Chapter 74: Potential Ceiling, Invitation to Join (Second Update!)

"Ow ow ow ow—"

In the basement, Qin Shi threw Lin Yunqing onto the soft mat with a beautiful shoulder throw, holding back some strength out of consideration for the Level 4 Energy Liquid.

The bitch woman could once again harvest baby-like sleep.

"Is this how you repay me!"

Lin Yunqing huffed, rubbing her violently heaving chest.

That swing hurt so much!

"Helping Teacher Lin awaken her Qi Life Force—isn't that also a way of expressing gratitude?"

Qin Shi shrugged.

He had already figured out the bitch woman's temperament; he absolutely could not give her any good facial color.

Once he acted even slightly gentle, Lin Yunqing would immediately take advantage.

He had to teach her a harsh lesson, as if dealing with a Samoyed that tore up the house.

"The bitch woman wouldn't be a masochist, would she? Specifically likes this?"

Qin Shi thought of his first deep exchange with Lin Yunqing, when a deliberate Cannon Fist gave her panda eyes, and thus they formed a bond.

This woman was really something wrong!

"Tsk, my Potential Ceiling is right here; no matter how hard I try, it's hard to see results."

Lin Yunqing suddenly lost interest; her father was a famous scholar, a Zhuo Zuo Jiaoshou at one of the Four Great National Universities.

But she wanted more to follow her mother and walk the Martial Artist Path.

Pity her innate Potential Ceiling was too low; even pouring in all resources, she could only stop around Amateur Level four or five.

"What is a Potential Ceiling?"

Qin Shi felt like a curious baby.

Constrained by his background as a worker's child from Old Factory Street, he indeed knew too little about his surroundings.

No way, because of the existence of various blockade policies, Hengzhou's information monopoly was severe to a hair-raising degree.

"The three major systems have endured and been improved and perfected over time; Dongxia long ago summarized a set of effective judgment methods."

Lin Yunqing propped her head with her palm, looking at Qin Shi standing straight.

"It wouldn't be the classic queuing up to touch stones, then 'Dou Force Level Three,' right?"

Qin Shi slandered silently.

"Testing Flesh Vitality, starting from age five, once a year, until age ten."

"Roughly one can judge where the Martial Artist Path's Potential Ceiling lies. Accuracy is around eighty percent."

Lin Yunqing spoke with regret; wealthy families in Imperial Capital and Haizhou would spend a high price from the moment a child was born to hire professionals for "Occupation Planning."

Vigorous Flesh Vitality suited the Martial Artist Path.

Abnormal Mental Spirituality, or a certain degree of Mechanical Affinity.

One could try the Shen Neng Xi and Mechanical System.

"Brother Yuan and Cheng Ge thought the first watershed in life was the College Entrance Exam."

Qin Shi's mouth corner twitched; looking at it this way, the first should be the amniotic fluid.

It probably wasn't wrong; the rich or middle-class in Taian Metropolitan Area arranged tutoring classes and specialty classes from childhood, let alone a Chao Yixian Xingzhengqu like Imperial Capital Haizhou.

"Why must Teacher Lin insist on impacting the Martial Artist? Longing for the legendary halo of the First Generation Ten Greats?"

Qin Shi asked, lowering his head.

Lin Yunqing suddenly sat up, her loose practice uniform instantly tightening:

"Cool! Haven't you seen Qi Wuxiang and He Lanchan's Star Cup Grand Finals? Taking the entire Xing Qiu as the ring, sky, earth, ocean—everywhere is a battlefield!"

"One punch shakes the stars, trembles the magnetic field, shifts continental plates... So cool!"

Truly a pure enough reason.

Qin Shi's forehead veins twitched.

Indeed, he shouldn't have any expectations of the bitch woman.

He thought he could hear passionate lines like "chasing dreams" or "elders' expectations."

"Don't listen to her tough talk. Xiao Qingqing studied in Imperial Capital and was bullied a lot by someone surnamed Yu, dropping several little pearls."

Chen Yun, sitting to the side surfing the internet playing match-three games, mercilessly exposed:

"What pulling pigtails, cutting hair, stealing toys, putting cockroaches in pencil cases... seemingly trivial little things, but Xiao Qingqing remembered them deeply in her heart, never forgetting to this day."

"She wished she could become a Martial God and crush that kid surnamed Yu."

Kindergarten also has bullying?

Qin Shi blinked.

"Tsk! Don't make me sound like a pushover; I've fought back too, okay!"

"I splashed dirty water on Yu Li and tore his homework book... it's just that I never succeeded!"

Lin Yunqing continued her tough talk.

Qin Shi stared at the bitch woman with her head raised, touching the Level 4 Energy Liquid in his pocket.

Suddenly surged a spirit not quite fitting his mental age:

"Teacher Lin, if there's a chance to break into the Star Cup and meet that guy surnamed Yu."

"I'll help you—beat him until he cries!"

Lin Yunqing stared blankly at the solemn Qin Shi, as if scalded by a red-hot branding iron, hurriedly turning her head.

Oh no! This damn feeling of a myocardial infarction!

She gritted her teeth, hypnotizing herself over and over.

Absolutely cannot be fooled! Assistant Teacher Qin is selling financial products!

Investment requires seeing returns, absolutely don't lose your head!

"What a sin."

Chen Yun, watching from the sidelines, covered her face.

The traditional skill of the Old Lin Family.

It's definitely a teacher-student romance!

……

……

Returning to the shed house on Old Factory Street, the crowded street after the rain had finally stopped being so crappy.

After learning some truths about Hengzhou New Star from Chen Yun, Qin Shi's desire to escape his current situation grew more urgent.

A comfortable environment, powerful strength that provides security, and status and treatment with welfare guarantees—he needed all of these.

"Old Liang said he's preparing materials for breaking the Second Limit, I don't know how much more is needed."

Qin Shi muttered to himself, completing the Qi Refining Stage probably put him around Amateur 8-dan.

If he breaks the Second Limit barrier again, the two stack, and his development speed would be like a snowball rolling downhill.

He estimated he could get close to ten points, which is the level of Qiguang Heng University Martial Arts Department students.

"Someday I'll ask Teacher Lin if there's a way to raise Citizen Level and increase Permit Authority."

"But in this regard, Sister Yun seems more able to help."

Qin Shi considered that the Inspection Department of the Urban Circle had absurdly high authority.

A violent institution similar to the integration of public prosecution and judiciary, quite like a modern version of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Sure enough, the end of the universe is still a formal establishment!"

He entered the room and took out the Level 4 Energy Liquid preserved in a Sealed Iron Can.

Although the bitch woman likes to put on a face, she's not stingy with gold coins.

This point is worth praising!

Favorability +0.5

Qin Shi's heart, cold as if he'd killed fish at Lianrunfa for ten years, fluctuated slightly.

He was about to take the Level 4 Energy Liquid when his movement suddenly stopped:

"My home has no protective measures at all; if something goes wrong, there's no way to remedy it. It's safer to have Old Liang watch!"

Qin Shi thought it made more and more sense, and hurriedly ran toward the dormitory building of Zi Fu No. 9 Middle School.

……

……

"What are you here for again?"

Old Liang sat on the edge of the flower bed, squinting his eyes, wearing a white undershirt, like a little old man dozing off to cool down.

Opposite, Cheng Ze stepped on a Space Walking Machine for elderly exercise, speaking two sentences in a flat tone.

"I kidnapped the Qin Family people."

"Liang Laoshi, are you interested in cooperating with a student?"

Old Liang, whose fingers were lightly tapping his knees, raised his head, opened his eyelids a trace, and revealed a hint of profound aura.

"What? Brother A Ze, planning to drag the teacher into your gang and become a kidnapping bandit with you?"

Cheng Ze, as if stared at by a giant beast of the Star Sea, had his hairs stand on end, skin tense, and sweat unconsciously seeping from his forehead.

"Teacher. Hengzhou is about to be unsealed. Why stay in this crappy place where we're treated like prisoners and blood bags?"

"I was too naive before, thinking that leaving Old Factory Street would bring a better future! I was wrong. Hengzhou has no hope. The descendants of those Pioneer Families are like countless leeches clinging to us, squeezing out every bit of nutrition from our bones!"

Old Liang's tapping fingers stopped, his body leaned forward, and his eyes stared fixedly at Cheng Ze without blinking:

"Brother A Ze, why do you never take the teacher's words to heart? You hold your head too high and like making friends whose backgrounds you don't know."

"You don't know how cold and dark the Star Sea outside Dongxia is."

Cheng Ze didn't seem surprised by Old Liang's answer, and the Space Walking Machine swinging back and forth suddenly stopped:

"I hate Old Factory Street. Every time it rains, mud dirties my shoes. Generation after generation of dropout scum go around hacking people, mining, selling their labor."

"They enjoy themselves as if it's only natural! I don't understand! Why aren't they angry? I'm extremely angry, Teacher."

"Anger gnaws at my heart all the time, making me want to burn the Qin Family, the Urban Circle, and all those powerful people to ashes..."

Cheng Ze lowered his head, and fierce light surged in the depths of his eyes.

But as he spoke further, his tone dropped again.

Looking at Liang Laoshi, who had taught him before, this boss of Beiguan Street who had been a wild dog his whole life smiled and said:

"As a student, I don't seem to have been very filial to you. Before leaving, I left a bottle of Mineral Essence by the stove at my old home."

"Teacher, I'm sorry I couldn't become the good student in your heart."

Cheng Ze jumped off the Space Walking Machine, turned around wanting to bum a cigarette, and just happened to see a short-sleeved boy coming not far away stepping on hot wind.

"How nice."

……

……

"Liang Laoshi, how did Brother Ze come?"

Qin Shi ran to the edge of the flower bed and obediently handed over cigarettes and mineral water.

"Quit smoking."

Old Liang waved his hand, didn't take the box of Han Hua Cigarettes he usually liked to smoke, and said laughing hehe:

"He invited your master to join forces, do a big deal, charge into the Urban Circle, press straight for Central City, seize the Governor's position..."

Qin Shi didn't take it seriously; this wasn't the ancient era of enfeoffment and warlord separatism anymore.

In this day and age, rebelling — aren't they afraid several Martial Gods will descend from the heavens?

War ships massed behind him like clouds, Divine Machines like rain; right then and there they blasted the planet to pieces!

"Liang Laoshi, I got hold of a bottle of Level 4 Energy Liquid."

Qin Shi presented it like a treasure, handing the sealed iron can to Lao Liang:

"This thing doesn't come with an instruction manual either; Elder, please give some guidance."

Lao Liang weighed the Level 4 Energy Liquid, cool to the touch, a look of surprise in his eyes.

Then he spoke with earnest sincerity:

"You've become a kept man for that female teacher in the Urban Circle? Young man, soft rice tastes good, but being a live-in son-in-law is hard. That rich-family meal isn't easy to hold!"

What on earth is Lao Liang thinking?

He talks as if he's some experienced person?

With your venerable looks, you couldn't have been that handsome in your youth either, right?

The corner of Qin Shi's mouth twitched:

"Liang Laoshi, can you be serious!"

Lao Liang reined in his smile, face full of gravity:

"There are many ways to use Energy Liquid. Direct injection, or oral ingestion, or soaking in a bath. There are even some... unconventional poor devils who, to increase absorption rate, choose rectal administration.

Because the peak concentration of drug effect from rectal absorption is nearly double that of oral ingestion, and it can avoid the influence of stomach acid and the liver's first-pass effect, significantly increasing the drug's bioavailability.

Young man, do you want to consider it?"

(Chapter End)