"Calm down, big brother, we're just talking. And Senior Sister Yuqing, shall we exchange a few fist techniques? I want to test my current strength," Lin Hao asked, looking at the beautiful young woman.
"If the junior brother wishes it, I'm ready to match you," she accepted the challenge.
Lin Die felt wronged, as if he were being treated like air.
"Get back to training!"
He shouted to the crowd, who seemed to be watching a spectacle. When they saw the veteran's immense aura, the youngsters had no choice but to resume their exercises.
....
"Senior Sister Yuqing, may I begin?" Lin Hao gave a gentle smile.
"You may come," she gestured with her fingers.
In the next instant, Lin Hao shot forward like an arrow, crossing two meters in seconds. As he closed in, he extended his arm.
"Defend yourself!"
He warned her, wanting her to be cautious, while he closed his palm into a fist aimed straight for Yuqing's chest.
"Junior brother, you're such a pervert — why are you aiming there?" She showed a hint of doubt, but countered with a palm strike.
Collision!
The two attacks met. Yuqing had the upper hand, stopping his strike with ease. Taking advantage, she trapped his fist as if it were in a shackle, then lifted her foot.
Before he could react, Lin Hao felt a kick to his abdomen that tore him off the ground and sent him flying backwards.
Clack!
He slammed his back against the hard, gray-iron ground, scraping himself and feeling numbness spread through his body.
"That hurts… Senior Sister Yuqing is taking this way too seriously," Lin Hao murmured as he rose, holding his lower back and looking like an old man. When he looked up, he saw Yuqing approaching with a demon-like smile on her lips.
"Want to continue?" she whispered, like a ghost from the netherworld.
Lin Hao swallowed hard, chills running through him. He wanted to stop, but his pride would not allow it.
"Let's continue. This time, I won't be gentle." He grew serious, straightened his back and took a horse stance. "Now I will treat you as an opponent."
Lin Hao's eyes shone with determination. Even if his current personality was odd, the competitive spirit of his true self remained.
Sensing that determination, Yuqing became alert. She recalled what had happened before, when those eyes had changed.
"Attack!"
Lin Hao leapt from the ground and surged forward like lightning.
Yuqing's eyes widened in shock at that speed.
Ignoring her surprise, Lin Hao threw a heavy punch that sliced through the air like a blade cutting flesh. The strike aimed directly for Yuqing's face, and she reacted at the last moment, placing her elbow forward.
On impact, she was flung several steps back, but did not fall. Her feet merely slid across the ground, as if on loose earth.
"This junior… once underestimated, reveals himself as a true beast. Now he cares only about victory," Yuqing concluded, exhilarated. And this boy… he was exactly the sort she liked.
"I'm not done yet. Attack me again!" she said seriously, drawing power from her own blood.
When a cultivator reaches the Final Realm of Body Tempering, their body begins to produce Qi and Blood that can be refined to increase all attributes.
"Junior brother, let me give you my first piece of advice as your senior: even if you go mad with spirit, if your opponent's cultivation is higher, defeat is certain no matter how much you exert!" she advised kindly, then moved at once.
Clack!
The moment she left her spot, the arena beneath her feet cracked from a speed that transcended normal limits.
In front of him, Lin Hao blinked and suddenly saw a palm appear before his eyes, coming straight at his skull.
His mind worked fast and he tried to dodge, but it was too late. The palm struck his cheek, sending him spinning like a kite to the side of the arena.
Boom!
Lin Hao fell hard to the ground and, this time, lost consciousness from the impact.
"Senior Sister Yuqing?" Lin Die looked at the young woman in puzzlement. "Wasn't that over the top? It was just training, and you left him unconscious."
He scolded her and ran toward the fallen Lin Hao, but before he could reach him, he was interrupted.
"Leave him to me. Go teach the four novices who haven't begun cultivation yet," Lin Yuqing ordered, picking the youth up from the ground and slinging him over her shoulder.
Lin Die was confused.
"What is Senior Sister Yuqing thinking? Does she feel guilty and intend to take care of Lin Hao?"
He wondered with his simple mind and turned his attention back to the students, while a figure carried someone effortlessly on her shoulders out of the martial arts field.
....
"Did I lose?"
Lin Hao, feeling consciousness returning, murmured into the void.
"Haa… I really suffered a defeat…" He sighed as he began to regain his senses. Strangely, he felt a liquid running over his skin, as if submerged in a river.
Startled, he opened his eyes abruptly and found himself inside a basin of greenish water.
"Huh? How did I get here? Wasn't I at the martial arts field?"
He showed confusion when a creak of wood sounded. Alerted, he looked toward the door ahead, which opened cautiously.
"Ooo?" Yuqing entered and, upon seeing Lin Hao awake, looked surprised. By her estimate, he should have needed another three hours to regain consciousness.
"Good that you're awake, junior brother. I was worried I'd hit you too hard. Now that you're fine, I can breathe easier." She feigned concern.
Lin Hao, perceiving the act, rolled his eyes. "Senior Sister Yuqing, your acting is terrible. Why did you bring me here? If you're interested in my body, why don't you get into the basin? Stay here with me?"
He didn't know why, but he felt he couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Yuqing merely frowned. "I refuse. Junior, don't you think it's better to hide being a pervert? At least pretend?"
"Sincerity is my motto. Being fake isn't me." Lin Hao shook his head and banged his fist against his own head.
"Damn! I'm way too weird… I wasn't like this. After I began cultivating, my personality changed. Why this shit?"
He cursed inwardly, irritated by his current state.
"Do I have something special inside me? They say some awaken unique lineages or physiques that influence personality… Could I be being affected?"
Lin Hao examined his condition, not knowing whether to laugh, cry, or scream in frustration.
"This condition is awful!"