Grandpa Li adjusted himself slightly, gave a sharp shout, and threw a punch.
The force of the punch whistled through the air, fierce and powerful.
His body was agile, showing no sign of his ninety-eight years.
Chen Muye stood to the side, recording it on his phone.
He was determined to learn this.
A few minutes later, the old man finished his set of Xingyiquan.
He regulated his breathing, walked back to sit on the bench, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at Chen Muye.
"Little Chen, what do you think of my Xingyiquan?"
Chen Muye gave him a thumbs-up. "Majestic! Impressive!"
The old man looked extremely smug. "Back in the day, I used these very fists to hack quite a few little Japanese devils to death."
Chen Muye was shocked inside. He had never imagined Grandpa Li had such a past.
Yet, when he thought about it, the old man's era had been one of turmoil.
The little Japanese devils had invaded the land of Huaxia.
They deserved to die at the old man's hands.
Chen Muye gave him a thumbs-up with both hands. "Grandpa, I never took you for an anti-Japanese hero. I am truly in awe!"
Grandpa Li waved a hand. "Hero is too strong a word. I just did my part."
"It's a pity I wasn't born in the right era, otherwise I'd surely go hack a few little Japanese devils myself."
"Haha, what spirit! Let's talk about the boxing. This is one of the few martial arts I know, and it's the one that causes the least physical strain when practiced. Try throwing a couple of moves and see if you can hold your own."
"Alright!"
Chen Muye put down his phone and followed the old man through a couple of moves.
After just two moves, sweat was already beading on his forehead.
If he had to fight through an entire set of Xingyiquan, he would probably be completely drained of strength.
When all was said and done, his constitution was simply too weak.
Seeing Chen Muye in this state, Grandpa Li felt a pang of pity.
"Little Chen, maybe we shouldn't practice this boxing after all. Doing some Tai Chi every day isn't bad either."
Chen Muye shook his head. "Grandpa, I'm fine. Let's keep going in a moment."
"You stubborn kid..."
Over the next hour or so, Chen Muye followed Grandpa Li in practicing Xingyiquan.
Finally, he managed to get through the entire set of Xingyiquan in one go.
Originally, Chen Muye had thought he would collapse from exhaustion.
Yet, after combining it with the breathing technique taught by the old man, he found that getting through a set wasn't nearly as tiring as he had imagined.
At first, he had only learned the moves from the old man without the corresponding breathing method, forcing his way through with brute strength, which was why he had felt so exhausted.
Once he matched it with the breathing technique, the effect was completely different.
Physical exertion dropped significantly, while the power of the punches remained undiminished.
Chen Muye felt that once he grew more proficient and combined the breathing method with his strikes, the power of his punches could increase even further.
Concentrating slightly, he opened the system panel.
Ding!
[Name: Chen Muye]
[Lifespan: 120 days]
[Aptitude: 8.8]
[Constitution: 5.1]
[Mental Strength: 7]
[Available Attribute Points: 0.4]
[Cultivation Manual: Taiji Guiding Technique (Second Realm: Peeking through the Gateway 9%), Xingyiquan (First Realm: Beginner Practice 5%)]
After the Taiji Guiding Technique upgraded to the Second Realm, the increase in lifespan gained from each practice session remained unchanged, but the proficiency only increased by 3%. It seemed that more practice sessions would be required for future upgrades.
Xingyiquan focused primarily on offense. While practicing it didn't increase his lifespan, it provided Chen Muye with a certain degree of self-preservation.
As his constitution improved and his Xingyiquan level increased, he would likely be able to tear apart Japanese devils with his bare hands just like the old man had in his youth.
At the same time, practicing Xingyiquan verified his previous guess.
The system only recognized martial arts cultivation manuals that were paired with breathing techniques.
Other miscellaneous arts and manuals were completely ignored by the system.
Chen Muye allocated all 0.4 attribute points to his constitution.
In an instant, his physical strength recovered significantly.
He discovered another benefit of the system.
Every time he allocated attribute points to his constitution, he recovered at least seventy percent of his physical strength.
If he saved up enough attribute points to run a marathon, and whenever he grew tired just added 0.1 to his constitution to instantly restore most of his stamina, wouldn't he be invincible in a race?
He had heard that the prize money for first place in international marathon races ranged from tens of thousands to over a million.
If he got the chance, he would definitely have to try it.
Not for any other reason, but simply to let the whole world know that when it came to long-distance running, the people of Huaxia were just as awesome!
......
......
......
"Great-grandpa!"
Li Shujin's sweet voice drifted over.
Chen Muye knew she had come to call Grandpa Li home for dinner.
At this moment, Li Shujin was an entirely different person compared to the morning.
She had changed into a cherry-pink floral dress.
Her hair was tied into two fluffy little braids that hung down over her chest.
Beneath the hem of her skirt, her slender and beautiful legs were clad in pure white silk stockings with little bows, and her feet were in light pink high-heeled leather shoes.
This look made her the absolute embodiment of a sweet girl.
Chen Muye's assessment was: if one has such a wife, wolfberry tea can't save your kidneys.
She walked over carrying two large bags containing goodness knows what.
Stopping in front of Chen Muye, she handed the two bags directly to him.
"Classmate Muye, I bought some fruit. I hope you don't mind."
With that, her bright, lively eyes looked at Chen Muye, and a blush crept across her fair, pretty face.
Li Shujin was, after all, a teenage girl.
Even if her compassion currently outweighed her modesty, she still felt shy.
Chen Muye didn't take them; he glanced at Grandpa Li.
Grandpa Li saw right away that his great-granddaughter was pitying Chen Muye.
So he smiled and said, "Little Chen, since Xiaojin is giving them to you, just take them. You're classmates, after all."
Since Grandpa Li put it that way, Chen Muye didn't want to act overly coy.
He took the two large bags of fruit from Li Shujin's hands. "Thank you, Classmate Shujin."
"You're welcome."
Seeing Chen Muye accept the fruit, Li Shujin felt a little comforted inside.
She had finally managed to do something. Exchanging a final glance with Chen Muye, she looked toward her great-grandfather.
"Great-grandpa, it's time to go home for dinner."
"Alright, Great-grandpa is coming back with you."
The two of them bid farewell to Chen Muye and left.
Chen Muye looked at the fruit in the bags.
There were oranges, bananas, apples, dragon fruit—everything.
If people at school knew that Li Shujin had given him so much fruit, a huge crowd of them would probably turn green with envy.
It was getting late.
Chen Muye should head home as well.
An hour or so later, Chen Muye returned to the entrance of the residential compound.
His stomach was already rumbling loudly with hunger.
He walked briskly toward his home.
Yet the moment he got back, opened the door, and looked inside, he was instantly dumbfounded.
The originally clean and tidy apartment looked as though it had been ransacked.
Tables and chairs were knocked askew.
Trash cans, tissues, water cups, and the like were scattered everywhere.
What was going on?
Chen Muye's first reaction was that a burglar had broken in.
Yet his home didn't have anything valuable.
This burglar was thoroughly unprofessional!
To actually pick the poorest household in the compound to target.
"Sigh! Misfortunes never come singly; when a person is out of luck, even peeing can splash onto his shoes."
Chen Muye took a few photos, preparing to call the police.
Right at that moment,
Clatter!
The sound of something dropping to the floor echoed out.
Chen Muye immediately shoved his phone back into his pocket.
The burglar hadn't left!
The sound had come from the direction of his bedroom.
What should he do?
Rush in and catch the culprit?
No!
In case the other person had a weapon, a combat-zero weakling like Chen Muye was no match for them.
Besides, anyone daring to break in and steal was definitely no good person.
Pushing them into a corner would likely result in violence.
Damn it! The thief was right in front of him, yet he was utterly powerless.
He hated this!
If only his Xingyiquan were as proficient as Grandpa Li's.
Then he could charge in recklessly and tear the burglar apart with his bare hands.
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps sounded.
It seemed the burglar was walking out.
Chen Muye grew anxious.
His heart leaped into his throat.
Should he fight the guy to the death or turn around and run?