“How much will I have to pay if I blow up a hole in the square?”
Chen Huaian stood in front of a grassy lawn, lost in thought.
Sure, he still had some money left, but if he accidentally caused damage, he probably couldn’t afford the compensation.
“Is there any place where I can blow something up without paying for damages?”
After thinking for a while, he finally walked over to a nearby garbage dump.
The trash bins were overflowing, and the garbage truck hadn’t come yet.
“Since it’s already trash… blowing a hole here shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Chen Huaian nodded to himself.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
His eyes sharpened as he took a deep breath, reaching into his bag to pinch a Thunder and Fire Talisman between his index and ring fingers.
Then—
With a sudden flick of his wrist, he threw it.
Biu~
The talisman flew about half a meter—
And then dropped limply onto the ground.
Chen Huaian: “…”
“No way. There must be some kind of activation formula.”
Picking up the talisman, he took a deep breath and tried again—
“Wow! Hurry up and obey my command!”
The talisman…
Fell half a meter and landed headfirst into the trash.
Chen Huaian: “…”
“Was the formula wrong?”
He frowned and tried again—
“Concentrate!”
“Go!”
“Go!”
“Zi Tu~”
“Ah, more chewing!”
“F*ck you!”
“Saipan–!!!”
Every time, the Thunder and Fire Talisman just plopped to the ground like a piece of wet paper.
Chen Huaian fell into deep contemplation.
“No, I never used a formula in the game. So it’s not about the incantation—it must be the posture!”
But what was the correct posture for throwing a talisman?
Chen Huaian tried several different techniques:
- Shot put spin
- Running javelin throw
- One-handed poker toss
- Salt throwing flick
No matter what style he used—
None of them worked.
“Tsk. I was too naïve.”
Chen Huaian sighed, lifting his head at a 45-degree angle, his expression filled with melancholy.
“There’s no talisman, no immortal world. It’s just the fantasy of a dying cancer patient.”
As he was lost in thought—
A stray dog trotted past him.
Sniffed his shoe.
Then, as if seeing a ghost, it yelped and ran away with its tail between its legs.
Chen Huaian: “???”
At that moment—
A flash of insight struck him.
“Wait… the talisman activates when it hits a living being!”
“That’s why just throwing it blindly won’t work!”
But what could he use as a target?
Subconsciously, he thought of Ba Ji.
Meanwhile, back in the apartment—
Ba Ji, who had been napping on the sofa, suddenly shivered violently.
A chill ran down its spine, and its fur bristled.
But after looking around, it couldn’t find any danger.
Ba Ji: [Weird… Why does it feel like someone wants to kill me?]
Back at the garbage dump—
“No, Ba Ji is too cute. We can’t abuse small animals.”
The moment Chen Huaian abandoned the idea, the murderous aura around Ba Ji vanished.
“Let’s just go to the vegetable market later and buy a fish instead.”
A fish seemed like the best target—
After all, he planned to eat it anyway.
And normally, preparing a fish meant scaling, gutting, and cutting it open.
But if the talisman worked, it would carbonize the fish instantly—a quick, painless death.
“Yeah, this isn’t considered animal cruelty!”
With his plan in place, Chen Huaian headed towards the park, where the old man practiced boxing.
Sure enough—
Old Man Li was there.
Old Man Li’s Surprise
“Hey, young man!”
Old Man Li’s cloudy eyes brightened the moment he saw Chen Huaian.
“I thought you gave up after just one session!”
“Hahaha, how could that be, Old Li? I just had something to do yesterday.”
Chen Huaian propped up his phone with a selfie stick and opened his game interface.
The moment the screen loaded—
His nose almost started bleeding.
On the screen, Li Qingran was sitting on the bed, dressed in the silky pajamas he had bought.
Her cheeks were as red as spilled cinnabar, and even her neck had turned pink.
She puffed up her cheeks, blew at her bangs, and fidgeted as if waiting for something.
The candlelight in the room flickered—
Her delicate collarbones were fully revealed, framed by the soft fabric.
And as she shifted, the jade pendant at her waist swayed, catching the light.
Her small feet, fair and flawless, peeked out beneath the hem of the gown—
“What are you looking at, kid? The screen is pitch black.”
Old Man Li’s voice snapped him back to reality.
Chen Huaian immediately covered the screen.
“A-Ahahaha! Nothing! I was just… reading some postgraduate entrance exam materials!”
Old Man Li squinted at him.
“Hmph. At least you have ambition.”
“Not like my useless grandson—he’s your age, but all he does is waste money on startups. Already lost 20 million, and still refuses to quit!”
Chen Huaian’s ears perked up.
“Wait, Mr. Li… what did you just say?”
“My grandson—he started a business.”
“No, the last part.”
“…Lost 20 million?”
“Yes! That part!”
Chen Huaian instantly switched to flattery mode:
“Mr. Li, starting a business is really hard. It’s too cruel to let your grandson bear it alone. Why not count me in?”
Old Man Li paused.
“Hmm… Not impossible.”
Then he added—
“But my grandson took out loans to do it.”
Chen Huaian: “…Okay, let’s just practice boxing instead.”
Swordsmanship Progress?
As Chen Huaian resumed training, he suddenly noticed something strange.
The Qinglian Sword Classic—
All 12 introductory techniques had reached 99% completion!
Even two advanced techniques—”Crossing the Wind and Breaking the Waves” and “Sword Light Out of the Box”—had been unlocked for practice.
“Wait… what happened?!”
“When did I even practice these?!”
“Am I… sword training in my sleep?!”
At that moment—
Old Man Li smiled knowingly.
“You seem interested in swordsmanship.”
He patted Chen Huaian’s shoulder and said—
“I went home and reviewed some Tai Chi sword techniques. How about it? Want to learn from me?”
Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes.
“Are you saying… your swordsmanship is awesome?”
Old Man Li puffed up his chest.
“Ahem! It’s just average… probably the best in the whole province.“
Chen Huaian: “WOW! That’s amazing!“
Old Man Li grinned.
“Let me show you one demonstration. I guarantee—by the end, you’ll want to call me Master!“
