"When I realized you still hadn't come home at one in the morning, I knew you weren't the same person you used to be."
"A man whose heart has changed is a traitor to this household! He's even forgotten the responsibilities he has as a member of this family."
Chu Lanxi continued his over-the-top performance as if possessed by a drama queen. Chen Nuoyi, seeing this scene for the first time, was deeply shaken.
Su Yuan, however, was used to it and said,
"You're nagging me to do your homework, right? I finished it before school, so can you stop making a fuss?"
Chu Lanxi immediately shut up, flashed an OK sign, then turned toward his bedroom. Just before closing the door, he added with a solemn expression,
"Please make yourselves at home in the living room. No matter how much noise you make, I'll be like a husband fast asleep in a late-night movie—I absolutely won't wake up."
"Die!"
Su Yuan immediately made the husky-pointing meme pose.
Chu Lanxi closed the bedroom door, entirely satisfied, leaving only Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi in the living room.
"Time is short, Su Yuan. Which subject do you want to start reviewing?"
Once she entered teaching mode, Chen Nuoyi regained the cool demeanor she usually displayed in class and asked him.
Su Yuan thought it over carefully.
He was doing all right in General Studies and Spirit Script, the two subjects that relied on rote memorization. He usually scored around 135 and 70 on monthly exams, so there was no rush to improve those.
For Physical Education, he'd have to see whether he could keep getting Blue Pills. If he could, his score would improve before long.
As for Dao Heart, his score had been average before, but he figured he'd do much better now that he had the Pure Devil Heart.
That left cultivation and martial arts. Practicing the Breathing Technique was something he had to do on his own. Even with the same technique, everyone circulated their breath differently, so even Chen Nuoyi couldn't help him much.
After weighing it all up, martial arts was the only subject he most needed Chen Nuoyi to help him review.
Martial arts didn't just mean fighting techniques; it was an umbrella term for martial arts and Daoist arts, covering both the warrior and mage paths.
But Qi Cultivators had such meager spiritual power that they couldn't sustain the cost of using Daoist arts, so Taihua High School's martial arts curriculum focused mainly on fighting techniques.
So far, Su Yuan had learned two fighting techniques at school: Sunrise Fist, which increased attack power, and Seven Star Steps, which improved agility.
Mastery of a fighting technique had four stages: beginner, minor mastery, major mastery, and perfection. Su Yuan had only reached minor mastery in both.
In the last monthly exam, the martial arts section had been worth 150 points, but Su Yuan had scored only 90, placing twenty-eighth in the class—decidedly mediocre.
Of course, the martial arts exam didn't test how well students had mastered those two techniques. It judged their performance in actual combat.
Students from wealthier families could simply learn more advanced martial arts. It was like buying extra workbooks and doing practice problems outside school, or signing up for tutoring.
But the more advanced the martial art, the harder it was to improve one's mastery. If you could unleash its full power in combat, that proved you had real talent for martial arts, and you'd naturally earn a high score.
Students without that kind of talent were better off focusing on Sunrise Fist and Seven Star Steps.
After all, advanced martial arts only had a higher ceiling; who knew how low the floor might be? Most high schoolers couldn't reach the limits of advanced martial arts—or even Sunrise Fist and Seven Star Steps—before the college entrance exams.
So, in theory, Su Yuan could use his Eighteen Divine Fork Styles in the martial arts exam, too.
At the perfected level, the Eighteen Divine Fork Styles could absolutely crush Sunrise Fist at major mastery.
But there was one problem: the martial arts exam required students to fight barehanded. He wouldn't even have a fork during the exam, so how could he use the Eighteen Divine Fork Styles?
Unless the system gave him a divine technique one day and directly raised his mastery to perfection, he'd have to stick to practicing Sunrise Fist and Seven Star Steps.
After deciding to review martial arts, Su Yuan naturally couldn't start throwing punches in the living room, so he and Chen Nuoyi went up to the rooftop of their community.
"Su Yuan, attack me directly. I'll do my best to suppress my strength to the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation and spar with you, so I can point out the flaws in your fist technique and footwork."
Chen Nuoyi stood with one hand behind her back and spoke calmly.
The bright moonlight spilled down. The Girl's fair skin shimmered with a crystalline glow, like a flawless piece of jade.
Under the moonlight, her cool summer uniform seemed almost translucent. Only then did Su Yuan realize that light had a shape.
And this aloof class beauty was seriously well-endowed!
But Su Yuan's mind was mostly free of distractions. The Girl before him radiated the imposing aura of a grandmaster, so cold and untouchable.
Su Yuan took a deep breath and assumed the opening stance of Sunrise Fist. Spiritual power gathered in each muscle he needed to punch, and the aura of a Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation cultivator emerged.
As soon as he took his stance, Su Yuan felt something was different about his body.
Every muscle moved more smoothly than before, with far less stiffness.
After a moment's thought, Su Yuan understood. This had to be the Blue Pill's doing. He remembered that the Spirit Pill could automatically optimize the function of his muscle groups.
In other words, if he just kept taking pills, his body would eventually evolve into a martial arts saint's physique.
That was a dangerous thought. Who knew when the martial arts world might hear the tragic news that Martial Saint Su had ascended in broad daylight to the planet of steroids?
Let's see the gap between me, after taking—no, after cheating with a power-up—and the sacred number-one student in class!
Su Yuan charged in.
And then...
Thump—
Chen Nuoyi's fist slammed into Su Yuan's stomach, sending him flying more than ten meters.
Su Yuan hit the ground.
"Cough, cough. Big sis, what level is your Sunrise Fist? I couldn't even see your fist coming. Did you really suppress your strength to the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation?"
Su Yuan picked himself up from the ground, covered in dust.
Looking at Su Yuan's miserable state, Chen Nuoyi apologized.
"I reached perfection in Sunrise Fist half a year ago. N-no, I'm sorry. I didn't properly gauge the gap between us and hit you a little too hard... I'll be more careful next time."
Su Yuan: "..."
Lies don't hurt people; the truth is a sharp knife!
But a man could never admit he wasn't up to the task!
Su Yuan rallied, his eyes turning sharp in an instant. With the Pure Devil Heart bolstering him, he cast aside all the pain in his body. The only thing left in his eyes was his yearning for martial arts.
The sparring session began again.
Of course, in practice, Su Yuan was just getting beaten up one-sidedly.
Every time he was knocked down, Chen Nuoyi would point out the flaws in his fist technique or footwork with pinpoint accuracy.
This kind of review was no different from receiving one-on-one instruction from a renowned teacher. Su Yuan gained a great deal in just two hours... if you ignored how bruised and battered he was.
As the sky gradually began to lighten, the review session came to an end.
Back at the rented apartment, Su Yuan quickly finished Chu Lanxi's homework. Then the three of them washed up in turn and went to school together.
They had spare toothbrushes and towels, so none of the usual amusing misunderstandings occurred.
Outside the gate of Feiyun Community, Su Yuan opened a locker at the parcel station and took out a modest-sized package, which he slipped into the shoulder bag slung across his chest.
It was the item he had ordered just over two hours earlier.
Chen Nuoyi, standing beside him, looked curious.
Su Yuan smiled and explained,
"This is the handy little tool I'll need to make money today."
At the same time, he added silently, It's also the wicked tool that'll tempt you, the Righteous Path Saintess, into utter depravity.
Before you continue