Era of Mist

Chapter 282: Chapter 281: Hard Qi Technique in a Dream

’The girl at the front desk is so cute...’

No, to be precise, for getting me such a cheap, nice room with a shower, even a buck-toothed, pop-eyed, pie-faced, bald-headed Wang Erma would look like a buck-toothed, pop-eyed, pie-faced, bald-headed Wang Erma shining like a star.

Not to mention, the girl at the front desk really was quite pretty.

’But speaking of pretty, Yu Yu is still prettier...’

With that thought, Shi Tiexin drifted off to sleep.

In his sleep, Shi Tiexin vaguely dreamed of someone. It was Yu Yu, holding a pool cue and looking his way with an enigmatic smile.

Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but feel pleased. He smiled and asked, ”Are you here to teach me how to play pool?”

HUMMM... A mysterious image appeared. A point of light symbolizing the Black Venerable pulsed like a breath, seeming to transmit a strange message.

The Yu Yu in his dream parted her red lips. Shi Tiexin expected to hear a rich, supple voice, but what came out of that small mouth was a coarse roar: ”Teach you to play pool my ass!”

Shi Tiexin froze. The pool cue WHOOSHED through the air, swung in a full arc, and smashed into him. With a loud CRACK, excruciating pain shot through him. The cue had struck him squarely on the back, splitting the entire rod.

”Holy shit!” Shi Tiexin jolted from the pain. When he looked again, the slender pool cue had become a thick, hard wooden staff. The previous crack had vanished completely, and the whole staff now looked brand new and super fucking sturdy.

He turned his head to look, and in another daze, the enigmatically smiling Yu Yu transformed into the livid-faced Hard Qi Technique instructor.

The Hard Qi Technique instructor was like an enraged tiger, his face a brutish scowl, his brow furrowed so fiercely it resembled a tiger’s stripes.

”Play pool! Play pool! Play your goddamn pool! I’ll beat you to death, you slacker!” The instructor came at him, smashing the large wooden staff down—BAM! BAM! His roars were like a tiger’s, nearly deafening. ”Get in your stance and train!”

Shi Tiexin immediately and instinctively dropped into a solid, wide horse stance, bracing himself and circulating his energy to block the wooden staff coming at him from all directions.

At first, Shi Tiexin was still a bit dazed, trying to rationally analyze his situation. But after three strikes landed, the pain made him forget everything else.

”Use your Hard Qi Technique! Is your brain made of wood?!”

Another tiger’s roar erupted. Shi Tiexin no longer cared where he was. He hurriedly began to circulate his Hard Qi Technique while doing his utmost to resist the relentlessly swinging staff.

’This guy is absolutely vicious, truly ruthless!’

And yet, every single blow landed right on the verge of his breaking point.

THWACK! BAM! CRACK! He didn’t know how long the beating went on. Shi Tiexin could only feel his muscles trembling, the tendons all over his body twitching and bulging violently. Even breathing was painful.

Just then, the instructor tossed the wooden staff aside and shot Shi Tiexin a malevolent glance. Just as Shi Tiexin had a bad feeling, a large foot kicked him square in the chest.

Shi Tiexin wanted to block or dodge, but for some reason, he couldn’t react at all. He just stood there and took the kick. His already exhausted legs couldn’t support him, and with a THUMP, he fell backward onto sandy ground.

The sand was scorching hot from the sun.

He hadn’t noticed it at all while being beaten, but now that he had fallen, he felt like he’d been thrown into a wok of roasting chestnuts. The layer of sand was soft, thick, and scalding. He sank into it instantly, his skin feeling like it was being fried.

”Start rolling!” The instructor showed no signs of letting up. ”If you don’t want to be a worthless piece of trash, then get rolling! Think of yourself as a piece of meat being flash-fried, a half-cooked spring roll—just don’t think of yourself as a person!”

Shi Tiexin immediately began to roll, his entire body caked in sand. Every inch of his skin was flirting with the edge of a serious burn. At the same time, in the high heat, the muscles and ligaments beneath his skin began to undergo a special change.

”Let me tell you, under this sun, the sand can reach sixty-eight degrees Celsius. Rolling around like this, you’ll be dehydrated in seven minutes, get heatstroke in twelve, and suffer irreversible damage in fifteen. In thirty minutes, you’ll be beyond saving.”

”So, if you don’t want to be permanently crippled, you’d better roll faster!”

”Get rolling! Roll to the seashore! Now!”

’The seashore?’

’Holy crap, is there even an ocean nearby?’

Shi Tiexin’s movements paused for a second. He could indeed hear the RUSH of ocean waves.

In that moment of hesitation, the side of his body touching the sand was seared even more intensely. Shi Tiexin had to keep rolling constantly to ensure every part of his body was repeatedly heated and then cooled in rotation, so he didn’t dare to stop.

As the world spun around him, he had no idea how long he’d been rolling or if he was even going in the right direction. Everything before his eyes just grew blurrier and blurrier.

Until, at a certain moment, with a SPLASH, his whole body rolled into the cool waves.

In that instant, Shi Tiexin felt like he was about to ascend to heaven.

A wave crashed over him, splashing water all over his head and face, and slapped the certain someone who was about to ascend right back down to earth.

”PTUI!” Spitting out a mouthful of seawater and wiping his face, Shi Tiexin came to his senses. Before him was a vast ocean.

He was stunned. He had never seen such a vast ocean before.

Tokyo was on the coast, but due to the construction of its harbors and bays, you couldn’t see such an open and magnificent seascape. And Tumu Fortress Space City was out of the question; the most you could see there was a small artificial lake.

For some reason, his physical strength had miraculously recovered.

”What are you gawking at? Do push-ups!”

Shi Tiexin immediately began.

”Who told you to do them here? Forward! That’s right, into the sea! Since you love the ocean so much, get in there facing it. Deeper. Right there. Now, begin! Push-ups!”

So, Shi Tiexin planted his hands in the fine, smooth sand, and they immediately began to sink. The waves rolled in, sometimes submerging his entire body, then receding a little. Shi Tiexin did push-ups nonstop, enduring the pounding of the surf. He had to constantly hold his breath, snatching any small chance he could to gasp for air, and he couldn’t open his eyes at all.

’So painful...’

’It’s too painful...’

’This is sheer torture...’

”Don’t complain that it’s hard!”

”Don’t whine that you’re tired!”

The instructor’s voice came from beside him. Shi Tiexin turned his head and saw that the instructor was right next to him, doing push-ups in parallel. The instructor’s arms weren’t as long as his, so he was deeper in the water, making the exercise even harder for him.

”Lao Zhao can do six hundred push-ups in a row facing the sea, and he’s just an ordinary police officer. If you want to join the Third Frontline, you have to be stronger, much stronger!”

”Do them with me! As long as I don’t stop, you’re not allowed to stop!”

The sound of the waves was constant, as was the sound of the instructor’s counting.

That night, Shi Tiexin did push-ups for a very, very long time.

The next day, when Shi Tiexin woke up, he saw countless little stars dancing before his eyes.

”Only through the bitterest of sufferings can one become Homo erectus.”

The inscription card rose up solemnly.

A whole night’s sleep hadn’t relieved any of his fatigue. But Shi Tiexin did feel a sense of fulfillment. ’Mm, that’s right,’ he thought. ’This feeling of arduous struggle... it’s familiar and grounding.’

”Hey, you’re the new guy, right? Stop lazing around just ’cause you’re awake. Get up!”

THUMP. Someone kicked Shi Tiexin’s bed.