Chapter 417 - 366: The Word
"Alright, let’s start from today. First, teach me your amazing Sensing Technique. Come on, let’s find a good place!"
Zhang Su was very straightforward, not feeling any shame from having a woman as his coach. The real shame is when you’re beaten!
In the afternoon, Zhang Su, Ju Mumio, and Yi Xiaoling were nowhere to be found, not even during group training.
"Where did Brother Su go?"
"Yeah, not only is Brother Su missing, but the new woman, Ju Mumio, isn’t here either?"
"Hmm, seems like something’s up, hehehe."
"Hehe my ass, just because Brother Su isn’t here, you’re not going to train properly? Hurry up!"
Zhao Dezhu took over Zhang Su’s position, temporarily organizing everyone to focus on training.
Training is an essential part of life in the dystopian world, as combat power is a basic guarantee of survival. Because of the need to consider camp construction, a compromise has been made on training intensity, ensuring everyone isn’t exhausted every day and maintaining a certain level of energy to work and deal with emergencies.
The group’s energy was somewhat conserved, but not for Zhang Su...
By dinnertime, Zhang Su dragged his exhausted body to the cafeteria. Everyone could see he was in a terrible state, more tired than ever before, like his body had been hollowed out.
Ju Mumio and Yi Xiaoling followed closely behind, but appeared calm and untroubled.
"Damn, Brother Su is too intense. Could it be that he spent the whole afternoon..."
"Don’t talk nonsense, or if Brother Su hears you, you’ll be done for!"
"I won’t. I’m complimenting him. Brother Su would be thrilled to hear it."
Lu Yubo, Liu Tianji, and Qi Xiaoshuai whispered to each other.
"Ahem!"
Yuwen coughed, using his gaze to stop the chatting group!
The unusual situation caught the women’s attention as well, but for various reasons, they didn’t dare discuss it like the men, instead looking at Zhong Xiaoshan and Zheng Xinyu with inquiring and concerned eyes.
Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan naturally knew what Zhang Su was up to, but it wasn’t convenient to reveal at the moment, so they downplayed it and brushed it off lightly.
Zhang Su wore a contemplative expression, served himself some food, found a quiet corner, and sat down. His trembling fingers picked up the chopsticks, and after just two bites, Ju Mumio spoke up.
Yi Xiaoling and Ju Mumio stood by Zhang Su with trays in hand, and Yi Xiaoling quietly translated: "Um... Brother Zhang, Xiaojuzi says you have a good foundation, but your skills in Ju’s Martial Arts leave much to be desired. Without the help of secret medicine, making progress is extremely difficult and there’s potential for injury. Maybe you should quit..."
A glint flashed in Zhang Su’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but smirk a little.
The afternoon training was unlike traditional methods. A series of bizarre movements seemed comical but were incredibly exhausting to perform. For example, a static meditation posture — sitting cross-legged with hands at the sides, with thumbs, index, and middle fingers clasped together to support the whole body...
At that moment, Zhang Su was dumbfounded. This weird posture not only tested finger strength but required high-level balance. After a few tries, he could do it shakily, but not stably for even a minute, let alone meditating!
And this was just one of the moderately challenging postures, among many other peculiar positions, which reminded Zhang Su of an ultimate skill from a martial arts drama...
Initially, he suspected Ju Mumio of deliberately making things difficult until she effortlessly completed those moves without breaking a sweat, even sipping evenly between exercises while explaining their purpose one by one. He had no choice but to believe it then.
Unfortunately, despite his supposedly strong physique, Zhang Su was left utterly exhausted, and in the end, Ju Mumio rated him only a C-grade...
According to Ju Mumio, Zhang Su’s current performance was at the level of her five-year-old self, a message Yi Xiaoling didn’t translate to Zhang Su.
"Which eye of yours sees that I would get injured! Quit? There’s no ’quit’ in my dictionary!"
Zhang Su steadied his trembling fingers, gently putting down the chopsticks. His mind skimmed over his energy slot, which was down to 32%. At this point, only his mouth had any toughness...
What frustrated Zhang Su most was not the intensity of the training but that in the afternoon, he had a match with Ju Mumio. Both wielding wooden sticks, after several exchanges, his thoughts were confirmed: short of fighting to the death, he couldn’t win against her in close combat!
Ju Mumio revealed a teasing look in her eyes, slowly and calmly saying a lot.
"Xiaojuzi says...when she used to train, it was all day long from dawn till the moon rose, only resting to eat. If..." Yi Xiaoling found it hard to continue, feeling Ju Mumio was obviously mocking Zhang Su, but she reluctantly continued, "If you’re too tired to train at night, you should add ’quit’ to your dictionary."
"Bullshit!"
Zhang Su sneered disdainfully and muttered, "Japanese girl, you’re underestimating us men from the Celestial Dynasty. Me, tired? Whatever tricks you have at night, bring them on. I’ll show you!"
"Brother Zhang, if you continue, you’ll really get hurt!"
Yi Xiaoling couldn’t understand why Zhang Su, already struggling to hold chopsticks, was still arguing back. She didn’t know that beneath Zhang Su’s dim energy slot lay two dazzling backup energy slots.
Ju Mumio didn’t care, leaving a final remark before walking to the next table, leaving Yi Xiaoling standing there.
"What did she say?"
Zhang Su saw Yi Xiaoling’s somewhat deflated expression and silence, guessing Ju Mumio didn’t have anything good to say.
"She... said, if you have the guts, continue tonight."
"Let’s continue then! Damn it, who’s afraid of whom!"
Their conversation was quiet, and the noisy cafeteria prevented others from hearing, but Zhang Su’s final words suddenly rose in volume, making it clear even to Yuwen, who was sitting in another corner.
Instantly, the entire cafeteria fell silent like an ancient temple in the mountains.
"Did Brother Su just say continue and... damn?"
Wu Lue asked Chen Hanzhou beside him, wearing an expression nothing short of spectacular.
"Ahem... don’t talk nonsense!"
Chen Hanzhou was caught in a fit of coughing, breaking the cafeteria’s silence. He awkwardly and fiercely glared at Wu Lue, secretly blaming him for making a fool of himself.
Many people’s expressions twitched with strange looks, and even those who knew the truth remained speechless.
"Well, um, Brother Zhang, I’ll go eat first..."
Yi Xiaoling felt like she’d caused trouble, quickly bowed her head, and darted over to sit beside Ju Mumio.
