"Slap."
Feeling the continuous touch at his fingertips, Xue Jing realized something was wrong and his expression changed.
Caught up in the fight, he hadn't thought too much, only seeing the distance between his fingers, he subconsciously felt an opportunity and used a flick.
He truly hadn't done it on purpose.
While Xue Jing was still stunned, Meng Qingjiao's palm struck his chest, sending him flying.
She still used Soft Power.
Xue Jing rolled over and stood up, asking Meng Qingjiao with concern,
"Senior Sister, are you alright?"
Meng Qingjiao shook her head.
She gave Xue Jing a deep look, her expression unchanged, and had it not been for a barely noticeable blush on her face, one would think nothing had happened.
The atmosphere turned a bit awkward for a moment, but fortunately, Li Qi broke the silence, "Alright, let's call it a day for today's training."
Hearing this, Xue Jing also breathed a sigh of relief.
After what had happened, he somewhat felt inappropriate thoughts emerging, his fighting spirit completely gone, or perhaps it was 'Dynamic Qi' that had dissipated, leaving his punches powerless, and he simply couldn't continue fighting.
As astute as Li Qi, he noticed this and ended the training session for the day.
"Qingjiao, you go and rest," Li Qi said gently.
"..." Meng Qingjiao nodded, thought for a moment, walked over to Xue Jing, and patted him on the head as if to say it wasn't a big deal.
Xue Jing was momentarily taken aback, managing to detect a hint of maternal tenderness in that cold and beautiful face.
After the short-haired beauty left, Xue Jing watched her shapely figure retreat, thinking to himself,
'Next time, I'll make a grand meal for Senior Sister Meng... with all my efforts.'
Shaking his head, Xue Jing opened the panel to take a look.
[Fitness Lv5 (827/2000)]
[Health Cultivation Lv3 (468/800)]
[Cooking Lv3 (751/800)]
[Running Lv5 (699/2000)]
[Charm Art Lv4 (66/1200)]
[Aiming Lv3 (567/800)]
[Fighting Lv3 (520/800)]
[Channeling Energy Lv4 (217/1200)]
[Meditative Visualization Lv1 (251/300)]
These three days of practical training had been greatly beneficial to him.
Especially in fighting and Channeling Energy, having both increased a level respectively, and Fitness, Aiming, as well as Health Cultivation all gained substantial experience.
Of course, these are only the stats displayed on the panel. The practical combat experience he gained over these three days and the fighting skills system that was starting to take shape were not reflected on the panel.
This was the real substantial increase in combat capability.
"Although I've grown used to your rate of growth, it still surprises me every time," Li Qi said as he stroked his chin.
Xue Jing humbly replied, "It's all thanks to Master's excellent guidance."
Li Qi waved his hand, "As martial practitioners, we need to learn how to deceive, we can't always be bluntly honest."
"In actual combat, as long as you can deceive your opponent, that's winning half the battle. Misinformation can be fatal in a critical fight, remember that."
Xue Jing nodded and said, "Disciple understands."
After thinking for a moment, Xue Jing asked, "By the way, Master, why don't Senior Sister Meng and the eldest senior brother talk?"
He voiced the question that had been puzzling him since he joined the dojo.
He had originally thought that this father and daughter were of a taciturn and aloof nature, but after spending several days together, he found that they were different from what he had expected.
When the eldest senior brother, Meng Boshang, saw him, he would always nod his head towards him, showing a smile that he wasn't sure could be counted as a smile, probably trying to express goodwill.
As for senior sister Meng, there was no need to even mention it. Every day she would take several hours to feed him moves and train him in fighting skills, and would even pat his head. Even ... when he accidentally hit her frontal armor, she did not get angry, obviously really treating him like a much-loved junior brother.
Apart from the perpetual silence and lack of expression, they had practically nothing to do with the word 'aloof'.
"..."
Li Qi was silent for a while before he sighed and said,
"When Qingjiao was young, something happened..."
"Boshang, in his youth, followed me around the circles in Inner Ring City, and he had some reputation, living up to the title of a promising young talent. He knew many daughters of wealth and status ..."
"He and one of them, Qingjiao's mother, were mutually attracted to each other, and soon after that, they got married and had Qingjiao."
At this point, a trace of sorrow and regret shone in Li Qi's aged and dim eyes.
"Back then, I was overconfident in my martial prowess, acting brashly and arrogantly, challenging others to fights every day, but eventually, I met my match and was severely beaten, having my legs broken and my 'True Dragon' within my heart destroyed, draining my will."
"I had too many enemies, and upon learning that I had become half-crippled, countless others kicked me while I was down."
"At that time, Boshang would stay by my side every day to ensure my safety, inevitably neglecting his family. One day, only Qingjiao and her mother were at home when our enemies came knocking..."
"To protect her, Qingjiao's mother hid Qingjiao and told her, 'You must absolutely not make a sound until mommy comes back'."
Xue Jing listened in silence, already having a rough idea of what had happened.
"By the time Boshang and I sensed something was wrong and rushed back, we found Qingjiao, who had been starving in the cellar for several days, while her mother had disappeared, her fate unknown to this day."
"Since that day, Qingjiao has never spoken again."
Li Qi's gaze turned towards the window.
"Boshang was originally an outgoing and cheerful person, but later on, to avoid making Qingjiao feel like she was an outsider because of her disability, he too stopped talking."
"In order to avoid our enemies and protect Qingjiao, we left Inner Ring City dejectedly and came to Qingcheng, where we opened the Hidden Dragon Dojo."
Xue Jing remained silent, not knowing what to say.
But in his heart, a pang of pity for Meng Qingjiao couldn't help but arise.
'You must absolutely not make a sound until mommy comes back' - the reason she has been unable to speak ever since was too heartbreaking.
Since he wasn't involved, he couldn't comment on the past as narrated by Li Qi, and could only remain silent.
"... As one gets older, it's inevitable to become more sentimental. I've spoken too much." Li Qi suddenly laughed.
"You needn't mind these matters, they're all old stories, and they're in the past now."
Li Qi reassured Xue Jing.
"Master, do you want to take revenge?"
Xue Jing pondered and then asked.
Li Qi shook his head, "What's the end of endless vengeance ... it was my fault for stirring up too much trouble and accumulating a mountain of enmity, which led to Boshang's family encountering such a disaster."
"To say whether I have thoughts of revenge, of course I do. My only remaining obsession is to find those who hurt Qingjiao and her mother, but ..."
Li Qi shook his head, "I have too many enemies; I don't even know who to pinpoint anymore."
Without a second thought, Xue Jing blurted out, "Then don't think about who it was specifically; just smash them all to pieces in the future."
Li Qi was rendered speechless.
"You're even more brazen than I was at my peak. All of my enemies are big shots from Inner Ring City, not the trivial figures from Qingcheng here; each is difficult to deal with. How could you smash them all to pieces?"
Xue Jing blinked and said earnestly, "I believe I can do it."
Li Qi laughed heartily.
"Then I shall look forward to that."
...
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