Bullet marks scarred the vast training hall in every direction.
Spent shell casings littered the padded floor, threatening to slip under the feet of anyone careless enough to step on them.
Once he was sure Ji Jue was ready, Lao Zhang took his stance twenty meters away. The wizened old man still looked harmless as ever, except for the short club tucked into the waistband at the small of his back as a weapon.
Thank goodness this was only a simulation. Otherwise, if the old man went literally all out, he could rip Ji Jue into beef jerky with his bare hands in under ten seconds—dehydrated, vacuum-sterilized, and neatly packaged to boot!
"Ready?"
Hands clasped behind his back, Lao Zhang hunched slightly and asked with lazy nonchalance, looking just like any old geezer you might pass on the street. The moment Ji Jue nodded, Lao Zhang began walking toward him.
The two moved toward each other.
One step, two steps. Ji Jue's breathing grew ragged. No matter how much he told himself that this was only practice and that the approaching opponent was just an old man out for an everyday stroll, he could not fool his own instincts... Not after the frustration and dread that the man had battered into him over the course of an entire afternoon.
"Keep your breathing even. Relax your shoulders. Open up. Only when your body is relaxed can you make the quickest split-second reac—"
As he paced forward, Lao Zhang was still droning on about tips and fundamentals.
Next, he was supposed to attack once they were within three paces of each other. That was how every round had gone so far. Yet this time, before the sentence was finished—without the slightest change in tone or breath—the right hand tucked behind his back blurred, leaving afterimages in its wake.
A piercing howl exploded into the air.
It was like an artillery shell detonating at point-blank range.
With a casual flick of Lao Zhang's wrist, the short club at his back whipped forward, whirling through the air like a localized tempest hurtling straight at Ji Jue's face!
*This wasn't what we agreed on, damn it!*
*Playing dirty, are we?!*
Caught completely off guard, Ji Jue's pupils shrank to pinpricks. His body locked up, momentarily paralyzed.
Drop? Lean back? Duck? Dodge? Left or right?
Thousands of racing thoughts swarmed his empty mind in an instant, swallowing him whole and paralyzing him with indecision. Yet the first thing to react was his own body.
It was pure instinct, forged through an entire afternoon of brutal beatings!
He didn't even have time to draw the pistol from its holster.
Instead, he grabbed the holster itself, raised it, and issued the command.
—[Fire]!
*Bang!*
The tip of the molded holster blew apart in an instant. Right in front of Ji Jue's eyes, the bullet struck the synthetic club dead center, shattering it. But the residual polymer sprayed outward, blinding his vision, while a broken half of the club slammed into his forehead, turning his world black for a split second.
"Adaptability: six out of ten."
Timely reaction, but poor execution.
Not precise enough, with too little control over the shot's fallout, leaving him open to collateral damage. The correct move would have been to drop and crawl the moment it happened, then roll away to put distance between them...
Ji Jue felt as if struck by lightning, because that calm voice was coming from right in front of him.
He was right there!
"Hup—!"
Lao Zhang exhaled sharply, and his withered palm swelled into a massive crimson seal radiating searing heat, stamping straight toward Ji Jue's chest!
In the howling gust, phantom pain flared along Ji Jue's ribs. He had lost count of how many times this very move had knocked him out cold this afternoon. If this hit landed, he'd be plastered across the wall so hard they'd have to scrape him off with a trowel!
He barely had time to cross his left forearm before his chest. A split second later, he felt as if a Nanfeng heavy truck had slammed into him, effortlessly smashing and shattering the defenses he had reinforced with spiritus, plowing straight ahead with crushing momentum.
Yet in that critical moment bought by sacrificing his arm, the White Stag insignia engraved along the bones of his legs finally took shape!
The mat deformed with a dull thud. A faint iridescent shimmer lit up around Ji Jue's ankles. Bolstered by the Sovereign Virtue insignia, the effect of his spiritus reinforcement skyrocketed once more. In an instant, he launched backward as if fired from a catapult, opening several meters of distance—at the cost of his left ankle going entirely numb.
At least he still had his right leg. He pushed off again.
Midair, muzzle flash poured from the weapon in the holster like flowing water. Deafening, rhythmic reports rang out without pause, echoing through the training hall.
In less than half a second, thirteen rounds poured forth.
"Not bad."
The old man pursuing him in midair grinned. Five bullets were already embedded in his outstretched palm, while the rest had targeted his face, throat, heart, and legs. In a real battle, even if an opponent wasn't taken down, they would have lost all mobility.
But what if the opponent's skills went beyond that?
Like this, for instance!
A flurry of afterimages suddenly filled Ji Jue's vision. Every single bullet spewing from the barrel was deflected by Lao Zhang's sweeping right arm.
The slugs sizzled as they sank into his flesh, lodging firmly in his muscles.
Just like that, Lao Zhang let his arm drop casually to his side.
"My right arm is out of commission," Lao Zhang said, raising his left arm. "But I've still got this one. What will you do now?"
Cornered, Ji Jue went quiet for a heartbeat. He tossed aside the holster and weapon, took a deep breath, and dropped into a combat stance riddled with openings, crooking a finger at Lao Zhang.
"Come on!"
Lao Zhang grinned silently. *Still too green... At a time like this, he should be trying to break out through the enemy's blind spot.*
*Looks like I need to hit him a little harder so he learns his lesson.*
*Bang!*
The instant Lao Zhang braced to lunge, a deafening crack erupted from an overlooked corner.
Lao Zhang's head snapped to the side.
Without warning, a bullet was embedded in his temple!
Fired from the weapon Ji Jue had discarded beside him...
A fatal kill shot!
"Master Zhang, the modified Guardian holds fifteen rounds," Ji Jue said, finally letting out a sigh of relief. "You forgot to count."
In the ensuing silence, Lao Zhang stood still. He raised a hand, pried the bullet from his skull, and studied it closely before bursting into hearty laughter.
"You pass!"
He gave his arms a shake, and the bullets trapped in his muscles clattered to the floor like scattered rain. Then he slapped Ji Jue hard on the shoulder.
"Good, very good! That wraps up your second defense lesson. Little Ji, don't you dare slack off moving forward—keep this practice up."
He offered his praise with genuine admiration: "A young man as sneaky and hardworking as you is bound to go far!"
Ji Jue's eye twitched.
Praise was praise, but did he really have to describe him as sneaky and cutthroat?
"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Elder Zhang."
"Aiya, why so formal? Just call me Lao Zhang. Drop by for tea sometime!"
Waving a hand dismissively, the old man strolled off, humming a tune as he rolled his walnuts.
To think it had gotten so late without him noticing. He still had lottery tickets to scratch tonight; if he dallied any longer, he wouldn't make it in time!
Just as he stepped out the door, he spotted Wen Wen leaning against the corridor wall.
"How did it go?" she asked, curious.
"Good comprehension, sharp instincts, and he picks things up fast. There's nothing left for me to teach him in the basics,"
Lao Zhang said with an appreciative sigh. "The new wave pushes the old, as they say. Young people these days really are something. If I'd been this sharp in my youth, I might have made it to the World Bodybuilding Championships and contended for the title."
Wen Wen thought for a moment, then asked, "How does he compare to me back then?"
"Hmm..."
The old man stroked his chin in thought and gave a slight shrug. "With a bit more effort, he might give you a run for your money."
Wen Wen's brow arched slightly, but she said nothing more.
When Ji Jue finally pushed the door open and emerged, what greeted him was her smile.
Bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, partially veiled behind wisps of fine hair, it was unimaginably gentle.
Like a fleeting vision of crystal.
For a moment, his heart seemed to skip a beat of its own accord.
"What is it?"
Wen Wen looked back, noticing him staring blankly, and waved him over. "Come on! Dinner's on me tonight. Let's celebrate!"
"Uh, maybe not..."
Snapping out of it, Ji Jue felt the corner of his eye twitch violently.
Recalling the brutal aftermath of their previous outing sent a chill straight down his spine.
Unfortunately, it was already too late to flee or make excuses. Before he could even take a step back, the hand of fate had already seized the scruff of the innocent kitten's neck, leaving no escape.
By the time a foaming mug of iced draft beer slammed onto the table to whet his appetite, it was too late even for tears.
"Here, drink!"
A tall glass was thrust into his hands, clinking sharply against hers. Before Ji Jue could even lift his mug, Wen Wen had already tipped her head back and drained hers in a single gulp.
At this point, claiming he didn't know how to drink was no longer an option.
Two hours later, as the third bottle of baijiu was cracked open, Ji Jue—now officially suffering from alcohol poisoning—collapsed face-first onto the table, completely blacked out, and shut his eyes in blissful surrender.
An overbearingly full day had finally come to an end.
Unfortunately, when a blackout hit, the concept of time ceased to exist. To Ji Jue, it felt as though he had merely blinked, and the world spun violently... whisking him from the dinner table straight into his bedroom.
Having gone to sleep in terrible shape, Ji Jue woke to find only his legs still on the bed, while his upper body had squirmed its way onto the floor...
Scorching sunlight poured through the window, baking his face.
Another damn full day had begun!
It was a seamless transition—he hadn't felt like he'd gotten even a wink of rest!
Just what kind of sadistic genius had invented alcohol in the first place?!
Fortunately, after washing up and speeding all the way to the vicinity of the workshop on his Little Niuma, it wasn't even ten o'clock yet. Professor Ye's class didn't start until eleven, leaving him plenty of time to grab breakfast.
Just as he sat down at a roadside rice-noodle stall, however, an unexpected voice sounded.
"You're still in the mood for breakfast?"
Ye Chun, having spawned out of nowhere, looked at him with a deeply aggrieved expression. "Trouble is practically knocking at our door."
"Huh?"
Ji Jue blinked blankly. "I didn't even do anything!"
What had gone wrong now?
Chapter 53