Meng Chao clicked in and saw Yan Feirou standing in a corner of Dragon City University's campus, with eight assistants around her dumping eight buckets of water over her head.
Even through the wireless network and phone screen, he could hear a buzz as Yan Feirou's figure abruptly blurred.
An astonishing sight unfolded. It was as though she were protected by an invisible shield. Not a single drop from the eight buckets landed on her. Instead, she used the rhythm of her muscles to rebound the water, sending it flying like Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers dozens of meters away and forming a perfect ring of water.
Under the sunlight, a fleeting rainbow appeared.
"Excellent Ripple!"
Meng Chao slapped the table in admiration.
The like-minded netizens also went wild, flooding the screen with bullet comments and replies:
"So beautiful! As expected of the Ripple Princess!"
"Who would have thought that even a basic force-exerting method could produce such exquisite, peerless results? The Yan Family truly deserves to be the creator of 'Ripple Force.'"
"This is the strongest Ripple!"
After Yan Feirou finished demonstrating, she brought the camera closer and aimed it at the area between her chest and abdomen.
"The Three Great Basic Force-Exerting Methods are 'Reckless Bull' for explosive force, 'Ripple' for endurance, and 'Dragon Snake' for stored power. Different Breathing Techniques must be paired with different methods of exerting force. The greatest characteristic of our Yan Family Ripple is its unique Breathing Technique. Everyone, watch the vibrations between my chest and abdomen as I take a deep breath."
Yan Feirou's voice was sweet, utterly lacking the feel of a martial artist. She instead resembled a young starlet who had just debuted and still retained a trace of innocence.
No wonder the livestreaming platform had crafted a "princess" persona around her traits.
Her soft, sugary voice and the movements of her chest and abdomen naturally drew even more eager comments from viewers.
Both the livestreaming platform and Yan Feirou herself understood perfectly what her livelihood depended on. They instantly deleted most of the explicit bullet comments, leaving only those seriously discussing martial arts, and highlighted several comments from verified users.
A netizen bearing the verification badge of the Dragon City University Martial Arts Research Association said, "Vice President Yan's Ripple Force has real substance. Young people who are just getting started will definitely gain something if they study it carefully."
A netizen verified as "Founder of Zhao Clan Ripple, Owner of Raging Wave Fighting Hall" said, "Countless experts in Dragon City are studying Ripple Force, but even I have to admit that the source of all Ripple techniques, Yan Family Ripple, is absolutely one of the strongest Ripples."
A netizen verified as "Dragon City Institute of Technology Martial Arts Exchange Association" asked, "Senior Yan, when will you come to our university for another exchange? When you came to guide us last time, all the martial arts enthusiasts at our university benefited greatly."
For a time, the atmosphere was harmonious, and even the bullet comments became focused.
Meng Chao also stared intently at the area between Yan Feirou's chest and abdomen.
Unlike the praise and amazement filling the comments, he clicked his tongue after a moment.
"Sure enough, Yan Feirou was still very immature at this point. She was only the 'Ripple Princess,' not the true 'Ripple Queen.' She was nowhere near the pinnacle attained by the future Ripple Force, the ultimate culmination of the art."
Meng Chao's own future Ripple Force was only at Expert Level. He knew what it was, but not why it worked.
He knew how to practice it, but he had no idea why it had to be practiced that way, why power erupted from one meridian rather than another blood vessel, or what scientific principles lay within it.
But there was no need for him to teach her in detail. As long as he gave her a few pointers and pointed out several mistakes, what did it matter if even he did not know the correct answer? He could let the Ripple Princess figure it out herself!
The phone screen was simply too small, and the tiny ripples were impossible to see clearly. After thinking for a moment, Meng Chao connected his phone to the television, grabbed a magnifying glass, and carefully searched for the rawness and immaturity hidden within the ripples.
Thus, when Bai Jiacao opened the front door, she saw her big brother squatting in front of the television with his butt sticking out, wearing a strange expression as he squinted through a magnifying glass at a big sister in yoga clothes hopping about.
The little girl sucked in a cold breath and took half a step back, her schoolbag falling to the floor.
In that instant, the future Black Night Witch, who had matured too early under the burden of the family, thought of far, far too many things.
She closed the front door behind her.
Then she turned to her mother by the stairwell and said, "Mom, let's go in later."
Bai Suxin said, "Huh?"
Meng Chao hurriedly opened the door. "Little Sis, and Old Mom, you already opened the door, so why did you close it again?"
"Big Brother..."
Bai Jiacao carefully asked, "Can we come in?"
"Nonsense. I only scolded you a little this morning. It's not like I said you couldn't come home. What's with that expression?"
Meng Chao was utterly baffled, like a monk two meters tall unable to reach his own head. Did I discipline the middle-school version of the Black Night Witch too harshly? Why was she cowering like this?
Forget it. Reforming the Black Night Witch had to be done step by step, with attention to methods. He could not be too simple and crude. Look how badly he had frightened the little girl.
The living room was too small, and Old Mom still needed to cook, so Meng Chao could only return to his room to watch on his phone.
Fortunately, he had already found several flaws he needed to point out. After pondering for a moment, Meng Chao changed his account name to something ancient and pompous, then bluntly voiced his opinions.
Thus, amid row after row of cheerful bullet comments and replies, a discordant noise appeared.
A netizen bearing the verification badge of "Some Ripple Research Association" said, "The Yan Family Breathing Technique truly is exquisitely profound. Even after slowing it down three to five times, I still cannot fathom it!"
Fire-Passing Old Man: "This Breathing Technique clearly has problems. Based on Yan Feirou's height and the proportions of her upper and lower body, the focal point of inhalation should be 3.2 millimeters above the diaphragm between her chest and abdomen, not 3.5 millimeters. Furthermore, estimating her weight from her physique, then estimating the blood oxygen supply needed in battle from that weight, the optimal breathing frequency should be 4.6 times every ten seconds, not 4.2. It is slightly too slow right now."
A netizen with the verified identity of Dragon City Military Academy Lecture Hall said, "Thank you, Student Yan, for your selfless guidance. Last week, I encountered a Three-Headed Poison Lizard in the Jiangnan Region, one infamous for clinging like a leech and refusing to let go. Using the tips Student Yan taught me, I tangled with it using Yan Family Ripple for a full half hour and finally exhausted it to death. Ripple Force truly deserves to be called the basic force-exerting method with the strongest sustained combat ability and the greatest conservation of stamina."
Fire-Passing Old Man: "Did the Three-Headed Poison Lizard you encountered have red radiating stripes on the middle head? If not, that is fine—it had not mutated yet. But if you encounter a mutant with red radiating stripes next time, run immediately. With the current Yan Family Ripple, your chances of winning will not be high."
A netizen verified as "Old Ninth of the Raging Wave Fighting Club" said, "Yan Family Ripple is amazing! After Senior Yan's guidance, the number of punches I can throw continuously in three minutes increased by 5%, my average punching force rose by 7%, and my ten-thousand-meter running time improved by fifteen seconds!"
Fire-Passing Old Man: "Well, aren't you just amazing? Still, this old man thinks there is plenty of room for improvement in those results. If you are interested, you can message me privately. This old man is in a good mood today, so I will give you junior some free guidance!"
After a few exchanges, the netizens became furious.
"Who is this 'Fire-Passing Old Man'? Is he some formidable Ripple expert in the circle?"
"He does not even have verified credentials. Hiding his head and showing his tail—too ashamed to show his face!"
"Heh, when have there ever been too few people like this, pretending to be mysterious to ride the wave of popularity? Why pay him any attention? Where are the moderators? Mute him, kick him out, delete his account!"
Fire-Passing Old Man: "Please do not misunderstand. This old man is neither hiding his identity nor targeting Yan Family Ripple alone, and I have no improper intentions. This old man simply wants to make a modest contribution to society and improve the combat strength of all citizens."
How could the netizens possibly listen? They all began swearing at him.
At first, Meng Chao presented facts and reasoned things out, attempting to list a large number of formulas and charts to support his viewpoint.
But neither the bullet-comment section nor the reply section was a good place for academic discussion. After a few exchanges, he got angry too. Damn it, was making a contribution a crime these days?
So Meng Chao rolled up his sleeves and started cursing at the netizens as well.
After only two insults, he was muted for five minutes.
"What a mess."
Meng Chao calmed down and felt that he had acted rashly.
A livestream room was not a place to discuss serious matters, and the mysteries of future Ripple Force could not be explained in just a few words.
He still had to find the person herself and communicate through direct messages.
He believed that, with Yan Feirou's discernment, she would be able to recognize the power of the future version of Ripple Force.
After all, she was the one who would create it in the future!
However, Meng Chao guessed that the netizens bombarding Yan Feirou with direct messages every day were probably as numerous as carp crossing a river. Most were fame-seeking opportunists or people with sinister intentions.
Someone as kind-hearted and selflessly devoted as himself was surely one of a kind.
How could he attract the Ripple Princess's attention and make her realize that he was different from the rest?
Meng Chao gritted his teeth and simply smashed the problem with money.
He had become rich overnight. This lord had money now!
With reddened eyes, he topped up ten thousand yuan, exchanged it for one million livestream coins, and tipped all of them to Yan Feirou in one go.
When the glittering string of numbers "1000000" floated across the top of the screen, everyone in the livestream room was dumbfounded.
Although Yan Feirou was very popular, it was not as if a rich tycoon would willingly tip a whole million livestream coins in a single burst during every broadcast.
And when everyone looked closely at the tipper's name, was this not that guy from earlier, the one who had nitpicked and spouted nonsense?
"Do rich people play at such a high level nowadays? First, they viciously belittle someone to lower her expectations, then they throw out a royal bomb and instantly turn things around, leaving a deep impression in the goddess's heart?" The netizens sucked in a cold breath.
Some even secretly gave Meng Chao a thumbs-up. "Rich people really know how to play!"
Even Yan Feirou on screen stopped.
Her assistants had informed her about the dispute in the bullet-comment and reply sections earlier.
Ever since her livestream classes had become increasingly popular, discordant noise like this appeared in almost every lesson. Muting people was routine.
She had not expected someone to drop the bombshell of one million livestream coins after being muted, and even Yan Feirou was somewhat surprised.
The Yan family did not lack money, but promoting Yan Family Ripple required the support of influential figures from all sides.
After considering it, Yan Feirou still smiled and said, "Thank you, netizen 'Fire-Passing Old Man,' for your encouragement. Feirou's Ripple Force still has many immature aspects, and I hope everyone can study it together and improve together."
As she spoke, she gave a shallow bow, expressing her gratitude to the rich benefactor.
At the same time, she immediately lifted the mute.
Of course, the few people who had cursed at Meng Chao remained obediently muted. Five minutes—not one second less.
The netizens were so jealous that tears streamed down their faces. "From Earth to the Otherworld, money still lets you do whatever you please!"
Before you continue