Secret Crush

It was two in the afternoon, and the core members' lessons for the day had ended.

"Alright, everyone, gather here again at one tomorrow. Dismissed."

After Yao Juan announced the dismissal, the students all bowed in salute and quickly left. Not a single one lingered.

If their families hadn't forced them, why would they waste their precious youth on this useless martial arts stuff?

Only Su Ti remained where he was, continuing to practice the Dragon Shape Five Forms.

"Su Ti, class is over."

Seeing that he wasn't leaving, Yao Juan reminded him.

Su Ti stopped and nodded.

"I know class is over. Can I still use the training area?"

Some of the Dragon Shape Five Forms required him to lie on the ground, so it had certain space requirements.

He definitely couldn't practice at home after leaving this place; there wasn't enough room. Parks were too crowded, either. Su Ti really had nowhere else to go.

Seeing how devoted he was to martial arts, Yao Juan was quite pleased.

"Of course. This space is for core students to practice in. Our martial hall is open twenty-four hours a day, so you can practice here whenever you want."

"I'll be practicing next door. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me anytime."

Although her official instruction time was only that one hour of class, Yao Juan wasn't stingy with guidance when it came to a talented and dedicated student.

She reminded Su Ti that he had to knock before coming to find her. Privacy was extremely important in Ancient Martial Arts. Unless her master permitted her to teach what she practiced to others, no outsiders could watch her—not even students of her own martial hall.

In this world's Ancient Martial Arts community, secretly learning martial arts was an unforgivable taboo for any sect, one that would end only in death. That was why Yao Juan gave an advance warning to students like Su Ti, who didn't know the rules. If he accidentally saw something he shouldn't, things would become serious.

Furthermore, the Dragon Shape Five Forms Su Ti had learned today absolutely could not be spread outside. That had been written into the contract, and the consequences of leaking it would be severe—far more serious than merely paying the compensation stated in the contract.

Today, Su Ti had not only learned Ancient Martial Arts, but also heard many of its rules from Yao Juan.

For the rest of the day, he stayed in the martial hall and practiced the Dragon Shape Five Forms.

Practicing this martial art wasn't especially exhausting, but Su Ti found that he got hungry very easily.

Nearly every hour, he had to go out and eat something. Otherwise, the hunger became unbearable and his strength gave out.

Then Su Ti discovered that every hour of practice gave him 0.1% proficiency in the Dragon Shape Five Forms.

That meant it would take him 1,000 hours to cultivate the Dragon Shape Five Forms from beginner to minor mastery with his aptitude.

Even if he practiced martial arts for twelve hours a day, spent four hours resting and eating, and slept for eight hours, it would still take nearly three full months.

And there was no telling whether he could really practice twelve hours a day. Extreme fatigue could cause organ failure. Su Ti's foundation was already poor, so he couldn't recklessly burn himself out just to make progress. He couldn't let martial arts fail to strengthen him and instead train himself into pissing blood and kidney failure.

Su Ti felt that practicing six hours a day was already difficult enough. His muscles needed rest and recovery, and so did his internal organs.

At this rate, with his current 31% proficiency, it would still take four months to reach minor mastery.

"Four months for minor mastery. Who knows how long major mastery will take? Conservatively speaking, it'll probably take years."

Thinking this, Su Ti performed the Dragon Shape Five Forms once more, then exhaled. This was most likely just an entry-level technique of Dragon Gate Martial Hall. There would definitely be more difficult, more time-consuming techniques later.

After all, whether in his previous life or this one, whether ancient or modern martial arts, kung fu had always been honed through time. That much was true.

Train through the harshest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, and only then could dripping water pierce stone and arrows pierce willow leaves from a hundred paces away.

Without the refinement of time and the accumulation of years, any skill was nothing more than a shallow trick. Only time could forge true gold and turn the rotten into the miraculous.

"Whew."

Su Ti slowly withdrew his stance. By now, the sky had darkened. Without realizing it, he had stayed at Dragon Gate Martial Hall until nightfall.

He took a sip of the bottled water he had brought and checked the time. It was already nine o'clock.

He had spent eight hours at Dragon Gate Martial Hall. Other than eating, drinking, and resting, he had practiced.

After a full day, his proficiency had risen by 0.6%, reaching 31.5%.

Looking at the proficiency line, Su Ti wasn't satisfied. He even felt a faint sense of anxiety.

"This won't work. I'm already working hard enough, but time waits for no one. I absolutely can't gain enough strength to protect myself in a short time through diligent practice alone. Team Leader Liu recommended Dragon Gate Martial Hall to me, and Yao Juan waived my tuition, but I still haven't become a Direct Disciple of Dragon Gate Martial Hall. I'm just a student who paid to learn martial arts. That relationship probably won't be enough to protect me."

Without enough strength and no one to protect him, Su Ti would have no way to deal with Li Mingyuan if Li Mingyuan moved against him in the near future.

As for going back to Liu Xing and asking him to figure something out?

Su Ti shook his head.

He could tell that although Liu Xing was the deputy captain of the detectives, his status wasn't high. At the very least, he was powerless against Li Mingyuan, the organizer of the underground black boxing matches. Recommending him to Dragon Gate Martial Hall had already been Liu Xing's greatest effort.

And asking Yao Juan?

Yao Juan had already waived his tuition and helped him greatly. She had even pointed him toward a clear path to becoming Long Yuanzheng's disciple. They weren't related in any way, and she had already done more than enough out of loyalty. After thinking it over, Su Ti felt it was best to rely on himself.

Thus, his gaze turned to the Crimson Martial Arts Modifier—or more precisely, the empty 0% energy bar beneath it.

Su Ti stared at it. He hadn't set an energy restriction for his Modifier, so it must have installed one itself to adapt to the environment.

After all, if it could alter real martial arts cultivation, how could it possibly not consume energy?

But after consuming energy, where was he supposed to replenish it? At least give him some instructions!

Now that the Modifier's energy had been completely exhausted, the plus sign beside the Dragon Shape Five Forms had disappeared as well.

If he wanted to rapidly improve his martial arts, he needed energy. But the Modifier was too simplistic and gave Su Ti no hint as to where that energy could be obtained. His most urgent task was to identify its source.

After informing the front desk and asking them to tell Yao Juan that he was leaving, Su Ti slung his small bag containing his martial arts uniform over his shoulder and thought about the problem all the way home.

He walked very carefully, always sticking to main roads and avoiding secluded places like narrow alleys.

The first possibility he ruled out was obtaining energy from food. He had eaten so many meals today, yet the energy bar hadn't increased in the slightest.

"Could it be elemental energy? Fire, electricity, something like that?"

With that thought, Su Ti immediately bought a lighter from a roadside shop.

He roasted his hand with the lighter, then dismantled a motor and shocked himself a few times. Su Ti confirmed that energy acquisition had nothing to do with either of those things.

After returning home, he ate and slept. The night passed without incident.

Over the following days, Su Ti continued practicing martial arts while searching for the source of the Modifier's energy.

He conducted experiments including, but not limited to, the following.

Biological energy. He consumed high-energy products such as chocolate and candy. He even suspected it might obtain some kind of cellular energy from living creatures, so he squatted outside a slaughterhouse just to drink fresh pig's blood. He even endured the disgust and ate several grasshoppers and other insects alive, but gained nothing.

Elemental energy.

Su Ti had carefully considered the electricity and fire from the lighter last time. Perhaps the output had been too low. To test that, he specifically bought a self-defense stun gun online. He also roasted himself with the flame from a gas stove and chilled himself with ice from the refrigerator. In the end, none of it worked.

High-energy radiation.

For this, Su Ti specifically got an X-ray, hoping to use the radiation produced by the X-ray machine to test whether it could increase the Modifier's energy. That experiment also ended in failure.

Plant energy.

He ravaged the flowers in his residential complex and the flowers in the park, but it was completely useless.

After several days of experiments, he had no clues at all, which gave Su Ti quite a headache.

Then, one evening, he suddenly got a call from one of his college roommates inviting him out for barbecue skewers. Su Ti agreed right away, treating it as a chance to relax.

Su Ti had three college roommates, all locals, and they had all come this time.

They chose an open-air barbecue stall they frequented, located close to Mingguang University, where Su Ti studied.

Su Ti was the last to arrive. When he got there, he saw his three roommates sitting on little stools around a low table.

"Old Su, damn, it's been so long! The Mingguang F4 are finally together again."

Before Su Ti could even walk over, a big man stood up. At 185 centimeters tall and covered in solid muscle, he immediately gave Su Ti a bear hug.

"Old Zhao, are you trying to strangle me to death?"

Su Ti shoved him away irritably. The man looked mature, like a working adult, but he was actually the same age as Su Ti.

His name was Zhao Xu, a local. His father taught at the same school as Su Ti's father and was also a teacher, except he taught physical education.

It was fate. Their fathers had always been on good terms, and then the two of them ended up at the same school and in the same dorm room. Naturally, they became close.

After Su Ti sat down, his other two roommates began talking as well.

"Old Zhao said something happened to you recently. What's going on?"

The speaker was a refined-looking guy with glasses named Yao XiaYu. As he spoke, he had already wiped Su Ti's bowl and chopsticks with tissues and set them out for him. He was a Virgo and extremely meticulous, universally acknowledged as the dorm's house mom.

"Hm?"

Su Ti turned to look at Zhao Xu, who curled his lip.

"Don't look at me. We had plans to play ball a few days ago, but you stood me up. I couldn't get in touch with you either, so I had my dad contact your family. Later, I heard from my dad that something seemed to have happened at your home."

The fat guy beside them shrugged.

"That's right. We were worried you might have something going on these past few days and didn't want to disturb you, so we only invited you out now. If something's wrong, just say it. We'll help however we can. Don't keep it bottled up."

The fat guy was named Hu Rong. He had narrow eyes and looked like a sly little villain, but he was actually very loyal.

On the third day after enrollment, Yao XiaYu got into a conflict with the class next door during military training. Hu Rong had been the first to throw a punch, earning himself disciplinary punishment for it.

After Hu Rong said that, Yao XiaYu and Zhao Xu both turned to look at Su Ti. Their dorm had always been close, advancing and retreating together. If a brother was in trouble, they would naturally offer all the help they could.

Su Ti picked up a peanut and tossed it into his mouth, speaking casually.

"It's nothing major. You know about that underground black boxing murder case in our city recently? Your brother here got kidnapped a few days ago."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Su Ti burst out laughing at their stunned expressions, opened a bottle of beer, and began describing what had happened.

From being captured, to dismantling the group on his own, fighting his way out through a trail of blood, and calling the police, he made it sound vivid and convincing—the complete tale of an urban soldier king fighting evil forces.

He was here to relax, after all, so naturally he told the story however he pleased.

The other three, however, listened from beginning to end with expressions that plainly said, Are you fucking kidding me?

Seeing their expressions, Su Ti laughed.

"Alright, alright. The truth is, I got captured, then the detectives rescued me before they even took off my hood."

The three of them immediately clicked their tongues in disdain.

"You should've said that from the start. Taking down a whole group by yourself? Are you even capable of that?"

"Exactly. Who doesn't know what you're like? With those skills of yours?"

"Alright, alright. Let's celebrate your safe escape. Cheers."

"Cheers."

The four clinked glasses. After a mouthful of beer, the conversation opened up.

Although they knew Su Ti was bragging about taking down the group alone, the fact that he had been kidnapped still sparked their intense interest.

"What did the people who grabbed you look like?"

"I didn't see clearly. They were all wearing masks. I was delivering food at the time. Someone covered my mouth, and then I didn't know anything."

"You really were lucky. I saw the news. A lot of the people they caught died. Did you know that? They were beaten to death alive. Some of their heads were flattened, even smashed open."

Yao XiaYu clicked his tongue and shook his head, looking horrified.

Hu Rong snorted coldly.

"Exactly. Those underground black boxing people have no humanity. Once they get in the ring, they're beasts, tearing each other apart for rich people to watch."

Zhao Xu also put on a serious expression.

"But that's other people. If it were me, heh. Forget whether they could catch me in the first place—even if they did, I'd win in the ring. What black boxer could match these biceps of mine?"

As he spoke, he flexed his sturdy arm, looking utterly self-obsessed.

Hu Rong wordlessly picked up some food.

"Give it a rest. No matter how big you are, you're just a bigger punching bag. Ever heard of a pig beating a butcher just because it's bigger? I think Old Yao's right. Su Ti was genuinely lucky this time."

As he spoke, he checked his phone and muttered.

"At this hour, she should be here soon."

Su Ti asked casually.

"Who else did you invite?"

"Your secret crush."

"Pfft!"