Being a Person is Hard, Being a Dog is Bitter

The entire testing process took less than forty minutes from start to finish.

As the instrument's vibrating hum gradually faded, the robotic arm rotated, and the cabin opened.

Qin Shi leaped out, let out a long breath, and quickly put on his short-sleeved shirt and pants.

"Just as I thought, the growth progress displayed on the panel, along with the precise data feedback, represents my own vitality level."

Fifteen points!

Close to the passing line for Amateur Rank 8!

Qin Shi closed his palms, forming a loose fist.

Beneath his skin, within his flesh and blood, his major sinews lay dormant like coiled dragons, brimming with potent strength.

He could clearly feel that the new stage of breaking through the Sinew Gate had not completely ended.

It was just that his Mortal Body lacked sufficient energy to fill it, causing it to temporarily enter a "dormant" state.

"It's like an untrained ordinary person stretching to awaken their body and activate muscle groups."

A flicker of desire flashed in Qin Shi's eyes as he thought of the high-energy foods that only elite class students could afford.

"Nutritional Paste is still a bit lacking; it only provides satiety and keeps hunger at bay."

Those elite class students consumed about 250 grams of high-energy food daily at most.

For himself, with the achievement trait of [Overgrowth], he could gorge himself to his heart's content every day.

Then, he could push his vitality up by another two or three points!

"Rich guys have their cultivation methods, and poor dogs have theirs."

Qin Shi suppressed his stray thoughts. As long as he continued to solidify the fundamentals of Old Martial Arts and sprint towards the Seven Great Limits of the Physical Body.

He would eventually catch up to the progress of the elite class's top students!

"Assistant Teacher Qin, are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Yunqing asked with concern.

In her eyes at this moment, Qin Shi was an incredibly valuable walking mine, and not the slightest mistake could befall him.

If her elder brother, Lin Xiaohan, wasn't teasing her, the "spirituality" and "activity" of the Mortal Body were extremely difficult to achieve simultaneously.

The more one had of one, the less of the other.

Assistant Teacher Qin, who balanced both body and spirit, was likely the next He Lanchán.

Even if he wasn't as good as the First Generation Ten Prodigies or the Stone Buddha, he could still gain widespread popularity and adoration through marketing and packaging.

"He won't be any worse than Yu Li. That kid, just by being the closed-door disciple of Flying Immortal Lian Yixing, managed to become the Stellar Cup's Rookie of the Year! Tens of millions in prize money every year, hundreds of millions in endorsements! He's raking in the cash!"

Lin Yunqing mused inwardly. Qin Shi had too many "shining points" that could be exploited.

A humble background, outstanding appearance, and a genius in Old Martial Arts who cultivated both spirit and body, possessing the potential to qualify for multiple paths as a Martial Artist, Mechanist, or Psionicist – a peerless prodigy!

"I feel great, no problems at all."

Qin Shi silently crossed off the debt of that dog woman trying to pin the blame on him at the Youth Palace.

"I haven't thanked Teacher Lin for helping with the test yet; I've really troubled you."

A comprehensive vitality test like this would cost no less than a thousand yuan at a high-end training gym or a large medical center.

For Qin Shi, who believed that saving money was like picking up money, this was an undeniable windfall!

"No trouble at all! We're colleagues, helping each other is only natural!"

Lin Yunqing's smile was harder to suppress than an AK, lifting and falling again, beaming brilliantly.

She touched her swollen eye socket, thinking the punch was worth it!

It allowed her to find Assistant Teacher Qin, this incredible talent in Old Martial Arts!

"Assistant Teacher Qin, I see it's getting late..."

Lin Yunqing was hinting heavily.

That woman is happy even after getting hit?

Could she have awakened some kind of special fetish?

Looking at Teacher Lin happily touching her face, Qin Shi was puzzled.

He very tactfully picked up the conversation:

"Yes, it's quite late. Teacher Lin, I should be heading back..."

Lin Yunqing abruptly interrupted, leaning closer:

"I mean, why don't you just stay the night?

Although I can't cook, I still have some canned food at home that we can make do with for a meal.

It's not safe for a young man like you to travel home so late."

Qin Shi instinctively took half a step back, avoiding Lin Yunqing's increasingly close, exquisite face, and thought:

"Why does it feel more dangerous to be here! Is this bitch lusting after my body? Lost in a fight, so she wants to get back at me in other ways?"

If before the vitality test, Lin Yunqing's attitude towards him was curiosity and admiration.

Then, it had now turned into an excessive eagerness and attentiveness.

Like a top simp who checks in with "good morning" and "good night" every day, asking his goddess if she wants bubble tea!

This made Qin Shi add "masochistic pervert" to the existing labels of "Taian rich lady" and "bitch."

"No, thank you."

He wore a professional smile, politely declining.

What a joke, he still had to work as a waiter at the Midnight Palace later!

Why would he pass up a guaranteed two to three hundred in tips to eat at her place?

Women?

Heh.

They only slow down my work speed!

"You've worked hard all day, you need to fill your stomach."

Lin Yunqing knew Qin Shi was immune to seduction. Seeing her attempts to keep him were futile, she settled for the next best thing:

"I'll open a few high-energy food cans from the Joint Group. After you're done eating, I'll drive you home."

High-energy food?

Qin Shi paused his movement to leave, like a student being forced to accept a red envelope from an elder during Chinese New Year.

"Mmm, Teacher Lin makes a good point. Actually, I don't have anything urgent.

Since I'm already here, I might as well try it."

Behind No. 9 Vocational Middle School were the tenement buildings, which were the staff dormitories allocated back then.

Most of them had moved out by now, into the family housing area with more spacious living quarters and heating installed.

This area had fallen into disrepair. From the outside, only a few scattered lights flickered, unable to illuminate the thick night.

Old Liang, as usual, held a half-empty bottle of wine, the words "North Warehouse" faintly visible through his palm.

He leaned on the stairs, slowly moving his body upwards.

The fifth-floor corridor was pitch black, connecting several single rooms.

A cool night breeze blew, making the clotheslines with hanging clothes sway back and forth. At first glance, it had a spooky atmosphere reminiscent of old ghost movies.

Old Liang fumbled for his flattened Liming cigarette pack, pulled out the last cigarette, and held it in his mouth without lighting it.

"I thought, with your cowardly nature, you wouldn't dare see me again in this lifetime."

He spoke towards the man at the end of the corridor, hidden in the shadows.

"Teacher, I'm sorry."

Cheng Ze took a few steps forward, then stopped abruptly.

The boss of North Pass Street stood there like a student who had made a mistake, awkward and apprehensive.

"Sorry? Haha, hahahaha, how many years has it been, Cheng Ze, why are you still such a coward?"

Old Liang took the cigarette out of his mouth, his eyes fixed on Cheng Ze standing in the dark, laughing incessantly.

"What are you sorry for? You studied at No. 9 Vocational Middle School, you had a good physique and high talent, so I was willing to teach you a few outdated tricks.

You paid tuition, I taught skills, it was just business. You went down the wrong path later, associating with a bunch of thugs, got expelled for fighting, and it has nothing to do with me, your physical education teacher."

Cheng Ze drooped his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, completely devoid of the formidable aura that usually made people hesitant to provoke him.

"You have nothing to apologize to me for. Between us, it was just a crippled old man who used to be glorious, taking a liking to a poor student with a similar background, hoping to nurture him from a sapling into a tree.

Who you should apologize to is your parents, who worked driving trucks and setting up stalls early in the morning to support your education.

Instead, you relied on your strong fists, fought with your so-called thug brothers, and incurred thousands in medical expenses."

Old Liang's face tightened, like hard, cold iron.

"When you were detained, you didn't see your parents kneeling and begging for mercy. While you were in the hospital, they came every day to help you with your needs, bringing you food and meals, just to save money on hiring a caregiver.

Even less did you know about your parents smiling obsequiously at the principal, waiting on teachers' routes home with gifts, hoping the school wouldn't expel you.

Cheng Ze, your father used to be a foreman at the quarry. He was tall and strong, but for you, he knelt at the principal's office door, his spine bent his entire life, only to be broken by his own son."

Cheng Ze's eyes turned red, his mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

"Conquer a street, gain wealth with courage! Boss Ze of North Pass Street, how imposing!

You went boating with relatives, fought for bosses, got into lawsuits that resulted in death, and were locked up in prison... The punks on Old Factory Street, who doesn't give a thumbs-up when they mention these things! Praising Brother Ze for his loyalty and bravery!"

Old Liang, holding his wine and cigarette, his gaze like a sharp knife carving flesh.

"Your old man, to support the family, drove long-haul trucks for days without sleep. His big rig overturned in a ditch in Wuxiang.

You went to jail for years. Your old lady started a stall early in the morning, selling fried dough sticks and steamed buns during the day, and gluing paper boxes at the factory at night. She coughed up blood in the freezing cold, too stingy to buy medicine. Every month, she took the passenger bus to visit you, bringing you clothes and food.

Boss Ze, I heard you're working security at Midnight Palace. You spend thousands on just opening bottles in one night.

If your parents were spirits in heaven, seeing how successful you are, they'd surely rest easy!"

Old Liang's eyes were like glowing coals, so hot that Cheng Ze didn't dare to meet them.

After a long pause, he could only stammer, "Teacher, born here, if I want to get ahead, I have no other path."

As the words slipped out subconsciously, Cheng Ze felt like he'd grasped his surging thoughts again, his tone urgent:

"I've been to Yancheng, been to Zhoucheng, it's not like this! Do you know, Teacher, Sun Tou'er across the street from my house, he burned his hand operating a boiler. They had to amputate it because it couldn't be treated. He wanted to earn a living by hauling coal, but he got crushed to death!

My dad was laid off. Every day he went out on the street holding a sign, asking me to help him write on it! To do sanitation! To clean windows! To paint!

Aunt Xu next door got sick. Her daughter went to a hair salon, and people gossiped. On New Year's Eve, she took poison and died!

I personally watched a stretcher covered with a white cloth, carrying a person away... Teacher, rich people in the metropolitan circle can break their hands or feet and get treatment in the central city, get prosthetics.

They use touchscreen phones, their computers connect to the internet, there are movie theaters on the streets, selling soda and popcorn..."

Cheng Ze's jaw was clenched tight, a spark returning to his eyes as he looked directly at Old Liang:

"I want that kind of life too! I don't want to struggle in the mud of Old Factory Street anymore! For those years, I didn't just fight for the boss, I also collected debts for him.

I burned down people's houses, broke the hands and feet of those who defaulted, and turned those who couldn't repay their debts into concrete blocks... When you taught me martial arts, you told me that the punks on Old Factory Street are like wild dogs, hoping to become house dogs and gnaw on bones.

But to be kept, you have to know how to bite, and the harder you bite, the more loyal you are, the more the master likes it."

Old Liang sighed softly, his tense face relaxing:

"That's the logic of being a dog. You don't need to tell me, a cripple.

I'd rather live a harder life, but at least I can stand up straight for a while."

Cheng Ze retreated back into the dark shadows, turning his head away, not looking at the lame man who had taught him stances and postures hand by hand.

He changed the subject:

"Teacher. I met Ah Shi. He's much stronger than me."

Old Liang nodded, as if understanding what Cheng Ze meant:

"He studied diligently, got into a metropolitan circle school, worked hard at part-time jobs to save money, and enrolled in my cram school. He learned fighting styles but had no intention of competing in the ring... Ah Shi was not only stronger than you, but also stronger than me.

When I was learning martial arts, my grand-teacher told me that people who practice Old Martial Arts have strong tempers, like carrying a sharp weapon in their chest, drawing it out at every turn, demanding blood.

This is both good and bad. I couldn't control it, so I became a cripple. You can't endure it, so you became a dog."

Cheng Ze grunted, not arguing:

"A while ago, when I returned to Old Factory Street, I always wanted to see you, Teacher.

Over the years, running boats, fighting, going to jail, getting out, it wasn't as glorious as others say. There were times I was chased by enemies for several blocks.

I'm not afraid of anything, except dying far away, with no one to collect my ashes."

Old Liang rubbed the tobacco leaves with his fingertips, brought them to his nose to sniff:

"Don't worry. I ate many of your mother's free breakfasts back then. If that day comes, I'll take your ashes to Changshan Cemetery."

Cheng Ze smiled silently:

"Thank you, Teacher. I know you look down on me, that I don't want to suffer poverty and hardship, and that it's not an excuse to be a punk and bite people.

But if I had to do it again, I think I'd still choose this path, at most in a different way, to give my parents a few days of good life.

Stepping in the mud, wanting to get ashore and clean oneself, is too difficult."

Old Liang remained silent.

Cheng Ze retreated to the staircase on the other side:

"The big boss's son is planning to take over the renovation project of Old Factory Street. Changing No. 9 Vocational Middle School into a sports academy was also his idea.

Brother Hao is very overbearing in his dealings. Teacher, if you can tolerate it, just tolerate it. Don't get into conflict. He might not be willing to give me face."

Old Liang scoffed at himself:

"What can I, a cripple, fight against? If he wants the school, let him have it. The Yancheng Qin Family has immense power and a widespread reputation. I've heard of them and know I can't afford to provoke them."

Cheng Ze nodded:

"Brother Hao has big plans. He's building a sports academy to train fighters, and also intends to get into the transportation business. He plans to swallow all the factory areas in the eastern suburbs of Dangyang."

Old Liang sneered:

"He's not satisfied with being the local emperor of Yancheng, and he's reaching out so far, wanting a piece of the metropolitan circle's cake? They all say, 'Chen Lin half the world, Qin Zheng fill the streets.' Yancheng Qin and Zhoucheng Zheng are ultimately suppressed by Chen and Lin. Such a big appetite, be careful you don't break your teeth!"

Cheng Ze lit a cigarette and smoked it silently.

He bowed to Old Liang and turned to leave.

"Teacher, goodbye."

Old Liang's voice cut through the corridor, reaching the other end:

"If you can retreat, then retreat, A'Ze. I heard from the Master that ancient wealthy families would raise dogs to guard their homes, and when they got old and useless, they'd be slaughtered and their meat distributed."

Cheng Ze didn't stop, nor did he look back.

A moment later, he sat into the waiting car downstairs, its headlights piercing the darkness ahead.

"What kind of distant-light dog is that!"

Glancing back at the speeding car, Qin Shi, slinging his bag, muttered softly before heading towards the faculty dormitory.

He bounded up the stairs, several steps at a time, quickly reaching the top.

"Teacher Liang! My vitality has increased again!"

Old Liang ultimately held back, not lighting that Liming cigarette.

Looking at Qin Shi, who had come all the way here late at night, a genuine smile spread across his face:

"Come in and tell me."