Watching Councilor Vino's retreating figure, Luo Hua stood by the window, his eyes narrowing.
"Hmph. Now that my brother's gone, they're all circling like hungry wolves, coveting what he left behind. They're using both threats and sweet talk..."
A flicker of worry crossed Luo Hua's eyes. Thanks to the treasures his brother had left him, he had become a War God-level fighter, but that strength was still nothing compared to a Councilor's.
And as his understanding of martial artists deepened, he realized that although his robots could threaten a Councilor, he would be powerless if a Spiritual Psychic used his family as leverage.
"My strength still isn't enough. If I were as strong as my brother, they wouldn't dare lay a hand on my family, even with him gone!"
Luo Hua clenched his fists. With his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked nothing like a martial artist and more like a frail scholar.
"I have to get stronger as quickly as possible. Besides physical fitness, the most important thing to improve is Force Emission..."
At that moment, Luo Hua thought of Zhou Ze.
Elsewhere, Councilor Vino flew high above the ground, cursing under his breath as he wondered how to pressure Luo Hua into handing over what Luo Feng had left behind once the public attention died down.
At the thought of Luo Feng's treasures, Vino grew eager.
They had been left behind by Luo Feng, who was second only to powerhouses like Hong and Thunder God. There were bound to be plenty of good things.
China had an old saying: "Since ancient times, treasures have belonged to the capable." Even if he didn't take them, someone else would.
Luo Hua was so foolish. He didn't understand that possessing a treasure could invite disaster, yet he'd dared to threaten him with a mere dead object...
The thought made Vino's anger flare.
Suddenly, a gray figure appeared far ahead. The newcomer gave off no aura at all, appearing without warning.
"Who is that?" Vino immediately grew wary.
Councilor-level fighters could run at over a thousand meters per second on the ground and fly at around five hundred meters per second. It didn't take long for Vino to make out the newcomer's appearance.
"That's Luo Feng's teacher, Zhou Ze!"
As soon as Vino recognized him, he noticed that nothing was supporting Zhou Ze's feet. A sense of dread washed over him.
He'd broken through to the Planetary-level!
The memory of Zhou Ze knocking Yan Hai's cane flying with a single strike was still vivid. Back then, he'd only been at the War God Level. Now that he'd broken through to the Planetary-level...
Vino swallowed. The next moment, his entire body stiffened. He felt as though he'd fallen into a swamp, unable to move, and came to an abrupt halt in midair, straight out of a supersonic flight.
"A... domain?"
Vino managed to choke out the words. Then there was nothing more. The terrifying power of the domain crushed him, and his body burst apart, raining blood from the sky...
Zhou Ze glanced coldly at the scene, then flew toward Yangzhou City without looking back.
He quietly returned home. Before long, the doorbell rang. His psychic power spread outward, and he discovered that the visitor was Luo Hua.
"What's Luo Hua here for?" Zhou Ze thought for a moment, then used his psychic power to open the door and sent him a message. "Come in. Head up to the rooftop."
Outside the villa, Luo Hua took a deep breath and hurried inside, carrying an exquisitely wrapped gift bag. He followed the curved staircase up to the rooftop.
"Luo Hua, what can I do for you?" Zhou Ze asked with a gentle smile.
Beneath the false stock god Buffett was the real stock god, Luo Hua. Zhou Ze had been thinking that once he had some money, he'd pour it all into Luo Hua's hands.
"Teacher Zhou, I'd like you to take me as your student. This is the gift I prepared for you!"
Luo Hua started to kneel, but Zhou Ze stopped him.
"Luo Hua, you've been doing just fine with stock investing. What made you suddenly want to train as a martial artist?" Zhou Ze asked with a smile.
Luo Hua replied earnestly, "I started training after my brother was away last time. And now that he's truly gone, people and factions of all kinds are coveting the treasures he left me."
"That made me realize how important strength is. If I had my brother's strength... Even if I couldn't match him, I'd at least have the confidence to protect those things—and my family..."
Luo Hua was about to praise Zhou Ze a little, but Zhou Ze interrupted him. "All right. Now both you and your brother are my students."
"You're my second student, but don't stop investing in stocks. You have a real talent for it, and it'd be a shame to waste it. Still, your main focus should be martial arts. A martial artist's strength is the foundation."
"The stronger you are, the sharper your mind becomes."
Zhou Ze teased him, "I'm hoping to make money with you someday..."
Like the brothers they were, Luo Hua and Luo Feng both instinctively scratched the backs of their heads when Zhou Ze teased him. For a moment, Luo Hua didn't know what to say.
But when it came to making money, he was confident no one could beat him...
"Teacher, this is my gift for you!" Luo Hua lifted the box and offered it to Zhou Ze.
"No need. I have plenty..." Zhou Ze shook his head. Babata had tons of these things.
"But my brother gave you those. This is something I prepared for you..." Luo Hua said, looking conflicted.
As far as Luo Hua was concerned, his brother had surely given Zhou Ze some Muya Crystals, but this gift was one he'd prepared himself.
"Keep it for yourself," Zhou Ze said calmly. "I appreciate the thought."
"All right..." Luo Hua put the wooden box back in the gift bag and held it in one hand.
Zhou Ze looked Luo Hua over. "Luo Hua, your physical fitness has reached the War God Level, right?"
Luo Hua nodded. "My brother left me some treasures. Thanks to them, I reached the Intermediate War God Level, but my actual strength still falls short of most Junior War Gods!"
Zhou Ze tapped the wooden chair rhythmically with his right index finger, then asked Luo Hua, "Your brother left you a cultivation method for breaking through to the Planetary-level, didn't he?"
"He did," Luo Hua replied.
"Good. Then here's your first assignment: absorb Muya Crystals and break through to the Planetary-level!" Zhou Ze said evenly. "Keep absorbing them. As long as you don't hit a bottleneck, keep breaking through."
"Huh?" Luo Hua stared at him and scratched the back of his head. He wanted to ask why, but felt awkward doing so.
Zhou Ze smiled. "I don't have many rules. If you have a question, just ask."
"Your brother was much more outgoing than you."
Luo Hua hesitated. "Teacher, my brother..."
Before he could finish, Zhou Ze interrupted him. "Just call me 'teacher.' Calling me 'master' feels awkward to us modern people. You can keep that in your heart."
"Okay, teacher." Luo Hua felt a little relieved. He'd also found the title awkward and somewhat hard to say.
After gathering his thoughts, Luo Hua said, "Teacher, my brother told me not to improve too quickly. He said I should build a solid foundation!"
Zhou Ze nodded. "He wasn't wrong, but that was only part of the picture..."
Luo Hua looked at Zhou Ze questioningly.
Zhou Ze explained at length, "When I first taught him the blade, his Blade Proficiency Level had only just reached the Proficiency Level. I skipped the Perfection Level and taught him Blade Intent directly."
"Without the Blade Intent of the Ninefold Thunderblade, he couldn't have mastered the Ninefold Thunderblade so quickly!"
"The idea of a 'foundation' is always relative. Luo Hua, remember this: don't jump to conclusions about anything."
Luo Hua listened and nodded. As someone who'd risen to the top as a business leader, he had all the qualities of a powerful person. Zhou Ze's words made a lot of sense to him, just like the principles behind his stock investments.
"Physical fitness and level are naturally a foundation. Building that foundation makes it easier to break through and helps you avoid bottlenecks later. But there are plenty of treasures in the universe that can raise your level!"
"So the true foundation is always tied to your own comprehension and talent—for example, Body Amplification, Psychic Amplification, domains, laws, Secret Arts, and so on..."
Luo Hua fell silent for a moment, then asked, "But shouldn't you be even more focused on mastering your own strength and building a solid foundation when you're still weak?"
Zhou Ze thought it over before replying, "What did I say was the purpose of building a solid foundation?"
"There's some truth to the saying that a tall building rises from the ground. Without a solid foundation, it'll collapse. But martial artists build a solid foundation to make it easier to break through to higher levels, especially when it comes to improving physical fitness."
"But what I've seen is that improvements in physical fitness mainly depend on talent and treasures. Even if you don't have precise control over your own strength, it won't stop you from breaking through."
"As for amplification—Force Emission—you don't need to pursue absolute precision in mastering it, either."
Luo Hua fell silent again, his mind racing as he analyzed Zhou Ze's words.
"Talented martial artists improve their physical fitness quickly. They grow stronger every day, even every moment. You can't spend all your time trying to master every bit of strength they gain, can you?"
"Only when people hit a bottleneck and can't improve do they start by mastering every bit of their body's strength to increase their power!"
"All right. Don't think too hard about it yet. Go home and mull it over."
After sending Luo Hua on his way, Zhou Ze found the whole thing rather amusing. "I didn't expect Luo Hua to want to train as a martial artist. Heh, I wonder how far he'll get."
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