Realm-Hopping Martial Master

"Chief Guo, you're too polite."

Jiang Shu reached out with one hand, his voice calm.

"Come on, we're not at work right now, so what's with the job titles? From now on, just call me Brother Guo. If there's anything you need and I can handle it, I'll help you out."

Chief Guo waved his hand, his face plastered with a big smile. While he was sitting in the private room, he knew all too well how much Director Zheng valued the young man in front of him, who didn't even have a full beard yet.

For a busy person like Director Zheng, even though he already held a chief position, it was still hard for him to get a meeting.

*If you can't see the person, you can't latch on to any connections. How are you ever going to climb up step by step?*

*So, if you wanted to get ahead, you'd have to take the roundabout way.*

The moment Director Zheng left, he waited in the lobby.

*Hard work pays off in the end.*

*He managed to build a relationship with this Jiang Shu kid.*

*Isn't that just getting linked up with Director Zheng, even if indirectly?*

Director Guo chuckled, not caring at all about what kind of impact his actions had on the Jiang family.

No one expected it. In their eyes, Jiang Hongfei's boss—a chief who already outranked most regular people—actually shook Jiang Shu's hand with both hands!

In official circles, reaching out with both hands for a shake was a show of respect!

If Chief Guo hadn't mistaken the guy,

then it meant that Jiang Shu had some unknown status!

The Jiang family stared at the scene in front of them, their eyes occasionally drifting over to Jiang Hongfei.

Nobody was stupid.

At this point, everyone could pretty much figure it out. Jiang Hongfei definitely knew something—he just never said it.

"Here's my business card. Brother Jiang, contact me anytime you need something. It's getting late, so I won't interrupt your family's gathering any longer."

Chief Guo knew when to walk away and left with a smile.

His silhouette faded into the distance.

But the atmosphere around the Jiang family felt heavy, like gloomy weather.

Jiang Xiangrong stayed silent.

Jiang Yongren couldn't even manage a single word.

*The harsh words I used to lecture Jiang Shu before now feel like a series of slaps, one after another, right across my face.*

*The son I've bragged about to everyone, supposedly beloved and valued by his supervisors,*

*can't even get a minute of Chief Guo's time.*

*Meanwhile, my nephew Jiang Shu—whom I've always thought was nothing special—can talk to Chief Guo as an equal.*

*Jiang Shu... what makes him so special?*

"Mom, Dad, I called a car—I'm heading out."

Silence hung over everyone.

But Jiang Shu finally spoke up.

He knew the Jiang family was all waiting for an explanation.

*But why should he explain anything?*

*Should he tell them that it was because he knew Director Zheng that Chief Guo was treating him so respectfully?*

*Or should he explain that his body had already completed the full circulation of qi and blood, and he'd soon become a Martial Artist?*

*They wouldn't get it.*

*In their eyes, it was always just about power and money.*

*They didn't know that in this world, fists were power!*

*Once Xuanxing changed and Xia Country announced everything to the public,*

*they'd understand what Martial Arts really meant.*

...

Ji City.

Xishan Kaiyuan Hotel.

"Ah, Jiang Shu, I'm dead!"

Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help crying out. She glanced at Jiang Shu, who was still holding his stance, and rubbed her trembling legs. Even her voice sounded weak as she said, "No more, no more, I need a break."

After three days together, she'd mostly figured out Jiang Shu's personality.

She originally thought he'd be like other guys, trying to play hard-to-get or some other tricks.

She didn't expect that he was truly single-minded about Martial Arts and nothing else mattered to him.

He'd show up at the hotel every morning at eight on the dot, ready to teach her stances.

If she wanted to, she'd practice along; if not, he'd just train by himself.

Other than meals and the occasional short break,

they spent eight hours a day in the Horse Stance. He didn't even glance at her sideways!

For the first couple days, she caught herself wondering if she was just having trouble adjusting to Ji City—if maybe the local water or air was making her skin worse?

But when she checked in the mirror, there was nothing wrong!

She was fine.

*So the only problem must be with Jiang Shu himself.*

*They're already in senior year. Don't tell me he still hasn't woken up yet?*

Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help giving Jiang Shu a quick once-over, mulling it over in her head, then she asked, "We're about to start college soon, Jiang Shu. Don't you want to get yourself a girlfriend?"

"No plans."

Jiang Shu held the Horse Stance. Feeling the proficiency bar for it jump on his status panel, he felt an unexplainable joy inside.

*What could possibly be better than getting stronger?*

*Too bad once Horse Stance hit Perfection, he'd reached the end of Xuanxing's Martial Arts for now.*

*He needed to learn the Guiding Skill before he could master Refined Power.*

*Who knew what the difference was between Refined Power and the "power" described in Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength.*

*Were the Martial Arts of the Two Realms just variations on a theme, or were they totally different paths?*

*Maybe only once he'd reached entry-level in both Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength and the Guiding Skill would he start to understand.*

*Jiang Shu mused to himself, but his Horse Stance grew increasingly steady.*

*To him now, it didn't matter where he trained anymore.*

*Coming to teach Ye Zhenzhen the Horse Stance—she could do it if she wanted, as long as she could at least hold the pose. Anyway, the Martial Arts promo video was just for show.*

*Nobody took it seriously.*

Jiang Shu answered carelessly.

But Ye Zhenzhen's question was anything but casual.

*Wait... could he be gay?*

Looking at Jiang Shu's hair, which was noticeably longer than guys their age, Ye Zhenzhen tilted her head, thought it over, and kept going, "Jiang Shu, I heard some Taoist say that once you have Dao Practice, you have to gather qi. Since it's still early today, want to go up the mountain and check it out?"

"Whatever."

Jiang Shu, who'd already been getting a bit stir-crazy in the hotel suite, readily agreed.

Xishan Kaiyuan Hotel,

was located right at the foot of the Ji City mountains.

Isolated and peaceful, with fresh air throughout.

That was exactly why Ye Zhenzhen picked this place to stay.

In no time, the two of them walked out of the hotel and followed the stone steps up the mountain.

Bamboo forests crowded in, bird calls echoed off the slopes.

The fresh scent of earth blew into Jiang Shu's nose on the breeze.

Jiang Shu gently inhaled, stood on an open patch of ground, and chose to stop: "We should be good here. There's a wide view—best for practicing. On day one, I told you: Horse Stance requires head up, form and spirit open. Come on, hold your stance right here."

"Even hiking means we have to practice... unbelievable!"

*She thought it, but didn't dare say it aloud.*

Ye Zhenzhen looked like she'd lost all hope. At this point, she could pretty much guarantee Jiang Shu was ninety percent gay. Any other guy, if he ran into a superstar like her, would at least make small talk and try to get closer, right?

In the hotel, he'd claimed her agent might pop in at any moment, so it wasn't appropriate to chat much.

But now it was just the two of them in the middle of nowhere on the mountain.

*This kind of terrain.*

*This kind of vibe.*

*And the first thing out of his mouth was still about practicing?*

*Unreal.*

Ye Zhenzhen really was floored. She steadied her breath, then stood in a Horse Stance next to Jiang Shu.

But just as she locked in her stance, a sudden rustle came from the brush nearby.

She instinctively lowered her head to look over.

She spotted, hidden in the sparse grass, a viper as thick as her arm, its body coiled, grayish-brown and scaly, triangle head raised, flicking its tongue right at her!

If she hadn't just stabilized her Horse Stance, that one look alone would've been enough to make her collapse right on the spot!

"J-Jiang Shu, there's... there's a snake..."

Ye Zhenzhen stammered, her voice barely a whisper and every muscle frozen, terrified the viper would notice her.

"Don't move."

Right then, Jiang Shu, still holding his Horse Stance, shifted instantly into the Tiger Sitting in Cave Stance.

The Tiger Sitting in Cave Stance, at Great Success, paired with Tiger Breathing Technique.

In just a single breath, Jiang Shu's whole aura focused, and the fully mastered Tiger Form Three Styles were ready to go at any time!

He locked eyes on the viper in the brush.

"Alright, now start moving slowly, toward me, just a little at a time."

Jiang Shu's voice was steady in a way that gave nothing away.

*But even if he sounded calm, she was still staring down a poisonous viper!*

Ye Zhenzhen squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. She had no choice but to trust Jiang Shu now.

*Screw it, go for broke!*

*Worst case scenario, I spend a few months in the hospital!*

She mustered every ounce of courage and stepped toward Jiang Shu.

But as soon as she moved, the viper launched out of the grass like it was spring-loaded.

Its tongue flicked, and a wave of stench hit her in the face!

Ye Zhenzhen froze up completely,

blanking out with no idea what to do.

She thought she heard the sound of a powerful fist behind her, air splitting.

Tiger Form Three Styles.

Pounce!

Jiang Shu lunged forward, delivering a fierce punch that smashed into the viper mid-air.

Then, spinning around, he kicked out.

Slice!

He drove his foot into the viper, the toe slamming it straight into the nearest tree!

"Bang!"

Leaves rained down all around.

In less than a second,

the arm-thick viper was snapped in half by Jiang Shu's raw Power!

Only two severed pieces of snake body remained on the ground, still twitching.

Jiang Shu yanked the shell-shocked Ye Zhenzhen behind him with one hand, then strode forward and stomped hard on the snake's still-jerking head,

grinding it into the dirt, blood spurting out.

Without looking back, he spoke softly,

"It's over."