Before Mei’er woke up, I hurriedly tossed my underwear from the upper floor and quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes. After all, I was heading for training today, and it was good to look presentable. This outfit was new; the only other time I had worn it was for my graduation photo. Since then, it had just stayed in my wardrobe because I couldn’t bear to use it.
Just as I finished changing, my phone rang. Glancing at the wall clock, I saw it was already 8:16 AM. It was probably Qin Shousheng calling.
“Hello, is this Mr. Xia?” A female voice greeted me the moment I picked up. I was momentarily stunned but quickly responded, “Yes, that’s me. How can I help you?”
“I’m Mr. Qin’s secretary, here to take you to the training,” she explained. Something about the word “secretary” gave me strange thoughts, but I brushed them aside.
“I’m already downstairs, so please come down soon,” she continued when I remained silent.
I smiled. “I’ll be right there!” I replied before hanging up.
Finally! Training was about to begin. My moment to rise had arrived! Feeling energized, I called Mei’er to wake her.
I put the transformed necklace version of Mei’er around my neck, checked myself briefly in the mirror, and locked the door as I headed out.
The moment I stepped outside the building, I spotted a woman in business attire with glasses standing there. She must be Qin Shousheng’s secretary.
Before I could say anything, she looked at me questioningly, “Mr. Xia?”
“Yes!” I smiled and nodded.
The secretary visibly relaxed, then gave me a polite, professional smile. “Please follow me.”
I nodded again and followed her to a black sedan.
Just as we got into the car, the secretary seemed to recall something, her brow furrowing slightly. “Mr. Xia, it might be better if you moved to a different place. The residents in this area seem to lack basic hygiene—throwing all sorts of things from their windows.”
Damn! Could she have seen me toss my underwear earlier? Fortunately, she shouldn’t know which floor I live on.
I gave her an awkward smile. “I’ll consider it.”
“Mr. Xia, please cooperate by covering your eyes,” she said halfway through the drive, suddenly pulling out a black cloth and handing it to me.
I blinked. “Cover my eyes? Why?”
“This is Mr. Qin’s instruction. I hope you understand.” Without waiting for my response, she tied the cloth over my eyes. Seriously? Was this much secrecy necessary?
Before I could complain, she placed a pair of headphones over my ears.
Since the contract explicitly stated I had to comply with Qin Shousheng’s arrangements during the training period, I decided to stay quiet and play along.
After about an hour of driving, the car finally stopped. The secretary helped me out and handed me over to another person. I followed this new individual, step by step, and we eventually entered an elevator that took us to our destination.
When we arrived, the blindfold and headphones were removed. After so long in darkness, the sudden burst of light made me squint. It took a while for my vision to adjust.
I looked around, surveying the training facility. The intense light wasn’t sunlight but came from bright bulbs embedded in the ceiling. Each glass panel overhead contained a powerful light.
The floor, made of cold steel, was filled with various training equipment. Several shirtless men, their muscular bodies glistening with sweat, were working out. Each one looked more powerful than the next.
“Mr. Xia, this is the training center Mr. Qin has arranged for you,” the secretary said from behind me. I turned in surprise—she hadn’t left.
“Is this place just for me?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” she answered with a professional smile.
“But… what about these guys working out?”
“They are retired special forces soldiers, here to act as your sparring partners,” she explained, her smile unwavering.
Holy crap! If these special forces veterans were just my sparring partners, what kind of person would my coach be?
“Where… where is my coach?” I asked, swallowing nervously.
The secretary was about to reply when she suddenly pointed behind me. “Master Long has arrived!”
A coach with the surname “Long”? That was an impressive name! And she referred to him as “Master”, not just a coach—he must be a real expert.
Excited, I spun around, eager to see this formidable coach. But… there was no one there. Was the secretary messing with me?
“Where is he?” I asked, turning back to her in confusion.
With the same professional smile, she said, “Master Long is right in front of you.”
What? Right in front of me? I scanned the space again, but still saw no one. He must be incredibly skilled—a true expert at concealment!
Determined to see him this time, I turned back once more. But again, there was no one. The situation was becoming awkward.
Just as I was about to ask again, a raspy voice sounded in my ear: “Hey, kid, I’m over here!”
The voice came out of nowhere—like some kind of voice transmission technique. This guy was definitely a master, appearing and vanishing like a dragon!
“Over here, old man’s right here!” As the voice echoed again, a sharp pain suddenly hit my abdomen, making me double over.
When I looked up, I saw an old man with long white hair and a beard, dressed in ancient clothing, standing in front of me. Wait—this short old man couldn’t possibly be my coach, could he?
So that was why I couldn’t see him! The legendary master was just a short old man, barely 1.5 meters tall!
“You… you’re my coach?” I asked in disbelief. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Qin Shousheng had hired this elderly man as my coach when the sparring partners were all retired special forces soldiers!
Before I could finish my sentence, the old man jumped up and smacked me on the head with his pipe. “Call me “Master”!”
“Master! Master!” I shouted hastily. If Qin Shousheng had gone through the trouble of hiring special forces as sparring partners, then this old man couldn’t be ordinary either. He had to be a hidden expert, and strange personalities often came with that territory.
“Mr. Xia, you will train here. Your lunch will be delivered, and you can only leave at dusk,” the secretary informed me before departing.
With that, I was left alone in the vast training hall with the special forces veterans and the short old man.
“Master, your disciple Xia Tian has yet to learn your name,” I said seriously as I followed the old man.
Without looking back, the old man puffed on his pipe and answered, “I am… Long Qingyang.”
Long Qingyang? Thank goodness his name had the character “Qing” in it. If it had just been “Long Yang”, I might have gotten the chills. “Long Yang” has some unsettling connotations!
Suddenly, Long Qingyang stopped and addressed the special forces soldiers. “Hey, little ones, come over here!”
Even though they were retired soldiers, calling them “little ones” seemed a bit inappropriate. If they got angry, they could easily take this old man apart.
However, to my surprise, the soldiers immediately stopped their exercises and lined up in front of Long Qingyang without a trace of anger. Clearly, this old man was no ordinary person.
“Now, I want you all to beat this kid up—no holding back!” Long Qingyang said, pointing at me with his pipe.
What?! He hadn’t even explained the training, and the first thing he wanted was for them to beat me up? What kind of logic was that?!
Before I could protest, five or six soldiers closed in on me, one of them already aiming a kick straight at my face…
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The Shop section on Patreon can be used as a way to make a one-time-payment. I will be creating products in the Shop section with the title of the webnovels. It will only have an image as the product, but it will count as the payment for the Sponsored Chapters.
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