Forbidden Drugs, Old Martial Arts, Leaping Dragon Gate

Forbidden Drugs, Old Martial Arts, Leaping Dragon Gate

"Hidden Dragon Dojo?"

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

He remembered that dojo.

When he had first awakened the panel and planned to study martial arts, he had looked up the tuition fees for the major dojos in Sunny City. Hidden Dragon Dojo had been one of the most expensive.

But its high fees were not why Xue Jing remembered it.

It was because Hidden Dragon Dojo had an extremely high rate of negative reviews online... all criticizing its teaching quality for not matching the tuition.

Xue Jing's expression turned slightly strange.

Maomao licked her paw and yawned. "Hidden Dragon Dojo has a terrible reputation... but that's just the view of outsiders."

"Among real Martial Artists, no one looks down on Hidden Dragon Dojo, especially its Old Dojo Master, Li Qi."

Maomao stretched her front paws forward, arching her back in a long stretch and raising her rear high.

"He is one of the few Old Martial Arts experts who never took forbidden drugs, yet successfully passed through the Leaping Dragon Gate and broke through the limits of humanity."

"At his peak several decades ago, he was famous even in the Inner Ring City. He stood alongside Diamond Zhou and Asura Chen, and was known as Dragon King Li."

"Though he's just a decrepit old man in a wheelchair now, teaching you martial arts will be more than easy for him."

Xue Jing picked Maomao up and placed her on his lap, asking curiously, "Forbidden drugs? Leaping Dragon Gate? Old Martial Arts? What do they all mean?"

He felt as though an entirely new door was opening before him, with the world of Martial Artists waiting beyond it.

Maomao seemed sleepy. Her eyes half-closed as she lay down on Xue Jing's lap. He gently stroked along her fur and petted her back, and the familiar comfort made her drowsier.

"Forbidden drugs are medicines made from products originating in special Intersection Zones. They are extremely stimulating and can cause all sorts of mutations in the user's body, giving them inhuman flesh."

"For example, one type of drug can alter the nature of a person's skin, making it as tough as steel. Some drugs can even make people grow extra limbs, turning them into six-armed monsters..."

"Since forbidden drugs appeared, martial arts development has taken an entirely new path..."

"Martial Artists who refuse to take forbidden drugs and insist on pursuing the limits of the human body with their natural flesh are known as the Old Martial Arts School."

Maomao yawned repeatedly. "As for the Leaping Dragon Gate, it's still far too early for you. You might never come into contact with it in your whole life, so there's no need to know so much for now..."

After struggling to finish that last sentence, Maomao's eyelids closed. Curled up in Xue Jing's arms, she breathed evenly and drifted into sleep.

Xue Jing slowly stopped stroking her back, gently picked her up, returned to his room, and laid Maomao on his bed. He covered her body with a thin blanket, leaving only her head exposed.

He then quietly left the room, showered in the bathroom, changed into pajamas, and put his blood-scented school uniform into the washing machine. After that, he took his phone and went out onto the balcony.

It was already half past ten at night. Xue Jing lit up his phone screen, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and opened the dial pad.

He had a rather cautious odd habit: he never saved relatives' numbers under contact names. That way, even if he lost his phone, whoever found it would not be able to use it to scam his family.

Though this habit would probably never be useful in his lifetime.

After entering a string of numbers, Xue Jing made the call.

He did not have to wait long. After three or four beeps, the call connected.

"Hello, hello, hello~ Woof, woof, woof?"

A bright, pleasant voice came through the receiver.

When they were little, Xue Jing often played a fighting game with his older sister, Xue Wan. They would often wager something—a piece of candy, perhaps, or a few coins of allowance.

When Xue Jing lost, he honestly paid up. A bet was a bet. But when Xue Wan lost, she would often refuse to pay, so their wagers eventually came with an added rule: whoever reneged was a dog.

That day, the world lost a person and gained a dog.

"Sis, are you asleep?" Xue Jing asked with a smile.

"Do you hear yourself right now?" Xue Wan said irritably.

After a pause, she continued, "What is it? Calling me at this hour? Let me say this first: your sister has no money."

"Listen to you. Am I the kind of person who only calls you when I need money?"

"Good, then. Go on, what is it?"

"Send me fifty."

Beep... beep... beep...

Xue Wan hung up immediately.

Xue Jing smiled and called again.

"Spit it out. Your sister needs to sleep," Xue Wan said helplessly.

After a moment of silence, Xue Jing softly asked, "Sis, did something upsetting happen to you?"

Xue Wan seemed to pause for a moment before replying, half amused and half exasperated, "What could possibly happen to me? I'm fine. Don't let your imagination run wild."

Xue Jing thought for a moment and continued, "Really nothing?"

"Really nothing... You might be a little too obsessed with your sister, you know. That's not good. When you get a girlfriend later, she'll get jealous."

Xue Wan teased.

Hearing no real abnormality in her tone, Xue Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Mom is really worried about you, going to college alone over in Maple City..."

Since they had not seen each other in a long time, Xue Jing and Xue Wan had plenty to talk about. The two chatted for a long while.

By the time Xue Jing hung up, it was already eleven.

"There probably isn't anything wrong."

Xue Jing muttered to himself.

There had been nothing unusual about Xue Wan just now. Mom had probably worried for nothing.

After stretching, Xue Jing walked back inside.

He did not return to his room to sleep. Instead, he went to the living room sofa and sat down cross-legged.

He began practicing the basic Breathing Method.

An hour later.

Xue Jing lay back against the sofa with his eyes closed, dizzy and disoriented.

His blood was circulating at excessive speed, radiating heat from his entire body until he nearly felt feverish.

After a long while, once he had recovered, Xue Jing opened the panel and took a look.

You completed one Breathing Method practice session. Fitness experience +16

You completed one Breathing Method practice session. Fitness experience +16

You completed one Breathing Method practice session. Fitness experience +16

You completed one Breathing Method practice session. Fitness experience +16

The physical enhancement brought by the increase in several skill levels, combined with his growing adaptation to the Breathing Method, had allowed him to complete four full Breathing Method cycles in a row this time.

"Force..."

Xue Jing extended his right arm and touched its elbow with his left hand, a thoughtful look on his face.

While circulating the Breathing Method just now, he seemed to have touched upon some crucial point. At one moment during a breath, the muscles in his right arm had twitched.

He tried hard to recall that sensation and reproduce it, but after several attempts, he failed.

He was not in a hurry. Since he could not do it yet, it simply meant the time was not right.

After pouring himself a glass of water and drinking it, Xue Jing returned to his room and lay down on the bed. One hand rested on Maomao sleeping beside him. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.