"Hidden Dragon Dojo?"
Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.
He remembered this dojo.
When he first accessed his awakening panel and planned to learn martial arts, he had looked up the tuition fees of various dojos in Qingcheng, and Hidden Dragon Dojo was one of those that charged the highest fees.
However, the high fees were not the reason Xue Jing remembered it.
It was because, online, Hidden Dragon Dojo had a very high rate of bad reviews... All complaining that the teaching quality did not match up to the tuition fees.
Xue Jing's expression was slightly peculiar.
Miao Miao licked its paw, yawned, and said:
"The reputation of Hidden Dragon Dojo is very poor... but that's just the opinion of outsiders."
"In the real circle of martial artists, no one underestimates Hidden Dragon Dojo, especially the old dojo master, Li Qi."
Miao Miao stretched its front paws forward, stretched lazily, and arched its back high.
"He is one of the few who hasn't taken 'Banned Drugs' yet successfully leapt through the Dragon Gate, breaking human limitations as an old martial arts expert."
"Decades ago, during his peak, he had a great reputation in the Inner Ring City, famous alongside 'Vajra Zhou' and 'Asura Chen', and was known as 'Dragon King Li'."
"Although now he is just an old man in a wheelchair, he's more than capable of teaching you martial arts."
Xue Jing reached out to lift Miao Miao onto his lap, curiously asked:
"Banned Drugs? Leaping Through the Dragon Gate? Old Martial Arts? What do all these mean?"
He felt as if a brand-new door was unfolding before him, behind which lay the world of martial artists.
Miao Miao seemed sleepy, its eyes half-closed, as it lay down on Xue Jing's lap; the latter stroked its back gently, transmitting a familiar comfort, lulling it toward sleep.
"Banned Drugs are made from products found in special intersecting boundaries and are highly stimulative, causing the consumer's body to undergo various transformations, thereby possessing a non-human physique."
"For instance, one type of drug can alter the nature of a person's skin, giving it the toughness of steel, and there are even some drugs that can make a person grow extra limbs, turning into a six-armed monster..."
"Since the appearance of Banned Drugs, the development of martial arts has taken a completely new path..."
"And those martial artists who refuse to use Banned Drugs and insist on pursuing human limits with their natural bodies are called 'Old Martial Art Sect'."
Miao Miao yawned continuously, "As for Leaping Through the Dragon Gate, it's too early for you, and you might even never come into contact with it in your lifetime, so there's no need to know too much right now..."
Having barely finished its last sentence, Miao Miao's eyelids closed, curling up in Xue Jing's embrace, breathing evenly, and fell asleep.
Xue Jing gradually stopped stroking its back, gently picked it up, returned to his room, placed Miao Miao on his bed, and covered its body with a thin blanket, leaving only the head exposed.
Then he quietly left the room, took a shower in the bathroom, changed into pajamas, put the bloodstained school uniform in the washing machine for cleaning, and then took his phone to the balcony.
By now it was ten-thirty at night, Xue Jing lit up his phone screen, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and opened the dialing interface.
He had a rather cautious odd habit; he never stored family members' contact names in his phone, so even if his phone were lost, whoever found it couldn't scam his family members using his phone.
Although it was unlikely this habit would ever need to be used in his lifetime.
After entering a string of numbers, Xue Jing made the call.
It didn't make him wait too long; after three or four rings, the call was connected.
"Hello hello hello~ woof woof woof?"
A cheerful and pleasant voice came through the phone.
As a child, Xue Jing often played a fighting game with his sister Xue Wan; they would often wager something, either a piece of candy or some pocket money.
When Xue Jing lost, he would surrender his wager honestly, accepting his loss graciously. But when Xue Wan lost, she often defaulted on her debts, hence the bets were later accompanied by the phrase 'defaulting is acting like a dog'.
That day, the world lost a person but gained a dog.
"Sis, are you asleep?" Xue Jing started with a laugh.
"Do you want to listen to what you just said?" Xue Wan responded grumpily.
After a pause, she continued, "What's up with you calling at this time? Just letting you know, I'm broke."
Xue Jing: "Am I the type of person who only calls you when I need money?"
Xue Wan: "As long as you're not, tell me, what's up?"
Xue Jing: "Venmo me 50."
Beep... Beep... Beep...
The call was immediately hung up by Xue Wan.
Xue Jing chuckled and redialed.
"What's up? I need to sleep," Xue Wan said helplessly.
After a moment of silence, Xue Jing spoke softly, "Sis, is something bothering you?"
Xue Wan seemed stunned for a moment before saying, with a laugh and a cry, "What could possibly be bothering me? I'm fine. Don't overthink it."
Xue Jing thought for a while and continued to ask, "Are you sure everything's okay?"
"Absolutely... You seem a bit overly concerned about your sister. That's not good; your little girlfriend might get jealous,"
Xue Wan joked.
Hearing that her tone was indeed normal, Xue Jing quietly sighed in relief: "Mom is really worried about you, studying alone in Maple City..."
...
Having not seen each other for a long time, Xue Jing and Xue Wan still had a lot to talk about, and they chatted for a long while.
By the time Xue Jing hung up, it was already eleven o'clock.
"It seems like nothing's wrong."
Xue Jing muttered to himself.
There seemed to be nothing amiss with Xue Wan just now; it must have been mom's needless worry.
After stretching lazily, Xue Jing walked back into his room.
He didn't go back to bed but instead sat cross-legged on the living room couch.
He began practicing basic breathing skills.
An hour later.
Xue Jing sat dizzily with his eyes closed, leaning on the couch.
His body was radiating heat due to the blood rushing too fast, almost like a fever.
After a while, Xue Jing recovered and opened the panel to check.
[You completed a session of breathing skills practice, Fitness Experience Points +16]
[You completed a session of breathing skills practice, Fitness Experience Points +16]
[You completed a session of breathing skills practice, Fitness Experience Points +16]
[You completed a session of breathing skills practice, Fitness Experience Points +16]
Several skills levels had enhanced his physical condition and, having gradually gotten used to the breathing skills, he managed to perform four complete cycles this time.
"Power..."
Xue Jing stretched out his right arm, touching the elbow with his left hand, pondering.
While circulating the breathing skills, he seemed to have touched a crucial point; at a certain moment of breathing, the muscles in his right arm twitched.
Trying hard to recall that sensation, Xue Jing attempted to replicate it but failed after several tries.
He wasn't in a rush since it seemed that the right moment hadn't arrived yet.
After drinking a glass of water, Xue Jing returned to his room, lay down on the bed, stroked Miao Miao who was sleeping beside him, closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep.
...