"Have you come to visit?"
"It's a long story... In short, I got beaten up pretty badly." Huai Shi coughed violently. "Do you have any clue?"
"I have no idea," Luo Xian shook her head in confusion. "But among all the students who have come here, you're the one who got beaten up the worst. Looks like you're highly regarded!"
Highly regarded my ass!
I just didn't obediently pay the fee and get a card...
Struggling to turn his head, Huai Shi looked at the muscular old man who had calmly returned to his chair to sip tea. "That's your grand..."
"Yes," Luo Xian nodded. "He's my dad."
Huai Shi stared at her young appearance, then at the old man's face that looked seventy or eighty years old. Thinking about his almost ghostly performance earlier, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, that's impressive."
"You're saying weird stuff again."
Luo Xian smiled, raised a finger, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Although I don't mind you resting and enjoying the cool air here, could you let me pass?"
As she spoke, she pointed to the elevator door he was blocking.
"Sorry."
Huai Shi slowly inched his body, moving less than an inch. "It seems I won't be able to move for a while."
"It's alright, just close your eyes," Luo Xian said, still smiling as if she had said something profound.
Right after that, before Huai Shi could react, she slowly got up, her skirt fluttering slightly in the wind as she took a step forward.
In a panic, Huai Shi closed his eyes. He only heard the sound of high-heeled sandals near his ear and felt a skirt gently sweep over his nose amidst a breeze carrying a faint scent.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded.
Only after a long time did Huai Shi slowly open his eyes, lying in a pool of his own nosebleed, bathing in the lingering scent of perfume in the air.
His pale face was a mask of utter shock—astonishment, concussion, reverberation—in short, his mind went completely blank from the impact...
Damn, the gym is really exciting!
"Eh? You got beaten up pretty badly?"
In the parking lot outside the building, a man peered at Li Jian Amber's screen through the rolled-down car window, clucking his tongue. "Looks like Teacher Luo is quite fond of him, huh!"
Li Jian Amber sighed. "Chief, your sudden appearance can really startle someone."
"Sorry, sorry, I'll be more careful next time," Older Cousin said, squinting with a smile. "I remember you were also taught a good lesson by Teacher Luo, right?"
"Broke a leg, didn't you? And almost went blind."
Li Jian Amber rubbed his eye socket, which still ached with a phantom pain to this day. "That muscular old man... he's simply inhuman... Completely merciless when he strikes."
"Actually, Teacher Luo never wanted to take on students in the first place. Although he couldn't very well refuse Xuan Bird Uncle, any student sent over there ended up quite miserable; the more talented they were, the worse it got..."
Li Jian Amber listlessly smoked. "So, you guys sent me to some Ghoul Training Camp to intimidate the rookies, huh?"
"This is what focused development and special attention are all about, comrade. We should treat each other with the warmth of spring... Ah, even though Teacher Luo's 'spring' is quite different from everyone else's."
"That's Burning Wind!"
"Ahaha, pretty much the same."
Older Cousin's smile slightly faded. "Even though he doesn't say it, compared to students, Teacher Luo probably wishes more for a worthy opponent. When he encounters a talented student, he gets a bit rougher, and sometimes even goes overboard... But for those with potential, there's no better way than this."
"Chief, you went there too, right?"
"Yes."
Older Cousin looked embarrassed. "Turns out I was treated as rotten wood beyond sculpting. He didn't even bother with me and just made me earnestly work out for half a month... I even got rid of the fat on my chin but didn't learn a single move. Can't help it; I'm the kind of person with not much natural talent."
He smiled without any concern, already well aware of his own limits.
"What about Little White-chan?"
Li Jian Amber's eyes lit up. "Has Little White-chan been there?"
"Nope."
Older Cousin shook his head. "She was supposed to go, but she got sent back before even entering the door. Teacher Luo said he couldn't teach her, so then it was up to me, her unworthy brother, to step in."
Li Jian Amber was taken aback, then suddenly realized.
Right, a fourteen-year-old at the peak of Fifth Stage, crowned by the Abyss as the White Emperor's Son—who needs anyone to teach her?
"Born with knowledge" must be about people like her, right?
Such monsters, so far beyond the norm, can't really be used as a reference. Trying to measure her limits with one's own talents would likely only lead to eternal disappointment and despair, right?
Compared to that colossal power, everything else seems insignificant.
"Scary, Little White-chan," Li Jian Amber extinguished his cigarette. "What about Huai Shi?"
"I don't know... but I think Teacher Luo will mostly be disappointed?"
After a moment of contemplation, Older Cousin said so.
"Because of insufficient talent?"
"No, rather than talent, it's more about where his ambition lies," Older Cousin smiled ruefully. "Huai Shi, that guy, will probably not meet Teacher Luo's expectations. If you ask why, I think he's the kind of person who rarely gives people what they want or expect."