The State of the World

Chapter 23: The World

"I don't want to stay here for another second!"

Yang Fan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, calmed his rapidly beating heart, and said to Zhao Rui.

"Me neither!"

The two of them hurriedly got on their bikes and rushed to a hotel near the school, checking in directly.

They decided not to go home for now, not knowing what extreme actions that strange old man might take.

Of course, logically speaking, the possibility was practically zero. If he had wanted to kill Zhao Rui and him, it would have been as easy as lifting a finger, and he wouldn't have cared if it was broad daylight.

Even in broad daylight, no one would have noticed any hidden moves he made.

After settling into the hotel and calling their families with an excuse, Zhao Rui sat down cross-legged, circulating his Qi through his meridians to check for any issues.

Although, well, he probably wouldn't find anything, it was better than nothing for peace of mind!

"Dad, I'm scared, what should I do?"

Meanwhile, Yang Fan was already in tears in front of his phone, video calling his father for help!

At this point, he couldn't care less about getting beaten; his life was on the line.

Yang Fan's father, being a businessman with extensive experience and connections in certain circles, immediately broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing his son's words. He instructed the two of them not to go anywhere and immediately drove over.

In less than fifteen minutes, Yang Fan's father, Yang Yutai, arrived with two bodyguards.

"Dad, I was wrong, you have to save me, I don't want to die!"

Yang Fan, the complete coward, finally broke down and hugged his father, sobbing uncontrollably.

He wiped his snot and tears all over half of Yang Yutai's shoulder.

"Alright, it's not as serious as you think!"

Seeing his son's pathetic state, Yang Yutai couldn't help but laugh and cry. He then looked to the side at Zhao Rui, who had been calmly meditating cross-legged when they entered, and couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Like father, like son; like mother, like daughter. He's my own son, I can't blame anyone else."

"Huh? Dad, what do you mean?"

Yang Fan was stunned and wiped his nose with his sleeve, asking in surprise.

"When gods fight, it has nothing to do with two insignificant people like you. This matter ends here, don't go around talking nonsense."

"Ah? Ah! Dad, I won't say anything, I won't say anything, that's great, Dad, I love you!"

Yang Fan was instantly excited and bear-hugged Yang Yutai.

Although Yang Fan was his biological son, he took after his mother in appearance; he himself was a thin and small man.

Now being held in his son's embrace, his old face turned dark red!

"Uncle Yang, I'm sorry!"

After Yang Fan's outburst, Zhao Rui sheepishly apologized from the side.

Although Yang Fan had suggested going to the entertainment venue to pick up girls, he himself was a participant and had failed to offer the advice a friend should have.

Therefore, Zhao Rui's apology was sincere. He had underestimated the world and the prevalence of Martial Arts.

Having spent the recent period only in school and the martial arts hall, he had truly lost his sense of awe.

"It's not that bad. You're both adults now, and some things happen naturally. It's better to guide than to obstruct. We parents know that you are more mature than Xiao Fan, so please advise him more often."

"Yes, Uncle Yang, I will!"

Zhao Rui wanted to say something else, but the words stopped at his lips, and he could only reply like that.

"Alright, crying one moment and laughing the next, go home and wait to be punished!"

Yang Yutai glanced at his son, who was now grinning foolishly, and said irritably.

"I don't care about being punished, haha!"

Although Yang Fan's Martial Arts were lacking, he was still a Martial Artist who had practiced hard style Martial Arts for many years. A little punishment was nothing to him.

"Let's go, let's eat first!"

After speaking, Yang Yutai took Yang Fan and the two of them to a high-end restaurant nearby for a delicious meal.

It was meant to calm the two young men down, so that this incident wouldn't leave any psychological scars.

And affect their future ability to find girls!

After the meal, Zhao Rui declined Yang Yutai's offer to escort him and took a taxi home.

Zhao Jincheng and his wife were somewhat surprised that their son wasn't returning, but Zhao Rui managed to get by with an excuse.

"Mom, Dad, I'm a bit tired, I'm going back to my room to rest!"

Zhao Rui drank some water and went straight back to his room.

The events of today had a profound impact on him, instantly shattering the complacency and arrogance he had developed during his Gaokao preparation.

He realized that this world was far more dangerous than he had understood. Even with the System panel assisting him, he was still just a weakling in the eyes of others as long as he hadn't grown stronger.

Zhao Rui couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

If it weren't for this incident, who knows how restless his state of mind would be right now!

Martial Artists train their bodies, and they also train their minds!

Zhao Rui took a deep breath and began to meditate, cultivating the Ethereal Divine Skill.

As Zhao Rui's signature internal energy cultivation technique, the Ethereal Divine Skill's speed in improving Internal Energy was actually quite average.

Don't be fooled by its impressive name; that was just something his unreliable master randomly came up with.

It wasn't a divine skill at all.

While this internal energy cultivation technique wasn't commonplace, it wasn't a top-tier skill either.

It was sufficient for the former Zhao Rui, but now that he had the System panel, his standards were higher, and he naturally craved more profound internal energy cultivation techniques.

Unfortunately, such things were rare and unpredictable. Without a strong background or heaven-defying luck, ordinary people couldn't learn these top-tier cultivation techniques.

Martial Arts moves might be common, but internal energy cultivation techniques certainly weren't.

Aiming too high was not advisable!

Zhao Rui calmed his mind and continued to cultivate meticulously.

Around 11 PM, after finishing his cultivation, Zhao Rui received a call from Yang Fan as he was scrolling through short videos on his phone.

"The news is out, it's explosive! Check out the Lin City Daily News."

Hearing Yang Fan's words, Zhao Rui opened his browser and searched.

As expected, he saw a prominent news report: "To effectively combat criminal activity, our city's Patrol Office recently launched a 'Summer Storm' special operation... It is reported that Carefree Pavilion and several other entertainment venues have received notices for business suspension and rectification..."

Looking at the news, Zhao Rui couldn't help but shake his head. As expected, everywhere had its struggles between good and evil. He just wondered what role the "Fiery Cloud Evil God" played in all this.

"I saw it. Since it has nothing to do with us, you should go to sleep peacefully."

"Sigh, I won't say anything more. I'll take you once things blow over."

"Your lustful heart never dies!"

"Haha, of course. My dad doesn't object."

After a brief chat, they hung up.

The next day!

Zhao Rui went to Wende Martial Way as usual.

After yesterday's events, Zhao Rui felt an even greater urgency to improve his strength.

Today, he not only sparred with paying students but also sparred with the coaches during his free time.

His main goal was to not waste any time.

How much cultivation could one gain from a year of practice? It was faster to spar with others.

The coach's Martial Arts were nothing special; it was just the ordinary Chaotic Wind Saber Technique.

His strength lay in his specialization, his long practice time, and his abundant Internal Energy, which qualified him to be an assistant coach.

He was still inferior to some genius students.

However, Zhao Rui didn't care about that. His motto was that it didn't matter if a cat was black or white, as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat.

(End of Chapter)