Martial Artists' Envy

At this moment, Li Jinshui stood at the front of the line, staring blankly at a dozen young men and women, locked in a silent standoff.

After Huang Lichen summoned him over, he had simply tossed him a manual for Lightning Pulse Step that was yellowed with age, then walked away without looking back.

Li Jinshui was certain he had done it on purpose.

As the only trainee in this Youth Training Camp to receive Grade A resources, he was already a target for jealousy; now, to be made class monitor and tasked with leading a reading session?

Wouldn't this just make them hate him even more?

Old Huang, oh Old Huang, you have truly brought this monitor to ruin.

The people before him were all Grade B trainees, meaning they were fresh graduates from martial arts universities who had yet to be beaten down by society. They were all arrogant and proud—would they really listen to someone like him who hadn't even finished high school?

Li Jinshui never did anything he wasn't sure of.

As his gaze swept across the crowd, he had already read the various emotions in their eyes: some curious, some disdainful, some mocking...

What if he started the reading aloud and these people refused to open their mouths to follow along?

Wouldn't that make Li Jinshui look like a total clown?

"Tsk..."

Li Jinshui shook his head, lowered his gaze to the manual in his hands, and began to read it right where he stood.

The content of Lightning Pulse Step was not extensive. Aside from the accompanying breathing techniques and energy circulation paths, the other half of the manual was a hardcore guide on "how to select a new national standard battery," "how many volts of current to release at different acupuncture points," and "how to avoid damaging meridians with electrical current."

After flipping through it from beginning to end, the Heaven Rewards Diligence panel reacted instantly.

[Lightning Pulse Step (Not yet initiated 0/100) (Grade upgradable)]

"Huh?"

Li Jinshui was slightly taken aback. The information recorded this time was different; the suffix actually included a "Grade upgradable" tag.

Was it because Supervisor Ye had mentioned the Grade 6 Aurora Pulse Step earlier?

Or was it that this martial art itself could break through the shackles of its grade?

And what were the conditions for upgrading the grade?

Li Jinshui's interest was suddenly piqued. Regardless, this martial art was not simple and was worth digging into.

"Hey, are you just going to stand there and stare at it? The instructor told you to lead the reading, so why don't you read it out loud for us to hear?" At this moment, someone in the line finally couldn't help themselves and shouted in an extremely flippant tone.

The others didn't join in the heckling, but they crossed their arms and adopted a posture of watching a good show.

Li Jinshui's train of thought was interrupted. He raised his eyelids to glance at the speaker—a nondescript boy who was currently tilting his head, his face full of impatience, his eyes brimming with undisguised provocation.

"First, my name isn't 'hey'."

Li Jinshui spoke calmly, suddenly closing the manual in his hand and stepping toward the boy. "Second, when in class, you should address me by my position."

Whoosh!

Before the words had even faded, the blood energy beneath Li Jinshui's feet surged violently!

His entire body blurred into a vague afterimage, accompanied by the sound of wind being torn apart. In an instant, he crossed several meters, appearing right in front of the boy like a ghost!

"What?"

Feeling the sharp, biting wind rushing toward him and seeing Li Jinshui suddenly right in his face, the boy's expression changed instantly, and he instinctively took a large step backward.

The other trainees present also wore expressions of astonishment.

The speed Li Jinshui had just erupted with clearly showed that he had practiced his Basic Lightness Skill to a profound level, far beyond a mere initiation.

However, this shock quickly flickered and vanished from their eyes.

After all, those selected for the Youth Training Camp shared a common background: they were poor and desperately needed money.

Without the infinite food and medicinal supplements available to the children of the wealthy, they had still managed to hone their Stake Standing to a minor success during their three years of high school, fought their way across the narrow bridge of competition to enter martial arts university, and graduated successfully—all of which proved just how outstanding their martial arts talent was.

Although Li Jinshui was a few years younger than them and possessed equal strength, they did not believe this was a gap in talent.

Talent was limited; history had already proven that without a massive pile of resources, it was impossible for anyone to achieve minor success in Stake Standing and initiate a martial art before the age of 17.

Therefore, they were unconvinced.

Deep down, everyone had a "what if"—if they had enjoyed such good conditions back then, they could have easily achieved this step, or even surpassed it.

In ancient times, scholars looked down on one another; today, martial artists envied one another.

Li Jinshui had become a Grade A trainee due to his age advantage, receiving top-tier resources every week that were better than theirs, and now he had been appointed class monitor by a single word from Huang Lichen, making them even more resentful.

With so many of us outstanding university students here, are we really going to be managed by a high schooler?

"Hey, do you want to compare?" A tall girl suddenly spoke up, tilting her chin at Li Jinshui with a provocative look in her eyes.

"Sure." Li Jinshui met her gaze and sneered fearlessly, "Come out and compare lightness skills with me!"

"Pfft, what's the point of comparing lightness skills? When martial artists spar, we naturally compare actual combat with fists and kicks," the girl said with a disdainful laugh.

"Ha!"

Li Jinshui laughed as well. He clasped his hands behind his back, lifted his chin high, and wore the face of an arrogant young master: "Comparing fists and kicks with this young master? Are you even worthy?"

"What do you mean by that?" The girl's face darkened instantly, feeling the familiar sting of insult.

"Damn it, kid, what's your problem?" The other boys started cursing as well.

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

Li Jinshui laughed even more arrogantly, pointing at their noses as he unleashed a torrent of abuse: "You bunch of trashy paupers, do you know who my father is? Do you know why I came to Daming Technology? Who gave you the gall to shout at me like that?"

"..."

Whoosh!

In an instant, the previously rowdy venue fell deathly silent.

All the shouting trainees looked as if they had been collectively strangled, frozen in place.

They seemed to have remembered something, and a look of panic surged across their faces in unison.

Right! For someone his age to have such strength, he must have been fed a massive amount of top-tier resources. If he wasn't lacking in resources, why would he come to the Youth Training Camp?

Oh no, they had run into a scion of the elite here to gild his resume.

His surname is Li, so his father...

Everyone's minds began to frantically search: among the high-level executives in the Youth Training Camp or the branch companies, who had the surname Li?

The more they thought about it, the more their hearts pounded with fear.

This young man was someone they couldn't afford to offend!

"It seems Old Huang did a good job keeping things under wraps, not revealing my identity. No wonder you idiots dared to be so arrogant in front of me." Li Jinshui sneered sinisterly, pacing over to the boy who had first provoked him.

"Smack!"

He arrogantly slapped the secret manual directly onto the boy's face, then grabbed him by the collar and pointed at his nose, cursing: "Especially you. What the hell did you call me just now? Try saying it again!"

"..."

The boy's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. He dodged his gaze, gritted his teeth, and whispered in humiliation: "Squad... Squad Leader!"

"Giving up already? Trash! Didn't you tell me to study earlier? You like studying so much, right?" Li Jinshui yanked him forward again, pointed at the manual on the floor, and barked: "Pick it up! I told you to pick up the manual. Start from the first page and read it out loud for this young master."

"Fine, I... I'll read it."

The boy was completely intimidated by his overbearing arrogance and bit the bullet, bending down to pick up the manual.

"And you!"

Li Jinshui shifted his fire seamlessly, looking at the girl who had wanted to spar earlier: "You like to compete, right? Come on! This young master will give you enough chances to compete today. I'll compete with you on who has more wealth, who has a stronger background..."

"You're strong, you're strong..."

The girl, who had been high and mighty a second ago, changed her expression faster than flipping a book. She hugged Li Jinshui's arm with a flattering face, pulling it into her chest and rubbing against it: "Young Master Li, it was all a misunderstanding. I was just joking earlier."

"Hmph!"

Li Jinshui jerked his arm back. There wasn't much meat on her, what was she rubbing for?

Having suppressed two troublemakers in a row, Li Jinshui swept his gaze across the room, preparing to wrap things up with satisfaction, when his eyes locked onto another boy.

The boy was standing in the first row, meeting his gaze with a calm expression.

"That four-eyes, what are you looking at?" Li Jinshui said with his nose in the air, opening fire directly.

"Four-eyes?"

The boy was taken aback. He reached up to adjust the frames of his glasses and smiled calmly: "It seems the Squad Leader has a deep prejudice against people who wear glasses."

"That's right, especially gold-rimmed glasses!" Li Jinshui boasted arrogantly.

"Li Jinshui!"

Suddenly, from outside the venue entrance behind him, Ye Mei, wearing half-rimmed gold glasses, walked in on high heels. Her gaze behind the lenses stared coldly at the back of Li Jinshui's head as she said coldly: "Come out with me."