Weakness

Just like on that rainy day a few days ago, Cheng Sheng walked into the living room soaking wet. Cheng Yue sat on the sofa watching TV, still watching the same variety show.

"How come I've never seen you do homework?"

Cheng Sheng was so tired he felt dazed. Standing beside the sofa, he tried to make conversation with Cheng Yue.

Hearing him, Cheng Yue turned and gave Cheng Sheng a look as if he were an idiot. Then, without a word, she switched off the TV and went straight back to her room.

Bang!

The familiar sound of the door slamming gave Cheng Sheng an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

He let out a long breath, then went into the bathroom, took a shower, and changed his clothes...

He had actually been telling the truth. He really had never seen Cheng Yue do homework at home.

Strangely enough, though, Cheng Yue's grades were excellent. She had consistently ranked among the top three in her grade.

Cheng Yue was the quintessential "other people's child." From childhood on, she had excelled at everything, whether academics, sports, music, or art... Her teachers praised her, and her parents never had to worry about her.

The only time her parents had ever been called in was because she had been charging her classmates for tutoring, predicting exam questions for them, giving them answers...

After his shower, Cheng Sheng rummaged through the fridge for something to fill his stomach.

That was one advantage of having parents who were often away on business: there was always food in the fridge. Every time their mother, Wu Li, left home, she would stuff it full, afraid that her son and daughter might go hungry.

After dinner, he read the black book as usual.

Sometimes Cheng Sheng thought that perhaps this was also one of the ways a sorcerer cultivated.

As he listened to the demonic whispers from the black book again and again, his mental strength continued to grow, and certain talents of his were gradually raised above those of ordinary people.

His experience practicing boxing at the gym today was a perfect example. A talented person learned quickly no matter what they studied.

In the days that followed, Cheng Sheng's life settled into a routine.

He began getting up every morning to catch the earliest minibus to the Black Killing Boxing Gym, then took the last one back in the afternoon.

His daily routine was a little tiring, but it was fulfilling.

When his parents came home after a busy spell and learned that he went to the gym to practice boxing every day, they were supportive enough. At least it was better than doing nothing all day after the big exam.

Ten days later, at the Black Killing Boxing Gym.

"Stop!"

On the training ground, two figures who had been sparring stopped at the sound and stepped apart.

A young woman with light brown skin and hair tied into numerous small braids walked quickly toward one of them.

"Cheng Sheng, when Badan threw that punch at your left ribs just now, the correct way to respond would have been..."

Cheng Sheng listened attentively, a thoughtful look on his face as he nodded from time to time.

The woman patiently analyzed the entire sparring session for him, then reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Actually, for a beginner like you, you did very well.

"You've completely mastered the Black Killing Style's basic punches and footwork, and you used them well in actual combat too. All that's left is to bring your physical conditioning up to par as soon as possible..."

With that, the woman turned and walked over to a dark-skinned, burly young man on the other side. "As for you, Badan, your biggest problem is still your footwork..."

Cheng Sheng watched Sulai analyze the sparring session for his opponent, Badan, who was also a student, a faint look of resignation on his face.

Over the past ten days, thanks to the boost in brainpower from reading the black book and his own hard work, he had progressed at a remarkable pace.

Both Songpa, who had lent him an umbrella, and Sulai had noticed him. He was gradually joining the ranks of the training class's "top students," setting himself apart from the ordinary students.

Sulai was absolutely right. His greatest weakness now was his body.

But physical conditioning could not be built up overnight. Besides keeping up with his nutrition, he had to persist for years on end.

In fact, after ten days of intense training, his body was already a little stronger than before, but he still fell far short of a naturally gifted contender like Badan.

Badan was as sturdy as a plow ox. Whenever he threw a punch, Cheng Sheng had to retreat several steps after blocking it.

During the break after their sparring session, Cheng Sheng admired Sulai as she spoke to Badan nearby.

Sulai was very beautiful, with a distinctly healthy kind of beauty. Years of martial arts training had given her an exceptionally fit, smoking-hot figure. She had a crocodile tattoo, the totem emblem of the Black Killing Boxing Gym, on her calf. Paired with the two red cords tied around her ankle, it gave her an indescribably wild beauty.

Sulai treated her students well. As long as they were genuinely devoted to learning, she would guide them patiently, regardless of how good or poor their foundation was.

So whenever Sulai was teaching, an especially large number of students came to the gym for class, and the vast majority stayed for the entire day. Unlike Songpa's classes, where half the students would be gone by afternoon and sometimes you couldn't even find a sparring partner...

"Coach Sulai."

Suddenly, a well-proportioned, handsome young man walked over and forcibly squeezed between Sulai and Badan as they were talking. Smiling, he said, "Why don't you come give me some pointers first? I have several questions I'd like to ask you."

Sulai frowned at the young man in front of her, her manner turning cold. "Zhou Wenye, wait a moment. Badan..."

"Badan should have understood already."

With that, the young man turned to Badan and said mildly, "Badan, you've understood already, haven't you? And you've heard enough too?"

"I..."

Badan, dark and sturdy as an ox, seemed rather afraid of the handsome young man before him. Somewhat nervously, he nodded quickly. "Yes... I, I'm done. Coach, you can help someone else."

He hurriedly stepped aside, leaving space for the two of them.

Sulai watched Badan "flee" with a helpless look, then had no choice but to turn back to the young man. "All right, Zhou Wenye, what questions do you have?"

A satisfied smile appeared on the handsome young man's face.

"What an... annoying fly!"

In the distance, Cheng Sheng couldn't help frowning as he watched the scene.

Looking around at the students who had likewise been sneaking admiring glances at Sulai, he guessed they probably felt much the same way he did.

The young man named Zhou Wenye was quite well known among the students.

It was said that his family was enormously wealthy in Qingsha City, and that he took several bodyguards with him every time he went out.

For a rich and powerful young master like him to come all the way to a rural place like Banba to learn boxing, he naturally had an ulterior motive. Anyone with eyes could see that he had come for Sulai.

That alone was enough to make Zhou Wenye the students' "public enemy."

On top of that, his character was abysmal. Every so often, he would use his family background to threaten ordinary students, just as he had done to Badan.

He also frequently hit hard during sparring...

As a result, many students were dissatisfied with him in private. But because of his family's influence and his fighting ability, which really was far above that of ordinary people, no one could do anything about him. They could only put up with it...

"I hate rich second-generation heirs..."

Cheng Sheng turned his face away, unwilling to watch Zhou Wenye shamelessly pester Sulai.

A couple of days ago, Song Cai had told him that Pei Na, the girl his best buddy A Bang had failed to win over with his confession, seemed to have been easily won over by a rich second-generation heir.

Just as Cheng Sheng was about to go drag a tire for a while, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

"Hello."

Cheng Sheng answered the call.

A few seconds later, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Okay! Wait for me. I'll come over right now!"

"Badan, tell Coach Su for me that something's come up and I'm leaving first..."

Cheng Sheng called out to Badan, with whom he had sparred earlier and gotten a little acquainted over the past few days, then hurriedly ran out of the training ground.