Makoto Kyogoku tactfully began urging them to leave.
Lin Xinyi froze, not knowing what to say.
At that moment, Suzuki Sonoko, standing nearby, promptly noticed his embarrassment.
"Let's go, Lin!"
Suzuki Sonoko stepped closer with a smile, helping him out of the awkward situation.
After the earlier examination and treatment, as well as solving a case side by side, she had become much warmer toward Lin Xinyi.
And strangely enough, although Makoto Kyogoku was also a handsome guy, perhaps because his darker complexion was not to Miss Suzuki's taste, or because his looks were ever so slightly overshadowed by Lin Xinyi's—
When Suzuki Sonoko first met Makoto Kyogoku, she had not, as usual, displayed her habitual infatuation with handsome men.
Not only was she not swooning over him, she was now completely on Lin Xinyi's side:
"It doesn't matter if this guy ignores you."
"Ran is really strong too. Just let her train with you!"
"Uh..."
Lin Xinyi hesitated.
Actually, Mouri Ran was already a sufficiently powerful sparring partner for him.
He had considered asking Mouri Ran to help him train, and Miss Mouri had readily agreed.
But Kudo Shinichi had strong objections to it.
At the thought of Ran privately doing that kind of intense exercise involving physical contact with Lin Xinyi, the great detective who always claimed, "I've never touched Ran. I'm not interested in Ran," immediately knocked over the vinegar jar.
So, under Kudo's awkward, overt and covert objections, Lin Xinyi could only look for another sparring partner.
"Let's go!"
"Ran and Kudo are still waiting for us to take the train together."
Suzuki Sonoko saw Lin Xinyi's hesitation, but she continued trying to persuade him to give up.
After all, she had plenty of ways to find Lin Xinyi a suitable sparring partner. There was no need to let her idol stay here and suffer someone else's cold shoulder.
Wasn't he just a Japan Karate Champion?
If Miss Suzuki got serious, one phone call could bring fighting champions from all over the world flying to Tokyo for a party.
So, acting as though they were already close friends, she looped her arm through Lin Xinyi's and pulled him away.
"Um..."
Ever since Suzuki Sonoko had appeared, Makoto Kyogoku had stood there with a blank stare, silently thinking about something.
And now, just as he was about to successfully send Lin Xinyi away, he suddenly spoke again:
"Um, um, um..."
Makoto Kyogoku forced out several "ums" in a row. If spoken in Chinese, it would have been enough to make a Black guy call the police in anger.
For some reason, the Kickboxing Prince had completely lost the decisiveness he had shown in battle.
A faint flush even appeared on his dark face, one that others would find difficult to notice.
He hesitated, trying hard to keep his tone calm.
"This young lady is...?"
The question was directed at Lin Xinyi, but his eyes kept furtively glancing toward Suzuki Sonoko.
"I'm Suzuki Sonoko, a student at Teitan High School."
"Of course, besides that, hahahaha..."
Miss Suzuki burst into unrestrained laughter.
"I'll soon be Lord Lin Xinyi's girlfr—"
"Ahem."
Lin Xinyi promptly stopped Miss Suzuki's swooning habit.
Without drawing attention to it, he pulled his arm free from Suzuki Sonoko's grasp and answered:
"Miss Suzuki is my friend. We only met today."
Lin Xinyi calmly clarified his relationship with Miss Suzuki.
It was not that he had any prejudice against Suzuki Sonoko. After all, who would not feel some goodwill toward a beautiful girl who openly expressed admiration for him?
It was just that, for some reason—
Lin Xinyi always felt that Miss Suzuki was not here to seriously date him, but rather to chase a celebrity.
And that kind of fan-like affection was the least reliable of all.
Those fans might call celebrities "big brother" and "husband" all day long, but once enough time passed and their enthusiasm faded, they would naturally forget their outdated idol and fall for the next handsome guy to appear on screen.
So, it was better to make certain things clear.
Since he was not planning to develop their relationship beyond friendship for now, he had to firmly state his position and help the overly enthusiastic girl calm down.
Wait...
Lin Xinyi suddenly thought of something.
Miyano Shiho had always put on a cold face around him, acting like an ice block and speaking in that sarcastic, backhanded way...
Damn!
So that was what she had been thinking!
Only then did Lin Xinyi realize it, and his mood became rather complicated.
While he was busy thinking about his own affairs, he failed to notice—
That after hearing him say that he and Suzuki Sonoko had "only met today," Makoto Kyogoku's expression immediately relaxed considerably.
"My apologies. I was rude earlier."
Makoto Kyogoku's attitude became much warmer.
Not only did he lower himself to apologize, but he also took the initiative to extend his hand to Lin Xinyi.
"Mr. Lin Xinyi."
"Please allow me to be your friend."
"Uh..." Lin Xinyi did not quite react in time.
He did not know why Makoto Kyogoku's attitude had suddenly changed, but for some reason, he felt that this dark-skinned guy was up to no good.
"Ahem..." Perhaps feeling embarrassed by how quickly he had changed his attitude, Makoto Kyogoku awkwardly began making excuses for himself.
"I was blind before. I failed to recognize a true master."
"Now I've discovered that Mr. Lin Xinyi truly possesses something extraordinary. If I can spar and exchange pointers with you, it will certainly be greatly beneficial to my karate training."
"Oh?"
Lin Xinyi's gaze immediately sharpened.
Something extraordinary?
Had he noticed it?
My Internal Energy.
Yes. After returning home last night and attempting to cultivate his family martial arts, he had spent a single night developing some utterly unscientific energy within his body.
That energy could clearly improve his physical abilities and increase his strength.
According to the manual, that energy should have been the "Internal Energy" that he had failed to cultivate throughout his entire previous life.
Lin Xinyi had even specifically asked Miss Mouri whether she had cultivated Internal Energy too.
After all, Internal Energy was the most plausible explanation for Mouri Ran's immense strength, which was completely mismatched with her delicate figure.
But Ran's answer had been no. She possessed that much strength purely through her physical abilities.
She had even looked somewhat concerned as she advised Lin Xinyi to watch less Dragon Ball. Real martial artists could not cultivate qi—that was far too unscientific.
Looking at it that way, Lin Xinyi's Internal Energy was unique.
Or perhaps Ran's realm had not yet reached the point where she could wield supernatural energy, while Lin Xinyi had taken a shortcut through the exquisite cultivation methods in his family manual and mastered this energy in advance.
That was his guess.
As for why his family martial arts could produce such effects in another world—
Don't ask. The answer was Conan-science.
"He noticed the difference about me so quickly."
"As expected of a master at the Rifle Realm!"
Lin Xinyi secretly marveled to himself.
He was still far weaker than Mouri Ran and had not even reached the Pistol Realm yet. Naturally, if given the chance, he wanted to seek guidance from a master like Makoto Kyogoku.
So, he forgot the embarrassment of being rejected earlier and smiled as he shook Makoto Kyogoku's hand.
But as they shook hands, Lin Xinyi noticed—
There was something off about the way Makoto Kyogoku looked at him.
Beneath that seemingly friendly gaze hid a sharp, unyielding hostility, as though he refused to admit defeat.
Like a lion fighting for the throne of the king, he was challenging the old lion king with blazing fighting spirit.
It was as though Lin Xinyi had already become the lifelong enemy he absolutely had to defeat.
"Is this a martial artist's desire to fight?"
"He really sensed the Internal Energy in me, which is why he sees me as an opponent worth fighting."
Thinking this, Lin Xinyi fearlessly met Makoto Kyogoku's gaze.
Although he was far weaker than Makoto Kyogoku at that moment, he still released the bearing of a martial artist and accepted the challenge without retreating.
Because a martial artist had to possess pride.
One could admit defeat before the strong, but one must never lose one's nerve.
If one did not dare face opponents stronger than oneself, then one could never surpass oneself.
"Mr. Makoto Kyogoku."
"I look forward to our match."
Fighting spirit burned in Lin Xinyi's eyes, and the strength of his handshake unconsciously increased.
"I won't lose."
Makoto Kyogoku was equally filled with fighting spirit, flames flickering in his eyes.
Their gazes collided fiercely in midair as their hands remained tightly clasped.
The atmosphere gradually became tense.
And the force of their handshake, amid the invisible clash of their auras, unconsciously—
Became greater and greater and greater...
"Hiss—"
Lin Xinyi's expression changed abruptly.
"Quick, let go!"
"Are you trying to twist rebar here?!"
PS: Let me mention this again.
The martial arts stuff is just background flavor. This book basically will not have many fight scenes.
I mainly wrote this setting to give the protagonist some supernatural cheats like running across rooftops, scaling walls, Bone Shrinking and Disguise. It isn't a system story, and the protagonist is a modern forensic doctor, so the only reasonable way to give him cheats was to use inherited martial arts as an excuse.
There was no helping it. In a world where people started spraying bullets at Tokyo Tower over the slightest disagreement, you could not survive without cheats.
Thanks to helmsman Misaka12508, Ancient Embers, Laughing at the Rest of Life, and Hermit of the Desert Island for their support and donations! Thanks~(*°°)=3
Thanks as well to Sawano Green, Nightglow Wen Yue, Fox Talks Nonsense, SCP-343, Showing a Prosperous Smile, Flourishing Flowers and Blood Scenery Dazzle the Eyes, Started Reading Novels in 2005, Mu Yuxi Xi, Just Picking a Name, Night Breeze Slightly Cool as People Enter Petal Beds, and the other readers for their support and donations~
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