Three in the morning.
The alarm suddenly shrilled.
Chen Shouyi opened his eyes, quickly silenced the alarm, and got up to get dressed.
After washing up in the bathroom, he took Shell Girl and his sword and went downstairs.
Zhu Xueqing hadn't come out yet, but Wang Lie had been up for a while.
At that moment, he was in the living room, warming up with the Thirty-Six Body Tempering Forms—the version optimized a second time using the Book of Knowledge that Chen Shouyi had passed on.
Chen Shouyi was a little surprised. He hadn't expected anyone to finally master them.
After finishing the set, Wang Lie let out a long breath. When he came to and saw Chen Shouyi beside him, his expression turned a little awkward, but he quickly composed himself and humbly asked, "Chief Chen, forgive my poor form. Could you give me some pointers?"
"You're doing very well," Chen Shouyi said casually. Feeling he'd sounded a little dismissive, he went on, "Your transitions between movements still aren't quite smooth enough. Don't practice each form separately; you'll get better results if you link them together."
Wang Lie's eyes lit up. He immediately gave it a try, but hadn't even made it halfway through before he had to stop. Awkwardly, he said, "This Chen Family Body Tempering Method you revised is too difficult. I've only just managed to learn it!"
Chen Family Body Tempering Method?
Chen Shouyi's eyes lit up. That was a good name.
"I was the same at first. Just keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it!"
They chatted as they waited. A few minutes later, Zhu Xueqing came downstairs after washing up.
They ate some late-night snacks brought over by the soldiers, then headed out under cover of darkness.
The wind outside was