He hit the jackpot, he hit the jackpot.
Ordinary people might not know Li Shuwen, but how could Yang Xuan, a seasoned webnovel reader of over ten years, not know him?
Li Shuwen had been upright and honorable all his life, hating evil as much as he hated enemies. With his consummate martial skills and pure mastery, he suppressed evil, repelled foreign aggression, and made his might known through martial arts, earning fame both at home and abroad. More importantly, because his spear and boxing skills were unrivaled under heaven, he had received the honored title of "One Punch, No Second Strike; Divine Spear Li Shuwen."
Yang Xuan did not know the proper process for taking a master in the Republic of China either, so he simply dropped to one knee and addressed him as his master.
Li Shuwen hurriedly raised a hand. "I haven't accepted disciples in many years. But seeing how deeply you wish to serve your country, I'll take you as a nominal disciple. What's your name?"
"Thank you for accepting me, Master. Your disciple's surname is Yang, and my name is Xuan." Yang Xuan spoke solemnly.
At this moment, Nong Jinsun also cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Brother Tongcheng, on gaining such an excellent disciple."
"The world outside is also in chaos right now. Why don't Yang Xuan and your uncle stay at Jingwu School for the time being?" Huo Ting'en suggested.
"Then this old man will trouble you for a while." Li Shuwen thought it over before answering.
Although Yang Xuan was a hardcore shut-in, after being influenced by his surroundings, he still understood a little about social etiquette.
"Master, this is a small token of your disciple's filial respect." As he spoke, Yang Xuan took a wristwatch from his backpack.
The watch retained all the functions of a traditional quartz watch while also incorporating every function of an electronic hard drive. It kept time accurately and had excellent shock resistance.
People in this era mostly used pocket watches and the like. How could they have ever seen such an exquisite wristwatch?
"Brother Tongcheng, you're truly blessed. Not only have you gained an excellent disciple, but your disciple is also remarkably filial," Nong Jinsun said enviously.
Li Shuwen showed no change on the surface, but he was delighted inside. He had accepted this nominal disciple on a whim, and the boy was so filial to him. He could not help feeling a little touched.
"A-Xuan, get a good rest today. Tomorrow, I'll begin teaching you martial arts." Li Shuwen glanced at the sky.
"All right, Master," Yang Xuan replied.
In the blink of an eye, the sun sank toward the horizon. After bidding farewell to his master, Yang Xuan planned to buy some toiletries nearby and see if there was anything else he lacked. In any case, the world was in chaos, so no one would be checking household registrations or anything like that. His luck was genuinely excellent. He had happened to stay at Jingwu School, so he did not need to find a place to rent.
After buying toiletries, he casually found a restaurant near the market. The sky might be vast and the earth broad, but nothing was more important than eating. Hehe.
He ordered a bowl of beef noodles. The portion was large, and the noodles were pleasantly chewy, unlike the machine-made noodles sold by many noodle shops nowadays. Tsk, tsk, the broth was wonderfully fresh. Not bad, not bad. Yang Xuan ate until he was completely satisfied. When he settled the bill at the end, he realized it had cost only a few dimes. That was even with extra beef. The owner truly had a conscience.
Just thinking about it made him feel wonderful.
He still had around fifteen thousand silver dollars in his pocket. He was definitely a rich man now.
Sigh, his phone had no signal either. He could only play Fruit Match to kill some time before going to sleep.
The night passed uneventfully.
In the morning, Yang Xuan rose from bed full of energy. He went to the bathroom to take care of nature's call, then brushed his teeth and washed his face.
Suddenly, he noticed something different in the mirror.
Because of his long-term irregular lifestyle, Yang Xuan had suffered slight hair loss at both sides of his forehead despite being only twenty-four. It was barely noticeable at a glance, but upon closer inspection, his hair was somewhat thin.
But now, he could clearly see in the mirror that his hair had become much thicker.
"System, are you there?" Yang Xuan asked silently.
"I'm here, Host." The system's voice sounded in the depths of his mind.
"Can you scan my body and see what's going on? What caused these changes in my body?" Although this was a good thing, Yang Xuan felt it was still necessary to understand it.
"All right. Please wait a moment, Host." The system responded.
Host: Yang Xuan Physical Body: The Strength of Three Men Ability: Telekinesis Skills: Telekinetic Shield; Telekinetic Sharpness
Although the information appeared in his mind, Yang Xuan's eyes went wide. He had always been fairly strong, and he had even tested himself on the punching machine at an arcade. Since the machine's maximum was only one hundred kilograms, he could hit the full one hundred kilograms every time. But he had never been arrogant enough to think he possessed the strength of two men.
"System, what does 'the strength of three men' mean?" Yang Xuan asked in surprise.
"Host, according to the system's analysis, your mental power was strengthened and evolved into the telekinesis you possess now. Because your mental power was too strong, the excess mental power has continuously strengthened your physical body. Since the strengthening happened gradually, you did not notice your increasing strength," the system explained.
So that was how it was. Yang Xuan had always felt that the soul and the physical body were actually inseparable, and equally important. It was like the soul was a person and the body was a ship sailing across the sea. The sturdier and larger the ship, the more people it could carry, and the safer they would be. They complemented each other.
This was wonderful. No matter how he looked at it, it was good news for Yang Xuan.
Perhaps because he had gone to bed so early the previous night, he woke exceptionally early that morning, full of energy, and went out to get breakfast.
Only when he reached the entrance did he see Chen Zhen up close. He was probably planning to go running. All right, Yang Xuan had no choice but to admit that he was wildly excited. Chen Zhen was played by Li Lianjie, whom he adored. As a man born in the late eighties, the earliest movies Yang Xuan had watched had naturally been martial arts films such as those about Huang Feihong. Of course, many of them had starred Li Lianjie.
"Hello. I'm Yang Xuan." Yang Xuan extended his hand.
Chen Zhen, who had been tying his shoelaces, stood up as well and shook his hand. "Hello, I'm Chen Zhen. I heard you took my grand-uncle as your master. You're really lucky. Grand-uncle hasn't accepted a disciple in a long time. Keep it up. Once you've learned enough, perhaps we can spar."
"All right. I'm going to get breakfast. Are you going running?" Yang Xuan asked.
"Yeah. Well, let's leave it at that for now," Chen Zhen replied.
"All right. See you around," Yang Xuan said.
Chen Zhen was really hardworking, going running so early in the morning. I should work hard and give it a try too.
Although it was still the War of Resistance period, The City of Devils remained quite lively. There were also many foreigners because of the numerous concessions, and the food had become more varied as well. Cuisine from all sorts of regions and countries could be found.
There were many breakfast options too: fried noodles, noodle soup, wontons, shumai, and guotie. Since Yang Xuan was from the south, he usually went for soy milk, youtiao, and sesame flatbread. When he paid, it cost only a few dimes. Hahaha, it really was cheap.
He strolled along slowly, looking around as he went, and returned to Jingwu School. He had just stepped through the entrance when—
"Back already? Are you ready to practice martial arts?" Li Shuwen asked from where he leaned against the doorway.
"All right, Master." Yang Xuan answered excitedly.
"My primary arts are the Baji Quan forms, the Yijin Jing, the Xi Sui Jing, and the Liuhe Great Spear. I also know some lightness skills.
"The eight words of Baji Quan are: lifting, embracing, winding, seizing, chopping, smashing, sweeping, and thrusting. The essentials of training them are the same as for the forms.
"Of course, Horse Stance is indispensable. After all, this master's Thousand-Jin Drop is still worth something. Establish a solid foundation with Horse Stance." After saying this, Li Shuwen immediately assumed a Horse Stance.
Yang Xuan instantly felt as if his master were sitting atop a horse. He clearly had not moved, yet he looked as though he were riding one. Moreover, although his master looked lean and wiry, he now gave off the feeling of a towering mountain, majestic and immovable.