In the end, Sister Wen did not step into the ring herself.
Perhaps it was because Ji Jue had surrendered far too quickly. After taking two punches straight to his dog head, he had collapsed onto the floor, wailing and refusing to get up, which stripped away any sense of achievement she might have felt beating him.
Ultimately, she substituted Lao Zhang in her place.
Lao Zhang was ninety-seven years old and bore an exceedingly common, ordinary name: Zhang Daqiang.
Judging by the photographs on his phone, fifty years ago the name had been entirely fitting—truly massive and strong!
Back then, in his prime at forty-odd years old, Lao Zhang had been an absolute mountain of thick, corded muscle. Slathered in olive oil beneath stage spotlights, with just a slight flex of his arms, muscles like tangled steel cables had looked ready to burst forth!
He had been the very devil in muscle form!
Now, however, he claimed his prime was long gone, his strength sapped by age. He looked just like the shriveled old men found all over Yacheng: an undershirt, baggy shorts, slippers dangling from his feet, and walnuts constantly rotating in his palm.
Every day was spent tending flowers and plants, thoroughly devoted to quiet wellness.
*So you have nothing to fear. This is just a friendly exchange between colleagues; we can speak as equals…*
Ji Jue would have to be an idiot to believe a single word.
If he were truly an ordinary, health-preserving old-timer, how could he casually roll a pair of iron walnuts that weighed more than Ji Jue himself? They even bore the carved insignia of Desolate Ruins, and when set down, they had cracked the damn floor tiles!
Moreover, like Lawrence, Old Zhang was a Vortex Celestial Chosen who specialized in vitality, growth, and physical reinforcement.
If those frail-looking old arms and legs so much as grazed him, he would instantly shatter into pieces!
When he ended up plastered across the wall, someone would probably have to scrape him off with a shovel!
"Section Chief Wen told me about your situation. You haven't had it easy—a hard-working, diligent lad. Allow me to introduce my own abilities as well."
In the spacious, pristine training hall—which, aside from Lao Zhang, seemed to have been used by no one else—the old man slipped off his footwear, stepped barefoot onto the padded mats, and introduced himself:
"My matrix is a very common type within the Vortex lineage called Dragon Elephant. As the name suggests, it is designed for self-reinforcement, and my personal ability is also an ordinary strengthening type. So, I have a bit of physical strength, but nothing special beyond that.
"If pressed, I suppose I have a slight knack for close-quarters brawling and grappling. Everything else was just Section Chief Wen flattering me. A decrepit old man like me could never live up to such exaggerations."
He spoke in a gentle, warm tone, radiating friendliness.
He even began a series of warm-up calisthenics with meticulous care, looking as though he were preparing for a winter swim!
Yet the more earnest he became, the more terrified Ji Jue felt. By the end, Ji Jue wished he could drop to his knees and kowtow—*Grandpa, please don't take this so seriously! Can't you just phone it in?*
After all this time, Ji Jue was no longer a complete outsider who knew nothing about the Celestial Chosen.
While his own ability was certainly unique, assuming someone else's was weak would be utterly laughable!
Especially when it came to common, ordinary abilities!
Physical reinforcement, telekinesis, invisibility, transmission, mind reading, clairvoyance, energy manipulation…
Among these widespread traits, physical reinforcement was the most common of all, encompassing—though not limited to—vision, hearing, and sheer strength.
Yet common and ordinary simultaneously implied terrifying competition!
It meant countless Celestial Chosen with the same abilities had spent day and night competing, honing every technique to flawless perfection, and wringing out every last drop of potential to the absolute limit!
Over hundreds and thousands of years, behind every common ability lay the lifelong research and dedication of innumerable Celestial Chosen. A single punch from them carried the refined weight of centuries; how could he possibly block it?
With some ethereal bond of friendship and his own fragile skull?
Not to mention over eighty years of seasoned combat experience…
Just thinking about it made Ji Jue swallow hard in terror.
Especially when, right before his eyes, the withered old man drew a deep breath. Amid the high-pitched grinding and popping of joints, the color of blood and flesh rapidly drained away, replaced by a radiant, pure gold reminiscent of a Buddha's gilded form.
A mere brush of his fingers produced a shrill, metallic screech.
Even more terrifying was the wave of blistering heat that washed over them.
It felt like standing directly before a blast furnace.
In an instant, the ferocious heat scorched the two mats beneath his feet, sending up choking plumes of pungent, acrid smoke.
And the source of that heat was, without question, his blood!
Boiling blood!
Boiling in the most literal sense!
This was Zhang Daqiang's ability—Hot Blood!
By raising the temperature of his blood, he exponentially enhanced physical strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, and everything else.
Soon, however, the jaw-dropping display receded. His warm-up concluded, he returned to his original form, becoming once more a dried-up old man.
A benevolent smile graced his face.
"Don't worry, today is only an instructional session; there's no need to take things that far. Still, bumps and bruises are inevitable… You're wearing the Mouth of the Ancient, right? Good, that's reassuring."
After confirming Ji Jue's condition, Lao Zhang neither dawdled nor put on airs, getting straight to the point: "Next, let us begin with the fundamentals of spiritus offense and defense."
He sat cross-legged across from Ji Jue.
He raised a single finger.
"Beyond serving as fuel for one's abilities and matrix, spiritus is an innate part of one's own life force. Naturally, it can be applied directly to the body to produce reinforcement.
"Just like this…"
Without warning, a faint wisp of spiritus began to flow across that withered, scrawny finger, coiling tightly around it until it formed a thin, hardened shell.
When he bent the finger and snapped it against the floor, a sharp, ringing metallic chime rang out.
It sounded like a solid iron rod striking the tiles.
"As for applying it offensively…"
Lao Zhang paused, curling his fingers into a fist. Spiritus flowed beneath the contours of his muscles like water, gleaming faintly before he threw a punch straight toward Ji Jue.
A sudden gust of wind erupted, blowing Ji Jue's hair into a messy bird's nest.
His face stung from the blast!
"This is the foundation of spiritus offense and defense.
"As the saying goes, all variations trace back to their origin. Nearly all techniques evolve from this principle. You are a beginner, so you might not achieve anything this dramatic right away, but these things cannot be rushed. It requires continuous, daily accumulation. As long as you persevere, I believe you will see results."
Lao Zhang reached out to adjust Ji Jue's posture. "Now, take a deep breath, stabilize your spiritus, and follow my lead. Yes, try your best to maintain it…"
One truly had to admit he was a master instructor.
Concise and completely without fluff, he repeatedly highlighted key points and common pitfalls.
The techniques of using spiritus to stimulate and reinforce muscular power, and weaving spiritus into a protective layer against external impacts, were not inherently difficult. In fact, they were surprisingly straightforward.
Within minutes, Ji Jue felt he had gotten the basic hang of it, though the actual effect was underwhelming.
This was well within Lao Zhang's expectations. Basic techniques like these relied on long-term dedication and familiarity. One repetition yielded one repetition's worth of progress; a thousand repetitions naturally brought a thousandfold harvest. It was one of the few techniques exceptionally forgiving to Celestial Chosen starting with nothing.
Those who were wealthy could simply buy equipment to solve their offensive and defensive needs in one stroke. Why go through all this trouble?
"Don't be discouraged if you don't see results right away. This is a long process, like water dripping through stone. Besides, it's not as though there are no shortcuts."
Lao Zhang smiled genially. "That is precisely why Section Chief Wen asked me to teach you this."
Every lineage among the Sovereign Virtues possessed distinct spiritus traits, sometimes even more than one. Elite matrices and specialized abilities could undergo further transformations or qualitative shifts, though that could be set aside for now.
Followers of the Twelve Virtues saw their own spiritus align with the nature of their respective patron.
For example, Ascension Celestial Chosen enjoyed an astonishing rate of spiritus recovery. Tianyuan Celestial Chosen tended to wield far greater control over spiritus than others.
White Stag Celestial Chosen were gifted in explosive bursts of power. Vortex Celestial Chosen could directly use spiritus to heal and reinforce their bodies.
Swarm Celestial Chosen possessed spiritus with heightened invasiveness and destructive force.
Mirror Celestial Chosen could completely mask their own spiritus, appearing no different from ordinary humans, and with proper finesse, they could even achieve outright invisibility.
Desolate Ruins represented matter; the spiritus of its Celestial Chosen often manifested various properties of physical substances, making them learn this the fastest and reap the greatest conditioning benefits.
Because of similarities within the same lineage and differences between others, common techniques and applications were passed down among the Celestial Chosen of each virtue.
"Then… what about Embers?" Ji Jue pressed.
"Hm? Shouldn't you know that better than I do?" Lao Zhang looked at him in confusion. "Alchemy is the shared discipline of the Embers lineage. The defining trait of its spiritus is the regulation and control of material properties."
*Material properties*—a collective alchemical term for the characteristics of matter.
It could be simply understood as the inherent attributes of a substance: strength, hardness, plasticity, and toughness.
Unlike Desolate Ruins, which could transform the body itself into matter, Embers focused on the mastery and exploitation of materials.
Therefore, applying specialized techniques to oneself meant dramatically amplifying a specific bodily attribute—increasing bone toughness several times over to prevent fractures, or temporarily hardening the skin to withstand attacks.
Unfortunately, compared to raw matter, which was inherently far tougher than flesh and blood, an ordinary human body could not be reinforced without limit unless modified or augmented by abilities. Lao Zhang molding himself into a gilded form, for instance, was an art passed down strictly within the Vortex lineage; Ji Jue could not replicate it in the slightest.
Yet hearing Lao Zhang's explanation, a spark ignited in Ji Jue's mind.
Wasn't this just the fundamental practice of alchemy? The very core technique Professor Ye had drilled into him again and again to master?
He raised his palm instinctively and took a deep breath.
His fingers clenched.
Pure spiritus surged down from his shoulder, coalescing across the back of his hand into six slender spiritus circuits that intertwined to form a rudimentary temporary foundation disk.
Then, through practiced guidance, the insignia of Desolate Ruins emerged right in the center!
Compared to any other material, this body that Ji Jue had lived in for nineteen years was familiar beyond measure! He didn't even need a workshop or complicated tools as he did when handling raw ingredients…
The self was the material, the soul the furnace, and his ability the finest carving knife.
In a single thought, the entire process was completed as smoothly as flowing water.
Desolate Ruins represented matter, and its most fundamental function was the reinforcement of physical substance!
"Did it… work?" Feeling uncertain, he looked up at Lao Zhang.
At that moment, Lao Zhang fell completely silent.
He finally understood what Wen Wen had meant when describing just how absurd this young man's talent was.
Moments after the explanation, Ji Jue—who had possessed zero prior foundation—had grasped it in an instant and virtually succeeded on his very first attempt… Such natural aptitude on the Path of Embers was downright terrifying!
Lao Zhang picked up the short metal training rod beside him and tapped the back of Ji Jue's hand lightly.
The rod collided with skin, producing a dull, heavy thud.
It… actually worked?!
Adjusting his strength, Lao Zhang struck again, delivering the force of a full-powered blow from an adult man. Yet Ji Jue felt only a muted impact, as though wearing a thick padded glove, feeling no pain whatsoever.
"For saving your life in a pinch, it looks barely serviceable, but this is still just scratching the surface. When you practice on your own later, you must be careful not to sustain it for too long—at most five minutes a day.
"You don't yet possess a matrix, nor has your body been baptized by a Sovereign Virtue; you are still of mortal flesh. Overusing it will damage your nerves and bones. Of course, while you're here, you don't need to worry for now. Even if an accident occurs, I can set you right."
Having issued his warning, Lao Zhang tossed the short rod aside and slowly rose to his feet.
"Huh?" Ji Jue blinked in bewilderment. "Is the lesson over?"
"The material originally meant for a week of practice has already been covered by you," Lao Zhang said with a chuckle. "So, we might as well move straight to lesson two."
True combat!
He loosened up his limbs, then suddenly asked, "Do you know what the most effective measure is for an Embers Celestial Chosen when facing an enemy?"
Ji Jue straightened his posture, all ears.
"Very simple."
Lao Zhang raised a finger and stated solemnly, "One word: Run!"
Chapter 51