After going to Stark Industries twice and getting two checks for $100,000 each, Qin Xiao finally received a call from Pepper Potts.
Tony Stark finally remembered he had a combat coach.
In fact, although Tony Stark was very conceited, he was still quite respectful when he wanted to learn something from someone.
He specifically sent Happy to pick up Qin Xiao and take him to Tony's home.
Perhaps Qin Xiao's one-punch explosion of the sandbag had deeply shocked Happy.
As Tony Stark's personal bodyguard, he felt he needed to strengthen his professional skills.
On the way, Pepper Potts requested Qin Xiao to teach her kung fu.
Qin Xiao didn't mind, saying, "As long as your boss agrees, I have no problem with it."
Compared to seeing the mansion on the cliff by the sea in the movies, seeing it in reality was even more shocking.
It was practically the size of a medium-sized shopping mall.
What was even more infuriating was that he didn't hire a single servant for such a large house.
Usually, he just hid in the basement to invent things, except for his own bedroom.
What was the point of having such a big house?
Compared to the house, Jarvis, which already had the beginnings of artificial intelligence, didn't shock Qin Xiao as much.
After all, the impression Jarvis gave in the movies wasn't much different from what he was like now.
And so, fueled by a desire to get back at the evil capitalist and Tony's last display of arrogance,
Qin Xiao began Tony's first lesson.
A fundamental stance for beginning martial arts that every person in China knows: Horse Stance!
"Lower it a bit more, thighs and calves at a ninety-degree angle, lower your butt, don't stick it out, oh! Damn it! Happy, are you trying to seduce me with that big, fat ass of yours? Lower it!"
Tony Stark and Qin Xiao weren't that familiar yet, so Qin Xiao wasn't allowed into his underground lab.
Instead, Tony brought Qin Xiao out onto the large balcony.
"I'm here to learn kung fu, the kind that fights people, not to practice this damn weird pose."
Happy's butt wouldn't go down for a long time, and he complained.
"This is a basic skill in Chinese Kung Fu. I've practiced something similar. It makes your lower body stronger, and harder for enemies to knock you down!"
To Qin Xiao's surprise, Tony had actually practiced Wing Chun for a while.
He even had a Wing Chun master.
(In fact, actor Robert Downey Jr. practiced Wing Chun, not Tony Stark. We'll use it here.)
At this moment, Tony seemed quite composed in the face of Happy's confusion, and even had time to explain it to him.
With the boss's order, Happy could only squat down again, wiggling his butt for a long time before finally getting the pose right.
"But I have a question?"
Tony had done Horse Stance before. At first, it was very easy for him, and he could even chat with Qin Xiao.
"Go ahead."
Qin Xiao, lounging in a chair he'd somehow acquired, began to speak.
"The Wing Chun master I trained with before… he was a very famous martial arts master in your China. Why doesn't it feel like he was as strong as you?"
"Real kung fu is about killing. It's rarely passed on. Most of the Chinese kung fu you see today is just for show, all fancy footwork."
"Simply put, it's like the difference between Hogwarts and the magicians outside, understand? Muggle!"
Qin Xiao's words weren't entirely off base. Even in the Marvel world, there were characters like Shang-Chi, who used kung fu later on.
In his previous life, true martial arts had indeed declined in this era. You couldn't find real masters easily.
Whether it was famous martial arts schools or masters, they were mostly just for show, all performance.
It seemed Tony had some free time recently, as he had Happy pick up Qin Xiao almost every day for training.
This made Qin Xiao have to start taking this matter seriously.
Although Qin Xiao didn't actually know Chinese boxing.
But dealing with Tony and Happy, these two complete laymen, he could get away with it. Every day, he had the two of them do Horse Stance, and then practice physical fitness for an hour. Finally, he had the two of them fight each other, with Qin Xiao giving pointers from the side.
To say nothing else, after nearly a month, their fighting skills did indeed improve rapidly.
And Qin Xiao's biggest gain was that he became closer and closer to Tony Stark.
After a month of getting along, Qin Xiao unexpectedly found that the two of them had a lot in common.
They hated all forms of formalism, didn't like people who were too serious, and thought they were hypocritical, and so on.
In fact, most people had these traits, it's just that most people had been worn down by reality as they rolled around in the vast world.
For example, Qin Xiao from his previous life.
Tony Stark was fortunate; his identity and talent allowed him to maintain his attitude and persistence in the world. However, after transmigrating and receiving the system, that unrestrained and uninhibited nature of his began to emerge.
The most important point was that the two of them shared the same sense of humor. For example, Happy had recently been given several nicknames by the two of them.
Fat-Butt Butter, Elegant Big-Butt Dancer, and so on.
It got to the point where Happy didn't dare to practice combat with them anymore.
Mainly because Tony Stark was indeed quite talented, and with continuous physical training and guidance from Qin Xiao, Happy was gradually starting to lose to Tony.
This was a huge insult for a bodyguard.
It was said that he had recently started thinking about transferring to the security department of Stark Industries.
Just as Qin Xiao was busy training Tony and slowly building a friendship with him...
...at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in Washington.
Director Nick Fury's office.
The bald-headed, egg-shaped man was maintaining his usual style, standing by the window and coldly observing the scenery outside.
Behind him stood Black Widow, clad in a black bodysuit.
Compared to the last time Qin Xiao had seen her at the bar, Black Widow in her combat suit looked even more dashing and heroic.
"Almost all the agents committed suicide. The only two remaining are clenching their teeth during interrogation, refusing to speak no matter the methods used."
Black Widow spoke calmly.
"It doesn't matter. We've already eliminated all the black ops in America, so they can't do anything. Whether they know or not is irrelevant. How do you feel about dealing with your former colleagues yourself, Agent Romanoff?"
Nick Fury turned and asked.
"I did too many wrong things in the past. I'm happy to use my knowledge of them to disrupt their activities. For me, it's like making up for past mistakes."
Black Widow's expression was calm, as if she had completely emerged from her past shadows.
"Oh? If you really think that way, that's great. This matter is over, and we don't need to discuss it further. Send those two agents off peacefully. I'm actually very interested in that Asian man you met last time," Nick Fury said, pointing to a file on his desk.
The first page of the file contained Qin Xiao's name and photo, and underneath that file was the Avengers Initiative document.