Was Chen Lie Really That Selfless?

Sitting aboard the Sunlight Group's speedboat, Chen Lie said, "Take me to Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall."

The speedboat quickly rose into the air and headed toward Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall.

Inside, Li Xianyu stole a glance at Chen Lie.

For some reason, she found the senior beside her mysterious. Not only was his aptitude exceptionally high, he also knew Zhao Jinglan, the important figure known as the Pearl of the Eight Provinces.

Hadn't she heard that even members of the Provincial Youth Genius Group couldn't get a meeting with Zhao Jinglan? Did that mean Chen Lie was even more impressive than those young geniuses?

What kind of amazing brother did Chen Xingyao have?

The speedboat landed outside Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall. Chen Lie and Li Xianyu got off.

They entered the hall, and Chen Lie went straight up to the second floor's training drill ground.

As he passed the trash can beside the stairs, he pulled a card from his pocket, snapped it in half, and tossed it into the bin.

"Senior, why did you... throw that away?"

Li Xianyu's eyes widened. Wasn't that the card with Zhao Jinglan's contact information—the one Chen Lie had just broken and thrown out?

"What? You want it?"

"No, I mean..."

"All right."

Li Xianyu was about to explain, but Chen Lie cut her off. "Go inside and practice Cloud Smoke Steps. Stay away from worldly distractions as much as you can. They won't help your martial arts training."

Li Xianyu could only follow him into the training ground, though she began mulling it over.

Did martial arts training really conflict with socializing?

The senior was wonderful in every way, but he seemed to lack a little social savvy.

Even she could tell that Zhao Jinglan, the head of Sunlight Group, wanted to get closer to Chen Lie. Yet he'd acted so cool and distant. Compared to her, he seemed to be the one who was clueless about the ways of the world.

Chen Lie naturally noticed Li Xianyu's confusion, but couldn't be bothered to explain.

If he'd been as inexperienced as he was in his previous life, he'd have already thought of Zhao Jinglan as a trusted big sister—and probably let slip a few of his secrets, too.

By the next day, he might not even know how he'd died.

The martial arts knowledge he possessed was top secret—not just on Blue Star, where martial arts were underdeveloped, but even on a planet in the Central Galactic Empire with a highly advanced martial civilization. Only the most exceptional martial arts geniuses were qualified to learn it.

Anyone at the helm of a group with hundreds of thousands of employees was sure to have a ruthless, merciless side behind even the most benevolent public image.

Chen Lie wanted to keep his distance from someone who could decide whether he lived or died with a casual gesture. Until he was strong enough, he would have no further dealings with her.

On the training ground, Chen Lie began teaching Li Xianyu Cloud Smoke Steps.

Li Xianyu once again entered that state where she felt as if she had divine help.

She put aside all distractions and focused entirely on practicing Cloud Smoke Steps.

With Chen Lie's guidance, she could feel her footwork improving before her eyes. She didn't find it difficult at all.

The joy of making such rapid progress filled her heart, giving her a seemingly endless drive to keep practicing.

With Chen Lie's personal guidance, Li Xianyu naturally felt no bottleneck.

Whenever she misunderstood Cloud Smoke Steps and started practicing in the wrong direction, Chen Lie adjusted the technique to match the way she was going.

It was practically a martial art custom-made for Li Xianyu.

By the time she was done learning Cloud Smoke Steps, Chen Lie had changed it beyond recognition, but it was far more powerful than the original.

He had essentially optimized the entire technique to suit Li Xianyu's understanding and approach to training, turning an ordinary C-Rank Martial Art into a top-tier C-Rank Martial Art.

On the training ground, Li Xianyu performed Cloud Smoke Steps. Her nimble figure flashed past the entrance. Looking closely, one could see two or three afterimages trailing behind her, but they lasted less than two seconds before vanishing.

Before they knew it, the afternoon had passed. During that time, Chen Lie demonstrated the technique seven or eight times.

With each lesson, Li Xianyu grew more familiar with Cloud Smoke Steps. She could summon two or three afterimages in almost every practice.

Using Cloud Smoke Steps, Li Xianyu glided from the far end of the training ground to the entrance. The three afterimages behind her caught up in an instant and merged with her body.

"Senior, how was that?"

Li Xianyu jogged over to Chen Lie.

"Very good." Chen Lie nodded. "You've already mastered this footwork. The only way to improve further is to practice more. That's the end of my instruction."

"It's over?"

Li Xianyu looked stunned.

"I told you before that I'd have you using this martial art with ease within three days. You've already met that goal," Chen Lie said.

"Yes!"

Li Xianyu nodded quickly. She knew that although Chen Lie had taught her for only a short time, she'd benefited enormously.

Even a one-on-one month of hands-on instruction from an instructor couldn't compare with the progress she'd made over these past two days.

With that in mind, Li Xianyu bowed deeply to Chen Lie. "Senior, thank you for your careful guidance over the past two days. You helped me master a C-Rank Martial Art in such a short time. If you have time, I'd like to invite you to dinner at my home. My parents would want to thank you, too."

"No need. The main reason you mastered this martial art in two days is that you already had some foundation. No matter how much I taught you, I couldn't have brought you this far otherwise."

Chen Lie waved his hand and declined Li Xianyu's invitation.

When he turned her down, Li Xianyu couldn't help looking disappointed. But then she thought it over and realized his refusal made sense.

He'd only found the time to teach her Cloud Smoke Steps over the past two days because he'd squeezed it into his busy schedule. It was only natural that he didn't have time to go to her house for dinner as well.

"If it's inconvenient, then never mind. But thank you all the same, Senior."

"Mm. Keep practicing on your own when you get home."

Chen Lie gave Li Xianyu a few final reminders, then turned and left.

As soon as he got home, Chen Lie took twenty pounds of Raw Exotic Beast Meat from his room and brought it to the kitchen to cook in the household pressure cooker.

This twenty pounds of natural, unprocessed Exotic Beast Meat was different from the kind sold on the market, which was already cooked and ready to eat.

Once the pressure cooker was on, Chen Lie waited outside the kitchen.

When he cooked Exotic Beast Meat in the pressure cooker before, it took three hours to make sure it was thoroughly cooked.

While he waited, Chen Xingyao came home.

As soon as she entered the living room, she heard something going on in the kitchen and immediately went to investigate.

When she came out, Chen Xingyao asked, puzzled, "Chen Lie, what are you cooking in the kitchen?"

"Something to supplement my nutrition," Chen Lie replied.

"What kind of weird stuff are you using to supplement your nutrition?" Chen Xingyao said. "Hey, I'm warning you—your so-called Pseudo-Nutrient Saturation Constitution is something you made up to fool people. Don't end up fooling yourself, too."

Chen Lie nodded and said nothing.

When Chen Xingyao saw that he wasn't going to respond, she could only sigh and leave.

Once the meat had cooked long enough, Chen Lie went into the kitchen and turned off the pressure cooker. He took out the thoroughly cooked meat, placed it on a cutting board, and cut the large chunks into many small pieces.

Then Chen Lie found a lunch box in the kitchen and put the pieces of meat inside one by one.

The meat was dense, so twenty pounds of it looked like only a small pile and fit easily into the lunch box.

Carrying the lunch box full of Exotic Beast Meat, Chen Lie returned to his room.

At dinner, Feng Yuelan brought the dishes to the table, untied her apron, and sat across from Chen Xingyao.

"Yaoyao, your brother didn't come out to eat again today. Do you know what's going on?"

"I don't know!" Chen Xingyao shook her head, then added, "Mom, do you think his Blood Qi Value hasn't broken one for so long that he's under too much stress and has started acting strangely?"

"Nonsense!"

Feng Yuelan gave Chen Xingyao a reproachful look.

"I'm not talking nonsense. When I got home just now, I saw him cooking something in the kitchen pressure cooker. I asked what it was, and he said it was something to supplement his nutrition.

"His Blood Qi Value hasn't even broken one, so all he can use is basic Nutrient Solution and Nutrient Bread, just like me. If he takes all those weird supplements, won't he ruin his health?"

"Really?"

Feng Yuelan set her rice bowl down on the table and stared at Chen Xingyao questioningly.

"Of course! Why would I lie?"

"Isn't your brother's constitution the Pseudo-Nutrient Saturation Constitution? Maybe the Grandmaster gave him some advice about adjusting his nutrition. Besides, he's an adult. I'm sure he has his reasons," Feng Yuelan said.

Chen Xingyao thought it over, then decided to tell the truth. "Mom, the other day, there wasn't any instructor at Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall testing the students. What Chen Lie said at the Starlight Hotel was actually a lie to you all. I was at the hall that day of the Blood Essence Value Sprint Class, and there was no such thing."

Feng Yuelan abruptly sat up. "You little rascal! Why didn't you tell me something this important sooner?"

"Chen Lie told me not to."

Chen Xingyao lowered her head and muttered softly.

Feng Yuelan sighed and sat back down. "Hurry up and eat. Go back to your room when you're done."

"Mm," Chen Xingyao replied, lowering her head to eat without another word.

In her mind, Chen Lie had made up such a clumsy excuse because his Blood Qi Value was progressing so slowly that he'd lost all hope in martial arts. He was trying to wreck his health so their parents would agree to let him give up training.

He was doing it to lighten the burden on the family, but was Chen Lie really that selfless?

Chen Xingyao didn't believe it at all.