Shifts beneath Fate's Magnetic Field
Chen Qingquan's palm swept past, brushing his clothes and stirring up a sharp gust.
"Middle-aged geezer, you're serious?"
Bai Yushan's voice carried a hint of excitement.
Chen Qingquan did not answer.
He pivoted, reaching for Bai Yushan's collar with his other hand. The movement was lightning-fast, nothing like the speed a middle-aged man should have had.
Bai Yushan pushed off the floor and rolled forward, slipping beneath Chen Qingquan's arm. He moved nimbly, as slippery and impossible to catch as a loach.
Chen Qingquan snorted.
He raised his foot and kicked at Bai Yushan's backside.
The kick was fast.
Too fast for Bai Yushan to dodge at all.
Thump!
The top of his foot struck Bai Yushan squarely on the backside.
Bai Yushan went flying, somersaulted twice in midair, and slammed into the wall. His back slid down it, and he landed butt-first on the floor.
"Ow!"
Clutching his backside, he cried out through bared teeth.
Chen Qingquan drew back his foot and stood where he was.
"Still going to run?"
Bai Yushan climbed up from the floor and rubbed his backside. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth split into a smile with a touch of madness.
"Run? Why would I run?"
Electric currents began dancing over the surface of his body.
Finer, denser, faster currents leaped wildly across him, crackling thunderously and lighting up the entire office.
The next instant, Bai Yushan fled madly toward the office window!
"Nigerundayo!"
The corner of Chen Qingquan's eye twitched.
He raised his hand, spread his fingers, and made a grabbing motion toward Bai Yushan.
A suction force surged from his palm.
It was so powerful that it sucked the air away with a howling sound. Files in the office flew up and whirled chaotically through the air. The chandelier swayed, and the curtains fluttered.
That suction caught hold of Bai Yushan.
His feet left the floor, and he flew backward as though dragged by an invisible rope.
"Geezer Chen, you're fucking cheating!"
Bai Yushan struggled in midair, flailing his limbs, but the suction was far too strong for him to break free.
Chen Qingquan drew his hand back, and Bai Yushan flew in front of him.
He raised his other hand and drove another fist into Bai Yushan's skull.
Thump!
"That hurts!"
Bai Yushan clutched his head, nearly in tears.
Chen Qingquan lifted Bai Yushan into the air by the back of his collar. Bai Yushan dangled like a kitten being held up. His limbs flailed through the air, but he could not reach Chen Qingquan at all.
"Still going to run?"
Chen Qingquan's voice was calm.
Bai Yushan struggled a couple of times, found that he could not break free at all, and simply gave up. His body went limp, hanging from Chen Qingquan's hand like a salted fish.
"No, no more running. Just put me down first."
Chen Qingquan did not let go.
Carrying Bai Yushan, he walked back to the sofa and plopped down. He placed Bai Yushan in the chair opposite him, folded his hands over his abdomen, and looked at the skinny little boy.
Bai Yushan sat in the chair, his hair a bird's nest, his clothes rumpled, and an expression on his face that said he had nothing left to live for.
"Geezer Chen, what exactly do you want?"
Chen Qingquan looked at him, a flicker of something complicated passing through his eyes.
"Bai Yushan, I won't preach lofty principles at you, because you understand them all. You simply refuse to accept them."
Bai Yushan froze for a moment. He had not expected Chen Qingquan to say something like that.
Chen Qingquan narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through his dark brown pupils.
"Starting this week, every weekend evening, I'll take you to witness the darkness of this world. If you can stick it out, then you'll have earned my recognition!"
Bai Yushan blinked.
I don't know why Geezer Chen suddenly got so fired up, but how could I possibly pass up a bet like this!
"Ah!"
Bai Yushan abruptly sprang up, planting both feet on the chair and standing ramrod straight. His eyes went wide and round, a flame burning in his pupils. He clenched his fists and raised them above his head, like a cat with its fur standing on end.
"You're ten thousand years too early to beat me!"
Watching the little brat baring his teeth and waving his claws atop the chair, Chen Qingquan's mouth twitched.
He reached out and slapped Bai Yushan on the forehead.
"Sit down."
The slap made Bai Yushan sway, and he plopped back into the chair. Clutching his forehead, he glared at Chen Qingquan, his mouth opening and closing, closing and opening, like a fish tossed onto the shore.
"Geezer, could you stop hitting my head all the time?"
"No."
Chen Qingquan's answer was crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.
And so Bai Yushan, who had unilaterally isolated everyone else, naturally became the first student of the headmaster's office at Red Mountain Academy.
He was called a student, but in truth, he was simply Chen Qingquan's little shadow.
Under Chen Qingquan's instruction, Bai Yushan learned the basic meditation method published by the Sun Moon Federation.
Its contents were simple: how to guide soul power through the body, how to absorb the energy between heaven and earth through meditation, and how to improve one's soul power cultivation.
Bai Yushan sat cross-legged on the carpet in the headmaster's office, closed his eyes, and circulated his soul power according to the method in the book.
Soul power flowed through his meridians like a trickling stream, slow and steady.
One circuit.
Two circuits.
Three circuits.
His breathing grew even, his heartbeat steady, and his consciousness clear and empty.
Sitting behind his desk, Chen Qingquan watched Bai Yushan meditate and nodded.
Although this child was rather crazy, he was reasonably serious when it came to proper business.
Perhaps, for true geniuses, the basic meditation method offered far, far too little improvement to their meditation and cultivation. Those monsters with extraordinary gifts could increase their soul power by a great deal with just a little casual meditation. They had no need for something so basic and primitive.
But for Bai Yushan, it only needed to do the job.
His innate soul power was only rank three. Even with the highest-level meditation method, he could not possibly become a Soul Grandmaster overnight. The basic meditation method might have been slow, but its strengths lay in its stability, its safety, and the fact that nothing would go wrong.
Besides, his focus had never been soul power.
His focus had always been electric current push!
To think I still haven't reached ten thousand volts, the threshold for electric current push! This is the ultimate humiliation!
Ten thousand volts was the minimum standard for electric current push.
Only upon reaching ten thousand volts could someone truly be considered to have crossed the threshold of electric current push, to be a genuine electric current push martial artist.
And he was still lingering outside that threshold.
Because of Bai Yushan's interference, fate began to veer off course.
Along the little road at dusk, night was steadily swallowing the streets.
Bai Yushan looked eagerly to either side. Right now, he could hardly wait for a child trafficker to appear so he could give them a perfectly justified barrage of oras.
Electric currents crackled in his palms, blue-white arcs twining around his fingertips.
He could no longer wait to break through ten thousand volts through battle!
Unfortunately, no trafficker appeared.
Instead, a fallen girl did.
Bai Yushan looked at the filthy little girl following close behind him, matching his every step, and found it rather hard to deal with.
"Could you stop following me?"
The little girl timidly lowered her head, but could not help raising it again to look at Bai Yushan.
Her short silver hair was a mess, her little face was smeared with dust, and her clothes were torn in several places. Yet her amethyst-like eyes were startlingly bright, like two gemstones hidden beneath dust. Her nose twitched slightly, as though she were sniffing out some scent, and then she approached Bai Yushan step by step.