At dusk, the gate of the prison cell slowly opened before the old man. It revealed a woman on the monotonous bed. She appeared to be in a deep sleep. Upon hearing the piercing sound of the gate, she slowly opened her eyes.

She saw her father.

"Were you asleep?" the old man asked.

"I must've slept for quite a while; the piano sounded lovely." Luo Xian looked up, gazing at the old man at the door. "Have you come to pick me up, Father?"

"Yes." The old man nodded slowly and asked, "Lost control again?"

"I saw an ad about discounted fresh vegetables nearby and encountered it while out shopping," Luo Xian said with a guilt-ridden smile. "I couldn't help myself... But the overall outcome was good, right? It seems I've done a good deed."

"Is that so?" Luo Lao agreed, pulling her up from the bed and dusting off her shoulder. "Let's head home then."

"Okay." Luo Xian nodded and obediently followed.

"By the way, weren't you out to buy groceries?" As if finally recalling, Luo Lao looked back at Luo Xian and saw her recently retrieved, empty vegetable basket. "Where are the vegetables?"

"Although it's a bit wasteful, they should have been put to good use, right?" Luo Xian looked down at the vegetable basket. "I should have bought more."

"Let's buy some more on the way back," Luo Lao suggested, walking ahead. "What shall we eat tonight?"

"Grilled fish?"

Luo Lao thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Unhealthy. Let's choose something else."

"How about stewed chicken?"

"That works. With yam?"

"If there are chestnuts, let's buy some for the stew."

"Alright then," Luo Lao nodded. "I'll leave the rest to you."

Luo Xian smiled and nodded, following close behind the old man. Stepping in his footsteps, she left behind the watchful eyes, passed through layers of guards, and exited the Social Security Bureau's prison.

She crossed the final checkpoint.

"Just give me some more time, Little Xian, just a bit more time..." the old man walking ahead suddenly whispered. "I will surely find someone who can kill you."

As they walked on in silence, his face was unseen. One could not tell if it held a trace of sorrow or if it was as calm as iron.

"Okay, Dad." Luo Xian nodded gently, smiling, and followed her father.

Her father's back was still as broad as it had been in her childhood; it hadn't become hunched or thin. As he walked ahead, he seemed on the verge of melting into the sunset, melting into the light.

***

「The next day, at the gym.」

Luo Lao still held dumbbells, sneaking in bicep curls amidst the sounds of YOUNG MEN singing, looking with a sigh of wonder at the listless Huai Shi across from him.

"Looks like you had a good sleep."

Huai Shi rolled his eyes, revealing dark circles. "I went to bed at ten and got a full eight hours. I practiced the piano for half an hour before bed. When there was no piano, I practiced the Drummer and the Yu Step for half an hour, then went straight to sleep. I woke up refreshed the next day."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah," Huai Shi sighed. "Who could say otherwise?"

There were no late-night snacks, no beer, and no gaming. After finishing dinner and barely chatting for a while, Fu Yi was taken away by her smiling teacher. The old lady even quietly showed him thirty-two missed calls from Director Fu. Before leaving, she patted his shoulder, her look implying, You're on your own now, kid.

How can this person be so annoying!

Causing trouble even all the way from Xinhai!

Who's the real troublemaker here, you or me?!

"Alright, go for a warm-up run. Come back in thirty minutes, and we'll start class," Luo Lao said, tossing Huai Shi a towel and a bottle of protein powder. He gestured to the burly men heading out for a run, indicating he should follow them.

After the unenthusiastic procession of muscular men, Huai Shi returned inside the gym. He sat on the floor, studying Luo Lao, who was in small shorts and a tank top, flexing his muscles.

"What are we learning today?" Mention of this stirred some anticipation in Huai Shi.

"I know what you're thinking, but I can't be bothered to teach." Luo Lao raised his eyebrows at him. "You've got the basics of the Yu Step and Drummer. You know what you need to. Figure out the rest on your own." He paused, a sly smile playing on his lips. "After all, you have your own ways, right?"

It was as if he sensed something. After all, Huai Shi's rate of improvement was abnormal. The Drummer and Yu Step were expected to take fifteen days to learn and half a year to master, yet he had grasped them both in just four or five days. Luo Lao didn't suspect Huai Shi was hiding the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, which was vital to his being. He knew there were many similar items—valuable but not rare—and he wasn't interested in prying. If Huai Shi could learn it, it proved he had Talent. He just disliked those without Talent who still forcibly occupied one of the spots available each year—like a certain Older Cousin with an innocent look on his face.

Hearing that the old man seemed to be holding back, Huai Shi became anxious. "Can't you teach me more?" he asked. "Are you afraid I'll learn your skills and then beat you, Master?"

"You think you can beat me?" Luo Lao scoffed. "The more you're taught, the more mistakes you'll make. No matter how many techniques you know, duels rely on spontaneous adaptability. You're actually best at that. It's not good to get trapped in set patterns or routines. For example..."

He suddenly stepped forward, his bulky body lunging three feet ahead without warning, stirring up a suffocating gale. This was the Yu Step.

Immediately after, he seemed to vanish, reappearing ten steps behind. This, too, was the Yu Step.

However, when he advanced step by step, his slow pace compressed the air, setting off a series of loud blasts as the gale spread out. Huai Shi was dumbfounded. This was still the Yu Step. It was the Double Yu Step, blending the explosive power of the Yu Step into what looked like a casual stroll, producing a terrifying effect.

Then, as he advanced, his hands slowly swung up. They sliced through the gale and air waves, creating a fleeting vacuum. Drummer.

His fists collided, vacuum striking vacuum, and thunder roared. Double Drummer.

And then, a dazzling display unfolded that left Huai Shi amazed. Half-step Drummer, Elbow-strike Drummer, Body-drag Drummer...

A simple move in the old man's hands transformed endlessly, with countless ways to combine it with the Yu Step. The combination of Double Yu Step and Double Drummer, with a single punch, sent Huai Shi flying, flipping him to the ground through the air.

Such skill had already entered a Domain beyond Huai Shi's imagination.

"Looks impressive, doesn't it?" Luo Lao said calmly. "Ultimately, there are only two moves: one is stepping, and the other is striking. Once you've learned the basics, the rest is up to you to figure out. I can't teach you everything; you need to learn on your own."

That made sense, but Huai Shi still felt reluctant. "What about Thunderbolt?"

"Would you be able to learn it if I taught you now?" Luo Lao shook his head. "There's a significant gap in your current stage. Don't consider yourself a prodigy, Huai Shi. You merely learn quickly and are better at avoiding some wrong choices than others, but you're far from a genius."

"Old man, you're being too harsh!" Huai Shi protested. "That's not considered genius?"

"Pfft." Luo Lao didn't even deign to refute him. Instead, he turned to Luo Xian, who was knitting nearby. "Little Xian, show him what a real genius looks like."

"Sure thing." Luo Xian extended her hand, pulled out a knitting needle, held it lightly, and aimed it at Huai Shi's face from afar.

She thrust it forward.

Huai Shi's hair stood on end. He instantly sprang back twelve meters, his entire body plastered against the wall, yet he still felt that keen, icy sensation pressing against his cheek. He felt as if needles were pricking his back.

In a daze, a flash of bluish-purple lightning shot out, straight as an arrow, bursting forth from Luo Xian's hand. It was a concentrated Source Fluctuation, erupting from three distinct, intertwined forces, creating an unimaginable Thunderbolt!

A Thunderbolt, which required the full body's coordination to unleash, was replicated flawlessly with just a knitting needle. Even though that Source Fluctuation was weak compared to a Second Stage Sublimator like Huai Shi, it was undeniably a Thunderbolt. If he weren't careful, Huai Shi felt he could actually be killed by that knitting needle.

Subsequently, Luo Xian stuck the knitting needle back into the ball of yarn. She then made a fist gesture towards Huai Shi, slowly twisting her wrist.

A sharp, piercing sound burst forth. It was as if she had twisted an invisible great sluice gate; the air shrieked, emitting a shattering sound as countless sharp noises overlapped, coalescing into a blade-like force that radiated in all directions.

This move was beyond Huai Shi's comprehension. He couldn't recognize it at all.

"Triple-fold Lightning," Luo Lao calmly explained. "This move is called Heaven Collapse. She figured it out on her own. If you want to learn it, go ask her. She won't hide it or hold back."

"Forget it." Huai Shi shook his head with a wry chuckle.

He wouldn't be able to learn it anyway.

Some things really did depend on Talent. But without a doubt, in terms of skill, even if Huai Shi's own Talent were magnified tenfold, Luo Xian would still utterly dominate him.

"So, what are we learning next?" He looked up at the old man. "I've only been learning for four or five days. Is it self-study from now on?"

"What's next?" Luo Lao reached out and plucked a Wolf Fang Club with sharp barbs from a nearby rack. He waved it in his hand, a smile spreading across his face. "Isn't it time for the part you're supposedly best at? And also, the part where you are most lacking and weakest." He said, "It's about how to use weapons."

***

In Luo Lao's view, although Huai Shi's Soul Ability was quite peculiar and widely applicable, its utilization... could be called trash.

"It's clear you have rich combat experience, but in reality, your fundamentals are a complete mess. Both your awareness and technique have gone down the wrong path." As he spoke, he swung the heavy Wolf Fang Club in his hand, stirring up a wind that made Huai Shi's heart pound. "If you encounter a truly skilled opponent, you'll be utterly crushed."

"Isn't that an exaggeration?" Huai Shi said unhappily. "I have a rather impressive track record, you know!"

"Is that so? Then, aside from the Theravada Tantra Dual Sword Technique—which is second-rate without considering the Stigma—the old Tribunal Swordsmanship that doesn't match your build or physical fitness, and the common Rome Dagger Fighting, what part of your skills has any master drilled into you from the basics, step by step?" Luo Lao looked at his face as he asked this.

Huai Shi was speechless.

"Indeed, the purpose of using weapons is to kill enemies. In that regard, your skills are adequate. But isn't it uncomfortable to always wear someone else's shoes?"

"Previously, when you were cobbling together techniques and using a motley assortment of 'hand-me-downs' from various major powers, you naturally wouldn't have found it strange. But now, after getting started with Drummer and Yu Step, let me guess..." Luo Lao grinned, clearly enjoying Huai Shi's predicament. "Now that you have some of your own understanding, you must be starting to feel uncomfortable with those old ways, right?"

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