A burst of cold wind blew, and goosebumps rose on Chen Shouyi's skin.

It's really cold.

Even though Chen Shouyi's physique already far exceeds that of ordinary humans, anyone would struggle to last long, naked in this freezing and frigid deep night, especially after losing a large amount of blood earlier, leaving his body even more weakened.

After all, while Natural Healing allows him to heal at an astonishing speed, the lost blood does not replenish automatically.

He opened the attribute panel for a glance.

Sure enough, he found that all physical attributes had slightly decreased.

Fortunately, none by much, generally only dropping by 0.1 or 0.2, and with a few days of rest, these attributes should fully recover.

"Let's go!" Chen Shouyi closed the attribute panel and called to the Shell Lady.

Upon hearing his words, the Shell Lady swiftly ran a few steps, leapt more than a meter high, hugged Chen Shouyi's arm in mid-air, and nimbly climbed, soon flipping onto his shoulder.

...

The park covers several hundred acres, and the place where the battle occurred was deep inside the park, not causing any disturbances.

Chen Shouyi skillfully avoided soldiers patrolling the streets, quickly returned to his bedroom, placed the Shell Lady on the bed, tiptoed to the bathroom, took a shower, and thoroughly washed off the bloodstains.

Then he packed the torn clothes into a bag and placed them under the bed, planning to throw them in the outside garbage can tomorrow.

He stared out the window for a while. In the hazy night, faint fires flickered from several chimneys.

After gazing for quite a while, he finally drew the curtains and lay down on the bed.

Soon, he was asleep.

...

The next day, Chen Shouyi reported his findings through Bai Xiaoling to the Hedong City Government.

For the next few days, everything was calm and peaceful.

It's just that the draft for the veterans became increasingly urgent, many soldiers and government staff from street offices walked into the community, taking away one veteran after another.

Chen Shouyi could already sense the atmosphere of war.

...

The Lunar New Year arrived.

Compared to previous years, this year's New Year felt particularly desolate, with the entire Hedong City hardly exhibiting any festive atmosphere.

Oppressive and heavy.

Only a few carefree kids played in the community early in the morning.

In fact, neither government offices nor major factories were on holiday during this New Year.

At noon, Chen Dawei specially prepared a table full of dishes.

"Are we about to go to war?" Even Mrs. Chen sensed something wasn't right about the recent atmosphere.

"Don't guess blindly!" Chen Dawei said, then after a while, sighed and said, "What good does worrying do?"

Chen Shouyi remained silent. In front of major events, even for someone like him who was almost as powerful as a Martial Artist, he could only go with the flow. Not to mention fearsome and unimaginable gods, even a single High Priest from another world almost caused his death.

This was because the opponent was not adept at fighting; otherwise, he would have been dead.

The dining atmosphere was somewhat solemn. After the meal, as Chen Shouyi was about to return to his bedroom, he was stopped by Chen Xingyue:

"Brother, I've made great progress lately. Could you help me test if I have the strength of a Martial Artist?"

Chen Shouyi glanced at the living room and said, "Okay, let's go outside!"

The two soon walked to the park within the community. It was still mealtime, and there were few people in the park, so they picked a secluded spot:

Chen Shouyi broke a branch nearby, threw it to his sister, and said, "No need to test physical fitness; a Martial Artist is meant for actual combat. You attack, and let me see."

Chen Xingyue took the branch eagerly and said, "Brother, don't be careless!"

With that, she tapped her foot lightly, her figure like an agile cat, thrusting at Chen Shouyi's shoulder with a rapid sword thrust.

Chen Shouyi remained motionless, just slightly shifted his shoulder to narrowly dodge his sister's thrust: "Don't hold back, at this level, you're not yet at Martial Artist strength, and you certainly can't hurt me."

Chen Xingyue gritted her silver teeth and sliced horizontally with the branch.

Chen Shouyi immediately performed a backbend, his waist almost bonelessly bending while his legs remained firmly planted on the ground, avoiding her attack.

"There's some skill, but still not enough. The strikes must be faster, and the movements need to be more agile."

Chen Xingyue, without saying a word, grit her teeth and attacked furiously.

The branch sliced through the air, continuously producing "whoosh" sounds. However, regardless of how she attacked, unless she purposely slashed at his feet, he would only slightly retreat, otherwise, his feet remained as if nailed to the ground, unmoving.

A few minutes later, Chen Xingyue stopped, face flushed and panting, exasperatedly saying, "Brother, can't you stop dodging?"

This was indeed quite discouraging.

"I can't let you attack freely; it would hurt me too, you know!" Chen Shouyi curiously replied.

"Actual combat is more like you hit and I hit back." Chen Xingyue explained.

"That would be over in one move."

"Brother, how could you be like this? I'm your sister, can't you let me win a bit?" Chen Xingyue felt a tightness in her chest, almost bursting with anger.

"Alright, I was just kidding." Chen Shouyi chuckled, seeing his sister's slightly darkened face and feeling the frustrations he'd once had with her dissipate, bringing a sense of relief.

Afterward, Chen Shouyi controlled his strength and practiced with Chen Xingyue.

With his strength nearly equivalent to a Martial Artist, instructing Chen Xingyue felt completely superior, and within a minute, her stormy attacks were forced into exhaustion, drenched in sweat.

"Brother, do I have the strength of a Martial Artist now?" On the way back, Chen Xingyue asked.

Though she was visibly fatigued, her eyes sparkled brightly. Since arriving in Hedong City, she hadn't indulged in a carefree practice with anyone for a long time.

"You're close. Your physical fitness is sufficient, but flexibility and coordination are still far from adequate. You haven't completed flesh refining during tranquility, have you?" Chen Shouyi thought for a moment and said.

"Yeah, still far off. I've only just refined the four limbs," Chen Xingyue replied.

"You've refined most of it already; you're in great shape. In half a year to a year, you might complete it." Chen Shouyi said, noting that while physical fitness can be supplemented with resources, this aspect offers no shortcuts and must be developed step by step, even for him.

"Still can't match Brother!"

"Don't compare yourself to me."

...

A few days later, a steam truck covered with a tarpaulin stopped at the entrance of the community, drawing many curious glances.

"Dad, Mom, the car is here; let's get on board."

The family, along with Bai Xiaoling, who came to help, carried large bags of luggage onto the truck, where many people were already present.

"Brother Chen, are you on this trip too?"

Upon hearing a familiar voice, Chen Shouyi turned to see Qin Liuyuan. His family seemed larger, including a white-haired elder, his wife, and two sons, with his eldest son appearing close in age to Chen Shouyi.

Chen Shouyi greeted with a smile, "Yes, what a coincidence."

Not chatting much, he exchanged a few pleasantries then stowed away the luggage, sitting with his parents and sister on the side.

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