He Doesn't Deserve Her

Yandang Lake Park.

Jiang Shu casually ran through a set of punches to warm up, his lower body rooted in a Horse Stance as he circulated his Blood Qi. With every extension and withdrawal of his fists and palms, a small bulge traveled across his body.

A full half hour later, a stream of white vapor shot from his mouth like an arrow loosed from a bow.

What happened at Yangming Martial Arts Training Class did not even count as a proper warm-up to him.

It had only taken a lift of his foot.

What was more, he had held back at the time.

Otherwise, at full force...

That so-called coach would have been crippled even if he did not die.

After all, this was still a harmonious society. After all, this was Xuanxing.

If it had been in Pingling County...

Killing intent surged in his eyes. Jiang Shu withdrew his fists and stood upright before finally taking out the phone that had been vibrating in his pocket for quite some time.

Seeing the caller ID marked "Teacher Yan," he answered.

"Is this Jiang Shu? I'm Teacher Yan." Yan Dehou's voice came through the phone. "March 1st, which is tomorrow, at eight thirty in the morning, the school will be holding a special Martial Dao lecture. The Martial Dao teacher giving the lecture is from Shengjing and seems to be quite influential and capable. I don't know the specifics, but if you have time, remember to come on time."

"The content may cover some of Xia Kingdom's Martial Dao policies, as well as the classifications of the later realms of martial training. It should be very helpful to you."

"Thank you, Teacher Yan. I'll be there. The flu has been spreading frequently lately, so Teacher Yan should also rest well and balance work with rest. No matter what, health will always be the most important thing."

Breathing in the fresh air of the park, Jiang Shu spoke with heartfelt sincerity.

He had been an orphan in his previous life. He had not eaten or dressed well since childhood, and his body had accumulated quite a few problems. After leaving the orphanage and starting work, he had risen early and returned late for meager wages, working excessive overtime. Before he was even thirty, he had collapsed on his way home late at night.

By the time he was sent to the hospital, it was already too late. The disease had seeped into his marrow, beyond cure.

This was also why he had first begun training in martial arts.

In this life, he only wanted to hold his fate in his own hands!

"Good, good, good. Thank you for your concern, Jiang Shu. Teacher also wishes you success in Martial Dao, the fulfillment of your dreams, and admission to a university you'll be satisfied with."

Yan Dehou laughed heartily. Unlike some teachers, he did not only value academic grades.

Was respecting one's teachers and honoring the Way not an obvious virtue as well?

If all students cared about was studying and none respected their teachers or honored the Way, then were teachers still teachers?

In the students' eyes, they would probably be nothing more than machines for education!

"Mm, I'll work hard."

After hearing Teacher Yan hang up, Jiang Shu saw a friend request on WeiXun marked as being from his younger sister's classmate and accepted it.

"Hello, Jiang Yan Yue's brother. My name is Sang Zhi Rou. You can call me Little Mulberry, just like Yan Yan does."

"Jiang Shu."

"I'm doing stance training. Not chatting."

After swiftly adding Sang Zhi Rou's name as a contact, Jiang Shu typed out his own name, added another line, and immediately put his phone back into his pocket to begin stance training.

Although he had only glanced at her a few times back then and had not paid much attention...

Although he had experienced the baptism of all kinds of short videos in his previous life...

Jiang Shu had to admit that his sister's classmate was truly a classic beauty in the making.

She had not yet fully blossomed, yet she was already like a young lotus emerging from the water, possessing several hints of peerless beauty.

But what did that have to do with him?

Chatting?

How could chatting compare to the sheer exhilaration brought by stance training!

On the semi-transparent Panel, the proficiency of the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance and Hungry Tiger Breathing Method increased every day.

Jiang Shu felt the same joy as a farmer watching the rice ears he had planted ripen for harvest.

"If only the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance and Breathing Method could maintain this cultivation speed after reaching Minor Mastery."

Jiang Shu could not help fantasizing. If that were really the case, he probably would not even need two months to achieve Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation.

He would become one of the strongest people in Pingling County's Outer City.

Only one step away from becoming a true martial artist!

Martial artists, martial artists. The first realm for martial artists of the Great Jing Dynasty was the Skin Grinding Realm, where one's force could enter stone and blades and spears could not harm the body. What kind of might did martial artists on Xuanxing possess, then?

The special Martial Dao lecture was next Monday.

Hopefully, it would not disappoint him.

Jiang Shu reined in his thoughts, crouching like a tiger and breathing like a tiger.

Milk tea shop.

Sang Zhi Rou sat on a tall stool. She was under one meter sixty, and since her feet could not reach the ground, her two legs swung back and forth. "Yan Yan, your brother is really amazing. Even when he replied to my messages, he said he was going to do stance training."

"That's just how he is. He even does empty-sitting stance training while eating."

Having lost under Sang Zhi Rou's month-long milk tea offensive and handed over her older brother's WeiXun account with both hands, Jiang Yan Yue sighed. "He trains in stances every day and barely even takes out his phone. I think smartphones aren't suited for him. He should have one of those old-person phones like my grandparents. One that only needs to make calls."

"So amazing," Sang Zhi Rou murmured in amazement. In the internet age, phones had become one of the indispensable things people carried with them. Being able to avoid playing on one's phone and focus wholeheartedly on martial arts—such restraint over one's desires already surpassed far, far too many people his age.

Sure enough, women about to fall into the whirlpool of love thought differently.

Jiang Yan Yue held her forehead helplessly, then took a huge gulp of milk tea. "His daily routine is waking up, breakfast, martial training. Lunch, martial training. Dinner, martial training, sleep. He repeats it every day, like a robot."

"Then how far has he gotten in martial training now? Has his Horse Stance reached Minor Mastery or Major Mastery?" Sang Zhi Rou asked curiously, directly ignoring the option of Beginner level. There was absolutely no way a Horse Stance at Beginner level could possess such power.

"I don't know. Last time I asked whether he had sensed Blood Qi, and he directly told me no. I knew it—stinking men don't have a single trustworthy word in their mouths!" Jiang Yan Yue viciously clenched her fists, revealing her cute little canine teeth. "How could ordinary people have that kind of strength? He lifted someone straight off the ground!"

"He spends every day tricking me! He even tricked me into saying that after training in martial arts, your heart would be like crystal, free of distracting thoughts, and even sleep would become Deep Sleep—one hour would equal two hours for ordinary people. He said I could train too and get Deep Sleep every day. Good heavens, he really doesn't understand how to enjoy life at all. Sleeping is such a comfortable thing! I wish I could sleep ten hours every day."

"Just think about it. If you really entered Deep Sleep, then sleeping five hours a day would be equivalent to ten hours. After waking up, you wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, but you also wouldn't want to get up. That would be way too miserable!!!"

Jiang Yan Yue rambled on and on. Whenever Jiang Shu came up, she had endless complaints to vent.

Yet in Sang Zhi Rou's mind, the image of an unfamiliar young man grew increasingly clear.

He restrained his desires, devoted himself to martial arts, and valued family ties.

Though his academic grades were average, with this strength and these abilities, getting into a Key University should not be a problem, right? And even if he only went to a vocational college, so what? As long as she got into a Key University or better, that would be enough...

Besides, he was so handsome...

No, no, Sang Zhi Rou, what are you thinking?

She had not even started high school yet!

Lost in wild thoughts, Sang Zhi Rou finished the last sip of her milk tea. After shaking the cup to make sure it was empty, she finally could not help asking softly, "Yan Yan, has your brother... ever told you what kind of girl he likes?"

Jiang Yan Yue froze. Before this, it had only been a guess.

But Sang Zhi Rou's words confirmed that guess somewhat.

She cupped Sang Zhi Rou's face and examined her from top to bottom.

Her thick black hair hung smoothly down to her waist, and her skin was so fair it seemed as though it would break with a puff of air. Among girls their age, the development of her entire upper body was honestly outrageous. Even in her fleece-lined winter clothes, a hint of her curves could still be seen.

Her height of one meter fifty-eight was a little short, but hadn't Jiang Shu said that martial training could make one grow taller?

Perhaps in another two years, this Little Mulberry would turn into a great beauty over one meter sixty.

Her looks, her figure, her family background.

Thinking of Little Mulberry's family circumstances, and the various overt and covert care Sang Zhi Rou received from the school's teachers...

Jiang Yan Yue sighed and said with great solemnity, "Sang Zhi Rou, you're too pretty."

"He doesn't deserve you."

Sang Zhi Rou: ???