Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

"Answer my question first!"

Zhang Su said somewhat displeased, "You should learn to be polite, you know? I asked first, you have to answer before you can ask new questions!"

Ju Mumio pressed her lips together, stepped back, closed her eyes, and reached out to feel her surroundings, speaking slowly, "The mist is what I call energy. Using energy, you can sense everything around you. Assuming a static meditative pose and feeling the energy with your eyes closed is the beginner’s step, the first step, but..."

As she said this, she opened her eyes again, studying Zhang Su with a curious look.

"But what?"

Zhang Su waited for her to continue.

Ju Mumio seemed reluctant to speak. After a brief internal struggle, she looked down and said, "No one has ever completed the first step in just one day—no, an afternoon... You’re remarkable."

Despite not wanting to believe this, Ju Mumio felt genuine admiration for him when faced with the undeniable truth.

"Oh?" Zhang Su was taken aback for a moment before grinning and saying, "Haha, and here I thought you never complimented anyone. So, am I a martial arts genius?"

Ju Mumio’s expression remained unchanged despite Zhang Su’s teasing, simply nodding in agreement, saying, "Genius."

She wouldn’t tell Zhang Su the truth. It had taken her an entire month to complete the first step back in the day, even with the aid of a lot of Secret Medicine from the Ju Clan. In her view, even with a breakthrough, Zhang Su would need seven or eight months, maybe over a year, to achieve it. Yet, he did it in half a day?

In the history of the Ju Clan, the fastest anyone had achieved it was five days, which meant Zhang Su had outshone every genius in their millennium-old family. A simple "genius" couldn’t encompass it.

As Ju Mumio grappled with mixed feelings, Zhang Su also pondered in his mind.

"Could it be because of energy?"

It was hard not to make this connection. The last time he felt the special effect of full energy, his hearing increased dramatically, and this time, training with nearly full energy led to an instant breakthrough. So, he linked the two.

With this thought, Zhang Su glanced at his Energy Slot, which had dropped from a hundred percent post-meal to ninety-five percent. The price of quick breakthroughs was rapid energy consumption.

He hurriedly said, "We came tonight to train; why are you standing there spacing out? Are you jealous of my genius and don’t want to teach anymore?"

Ju Mumio’s expression was complicated because Zhang Su had touched on something personal, but she eventually shook her head, "People of the Ju Clan never break their promises."

"Break promises... What’s with the literary talk? Are you a Wen student?"

Zhang Su smirked, urging again, "Come on, let’s get started."

"Alright."

Ju Mumio didn’t procrastinate. Since she had promised to teach Zhang Su, she would fulfill that promise, contributing to the camp in the process.

Over the next three hours, Zhang Su underwent intense training. Since he was now a beginner, the exercises differed slightly from the afternoon, and Ju Mumio shared some unique techniques with him.

Yi Xiaoling sat to one side feeling quite deflated. Ju Mumio didn’t exclude her from the teachings; she wanted to follow along but found that due to her conditions, she could barely sustain even the most basic moves for a few seconds. She decisively gave up...

She simply sat indoors watching the two train, but no one knew her eyes weren’t focused on Ju Mumio.

At ten at night, training concluded, and Ju Mumio looked at the exhausted Zhang Su, a faint sense of accomplishment on her face.

Over those three hours, Yi Xiaoling had disappeared. She wanted to stay in the Jingxin Garden, but her physical condition wouldn’t allow it. Even with a hot water bag, she couldn’t withstand the cold and had to leave early.

"How’s the progress?"

Ju Mumio inquired about Zhang Su’s training results for the evening.

"Phew..."

Zhang Su, who was wearing only a short-sleeved top in nearly minus thirty degrees, was steaming. Hearing Ju Mumio speak, he took a moment to sense, then shook his head, saying, "Can’t feel the mist with my eyes open!"

"That’s the third step; you’re overthinking it."

Ju Mumio said calmly, "Now you should focus on moving towards the second step."

"You mean not having to make that weird pose counts as the second step? That’s doable!"

At the start of the evening’s training, Zhang Su needed to assume a meditative pose and close his eyes to feel the white mist. But now, wherever he went, as long as he closed his eyes, he could immediately feel the thin mist moving around, sensing conditions within four to five meters around him.

Experiencing the wonders of the white mist firsthand, Zhang Su finally understood Ju Mumio’s "Observation Haki." To predict movements requires long-term practice.

It’s a "the master leads you to the door, but the learning is up to you" kind of prolonged process.

Upon hearing Zhang Su’s words, Ju Mumio sighed slightly. From his reactions, she judged that Zhang Su had completed the second step, though the pace seemed surreal to her.

Moving from zero to one is the hardest, while advancing from the first step to the second is not as tough. She completed it in six days, and the fastest within the Ju Clan took only a day.

But combining the journey from zero to two into one, Zhang Su took just one afternoon and an evening, roughly seven hours in total...

This couldn’t simply be described as incredible. Ju Mumio even felt their martial art tradition was tailor-made for Zhang Su, fitting him remarkably well.

"Can’t feel any internal emotions yet, only external stuff. How long until that step?"

Zhang Su attempted to sense Ju Mumio’s attitude towards him but was at a loss.

Hearing his words, Ju Mumio shrugged, saying, "That’s an ability far down the line; no hurry."

"Is that so? Fine. Hey, how’s my learning ability?"

Zhang Su asked proudly, wiping the sweat off his arm with his short sleeve, then quickly donning a warm shirt and jacket. To an outsider, he seemed just overworked, not bragging or risking freezing...

While teaching Zhang Su, Ju Mumio was also training. At this moment, she smoothly stretched, saying, "Your learning ability is extremely impressive; the best I have seen without exception."

"Haha." Zhang Su chuckled, waving his hand, "You’re too kind. It’s just that you haven’t met enough people. And they’re probably all from your country, right? If you came to our country sooner, you’d find many not worse than me; it’s nothing."

"I suggest taking a hot bath for at least half an hour when you return, and don’t sleep within two hours. Wait until you no longer feel sore before sleeping; otherwise, your body will struggle to recover."

Ju Mumio didn’t engage further, instead offering Zhang Su some advice.

Zhang Su picked up his gradually stiffening short sleeve and laughed, "Struggle to recover? Do I look like I need it? I could keep going for another three hours, but you need rest. The future is long; we’ll continue tomorrow."

"The people of the Celestial Dynasty mostly are gentlemen; you’re quite arrogant. You clearly can’t even lift a finger yet pretend otherwise."

Ju Mumio shrugged, a bit helpless.

Zhang Su, exhausted, rubbed his face and smiled, "What you see might not be the truth. Remember, eyes are unreliable; don’t trust just what you see!"

"I’m sensing!"

Ju Mumio shook her head. In her perception, Zhang Su was already at his limit, similar to the afternoon’s end—one bundle of weary energy. At this point, if she slapped him, he wouldn’t have the strength to fight back.

"If you think so, then it is. Good night, sweet dreams."

Saying this, Zhang Su waved his hand at Ju Mumio with his back to her, walking towards the courtyard gate while activating his second Backup Energy Slot.

Buzz.

Within two seconds of activating the Energy Slot, Ju Mumio sensed Zhang Su explode with robust energy, revitalizing as if transformed!

"Wait!"

Ju Mumio dashed forward, spinning and sliding to block Zhang Su’s path, her face filled with astonishment.

Even in dim light, his eyes shone like a dragon’s, exuding a powerful aura, overflowing with energy, like waves surging from him.

"Hey, that was a pretty good body technique just now; when will you teach me?"

Zhang Su looked at Ju Mumio with a playful smile; aware of his physical state, he was determined to uphold his promise to Zheng Xinyu.