In the dead of night, Luo Xian knocked on the old man's door.

"Come in, the door is unlocked."

The room was starkly empty, with only a bed, a table, and a chair.

It was devastatingly sparse.

It felt just like a cage.

The old man sat at the edge of the bed, quietly staring at the hanging scroll on the wall, but the scroll was blank, completely empty.

He seemed to be entranced by it.

"Is something the matter?"

Luo Xian placed an iron token on the table. "Older Cousin gave it to me."

The old man was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to go?"

Luo Xian thought for a moment, then countered, "Would it be very troublesome if it got out of control?"

"If you want to go, then go."

The old man's gaze returned to his only daughter. "You're grown up now, and as a father, I can't stay by your side forever."

Luo Xian was startled for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she asked, "Father, do you have any instructions for me?"

"If I had to say something, I hope you can be happy." The old man contemplated for a moment, looking at her hopefully. "Will you be happy?"

"Will you, Father?" Luo Xian asked.

Luo Lao shook his head. "I don't know."

"Then I don't know either."

Luo Xian stood up, took the iron token from the table, and after a moment's thought, she said earnestly, "Maybe there aren't many things in this world that make people happy."

"Then go."

The old man leaned against the wall, seemingly tired, and closed his eyes. "There's only so much to the world; how will you know if you don't try?"

The door closed.

In the silence, a gentle breeze could be heard from the window, and the hanging scroll on the wall began to sway slightly, the blank space rippling as though it were water.

.

.

"Name?"

"Huai... Shi?"

"Age?"

"Seems like... seventeen?"

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Which number is this?"

"I can't see clearly..."

So, in a daze, Huai Shi saw the young woman in front of him nod in satisfaction, stand up, and turn to the old man behind her. "He's just concussed. He can continue."

He was cleared to continue.

Huai Shi performed a carp flip, leaping up from the ground only to fall flat on the floor with a THUD!

Huai Shi struggled to his feet. "Help me up, I can still deliver..."

"How about we call it a day?"

Luo Lao couldn't even bear to 'bully the weak' anymore, looking down at Huai Shi on the ground, who was almost like a sieve. "Are you one of those perverts who gets off on being beaten up?"

"Go to hell! You'll feel amazing too when I beat you up like this!"

"Hm, seems like you're in good spirits."

The old man nodded, waving the Wolf Fang Club in his hand, which whipped up a sound that tore through the air—a Space Break. "You can still continue. Get up, young man, Grandpa's 'Little Sunflower' class is starting."

"No, my mistake."

Huai Shi clasped his hands together, pleading, "Let me catch my breath, just five minutes, only five minutes."

"TSK, five is too long; three should do. In three minutes, you won't just catch your breath; you'll have enough time to breathe your last."

The shirtless old man hoisted the Wolf Fang Club and went back to his chair, scooping up his ice-chilled protein powder cold brew tea, the taste of which was anyone's guess...

Huai Shi was flipped over by Luo Xian, who applied a potion to him, then professionally flipped him over again and continued to apply it.

It was like seasoning a fish for marinating, salting it layer by layer... until at last, a salted fish was ready.

He struggled to prop himself up, climbing up from the ground and glaring fiercely at the old man not far away.

There was no way not to glare. Anyone would become aggressive after being beaten by an old bastard to the verge of ICU admission, especially when they couldn't fight back and could only stare daggers to vent their frustration.

"Feeling upset?"

Luo Lao grinned and beckoned him with a finger. "Come hit me, why don't you?"

"When I get a Gatling gun spouting blue flames, you're dead for sure!"

For now, Huai Shi could only indulge in talking tough.

Over the past three days, he had been completely battered—by the muscular old man in front of him, who had methodically destroyed every method related to the use of weapons and then tried to rebuild them from scratch.

It wasn't mere torture. It was a ruthless correction.

Exerting what could be described as a 'precise' amount of Power, the old man savagely but calculatingly crushed Huai Shi again and again.

Any slight imperfection in stance or movement brought on brutal Absolute Punishment.

If not for this, he doubted he would even know how to hold a knife anymore.

This baldy must be exacting personal revenge, resenting me for having such long hair...

Gulping for air, Huai Shi slapped some Silver Blood Potion onto his arm wound. He got up from the ground and reached for both the knife and the axe.

"Come on!"

"This ability really is convenient," Luo Lao pinched his chin, examining Huai Shi closely. "You wouldn't happen to have an Alchemist license too, would you, kid?"

Not yet, I haven't even taken the test! Huai Shi thought about this and realized that, without knowing it, he really did seem to want to collect every single license in the world. An Astronomical Society registered Action Officer, a First-Stage Border Hunter, a Legendary Investigator, an apprentice Chef Demon, and even a damned Disastrous Musician... To think that even after becoming a Sublimator, I still have to test for all these licenses—it's just too miserable!

In the moment of his distraction, a sinister old face suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

In Luo Lao's hand, the Wolf Fang Club swept across, aiming for his head—going for a clean hit!

Without any thought, Huai Shi raised his knife to block the sweeping Wolf Fang Club, advanced with the Yu Step, and the axe in his other raised hand chopped violently towards the old man's bald head.

This time, he had the upper hand!

A shrill, piercing sound rang out. The old man pulled back his joyous club, which not only deflected Huai Shi's stance but also struck away the axe blade before thrusting straight at Huai Shi's face.

Huai Shi stepped back, but the old man pressed on, his Wolf Fang Club chopping down again, forcing Huai Shi to retreat step by step.

Just as the old man attempted to close in, Huai Shi had already unthinkingly thrust out the Spear of Compassion, piercing to keep the threat at bay. But in the next instant, the iron club broke through his defense, smashing directly into his center.

Huai Shi instinctively leaned back, and immediately the Wolf Fang Club followed, pressing down on him.

The old man delivered a flying kick.

Huai Shi was sent flying backward, crashing into the wall.

Darkness clouded his vision.

"What on earth goes on in that head of yours?"

Luo Lao looked at him in annoyance. "Even though the foundations of your posture and stance have been rebuilt, why are you still so stiff?"

"You're so many levels above me. If you say I'm stiff, there's nothing I can do about it," Huai Shi said helplessly, his vision blurring.

To be honest, he felt his response was already fast enough, but still, he couldn't defend against that unpredictably swift Wolf Fang Club. In the hands of the muscular old man, the heavy iron rod seemed as quick as a toothpick.

Sometimes heavy, sometimes nimble, leaving Huai Shi completely unable to grasp his movements.

"I've already limited my strength and speed to the First-Stage level. If you can't even beat that, then you're just trash," Luo Lao said contemptuously, spitting. He then emphasized, "Don't just react passively. Seize the initiative, understand?"

Seize the initiative? Huai Shi almost laughed. How many people in this world could seize the initiative against you? Definitely not me.

"You're too rigid. Both your defense and your 'Offensive' are too rigid," Luo Lao said, his expression one of utter disdain, as if looking at a mud wall that couldn't be plastered. "You need to learn to adapt, to use Transformation, understand?"

"Easy for you to say," Huai Shi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked up. "Why don't you demonstrate this 'Transformation' then?"

"I've never seen someone so pig-headed."

Luo Lao casually swung the Wolf Fang Club in his hand. "Watch closely, I'll demonstrate only once... Xiao Xian, come here!"

The young woman knitting a sweater nearby, Luo Xian, smiled in response. She put down her knitting, rose, slipped off her high heels, and stood in the center of the training area, casually picking up a dagger.

"I'll take the 'Offensive'; you defend. Slow the rhythm down a bit; let this kid get an eyeful."

Luo Lao cast one last glare at Huai Shi before walking towards the Teenage Girl and stopping in front of her. Suddenly, without warning, the Wolf Fang Club came crashing down towards the Teenage Girl's head!

Thunder erupted.

Power equivalent to ten thousand jun burst forth with a BOOM, roaring down as if Mount Tai itself were crashing upon her.

Luo Xian didn't even think, her hand shot out, dagger thrusting toward the old man's wrist. In that hair's breadth of a moment, it was as if the old man had deliberately presented his wrist to the blade.

But immediately afterward, the overwhelming momentum vanished. Accompanied by the resonating BOOM, the descending iron club, heavy as Thunder, abruptly shifted from ferocious to gentle. It traced a nimble arc through the air, bypassing Luo Xian's dagger and striking for her throat.

Luo Xian remained rooted to the spot, unmoved. With a mere flick of her wrist, her dagger shot upwards and outwards in a counter-attack, slicing towards her father's fingers.

In a flash, Luo Lao let go of the club.

With a casual slap on the handle mid-air.

The iron club shuddered, its center of gravity shifting. It circled back through the air and, following Luo Xian's backward lean, brushed past her cheek and landed in the old man's other hand.

Agile and unpredictable.

The heavy iron club, in the old man's hands, seemed to transform into a feather-light staff, wielded with an effortless, dazzling grace. The Power behind it shifted from light to heavy in an instant, its speed astonishing.

And Luo Xian, the target of the 'Offensive,' countered it all with a single, unchanging defense, meeting a thousand transformations with constancy, perfectly sealing off the Wolf Fang Club that seemed as mighty as Thunder and endlessly variable.

Although it was largely a demonstration, it was clear neither held back. Even with intentionally slowed movements, the deadly intent within their skillful exchanges remained palpable.

There was no gentleness.

Instead, it was as if they were engaged in a battle to the death.

In a daze, Huai Shi thought he grasped something about Transformation, yet he couldn't articulate it. It was like encountering a math problem he felt he'd seen before but had no idea how to solve.

A vague understanding, which was as good as no understanding at all.

He'd had this fleeting sense of comprehension several times in recent days, but every time he confidently tried to apply it, he only met with abject defeat.

It was as though everyone could talk the talk, but very few could walk the walk.

The high-intensity, fierce battle had left Huai Shi mentally and physically exhausted. As he relaxed, he began to feel drowsy, yawned uncontrollably, and his eyelids started to droop unwittingly.

He could only faintly hear the continuous WHIR of air being sliced and the CLANG of steel.

Until Luo Lao swept the Wolf Fang Club his way in irritation, only to have it blocked by the Sacrificial Knife that sprang from Huai Shi's hand, jolting him awake.

His expression changed, a mix of shock and confusion, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Hmm?"

Luo Lao frowned, puzzled at what Huai Shi was up to.

"This…"

Huai Shi raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Old man, that... that move just now... it was in 4/4 time!"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.