“So powerful? I don’t believe there are real-life superhumans in this world.” Xu Jiahong shook his head. “You martial arts people always exaggerate things—claiming so-and-so is a top master. If they’re really that good, why don’t they enter the World Championships or the Olympics and become globally famous?”

“How much money do you think that would make?” Ah Ding seemed to mock Xu Jiahong’s ignorance. “Even the current boxing champion, Paski, is only worth about a billion dollars. That might sound like a lot to outsiders, but do you know how many CEOs of publicly traded companies make more than that? As for Olympic champions—don’t even mention it. They get a meager salary, and even with endorsements, at most they might make tens of millions over a few years. Those kickboxing fighters? They fight tooth and nail just for a match worth hundreds of thousands or maybe a million, and that’s at the national elite level. Do you really think it’s worth it?”

“Definitely not,” Xu Jiahong nodded. “The way you put it actually makes a lot of sense. They may be in the spotlight, but not much of that fame translates into actual money. These days, practical gains are what matter.”

“Actually, the kid who fought me today is quite talented. He’s young, yet his skills are already that advanced. We could consider bringing him into the fold,” Ah Ding suggested.

“I’ll think about it,” Xu Jiahong said, but the very thought of it still made his teeth itch with frustration.

“You should learn from Cao Cao. Zhang Xiu killed his son, but Cao Cao still accepted him, and even granted him a noble title in the end. He never killed the guy. That shows how much tolerance he had. Without that kind of tolerance, you can’t achieve great things,” A-Ding continued to advise.

“I know Cao Cao—he was a crafty warlord. But who’s Zhang Xiu? What’s the story there?” Xu Jiahong asked.

When Ah Ding heard that, he was instantly speechless and wanted to curse out loud: ‘What a mediocre idiot. And this guy wants to fight for the family inheritance? Wishful thinking. Whatever. I’m being paid to do a job, so I’ve got no choice.’

*****

The next morning at the crack of dawn, Su Jie woke up at his usual time—3 a.m. 

Like always, he rose at the sound of the rooster and headed to the park for three hours of training.

The more he trained, the more centered his mind became—serene, like a deep abyss.

At every moment, he felt like a hidden dragon lurking in the depths, silently observing all changes from below.

The abyss was calm and peaceful. Deep within, strength quietly gathered, preparing for an explosive ascent.

‘This must be what the Book of Changes means by ‘the dragon leaps from the abyss,’ Su Jie thought, his understanding of the Qian hexagram growing ever deeper.

He realized that his life mirrored the stages of that hexagram. Back when he was at Minglun Martial Arts Academy, it was the stage of “Initial Nine: Hidden dragon, do not act.”

Returning to school marked the “Second Nine: Dragon appears in the field.”

Later, after studying with Master Ma and Old Chen, and defeating Zhou Chun, he continued his diligent training, never becoming arrogant or complacent—this was the “Third Nine: The noble one is active all day, alert at night, with no blame.”

Now, his state of mind had settled completely, as if he were in the depths of the abyss—vast enough to accept all rivers and oceans. This was the “Fourth Nine: The dragon leaps from the abyss, with no blame.”

What came next was “Fifth Nine: Flying dragon in the heavens, beneficial to see the great man.”

The fifth nine was the supreme stage—soaring through the sky like the noonday sun, illuminating the world, reaching the peak of human achievement.

Su Jie understood that this didn’t refer to worldly success or wealth, but rather a breakthrough in his cultivation—the “Living Dead” state.

Compared to that spiritual breakthrough, even tens of billions in wealth were meaningless.

It was only at this point that Su Jie truly grasped the meaning of “wealth and status are like floating clouds to me.”

“In the end, all material things—even physical strength—are just tools to fulfill deep-seated desires. Desire is a bottomless pit. If I sever desire and reflect inward toward the void, I’ll reach true satisfaction. Of course, even wanting to reach the ‘Living Dead’ state is still a desire. A truly dead person has no desires. That’s the essence of that realm. I still desire to reach it. Only when even that desire fades will I truly enter it—where I follow my heart, like a flying dragon in the sky.”

Su Jie was constantly exploring and interrogating the depths of his own heart.

His future path was becoming clearer and clearer, with almost no confusion. He was carving his own way forward.

At this moment, Su Jie’s morning routine—three hours of training—had reached an insane level. His workouts, whether jumping, running, plank-like “crouching tiger” poses, jump rope, footwork, dodging, shadowboxing, and more, matched the daily training volume of national-level professional athletes.

He was like a perpetual motion machine—never stopping.

And to him, this was just the warm-up.

Su Jie’s winter break was packed. He’d wake at 3 a.m. to train, eat breakfast at 6, then spend the morning studying various academic subjects. After lunch and a short nap, he’d head to Huaxing Combat Club to spar and train with different people.

At night, after dinner, he would study again, followed by meditation or flexibility training using a crystal ball.

Back when he was at Minglun Martial Arts Academy, his evening routine included mini sparring tournaments and intense physical exertion.

Now, his evenings were dedicated to mental cultivation.

The crystal ball training was his own addition—something that gradually diverged from Odell’s training modules.

He found that when he practiced with the crystal ball, his mind was especially clear—like the ball itself, pure and transparent. At times, it felt as though he and the ball were one. When he pushed it to the extreme, it felt like his soul had entered the ball, turning it into an extension of his own body.

Master Ma greatly valued using crystal ball performances as a form of psychotherapy.

After learning how to use the crystal ball from “Master Ma,” Su Jie began researching the topic extensively online. He watched numerous performances by crystal ball masters from around the world and studied related materials.

He discovered that the crystal ball had many applications, with the most common being hypnosis and divination.

Scientifically speaking, hypnotists using props found the crystal ball to be ideal—more effective than items like pocket watches.

There seemed to be some mysterious connection between crystals and the mind.

Su Jie understood that this was because crystal, being pure and translucent with no impurities, made it easier to observe internal changes and cleanse the spirit.

After playing with the crystal ball for a month, he finally mastered his hard-style martial arts.

Now, he practiced with the crystal ball every day, learning techniques from various masters’ videos. He felt that he was gradually reaching a state of transcendence, and his control over strength had become increasingly precise and refined.

It had to be said that he owed his vast access to knowledge to the smart module on the tablet his older sister Su Muchen had given him.

Whenever he needed to study something, he just spoke to it. The voice recognition would then instantly trigger an extensive search, compiling and organizing data into a structured learning path from easy to advanced.

It was connected to numerous massive databases and even compiled foreign scientific research materials for Su Jie to study—with built-in translation features.

Of course, Su Jie didn’t need the translation; his English was on par with that of a professional translator.

Nowadays, researching online was convenient—much easier than in the past when you had to go to the library or borrow books just to learn something. But that convenience came with its own problem: the sea of information could easily make you feel lost, and you couldn’t always tell what was true or false.

This smart module perfectly solved that issue.

It was more knowledgeable than any professor, more efficient, and never made mistakes.

For example, when Su Jie needed to study the application of crystal balls in hypnosis and psychology, as well as various theoretical frameworks, a university team might have needed half a month—or longer—to gather and organize all the materials before systematic study could even begin.

But with the smart module’s help, it took just half an hour to compile global resources into a structured learning plan, massively reducing wasted time.

“Now that this smart learning module exists, the gap between people is only going to get wider. Diligent learners can collect information more easily and use their time far more efficiently. What used to take a year to master might now only take a month. Meanwhile, lazy people still won’t bother to learn—even with the best teacher in front of them, they’d still resist and fall behind.”

That day, while using the smart module at home to organize information from around the world and conduct targeted study, a sudden thought rose in Su Jie’s mind.

As the era of digital, high-efficiency learning arrived, diligent people would grow increasingly powerful, while those who were lazy or disliked learning would grow increasingly weak. The gap would become so vast that it would eventually feel insurmountable.

“In the future, a small group of people will become like gods, while the majority will completely lose their chances.”

This thought stirred a sense of vigilance deep within him.

Now, in terms of both knowledge and martial strength, Su Jie had already surpassed his peers by more than tenfold. With each passing day, he was advancing at a breakneck pace.

He felt lucky to be born in the right era.

Because of this, he refused to waste a single minute or second. He studied obsessively and trained relentlessly.

Even though winter break was already halfway over and the Lunar New Year was approaching—when even most third-year high school students allowed themselves to relax—Su Jie showed no signs of letting up. In fact, he was studying and training even harder.

The Grand Ascent Combat Fitness Club had already closed for the holidays, and even Hua Xing himself had gone home for the New Year.

But Su Jie still trained there daily for extended hours, and even when alone, he never felt bored.

His older sister Su Muchen was the same. She seemed to be living in her lab now and wasn’t planning on coming home for the holidays either.

Over the past few days, the weather had taken a sharp turn, becoming bitterly cold. By the early hours of the morning, heavy snow had begun to fall, covering the land in white.

“The weather forecast was spot on. It said a cold front would hit tonight, and I thought it looked fine and probably wouldn’t snow. Didn’t expect it to be so accurate,” Su Jie muttered as he woke up at 3 a.m., still determined to go out and train.

When it rained or snowed, he didn’t go to the park—he went to the club instead.

“Don’t go train today.”

Just as he got up to wash, he noticed his father, Su Shilin, sitting on the couch.

“Dad? Why are you up so early?” Su Jie was a little surprised. “Or did you just get back from the night shift?”

His dad often worked overnight, sometimes even during the New Year.

“When your mom gets up, go with her to the south. You’ll be spending this New Year at your grandfather’s place,” Su Shilin said. “I don’t want to go. But with you accompanying her, I’ll feel better.”

“My grandfather?” Su Jie was stunned. All his life, he’d never even heard that he had a grandfather.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep