“What… am I doing?”
“If I hadn’t broken free just now…”
Zhou Kai felt a chill run through his heart.
A dream within a dream wasn’t his first time, but this sense of losing control completely seeping into reality was a first.
That indescribable eeriness, and the suffocation brought by helplessness…
Zhou Kai felt inexplicably agitated.
However, at that moment, Chen Ping’s words exploded in his mind.
“The key to wielding greater power is learning to control your own body.”
Perhaps strengthening every inch of muscle and every nerve would help in breaking free from this state.
Whether in dreams or in reality.
“Rest well, Sis.”
Zhou Kai stared at Lu Yan’s face and hands.
In a trance, he seemed to see Lu Yan’s palms covered in sticky cold sweat…
But when he looked again carefully, there was nothing on her fair, flawless skin.
A few minutes later, Zhou Kai tucked Lu Yan in with a blanket and turned to leave.
On the sofa, Lu Yan’s tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
…
A midnight taxi drove through the silent streets.
The driver was a chatterbox. From the moment Zhou Kai got in, he complained about company layoffs and then shifted to the employment winter.
Normally, Zhou Kai might have chimed in with a word or two on such topics.
But right now, he was contemplating how to squeeze out every second to become stronger. He had no energy for small talk.
The driver talked to himself for a while. Getting no response whatsoever, he found it boring and shut his mouth.
Inside the car, only the moderate sound of vibration remained.
Approaching the destination, the driver clearly couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He glanced sideways at Zhou Kai through the rearview mirror. “Young man, going to a boxing gym to practice martial arts in the middle of the night?”
His words carried a hint of hesitation, as if there was something he wanted to say but didn’t dare.
Zhou Kai grunted, “Yeah. Problem?”
The driver forced a laugh. “Hah, practicing boxing is a good thing, it’s just…”
He pondered his words, then lowered his voice. “These past two years, quite a few people have gone missing in Xishan City. You’ve heard about it, right? It’s best not to wander around alone at night.”
Zhou Kai committed these words to heart and retorted, “What about you? Aren’t you still out working in the middle of the night?”
The driver laughed, speaking carefreely, “I have a car. If there really were thugs, grabbing someone on the roadside is easier than grabbing a driver. One stomp on the gas—who can catch up?”
Zhou Kai raised an eyebrow and asked flatly, “Isn’t it possible that your passenger is the thug?”
The smile on the driver’s face instantly froze, as if someone had called out “The World.”
He couldn’t help but steal a glance in the rearview mirror, seeing a face devoid of expression, eyes as calm as an ancient well.
In an instant, his hands gripping the steering wheel were covered in cold sweat.
“Young man, d-don’t joke… ha… ahaha…”
The driver hurriedly forced a laugh.
Zhou Kai said lightly, “Just a joke. Master, take care of your health. Rest when you can at night.”
“I’m here. Just stop by the roadside.”
…
At 1:30 AM, Zhou Kai pushed open the door to Chen Ping’s training room.
Chen Ping was practicing with a blade.
An utterly ordinary steel blade seemed like a living thing in his hands.
The blade edge tore through the air, humming with vibration. Every slash brought up an invisible wind pressure.
Zhou Kai stood at the door for a while and couldn’t help asking, “The boxing gym also teaches weapons?”
Chen Ping didn’t even lift his eyelids, reversing his grip to twirl the blade in a flourish. “You’re here?”
“For a boxing gym to establish itself, fists and feet alone aren’t enough. There are several weapon arts worth learning… but we’ll talk after you’ve formally become my disciple.”
Zhou Kai nodded and changed into training clothes. “My stamina has recovered. Coach Chen, please instruct me.”
Chen Ping casually tossed the blade upward. Before it could fall, the tip of his right foot struck the end of the hilt like lightning.
Whoosh!
The steel blade transformed into a silver streak of light, crossing the entire training room and firmly embedding itself in the bullseye of a distant target.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The hilt vibrated intensely, emitting a buzzing sound.
And Chen Ping had already turned around, hooking a finger at Zhou Kai.
“Come!”
…
[Comprehensive Combat EXP +6]
[Light Steps EXP +8]
[Your Skill: Light Steps has leveled up!]
The sky was turning slightly bright. Only then did sweat bead at Chen Ping’s temples, as if he was finally showing some signs of fatigue.
He looked at Zhou Kai, who was staring blankly into the air, thinking the kid was finally starting to exhaust himself and lose focus.
Chen Ping waved his hand. “Alright, go rest.”
“Thank you, Coach Chen!”
Zhou Kai closed the interface before his eyes and bowed solemnly.
Chen Ping yawned and waved his hand impatiently. “Alright, stop bothering me. I need to sleep too.”
Zhou Kai nodded and turned to leave the training room.
After he left, the exhaustion on Chen Ping’s face instantly vanished without a trace. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
“I thought he was a weakling good-for-nothing. I didn’t expect… he’s actually a rough jade.”
“Outstanding physical coordination… and that inexhaustible stamina, like a beast of burden.”
“This kid is born with the makings of a martial artist.”
“I, Chen Ping… to think I could actually misjudge someone.”
Chen Ping’s gaze passed over the weapon rack, landing on that row of dust-covered trophies.
He smiled ambiguously and withdrew his gaze.
…
[Character: Zhou Kai]
[Status: Erosion, Clear-Minded]
[Skills: Comprehensive Combat Lv.2 (18/25), Light Steps Lv.3 (3/50), Soraka Swordsmanship Lv.1 (3/15), Occultism Lv.1 (0/15)]
[Items: Residence Permit, Bloodstained Axe, Rusty Chef’s Knife, Dawn Star Manuscript, Moonlight Orchid Seed (Plump), Nearly Dry Oil Lamp, Rusty Greatsword]
[General EXP: 7]
“The first Level 3 skill.”
Leaving the training room and walking toward the first floor, Zhou Kai’s steps were strangely light.
Having reached Level 3, the skill finally revealed its extraordinary qualities.
Light Steps seemed welded into his muscles, becoming an instinct of his body. Without deliberate activation, it maintained its optimal state at all times.
This caused his thoughts to drift back to the nightmare.
In his memory, that chain-flail armored warrior who had smashed him into meat paste wasn’t actually very fast in terms of speed.
With Level 3 Light Steps, he should be able to contend with it for a while.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Fucking hell, are you blind?”
Just as he reached the second-floor stairwell, several students clustered around a short, stocky guy walking toward him.
That short, stocky student was yelling the loudest. The moment their eyes met, he charged straight over like a bison.
Picking a fight on purpose?
Zhou Kai’s eyes turned cold. He instinctively tensed his muscles, preparing to meet force with force and collide back, but his thoughts shifted. Sneering, his figure swayed and he lightly moved aside.
Thud!
The short, stocky student lost his center of gravity and crashed into the wall with a dull impact, shaking loose flakes of plaster that rustled down.
The lackeys beside him immediately exploded. “Fuck! You dare bump into Brother Wang? You got a death wish?”
Zhou Kai spread his hands and shrugged. “The wall hit him. What’s it got to do with me?”
“Fuck!”
One of the lackeys glared, eyes bulging, and reached out to grab Zhou Kai’s collar.
But in the eyes of Zhou Kai, who had been tormented by Chen Ping the entire night, this movement was so slow that he could probably even pat the guy on the head while dodging at the last second. The guy was full of openings from head to toe.
“Can you not cause trouble?”
Zhou Kai shifted his body to the side. The other person’s fingers brushed against his clothes and caught nothing.
Just as that person lost his balance.
Zhou Kai’s right hand shot out like lightning, clamping onto his wrist like iron pincers.
In an instant.
That person only felt as if his wrist was about to be crushed. His body was uncontrollably pulled by Zhou Kai, staggering forward.
“You fucker! My hand’s gonna break!”
“Get him! What are you watching?”
He yelled for help at the top of his lungs.
But Wang Jinquan and the others stood rooted in place, not daring to move.
Enduring the severe pain, that person looked up and followed his companions’ gazes. Behind Zhou Kai, a stern face was slowly emerging from the shadows of the stairwell.
“A bunch of trash fighting amongst yourselves, scram!”