Of course, these were matters for Chen Muye to consider in the future.
As for now, Tiedan would just play the role of a little cutie and help his "daddy" generate a bit more GDP.
Chen Muye looked at Tiedan and thought to himself: "Be a good boy, Tiedan. Stay at home and don't let anyone catch you. If you get caught, Daddy will be very sad."
Tiedan nodded at Chen Muye with an adorable expression, as if he had understood every word.
Chen Muye didn't pay any more attention to Tiedan; with the Forestry Bureau people around, he felt completely at ease.
After having breakfast at a nearby breakfast shop, he found an open space and began practicing the Taiji Guiding Technique and Xingyiquan.
He practiced all the way until noon.
He went through the Taiji Guiding Technique 5 times and Xingyiquan 3 times.
After lunch, Chen Muye skipped his midday nap and went right back to practicing.
This afternoon, however, he focused primarily on Xingyiquan.
The recent incident with Tiedan had made him realize that he needed to master a certain level of self-defense capability.
Even though this was a society governed by law, there was no telling when one might run into a desperate criminal.
If the intruder at his house yesterday had been a thief instead of Tiedan, Chen Muye couldn't guarantee he would have come out unscathed.
As the old saying goes: you study to talk calmly with fools, but you practice martial arts to make fools talk calmly to you.
Criminals were no exception.
He practiced straight through until five in the afternoon.
In total, Chen Muye practiced Xingyiquan 15 times today.
During a break, he checked his phone and saw a message from Grandpa Li saying he was at the central park.
Chen Muye quickly hailed a cab to get there.
It wasn't that he was getting arrogant or anything.
It was just that Tiedan was basically a money-printing machine right now. With 1,500 coming in the moment he opened his eyes every day, there was simply no need to take the bus anymore.
In the taxi, Chen Muye checked his system panel.
Ding!
【Name: Chen Muye】
【Lifespan: 129 days】
【Aptitude: 8.8】
【Physique: 5.1】
【Mental Power: 7】
【Allocatable Attribute Points: 2.6】
【Cultivation Manuals: Taiji Guiding Technique (Second Realm: Glimpse of the Gateway 24%), Xingyiquan (First Realm: Elementary 95%)】
Chen Muye directly allocated all 2.6 available attribute points to his physique.
His physique rose to 7.7, finally getting closer and closer to the standard of an ordinary person.
He had been practicing Xingyiquan all afternoon, and just one more session should allow him to break through.
He wondered what Xingyiquan would be like after breaking through.
Chen Muye looked forward to it with anticipation.
Soon, Chen Muye arrived at the central park and found Grandpa Li.
Grandpa Li still wore his usual hearty smile.
Seeing Chen Muye, Li Tiangang waved. "Xiao Chen, over here."
"Coming, Grandpa."
Chen Muye jogged over.
Li Tiangang looked Chen Muye over and noticed that his complexion was noticeably better than yesterday's.
"Xiao Chen, you've got great color today."
"Hehe, it's all thanks to your blessings."
"Come, come, let's start practicing Taiji."
"You got it."
Chen Muye followed Li Tiangang through two rounds of the Taiji Guiding Technique.
During a rest break, Chen Muye wanted to show the old man how his Xingyiquan was coming along.
Li Tiangang was more than happy to offer a critique.
Chen Muye adjusted his posture slightly, let out a loud shout, and began his performance.
Hah!
Ha!
Hup!
...
Chen Muye's fists whistled through the air, perfectly executing the splitting, drilling, crushing, cannon, and crossing techniques of Xingyiquan.
Beside him, Li Tiangang watched Chen Muye throw his punches in absolute, speechless shock.
If he remembered correctly, Chen Muye had only just learned Xingyiquan yesterday.
Scarcely a day later, Chen Muye was already striking with fist-generated wind.
An ordinary person might not see anything special about it.
He, however, knew that for an ordinary person to generate wind with their punches without three to five years of bitter training was simply impossible.
Even someone with exceptional talent would need two or three years.
Yet Chen Muye had done it in a single day.
Four characters flashed through Li Tiangang's mind: a martial arts prodigy.
Having practiced martial arts his entire life, he knew that martial arts prodigies truly existed in this world.
It was just that, for various reasons, genuine martial arts prodigies never came into contact with authentic martial arts, leaving them unknown to the world.
Now, witnessing Chen Muye's martial arts talent, Li Tiangang's heart surged with excitement.
He vividly remembered the injunction left by the old Taoist priest who had taught him martial arts: "If you ever get the chance, you must pass down China's martial arts heritage. You cannot let the legacy of our ancestors be broken."
Though he wasn't the successor to any formal martial arts sect, because the old Taoist had taught him, he could be considered half a disciple of the old Taoist.
Back then, the nation was facing imminent disaster.
The old Taoist had vanished the moment he finished teaching him.
Li Tiangang didn't know whether the old Taoist had gone to find a new successor or to slaughter the invaders.
Regardless, he had long since regarded the old Taoist as his master.
His master's teachings were naturally engraved deep in his heart.
Over all these years, his only regret was failing to pass on these martial arts on behalf of his master.
He had tried to get his own children to practice martial arts, but not a single one of them had any drive.
Those willing to practice couldn't learn it, and those unwilling were even less capable of learning it.
After wasting so many years, he had thought he would take this regret to his grave.
He never expected to see hope at this very moment.
Yet this hope was desperately slim.
Although Chen Muye was a martial arts prodigy, he was suffering from late-stage lung cancer.
At this thought, Li Tiangang looked over at Chen Muye.
Watching him practice his forms and recalling the past, his eyes grew somewhat moist.
If the old Taoist hadn't taught him martial arts back then, he probably would have died during those turbulent years of war.
Furthermore, by persisting in practicing the martial arts taught by the old Taoist, not only had he remained immune to all illnesses, but he had lived to the age of ninety-eight. Given his current condition, living to be a centenarian would be no problem at all.
He knew that what the old Taoist had taught him was definitely not ordinary hand-and-foot combat.
While the names were identical to certain martial arts found in the pugilistic world and the movements were largely similar, many years ago he had sparred with others, and his martial arts had effortlessly crushed everyone else.
Back then, he had realized that what the old Taoist taught him was likely legendary ancient martial arts.
He wasn't sure if the old Taoist had other successors.
In the event that he didn't, the inheritance would end right with him.
If that happened, he wouldn't even be able to close his eyes in death.
...
...
...
Just as Chen Muye finished the entire set of Xingyiquan forms:
Ding!
【Name: Chen Muye】
【Lifespan: 133 days】
【Aptitude: 8.8】
【Physique: 7.7】
【Mental Power: 7】
【Allocatable Attribute Points: 2.3】
【Cultivation Manuals: Taiji Guiding Technique (Second Realm: Glimpse of the Gateway 30%), Xingyiquan (Second Realm: Glimpse of the Gateway 0%)】
Xingyiquan had smoothly broken through to the Second Realm.
Though there was no reward to his lifespan, he was rewarded with 2 attribute points.
At the same time, Chen Muye felt he had gained a deeper understanding of Xingyiquan.
Just as he was about to ask the old man for some pointers, the old man stepped directly forward, grabbed his hand, and said with an agitated tone, "Xiao Chen, come with me. I'm going to cure your illness!"
Chen Muye was left completely bewildered.
What on earth was going on with Grandpa Li?
He was the one who had just broken through in his martial arts and wasn't even excited yet, but the old man was getting worked up first.
"Grandpa, stop joking around with me. I've got late-stage lung cancer, you know."
"I don't care what kind of cancer or what stage it is. Come with me, I am going to cure you."
Giving Chen Muye no room to argue, Li Tiangang pulled him over to the roadside and hailed a taxi.
The two of them got into the car.
"To Yongcheng First People's Hospital."
"You got it, hold on tight."
Beside him, Chen Muye looked at the agitated Li Tiangang, feeling completely at a loss.
He thought to himself: What on earth is wrong with Grandpa Li today? Could he have figured out that I'm his long-lost great-grandson? Oh, please no! I'm nothing of the sort! Shujin and I still have a marriage fate waiting to be fulfilled!