“How big are you planning to go?” Su Jie asked. “Judging by your actions, it doesn’t seem like it’ll be small. But right now, the hotspots for startups are artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, cloud computing, autonomous driving, and all kinds of high-tech fields. A step down from that would be film, gaming, animation, livestreaming, entertainment, and social networking. Basically, it all needs to be connected to the internet to truly take off. Other industries are either too deep in the water or already sunset industries with no real future.”
“I didn’t expect you to know so much about startups!” Zhang Manman was genuinely surprised. “I thought you only focused on martial arts.”
“Life itself is martial arts,” Su Jie said, sounding philosophical.
In fact, he had been thinking about this for a long time. If he wanted to go up against the Haoyu Group, he had to become strong, wealthy, and influential. So, while browsing information online, he also kept an eye on the news, especially on the hottest entrepreneurial trends in the market.
If he wanted to stand out quickly and gain social status, this was one way.
Of course, he also knew that starting a business wasn’t easy. Connections and funding were major hurdles. His older sister and her classmates had tried starting a business together and failed. Now, they had no choice but to work for the Haoyu Group.
“So what’s your suggestion for me?” Zhang Manman asked, curious about Su Jie’s opinion.
“I honestly haven’t thought of anything good yet,” Su Jie said after a long moment of consideration. “These days, it’s all about technology. A few years ago, livestreaming, gaming, and filmmaking were great ways to make money and even go public. But now, those industries have been monopolized by big players. Unless there’s a technological breakthrough, it’s hard to stand out among the giants.”
“Technology, huh?” Zhang Manman smiled meaningfully but didn’t say anything more.
Before long, the car arrived at the wealthy neighborhood. Su Jie didn’t go inside. Instead, he explained the situation to the security guard and left the mobile login device and card there. After the guard recorded everything and left evidence, Su Jie departed.
“By the way, you still haven’t told me where we’re going,” Su Jie said as he got into the Wuling Hongguang minivan, once again feeling uneasy. Zhang Manman’s driving speed made him seriously reconsider getting in again.
He knew very well that no matter how good his martial arts were, in a car crash, he might as well be a ragdoll.
“I’m taking you to meet a friend of my dad’s. His martial arts skills are incredible, and he’s also an expert in psychology,” Zhang Manman said. “Buckle up! I’m about to speed up!”
Su Jie quickly steadied his energy and spirit.
The minivan sped out of the city and into the suburbs, where it was much less crowded. This only made Zhang Manman drive faster, constantly overtaking other cars.
Su Jie even started wondering if Zhang Manman was treating the minivan like an airplane.
“Slow down, slow down! The car’s practically flying!” At a sharp turn, the minivan drifted, all four wheels lifting off the ground before slamming back onto the road with a loud thud. The seats creaked like they were about to fall apart, and the car door banged so loudly it seemed like it might fall off.
Startled, Su Jie grabbed the handle next to him to steady himself. “Are you trying to drift?”
“That’s nothing. A piece of cake,” Zhang Manman said, clearly enjoying the sight of Su Jie panicking. Ever since she had met him, he had always been calm and steady, like an immovable rock—never showing the impulsiveness or recklessness typical of teenagers. Even many middle-aged men couldn’t match his composure.
Seeing him flustered for once, she couldn’t help but speed up even more, deliberately drifting around sharp corners. Sometimes, it looked like they were about to fly off the road before she would slam on the brakes and jerk the steering wheel, causing smoke to rise from the tires.
“This van’s performance is insane. Are you sure it’s just a regular minivan?” Su Jie gradually stabilized himself and regained his composure. He even realized that high-speed drifting was great for training his balance. His breathing sank deeper, his feet stuck to the floor like suction cups, becoming one with the vehicle no matter how much it rocked.
“Amazing!” Zhang Manman spun the steering wheel with one hand and gave him a thumbs-up with the other.
Three hours later, they drove into a rural area.
Although it was called the countryside, this place was actually quite prosperous. It had already been developed, with lots of tourist attractions, homestays, and beautiful scenery. Some of the courtyards were even nicer than houses in the city.
The minivan finally stopped in front of a large farmhouse.
The farmhouse had tall red walls and yellow-tiled roofs, built very much like a traditional courtyard house, with a locked front gate.
As soon as the car stopped, barking came from inside.
Zhang Manman knocked on the door. After a while, it opened, and two large yellow dogs rushed out—not barking aggressively, but wagging their tails and leading the way, which surprised Su Jie. These dogs were clearly well-trained and intelligent.
Outside the farmhouse was a huge drying yard where several luxury cars were parked—Land Rovers, the latest Maybach Mercedes vans, and even a large RV.
Compared to these, Zhang Manman’s minivan looked completely out of place.
“Living in the countryside is actually really nice. A big open yard like this, wide open skies, you can park wherever you want. In the city, people sometimes even fight over parking spots,” Su Jie said, feeling nostalgic. After all, back when he was training at the Minglun Martial Arts Academy, it was in a farmhouse next door that Uncle Ma had trained him every morning at three a.m., building the solid foundation he had today.
“Uncle Ma, I came to see you!” Zhang Manman called out.
The door was opened by a boy about eleven or twelve years old, dressed in linen clothing. He quickly shushed her, “Keep your voice down, my master is discussing business with a client.”
Inside the courtyard, the eaves were painted with gold and red, looking very luxurious, like the residence of a noble family in ancient times.
Odell’s little courtyard had been simple and elegant, resembling a Japanese-style Zen garden, ideal for self-cultivation. But this farmhouse courtyard was a display of wealth.
In the center of the courtyard, there was a pomegranate tree.
Pomegranates symbolize fertility and blessings in ancient traditions, so planting one in the yard carried that meaning.
The courtyard was huge, with multiple sections leading inward. There was a main house, east and west wings, an inverted house opposite the gate, and even a screen wall at the entrance. All the buildings were two stories tall, and the enclosing walls were very high, as if wrapping the entire property tightly.
There was a certain “mountain within the earth” feeling from the *I Ching* about it.
It seemed that someone was discussing matters upstairs in the main house.
The linen-clad boy led Zhang Manman and Su Jie into one of the side rooms and served them tea. Looking at the bright red carpet and red lanterns, Su Jie felt like he had stepped back into ancient times.
“Manman’s here?” A short while later, two middle-aged men came downstairs.
Su Jie was slightly stunned because one of them, dressed in linen clothes, was the very same “Master Ma” he had met at the park. This man had given him a business card and warned that he and his family might face “bloody disasters.” At the time, Su Jie thought he was a fraud. But later, the man had casually pointed out that Su Jie was practicing the “Great Corpse State” and even quoted the ancient saying, “A true man dwells among the dead and moves like a machine.”
Clearly, he was an expert who knew his stuff.
‘Could it be that this Master Ma is an old friend of Zhang Manman’s father? Wait, didn’t she say earlier that he was a psychology expert?’ Su Jie recalled Zhang Manman’s introduction during their walk over.
“Little Friend, we meet again. You didn’t come looking for me that day,” Master Ma said, as if he wasn’t surprised to see Su Jie. “I knew we would cross paths again.”
“Uncle Ma, you two know each other?” Zhang Manman asked in surprise.
“We met while practicing in the park,” Master Ma explained to the middle-aged man beside him. “Old Chen, your Hunyuan Tai Chi Martial Arts Hall is right next to the park. You lead your students there to practice every day. How come you didn’t notice such a talented young man?”
“I really didn’t notice,” said Old Chen, who was wearing a loose robe and cloth shoes, looking relaxed and full of vitality. His face was rosy, and his eyes were sharp as he looked Su Jie up and down. “Little Friend, Old Ma says you’re skilled. What style do you practice?”
“Just a rough country style…” Su Jie hurriedly waved his hand. “I’m not a master, not at all. I’m just a student who recently learned some skills at Minglun Martial Arts Academy.”
“I can vouch for that,” Zhang Manman quickly chimed in. “We joined the same training class, studied under Gu Yang together. He’s only been learning for two months. When he started, he didn’t even know how to dig or hoe the ground, but he’s improved incredibly fast. Uncle Ma, weren’t you looking for a genius? I’ve brought you one!”
“Gu Yang is the real deal when it comes to practical combat. His style has genuinely been used to kill, unlike me, who just practices for health in the park,” Old Chen said while still scrutinizing Su Jie.
“Just earlier, Su Jie knocked down Zhou Chun!” Zhang Manman eagerly recommended him to the two men.
“Zhou Chun? Ranked tenth now? The fighter expelled from Liu Guanglie’s school?” Old Chen clearly kept up with the fighting scene. “Impossible. Even a mediocre pro is still a pro. An amateur can’t possibly go up against a professional. Especially someone who made it into the top ten.”
“I got a secretly filmed video just now,” Zhang Manman said, pulling out her phone.
Old Chen took it and watched the five-second clip—Zhou Chun launched an attack, Su Jie took it head-on, charged forward, and slapped Zhou Chun unconscious.
The move was lightning-fast, so much so that the footage needed to be slowed down significantly to catch the details. And there was nothing flashy about it; to the untrained eye, it would look utterly ordinary.
It was a lot like how wrestlers handle sanda fighters—taking hits and then grappling them into submission.
Su Jie, however, simply took the blow and countered with a direct slap to the face.
“Impressive,” said Old Chen, who clearly understood what he was seeing. His expression changed as he looked at Su Jie. “Your external conditioning has reached this level? How did you train? How did you manage to forge such a solid foundation?”
“You, young man, have already glimpsed that threshold? You’re almost a ‘Living Dead’?” Master Ma was also stunned at this moment.
He seemed to have seen through Su Jie’s mental state.
“You’re almost a Living Dead.”
To an outsider, that would sound like a curse, and even Zhang Manman didn’t understand and thought he was insulting Su Jie. But Su Jie knew exactly what he meant.
That night lying on his bed, he had indeed touched the threshold of becoming a “Living Dead.”
“Only when the mind dies can the true form be born,” Master Ma said to Old Chen. “Old Chen, I was just about to tell you that I met a genius, but you didn’t believe me. Now do you believe it?”
“I still don’t believe it. That’s impossible. If he’s really reached that state, that’s the realm of Patriarch Chongyang,” Old Chen shook his head. “Little Friend, how about some push-hands with me?”