-egg-sized pebble from his pocket and flicked it with precision, hitting Pei Youguang's left eye and dealing a critical blow.

Pei Youguang was furious, enduring the pain in his left eye, and opened his right eye to charge at Xue Jing.

He swung a backhand punch, which was incredibly fast, but due to his impaired vision, he miscalculated the distance. Not only did he miss Xue Jing, who dodged, but he accidentally hit the wall with his fist.

"Bang!"

A loud crack echoed as the brick wall cracked, and Xue Jing's eyes widened at the force of the punch.

'Is this... Martial Arts?'

Xue Jing took two steps back and pulled out another pebble from his pocket. Seeing this, Pei Youguang, still traumatized from the hit to his left eye, instinctively raised his right hand to protect his remaining good eye.

However, Xue Jing did not throw the pebble. Instead, he mimicked a move from a martial arts video, spinning and delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to Pei Youguang's head. Despite reacting in time and trying to block, Pei Youguang was caught off guard by the force of the kick, which not only pushed his arm down but also hit him in the head, sending him stumbling.

"He's practiced martial arts?" Pei Youguang was shocked by the power of the kick.

"No, that's not right. This is pure brute strength, there's no 'Internal Strength.'"

That made even less sense.

He hasn't practiced martial arts, and yet his brute strength overpowered my 'Internal Strength'?!

Is this guy even a high school student?

Xue Jing was unaware of Pei Youguang's thoughts. If he had known, he might have teased him about the value of explosive leg strength from running.

He capitalized on his success, closing in and raining punches and kicks on Pei Youguang.

Under Xue Jing's relentless assault, Pei Youguang struggled to catch his breath, unable to use his 'Internal Strength' and could only defend passively.

Xue Jing fought with both hands and feet, growing more and more skilled as he used the combat techniques he had learned from videos over the past month. Gradually, he became more adept and confident.

The onlookers, Pei Youguang's lackeys, were stunned. They had never seen Brother Pei in such a dire situation, being dominated like a dog!

Li Ge, who was recording the video, trembled with excitement, unable to speak.

Brother Jing, Father Jing, God Jing!

After an unknown amount of time, Xue Jing, as if enlightened, suddenly integrated his haphazard strikes into a fluid right hook.

The angle of the punch was extremely precise, slipping past Pei Youguang's defenses and landing squarely on his face.

With a crack, Pei Youguang was knocked off his feet by the hook and fell backward.

[Condition met, skill activated: Combat Skills]

Xue Jing remained in his punching stance, staring at his fist in a daze.

His muscles tingled and twitched, his internal structure changing.

His strength increased, his flexibility improved, and he felt as light as a feather, as if a heavy iron suit had been stripped away.

Not only that, but when he stood up straight, a series of bone-cracking sounds echoed, and he grew a bit taller.

His skeleton had changed, becoming thicker and stronger, as if he had been digitally enhanced and scaled up proportionally.

"Brother Pei!" Several lackeys cried out in shock, seeing Pei Youguang lying on the ground with his nose caved in, a gruesome sight.

Clang, clang, everyone dropped their weapons, looking at Xue Jing with fear.

Xue Jing closed his eyes and focused, feeling the changes in his body.

The scene fell silent.

After a while, Xue Jing opened his eyes and calmly looked at Pei Youguang's lackeys.

Those who met his gaze felt like prey being stalked by a top predator, their legs giving out as they fell to their knees.

"Xue... Xue Senior, we..."

One of them stammered.

But before he could finish, Xue Jing interrupted, "Pick them up."

"Huh?" They were confused.

"I said, pick up your weapons."

Xue Jing's voice was calm, and the students shivered, like children scared by a suddenly stern father, and involuntarily picked up their dropped weapons.

"Attack me," he commanded.

"..." The students looked at each other, too afraid to move.

"I'll count to three." Xue Jing's eyes glinted coldly.

"One."

"Two."

"Ahh!!" One student couldn't take the pressure and, in a frenzy, raised his bat and swung at Xue Jing.

With someone leading the charge, the others, influenced by the herd mentality, also rushed at Xue Jing.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang."

The students scattered like broken sacks, each with a dent from a punch or kick on their face.

In the quiet, dark alley, students in Fuzhong High School uniforms lay sprawled out, either unconscious or moaning in pain, while Xue Jing stood alone.

His face was calm and intelligent, with no signs of the fight, only slightly disheveled clothes. The scene was like that of a movie enforcer in a suit, a blend of elegance and violence.

"..." Li Ge, seeing this, was stunned for a long time before slowly coming to his senses and stopping the recording on his phone.

He walked over to Xue Jing, wanting to say something but hesitant to speak.

Xue Jing noticed his indecision and smiled, saying, "How was it, cool or not?"

His usual gentle tone slightly softened the violent impression, and Li Ge's expression relaxed as he smiled, "Cool, incredibly cool. From today, I'm a hardcore Jing fan."

Xue Jing patted his head, "Don't get carried away."

He took the phone, "Let me see how it turned out."

The video started from Xue Jing entering the alley, capturing everything clearly except for the shaky parts when Li Ge got excited. It was well-shot, and as Xue Jing had instructed, the audio was off, only the video was recorded.

When the video reached the part where the students were threatened to pick up their weapons, without the audio, it looked as if they were not giving up and were attacking Xue Jing again.

Li Ge asked, puzzled, "Why did you do that?"

Xue Jing replied calmly, "According to Zhuxia Law, in cases where the opponent is armed and intends to commit violent crimes, the victim has the right to unlimited self-defense."

Li Ge scratched his head, "But they had already surrendered, right?"

"What does their surrender have to do with me?"

Xue Jing seemed to be speaking to Li Ge, but also to himself.

"People who do wrong must pay a price."

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

Pei Youguang had a dream.

In the dream, his family was happy and content. His father, though as stern as ever, was always proud of him. His mother would secretly slip him pocket money and pat his head, telling him she loved him. In the training hall, his fellow disciples looked up to him, and he became a renowned martial arts genius, the center of attention for all.

He wouldn't be ignored by his father as if he didn't exist. His mother would still be alive, and he wouldn't always be overshadowed by his genius brother who went to Inner Ring City. He wouldn't have to endure humiliation in the training hall and run away in tears.

Everything was so perfect.

"..."

In the dream, his father seemed to be saying something to him. Pei Youguang tried hard to hear, but he couldn't make out the words.

His father repeated himself many times, growing impatient, and then slapped him across the face.

"Slap!"

Pei Youguang woke up, feeling his right cheek burning.

"Hey."

Xue Jing squatted down, looking at Pei Youguang, who was lying on the ground, eyes open but still a bit dazed. She slapped him again, "Slap," leaving symmetrical palm prints on both cheeks.

"Pei Youguang, right? What do you want from me? What is it, speak up."

Xue Jing said, his tone cold.

Pei Youguang: "..."

After regaining his senses and realizing the situation, Pei Youguang fell silent for a moment, then forced a smile:

"N-nothing... it's nothing."

Xue Jing nodded: "Good, as long as it's nothing."

"But now that you're fine, I have something to ask you."

Pei Youguang touched his sunken nose, wincing in pain, but when he heard Xue Jing's words, he quickly said: "Go ahead, go ahead."

He wasn't a tough guy. He had been bullied countless times throughout his life and had long learned to be submissive and endure humiliation.

Although he had been used to bullying others at Fuzhong High School, he had almost forgotten his past. But now, Xue Jing's two slaps had brought back his muscle memory.

He didn't try to threaten her with his family background. Everyone at Fuzhong High School knew he had connections, and since Xue Jing dared to hit him, it meant she wasn't afraid.

Whether she had something to rely on or was just bold, he had lost this time.

He could only submit.

Xue Jing, looking down at him, asked: "I heard you've killed people and bullied female classmates?"

Pei Youguang forced a smile: "No, no, it's all rumors."

"What about the girl who transferred last semester?"

"...I was pursuing her, but I really didn't do anything. She transferred because she was too scared. If I had really done anything, the school wouldn't have let me stay this long."

Saying this, Pei Youguang glanced at the fallen lackeys around him, hesitated for a moment, and whispered: "Don't tell anyone, but I'm still a virgin."

Xue Jing slapped him again.

Slap—

"I don't want to hear useless information like that."

Pei Youguang covered his cheek: "Yes..."

"Since you didn't do those things, why didn't you clear your name?"

"Clearing my name might not have worked, and... with those rumors, the other students were all afraid of me... I thought it was cool..."

Xue Jing slapped him again.

Speechless, she said: "Are you brain-dead? Why would you take on the reputation of a rapist?"

Pei Youguang didn't dare to argue: "You're right."

"From now on, be a good student. Don't engage in this nonsense. Go back and write a self-criticism, detailing what you've done and what you haven't. Read it ten times in front of the whole class during morning reading tomorrow, and have your lackeys record it for me to check."

Pei Youguang hesitated: "Ah, this..."

Slap—

Pei Youguang covered his cheek with one hand and waved the other: "I'll write it when I get back."

Xue Jing nodded, then asked casually: "By the way, that punch you threw at the wall was quite powerful. What was that all about?"

Pei Youguang answered honestly: "I've practiced martial arts. That punch used 'Internal Power.'"

Xue Jing asked curiously: "Internal Power? Like the internal energy in martial arts novels?"

Pei Youguang nodded, then shook his head: "Internal Power, or Internal Strength... It's not some supernatural energy. It's a method of using physical strength by coordinating muscles, bones, blood, and breathing. It's a technique to harness the potential that the body already possesses, which is 'Internal Power.'"

Pei Youguang recalled what the old masters in the training hall had taught him and explained.

"Scientifically speaking, the essence of 'Internal Power' is kinetic energy. The organs inside the body work together to accumulate kinetic energy, which is then released through a 'Martial Technique,' making it much more powerful than ordinary punches and kicks."

"I've heard that some powerful martial artists can use Internal Power to such an extent that they can punch through tank armor with their bare hands, though I don't know if it's true."

Xue Jing pinched her chin, saying nothing.

Seeing this, Pei Youguang understood and quickly said: "If you're interested, I can teach you. I only know the basics of using Internal Power..."

Xue Jing, seeing his willingness, patted his shoulder, her expression softening a bit: "That would be great."

Pei Youguang cautiously said: "Of course, of course, but about the self-criticism and reading in class... can we skip that?"

Xue Jing thought for a moment and said: "No, but you don't have to read it ten times. Once is enough."

"..." Pei Youguang thought there was no difference between ten times and once, both would destroy his dignity, but he didn't dare to argue. He could only force a smile: "Thank you."

"Alright." Xue Jing stood up.

"That's settled. I'll find you to learn 'Internal Power' this afternoon or tomorrow when I have time. From now on, study hard and be a proper student. Don't let me hear that you're bullying anyone again."

Pei Youguang: "I'll do as you say."

...

After Xue Jing left the dark alley, the lackeys lying on the ground, pretending to be unconscious, slowly got up, rubbing their heads and groaning, all acting as if they had just woken up.

"Hey, Brother Pei, where's that... Brother Xue?"

Pei Youguang sat up, feeling his school uniform pocket, pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, and thought about lighting one but lost interest. He sighed.

"From now on, call him Brother Jing."

The lackeys looked at each other and could only agree.

The scene fell silent for a moment. Pei Youguang fell into deep thought: 'He hasn't practiced martial arts, but he has such physical strength... He must have good bones, as the masters in the training hall say...'

'Just like Elder Brother...'

Not sure if it was the beating or something else, Pei Youguang had a gut feeling that Xue Jing was no ordinary person.

Words like 'Cling to Someone Powerful' and 'Achievements of Following a Dragon' flashed through his mind, but his limited perspective and understanding prevented him from fully grasping the pros and cons.

After a long while, he shook his head.

"Never mind, in any case, I should get on his good side!"

Pei Youguang decided to follow his instincts.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

After sending Li Ge back, Xue Jing also headed to the bus stop, preparing to go home.

On the way, he opened the Panel to check his gains from this time.

[You have experienced a Battle, Fitness experience +109]

[You have experienced a Battle, Aiming experience +50]

[You have experienced a Battle, feeling extremely refreshed, Health Preservation experience +33]

[Conditions met, Combat Skills activated]

[You have experienced a Battle, Combat Skills experience +68]

[Fitness Lv2 (431/500)

Health Preservation Lv1 (269/300)

Cooking Lv2 (279/500)

Running Lv3 (502/800)

Charm Lv2 (398/500)

Aiming Lv1 (208/300)

Combat Skills Lv1 (68/300)]

First, the experience points. His Fitness skill had increased by over 100 points. He usually had to work out in the gym for an hour to get this much experience, but now, just from a not-so-tiring fight, he had gained this much.

Aiming had increased by 50 points, which likely included the use of dynamic vision during the battle and the accuracy of his punches, as well as hitting Pei Youguang's left eye with a pebble—far surpassing the gains from regular training.

What really surprised Xue Jing was that his Health Preservation skill had increased by over 30 points.

This skill, which previously could only gain experience through early to bed and early to rise, had somehow gained experience from a fight?

Is fighting a form of health preservation now?

However, when Xue Jing saw the [Feeling Refreshed] message on the Panel, it made sense.

A crucial aspect of health preservation is maintaining a good mindset. The impact of one's mental state on the body is undeniable, and there are often stories of severely ill patients recovering miraculously due to a positive attitude.

After the fight, he indeed felt very refreshed and invigorated, with a sense of profound satisfaction.

Battle, it's so satisfying!

"Looks like I should do more things that make me happy from now on..."

The large amount of experience gained once again proved that the Panel does not encourage staying cooped up at home but rather encourages more activity outside.

Finally, the newly activated skill—Combat Skills.

Xue Jing never expected to activate a skill directly related to battle power here.

He thought all the effort he had put into training by following videos for the past month had been in vain, but it all paid off in this moment.

On a quiet street, seeing no one around, Xue Jing did a high leg split, lifting his right leg high to form a vertical split.

At this moment, he felt almost no pain from the stretching, a flexibility he had never had before.

After lifting his leg high over his head, he felt no strain at all, and his remaining left foot stood quite steadily and balanced.

Combat Skills had altered his body structure.

A person's body can change subtly due to different habits and training methods. For example, the body structures of gymnasts and weightlifters are completely different.

Years of training have made their body structures highly adapted to their respective professions, one being light and flexible, the other strong and powerful.

After activating the Combat Skills skill, Xue Jing's body structure had been 'specialized,' changing from an ordinary person's structure to one suitable for Combat Skills.

In addition to the basic physical enhancement, his reaction speed, explosive power, flexibility, resilience, agility, sense of boxing, and balance—all abilities related to Combat Skills—had been enhanced to varying degrees.

"This skill only strengthens my Combat Skills ability, but it doesn't directly give me Combat Skills techniques..." Xue Jing thought.

"In that sense, it's similar to subjects like Chinese, Math, and Physics. Techniques are a form of 'knowledge,' not the skill itself. Combat Skills allows me to better control techniques, but it can't magically impart techniques to me..."

"It's more like a Combat Skills talent rather than a Combat Skills skill."

Actually, other skills were similar. Cooking enhanced his control over heat and the use of kitchen utensils but didn't give him recipes. Fitness didn't give him fitness knowledge but strengthened his body. Running, Aiming, Charm, and Health Preservation all similarly enhanced his related abilities without directly imparting knowledge.

"In any case, it feels great."

Xue Jing looked pleased.

The feeling of getting stronger is truly addictive. His body, already light and agile due to the enhancement from Combat Skills, felt even lighter.

"I'll go home and play with the cat."

...

Riding the bus to his neighborhood, Xue Jing didn't go home immediately but went to the supermarket to buy some ingredients before returning home.

He took out his keys, turned the lock, and opened the door to find Kitty sitting at the entrance, seemingly waiting for him.

As soon as she saw him, Kitty meowed, her tail with the tail ring swaying gently behind her, greeting him.

Putting his backpack and the bag of ingredients on the table in the living room, Xue Jing squatted down, grabbed Kitty's head with both hands, and started rubbing her cheeks.

"Does the little kitty want to be petted, huh?"

Kitty tried to struggle a bit but quickly succumbed to the skillful technique, closing her eyes in pleasure.

"Meow~"

The feel of the cat's head was pleasant, and Xue Jing continued petting her for a while before stopping, still feeling unsatisfied. He then pinched her cheek with one hand and smiled.

"Are you hungry, hmm?"

Although he knew the cat was likely a human, in front of such a cute little animal, Xue Jing's tone couldn't help but become childlike, as if he were teasing a child.

"Meow~"

Kitty pushed with her white-gloved paws, trying to free herself from Xue Jing's grip, but to no avail. She could only meow helplessly, indicating that she was indeed hungry.

Xue Jing laughed, letting poor Kitty go, and picked up the ingredients from the table to go into the kitchen.

Kitty's face showed a human-like dissatisfaction as she rubbed her sore cheek with her paw.

'Stupid human, no sense of control.'

Kitty, who had almost forgotten she wasn't a cat, thought angrily.

She walked to the corner of the living room and kitchen, sneaking a peek at Xue Jing to confirm he was busy, then dashed into Xue Jing's room.

Xue Jing had come back suddenly, and she hadn't cleaned up everything.

In the room, Kitty jumped onto the computer desk and moved the mouse with her paw, clumsily pressing keys to clear the browsing history and uninstall a strange program, making the computer look like nothing had happened, then shut it down.

After finishing, Kitty sighed in relief, left the room quietly, came to the living room, and jumped onto the sofa, curling up lazily and placing her paw on the remote control to turn on the TV.

"...Sunny City Public Security Bureau official Shang Mingyang stated that the police have confirmed the escape route of the Borderland Smuggling Gang, which is likely to pass through Sunny City. The Public Security Bureau has issued a Yellow Safety Alert, and citizens are advised to be cautious about their personal safety..."

In the kitchen, Xue Jing's phone suddenly rang.

He put down the soy sauce and spoon, washed his hands, dried them on the apron, and took out his phone from his pocket.

Xue Jing glanced at the caller ID, an unmarked number he knew by heart.

He pressed the answer button and said, "Hello, Mom, what's up?"

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

"Son, have you eaten yet?"

The phone speaker carried the gentle voice of his mother, Nanjia Yu.

Xue Jing smiled, put the phone on speaker, and placed it in the hanging basket next to the stove. While he was busy, he said, "Not yet, what's up? Why the sudden call?"

In this life, although his parents often traveled for work, they never loved their two children any less than other families. All the money they earned from working hard was spent on their children.

"Can't I just call for no reason? Am I not allowed to hear my own son's voice?"

Nanjia Yu said with a feigned scowl.

"You're right, Mom." Xue Jing immediately conceded.

Nanjia Yu then smiled warmly and began to ask about Xue Jing's recent well-being. They chatted for a good while about family matters.

"I should be back with your father around New Year's. We'll bring you some gifts."

"Also, be careful when you go to and from school. Don't wander around recklessly. It's best to stay at home. I just saw a news report saying that a group of Borderlands smugglers might be in Sunny City. These people are dangerous, and if you notice anything suspicious, don't get close."

Nanjia Yu said earnestly and seriously.

Xue Jing immediately realized that this was the real reason for her call.

He reassured her, "Don't worry, Mom. I know what to do. If anything happens, I'll run faster than a dog."

"That's good to hear."

Nanjia Yu seemed satisfied and then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, have you talked to your sister recently?"

Xue Jing replied, "It's been about half a month since we last talked. We did chat on WeChat a few days ago. What's up?"

Nanjia Yu was silent for a moment before saying, "Yesterday afternoon, Wanwan suddenly called, saying she missed me and your father."

"Isn't that normal?" Xue Jing asked, puzzled.

"It is, but I feel something's not right. This child is just like her father; she seems lively, but when something happens, she tends to keep it to herself."

"Maybe it's a mother's intuition, but I feel uneasy. Son, if you have the chance, ask her. Wanwan has always been close to you, and if something's wrong, she might tell you."

Xue Jing thought for a moment and agreed, "Okay, Mom, I'll talk to her."

...

After finishing the call with Nanjia Yu, Xue Jing looked thoughtful.

His sister, Xue Wan, was a very outgoing and beautiful person. She had always been a standout in school, often ranking among the top in beauty contests, and her grades were always excellent. Although she didn't get into the Inner Ring, she attended a top Outer Ring university that ranked higher than Qing University. She had always been a very reliable person.

But Xue Jing, who had grown up with her, knew that she was far from perfect. She would always stay in bed if not forced to get up, liked to play tricks during games, had a terrible gambling habit, and would never admit defeat. She could say, "I'll be a dog if I'm lying," and then bark without any hesitation. She would also use the excuse of "introducing my handsome brother" to trick female classmates into buying her meals...

But her biggest flaw, as Nanjia Yu mentioned, was that she tended to keep things to herself.

Xue Jing was a bit worried. He thought for a moment, picked up his phone, entered a number, but hesitated over the call button. He then exited the call screen and put the phone away.

"I'll call her later tonight."

He decided to call his sister Xue Wan when it was quiet and late at night.

That was the time when people were more likely to open up.

Putting away his phone, he continued working in the kitchen, cooking a pot of rice and making three dishes, which increased his cooking skills by over 50 points.

After having lunch with the cat, Xue Jing picked up the cat, who was sprawled out on the floor, and walked into his room. He sat down in his computer chair and turned on the computer.

With one hand petting the cat's belly and the other on the mouse, Xue Jing planned to look for information about 'Internal Power.'

He opened his browser and went to a commonly used search engine website. Just as he was about to type, his gaze caught something.

Xue Jing's computer keyboard was black and very resistant to dirt, making it hard to see ordinary dust and stains.

But with his enhanced vision from his aiming skill, he could see things that others couldn't.

He clearly saw fine black and white hairs stuck in the crevices of the keyboard.

'Is this... cat hair?'

Xue Jing looked at the cat in his arms without showing any emotion.

'This little thing, did it touch my computer?'

After a moment's thought, Xue Jing didn't make a fuss, pretending he hadn't noticed, and began searching for information about Internal Power.

After skipping over many useless ads and misleading information, Xue Jing found some relevant materials on a relatively professional Q&A platform similar to Quora.

He was so engrossed that the cat, sitting on his lap, also looked at the screen.

'Hmm? Looking for martial arts information? Does he want to practice martial arts?'

The cat thought as it watched.

'This half-baked article, full of pretentious nonsense, can only fool outsiders. What "high-level practice can produce supernatural abilities"? That's not something you can practice. Without taking performance-enhancing drugs or installing cybernetic implants, even a 'Limit Breaker' who has transcended the limits is just a mortal. There are no miracles in the human body, only hard work and technology...'

The cat looked up at Xue Jing's soft chin.

'If he's really interested in martial arts... after I leave, I can introduce him to that person. It could be my rent for staying here...'

The cat yawned, thinking.

After a full meal, drowsiness set in.

It curled up on Xue Jing's lap, surrounded by the boy's comforting scent, and slowly fell asleep.

"..."

Noticing the cat's steady and deep breathing, Xue Jing quietly exited the website.

He opened the search engine, typed in "hidden screen recording software," and after some selection, successfully downloaded a suitable screen recording software.

He set it to "auto-start" and "auto-record," then restarted the computer to check the effect. Finding no issues, he shut down the computer.

After doing this, Xue Jing gently picked up the cat and placed it on his bed, then quietly left the room.

...

In the 'Gym,' Xue Jing looked at the barbell on the bench press rack.

It was a standard barbell, weighing 20 kilograms, with two 20-kilogram plates on each side, totaling 100 kilograms.

This was his usual bench press weight. If he pushed his limits, he could add another 20 kilograms or so.

Xue Jing thought for a moment, picked up two 15-kilogram plates from the yoga mat on the floor, and attached them to the bar. Then he added two 5-kilogram plates.

This brought the total weight to 140 kilograms.

Xue Jing lay down on the bench press rack, gripped the barbell, took a deep breath, lifted the barbell off the rack, and placed it on his chest. Then, with a burst of strength, his muscles tensed, and he lifted!

The 140-kilogram barbell was slowly raised, with almost no tremors, showing that he still had some reserve strength.

After successfully lifting it, Xue Jing didn't stop but continued to bench press, completing nine repetitions before placing the barbell back on the rack.

He breathed slightly, feeling refreshed.

"After activating 'Combat Skills,' my physical abilities have improved significantly. Combined with the over 100 points of fitness experience I gained from the fight, my bench press limit has increased by 20 to 30 kilograms."

This weight increase might not seem like much, but it's important to understand that the human body's training has diminishing returns.

The closer you get to your physical limits, the harder it is to gain strength.

With hard training, it might take two to three years to go from a 60-kilogram bench press to 120 kilograms, but reaching 140 kilograms is not just a matter of effort. It might take ten to twenty years, or even a lifetime, to achieve.

Therefore, the 20 to 30 kilograms Xue Jing gained in his bench press weight were very valuable.

After testing his bench press, Xue Jing walked to the standing punching bag in the middle of the room. He took a deep breath, focused his gaze, and threw a punch!

"Bang!"

A loud sound echoed as Xue Jing's fist slammed into the punching bag. The leather surface rippled, and the air seemed to ripple from the force. The 300-pound sand-filled base tilted and almost fell over.

Xue Jing extended a hand to steady the punching bag, nodded, and muttered to himself, "Not bad."

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

At 1:30 PM, Xue Jing arrived at the school.

Just like in the morning, he didn't go directly to his class but instead entered the Qing University campus and made his way to the Qing University Library.

Compared to the sparse crowd in the morning, the library was now quite crowded, but everyone was very quiet, and the only sound was the rustling of pages being turned.

Xue Jing's arrival caught the attention of many students. A short-haired girl sitting in the rest area, holding an extracurricular book, looked at Xue Jing, who was wearing the Fuzhong High School uniform, with bright eyes and whispered excitedly to her friend beside her:

"Look, look, that boy is so handsome!"

"Should we go ask him for his WeChat?"

Her friend, while staring at Xue Jing, teased, "Aren't you into older guys? Why are you eyeing the little puppy from Fuzhong High School?"

"Even if I don't usually like sweets, I'd still drool over a top-tier dessert!" The short-haired girl's eyes sparkled.

"Let's go, I'll ask him for his WeChat, and you can give me some courage..."

With that, she stood up from her chair.

The chair scraped against the floor, making a slightly sharp sound.

Seemingly hearing the commotion, Xue Jing turned his head and looked at the short-haired girl.

"..."

The short-haired girl, caught by his cold gaze, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, chilling her from head to toe. Her desire vanished in an instant.

It wasn't until Xue Jing walked up the stairs and disappeared from her sight that she suddenly clutched her chest, breathing heavily like a drowning person who had just been rescued.

Her friend, taken aback, immediately patted her back to help her catch her breath and asked, concerned, "What's wrong, Xiao Lin? Are you okay?"

Xiao Lin, the single-tailed girl, still feeling the after-effects, said, "I don't know why, but that boy... seems dangerous. I think I won't ask him for his WeChat."

...

Unaware of the psychological impact his casual glance had on others, Xue Jing continued straight up to the seventh floor.

The seventh floor was as quiet as ever, in stark contrast to the bustling first six floors. Only one girl sat on an old chair, holding a book, her posture so upright that it was impossible to find any fault. Her light blue tight jeans were stretched taut, like a ripe peach.

It was the same girl Xue Jing had met in the same spot that morning.

Unlike the morning, when she saw Xue Jing, she nodded at him, her long ponytail swaying slightly, and a smile appeared on her clean, beautiful face.

Xue Jing smiled back, didn't say anything, and nodded at her.

He found this silent nodding acquaintance quite interesting.

Walking into the bookshelf area, Xue Jing began to search for clues related to the 'Divine Substance'.

Under the dim yellow light, Xue Jing and the girl each focused on their own tasks, like two unrelated passersby, yet there was a strangely natural harmony between them.

An hour later, Xue Jing had learned a lot of things that ordinary people didn't know, but he still had no leads on the Divine Substance.

"I should go to class first."

Shaking his head, Xue Jing put the book back on the shelf and left the library.

The quiet seventh floor was left with only the girl, like a lonely spirit trapped there, with only the occasional sound of pages turning to prove her existence.

...

When Xue Jing entered his classroom, he found that the scratched desk and chair had been replaced with a new set.

"It was the second-year student, Pei Youguang, who brought the new set and replaced your desk and chair."

A classmate who had arrived early explained.

"I see," Xue Jing replied.

He didn't really mind. Whether the desk and chair were scratched or not, they were still usable. However, the scratched set had been used to hide dirty things in the drawers, so it was better to have them replaced.

Pei Youguang was thoughtful.

Xue Jing thought to himself.

It was worth it to have sincerely educated him.

The four afternoon classes passed quickly. Xue Jing said goodbye to Li Ge, telling him to go ahead as he had something to do.

He then packed his textbooks, slung his backpack over one shoulder, and walked out of the Third Teaching Building.

Fuzhong High School had three teaching buildings, one for each grade, with twenty classes per grade.

Xue Jing went to the corridor of the Second Teaching Building, where the second-year students were, leaned against a pillar at the entrance, took out his phone, and started watching some martial arts explanation videos while waiting.

His appearance was quite eye-catching, and the second-year students who came out of the building couldn't help but glance at him.

He didn't have to wait long. Soon, a well-built young man, surrounded by a group of underlings, emerged, his nose and eyes bandaged, looking like a mummy.

It was Pei Youguang.

The underlings also had various injuries, though not as severe as Pei Youguang's.

Seeing Xue Jing, Pei Youguang was initially stunned, then ran over and said eagerly, "Hey, Jing Ge, were you waiting for me?"

His behavior immediately made the surrounding second-year students pause in surprise.

"Is that Pei Youguang?"

"Ah? That's Pei Youguang? He's all bandaged up like a mummy, I didn't recognize him."

"Who's that person? Why does it look like Pei Youguang is... fawning over him?"

"It's third-year Xue Jing! I saw him this morning, he was called out by Zhou Juncheng at the school gate. I thought he was going to get beaten up by Pei Youguang, but he looks fine..."

"You're dumb, Pei Youguang is in this state, he must have tried to beat someone up and got beaten up instead."

"What happened? Pei Youguang practices martial arts, how could he be beaten up like this?"

The surrounding students whispered, their faces filled with excitement.

The school bully, Pei Youguang, had a poor reputation, and seeing him in trouble made everyone quite happy.

"Serves him right, bullying people all the time, he finally met his match!"

"Finally, someone can handle him."

"I'm in the same class as Pei Youguang. This morning, he was still saying he would teach Xue Jing a lesson because Lin Shiyu likes Xue Jing... Look, Lin Shiyu is coming out."

Wearing a short skirt and a school uniform, Lin Shiyu's long, straight legs shimmered in the sunset. When she saw Xue Jing, her beautiful face showed a hint of embarrassment.

She had just been rejected this morning, and now she had run into the person she had confessed to, making her feel very awkward.

Fortunately, Xue Jing didn't even look at her, as if he hadn't noticed her at all. Although it made her feel a bit heartbroken, she also felt relieved.

Lin Shiyu quickly picked up her schoolbag and ran off with her friend.

"Jing Ge, you came to learn about martial arts, right? Let's go to my place. My place is pretty big, and we have all the equipment for training..."

Pei Youguang said, using his remaining right eye to signal his underlings.

One of them immediately understood and said eagerly, "Jing Ge, let me carry your backpack for you."

"Sure, let's go." Xue Jing smiled, handed his backpack to the underling, and followed Pei Youguang out of the school.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

Sunny City has four major districts: East, South, West, and North. There's a saying, 'East is rich, West is poor, North is noble, South is low,' which roughly describes the resident demographics of Sunny City.

The East District is home to many wealthy residents, and most large company headquarters are located here, making it a place where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. The North District is inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles, with extremely high security. The issue here isn't just that the land is expensive; it's that even if you have money, you can't buy a place here.

The West District is where the majority of ordinary families live, including Xue Jing's home.

Of course, this isn't an absolute rule, and it doesn't mean that everyone living in the East District is rich or that everyone in the West District is poor. It's just a general classification.

However, the 'South is low' saying is entirely accurate.

It's a true slum, the final resting place for all the city's evils. The area is controlled by gangs, not the law. Even the police can't manage it. Many criminals disappear into this district, and no one can find them. Only the security companies behind the gangs have any say here.

However, Xue Jing has never been to the South District. His parents and other elders have always warned him never to go near it, so he doesn't know the specifics, only what he's heard from others.

He never expected that Pei Youguang, who his classmates described as 'having a strong background,' would actually live in the South District.

Even though it's on the outskirts of the South District, closer to the West District, it still has the aura of a slum.

"Bro Jing, come in," Pei Youguang said, taking out his keys and opening the front door of a large house.

The house looked quite old, with a square layout and a spacious front yard. The white brick walls were covered in the marks of time, severely oxidized and yellowed.

The surrounding environment was also backward and dilapidated, with many places on the street filled with bottles, cans, and other garbage that hadn't been cleaned up in a long time.

Xue Jing shook his head and followed Pei Youguang inside.

To his surprise, the interior of the house was quite well-decorated, with gray wood-patterned floors and a large plush carpet in the center of the living room. The furniture was complete, and at first glance, it seemed tasteful and harmonious.

Xue Jing took off his shoes, walked into the living room, hung his backpack on a hook by the door, and sat down on a single-person sofa. He said, "Do you live here alone?"

Pei Youguang, who was taking drinks from the fridge, paused and nodded, "Yes."

Xue Jing asked casually, "Why do you live here? Isn't your dad working for a senator? Even if you can't live in the North District, you should at least be able to live in the East District, right?"

Pei Youguang threw a soda to Xue Jing, opened one for himself, took a big gulp, and sighed contentedly before saying, "My relationship with my dad isn't good... This house belonged to my mom. After she passed away, she left it to me. Two years ago, after a big argument with my dad, I moved here."

"There's a Golden Wind Dojo nearby. The owner is said to be from the Inner Ring and is a descendant of the 'Golden Wind White Rainbow Sword.' After I moved here, I joined the Golden Wind Dojo and trained with the masters for a few months... Later, something happened, and I left the dojo."

Xue Jing nodded, "I see."

It seems Pei Youguang has had a tough time too.

However, everyone has their own stories. He wasn't particularly interested in learning more, so he stood up and said, "Let's not waste time. Teach me the 'Internal Power' now."

That was the only reason he was here.

Pei Youguang stood up as well, threw the empty drink bottle into the trash, and said, "Alright, Bro Jing, follow me. We'll go to the training room."

...

The training room was about 70 square meters, with a thick layer of soft mats on the floor. Various fitness equipment and machines that Xue Jing couldn't understand were scattered around.

In the center of the room were several punching bags and sandbags made of different materials, all showing signs of frequent use.

"The key to cultivating Internal Power lies in breathing," Pei Youguang began, imitating the masters from the dojo.

"Internal Power is the kinetic energy generated by the movement of internal organs. However, our control over our bodies is very limited. We can't control the flow of blood or the functions of our internal organs, and we can only do simple 'tensing' and 'relaxing' of muscles. Therefore, we need to learn how to influence the parts of our body that we normally can't control, and this is where the 'Breathing Technique' comes in."

"Next, I'll teach you a Breathing Technique. It's a basic technique that every disciple in the dojo knows. Through this technique, you can influence your internal body."

Pei Youguang finished speaking and sat cross-legged on the soft mat.

"Come on, Bro Jing, follow me."

Xue Jing followed his instructions and sat cross-legged as well.

Pei Youguang then began to explain the specific steps of the Breathing Technique, demonstrating them while having Xue Jing follow along.

The Breathing Technique wasn't too complicated, but it was very difficult. Some steps required a very long interval between inhaling and exhaling, and a large amount of oxygen needed to be inhaled in one breath. People with insufficient lung capacity couldn't even attempt it.

Pei Youguang thought that Xue Jing, being a first-timer, would definitely struggle. He himself had spent a whole month before he could barely complete a full breathing technique practice.

Therefore, he was a bit playful, wanting to see Xue Jing coughing and looking miserable, but he was shocked when the entire set of breathing techniques was completed.

Xue Jing actually followed through the entire practice and successfully completed the basic breathing technique on his first try!

"It's over?"

After inhaling a large amount of oxygen, Xue Jing, who was not used to it, felt dizzy, his heart was beating fast, he felt nauseous, his vision was blurry, and his whole body felt like it was on fire.

This was due to the large amount of oxygen entering the bloodstream through the alveoli, causing the blood to circulate at an accelerated rate and raising his body temperature.

He looked quite miserable, but he had completed it.

"Bro Jing, you're amazing."

Pei Youguang genuinely admired him and gave him a thumbs up.

Only those who had practiced knew how difficult it was to master the breathing technique, but Xue Jing had managed to do it on his first try.

This must be what the master meant by 'good constitution'!

Pei Youguang was incredibly envious.

"Once you get used to the breathing technique, practicing it regularly, even making it a part of your instinct, will continuously improve your physical condition. However, I haven't been able to achieve this yet. Currently, I can't practice the breathing technique too many times a day, or my body can't handle it."

"Once you get used to it, you'll gradually feel the internal rhythm of your body while breathing. When you learn how to influence and even control these internal rhythms through your breathing, you will naturally cultivate Internal Power."

Pei Youguang said.

Xue Jing closed his eyes and calmed down, trying to recover from the various physical burdens caused by his first practice of the breathing technique.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and said, "Teach me again."

Pei Youguang worriedly said, "You just started practicing the breathing technique. One session today should be enough. We can continue tomorrow, otherwise, I'm afraid your body won't be able to handle it."

Xue Jing shook his head, "It's fine, continue."

He had already memorized most of the steps of the breathing technique but needed to practice it again to solidify his memory and ensure he wouldn't make any mistakes.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

Following Pei Youguang, Xue Jing practiced the Breathing Technique once again, thoroughly memorizing all the detailed steps.

This time, completing the Breathing Technique brought the same discomfort as the first time, but it was a bit better, as if he was starting to adapt.

Pei Youguang, having practiced the Breathing Technique twice in a row, also felt a bit uncomfortable. He rubbed his head and exclaimed:

"Not only did you successfully complete the cycle on your first try, but you even did it twice in a row..."

"If the Old Master in the training hall knew this, he'd probably be speechless with shock."

Xue Jing slowly recovered from the burden of the Breathing Technique and said, "Youguang, thank you for this time."

Pei Youguang was flattered and quickly replied, "Hey! What are you talking about, Brother Jing? You letting me teach you is giving me face..."

Although his words sounded a bit like flattery, he genuinely felt that way.

Someone with Xue Jing's talent and potential, it was obvious that he had a bright future. Being able to establish a 'teacher-student' relationship with Xue Jing at this early stage made Pei Youguang feel like he was benefiting greatly.

This basic Breathing Technique wasn't worth much, but being able to use it to form a connection with someone with a promising future was a huge gain.

Pei Youguang sighed, "It's a pity I don't have any Secret Medicine from the training hall. The Breathing Technique needs to be practiced with Secret Medicine to achieve the best results. The Old Master called this process 'Blood Cleansing'..."

"He said that blood is the fundamental source of physical strength. The cleaner and better the blood, the stronger the power it provides. Each training hall has its own 'Blood Cleansing secret techniques.' If you join a training hall in the future, you might get to experience it."

While listening to him, Xue Jing opened the panel and took a look.

[You have practiced the Breathing Technique, Fitness Experience +16]

[You have practiced the Breathing Technique, Fitness Experience +16]

[Fitness Lv2 (463/500)]

Running the Breathing Technique twice, his fitness experience actually increased by more than thirty points?

Pei Youguang said the Breathing Technique could improve physical fitness, but he didn't expect it to be so effective.

"Completing one full cycle of the Breathing Technique takes about fifteen minutes, so an hour would give you over sixty points."

However, dedicated fitness training could earn you around a hundred points per hour.

While the Breathing Technique seemed less efficient than dedicated fitness training, things weren't that simple.

Fitness training required specialized equipment and a specific environment, but the Breathing Technique could be practiced anytime, anywhere!

If he could maintain the Breathing Technique for twenty-four hours, he could earn over one thousand four hundred fitness points in a day just by 'grinding'!

That was an incredible increase!

Of course, this was currently impossible. The Breathing Technique placed a heavy burden on the body. After completing two full cycles, he already felt that he couldn't continue without risking injury.

However, having a method to increase fitness points anytime, anywhere made Xue Jing very satisfied.

After about twenty more minutes, Xue Jing felt he had fully recovered.

He stood up, looked around, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he spotted a machine in the corner.

Pei Youguang noticed his gaze and smiled, "That's the Force Measurement Machine. Brother Jing, do you want to try it?"

Xue Jing nodded.

Pei Youguang said, "Sure thing, I'll turn it on for you."

He ran to the back of the Force Measurement Machine and pressed a button. The screen on the machine's stand lit up, showing the result of the last test.

[1472N]

"The unit of measurement on this machine is N, or Newtons," Pei Youguang explained.

"1472 Newtons, converted to a more understandable unit, kilograms, is about 150 kilograms."

Pei Youguang was a bit proud, "This is the data I generated the day before yesterday. Pretty impressive, right?"

Xue Jing smiled, "Yeah, pretty impressive."

After a pause, he said, "Let me try."

Seeing this, Pei Youguang immediately moved aside.

Xue Jing stepped forward, got into position, took a deep breath, and aimed at the slightly worn leather pad on the Force Measurement Machine. He then delivered a powerful straight punch!

"Bang!!"

A loud explosion echoed, and the heavy Force Measurement Machine shook slightly. The numbers on the screen began to fluctuate and then stopped.

[1773N]

Pei Youguang's eyes widened.

"What the hell!?"

1773 Newtons, converted to weight, was about 181 kilograms.

"Brother Jing, you must have practiced before, right? You're just pretending to fool me, aren't you?"

Pei Youguang exclaimed in amazement.

"Without using any special strength, just raw power, to generate 1773 Newtons, that's 181 kilograms! Unbelievable!"

He touched his bandaged nose, "No wonder you almost broke my nose at lunchtime..."

Xue Jing laughed, "How about it, pretty good, right?"

Pei Youguang nodded repeatedly, "Brother, that's more than good. If you learn how to use strength, you could go for a Professional Martial Artist ranking right away."

Xue Jing didn't respond but instead looked at another machine with many buttons and asked curiously, "What's that?"

Pei Youguang smiled, "That's for reaction training. See all those buttons? It's like whack-a-mole. When a button lights up, you press it as quickly as possible..."

...

Xue Jing stayed at Pei Youguang's place until around eight in the evening. They agreed that he would come over often, and then Xue Jing bid farewell and left.

Before leaving, Pei Youguang asked if he could skip the recitation of the self-criticism tomorrow morning, but Xue Jing refused.

Initially, making him recite it was mostly to teach him a lesson, but now, Xue Jing genuinely wanted to help him.

Carrying the reputation of a murderer and rapist was no joke.

Pei Youguang was too young to understand the consequences, or perhaps he vaguely understood but was somewhat indifferent for some reason. Xue Jing didn't want him to ruin his future.

Although he had done many wrong things before, as long as he hadn't committed any absolute, unforgivable errors, there was still a chance for redemption.

Xue Jing walked down the street, and although it was only eight in the evening, this street in South District was very quiet, with only a few shops still lit up.

The evening breeze blew, scattering bottles, cans, newspapers, and plastic bags across the street, creating a symphony of sounds in the quiet environment.

Xue Jing, with his backpack slung over one shoulder, walked naturally toward the nearest bus stop.

However, a few dozen meters behind him, in a small alley, a group of people were hiding, staring at his back with ill intent.

One of the men, with a streak of white hair at the front, chuckled, "What a rare sight, to find a fat sheep so late at night. From his school uniform, he's from Qing University Affiliated High School, right?"

Standing in the middle of the group, a middle-aged man with a long scar on his right cheek took a deep drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled. He wore a sleeveless black shirt, and his right arm, covered in muscles, had a dragon tattoo that extended over his shoulder.

"Wandering around in our Razor Gang's territory so late at night, he should leave something behind."

"If he can afford the tuition for the affiliated high school, he should be able to afford the life-saving money, right?"

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

Night.

Xue Jing walked along the outskirts of South District.

The narrow and poorly planned streets were cluttered with buildings crammed together haphazardly. Most of these houses were old, and some couldn't even be called houses—just shacks made of a few sheets of tin and wooden planks.

The building materials were clearly subpar, and they had long lacked basic maintenance. Some places were already in a state of disrepair.

Cans of garbage littered the ground, and the uneven concrete surfaces were filled with puddles. A few stray dogs watched Xue Jing, seemingly waiting for something.

"…"

Xue Jing stopped in his tracks.

Despite seeing no one on the street, he had a strange feeling.

It was like the calm before a storm, the dark night seemed to be nurturing a terrifying beast. There was a faint, indescribable stirring, swelling, and contracting.

It was his heartbeat.

Even without using any breathing techniques, the blood in his body suddenly began to flow faster, his body temperature rising, almost to the point of boiling.

The hair on his back stood up, and his scalp tingled as if a razor-sharp blade were resting on his neck, the edge slowly scraping against his skin.

Without any reason, without relying on any senses, the deep-seated Combat Skills instinct within his flesh was warning him of danger.

Without any hesitation, Xue Jing chose to trust his instincts.

Run!

On the street, Xue Jing crouched slightly, his thigh muscles tensed, and the leg strength from Running burst forth, sending him hurtling out of the street with a whoosh!

Just as he began to sprint, shouts and curses came from the gaps and alleys between the houses.

"Damn, he noticed!"

"Trying to run, chase him!"

"Shit, this brat is really fast!"

From various hidden alleys, more than a dozen figures emerged, chasing after Xue Jing.

Most of them were armed with various weapons—knives, wooden sticks, machetes, baseball bats... The clanging of metal weapons dragged on the ground echoed continuously.

These people were clearly not first-timers at this. With Xue Jing at the center, the positions of each person had almost formed a包围网.

If Xue Jing had delayed his action by just a few seconds, the包围网would have been complete, and there would have been no escape.

But now, only two people stood in his path!

"Orange, Little Li, stop him!"

The people behind him were shouting, and Xue Jing looked at the two people in front of him: a thin teenager in a red T-shirt holding a baseball bat, and a bald young man with a fierce look in his eyes and empty hands.

The distance between Xue Jing and the two was closing, and despite the imminent collision, he showed no signs of slowing down.

The bald young man didn't move, but the thin teenager took two steps forward, raised the baseball bat, and assumed a swinging stance, as if he were about to hit Xue Jing like a baseball.

Closer, closer.

Just as the thin teenager's eyes narrowed and he swung the bat, Xue Jing suddenly ducked without slowing down.

The whistling bat passed over his head, grazing a few strands of hair. At the same time, Xue Jing, crouching, clenched his right hand and, as he rose, delivered a powerful Uppercut Dragon Punch to the thin teenager's chin.

With his aiming skill, the precision of his punch was unparalleled, hitting the teenager's chin directly.

"Bang!"

A loud crack accompanied the sound, and Xue Jing felt a sensation as if he had shattered something with his fist.

The powerful momentum from Running, combined with his 180-kilogram punch, sent the thin teenager flying nearly a meter into the air. When he landed, he was already unconscious, his neck twisted at an exaggerated angle, and the skin on his chin uneven, clearly indicating a shattered jaw.

"Little Li!"

"Damn, this kid is tough, be careful!"

The people chasing behind him cried out in shock.

Xue Jing didn't stop, merely pausing briefly before continuing to run forward.

The remaining bald young man, who had initially appeared nonchalant, now clearly understood that Xue Jing was not an ordinary weak student.

His expression turned serious, and he raised his hands, bent his knees, and assumed a boxing defensive stance.

He was fully prepared, confident that he could react to any angle of attack from Xue Jing.

As long as he could delay this fast-running student for a moment, his companions would catch up, and then it would be like catching a fish in a barrel.

He stood ready, his face stern, watching Xue Jing approach rapidly.

'Left fist, right fist, or kick?'

Just as he was about to engage Xue Jing in the most tense moment...

Xue Jing ignored him and ran past him.

The bald young man was stunned.

He seemed to see Xue Jing glance at him strangely as they passed, as if to say, "What are you doing?"

"Damn you!"

The bald young man instantly turned red with anger, cursed, and turned to chase after Xue Jing.

On the main street outside South District, Xue Jing ran ahead, with over a dozen people chasing behind him.

A few minutes later, as they watched Xue Jing's figure grow more distant, everyone gradually stopped running.

"This... this brat... how... how can he run so fast..."

One of them, panting heavily, used his machete to prop himself up, speaking in broken sentences.

"Damn, we were always the ones chasing, but now we got chased. This time, we really messed up. We didn't catch him, and we even injured a brother."

"What do we do? Brother Duan is still waiting in the warehouse. If we can't even handle this small task, who knows what he'll say."

"What else can we do? He's..."

A dyed-haired young man stopped mid-sentence.

At the end of the street, just as Xue Jing was about to run out of their sight, he suddenly stopped, slowly turned around, and looked at them.

"Hey, that brat, he's tired, right?"

Someone laughed mockingly.

"Let's go, we'll catch him. This dog has put us through so much trouble, we'll give him a good lesson."

"My tooth-pulling forceps are almost rusting. This kid looks like the type girls who like pretty boys would go for. I wonder if he'll still be attractive without his teeth..."

They laughed and walked toward Xue Jing.

...

The shouts and footsteps behind him gradually faded, and Xue Jing knew he was out of danger.

The accelerated heartbeat brought on by the crisis slowly calmed, but a burning anger began to rise in his heart.

Damn, suddenly a bunch of people chased him like a dog. No matter the reason, he would remember this grudge.

Rationality told him to leave immediately, not to take risks, and to wait until he was stronger to settle the score. Time was on his side, and a wise man's revenge is ten years in the making.

But his emotions told him to go to hell with rationality!

He slowly turned around and looked at the dozen or so figures across the street.

He opened his panel and confirmed the passive effect of "Twin," giving him the confidence he needed.

He looked around on the ground and found a half-brick about the size of a fist nearby.

Xue Jing picked up the half-brick and weighed it in his hand.

With the puzzled looks of the dozen or so people, he walked toward them with a steady pace and a blank expression.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

"Huh? What's that kid up to?"

As they watched Xue Jing approach, someone voiced their confusion.

"Wait, what's he holding in his hand..."

A short-haired young man suddenly pointed at Xue Jing's right hand.

"Brick?"

"He can't seriously think a brick he picked up from the ground will be intimidating, ha, what can a brick do?"

Someone sneered, weighing the metal baseball bat in his hand.

The gang members all grinned wickedly as they walked toward Xue Jing.

On the quiet night street, one side was a group of over a dozen gangsters, and the other was a lone student in a school uniform, both slowly closing the distance between them.

As Xue Jing moved forward, he used his innate sense of aim to estimate the distance.

When the distance between them was less than twenty meters, Xue Jing stopped.

'About right.'

He could feel that this was the perfect throwing distance. Following his instinct, Xue Jing raised the fist-sized half-brick he held.

"That kid's going to throw the brick, be careful!"

Someone shouted a warning.

As soon as he finished speaking, the head of a young man with a buzz cut beside him exploded.

"Bang!!"

"Aaaah!!"

Red brick fragments splattered everywhere, cutting several wounds on his face. Many pieces even got into his eyes, causing him to scream in agony.

The young man with the buzz cut who had been hit in the head lay motionless on the ground, a large gash on his forehead bleeding profusely.

"Damn!"

"What the hell!?"

"Someone got shot!?"

"No, that's the kid's brick!"

"Sheng Hua passed out!"

"Damn it, get him, hurry up!"

Amidst the chaos, some of the gang members helped the injured youth, while others stood in shock, but most immediately charged toward Xue Jing.

However, the moment Xue Jing threw the half-brick, he turned around and started running without hesitation!

"Damn, chase him!"

"Little brat, don't run, I'll kill your whole family, damn you!"

...

A few minutes later, everyone was panting heavily, stopping to look at the distant figure in the school uniform.

They just couldn't catch up!

And the moment they stopped, Xue Jing also stopped, slowly turning around.

A bad feeling washed over everyone.

Their premonition quickly came true.

The streets of the South District were filled with all kinds of trash.

Xue Jing picked up a 500ml glass beer bottle from the ground.

Seeing this, the gang members immediately panicked.

"Damn, find cover fast!!"

"Move, I need to hide here!"

Some of them pushed and shoved each other to get to a plastic trash bin for cover.

"Scatter, scatter!"

In the chaos, the glass beer bottle whistled through the air, striking a tall, skinny young man who couldn't dodge in time.

"Bang!"

"Aaaah!!"

The tall, skinny young man clutched his head, blood streaming between his fingers. "He's out of things to throw, get him now!"

He seemed to be a small leader. Seeing his order, the others quickly emerged from their hiding spots.

But by then, Xue Jing had already run far away.

The gang members looked at each other, unsure whether to chase him.

"What are you waiting for, chase him!"

The tall, skinny young man shouted in frustration.

Seeing this, the others had no choice but to chase after Xue Jing again.

After chasing him three or four times, their stamina was running low, and most of them slowed down after a short while.

As soon as they slowed down, Xue Jing immediately noticed and stopped.

"This..."

The gang members swallowed hard, looking at the good-looking young man in the school uniform with fear as he slowly turned around.

Seeing Xue Jing pick up something from the ground again, someone in the crowd couldn't hold it in.

"Run!!"

Hearing this shout, the others, who were already considering retreating, immediately scattered, desperately seeking cover.

"Move, move, I got here first!"

"You damn push, get lost!"

"Damn, you brat, throw a grenade, Lin Bei's mother!"

Facing an enemy they could never catch up to, and who would randomly pick a target to hit, everyone felt a deep sense of fear.

Regret, overwhelming regret, filled their hearts.

Damn it, who the hell suggested catching this Fuzhong High School student!?

"Whoosh!"

A rusty steel bar over thirty centimeters long and as thick as a finger flew straight toward them like an arrow.

"Pfft!"

A gang member hiding behind a metal shed saw the steel bar pierce through the thin metal sheet, missing his head by just a few centimeters. Tears welled up in his eyes.

His legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. Looking up, he saw Xue Jing bending down to pick up something else from the ground.

"Oh no!!"

The gang member immediately cried out, running away as fast as he could, wishing he had two more legs.

But before he could run far, a small concrete chunk flew from a distance, striking his back of the head and scattering a cloud of dust, opening a gash on his head.

"Run, run, run fast!"

The gang members had no will to fight, fleeing in terror back the way they came.

Thus, the situation reversed.

On the outskirts of the South District at night, a bizarre scene unfolded on the streets.

Over a dozen young men with dyed hair and tattoos were crying and shouting as they fled, while a good-looking student in a Fuzhong High School uniform was chasing after them.

From time to time, the student would pick up some hard piece of trash from the ground and throw it at the group ahead, hitting his target every time with a series of headshots.

Their weapons fell to the ground, becoming projectiles for Xue Jing to use.

"Here it comes, here it comes again!"

"Bro! Dad! Grandpa! Please, don't throw!"

"I surrender, I surrender, don't throw!"

Everyone shouted as they ran.

The commotion drew the attention of the residents in the area, who opened their windows to see what was happening. They were amazed by the ridiculous scene.

"Hey, isn't that Razor Gang? What's going on?"

"Is another gang invading to take over their territory?"

"No, how come there's a student? He's wearing a Fuzhong High School uniform."

"Hey, what's so strange, why is a student chasing them?"

A yellow-haired young man, unable to run any further, stopped to catch his breath.

At that moment, a nightmare-like figure approached him.

The yellow-haired young man turned around to see Xue Jing standing before him, expressionless, his cold, sharp eyes fixed on him, and a metal baseball bat in his hand.

"...Please, hero, spare my life."

The yellow-haired young man smoothly knelt down, pleading with fear in his eyes.

"Bang!"

The baseball bat whistled through the air, striking him hard on the left ear, sending him flying several meters and landing motionless on the ground.

Xue Jing, holding the bloodied bat, slowly walked toward the remaining gang members, who were mostly too exhausted to run.

The bat dragged on the ground, the metal surface scraping against the concrete, making a clanging sound.

His footsteps were steady, each step resonating in their hearts.

One step.

Another step.

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

"Wrong, brother, I was wrong, please, don't..."

"Bang!"

"Wait, we're from the Razor Gang, you..."

"Bang!"

"Sigh, can we make a deal?"

"Bang!"

On the street, the members of the Razor Gang lay scattered like golf balls, Xue Jing, holding a metal baseball bat, walked up to them one by one. No matter what they said, each one received a blow to the head.

Before long, only one young man with a buzz cut remained standing.

Xue Jing slowly approached the young man with the buzz cut. The metal baseball bat in his hand, having been used too many times with too much force, was now dented and covered in blood.

"I'm very curious."

He said.

"As a harmless student, visiting a classmate's house is a very normal and perfectly fine thing to do, right?"

"I never cause trouble. I don't drive on the wide sidewalk when there's traffic, and if the food in a restaurant doesn't match the price, I just pinch my nose and pay. When I encounter small-time hooligans like you, I'm so scared that I always take a detour with my tail between my legs."

"Let alone, I've never been to South District before, so there's no way I could have offended you by accident."

"So why did you suddenly jump out to do something to me?"

Xue Jing's tone was not harsh, as if he was casually chatting with a friend.

But the fear on the young man's face grew deeper with each word Xue Jing said. By the last word, his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground, waving his hands frantically.

"No, no, brother, it's nothing, we were just passing by... Ah!!"

Before he could finish, Xue Jing swung the bat and hit his ankle.

The sound of a bone cracking echoed, and the young man's ankle twisted into a grotesque angle.

"Answer my questions honestly, don't try to lie. Didn't your teacher teach you that?"

"Yes... yes."

The young man, in pain and covered in cold sweat, quickly said:

"We are under Duan Kaiping, a leader in the Razor Gang. Duan saw you walking alone on the street in the Affiliated High School uniform and wanted to kidnap you for ransom..."

Xue Jing shook the baseball bat in his hand and asked, "So where is this Duan?"

"Duan thought a student like you wouldn't be a challenge, so he let us handle it. He's waiting in a warehouse on the next street!"

The young man spoke rapidly, afraid that any mistake would result in another blow.

"Is this Duan strong?" Xue Jing asked.

"Duan is a core member of the Razor Gang, with the right to have a 'razor' tattooed on his chest... He used his connection with the gang leader to train at the Golden Wind Dojo. I've only seen him use his hands once, and he split a can of cola in half, just like using a razor!"

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes.

Golden Wind Dojo... He had just heard Pei Youguang mention it. The latter had trained there and learned 'Internal Power.'

For a gang that kidnaps and extorts to be allowed to train there, it seemed the dojo wasn't a good place, no wonder it was in South District.

'If he can split an aluminum can with his bare hands, cutting a throat would be even easier... His martial arts skills are not to be underestimated.'

Xue Jing pondered.

After this incident, he and the Razor Gang were now at odds. Despite the fault lying entirely with them, he didn't believe the gang would reason with him.

Xue Jing considered eliminating the witnesses but quickly realized it wasn't practical.

Not to mention whether he could bring himself to do it, the commotion had been too loud, and many people had likely seen what happened. A simple inquiry with any witness would lead them to him.

So there was no way out.

Xue Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Tell me more about your Razor Gang."

He paused, "How large is your territory, how strong are you, and how many core members like 'Duan' do you have?"

The young man hesitated, then said, "We are one of the seven gangs on the outskirts of South District. The nearby streets are all our territory... There are dozens of core members like Duan."

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes, "What's the relationship between your gang leader and the Golden Wind Dojo?"

"The gang leader is a true disciple of the Golden Wind Dojo..."

Hearing this, Xue Jing felt a headache coming on.

Just as he had suspected, pulling out one gang member led to a web of connections. These local gangs were intertwined, and provoking one would lead to many more.

Was he supposed to beat up the Razor Gang and then the Golden Wind Dojo? What else would come after that?

Would this never end?

Sigh, can we make a deal?

'However... there might be a way out.'

Xue Jing thought he could leverage the situation.

The Razor Gang was backed by the Golden Wind Dojo, but Sunny City had more than one training hall.

Training halls were businesses. Pay the money, and you could become a disciple and train in martial arts.

Xue Jing didn't believe that with his unparalleled talent and extraordinary wisdom, any training hall would not treat him with respect.

You have a powerful backer, and a large influence, right? I'll match you!

He even had a daring idea.

Join the Golden Wind Dojo first!

When the Razor Gang came for him...

I acknowledge your strength, but if I choose to join you directly, how would you handle that?

However, he had a very bad impression of the Golden Wind Dojo and the Razor Gang. Unless he had no choice, he didn't want to do this.

Xue Jing felt a sense of urgency.

Previously, he hadn't felt much pressure. Although he wanted to practice martial arts, he wasn't in a hurry. But now, he had to find a way to raise money and join a training hall as soon as possible.

"Thank you for the information."

Xue Jing said to the young man with the buzz cut.

The latter quickly smiled obsequiously, "You're welcome, brother, it's my duty... Could you, you know, let me off with a warning?"

Xue Jing nodded.

"Sure, I'll give you a chance."

He looked around and picked up a few stones from the ground.

The young man, seeing this, felt a sense of dread, his PTSD kicking in.

"Run, I'll count to ten."

Xue Jing tossed the stones in his hand.

"One."

"Hey, brother, look at my foot..."

The young man, with a pained expression, pointed to his broken foot.

"Two."

"Wait, wait, can we start over?"

"Three."

The young man, gritting his teeth, endured the excruciating pain in his ankle, and using the wall for support, hobbled towards the other side of the street.

"Four."

But with only one leg working, he couldn't move fast enough.

"Five."

The counting voice behind him was like a death knell, and he hurriedly picked up his pace, only to stumble and fall.

"Six."

He struggled to get up, but in his haste, he touched his injured ankle and fell again in pain.

"Seven."

He crawled forward, rolling and stumbling.

"Eight."

"Aaaaaah!"

He screamed in fear.

"Nine."

"Ten."

Xue Jing, seeing the young man hadn't run more than twenty meters, threw a stone.

"Bang!"

The final sound of a head being struck echoed through the night.

Xue Jing looked at the scattered 'bodies' around him, at the stone in his palm, and clenched his fist confidently.

"A victory for martial arts!"

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

[You have experienced a battle, Fitness Experience Points +225]

[You have experienced a battle, Aiming Experience Points +267]

[You have experienced a battle and feel extremely refreshed, Wellness Experience Points +69]

[You have experienced a battle, Martial Arts Experience Points +128]

[You have fully utilized your leg strength in battle, Running Experience Points +336]

[Fitness upgraded to Level 3 (188/800)]

[Aiming upgraded to Level 2 (169/500)]

[Wellness upgraded to Level 2 (38/500)]

[Running upgraded to Level 4 (38/1200)]

The notifications kept popping up on the panel.

Xue Jing closed his eyes, feeling a tingling sensation all over his body.

He could sense that his physical condition was rapidly improving, surging, and intensifying!

The muscles under his skin seemed to be writhing like living creatures, his bones becoming harder than ever before. The muscles in his abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, and thighs began to bulge, grow, and then slowly compress, returning to their original, sleek, and firm shapes, as if carved by a god, perfectly.

His height increased by two or three centimeters, reaching 1.86 meters. Although his physique remained unchanged, his weight increased by ten kilograms.

Xue Jing looked down at his clenched fists. At this moment, his aura was more powerful than ever, domineering and fierce. With such a Xue Jing, what in the world could stand in his way? Damn it, who in the world could stand in his way!?

"Awesome!"

The gains from this fight would have taken him several days of hard work to achieve on his own.

If he could have a few such encounters every day, he would become a superhuman in a few months.

Xue Jing glanced into the distance. Even in the pitch-black night, with only a faint yellow light, he could clearly see the fine, mottled scratches on the old wall dozens of meters away, as well as the small flying insects moving on it.

Level 2 Aiming had greatly enhanced his vision.

He picked up a small stone and aimed at the small insect on the distant wall.

Whoosh—Smack!

After the crisp sound, a flat insect pancake was left on the wall, along with the yellow insect blood that had been sprayed and smeared on the wall from the impact.

Xue Jing muttered to himself, "I can now call myself a 'Stone-Throwing Immortal' without any problem, right?"

Throwing stones to probe the way?

Guiding the way like an immortal!

...

By the time he got home, it was already 9:30 PM.

Xue Jing ultimately didn't go to trouble Duan Kaiping for two reasons.

First, Duan Kaiping's combat strength was unknown but definitely not low. Going to trouble him rashly would be a bit risky.

Second, if he beat up Duan Kaiping, a core member of the Razor Gang, the Razor Gang would definitely come after him, and the lineup would be even more formidable than Duan Kaiping.

As long as he didn't go to Duan Kaiping, the matter would remain a conflict between him and Duan Kaiping, or even just Duan Kaiping's underlings, and wouldn't escalate into a conflict with the entire Razor Gang.

This way, he would have more time to develop.

"Meow~"

Kitty glared at the late-arriving teenager with a dissatisfied look.

Xue Jing smiled, gently picked her up, and stroked her face while saying, "Sorry, sorry, I came back late. Did you get hungry?"

"Meow~" Kitty called softly.

'I was worried about you, you idiot.'

Feeling the warmth of the teenager's hand on her face, Kitty closed her eyes, enjoying it.

She sniffed the comforting scent of the teenager but suddenly frowned, her pink nose twitching.

'Blood...?'

"Wait a moment, I'll make something for you to eat right away."

Xue Jing put Kitty on the sofa and walked towards the kitchen.

He had already eaten at Pei Youguang's place, ordering takeout.

Kitty watched his back, feeling worried.

'Did he get into a fight? Or did something else happen?'

'Right, he's so eager to learn martial arts. Could he have been bullied outside?'

Thinking of this, Kitty couldn't sit still.

This kind-hearted teenager had picked her up, knowing she was a talking 'demon cat,' and made delicious meals for her. He was also good at petting cats and looked so handsome...

How could he be bullied?

Damn it, who can bully him, who dares to bully him!?

Kitty's anger burned as she imagined it.

Her cat face showed a human-like expression of uncertainty, her white-gloved paws extending and retracting, extending and retracting...

"Ahahaha, here comes the chicken soup."

Xue Jing walked out of the kitchen with a pot of chicken soup.

Feeling quite happy due to the gains on his skill panel, he couldn't help but make a joke.

But Kitty, who had been imagining all sorts of scenarios, couldn't help but think that his smile was forced.

"Huh? What's wrong? Don't you like chicken soup?"

Xue Jing looked at Kitty's human-like gloomy expression with confusion.

Wouldn't that be a waste... He had eaten too much at Pei Youguang's place. If Kitty didn't eat, the chicken soup would go to waste. His face showed a hint of 'sadness.'

Kitty couldn't hold back any longer.

"Young man, tell me, what happened?"

A pleasant, young girl's voice came from Kitty's mouth.

Xue Jing was taken aback.

"Don't worry, you can tell me anything. I, Ning Fengwan, the Sect Master of the Dragon Sect, will stand up for you!"

Kitty sat on the dining table, her cat tail with a tail ring swaying gently behind her. Her cat face, with narrow, alluring eyeliner, was filled with authority.

...

At the same time, in a warehouse on a street in the South District.

"So, you were all wiped out by that kid?"

Duan Kaiping sat on a concrete pipe, looking at the dozen or so injured underlings in front of him, feeling somewhat absurd.

"Just a minor student, throwing a few stones and bottles, and you were all wiped out?"

"You guys are still out here in the gang? Huh?"

An underling couldn't help but say, "Brother Duan, that kid is too fast. We couldn't catch him, and he couldn't be caught. His throws were accurate and fierce, we had no choice!"

"That's right, Brother Duan. It's not an exaggeration, that kid is very strange, not an ordinary student!"

"We really can't handle him, Brother Duan, you have to take care of it..."

Duan Kaiping waved his hand, impatiently saying, "Shut up, are you not embarrassed enough?"

"We'll talk about that kid later. I don't have time now, all of you get out."

The underlings looked at each other, could only agree, and supported each other as they walked out of the warehouse.

As soon as they left, a figure emerged from the shadows of a few boxes in the corner of the warehouse.

Duan Kaiping smiled bitterly, "Mr. Yun Ye, I apologize for the embarrassment."

Yun Ye, a young man in a black trench coat, had a left arm covered in a black glove, revealing no skin. He had a rough, weathered face, a greenish glow in his right eye, which seemed to be a prosthetic.

"Enough talk, where is Jiao Hongyuan? Get him over here quickly, hand over the goods, and we'll consider the Kangde Company's commission complete."

His voice was hoarse and rough, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.

Duan Kaiping, hearing this, cautiously said, "The boss went to Maple City with the junior master a few days ago for the U19 Selection Tournament. He's on his way back. Should we wait a bit..."

He couldn't be too careful, as the person in front of him was a ruthless character who could enter and leave the Borderland and still come out alive, someone he couldn't afford to offend.

Yun Ye snorted, "Wait? The Sixth Agency is already on our tail, and 'White Crow' might already be in the city. If we get caught, Kangde won't be spared either."

"Don't think I don't know what Kangde wants with the 'Heavenly Lodge Mother Bug.' If this gets out, the few people in Azure Court will be furious. You weigh your options."

Yun Ye's words were mostly incomprehensible to Duan Kaiping, and he didn't dare to understand them, only smiling obsequiously and apologizing.

"Three more days. If he doesn't come to pick it up, I'll hand it over to the state. I might even say a few things."

Yun Ye laughed and walked out of the warehouse, his figure suddenly disappearing.

Duan Kaiping was drenched in cold sweat, feeling he had heard too much he shouldn't. But he had no choice, trembling as he took out his phone and dialed the boss, Jiao Hongyuan.

 

[Joseph]

There are two untranslated words in what you posted. One in the first chapter I assume golden finger since it was talking about being a cheat and in one of the last chapters it didn't translate their formation around the mc.

Interesting story but the translation is a little rough in a few areas

 

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***

"… So, you didn't get beaten up, but you beat someone up?"

At the dinner table, Kitty stood on its hind legs, its front paws crossed over its chest, looking like a dignified little cat lady.

Its face was full of speechlessness.

She had been so worried that she couldn't help but speak up, only to find out that the situation was completely the opposite of what she had imagined.

Xue Jing's appearance was too deceptive. He was so refined that anyone who met him for the first time would think he was an intellectual. Even though Kitty had seen his well-built muscles, she subconsciously thought he was the one who would be bullied.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Xiao Wan."

Xue Jing chuckled.

Then, seeing how adorable Kitty looked standing on its hind legs with its paws crossed, he couldn't resist reaching out to pinch its cheeks.

This fight was worth it; it even brought an unexpected reward.

By chance, Kitty, who had been unwilling to speak, had finally opened its mouth out of concern for the gangster's blood on Xue Jing's body.

While he was touched, Xue Jing couldn't help but find it amusing.

"… Don't call me Xiao Wan, show some respect and call me High Priestess!"

Kitty, whose real name was Ning Fengwan, swatted away Xue Jing's hand with its paw, blushing with anger.

The young girl's voice had no deterrent effect on Xue Jing. He nodded and smiled, "Sure, High Priestess Xiao Wan."

Then he reached out again, stroking Kitty's head and rubbing it back and forth.

If this were a manga, Ning Fengwan's forehead would already be bulging with veins. She tried to stop Xue Jing with her white-gloved paws, but it was no use. She said in frustration, "Show some respect to your elders!"

It was fine when she was pretending to be a cat; she could deceive herself that being petted wasn't a big deal and even enjoyed it. But now that her identity was completely exposed, being 'petted' like this made Ning Fengwan's human sense of shame spread from her toes to the top of her head.

Xue Jing saw that she was getting a bit flustered and retracted his hand. He asked curiously, "Elder? How old are you, Xiao Wan?"

Kitty replied unhappily, "Call me High Priestess."

After a pause, she added, "Anyway, I'm older than you."

Ning Fengwan's tone was a bit uncertain, but Xue Jing didn't pay much attention. He rubbed his chin and said, "The Dragon Sect's High Priestess… Is that the Dragon Sect reported in the news?"

He had heard this name in the news before. It was said to be a 'gang disguised as a religious organization' that had been dismantled by the Kangde Security Company.

Hmm? My Kitty is a gang boss?

Kitty crossed its paws and lifted its head with a proud snort, speaking in a young girl's voice, "Exactly, the Dragon Sect. Scared yet?"

Cute, Xue Jing couldn't resist it. He reached out with both hands, cupped its cat head, and started rubbing its cheeks, laughing, "Scared, scared, High Priestess."

Kitty gritted its teeth, "Where are you scared? Let go of me!"

Xue Jing withdrew his hands and asked, "The news said that the Dragon Sect was dismantled by the Kangde Security Company. So are you all alone now?"

Kitty extended its paw, gesturing to the pot of chicken soup, signaling Xue Jing to serve it a bowl. Then it said, "Yeah… I guess so for now."

Xue Jing picked up a spoon, served half a bowl of chicken soup, and added a large chicken leg to the bowl, placing it in front of Kitty.

"So, what are your plans for the future?"

Kitty took a bite of the tender and soft chicken leg, chewed it, and showed a very human-like expression of enjoyment.

After swallowing the meat, it said, "You don't need to know that. It won't do you any good. I'm just staying with you temporarily and will leave soon."

Kitty looked serious.

Although they had started to communicate by chance, Kitty still wanted to avoid involving him.

A security company like Kangde was a behemoth that even the government found troublesome. As an ordinary person, Xue Jing would be obliterated if Kangde sneezed.

"Alright."

Seeing how serious it was, Xue Jing nodded.

Then, as if by chance, he asked, "By the way, since you're human, why did you turn into a cat?"

"Call me High Priestess." Kitty was unhappy first, then said, "About that…"

It extended its tail, the white-gold tail ring shining in the light.

"This is called a 'Divine Relic.' It's said to be a legacy left behind by 'God' after his death."

"I don't know much about it, but each Divine Relic has very magical abilities, like this one."

It wiggled the tail ring.

"I bought this from a dishonest merchant. It's the G-1391·Cat Tail Ring. Its ability is to turn the wearer into a cat."

"… But once you turn into a cat, you can't turn back temporarily." Kitty's mouth twitched.

Xue Jing was intrigued.

"Serial number G-1391? Are there many Divine Relics? The serial numbers are already in the thousands."

"Hmm… There should be many, I guess. I don't know much about them. I've only seen this one Divine Relic, and the serial number and name were told to me by that dishonest merchant." Kitty said.

"… Alright." Xue Jing was a bit helpless.

This was almost like saying nothing at all.

The plan to obtain more 'divine substances' through Kitty was dashed.

The upgrade and unlocking of active effects for 'Twin Lives' remained a distant dream.

But it wasn't a complete loss. At least he knew these things were called Divine Relics, and from the serial numbers, there seemed to be over a thousand of them.

Xue Jing watched Kitty, who was eating chicken and drinking soup, and suddenly thought of something. He said, "By the way, there's one more thing."

"Mm-hm." Kitty, with a mouth full of chicken, mumbled.

Xue Jing flattered her, "The High Priestess of the Dragon Sect, that sounds very impressive. You must have a lot of influence and be well-informed, right?"

"Hmph, of course." Kitty lifted her head proudly.

"Here's the thing, I want to train in a dojo. Which dojo is the best, and can High Priestess recommend one? Oh, and if I can get a discount through High Priestess's supreme authority, that would be even better."

Xue Jing made his request.

Kitty nodded, "Actually, I was going to talk to you about this."

"You've taken me in and let me eat and drink for free. I should repay your kindness."

"In a few days, I'll introduce you to someone. In terms of martial arts training, there's no one better in Sunny City."

Xue Jing asked curiously, "Who is it?"

"The old master of Hidden Dragon Dojo, 'Dragon King' Li Qi."

Kitty said a name.

 

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***

"Hidden Dragon Dojo?"

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

He had some memory of this dojo.

When he first awakened his panel and decided to learn martial arts, he had looked up the tuition fees for various dojos in Sunny City, and Hidden Dragon Dojo was one of the most expensive.

However, the high tuition wasn't the reason he remembered it.

It was because the dojo had a very poor reputation online, with most of the reviews complaining that the teaching quality didn't match the tuition.

Xue Jing's expression became a bit complicated.

Kitty licked its paw, yawned, and said, "The reputation of Hidden Dragon Dojo is terrible... but that's just the layman's view."

"In the true martial artist circles, no one underestimates Hidden Dragon Dojo, especially Old Dojo Master Li Qi."

Kitty stretched its front paws forward, arching its back high.

"He is one of the few Old Martial Arts masters who successfully Leaped the Dragon Gate and broke through human limits without taking 'Prohibited Drugs.'"

"In his prime, decades ago, he was famous in Inner Ring City, on par with 'Vajra Zhou' and 'Asura Chen,' and was known as 'Dragon King Li.'"

"Although he's now just an old man in a wheelchair, he's more than capable of teaching you martial arts."

Xue Jing picked up Kitty and placed it on his lap, asking curiously, "Prohibited Drugs? Leaping the Dragon Gate? Old Martial Arts? What do these mean?"

He felt as if a new door was opening before him, behind which lay the world of martial artists.

Kitty seemed sleepy, its eyes half-closed, and it lay down on Xue Jing's lap. Xue Jing stroked its back, the familiar comfort making it drowsy.

"Prohibited Drugs are potent drugs made from special substances found in unique border regions. They have strong stimulatory effects, causing various mutations in the body, thus granting the user non-human physical abilities."

"For example, one type of drug can change the properties of the skin, making it as tough as steel, and some drugs can even cause the growth of extra limbs, turning the user into a six-armed monster..."

"Since the appearance of Prohibited Drugs, the development of martial arts has taken a new path..."

"Those who refuse to take Prohibited Drugs and insist on pursuing the limits of the human body with their natural physique are called the 'Old Martial Arts school.'"

Kitty yawned repeatedly, "As for Leaping the Dragon Gate, it's too early for you, and you might never encounter it in your lifetime. You don't need to know too much about it for now..."

With great effort, Kitty finished its last sentence, its eyes closing as it curled up in Xue Jing's arms, breathing steadily, and fell asleep.

Xue Jing gently stopped stroking its back, carefully picked it up, and returned to the room, placing Kitty on his bed and covering it with a thin blanket, leaving only its head exposed.

He then quietly left the room, took a shower, changed into pajamas, and put his bloodstained school uniform in the washing machine. After that, he took his phone to the balcony.

It was already 10:30 PM. Xue Jing turned on his phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and opened the dialing interface.

He had a cautious and peculiar habit of not storing his family members' phone numbers with labels, so even if his phone was lost, no one could use it to scam his family.

Although this habit was probably useless for most of his life.

After entering a string of numbers on the screen, Xue Jing made the call.

It didn't take long; after three or four beeps, the call was answered.

"Hello, hello, woof woof?"

A cheerful and pleasant voice came from the speaker.

When he was young, Xue Jing often played a fighting game with his sister, Xue Wan. They would often bet on something, like a piece of candy or some pocket money.

When Xue Jing lost, he would honestly pay up, but when Xue Wan lost, she would often renege on the bet, so they later added a rule: "Reneging on a bet makes you a dog."

That day, the world lost a person and gained a dog.

"Sis, are you asleep?" Xue Jing asked with a smile.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Xue Wan said irritably.

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "What's up? Calling me at this hour? Just so you know, I don't have any money."

Xue Jing: "Do you think I'm the kind of person who only calls you when I need money?"

Xue Wan: "Good to know. So, what's up?"

Xue Jing: "WeChat me 50."

Beep... beep... beep...

Xue Wan hung up the phone directly.

Xue Jing laughed and called back.

"What's up, quick, I'm going to sleep," Xue Wan said helplessly.

After a moment of silence, Xue Jing said softly, "Sis, is there something bothering you?"

Xue Wan seemed to be taken aback for a moment before saying with a mix of laughter and tears, "What could be wrong? I'm fine, don't worry."

Xue Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Really nothing?"

"Really nothing... You're starting to sound like a sis-obsessed weirdo. That's not good; your girlfriend will be jealous," Xue Wan teased.

Xue Jing, hearing no unusual tone in her voice, breathed a sigh of relief, "Mom is really worried about you, studying alone in Maple City..."

...

Since they hadn't seen each other in a long time, Xue Jing and Xue Wan had a lot to talk about, and they chatted for a long while.

By the time Xue Jing hung up, it was already 11:00 PM.

"She should be fine."

Xue Jing muttered to himself.

Xue Wan seemed fine, so it was probably just his mother's over-worrying.

Stretching, Xue Jing walked back into the room.

He didn't go to bed but instead sat cross-legged on the living room sofa.

He began practicing the Basic Breathing Technique.

An hour later.

Xue Jing, dizzy and disoriented, closed his eyes and leaned against the sofa.

His body was overheating due to the rapid circulation of blood, almost as if he had a fever.

After a long while, Xue Jing, who had recovered, opened his panel to check.

【You have practiced the breathing technique, Fitness Experience +16】

【You have practiced the breathing technique, Fitness Experience +16】

【You have practiced the breathing technique, Fitness Experience +16】

【You have practiced the breathing technique, Fitness Experience +16】

The improvement in his physical attributes from the skill level-ups, combined with his growing adaptation to the breathing technique, allowed him to complete four full cycles of the breathing technique this time.

"Internal Power..."

Xue Jing extended his right arm, touching his left hand to the elbow of his right arm, his expression thoughtful.

While practicing the breathing technique, he seemed to have touched upon a critical point. At a certain moment during his breathing, the muscles in his right arm twitched.

Trying to recall that sensation, Xue Jing attempted to reproduce it but failed several times.

He wasn't in a hurry; if he couldn't replicate it, it meant he wasn't ready yet.

He drank a glass of water and returned to his room, lying down on the bed with one hand stroking Kitty, who was sleeping beside him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 

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***

Three days later.

In Xue Jing's home, inside the 'Gym'.

[You have practiced the Breathing Technique, Fitness Experience Points +16]

[You have practiced the Breathing Technique, Fitness Experience Points +16]

[You have practiced the...]

Looking at the notifications that popped up on the panel one after another, Xue Jing felt the various rhythms generated within his body as he breathed.

The extension of his bones, the operation of his internal organs, the contraction and expansion of his muscles...

He stared at his arm, the muscles under his skin expanding and contracting with his breath, as if they had their own consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, until a certain critical point, Xue Jing felt a surge of heat from all over his body, following his breathing rhythm, rapidly converging towards his right arm.

He silently walked to the Standing Punching Bag in the center of the room, bent his knees slightly, and placed his right hand behind his waist, assuming a stance for a straight punch.

Xue Jing took a deep breath and threw a straight punch.

"Bang!!"

This punch was not particularly fast or powerful compared to his previous ones.

However, the Standing Punching Bag, which weighed three hundred pounds at the base, was hit as if by an oncoming car. The entire sandbag bowed like a shrimp, flying horizontally and crashing into the wall, causing the entire room to shake.

[Condition met, skill activated: Channeling Strength]

[Channeling Strength Lv1 (0/300)]

In an instant, the power that he had only occasionally managed to produce was quickly mastered and became his instinct.

Xue Jing's eyes lit up with joy.

He immediately began to practice the Breathing Technique, and his internal organs immediately responded to his breathing, generating various rhythms and converting them into kinetic energy, 'producing' the power.

Xue Jing focused his mind, and the power flowed to his right foot, then he lifted his foot and stomped!

Crack—

The ceramic tiles cracked, and even the steel and concrete beneath them split slightly, causing the floor to tremble.

[Beating the floor, Channeling Strength Experience Points +1]

Xue Jing's mouth twitched.

He had just gotten a hammer and couldn't resist using the floor as a nail.

Hopefully, his mother wouldn't notice when she came back.

Kitty sat beside him, tilting her head and looking at Xue Jing with a human-like expression of disbelief.

"...You said you just started practicing the Breathing Technique three days ago?"

"Yes," Xue Jing nodded, straightening the Standing Punching Bag that he had punched away.

"You've never touched martial arts before?" Kitty's tail started to wag.

"How many times are you going to ask?" Xue Jing was a bit helpless.

"I've already said, I have the potential for invincibility and world-shaking wisdom."

He said this with a straight face.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "You are quite talented, but it's too early to call it the potential for invincibility. There are geniuses who can learn to channel power immediately after touching the Breathing Technique."

"Some large companies can even use special technological means to create such 'geniuses'."

"The world is vast, you're just a bit talented, don't get too cocky."

Ning Fengwan warned him solemnly.

Xue Jing smiled and walked up to her, pinching her proud little face. "I understand."

"Don't touch me, and call me Master."

"Sure, Master Xiao Wuan." Xue Jing rubbed her head.

Ning Fengwan just habitually rebuked him; over these three days, she had already gotten used to Xue Jing's rudeness.

"However, since you have this level of talent and have already learned to channel power, we need to change the way we enter the Hidden Dragon Dojo..."

Kitty thought for a moment and said.

"Huh? How so?" Xue Jing asked, puzzled.

Kitty leaped onto Xue Jing's shoulder, sat down, and licked her paw. She said, "If we rely solely on my connections, you'll be a 'connection client' for sure, and you'll inevitably be looked down upon and treated differently."

"Then how do we get in, Teacher Wuan?" Xue Jing found her small adult-like demeanor quite cute and couldn't help but tease her.

Seeming quite satisfied with the title of 'teacher,' Kitty's tail started to wag, and a hint of human-like pride appeared on her face.

"Of course, we follow the martial world's rules, and challenge the dojo!"

...

On the other side, at the South District Dock.

A robust old man, wearing a black short jacket, with gray hair, a dark complexion, and a posture as straight as a thousand-year-old pine, walked slowly into a warehouse with his hands behind his back.

Inside the warehouse, Duan Kaiping and a young man in black named Yun Ye had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the old man enter, Duan Kaiping's face immediately turned serious. He knelt down, placed his hands on the ground, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Kaiping greets Master, wishing Master boundless blessings and longevity!"

Yun Ye, standing beside him, sneered, seemingly disdainful.

"..."

The old man, who was the head of the Golden Wind Dojo, Jiao Hongyuan, showed no change in his expression and said to Duan Kaiping, "Mm, get up."

He then turned to Yun Ye and said, "Where's the stuff?"

Yun Ye stretched his neck and pointed with his thumb to a three-meter-high container in the warehouse.

"Knowing you were coming back today, I brought it. It's inside."

"So, our transaction with Kangde Company is now over. Transfer the remaining money to..."

Before he could finish, Jiao Hongyuan interrupted him with a calm tone, "Over?"

"You might have forgotten, but when placing the order, Kangde Company clearly stated that the operation had to be kept confidential and not leaked."

"How did you do this? You marched right through the edge of the city and barged in?"

"Now the Sixth Bureau has intervened in the investigation. Do you know how much trouble this is?"

Yun Ye sneered, "What are you going to do?"

Jiao Hongyuan smiled.

"I heard that the 'Heavenly Lodge Mother Bug' can produce special insects depending on what it's fed. I'm quite curious if this is true."

Yun Ye's eyebrows furrowed, and without hesitation, he raised his left arm, which was covered by a forearm glove, aiming at Jiao Hongyuan and Duan Kaiping.

However, at the same moment he raised his arm, Jiao Hongyuan's robust figure had already vanished from his spot.

Duan Kaiping didn't even realize what had happened. His eyes blurred, and Jiao Hongyuan was already behind Yun Ye, shaking his right hand to fling off the blood.

"Golden Wind... White Rainbow Sword..." Yun Ye struggled to speak his last words in a hoarse voice before his head and left arm slid off and fell to the ground.

The headless body remained standing, the cuts on the neck and arm perfectly clean, as if sliced by an extremely sharp divine weapon.

"Master... this..." Duan Kaiping swallowed hard, somewhat frightened.

"These ruthless people, both in their actions and their dealings, were too rough. It's their luck to die at my hands," Jiao Hongyuan said slowly.

"Master, what about the others?" Duan Kaiping asked worriedly.

"They will naturally join him. Kangde Company has been taken care of."

Jiao Hongyuan placed his hands behind his back and looked at the three-meter-high container in front of him. He seemed to hear a fierce beast's breathing from inside, though it might have been an illusion.

"Kaiping, have you prepared what I asked for?"

Duan Kaiping replied respectfully, "It's all ready. All the cockroaches are bred, none were purchased from outside. The people are also ready, all officially recorded as dead or missing..."

Jiao Hongyuan nodded in satisfaction. "Prepare more. When the attention from above shifts away from Sunny City, we can start the plan."

"Yes," Duan Kaiping responded.

"By the way, Master, isn't Senior Brother with you?"

"He's still in Maple City, participating in a selection tournament. He has a few more matches to go..."

...

In the East District, in front of a building.

Xue Jing, dressed in a casual outfit suitable for movement, raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring midday sun and looked up at the building.

"The Hidden Dragon Dojo is on the 17th floor. Let's go!"

Kitty, sitting on Xue Jing's shoulder, pointed her paw upwards and urged him.

 

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***

"So cool, such a tall guy…"

"Wow, there's even a cat on his shoulder, how adorable."

"Why is even the cat so good-looking? I should sneak a photo from this angle, it would definitely go viral online."

…

In the bustling streets of East District, skyscrapers lined up one after another. Xue Jing stood on the street with his cat, his youthful appearance standing out a bit from the surroundings.

He could faintly hear a few women in OL uniforms, with exquisite makeup, whispering to each other nearby. The Charm experience on his panel kept increasing.

[Someone has developed a good impression of you, Charm experience +1]

[Someone has developed a good impression of you, Charm experience +1]

[Someone has developed a good impression of you, Charm experience +1]

[Someone has developed a good impression of you…]

[Charm upgraded to Lv3 (0/500)]

Closing the panel, Xue Jing asked, "Are you sure I won't be beaten to death if I just go up and challenge the dojo?"

The cat first looked at the young man with a puzzled expression, then sniffed his scent.

How did he suddenly become even more good-looking, and his scent even more pleasant…

Shaking its head, the cat didn't think much about it and said, "Since I told you to come directly, I'm confident it will work."

"In fact, this is the correct way to approach Hidden Dragon Dojo."

Xue Jing asked curiously, "Oh? How so?"

The cat's tail swept across Xue Jing's cheek and wrapped around his neck.

"The disciples in the dojo are also divided by rank. Those who only get in by paying money, even if they are taught seriously, won't amount to much if they lack talent. For the dojo to maintain its reputation, it relies on the true disciples, who are the talented ones."

"As for how to select these true disciples… each dojo has its own method. One of the methods Hidden Dragon Dojo uses is 'self-recommendation.'"

"In martial arts, mindset is especially important. Only with an indomitable spirit can one deliver an unstoppable punch. If you have the confidence and the talent to show the dojo, you have a chance to become a true disciple."

"What better way to showcase your mindset and talent than by challenging the dojo?"

The cat said teasingly, "You haven't even practiced much, yet you dare to challenge the dojo. This kind of indomitable spirit and extraordinary wisdom will definitely be appreciated by Old Man Li."

Xue Jing said helplessly, "What if I get beaten up after I go up?"

"It won't happen."

The cat shook its head.

"The dojo needs to maintain its reputation and face. They will generally only send someone close to your age to accept the challenge."

"Although you have just learned to use your strength, your physical condition is incredibly strong, which is very rare for someone your age. The people of your age in Hidden Dragon Dojo are unlikely to be your match."

"Besides, our goal isn't to successfully challenge the dojo. Even if you get beaten up, as long as the dojo sees your potential, our purpose will be achieved."

"Just don't think about it, go in quickly and say you want to challenge the dojo. Leave the rest to me!"

The cat urged.

"…"

Xue Jing nodded, "Alright."

After all, it was a free opportunity to join the dojo, and he was very confident in his current abilities.

He opened the panel and took a look.

[Fitness Lv4 (139/1200)]

[Health Lv2 (109/500)]

[Cooking Lv3 (12/800)]

[Running Lv4 (873/1200)]

[Charm Lv3 (12/800)]

[Aiming Lv2 (169/500)]

[Fighting Lv1 (196/300)]

[Force Control Lv1 (12/300)]

In the past three days, although he spent most of his time researching how to use his strength through breathing, he still gained a lot of experience in other skills.

Fitness saw the most improvement, upgrading from Lv3 to Lv4. His physical condition was significantly enhanced, and he could now bench press 200 kilograms. Although he hadn't tested his punching power, he estimated it to be at least 240 kilograms.

If he used his strength, he didn't know how powerful his punch would be.

He was now afraid of accidentally killing someone if he couldn't control his strength.

Xue Jing walked into the office building with the cat, entered the elevator, and pressed the 17th floor.

This office building was a Class A building located in the prime area of East District, where rent was extremely expensive. However, Hidden Dragon Dojo managed to lease an entire floor, with an area of 2,000 square meters. Xue Jing roughly calculated that the monthly rent would be at least 400,000 Zhuxia coins, which was quite a fortune.

The elevator arrived at the 17th floor, and the door opened to a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was an automatic transparent door with a plaque hanging on it, bearing the elegant calligraphy: Hidden Dragon Dojo.

Xue Jing walked into the door with the cat. As soon as he entered, the cat left a message, "Just go and challenge the dojo, leave the rest to me," then jumped off his shoulder and ran into the dojo, disappearing somewhere.

"Challenge the dojo, how do I do that? I've never done it before…"

Xue Jing thought for a moment, then walked to the reception desk not far from the door. A receptionist in a qipao uniform, with a good figure and appearance, was sitting there.

"Big sister."

Xue Jing approached, and a warm smile appeared on his handsome face.

The girl was secretly playing on her phone and was startled by the sudden voice. She quickly looked up, "Yes, what can I…."

Before she could finish, she was stunned by the sight of the young man in front of her.

She saw a sea of flowers, a cluster of stars, the first love she had long forgotten, and the embodiment of all the beauty in the world…

[Someone has developed a lot of good impressions of you, Charm experience +54]

"…" Seeing the information pop up on the panel, Xue Jing paused and reined in his smile.

The girl finally came to her senses, her face turning red as she lowered her head and stood up, unsure of what to do, "Y-You… hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

As she spoke, she glanced up at Xue Jing secretly.

My God… How can there be such a good-looking person in this world…

Xue Jing hesitated for a moment and said awkwardly, "Uh… Could you please inform them that I want to challenge the dojo."

The girl: "Huh?"

…

On the other side, the cat darted into Hidden Dragon Dojo and seemed very familiar with the place. It had a clear purpose and turned several corners to reach a door marked 'Meditation Room.'

Just as it reached the door, a slightly aged voice came from inside, "Come in."

It had detected the cat's nearly silent steps through the door.

The cat was not surprised at all, extended its white-gloved hand, pushed open the door, and walked in.

In the spacious room, only one person sat in a wheelchair, wearing a classic old man outfit of a white tank top and shorts, with a shiny bald spot on his head.

"It's been a long time, Old Man Li," the cat said softly, with a complex look in its eyes.

"Huh? This voice… Little Ning?"

Li Qi was surprised.

"You little girl, where have you been? You didn't even let this old man know you were alive. I've been searching for you every day, driving my wheelchair around, and I'm exhausted."

Li Qi touched his shiny bald spot and sighed.

"Don't give me that, you perverted old man with a bald spot. The only reason you drive your wheelchair around is to lift up high school girls' skirts."

The cat curled its lip in disdain.

Old Man Li was unhappy: "Hey, who are you calling old?"

"You didn't deny being perverted with a bald spot…" the cat said helplessly.

"Enough talk, I have only one reason for coming to see you…"

***

Authors Note: I wont be able to post tomorrow so enjoy an extra two chapters. Normal Posting will resume on Sunday. Happy November!

 

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***

After Xue Jing announced his intention to challenge the training hall, the front desk lady picked up the phone with a strange look on her face and informed the training hall that someone wanted to challenge them.

She looked at Xue Jing, who was sitting on a resting chair with his arms crossed, eyes closed, and taking a nap, with a pitying expression.

Such a handsome person, it's a shame his brain is a bit... off.

But even so, it's not impossible...

Even if he were just a decoration at home, he would still be a great addition.

Unaware of the impolite thoughts the front desk lady was having about him, Xue Jing sat on the chair, pretending to be a master, and silently waited for the Zanglong Training Hall's response.

A few minutes later, the front desk lady received a call, spoke a few words, hung up, and stood up to address Xue Jing.

"Sir, Sir."

Xue Jing opened his eyes and looked at her.

The girl tried her best to show her best smile, which she had practiced in front of the mirror, and said softly, "Please follow me."

Xue Jing nodded and stood up.

The girl led the way, wearing a fitted dark blue cheongsam that accentuated her graceful figure. The high slits on both sides of the cheongsam revealed her long, slender legs in high heels, creating a tantalizing view.

Whether intentionally or not, she swayed her hips a bit exaggeratedly as she walked, causing the cheongsam to tighten and reveal her curves. Xue Jing, following behind her, couldn't help but glance a few times.

Hmm, the cheongsam is truly a great invention.

Following the cheongsam girl into the training hall, Xue Jing found that the interior was quite different from the modern exterior. The corridors were decorated with redwood carvings of dragons and phoenixes, and there were ancient paintings and calligraphy everywhere, fitting Xue Jing's impression of an ancient martial arts training hall.

However, once they reached the most spacious training area on the entire floor, the atmosphere changed again, becoming less traditional.

The large, open training area was square and filled with dozens of various punching bags and a wide variety of fitness equipment, most of which Xue Jing didn't recognize.

In addition, there were four octagonal, cushioned platforms in the corners of the training area, where disciples in white training uniforms were sparring, surrounded by many onlookers.

"Please feel free to look around and visit."

The cheongsam girl smiled at Xue Jing after leading him in.

Xue Jing nodded lightly and began to observe the environment.

Seeing that the handsome young man didn't show much interest and seemed indifferent to her, the cheongsam girl was a bit disappointed but had no choice but to return to the front desk in her high heels.

Xue Jing watched a sparring match on one of the platforms for a while, finding it quite intense, with every punch landing. No wonder the surrounding disciples were cheering enthusiastically.

'These are probably just ordinary disciples who paid to join, but their skills are much higher than I expected.'

He didn't watch for long, instead taking off his shoes and walking barefoot to the resting area, where he sat down on a leather bench.

Some of the disciples noticed him.

"Hmm? Who's that? A new one?"

"He hasn't changed clothes, so he's probably not. Maybe he's here to visit?"

"Hehe, he's so handsome. I should go get his contact info. I want some fresh meat today."

Many of the female disciples' eyes lit up.

But before they could act, there was a commotion at the entrance to the training hall.

"Old Master and several direct disciples are here!"

Xue Jing's gaze shifted to the entrance.

He saw about five or six people, led by an elderly bald man in a wheelchair, enter the hall and walk toward him.

Behind the elderly man in the wheelchair was a young girl in her prime, with a youthful appearance. She was pushing the wheelchair, her bright eyes curious and lively as she looked at Xue Jing.

On either side of the girl were two men and one woman.

One was a middle-aged man with a robust build, long hair down to his waist, a cold and handsome face, and wearing a black training uniform with his sleeves rolled up, revealing muscular forearms.

Another was a young man in his early twenties, with a handsome face and almond-shaped eyes, who was sizing up Xue Jing, nodding occasionally and making approving sounds.

The last was a short-haired girl with a delicate and beautiful appearance, a cold expression, and a face that resembled the middle-aged man, suggesting they might be father and daughter. She was also wearing a black training uniform, with an excellent figure, and was holding and nibbling on a large, impressive meat bun, which jiggled with every step she took.

After sizing up the group, Xue Jing's gaze landed on the cat sitting on the wheelchair's armrest.

The cat licked its paw and nodded at him.

"What's going on? Old Master is here, and I've never seen him in the training hall before."

"All the direct disciples who don't go out are here. What's happening? Is our training hall finally going to close?"

"What a cute cat... Being single for so long, even a cat looks handsome."

"Senior Sister Zhu and Senior Sister Meng are right here, and you're looking at a cat... You deserve to be single."

As the headmaster and direct disciples arrived, the trainees in the hall noticed something was off and gradually fell silent, with only a few whispers remaining.

"..."

Old Man Li stopped in front of Xue Jing, with the four direct disciples lined up behind him, each with a distinguished appearance, creating quite a scene. Old Man Li himself looked like an ordinary old man on the street.

"I heard you're here to challenge the training hall?"

Old Man Li asked.

His words immediately caused a stir.

Xue Jing first glanced at the cat, then stood up, his gaze calm, and nodded.

"That's right."

Seeing him stand up in a serious manner, Old Man Li immediately waved his hand and sighed, saying, "No need to rush. If you want to challenge, just challenge. No need to be so serious. Sit down first."

Xue Jing, who had just stood up, paused, his lips twitching, and sat back down.

Old Man Li scanned Xue Jing from head to toe, and for some reason, his eyes took on a strangely kind look.

"What's your name?"

Xue Jing looked puzzled. "Xue Jing..."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen..."

Old Man Li nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Hmm... Your age is just right, and your zodiac sign doesn't clash."

"Where do you live, and what do your parents do?"

"Are you an only child? Do you have any siblings?"

"You go to Fuzhong High School? Oh, that's good."

As Old Man Li asked various questions, the atmosphere on the scene gradually became strange.

Xue Jing looked bewildered.

Am I here for a blind date?

The cat sitting on the wheelchair's armrest was fuming, both embarrassed and angry.

What the heck is this old man misunderstanding!?

"Meow!" It quickly interrupted.

If this went on, she wouldn't be able to stay at Xue Jing's house with any dignity.

Hearing the clearly dissatisfied meow, Old Man Li reluctantly stopped his questioning.

He cleared his throat and said, "Let's get to the point. Xiao Jing wants to challenge the training hall. Who's interested?"

He looked at the disciples beside him.

The young girl with a youthful appearance immediately raised her right hand, her eyes bright. "I'll do it! I'll do it!"

 

[_LuminouShadow_]

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***

"Bamboo Junior Sister, stop fooling around."

The young man among the Direct Disciples shrugged and spoke.

"Your skills aren't refined enough yet. You don't know how to control your strength. He might become our little junior brother someday. What if you hurt him?"

"I'll handle it—"

Before he could finish, Old Man Li interrupted thoughtfully, "No, let Shan Ying go."

The young man was puzzled. "Huh?"

The Master had just been so considerate of the young man, showing a clear liking for him. Why let the little junior sister... This is going to be bad. He might have a psychological scar before even entering the door.

The young man looked at Xue Jing with a sympathetic gaze.

"Yay!"

The girl named Bamboo Shan Ying cheered, her bright and lively eyes forming two crescent moons.

Before anyone could see how she moved, she suddenly appeared beside Xue Jing, moving incredibly fast.

She reached out and took Xue Jing's hand, leading him quickly to the nearest platform.

"Little junior brother, come with me!"

Xue Jing's eyes widened at her speed.

He didn't resist, allowing the girl's soft hand to lead him forward.

Kitty, perched on the wheelchair's armrest, pouted, feeling inexplicably annoyed.

After leading Xue Jing to the platform, Bamboo Shan Ying released his hand and performed two graceful backflips to land opposite him. She bowed to Xue Jing with a smile, her eyes curved.

"Little junior brother, please go easy on me!"

Xue Jing was impressed by her agility. Backflips weren't difficult, but to execute them with such feline grace was a different story.

This was his first time facing someone who had truly practiced martial arts, and he felt a surge of excitement.

He mimicked her gesture, bowing in return. "Please go easy on me."

As they took their positions, the surrounding disciples gathered to watch.

"Hey, what's going on? Didn't he come to challenge the dojo? The Master was asking him all sorts of questions, and now this? I don't get it at all."

"If you don't get it, that's right. I don't get it either... But since Senior Sister Bamboo is handling it, he's definitely going to be in a lot of trouble."

"I bet fifty cents that he'll lose at least one arm or one leg."

"Be more confident. I bet five dollars that he'll lose all four limbs."

"Tsk, poor guy."

Xue Jing noticed that almost everyone around him was looking at him with a pity he couldn't understand.

At that moment, the young Direct Disciple walked to the center of the platform, patted Xue Jing's shoulder, and comforted him, "Be careful. If you feel you can't handle it, just admit defeat. I'll come to your rescue right away."

Xue Jing: "..."

"Then..." The young man stood between them, raised his right hand, and brought it down. "Begin."

As soon as he said that, he immediately jumped back off the platform.

"Little junior brother, be careful!"

Bamboo Shan Ying smiled happily, took a step forward, and shot forward like an arrow, incredibly fast.

Her delicate hand formed a fist and struck at Xue Jing.

Then... Xue Jing grabbed her wrist, used her momentum to perform an over-the-shoulder throw, and slammed her hard to the ground.

"Bang!"

The throw was executed with full force, even using his strength, making the entire platform shake.

The girl fell to the ground and immediately fell into a deep sleep like a baby.

"Huh?" The watching disciples.

"Hmm?" The young Direct Disciple was dumbfounded.

The other two Direct Disciples, who had been silent the whole time and seemed like father and daughter, also turned their gaze to the young man standing on the platform.

Kitty looked smug, her tail swaying involuntarily.

The entire dojo fell into an eerie silence.

"So... Does this mean I've successfully challenged the dojo?"

Xue Jing stood on the platform, looking at Li Qi in the wheelchair, puzzled.

"..."

In the silence, Li Qi looked at Xue Jing, then at Kitty on the armrest, and sighed.

"...You've really found me a good protégé."

...

On the way home, Kitty perched on Xue Jing's shoulder, looking smug.

"You defeated a Direct Disciple of Hidden Dragon Dojo without any martial arts training. From now on, you can visit Hidden Dragon Dojo at any time and receive free training from Old Man Li, and no one will dare to say a word."

"And I don't owe Old Man Li any favors. Instead, he'll thank me for sending him such a good disciple."

"It's a win-win. We win twice."

Her tail brushed against Xue Jing's cheek, causing a slight tickle. He thought for a moment and said, "I didn't expect it to end so quickly. I thought the Direct Disciples of Hidden Dragon Dojo would be much stronger and was prepared to get beaten up."

"You weren't wrong," Kitty said.

"In fact, that girl is indeed very strong, much stronger than you are now."

Xue Jing was puzzled. "Then why?"

Kitty smiled. "I was actually wondering the same thing. Why should the stronger one always win?"

"In this world, examples of the weak overcoming the strong are countless. Some people can't defeat others with ten thousand troops, yet others can win with just eight hundred. Such a significant disparity can still be overturned, so why not between you and that girl?"

"Martial arts aren't about numbers. The one with the greater number isn't always the winner. Emotions, state of mind, willpower, intelligence, decision-making... Even a tiny bit of luck can be the key to victory."

"If that girl had been more cautious, not using such an aggressive opening move, if she had known a bit about you and understood your reaction speed, if she had prepared herself with strength before the fight, if you hadn't used your full strength when you got the chance..."

Kitty said meaningfully.

"Any small change in these factors would have prevented her from losing to you, but the undeniable fact is that she did lose."

"This is the world of martial artists."

Xue Jing seemed to understand.

"This is also a good lesson for you. With your talent, you will likely become very strong in the future, but you must not let that make you overconfident. Otherwise, something like today could happen again."

Kitty warned.

Xue Jing smiled. "I'll be careful, Teacher Wan."

Hearing this title, Kitty nodded in satisfaction.

[You experienced a battle of the weak overcoming the strong. Combat Skills experience +211]

[You experienced a battle of the weak overcoming the strong. Fitness experience +121]

[You experienced a battle of the weak overcoming the strong, feeling elated. Health Preservation experience +89]

[You experienced a battle of the weak overcoming the strong. Aiming experience +56]

[You experienced a battle of the weak overcoming the strong. Channeling Strength experience +139]

[Combat Skills upgraded to Lv2 (107/500)]

Xue Jing glanced at the notification on the panel, feeling his body become stronger, and smiled silently, feeling satisfied.

"By the way, you didn't hesitate to use such force against a girl who looks so fragile. Do you have some kind of misogyny..."

Kitty suddenly asked.

Xue Jing looked at her strangely and shook his head.

"Not at all. I'm a true advocate of gender equality. I treat men and women the same when it comes to fighting..."