“Are you practicing bodybuilding?” Su Jie casually asked upon seeing his dormitory classmate, Tan Dashi, whose broad shoulders and thick build were quite impressive.

“No,” Tan Dashi replied, plopping down onto a chair that creaked ominously, as if it might collapse under him. Unfazed, he pulled out a large bottle of mineral water from his bag and began to gulp it down voraciously, finishing it in no time.

“Drink slowly, don’t choke,” Su Jie shook his head. Drinking water like that isn’t good for one’s stomach and spleen. Young people often feel invincible, but if this continues over the years, it will lead to adverse effects.

“You sound like a woman,” Tan Dashi laughed heartily. “I already told you my name; what about you?”

“My name is Su Jie.” Su Jie extended his hand for a handshake with Tan Dashi.

“Your little hand is really delicate, tsk tsk…” Tan Dashi whistled as he shook hands with Su Jie, his tone rather frivolous.

Su Jie’s hand certainly did not resemble that of a martial artist; it was long, delicate, and clean, without any scars, reminiscent of a woman’s. This was the result of years of applying a special oil balm.

In contrast, Tan Dashi’s hands were covered in calluses, rough and frighteningly coarse, clearly the result of years of weightlifting.

Tan Dashi pulled out a massive dumbbell and some other fitness equipment, such as an ab wheel, indicating that he intended to work out in the dormitory.

With a swish! He seemed to show off as he lifted the ab wheel with one hand and performed a standing exercise, effortlessly falling forward and then pulling himself back up, showcasing impressive muscle elasticity and coordination.

“Your physical fitness is quite good,” Su Jie remarked. He knew that the ab wheel was generally used while kneeling on the ground; using it in a standing position was challenging even for two hands, yet Tan Dashi managed to do it with one hand, which was remarkable—far superior to the average person.

“I see you have a weaker physique,” Tan Dashi said. “I can teach you fitness; I guarantee you’ll have an eight-pack. Military training starts tomorrow, and the exercise volume will be significant; you might not be able to handle it. I can also teach you combat; I actually practice as a mixed martial arts fighter.”

Su Jie just smiled. He touched his own belly; ever since he began cultivating hard Qi Gong, his muscles had become less pronounced, covered by a thin layer of fat, making him look no different from an ordinary person. Only when he exerted himself vigorously did his muscles tense up, causing the fat to protrude, transforming him into a formidable figure, as powerful as a diamond descending from the heavens.

In other words, his body fat percentage was currently at the healthiest golden standard for humans.

While the two were talking, another classmate entered. This student was about 1.7 meters tall, clearly from the countryside, and brought some local specialties with him. As soon as he walked in, he introduced himself, “My name is Wang Shun, and these are walnuts picked from the trees in my hometown. Try some.” He then pulled out several plastic bags filled with hard, raw walnuts from his large canvas bag.

“Come, come, let me help you,” Tan Dashi said enthusiastically, assisting Wang Shun in organizing his belongings.

Su Jie also joined in to help. With their assistance, Wang Shun quickly arranged his bedding and various daily necessities neatly.

After tidying up, the three sat down to chat. Wang Shun was indeed from the countryside, but he had performed excellently in the college entrance examination, scoring 700 points, and he spoke with a level of knowledge that was impressive. However, Su Jie was not surprised; everyone who could get into Q University was elite, among the top figures in their respective provinces, and none were simple characters—all were academic achievers.

“Ah, I forgot to bring any clips.” While chatting, Wang Shun offered Su Jie and Tan Dashi some walnuts, saying, “I have a good brain because I’ve been eating the walnuts from my family’s trees since I was little.”

“It’s nothing, I have dumbbells here; just smash it open,” Tan Dashi said as he felt the walnut, which was indeed very hard. He initially wanted to learn how to crush it like the experts on television, but after trying a few times, his fingers were in pain, and the walnut remained unyielding. He couldn’t help but think of using the dumbbells. Su Jie also picked up a walnut and felt it; it was indeed very hard. He pinched it between his thumb and index finger and applied a gentle force. Crack! The walnut split open, revealing the flesh inside. 

“Don’t use the dumbbells; it’ll make a mess everywhere,” Su Jie said as he crushed two more walnuts, retrieving the flesh and sharing it with Tan Dashi and Wang Shun. 

“Is that for real?” Tan Dashi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I couldn’t break it, but you did it so easily? Did you just happen to pick a broken one?” He selected one from the pile and squeezed it hard, but the walnut remained unyielding. After observing the walnut that he couldn’t crush, he handed it to Su Jie. “Why don’t you give it another try?” 

Su Jie casually pinched it with two fingers, and the walnut instantly shattered, unable to withstand his strength. Faced with this situation, he nodded in satisfaction. He hadn’t specifically trained for finger strength, but after cultivating hard Qi Gong, his strength reached his fingertips and was unbreakable. 

‘The essence of the hoe strike lies in the fingers; the palm is like a hoe, and the fingers are like a rake. If there is no finger strength, the power of this move will be reduced by more than half,’ Su Jie thought. ‘Through the continuous practice of this move, I’ve also trained my finger strength.’ 

He casually squeezed the walnut, making Tan Dashi doubt himself: “You must have some trick; your hands look weak. How could you possibly be stronger than me? Let’s arm wrestle and see!” He insisted on challenging Su Jie to an arm-wrestling match. 

Su Jie had no choice but to agree. The two clasped hands together, and before Su Jie could exert any force, Tan Dashi suddenly cried out, “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Let go!” 

After Su Jie released his grip, Tan Dashi asked, “What do you have in your hand?” 

“Nothing,” Su Jie extended his hand to show Tan Dashi. 

“This must be some magic trick,” Wang Shun also doubted that the seemingly not-so-brawny Su Jie could crush walnuts directly and make Tan Dashi lose in an arm-wrestling match. 

“Do you know how to fight?” Tan Dashi regained some clarity. “Wait… did you say your name is Su Jie?” 

“What’s wrong?” Su Jie asked curiously. 

“Oh my!” Tan Dashi immediately took out his phone and opened a short video. 

In this video, Su Jie was seen fighting Zhou Chun in a match at Starshine Combat Fitness Club. Zhou Chun’s punches and kicks hit Su Jie, but he stood still, and with one slap, Su Jie knocked Zhou Chun out. 

“The current third-ranked expert in national free fighting, Zhou Chun, is your defeated opponent,” Tan Dashi looked at the person in the video again, comparing it to Su Jie, and finally confirmed it. His body trembled, nearly kneeling down. “Idol, boss, from now on, you are my boss, and I am your little brother! I’ll serve you tea, clean, make the bed, and do whatever you need! Boss, just teach me a couple of moves whenever you have time. I really want to learn at the Diandao Martial Arts School, but I can’t get in without a recommendation.” 

While speaking, he opened some videos he had saved, showing Su Jie interacting at the Diandao Martial Arts School, which Hua Xing selectively uploaded to some fighting circles. It was easy for powerful figures to recognize Su Jie’s level, and this was also a marketing tactic by Huaxing. 

“There’s no need to go that far,” Su Jie felt a bit uncomfortable seeing Tan Dashi act like a fanboy in front of his idol. 

“Su Jie knows martial arts? And he’s really strong?” Wang Shun, seeing Tan Dashi’s reaction, couldn’t understand. “Tan Dashi, you don’t have to be like this.” 

“You’re not from our circle, so you don’t know how powerful the boss really is,” Tan Dashi immediately changed his address, directly calling Su Jie ‘boss.’ 

“Don’t call me boss; we are classmates,” Su Jie quickly waved his hand.

“If you don’t want me to, that’s fine, but you have to teach me a couple of moves.” Tan Dashi seized the opportunity with great difficulty and was not willing to let it go. “The university has a gym; come on, let’s go right now. I don’t want to learn anything else, just that face-slapping technique.”

“What face-slapping technique?” Su Jie asked.

“It’s the technique where you slap people’s faces during competitions. No one can escape your face-slapping skill. People in the circle are saying your ultimate move is too ruthless,” Tan Dashi replied.

Su Jie understood in his heart that his “hoe strike” technique was simply taken as about slapping faces. No matter how strong the opponent was, even if they were armed with weapons or guns, he was utterly fearless and would strike directly, aiming for the face. 

Because when striking someone, one must first strike their courage, to strike courage one must first strike their eyes, and to strike the eyes, one must strike the face.

“Let’s go check out the gym,” Su Jie said. He happened to be looking for a place to conduct his daily training. Although practicing hard Qi Gong in the university wasn’t feasible, he wasn’t in a hurry. His physical fitness had already reached its peak, and further training in hard Qi Gong wouldn’t yield much effect. It was better to cultivate internally while achieving breakthroughs on a mental level.

As long as the mental breakthrough reached the realm of “living dead,” only then could he practice the “Thirteen Protectors’ Golden Bell Iron Shirt Dragon-Tiger Vajra Qi Gong” with more subtlety, truly perceiving the minutiae and achieving one hundred percent precision in body control.

“Then let’s go; it’s a good chance to familiarize ourselves with the campus,” Wang Shun also took an interest. “Let’s have dinner together in the evening, but shouldn’t we wait for another classmate?”

“That’s true,” Su Jie nodded. “Since we live together, we should wait for him before gathering.”

Just then, the fourth roommate pushed the door open and entered.

This roommate wore glasses and had a refined appearance. He carried a trendy backpack and, upon entering, did not greet the three but went straight to the network port to check it out. Shaking his head, he took out a computer from his backpack. After opening it, he began to operate it with a flurry of clicks.

“Hello, I’m Lin Tang.” After finishing this, he didn’t make his bed but started introducing himself. “If you have any computer-related issues in the future, you can come to me for help.”

“Bro, are you a computer expert?” Tan Dashi introduced himself to the three as well. “Why didn’t you choose to major in computer science but instead came to the School of Life Sciences?”

“There’s nothing worthwhile to learn in computer science. The teachers there are not as good as me; so I won’t learn anything useful,” Lin Tang replied arrogantly. “Learning life sciences might help me live longer in the future.”

“Is your skill really that strong? What are you good at?” Su Jie asked, intrigued.

“Finance, futures, stocks,” Lin Tang stated succinctly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep