Chapter Six: The Unreliable Master

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As soon as they entered the hall, they saw the master, who had been unusually annoyed and appeared quite frustrated before, now holding a phone and watching it with great delight.

“Master!”

“What is it?”

Li Cunxin didn’t even lift his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on the screen.

The flickering colors on the screen reflected on the glass behind him, resembling a graceful woman dancing passionately.

“I intend to become a sparring partner; I wanted to inform you first!”

“Inform me? What nonsense is that?”

Li Cunxin paused for a moment, curious. “Sparring partner? Aren’t you taking the college entrance exam?”

“It’s over. I just didn’t want to embarrass you.”

“Why the sudden idea of becoming a sparring partner?”

“To learn from various sources, only then can one…”

“Stop. Are you short on money?”

“Master, you’re wise. Actually, I’m serious about learning. Sparring with experts is the best way to recognize my weaknesses.”

“Fine, fine, go ahead. But when you earn money, don’t forget to pay the apprenticeship fee you owe me!”

Li Cunxin waved his hand dismissively, quickly grabbing the phone from the table where a video of a woman dancing was playing, and resumed watching.

Zhao Rui rolled his eyes at his unreliable, money-loving master.

No wonder none of his disciples were outstanding.

Half an hour later, Zhao Rui returned home from the martial arts school and went straight to his room to carefully check the messages on the system interface.

“Taihang Thirteen Palms, progress twenty-one percent!
Cloud Hand Star Plucking progress, ten percent!”

Cloud Hand Star Plucking was Master Li Cunxin’s signature skill and the martial art he taught his disciples.

This martial art combined form and mind techniques into a complete system.

Each move in the sequence was accompanied by a corresponding breathing method.

Zhao Rui had been practicing it for five years and had achieved some small success.

“This system doesn’t even give any hints. What functions does it have? What happens when copying is complete?”

Zhao Rui frowned, pondering.

The quickest way to test the system’s functions was to spar more with his senior brothers, which would help him quickly reach a hundred percent copying rate.

When that happened, the changes would naturally become clear.

Refocusing, Zhao Rui sat cross-legged on his bed, five fingers pointing upward, palms lightly resting on his dantian, eyes half-closed like curtains drawn. His body resembled a meditative stone statue, immovable.

True qi rose from the Guanyuan point inside his body, traveling upward along the Ren meridian, passing through the Danzhong and Yutang points like a stream flowing into a great river, surging through the Zigong point and rushing into his limbs and bones.

He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and silently recited the sect’s core mantra: “Qi sinks like an abyss, intent moves like clouds, the sky is clear and vast, sincere as the red sun.”

Cloud Hand Star Plucking was a moderately famous technique in Lin City. Though not top-tier, it was far from common.

If mastered well, it could lead to great achievements.

Unfortunately, the more he trained, the more Zhao Rui felt frustrated.

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He clearly had a good martial art but couldn’t grasp its essence.

That was even more maddening than knowing nothing at all.

After three cycles of meditation, Zhao Rui slowly ended his practice and got off the bed.

In this world where martial arts thrived, to prevent ordinary people from accidentally harming themselves during training, scientists and martial arts masters cooperated to develop devices that helped calm the mind and regulate qi.

After being released onto the market, these devices proved quite effective.

The only drawback was their high price.

Naturally, Zhao Rui was reluctant to buy one, but Zhao Jincheng, thinking of his son’s college exam, bit the bullet and spent twenty thousand yuan to purchase one.

The effect lasted only half a year.

Even with such aids, family members wouldn’t disturb him in his room without permission.

That was common sense.

Upon stepping out, he saw his parents watching TV in the living room.

Hearing the noise, Xue Wenhui said, “The food is on the table. If it gets cold, heat it up. The porridge is still in the pot.”

“Okay, Mom! Where’s my brother? Not back yet?”

“He just called; he’ll be here soon. You eat first!”

“Alright.”

Zhao Rui replied and turned toward the dining area.

Though called a dining room, it was really just an extension of the living room. Their apartment wasn’t large, and although it had three bedrooms and two living rooms, the dining area was almost nonexistent.

Placing a dining table took up a significant portion of the living room.

On the table lay several vegetable dishes and a large pork knuckle, prepared specially to nourish Zhao Rui before his college exams.

He simply reheated the food and began eating.

Halfway through, his younger brother Zhao Ke returned from school.

He wasn’t a martial arts student and had to attend evening study sessions focused on academic subjects.

In this world, culture, technology, and martial arts coexisted, each with its own uses and development paths.

“Why are you so late coming back today?” Zhao Rui called out as his brother approached.

Zhao Ke looked somewhat annoyed. “Cleaning duty.”

Zhao Rui frowned, puzzled. “Didn’t you just finish your shift the day before yesterday?”

“None of your business. Just mind your own affairs. I’m not eating!”

Zhao Ke said that and turned into the side room.

Zhao Rui furrowed his brows slightly and shook his head. Ah, adolescence had arrived, and rebellion had turned inward.

After dinner, as Zhao Rui prepared to go downstairs for a walk, his phone rang.

Seeing it was Bai Xuening calling, he answered.

“Hello!”

“Zhao Rui, Sun Boran from the Kunlun Sect is coming to Lin City for a promotion this Sunday. Are you going to watch?”

“Sun Boran? You managed to get tickets?”

“Yeah, my master knows his master. I can take you.”

“Just to be clear, I’m here for the show, not for anything else!”

“Pfft, come if you want, don’t if you don’t!”

Bai Xuening spat out a retort and hung up, clearly annoyed.

Zhao Rui put away his phone, Sun Boran’s image flashing in his mind.

He was a martial arts prodigy and also a popular celebrity.

Much like a sports star from a past life who combined talent and good looks, excelling both in sports and entertainment!

He wondered if there would be a chance to interact with him and copy something.

The night passed quietly, filled with study and training.

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The next day, with spring breezes gentle and green buds climbing the branches, Zhao Rui followed his brother slowly into the school.

Just inside the gate, two boys approached Zhao Ke from either side.

One draped his arm around Zhao Ke’s neck, pulling him close in a friendly, intimate manner.

Fellow classmates of his brother?

Zhao Rui followed silently, seeing the three laughing and chatting, then stopped paying attention as he reached a fork and turned toward his own teaching building.

Inside, familiar sounds of reading echoed loudly and passionately.

Occasionally, students passed by quickly, hurrying along.

No matter the time, the college entrance exam was the most direct and obvious way for poor students to change their fate.

Zhao Rui still entered through the back door. Being in the “Arts” class, he had inherited this little “privilege” quite well.

“Zhao Rui, here you go!”

Just as he sat down, the girl in the front row, Tiantian, handed him a roujiamo (meat sandwich) amid the enviously pained gaze of his deskmate, Yang Fan.

“I already ate!”

Zhao Rui thanked her politely.

“Then eat it at noon. I can’t finish all of it.”

Tiantian said, turning away.

Zhao Rui awkwardly placed the roujiamo into the hole in the desk.

“If you don’t eat it, I will!”

Yang Fan’s eyes widened, staring greedily at the desk hole—ready to snatch it at any moment.

“Zhao Rui, don’t give it to him!”