Plans

Two hours passed quickly.

Chen Yiming took training seriously, so he would never cut a lesson short. He even kept the class going for an extra ten minutes after ten o'clock before ending it.

Chen Yingying followed him out of the training center with her head hanging.

She had performed terribly today. It was hard to believe she was Chen Yiming's own sister.

At the start of class, Chen Yingying had watched from a corner as Chen Yiming taught. The swordsmanship students had merely wondered whose connections had gotten her into the class so quickly.

Then came the hands-on instruction. Chen Yiming wanted to see how well his sister had mastered the sword, so he had her join the others in practice.

That gave away her identity. The students learned that the young newcomer was their teacher's sister.

What followed stunned them. Chen Yingying performed like someone who had only been studying martial arts for a few months. She couldn't even recognize all the basic sword moves.

"Brother, maybe I should just stay home and read. I'm really no good at martial arts."

Chen Yingying kept her head down and spoke softly.

The looks the other students had given her still stung. She felt she had embarrassed her brother.

Walking ahead of her, Chen Yiming thought to himself:

So much for those stories about a hopeless brother and a genius sister. We have the same parents, and our physiques come from them. How could there be such a huge difference?

"Don't worry, Yingying. The first stage of martial arts, the Apprentice Realm, is one you can get through with enough training resources. Your brother happened to get his hands on plenty of good stuff during this mission."

Chen Yiming turned to comfort her.

He wasn't too worried about Chen Yingying reaching the Apprentice Realm. That stage only involved tempering the body.

By the time she began tempering hers, he might be close to breaking through to the Warrior Realm.

At that point, he might be able to get rare treasures that helped with the first and second bodily transformations without much trouble.

Chen Yingying finally felt a little better. Her brother was so capable now that he wouldn't say something like that lightly. It was probably just as he said.

Meanwhile, on another road.

Wang Junyi and Yu Weisheng walked along the roadside, chatting about what had happened in class today.

Both were students in Chen Yiming's Swordsmanship Enhancement Class.

"Aren't you always jealous of He Tianli for eating Mutated Beast meat like it's an everyday meal? Here's your chance," Wang Junyi teased.

Yu Weisheng rolled his eyes and said coldly:

"Why don't you try? I'll give you advice from behind the scenes. Just remember your buddy if you succeed."

"I'll pass. I'm afraid her brother would break my legs. Besides, why would she be interested in me? I'm not even handsome," Wang Junyi said with a laugh.

"Then why are you pushing me to do it? Trying to get me killed? Some friend you are," Yu Weisheng grumbled.

"It was a joke. Don't take it so seriously. But honestly, you're different from me. Young girls like clean-cut guys like you. You really won't give it a try?" Wang Junyi pressed.

To the male students, Chen Yingying was a wealthy young woman. If one of them got lucky enough to win her over, even a fraction of her resources would solve his shortage of training supplies.

That was the ugly truth. Quite a few had already begun quietly watching Chen Yingying, gathering information and looking for a chance to win her heart.

It was nearly ten-thirty when they left the training center.

The night was quiet, and the streets were empty. The only sound was wheels rolling over the road.

Chen Yiming rode with Chen Yingying behind him. Neither spoke. He was busy working out a martial arts training plan for her.

No one will supervise her at home during the day. Mom and Dad won't have the heart to be strict with their own daughter. It's a poor training environment.

Chen Yiming had to go to the martial arts school during the day, leaving him no time to supervise her.

He remembered all too well what had happened when the original Chen Yiming had dropped out of school to train at home. His talent had been poor to begin with, and with no one supervising him, he had soon grown discouraged by his lack of progress.

His parents had felt sorry for him and kept urging him to rest before training again. In the end, he had trained less and rested more, until he gave up altogether.

What if I take her to the martial arts school to train with me?

He considered keeping Chen Yingying by his side.

But he quickly realized it wouldn't work. For one thing, he wasn't a core disciple of the martial arts school yet. Unlike at the training center, where he was a teacher, he couldn't simply bring in a beginner.

For another, Chen Yingying was far behind even the school's weakest students. Spending too long in that environment could crush her confidence.

After thinking it over, Chen Yiming saw only one solution: enroll Chen Yingying in swordsmanship classes from morning through afternoon and leave the other martial arts teachers to supervise her.

The second problem is that I know nothing about building a foundation in martial arts.

Chen Yiming was annoyed with himself. Thanks to the system's ability to boost his talents, he had been able to charge through his own training without learning about such things. Only now that he needed the knowledge did he realize the problem.

He had obtained a large amount of dried Mutated Beast meat from Dong Fen, but he couldn't even name most of it. How could he risk feeding it to Chen Yingying?

When he first got it, he had thought it would be more than enough to build her foundation and improve her physique. Looking at the matter carefully now, he realized he had been too optimistic. He had a mountain of treasure but no idea how to use it.

After turning it over in his mind, he found only one answer. Tomorrow, he would take Chen Yingying to Wang Family Village and shamelessly ask Old Wang to help choose a combination of dried Mutated Beast meat suited to building her foundation.

Then he would find a chance to trade the dried Mutated Beast meat he had no use for in exchange for kinds she could eat.

Finally, what should Yingying's main cultivation method be? Should I have her study the sword with me?

Chen Yiming considered the question.

He could either choose the type of cultivation method best suited to Chen Yingying or have her follow him in studying swordsmanship.

If he let her choose the type that suited her best, he could still help her practice the basic moves even if she chose something other than swordsmanship. But as her training grew more advanced, he would gradually lose the ability to guide her. Eventually, she would be on her own.

Given Chen Yingying's poor talent for martial arts, she might remain in the Apprentice Realm forever if left to her own efforts, even with him supplying her an endless stream of training resources.

If she studied swordsmanship with him, though, he would eventually reach a high enough level to help her break through any obstacle, even if the sword wasn't the best fit for her.

At worst, Chen Yingying would be among the weakest at her level. His reason for having her learn martial arts was to give her the ability to protect herself and their parents.

Chen Yingying didn't have a system like he did. Even if he did everything he could to help her, she would struggle to keep up with him.