The enormous training hall was nearly silent. The only sound was Li Jinshui reciting the secret manual, his voice echoing through the space.
As he recited more and more without stumbling or pausing, everyone's amused expressions faded.
By the time Li Jinshui had recited most of the manual, Huang Lichen's initially entertained expression had frozen completely.
The trainees present were just as dumbfounded, staring at him in disbelief.
Was this damn guy really blessed with photographic memory?
Holy shit, was he even human?
"Still as a predator lying in wait, moving like a flash of lightning breaking through the darkness, traveling beneath the nine layers of earth..."
As Li Jinshui recited, he began stepping through the footwork.
Lightning Pulse Step included leg techniques. Although Li Jinshui had yet to master it, he had Basic Lightness Skill at the proficient level to build on. His movements were awkward and slow as he demonstrated the techniques, but at least they weren't confused or comical.
"That's enough, that's enough!" Huang Lichen finally called out.
He'd already recited eighty percent of it and even demonstrated the techniques. Was there any need to keep going?
"You didn't secretly memorize this before, did you?" He still couldn't believe it.
He'd heard of people having photographic memories, sure, but he'd never seen it with his own eyes. It had always seemed too far-fetched.
Besides, the manual was common enough. It wouldn't be strange if someone had secretly learned it.
"How about you give me a few more manuals and let me prove it?" Li Jinshui's eyes lit up at once. This was a chance to get manuals for free.
He could have Heaven Rewards Diligence record them first and train whenever he had the chance. Once he had money to buy the official versions, he could use the techniques openly and legitimately. What a perfect plan!
Unfortunately, Huang Lichen was an old fox and wouldn't fall for it. He shook his head. "No way. If you really do have photographic memory and learn them, I'll be the one taking the blame. But I can give you one basic martial skill now, as promised. You'll read and study it right in front of me, then recite it. Once you do that, I'll believe you completely. How about it?"
"Then there's no need. You can just assume I memorized the first one before. You said you'd give me two basic martial skills if I recited it today. Proving I have photographic memory is a separate deal." Li Jinshui refused immediately.
He had to take advantage of this opportunity. Even if he got a less popular martial skill and sold it, he could use the money to buy an ordinary basic martial skill and still pocket the difference.
"..." Huang Lichen was speechless. If he wanted to be strict about it, he could insist that Li Jinshui prove he hadn't cheated before giving him the reward. After all, the incentive was an extra reward paid for out of his own pocket.
But that would defeat the whole purpose of encouraging him. It wasn't worth turning something that should have made both of them happy into something that upset them both.
"Fine. Damn it, you've got a point. But if you don't prove it to me, I still won't feel right."
Huang Lichen thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh. "I have to make a bet with you. I'll buy a basic martial skill, and you recite it for me. If you learn it, I'll give you the official registration code. If you can't, I'll keep the code for myself. Deal?"
What kind of good fortune was this?
Li Jinshui was overjoyed and nodded at once. "Sure. Go buy one. You can pick whatever kind you want."
"Of course I'm the one picking."
Huang Lichen shot him an annoyed look. But after sizing Li Jinshui up, he hesitated. "You look so confident. What if you really do have photographic memory? Spending twenty thousand on this would make me feel like a complete sucker."
"Commander Huang, you can't afford to be so indecisive. Look at it another way. If you don't spend that extra twenty thousand, you'll never know whether I have photographic memory. Won't you keep thinking about it? Won't you lie awake tonight? And tomorrow night? And the night after that?"
Li Jinshui stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, speaking earnestly. "So you're spending twenty thousand to buy back your sleep quality. How is that a bad deal?"
"Do I look like an idiot? You think I'll fall for that?" Huang Lichen said flatly, batting his hand away and staring at him.
"Commander Huang, let me ask you something. Am I your student? If I have photographic memory, won't that reflect well on you?"
"That's true." Huang Lichen nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. You're a teacher, and you've got a genius student with photographic memory. What's wrong with spending an extra twenty thousand on him?"
"Damn!"
Huang Lichen was finally convinced. "You really are a gifted talker."
When he looked at Li Jinshui again, there was genuine appreciation and approval in his eyes this time—but even more regret.
What a brilliant, eloquent student. It was a shame he had something wrong with his head.
Huang Lichen stopped wasting words, pulled out his phone, and made a call to have someone bring over a new basic martial skill.
Meanwhile, the trainees had already recovered from their shock.
Whether Li Jinshui had photographic memory no longer mattered.
What mattered to them was how freely Li Jinshui and Commander Huang could talk to each other.
Seeing was believing, and what was happening right before their eyes made them increasingly certain that Li Jinshui was no ordinary person.
After all, they wouldn't dare speak to an instructor that way—especially not the deputy commander of the Youth Training Camp.
Quite a few of them were relieved they hadn't offended this young master earlier. They still had three months to spend with him, so they needed to seize the chance to get close to him.
Before long, a staff member brought a manual upstairs.
"Here. Recite this for me." Huang Lichen didn't even glance at it before tossing the manual to Li Jinshui.
Li Jinshui caught it and took a look. He nearly passed out. "Lame Fist?"
It was certainly neither ordinary nor common. It was an obscure, unpopular martial skill, but it cost about the same as an ordinary one. Hardly anyone practiced it.
The name alone said it all: it was a sleazy style of fistfighting that involved pretending to be lame, striking from a low stance with short-range attacks, and feigning an injury to mislead the enemy.
"Commander Huang, couldn't you have picked a less embarrassing style?"
Li Jinshui was at a loss for words, thoroughly impressed by Huang Lichen's sneaky move.
But he quickly rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Commander Huang, is it possible I just happened to learn Lame Fist beforehand too?"
"Heh."
Huang Lichen folded his arms, looking thoroughly amused. "There are at least ten thousand obscure martial skills in the world. If you happened to learn even this cripple act of a fist style beforehand, then I, Huang, will admit defeat."
"Tsk..."
Li Jinshui clicked his tongue helplessly.
Pretending to be lame while fighting would do terrible things to his image!
Still, since it was free, he might as well learn it. He was already here, after all.
He shook his head, tore open the manual's plastic wrapping in a few quick motions, and began flipping through it in front of everyone.
It was only a basic-level martial skill, so there wasn't much to it. The core difficulty lay in switching between limping and walking normally, as well as the sinister, strange angles used to generate force.
"Snap!"
Not even a few minutes later, Li Jinshui closed the book and tossed it back to Huang Lichen.
Lame Fist (Not yet mastered 0/100)
"You're done already?" Huang Lichen asked, astonished.
Even with photographic memory, shouldn't he at least read and memorize it word by word?
But Li Jinshui had flipped through the pages so quickly that he'd spent no more than ten seconds on any one of them. He really had just glanced at it.
"I was paying attention, if anything. Go ahead."
Li Jinshui cleared his throat and immediately began reciting the manual at a rapid pace. "The body limps, but the intent does not; the spirit seems clumsy, but the force is not..."
His recitation was remarkably smooth. He was even faster than Huang Lichen as he checked each word against the book.
By the time he finished the whole manual, Huang Lichen finally raised his head, his gaze blank with disbelief. "Good grief. Not a single word wrong."
"Holy shit!"
"He really does have photographic memory!"
The trainees, who had been holding their breath and watching the whole time, couldn't contain themselves. They broke into an uproar.
Earlier, they'd still harbored some doubts about whether Li Jinshui had secretly learned Lightning Pulse Step in advance.
But now, everyone was completely convinced.
He was a true genius!