The Power of the Sting Sword

After school, Chen Shouyi quietly opened his Status Panel.

"Willpower: 11"

He widened his eyes slightly in disbelief. He had checked it that morning, when his willpower stat was still only 10.5, but in just one afternoon, it had leaped to 11—the first of all his stats to reach that mark.

Chen Shouyi recalled the martial arts class, how he had seemingly overcome the deep-rooted cowardice and inferiority in his character, boldly stepping up to the front. He remembered chatting freely with classmates after class, his mind sharp and quick...

Thinking back now, it felt almost unbelievable, as if he had become a different person.

So this was willpower.

He thought about it a lot.

He really was different now.

Feeling himself instinctively hunch his shoulders and shrink his chest again, he suddenly lifted his head and looked straight ahead.

Sun Xin, walking beside him, didn't notice Chen Shouyi's subtle change. He scratched his scalp vigorously, sending dandruff flying, then wiped his greasy hand on his pants and asked the two of them, "What are you guys planning to do this weekend?"

"Sleep, play games—what else?" Zhao Yifeng said.

"Haven't decided yet. Might sign up for a cram class," Chen Shouyi said after a moment's thought.

The atmosphere for martial arts at Dongning Fifth Middle School wasn't strong. The martial arts classes were mainly meant to exercise the students' bodies, with pitifully little content. They spent an entire year just learning the Forward Lunge Stab in swordsmanship, along with some sprinting and strength training. It couldn't meet any personalized needs at all.

Besides, his Forward Lunge Stab was already on the right track. The only thing lacking was the speed of muscle reaction, which required thousands or tens of thousands of repetitions to hone.

The process of letting the muscle's power output fully mesh and solidify with the body, turning the Forward Lunge Stab into instinct—but that couldn't be achieved in a short time.

He felt it was time to learn other basic sword forms.

"You two are so boring!" Sun Xin rolled his eyes.

For some reason, Zhao Yifeng was unusually quiet today, barely speaking the whole way. But Chen Shouyi wasn't the most perceptive person, so he didn't notice anything off.

He didn't share the same route as the other two, so after grabbing his bike, they parted ways.

"Dad, Mom, I'm home!"

After parking his bike in the back-alley garage, he walked into the restaurant. No one answered. His dad and mom were both watching TV in the dining area, along with several other shop owners nearby.

"What happened?" His heart skipped a beat.

He quickly looked up at the TV. A news report was playing. The pretty anchorwoman's face was solemn and grave.

"According to information gathered by our reporter, this Fierce Bird from another world came through the No. 13541 large-scale wormhole, fifteen thousand meters above the ground. It broke through the military's firepower blockade, flew several hundred kilometers while injured, and was shot down by fighter jets that arrived in pursuit, ultimately crashing on Zhongming Street in Ningzhou City..."

Chen Shouyi's heart jolted. Ningzhou was the prefecture-level city that governed Dongning, only a few dozen kilometers away.

He looked at the video. The camera was shaking violently. A hideous Fierce Bird thrashed endlessly on a bustling street, while countless people around it fled in panic, screaming one after another.

It was a massive Giant Bird, its Body Size alone taking up two full lanes. No bird on Earth could grow that large. Even the largest land animal, the African Elephant, was nothing compared to it.

The creature was badly wounded, with many parts of its body a bloody mess, wounds bleeding nonstop. Yet this terrible injury only seemed to fuel its savagery. It kept lunging at the fleeing crowds, leaving a trail of bodies behind.

Ever since Earth merged with another world twenty years ago, incidents of all kinds of beasts and barbarians breaking through military blockades had been happening constantly across the globe.

The other world's gravity was three times that of Earth. Even an ordinary creature became dangerously formidable once it arrived on Earth, and every appearance sparked panic among humans.

In fact, the most dangerous things weren't these creatures, but the viruses and bacteria from the other world.

In the first few years after the fusion, more than a dozen deadly Class A Acute Infectious Diseases broke out worldwide, causing over a billion unnatural deaths. Some small countries even saw their entire populations wiped out.

Fortunately, in recent years, with rapid advances in medical technology and the gradual development of antibodies in human bodies, such large-scale death events had become rare and seldom heard of.

A few minutes later, perhaps because it was too bloody, the news segment was quickly cut off. The crowd in the restaurant gradually dispersed, discussing it as they left.

"You're back." Mother Chen, her face a little pale, seemed to just then notice Chen Shouyi had returned.

"Yeah."

"Don't think too much about it. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you." Chen Dawei pretended nothing was wrong, turned off the TV, and forced a smile.

Chen Shouyi opened his mouth, wanting to ask, but he could tell his parents clearly didn't want him to bring it up.

"Just greens and pork ribs rice."

After saying that, he paused, then added, "I want to sign up for a cram class this Saturday."

Faced with her son's rare show of ambition, even though Mother Chen was still unsettled by the terrifying news she'd just seen, she couldn't help but beam with joy. "As long as it's useful for the college entrance exam, your dad and I will support you. Why do we work so hard every day if not so you kids can have an easier life in the future and find a decent job?"

"But I want to sign up for a martial arts cram class."

Mother Chen froze for a moment. Her smile vanished, and her expression changed instantly.

"What? You're already a senior in high school, and you still want to train in martial arts?

It's fine to set aside some time each day to exercise, but you can't make it your main focus.

This stuff depends on talent. If you had even half the talent your sister has, I wouldn't say a word—I'd let you learn right away. Our family isn't rich, but we're not short on money either. It's just that you can't afford to waste time."

Chen Dawei stayed silent beside her, clearly not supporting wasting time on this either. If his son still had a chance if he worked hard in college, then in martial arts, there was no hope at all.

Chen Shouyi fell silent. In the past, under his mother's iron hand, he would have silently obeyed, however reluctantly. But today, a strong urge seemed to drive him to prove something.

"Mom, I've never slacked off on my studies. I've been studying hard every day. I just want to squeeze out some time to take up martial arts as a backup plan.

Especially lately, I feel like I've made a lot of progress. My body's gotten stronger. In today's martial arts class, the teacher even specifically praised me. I think I have a real chance."

"Dad, Mom, I've always listened to you. If you told me to go east, I never went west. I know you mean well for me, but today, I hope you'll consider what I have to say."

Mother Chen's mouth fell slightly open. She exchanged a glance with Chen Dawei, and both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

Was this really their son—the quiet one you couldn't get a word out of with a club?

"Then tell me first—why did your Martial Arts Teacher praise you?" Mother Chen's attitude softened a little, but she still didn't quite believe it. She knew her own son best. What had he ever done well since he was little?

"Because my Forward Lunge Stab is the best in the whole class," Chen Shouyi said, a hint of pride in his voice.

To prove it, he grabbed a chopstick from the dining table to use as a sword.

It was rare for him to show off in front of his parents, and he got a little carried away. Without thinking, he thrust it at the wall.

From pushing off his toes, to engaging his whole body, to the stab itself—it was one smooth motion, fast as lightning, textbook-perfect.

Pfft.

The next moment, the wooden chopstick punched through the surface of the tile, half its length buried in the wall.

"Uh!" Chen Shouyi was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected his Forward Lunge Stab to be so powerful. He'd thought the chopstick would just snap—after all, the wall was covered in hard, tough tiles. In all his experience, how could a wooden chopstick pierce through?