Enemies Everywhere

"Hah... hah..."

Li Jinshui sat directly on the ground, his clothes already soaked through with sweat as he panted heavily.

Even though his entire body now brimmed with newfound strength and his blood and qi surged, he did not want to make a single extra movement.

The pain he had just endured had been too tormenting—9,836.4 times more terrifying than the director's electrotherapy in his previous life.

"But... heh, Basic Stance Technique, Perfect Mastery Realm!"

After catching his breath, Li Jinshui slowly raised an arm.

Feeling the firmer muscle contours beneath his skin, muscles brimming with resilience and explosive force, as well as the abundant blood and qi flowing within them, a smile gradually spread across his face.

This breakthrough also made him notice a detail.

The amount of blood and qi required to open meridians and acupoints was enormous, let alone opening eighteen acupoints in succession like this.

Without Heaven Rewards Diligence forcibly raising him up, an ordinary martial artist would probably have been drained dry and turned into a desiccated corpse long ago.

Yet not only had he completed the breakthrough, his blood and qi and physical condition had both reached their perfect peak.

He could use this to save up a recovery move. In the future, he could keep his proficiency at 99%; when he encountered a life-and-death battle, when his blood and qi were exhausted and all his trump cards had been spent, he could break through on the spot and instantly revive at full health!

"Pah, but if I broke through earlier, couldn't I just crush people with my realm? Why would I ever need to fight until my blood and qi ran low? Unless I ran into a human-wave tactic and successive battles..."

Li Jinshui slowly calmed the surging, restless blood and qi within him.

He looked at the last small bite of steak in his hand. He did not want to eat it, yet could not bear to throw it away. He did not know whether DouDou Recycling would take it, either.

"Forget it. One bite won't make a difference. What is this little torment to a martial artist?"

Upholding the spirit of not wasting food, Li Jinshui tossed the steak into his mouth and swiftly rose into a Basic Stance Technique posture.

But this time, the steak felt different as it entered his stomach.

Energy still spread through his body, but it was no longer as continuously scalding as before.

More importantly, Heaven Rewards Diligence gave no response.

"Damn it, could it be that after my realm improved, this low-level Exotic Beast Meat no longer works?"

Li Jinshui's expression changed.

The feedback Heaven Rewards Diligence had previously given was Weak Devouring the Strong. Now that his Ren Meridian had been opened and his Stake Standing was proficient, he could no longer trigger that effect.

That meant the next time he needed dietary supplements, he would have to buy more expensive Exotic Beast Meat for it to work.

"This is ridiculous. Although the Iron-Skin Beast is the lowest-grade exotic beast, its strength is still comparable to a First-rate Martial Artist. My Stake Standing has only just reached proficiency, and I'm still a Quasi-Martial Artist. How am I not Weak Devouring the Strong?"

Li Jinshui felt rather indignant.

That was Exotic Beast Meat comparable to a First-rate Martial Artist. Even if his Stake Standing reached minor success and he officially stepped through the threshold of martial arts, he would only be a Third-Rate Martial Artist, still far from first-rate.

But on second thought, without such a gap, just five pounds of Exotic Beast Meat could never have let him leap from Stake Standing entry level straight to Stake Standing proficiency.

"What muddleheaded nonsense. Why am I suddenly fussing over the law of conservation at a time like this? What does a power fantasy novel need logic for?"

Li Jinshui muttered nonstop under his breath, though even he did not know whom he was praising.

"♪ A big girl grabbed a few handfuls, ♬ a few handfuls of melon seeds, yo~ ♩ A young man revealed that black fuzz, ♪ those black fuzzy pants, ah~ ♫"

Just then, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

Li Jinshui jumped in fright.

He hurriedly pulled it out and answered, afraid of disturbing the library's quiet atmosphere for studying.

"Hello?"

"Hello, your delivery has arrived at the school gate. Please come out and collect it." The delivery rider's voice was full of respect.

Li Jinshui's eyes lit up. The Supplement Potion had arrived? What incredible efficiency!

"I'll be right there!"

He immediately put away Basic Lightness Skill, adjusted his breathing rhythm to stir his blood and qi, and darted out of the library.

Although this lightness skill had not yet reached entry level and was still at the stage where his mind understood it but his legs remained crippled, the breathing and circulation method were firmly ingrained in his mind.

As he stumbled and scrambled about, he could barely land one proper lightness-skill burst every dozen or so steps.

The process simply consumed too much blood and qi and stamina. It was not even as useful as running normally.

But there was no helping it. That was martial arts for you. Without raising proficiency, what would he use to astonish the world?

Soon, he appeared on the campus road, panting for breath. From afar, he could already see two delivery riders in yellow windbreakers standing outside the school gates.

He hurried over, but when he saw their faces, he could not help staring in surprise.

They were actually familiar faces. When the Security Squad had negotiated with the delivery riders a few days ago, these two had been among them.

"Well, if it isn't you two." Li Jinshui grinned and greeted them through the gate.

"You ordered the delivery? You're 'Cold-Blooded Sentimental Prince'?" The two recognized Li Jinshui as well. Their expressions stiffened as they looked him over strangely.

"That's right. It's me." Li Jinshui showed them the order page on his phone.

Cold-Blooded Sentimental Prince was his nickname on the food-delivery platform.

"Impressive. Looks like you've got guts. You just received your severance pay, and you spent all of it on Supplement Potion." The delivery rider smiled, took out a medicine box from his delivery case, and passed it through the gate's opening.

"Huh? You know I got paid too? One of your coworkers told you, right?" Li Jinshui immediately frowned. When he had collected his pay last night, there had indeed been a delivery rider nearby watching the show.

"Of course not!"

Both of them shook their heads and laughed. "It was your Security Squad's Captain Liu. Last night, he spread word everywhere that your Stake Standing had only just reached entry level when the property management company fired you, that you had twenty thousand yuan on you, and that you were an orphan."

"You don't know yet? Both the underworld and the legitimate side are looking for you now. Especially the lackeys from the Drifter Gang—they practically searched every hotel across several streets last night."

Damn it, Liu Daqiang!

Li Jinshui gritted his teeth in fury. That old bastard was truly ruthless. If he could not get what he wanted, he wanted everyone else to destroy it.

"Wait, I understand why the Drifter Gang is looking for me, but why is the legitimate side looking for me too?" Li Jinshui came to his senses, bewildered.

He had always been honest and well-behaved, followed the rules, and obeyed the law. When had he ever provoked the authorities?

"Don't misunderstand. By legitimate side, I don't mean the Inspection Bureau. I mean those salespeople from the security companies. They want to take your order and provide you with bodyguards."

As he spoke, the delivery rider looked Li Jinshui up and down again and smiled. "But I really couldn't tell that you're a high school student. Hiding at school is fairly safe. You'd better not run around these days. Wait until things cool down before going out."

The other delivery rider shook his head. "Don't listen to him. Even after things cool down, don't go running outside. Stay in school and take your college entrance exams. Even though you've spent the money, those Drifters are all lunatics. They might not let this go."

"Twenty thousand yuan is a huge sum to those Drifters. Watch yourself."

With that, the two waved and prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

Li Jinshui's expression changed, and he hurriedly called out, "Big brothers, if I can't stay at school either, and I have no money on me, is there anywhere safe I can go?"

"The Inspection Bureau."

The two answered without turning back. Electricity already coiled around their legs as they shot forward more than ten meters in an instant.

"..."

Li Jinshui's mouth twitched.

Who did not know the Inspection Bureau was safe? The problem was, they did not let people live there.

He could not deliberately commit a crime and get himself thrown in, could he? Wouldn't that just turn into prison? By then, he would not get out without being skinned alive several times over.

It seemed that Li Jinshui had finally reached that point—the predicament every protagonist would face: enemies everywhere!

"Big brothers, please wait! I have a five-star review, and there's a tip too."

The moment Li Jinshui finished speaking—

Whoosh!

Amid a flicker of electricity, two figures instantly appeared before him, their faces beaming with warmly enthusiastic smiles.

"Thank you, boss!"

"Boss, you're generous!"