No Students Who Don't Speak Chinese

"Maybe you should see a therapist?" Zhan Liu shrugged. "Ordinary people all fear natural disasters. You just have to overcome it."

"Natural disasters can't scare me. What truly frightens me is..." Tony felt a little embarrassed. Tony Stark, of all people, had actually been frightened by someone's gaze. "Fine, you win. It's you. You're what truly frightens me. Every time I see those cold eyes of yours in my dreams, I wake up terrified."

"Me?"

Zhan Liu carefully recalled what he had seen during that battle. The War God's memory was exceptionally powerful; he could recall everything he had seen in perfect detail.

"But I don't remember seeing you then."

"Through a private satellite's high-definition camera. I wanted to figure out what was causing that inexplicable tsunami, and then..."

"Oh, I see. Then this is troublesome." Zhan Liu suddenly understood.

"You were frightened by how I looked while fighting. It's caused by the difference in our life levels. Unless you raise your own life level, you'll never escape my shadow."

"What? Does that mean I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life?" Tony cried out.

"Not necessarily. Once you become a Superhuman, you'll naturally escape the nightmares' influence. Or, as time passes, the effect will gradually fade."

"After all, you only saw me from far away through a satellite. It's not like you were standing before me. The influence is actually very slight."

"If I rely on time to wear it all away, about how long will that take?" Tony asked with a frown.

"Just a few years. It'll pass quickly," Zhan Liu said casually.

Actually, once Tony became Iron Man and went through a transformation of the heart, he would presumably be able to free himself from that shadow.

"How long? Damn it! That's far too long. I can't endure nightmares for that long." Tony shouted irritably. "What exactly is this Superhuman you mentioned?"

"A Superhuman, simply put, is a lifeform whose level of existence has surpassed the ordinary. For example, enhanced humans like Captain America; mages; Mutants at Delta level and above; Martial Dao practitioners whose lives have undergone transformation; and so on."

Tony considered it for a moment, then asked, "So if I learn your... Qigong, I won't be tormented by nightmares anymore?"

"That's right. As long as you can get started and reach the Current Drive Realm, you can complete your first life transformation and develop superpowers. Then you naturally won't be troubled by nightmares again."

Tony hesitated for a long time before reluctantly saying, "Fine. I'll learn this Qigong from you. I'll pay ten times the tuition!"

Zhan Liu smiled faintly. "Sure. Go learn Chinese first. I don't accept disciples who can't speak Chinese!"

Heh. You're the one who desperately needs to learn Ultimate Limit Qigong to solve your psychological shadow. Don't make it sound like I came begging you to learn from me. Learn it or don't!

"What? What kind of stupid rule is that?"

"That's the rule here. No one begged you to come. If you want to become my disciple, you must follow my rules," Zhan Liu said calmly.

"I'll pay a hundred times the tuition!" Tony shouted, looking like a man with more money than sense, ready to be fleeced.

"Hehe, you didn't ask around, did you? Our Martial Arts School has never charged tuition. Once you join, you even receive a salary!" Zhan Liu cast Tony a contemptuous glance.

"What? What kind of Martial Arts School operates like that?" A capitalist like Tony simply could not understand what a sect was.

"I told you, money has no meaning to a War God. If you want to become my disciple and learn my arts, obediently go study Chinese. If you can't learn Chinese, don't come back. I won't accept you."

After saying that, Zhan Liu waved his hand and sent Tony and the others flying again.

"Fuck!" Tony climbed up from the ground again, muttered a curse under his breath, got into his car, and left.

Question: How long would the genius Tony Stark need to learn Chinese?

Answer: He didn't learn it at all!

That afternoon, Tony returned to the Martial Arts School. This time, however, he had not brought Happy or a translator. He came alone.

He strode up to Zhan Liu smugly. "Now you can teach me Qigong."

Huh?

Tony was actually speaking Chinese!

Could Tony Stark really learn an entire language in half a day?

Zhan Liu looked closely and noticed that Tony had a patch behind each ear, as well as one on each side of his throat.

So that was it.

Tony had not learned Chinese at all. Instead, he had spent some time building a bone-conduction Chinese-English translation device.

The device was still rather crude, nowhere near as advanced as Carol's Interstellar Translator. For now, it could only translate Chinese and English in real time.

When Zhan Liu spoke Chinese, the translator Tony wore would translate it into English, then wirelessly transmit it to the bone-conduction patches on Tony's ears.

When Tony spoke English, the translator on his body would translate it into Chinese, then transmit it to the patches on Tony's throat, vibrating his vocal cords to produce Chinese speech.

Tony did not mind Zhan Liu discovering it. He openly displayed the translator he was carrying.

"This is my way of learning: simple, efficient, and easy to popularize."

"Truly a scientific method of learning." Zhan Liu nodded approvingly.

He did not consider it cheating, because it was a product crystallized from Tony's wisdom. The goal had been achieved; the process was unimportant.

"Good. Come with me and pay respects to the ancestors!"

He led Tony into the main hall, lit incense before the Ancestral Tablet, then solemnly explained once again the sect's origins, the identity of its ancestor, and the rules of the Ultimate Limit Sect.

"Previously, when Captain Marvel and I fought, the fundamental reason was that one disciple had severely violated the sect rules by privately revealing martial techniques to outsiders without the sect's permission."

"So, Tony Stark, you must remember this: no one is forcing you to join our sect. If you feel you cannot follow the sect rules, you may turn around and leave now. But once you join, you must strictly obey them. Otherwise, you will be punished without mercy!"

Tony frowned. He was unwilling, but he urgently needed this Qigong to solve his nightmare problem.

"Do I really have to become your disciple? I'll pay tuition and you teach me. Wouldn't that work?"

"Tony, perhaps you don't fully understand what an Eastern sect means. You can learn about it carefully first, then decide whether to join the Ultimate Limit Sect."

"Whether or not you join our sect is entirely your choice. No one will force you. But once you join, you must follow the sect rules."

After hesitating again and again, Tony finally decided to become Zhan Liu's disciple.

Before the ancestor's witness, Tony bowed to Zhan Liu. "Disciple Tony Stark greets Master!"