Du Chun slowly lowered his hands, and the mountain-like aura surrounding him gradually faded.
Once the demonstration was over, it was time for the students to spar freely.
Shouts and the muffled thuds of fists and feet colliding rang out across the training area.
Du Chun stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly surveying the whole hall, though most of his attention was on Wang Jian.
Watching the boy's precise, steady, and powerful movements, he felt a stir in his heart and a long-forgotten sense of anticipation.
It had been far too long since the Du Family Martial Arts Hall had produced an impressive result in the annual Jiang City Martial Arts Challenge.
Either the adult students fell just short in crucial matches,
or the underage disciples failed to even reach the finals.
Though the Zhenwei Martial Arts Hall's reputation remained strong thanks to its old signature technique, Mountain-Suppressing Yellow, and its solid instruction,
some people even joked that "Zhenwei Martial Arts Hall has become a spiritual totem and no longer competes in PVP"...
But Du Chun had never taken pride in hearing that. Instead, it only made him feel ashamed.
Deep down, he had always hoped a disciple would appear who could break the deadlock and bring honor to him and the hall!
And now, watching Wang Jian's steady, determined temperament, Du Chun felt that this might truly be the one.
As the sun set, the students gradually left the hall.
"Bye, Teacher, Senior Brother! I'm heading home." Wang Jian waved respectfully to Du Chun and Du Shenyuan.
Du Shenyuan saw the almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his father's mouth and understood.
His father was genuinely pleased with this new disciple.
Ordinary professional martial artists rarely took personal disciples. Teaching one demanded an enormous amount of effort: they had to pass on everything they knew and take responsibility for their disciple's character and conduct.
Du Chun was exactly the sort of traditional martial artist who treated every sincere student as one of his own.
Following behind, Du Shenyuan helped put away the tea set. Seeing how genuinely happy his father looked, he smiled too.
His father was truly pleased with this disciple named Wang Jian, pleased down to his bones.
Chen Yan rested in his maternal grandfather's arms, his little head leaning against Du Chun's sturdy shoulder as he observed his surroundings.
The martial arts hall was spacious. The first floor was the training area, the second had various equipment rooms and a lounge, and the third was where the Du family lived.
The aroma of food had already drifted out of the kitchen, where his maternal grandmother, Wang Jun, was cooking.
Du Shenyuan had been quick to prepare a nursery for Chen Yan. It was bright and cheerful.
A cabinet against the wall stood open, packed with paints and brushes made from ferocious-beast materials. Every one of them was worth a fortune.
Soon, the family gathered around the dining table.
The table was laden with home-cooked dishes, each one delicious and appetizing.
"Things have been much quieter outside lately," Wang Jun said as she served everyone rice and made conversation. "The news used to be full of stories about the Spirit Race every day. It had everyone on edge, but now there's not a peep."
"Yeah, the Association has lowered its alert level quite a bit too."
"The Special Investigation Team probably cleared most of them out, right? It's a good thing. People can feel safer going out."
As Wang Jun served the dishes, she couldn't help grumbling. "Oh, Kefa deals with those creepy things every day. It must be so dangerous..."
Du Shenyuan chimed in. "It's definitely dangerous, but the greater your cultivation, the greater your responsibility."
Du Chun took a sip of tea and gave a quiet snort. "Chen Kefa is still young, and he's talented. He might even reach the Grandmaster level someday. He has a brighter future than old bones like us who've only trained with brute force."
Then he changed the subject and spoke of Wang Jian, his face openly full of praise.
"Jian'er is a fine prospect, an uncut jade. If he takes the right path, there's no saying he won't achieve as much as Kefa!"
Du Chun spoke with great enthusiasm, full of hope.
But Du Shenyuan, sitting beside him, couldn't hide the flash of melancholy in his eyes when he heard those words.
He quickly lowered his head, concealing it behind a mouthful of rice.
He had, of course, dreamed of bringing glory to the martial arts hall and carrying on his father's legacy.
Unfortunately, talent wasn't something you could gain just by wishing for it.
Wang Jun noticed her son's change in mood. Without drawing attention to it, she changed the subject and said to Du Chun,
"You talk about your disciples, but not your daughter. Qionghua called me the other day and said she and Kefa were thinking about... whether they should give Xiao Yan a little brother or sister."
"Pfft—cough, cough!"
Chen Yan was sitting in his special high chair, sipping a spoonful of special nutritional mash at a time. At those words, a mouthful went straight down the wrong way.
So that was why.
They'd sent him to his maternal grandparents' house to make it easier for those two to get some cardio in bed?
His parents really were...
"Xiao Yan, are you all right? Take it slow, take it slow."
Seeing her grandson choke, Wang Jun hurriedly reached over and gently patted his back.
Chen Yan quickly recovered and put on a sweet, innocent expression. Then he opened his little mouth and started eating faster.
A bowl of nutritional mash that would have been a generous portion for an ordinary baby was wiped out by Chen Yan in no time.
After finishing, Chen Yan wiped his mouth.
His big, round, black eyes began darting around,
until they settled firmly on the piece of stewed ferocious-beast meat in his maternal grandfather's bowl. It was so tender it fell apart, and a rich energy seemed to radiate from it.
While the adults were engrossed in conversation, Chen Yan's little hand shot out like lightning.
He precisely grabbed a piece of meat bigger than his palm,
quickly stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed rapidly, his cheeks bulging.
The meat practically melted in his mouth. A surge of energy, several times purer than that found in ordinary food, instantly flooded his limbs and body!
[ Ding! Efficient Absorption activated! ]
[ You ate a high-energy food (Tier 3 Brute Beef). Vitality +4 points. Current vitality: 2104/10000 points...]
[ Skill "Efficient Absorption" proficiency +15! ]
A warm current flowed through his whole body, so soothing that Chen Yan almost let out a happy hum.
The whole thing, from reaching out to swallowing, happened in a flash.
But someone still saw.
Du Shenyuan, sitting opposite, happened to look up and witnessed the entire unbelievable scene.
His mind froze for a moment.
The next second, Du Shenyuan's face turned deathly pale.
"Spit it out! Hurry, spit it out!"
Du Shenyuan sprang up from his chair, nearly knocking it over.
He pointed at Chen Yan, his voice trembling.
"Dad! Mom! Xiao Yan! He ate your piece of Tier 3 Brute Beef!"
Tier 3 ferocious-beast meat!
Did they even understand what that meant?
The energy inside was incredibly violent. Even a high-level amateur martial artist would only dare to cut it into small pieces, take it in carefully measured doses with medicine, and spend a long time meditating to refine it.
And now a baby barely over a year old had swallowed a piece that big in one bite?
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
This was his sister and brother-in-law's precious baby. Something had gone wrong on his very first day at his maternal grandparents' home. How was he supposed to explain this?
"Why are you shouting?"
His mother, Wang Jun, jumped at her son's reaction, then slapped away his hand as he reached for Chen Yan.
"If the child wants some, let him have a taste. Look how happy he is. It's not like we're short on meat..."
"Mom! This isn't about the meat!" Du Shenyuan was frantic. "That's Tier 3 ferocious-beast meat! How could a baby possibly withstand that kind of energy? It could kill him!"
Unlike his son, who was panicking, Du Chun was much calmer.
He had seen Chen Yan reach for it.
That speed was beyond what a baby should have been capable of.
Now, as he watched Chen Yan, he saw that the little fellow showed no signs of pain at all.
Instead, his eyes were narrowed and his cheeks were rosy. He looked as if he were thoroughly enjoying himself.
Du Chun gave his useless son a cold snort.
"Hmph! What an ignorant fool. You're making a fuss over nothing!"
"Yan'er is a candidate for the Alliance's Grandmaster Project. Do you really think you can measure his talent by the standards of an ordinary child?"
Far from worrying, Du Chun propped his chin on his hand and began seriously considering a question.
"Looks like ordinary baby food really can't keep up with Yan'er's appetite."
He looked at Du Shenyuan and issued an order.
"Shenyuan, find out tomorrow if there's a skilled spirit chef in Jiang City, someone who can prepare high-tier ferocious-beast ingredients. Hire one, no matter the cost."
"Your mother's way of boiling everything in plain water is too wasteful. Too much energy is lost."
"We need a professional who can perfectly preserve the energy in the meat while making it easy to digest. That's the only way to get the most out of the ingredients."
Du Shenyuan stood frozen, listening to his father's instructions, unable to say a word.
H-hire a spirit chef?
To prepare baby food for an infant?
Was something wrong with the world?
Before you continue