Chapter 59

Slowly opening his eyes, memories flashed through his mind, and Wang Yan lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Thinking of the bits and pieces in "Fleet of Time," the crisp laughter of a son and daughter echoed in his ears. With his heart churning, Wang Yan was in such pain he couldn't control himself.

It took a whole week of easing into it before he could barely adapt.

Pulling up the panel.

Wang Yan

Attributes: Strength 20

Agility 20

Constitution 20

Spirit 22

Unallocated points 5

Storage space 2m3

Skills: Computer LV5

Combat LV3

Cooking LV3

Calligraphy LV1

... omitted a bunch of skills.

The mission completion rewarded 5 attribute points; the other attributes remained as they were, with no changes.

Over the course of 15 years, Wang Yan's computer skill went from LV2 proficiency, LV3 professional, LV4 mastery, all the way to early LV5 perfection. (PS: The little brother doesn't know what to do either; if the big brother has any ideas, feel free to bring them up.)

It was like an inverted pyramid; the further up the levels, the harder it was to advance. According to the information passed by the system, LV5 was the end of the line. Since they were all LV5, naturally there had to be a distinction between high and low, and that depended on who had gone further. Wang Yan was currently just entering it; at this level, he was still a small fry among small fries, and he still had a long way to go.

Having not fought for so many years, Wang Yan's combat skill progress was limited. But he had been practicing for so many years, after all, and his own combat philosophy could be considered to have taken shape; he felt he was about to break through. His cooking progress was okay; after all, whenever he had nothing to do, he would research delicious food and make it for the children, so he had put in the effort.

And for so many years, his main energy had been placed on computers, and his calligraphy was just about to break through. There was nothing else worth mentioning; his messy skills and such had all made some progress.

Wang Yan didn't want to stay in Beijing anymore; he had lived here for fifteen years, and he was always seeing things that reminded him of people. Moreover, he didn't want to work anymore; it was meaningless.

After calculating, it seemed that splitting the money into two withdrawals would be more appropriate. So at the end of the month, Wang Yan directly withdrew half the money, and the tax deduction made his liver ache.

After getting the money, he directly paid off all his debts, and with the remaining money, he kept some for spending and bought stocks with the rest as usual.

Wang Yan wandered around this vast Beijing, near the North Sea, for a day, just walking aimlessly like this.

The next day, he packed his bags and left, went home to stay for two days, and was nagged by Zhang Xia for two days. It wasn't that Wang Yan wasn't filial, but the power was just too strong. He hurriedly left his hometown again, with his destination being Lin'an.

At Xiaoshan Airport, Wang Yan carried his suitcase and hailed a taxi, going directly to the Xihu. Before coming, he had already booked a nearby homestay; seeing that the environment was quite good, at over a hundred a day, he booked it for a month directly.

He had been here with Gu Jia before, but the stay was very short, so he had only taken a rough look. This time, he wanted to walk more and have a good stroll.

Life returned to peace; he would run two laps around the Xihu early in the morning and find an empty spot with few people to practice boxing randomly. After eating breakfast, he would wander around the city leisurely.

On this day, there was a light rain, and there were relatively few people.

Wang Yan held an umbrella and stood on the shore of the Xihu, watching the ripples on the lake.

A woman holding an umbrella walked to a spot not far from Wang Yan and stood side by side with him.

Hearing the movement, Wang Yan turned his head and glanced at her. Seeing the disappointment revealed in her eyes, he turned his head back indifferently and continued to look at the Xihu in front of him. He said: "Are you disappointed?"

The woman was a bit embarrassed and explained: "Sorry, I saw you standing here alone, so I was a bit curious."

She had been hiding from the rain behind Wang Yan just now and saw Wang Yan standing by the lake with his umbrella, motionless; the distant mountains, the nearby lake water, and the pedestrians passing by from time to time made Wang Yan look extraordinary and independent from the world.

Plus, Wang Yan was tall enough and stood straight, making her want to get to know this man, but the result was indeed disappointing. Although he couldn't be called a "back-view killer," Wang Yan's appearance was indeed ordinary, completely destroying her beautiful fantasy from before.

"It's nothing, no need to be embarrassed." After saying this, Wang Yan nodded at her and turned to walk further and further away in the wind and rain.

This feeling was quite good, but he was too ordinary, and perhaps she wasn't interested in getting to know him deeply to discover those extraordinary qualities. Moreover, he wasn't in the mood to spend effort picking up girls right now; it was meaningless.

The woman just watched his receding back until he disappeared.

In the evening, Wang Yan, who was reading, received an unexpected message from the system.

"Gong Baosen from 'The Grandmaster': True Martial. (Dare not True Nation)"

Wang Yan had seen this movie before; it was mainly about... please Baidu it.

But it had been a long time, so as usual, he logged into his membership, watched "The Grandmaster" once, as well as "Ip Man" and the sequels two, three, and four.

Afterwards, he checked some information from that time and prepared everything.

Looking at the time, it was already past four in the morning. Wang Yan lay on the bed, pulled up the panel, and operated the selection.

A blue light flashed, and Wang Yan disappeared from the room.

Wang Yan opened his eyes, wearing a black long gown and leather shoes, and looked around. Noticing the large characters "Fengtian," he confirmed that this was Fengtian Railway Station.

Confirming the environment was safe, Wang Yan stood in place to receive the message from the system.

His identity was very simple: Wang Yan, 20 years old, returned halfway through his studies abroad; his family had all scattered due to the war and were all gone. And now it was the 19th year of the Republic of China, 1930 AD, September, and the Central Plains War had just come to an end.

Wang Yan didn't rashly go to the Gong family; he was a nobody, and no one would care about him. Even if Grandmaster Gong Baosen had a grand demeanor, he, Wang Mou, was just a small fry, and he couldn't waste time like that.

After asking around casually, Wang Yan went to the place where the martial arts schools in Fengtian were concentrated.

He wasn't in a hurry to add attribute points; he didn't know what his own level was, so he would spar first and then decide.

"Brother, I would like to spar with your school's master; please trouble you to report it." Wang Yan walked to the entrance of a martial arts school and said politely to the man outside.

Hearing this, the man frowned, his tone unfriendly: "So, you're here to smash the place?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, just a closed-door spar, a closed-door spar." Wang Yan waved his hand.

The man frowned and thought about it, not rashly acting out: "You wait a moment, I'll go ask my master." He waved over two people, let them watch Wang Yan, and turned to go inside to ask for an opinion.

He wasn't a fool; after all, without three-thirds of the skill, one really couldn't go to Mount Liang; he couldn't figure out Wang Yan's depth because he was so polite. If he made a big deal out of it and ended up not being able to beat the guy, they would basically be finished.

Wang Yan was very patient, standing quietly at the door. He ignored the vigilant and hostile gazes of the two young punks in front of him.

Not long after, the man from before walked out: "Come in, the master agreed."

Wang Yan nodded and followed him inside.

Passing through the front hall and walking into the courtyard, Wang Yan saw an... old man with his hands behind his back looking at him.

"Young man, you want to challenge me?" the old man said with a strong voice.

Wang Yan cupped his hands: "This junior has just arrived and didn't expect this situation; I hope the old gentleman will forgive me."

The old man waved his hand, smiling indifferently: "It's nothing, the ignorant are not to be blamed. Since you're here, let my disciple spar with you for a bit."

As the old man's voice fell, people on both sides stepped back, and a burly man walked out from the side, came to Wang Yan, cupped his hands and said: "Xingyi, Zhang Long. Please." After speaking, he set up his stance.

Wang Yan followed suit and cupped his hands: "No sect, Wang Yan. Please." He also set up a boxing stance.

Setting up the stance, they looked for an opportunity. Zhang Long's patience was very good; he wasn't in a hurry to attack, and he and Wang Yan circled around looking for flaws.

Wang Yan circled twice and stopped messing around with him; he pushed off the ground with his left leg, stepped forward, crossed his right leg quickly, and killed toward Zhang Long with a Baji heart-strike.

Seeing Wang Yan's movement, Zhang Long dodged quickly to the side, and a cannon punch was about to smash into Wang Yan's chest.

Unhurried, Wang Yan followed the momentum, supported himself with one hand, flipped in the air, and aimed a big kick at Zhang Long's head.

Seeing he couldn't dodge in time, Zhang Long protected his face with his arms and took the kick head-on. The giant force came through his arms, and he retreated several steps quickly.

Wang Yan landed, followed up with force, and without waiting for Zhang Long to react, swung a hook punch.

Zhang Long wanted to raise his painful arm to block, but the pain ultimately affected his speed, and he was smashed in the jaw by a punch, flipped over, and fell to the ground unconscious.

Wang Yan didn't need to do anything; others hurriedly went up to support Zhang Long, glaring at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan ignored them and cupped his hands to the old man: "This junior takes his leave."

The old man didn't care about the group of disciples who couldn't afford to lose, nodded and said: "Go."

After leaving the door, Wang Yan walked slowly on the street.

He didn't know what level Zhang Long, who was knocked down in three moves, was, but Zhang Long was clearly the number one disciple of this martial arts school, and there were dozens of disciples. Looking at it this way, he, Wang Mou, wasn't bad at all.

Because the system didn't give money this time, Wang Yan found a pawnshop and pawned the watch on his wrist, which was enough for him to use for a while.

Finding a small inn, Wang Yan rested for a night.

In the following period, except for the Gong family, Wang Yan basically went to challenge every other martial arts school.

And during this time, Wang Yan also raised his Constitution to 25, Strength to 23, Agility to 22, and the rest still needed his own development.

Although they were all closed-door challenges, it was inevitable that some big-mouth would spread it.

As the local snake and underworld leader, the Gong family had long known the news that a fierce person had appeared on their turf.

"Master, this kid is too arrogant; I'll go meet him." Ma San said.

Gong Baosen drank a sip of tea slowly and said: "Stay calm, he will come."

At this time, Old Jiang, who was carrying a monkey, walked in: "Sir, that kid is here."

"Bring him in."

After a while, Wang Yan walked in, stepped forward, cupped his hands and saluted: "Junior Wang Yan, meets Senior Gong."

"No need for formalities, sit down and talk." Gong Baosen pointed to the chair below and said with a smile.

"Thank you, Senior."

Ma San didn't wait for Wang Yan to sit down, stepped forward two steps and said: "Kid, you're very good at fighting?"

Wang Yan straightened up, saw Gong Baosen didn't react, and said: "It's alright."

"Hmph, arrogant, I'll come and meet you." Ma San snorted coldly and kicked over directly.

Wang Yan wasn't polite either, accurately grabbed Ma San's ankle, and swung a leg over directly.

Ma San didn't expect Wang Yan to be able to grab him, couldn't lift his leg to kick again in time, blocked hastily with both hands, and immediately felt himself flying.

Wang Yan used Ma San's momentum, plus his leg speed was fast and his explosive power was strong, so he swung him away with one leg directly.

Ma San rolled twice after landing and stood up supported; his arm had already been kicked and injured, and he would need to rest for three to five days.

Ma San had never suffered such a great humiliation and was about to rush over to fight Wang Yan regardless of anything.

"Enough." Gong Baosen scolded Ma San sternly.

"Master, I..."

"Get out." Gong Baosen's eyes were like electricity; Ma San didn't dare to refute, snorted, and left hatefully.

Gong Baosen also didn't expect Wang Yan's skills to be so good; although there was the factor of Ma San underestimating the enemy, he had indeed knocked Ma San down with one leg.

"Young man, good skills!" Gong Baosen clapped his hands. On strength alone, he didn't have the confidence to kill Wang Yan, and just now Wang Yan clearly hadn't used his full strength.

"Junior was reckless, I hope Senior Gong will forgive me." Wang Yan replied politely.

"No need for formalities, sit down and talk, sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Senior." This time there was no noisy one; Wang Yan shook the hem of his long gown and sat down steadily.

Gong Baosen drank a sip of tea and said: "Where are you from? How did you come to Fengtian?"

"Junior's home is in Longcheng, later because..." Wang Yan said the information the system gave him once.

"Now the mountains and rivers are broken, and the people's livelihood is difficult; it's hard, it's hard." After hearing it, Gong Baosen let out a long sigh.

The two of them talked about a bunch of things, mainly Gong Baosen talking and Wang Yan listening.

"Alright, people talk a lot when they reach a certain age. I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore. Let's talk about your purpose."

"Junior heard that Senior Gong has Bagua in one hand and Xingyi in the other, so I came here specifically to seek advice."

After speaking, Wang Yan remembered his actions during this period and added with a smile: "It's really seeking advice."

Gong Baosen was stunned by Wang Yan's words, then reacted and laughed: "Haha, interesting, interesting." Then the conversation turned, and his eyes were sharp as he looked directly at Wang Yan: "You are also a martial artist; you should know the rules of this door, right?"

This wasn't a problem; there was nothing that couldn't be talked about if you licked it clearly.

Wang Yan said seriously: "Junior naturally knows the rules, but junior also knows. Last year, Senior opened the Liangguang National Martial Arts Hall in Foshan and sent five tigers to the south of the Yangtze River, bringing northern boxing to the south; Senior truly has a great breadth of mind and great spirit."

Listening to Wang Yan's flattery, although he was happy inside, Gong Baosen didn't show it on the surface and signaled Wang Yan to continue.

"Starting from the Opium War, for so many years of ceding land, paying indemnities, warlord chaos, and fighting for power and profit, our majestic land of China is broken and the people are living in misery. And why is all this? Because we are not strong."

"And junior thinks that a strong country should have strong culture and strong technology. The root lies in strengthening the race, so junior is determined to revitalize martial arts to strengthen the race, to strengthen the body, strengthen the will, and strengthen the country."

After speaking, Wang Yan picked up the teacup and drank a sip of tea.

Seeing this, Gong Baosen shouted a "Good, well said." He had seen big storms and waves and knew that Wang Yan was speaking from the heart.

"Every family treasures their own broom and stands still; this is also my original intention for opening the Liangguang National Martial Arts Hall. You are very good."

After thinking about it, Gong Baosen said: "How about this, you have no sect, why not join my sect as a registered disciple; it will be more convenient for you to act. What do you think?"

It was just a registered disciple, not recognizing a living father. Moreover, Gong Baosen was a true grandmaster figure, and since he had spoken for his sake, what could he not do?

Wang Yan stood up directly, added tea for Gong Baosen, and offered it with both hands: "Master Gong, please drink tea."

Gong Baosen didn't care about these things, took it with a smile, drank a sip, and that was the end of it.