“Grandpa!” As the two separated, Wang Xiaoyun rushed into the courtyard like a bird, carefully checking the old man’s arms. After examining hastily for most of the day, still seemingly not reassured, Wang Xiaoyun lifted her head, about to ask a question when the old man raised his hand to stop her. “Girl, go check on that young lad; your grandfather is fine!” After saying this, the old man closed his eyes, appearing to take a deep breath. “Oh…” Wang Xiaoyun obediently walked over to Lin Feng, squatting beside him, pretending to check if he was injured, but she whispered curses, “You crazy fool, are you nuts? If you’ve exhausted grandpa, see how I’ll deal with you!” Huff… huff… Lin Feng’s response was only a series of heavy breaths; he was on the brink of collapse, with no strength left to retort to Wang Xiaoyun. “Hmph! Pretending to be pitiful! I should’ve known better than to bring you along, you dead fool, you’re driving me mad…” “What are you muttering about, Yun?” The old man had rested for a moment and now had regained his usual vigor, walking over with a lively stride. “Is this the skilled classmate you mentioned last night?” “Who else could it be! This big idiot… Grandpa, why did you two start fighting?” “Hahaha, we’ll talk about that later, grandpa wants to take a look at this young man first!… Go, Yun, go to the back yard, open the bath, and fill it with hot water.” The old man was in high spirits, evidently very pleased. Wang Xiaoyun complied and went to the back yard. “Give me a reason first!” After Wang Xiaoyun left, Lin Feng suddenly sat up from the ground, startling the old man. “You…” The old man’s expression was one of great surprise, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Excited, he reached out to grab Lin Feng, but Lin Feng dodged. Though the old man was old, his competitive spirit was as strong as ever. Seeing Lin Feng dodge skillfully, he was somewhat unwilling to accept it and changed his techniques several times, using sophisticated grappling moves, determined to catch Lin Feng. Unexpectedly, Lin Feng seemed like a different person, also employing some seemingly similar yet different techniques. The two exchanged blows in a small area, their hands moving like butterflies among flowers, flitting and swirling, dazzling to watch. Lin Feng evaded and maneuvered, effortlessly neutralizing the old man’s attacks. The old man was increasingly astonished and tried new moves, only to be countered by Lin Feng with ease. The more they fought, the more excited the old man became, his heart surging like turbulent waves, all because Lin Feng’s techniques, although somewhat bizarre, contained the essence of his family’s martial arts. The old man shouted excitedly, “Young man, who did you learn your kung fu from?” At the same time, he ceased his attacks, no longer forcing Lin Feng. Lin Feng replied irritably, “None of your business! Crazy old man, you don’t keep your word, I’m not dealing with you!” The old man was momentarily speechless, then remembered his agreement with this young fool. When Lin Feng had rashly entered the Ji Shi Hall, he was just about to leave when he encountered him. The old man, a martial arts enthusiast since childhood, saw Lin Feng’s light-footed steps and agile movements, clearly a martial artist, and was immediately tempted to spar. He attacked without warning, chasing Lin Feng around. Lin Feng naturally didn’t want to engage in combat easily; having learned his lesson about exposing his skills too soon, especially against an old man who might collapse at any moment, he dodged instead. However, due to the poor lighting and his unfamiliarity with the interior of Ji Shi Hall, Lin Feng was cornered after a few rounds. Deciding to play dumb and not resist, Lin Feng thought to endure a couple of hits until Wang Xiaoyun could explain the situation. Unexpectedly, the old man seemed to read his mind and suddenly said, “Silly boy, if you can hit me, I’ll let Yun marry you.” This promise worked; Lin Feng, without a second thought, began to fight. He thought to himself, with my Swift Wind Steps, hitting you shouldn’t be hard, though the old man’s promise was likely not to be taken seriously, and ‘Yun’ might not even refer to Wang Xiaoyun, but since there was a way to stop this noisy old man, there was no need to suffer his blows. At worst, he’d use less force, just enough to touch the old man and render him speechless…
The saying goes, “One strike reveals the skill.” After a few probing moves, Lin Feng was captivated by the old man’s martial prowess. They moved to a more open inner courtyard where visibility was better. As Lin Feng used his Swift Wind Steps, the surrounding environment seemed to slow down; falling leaves appeared to hang in the air. To him, the old man’s movements seemed incredibly slow, and he aimed for the gaps in his defense, reaching out to grab him. Just as his fingertips touched the old man’s clothes, the outcome would always reverse in that fleeting moment of contact. Clearly, he had felt the fabric, but his hand would inexplicably come up empty, and when he looked again, the old man was still in the same spot, while his hand seemed to have passed through a shadow. Realizing the old man’s speed was actually faster than his, Lin Feng’s spirits lifted, and he pushed his Swift Wind Boots’ agility to the limit, charging at the old man with abandon. This reckless use of Swift Wind Steps was incredibly taxing on his physical and mental strength. After barely holding out for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the malicious system notifications began to flood his mind. Lin Feng, however, was unwilling to admit defeat and ignored the system’s warnings, pushing himself for over a minute, slightly increasing his speed, and with this sudden boost, he finally managed to grab the old man’s wrist. But then, the unexpected happened; in that instant of grabbing, the old man let out a strange cry and struck Lin Feng’s chest with a palm. Lin Feng, unable to withstand the force, was knocked back, flying through the air. Already on the brink of collapse, this blow sent him into unconsciousness. The old man’s strike was swift yet measured; he used a clever technique to knock Lin Feng down, not intending any harm. Unfortunately, Lin Feng’s constitution was too frail to withstand even such a gentle blow. After hitting the ground, Lin Feng felt as if his body had fallen apart, but after catching his breath, he felt relief as the tightness in his chest eased. At the same moment, the system notification from the beautiful AI girl sounded again, warning Lin Feng that the system had entered an emergency state and asked if he wanted to convert stored character points into physical and mental energy…
