C19 Fighting

"What's happening here? Hou Xuehai! My dear junior brother!"

"Was I just bringing someone in for a test, and you went ahead and knocked him out?"

Shi Yutang's voice carried a hint of urgency as he questioned Hou Xuehai.

To his surprise, Hou Xuehai shot back, "You think I wouldn't notice you suddenly calling me after all these years of no contact?"

"You call me out of the blue to test someone, and you personally run all the way here with him. Did you think I was blind?"

"A person so closely associated with you, whom you bring directly to me for testing, what else am I supposed to think about his identity besides being your disciple?"

"Enough with the nonsense. What's the issue with him today? I'd like to see how you're going to explain this to the authorities!" Shi Yutang was clearly agitated.

"Stop spouting rubbish. Are you saying you're without fault? Would it kill you to give a clear explanation?" Hou Xuehai's temper flared up as well.

...

The distance from the office on the first floor to the arena wasn't far, and under their urgent moods, they sprinted quickly, the short distance disappearing in an instant.

"What's the situation, Xie Rui?"

Upon entering the martial club's medical room, Hou Xuehai immediately addressed Xie Rui, the man in the gray hoodie who had called him earlier.

"Boss, I assumed his martial strength was high, so I braced myself for a beating. I merely emitted my aura as a warning," Xie Rui said, sounding somewhat wronged.

"I swear! All my actions were in self-defense; I never initiated an attack!"

"What! You released your aura?"

Hearing this, Shi Yutang's eyes flashed with an intense aura that seemed otherworldly.

Hou Xuehai, standing beside him, quickly noticed Shi Yutang's change in demeanor and placed a hand on his shoulder, subtly reining in the aura and suggested, "Let's check on the young man first."

"Go on! What else happened? After you released your aura, then what?" Hou Xuehai pressed, his voice stern.

Xie Rui grew more nervous. Had he inadvertently crossed paths with a martial arts prodigy?

"After he punched me from behind, I swung at him, stopping just an inch from his face."

"I was extremely precise! I didn't touch him once from start to finish!"

Xie Rui, clad in a gray hoodie, truly felt he was innocent.

"Then, as my fist was about fifty centimeters from his face, he suddenly sprang into action!"

"It was like... It was like... It was like he forced himself into that extreme state!"

"Yes, Bullet Time! He entered Bullet Time!" Xie Rui exclaimed, his voice tinged with envy as the term sparked in his mind like a flash of lightning.

"What?"

"What! Bullet Time?" Hou Xuehai and Shi Yutang simultaneously whipped their heads around, looking at Xie Rui as if the human body's limits were a mere illusion.

"Quick! Put him in the High-energy Protein Bath. Use the new one we just got!"

Despite being slightly shaken, Hou Xuehai's actions were swift as he directed the martial club members nearby.

"Ah?!"

At that moment, the medical staff and other instructors encircling Hou Xuehai stood in stunned silence, disbelievingly staring at Hou Xuehai and Shi Yutang.

"Get moving! Why are you all staring at me?" Hou Xuehai snapped with impatience.

......

After a bout of chaos, Hou Xuehai turned to Shi Yutang with a resigned expression.

"Senior brother, who is he to you, exactly?"

"What are you trying to do? You bring an ordinary person here, and he manages to break through his limits and enter Bullet Time on his first try?"

"Is that something just anyone can achieve? Are you setting me up, claiming he's not your student?"

Shi Yutang remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the transparent glass bathtub suspended in midair behind Hou Xuehai, his look one of deep significance.

Su Wei was submerged in the tub, stripped bare and soaking in a liquid as white as milk.

"Are you trying to tell me how to run things?"

Shi Yutang's eyes flickered as he gave Hou Xuehai a challenging glance.

"Fine, fine, fine! Since you haven't taken him as your disciple yet!"

"I truly believe he's a prodigy. Once he regains consciousness, I'll take him under my wing. He deserves no less!"

"This is a rare talent who instinctively activated Bullet Time when faced with the danger of an oppressive aura! It's been ages since I've encountered such a genius!"

As he spoke, Hou Xuehai's eyes sparkled like fireworks bursting in the night sky, radiating a dazzling brilliance.

"Step aside!"

"Your senior brother hasn't spoken yet, and you're already trying to claim him?" Shi Yutang blurted out bluntly.

"So, what exactly happened?"

Hou Xuehai asked with a hint of disappointment, turning to his senior brother.

"Well, it's a bit of a sad story. He comes from a poor family."

"I had submitted a report to the school, intending to build a foundation for some of the kids. Somehow, this boy was deceived and ended up here. It just so happened that I was at the end of my time slot, so I took him in."

"He hasn't formally become my disciple yet, but he's under my care now!"

"His talent is certainly impressive. As to how far he'll go and what he'll achieve, that will depend on his own fortune and talent."

"Oh! You haven't officially taken him on as a disciple yet? Then I must seize this opportunity." Hou Xuehai's tone, previously lackluster, suddenly surged with excitement.

"How dare you?!"

Shi Yutang shot him a fierce glare.

"Instead of squabbling, you'd be better off bestowing more favors upon him. If his luck holds, he'll owe you a debt of gratitude that will surely be repaid in the future."

"You have that much faith in him?" Hou Xuehai still sounded skeptical.

"If he possesses the necessary perseverance and resolve, then no matter how unrefined he may be, I'll use the Particle Pulse Gun if I have to, to ensure he sticks to the wall and stays there!"

Shi Yutang made this brazen declaration.

"Hahahahaha!"

Hou Xuehai burst into hearty laughter.

"Very well, Senior Brother. Making such a decision shows you've truly moved beyond your previous mindset."

Shi Yutang maintained his stoic demeanor as he fixated on the milky white liquid in the transparent bathtub behind the martial club's head, where Su Wei lay unconscious.

"Wait a minute, Hou Xuehai, how many people have used this High-energy Protein Bath?"

Shi Yutang appeared to have stumbled upon a revelation as he posed the question.

"It's for your disciple; surely no one else has used it?"

"Do you really see me as that stingy? Senior brother, you seem to have such a low opinion of me!"

"Moreover, even if it were a used High-energy Protein Bath, it's still a tank that could awaken the talents of ten individuals!"

"What's there to worry about? Are you seriously questioning me over this?"

Hou Xuehai sounded somewhat exasperated but proceeded to earnestly clarify things for Shi Yutang.

"Ah, well... It's not that I think you're stingy, but the rate at which this kid is absorbing energy is quite abnormal!"

"Turn around and see for yourself!" Shi Yutang said with an odd inflection in his voice.

Upon hearing this, Hou Xuehai turned around, somewhat at a loss for words.

To their astonishment, the once opaque milky liquid now resembled a diluted beverage, having become almost completely translucent.

They could even make out Su Wei's private parts!

"This can't be!" Hou Xuehai exclaimed, taken aback.

Under Shi Yutang's skeptical gaze, Hou Xuehai opened the control panel beside the High-energy Protein Bath.

"The current energy level is at 62.4%."

"That's impossible! This High-energy Bath was just installed today!"

"The one our martial club used before is in the next room; this device hasn't been used until today!"

"Oh no, could there be a malfunction with this machine? Could the High-energy Protein Bath we received be counterfeit?"

Hou Xuehai, feeling as though his honor was at stake, abruptly stood up and bellowed as if he were about to make an urgent phone call.

"Hey, Junior Brother, hold on! I was only joking. Do you think I can't sense the amount of energy in the High-energy Protein Bath? Have you forgotten what I used to do?"

"This young man might have something unusual within him!" Shi Yutang remarked.

......

When Su Wei came to, he realized he was in a bathtub, and he began to look around, turning his head from side to side.

Suspended in mid-air?

It was all transparent, and Su Wei's heart raced with panic. He glanced down at himself.

Not a stitch of clothing on his entire body!

My lifelong reputation is destroyed in this moment!

Su Wei shut his eyes in anguish. As he fretted over his compromised dignity, Shi Yutang's voice reached his ears.

"You're awake. Come on out."

"This is Hou Xuehai, the head of the Apex League's martial club in Moontown. From now on, after your evening classes, you'll come here to spar and expand your perspective."

"Additionally, Hou Xuehai will provide you with a monthly salary of 2000 yuan. Make sure to take it!"

......

Su Wei was sprinting on his way home, yet his face remained unflushed, his breath steady.

"Could it be because of that bizarre water at the martial club?"

Su Wei was no fool. To be strung up in such a manner couldn't have been a mere prank. It must mean that Shi Yutang had intervened on his behalf once more.