But just as Yu Fei came within three meters of the tabby, it bolted with a whoosh into the shrubs and vanished.
"Damn it!"
Thinking quickly, Yu Fei dashed out to the pet shop at the gate, bought a can of cat food and a small bag of kibble, and returned to where the tabby overlord had disappeared. He waited patiently.
Before long, a meowing sound rose from the bushes.
Yu Fei smirked in triumph. "Got you now, little brat."
But what came out was a black-and-white cow cat—its gem only gray in color. Yu Fei's expression froze.
Quietly, he put away the can of food and only sprinkled some kibble into the bowl.
"Don't blame me for being stingy. Life's tough these days."
The cow cat gobbled up the kibble but refused to leave. It rubbed against his pant leg again and again, even rolling over to show its belly—though its eyes never left the unopened can.
Yu Fei sighed helplessly and resigned himself to petting it.
Time passed, and before long a whole circle of strays had gathered around him.
"Ge, Dad says dinner's ready. He's calling you!"
Yu Wei had come down at some point.
"This cat is so ugly!"
The cow cat had a blotch of black fur on the left side of its nose that ruined its symmetry.
Yu Wei muttered that it was ugly, but she still crouched down to scratch under its chin.
Petting cats was soothing. Yu Fei really wanted to keep one, but with his father's financial situation, it was out of the question.
Raising a cat cost several thousand yuan a year. The timing just wasn't right.
He gazed at the night sky in frustration.
"You and Dad go ahead and eat. I've got something to do."
"Something to do? Petting cats?"
She tilted her head. Her brother had never been this bored before.
"Yes. Petting cats."
Yu Fei's face was dark, his voice low.
"…You're insane."
"Get lost."
The night deepened. An hour passed.
The late-summer air carried a cool edge, and mosquitoes were everywhere. Yu Fei's legs were covered in bites, while half a dozen strays prowled in circles around him.
He clutched the can in one hand and the nearly empty bag of kibble in the other.
"Tabby overlord, if you don't show up now, it seems fate doesn't want us to meet."
He muttered under his breath.
Just then, a powerful figure barreled in from the distance. The tabby came striding in, its presence so overwhelming that the paler kittens scattered instantly to give way.
And there it was—the familiar gleam of a blue gem above its head.
Yu Fei's heart leapt. He quickly poured out the last of the kibble and opened the can, setting both before the feline lord.
Strangely, none of the other cats tried to steal a bite. A few even began licking their paws. Yu Fei had the absurd feeling they were drooling and pretending to clean themselves to hide it.
"Well, well… quite the king you are."
Stray cats had their own territories. Clearly, the tabby ruled this neighborhood.
Watching the cat relax as it ate, Yu Fei made his move.
He circled behind it. The tabby glanced at him once, then went back to its meal.
Yu Fei activated the Fate-Reversing Pearl's mark. The blue gem above the cat's head flared brighter, blazing like a beacon in the night.
He reached out, massaging the loose skin at the back of its neck. The tabby didn't resist.
In the next instant, he grabbed it by the scruff, pressed its head to the ground, and pinned its hind legs with his other hand.
"Meow—hsshhhoow!"
Caught off guard, the tabby was stunned. The surrounding strays scattered, retreating to a safe distance and staring curiously from five meters away.
Cats were nothing if not curious.
Yu Fei had no intention of killing it. One could be strange, yes, but there was a line he wouldn't cross. His goal was only to subdue the tabby and see how the pearl reacted.
In his spiritual sea, the Fate-Reversing Pearl flashed. He understood immediately: subduing counted as defeating. The talent copy was complete.
Elated, Yu Fei released the tabby.
It sprang up with feline grace, twisting midair, landing with its back arched, tail raised high, teeth bared as it hissed threateningly.
"Hssshh—rrroww!"
Its fur stood on end.
Yu Fei backed away quickly. Seeing the cat still on edge, he turned and left, leaving behind the kibble and the can.
Like some kind of benevolent sage after finishing his work.
The tabby glared after him: Meow~ (Lunatic!)
Yu Fei darted home, scratching at his mosquito bites as he rushed straight to his room.
On the sofa, his father looked up from his phone, words on the tip of his tongue. He wondered if Yu Fei was cracking under the pressure of school. But seeing his son's hurried back, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
Meanwhile, Yu Fei immersed his mind in his spiritual sea. The pearl's glow dimmed slightly—it still had one more use left.
The tabby's talent appeared before him:
[Super Reflexes]Grade: BlueDescription: A cat's reflexes—multiplied sevenfold.Effect: Increases base neural response speed by seven times.
The pearl's feedback informed him that loading the talent would take an hour, ideally in quiet without disturbance.
He stepped out and told his father he was going to sleep, not to disturb him, then returned to bed and lay down.
Yu Zhiguo, still scrolling on his phone, suddenly felt lonely. He sent a message to his wife, asking when she would be home.
"Load talent!"
A tingling current surged through Yu Fei's brain, spreading down his spine and into his limbs.
Again and again, waves of sensation crashed over him.
His body, in self-defense, slipped into a half-comatose state.
An hour later, he awoke.
"Something's… different."
Testing it, he let a pen drop from his hand. Focusing on it, the world slowed to a crawl.
Just before it hit the ground, Yu Fei flicked out his right foot, catching it neatly between two toes.
"Nice."
Talent was innate ability, and this one fit him like a second skin. He could fully control his enhanced reflexes.
Excited, Yu Fei pushed open the door, intent on grabbing food.
His stomach growled—he hadn't eaten, too focused on the task.
"I thought you were sleeping! You even told me not to disturb you!"
His father stared at him, baffled.
"So what?"
Yu Zhiguo winced, feeling a toothache coming on. What on earth had gotten into this kid?
Yu Fei, on the other hand, felt fantastic.
The next morning, he couldn't hold back. He forced himself through another round of Funiu Stake.
The [Super Reflexes] talent didn't just boost his reaction speed; it sharpened his control over his own body.
Every stance was cleaner, more precise. His supercharged reflexes allowed him to correct even the subtlest mistakes in real time.
Halfway through, he felt it—a faint current flowing through him, like a trickling stream. It coursed through his body with the stake movements, dispersing finally across his skin.
"The entry into martial arts—blood and qi sensed at last!"
For the first time, Yu Fei saw a path forward, a future worth chasing.
Without the Fate-Reversing Pearl, he might have been able to live better through effort alone, but true advancement would have been impossible.
Now, though his body was exhausted, he no longer felt drained as before.
Before sensing blood and qi, stake training consumed vitality.
But the moment qi and blood condensed, they could be locked within the skin, strengthening it in turn.
This was the first gate of martial cultivation—Tempering the Skin. To lock one's qi within, to harden the body against strikes.