'The King's Game has already run for eight rounds?'
'I wonder if this so-called reshuffle is related to the King's Judgment mentioned in Ireland's diary.'
Chen Qi found that the more he knew, the more questions he had.
But he firmly believed he could figure everything out.
The final winner of this King's Game had to be him.
'After all, I can cheat!'
But Chen Qi wouldn't pin all his hopes on making a Wish. The points were uncontrollable; what if he rolled a two next time?
'In the end, I have to rely on myself!'
······
Time trickled by while Chen Qi worked hard.
Soon, the day of his appointment with Mu Wanqing arrived.
"This is the manual for the Red Falcon Fist!"
"Next, I'll demonstrate it for you!"
Inside a training hall converted from a small basketball court, Mu Wanqing handed a thick, thread-bound book to Chen Qi.
Then she watched as Jomoya flipped through the book—WHOOSH!—at a speed comparable to a bank teller counting cash.
Mu Wanqing frowned, inwardly displeased by his actions.
'But for the money... I'll put up with it!'
······
"Alright, I've memorized the manual. You can start the demonstration."
Three minutes later, Chen Qi closed the manual and looked at Mu Wanqing.
Now dressed in a martial arts uniform, Mu Wanqing's usual charm was tempered with a heroic air.
'If Ireland were here, he'd probably turn into a total simp on the spot.'
"Were you really reading the manual just now?"
Mu Wanqing didn't believe for a second that Chen Qi had memorized the manual.
'Even a photocopier wouldn't dare to boast like that.'
'Hmph. Men. I've seen this routine plenty of times.'
Chen Qi appeared very calm in the face of Mu Wanqing's unconcealed disbelief.
If he were in her shoes, he wouldn't believe that someone could memorize an entire manual in such a short time either.
However, as unbelievable as it was, it was the truth.
Not only had Chen Qi firmly committed the entire manual to memory, he had even achieved a complete understanding of it.
It was as if he had been studying and contemplating this manual for decades.
This incredible learning ability was the "fruit" of Chen Qi's labor over the past few days.
As he mastered more and more of the ancient script, his brain seemed to have evolved, his Wisdom skyrocketing.
Chen Qi didn't know if other Apprentices would undergo this kind of Metamorphosis, but he had truly upgraded his brain.
Apprentice was a piece of knowledge he had newly deciphered from Jomoya's diary.
At Temya Magic Academy, humans were divided into three tiers based on their strength.
Magic Apprentice, Awakened, and Apostle!
Jomoya Chris had been a top-tier Magic Apprentice, but unfortunately, he had never been able to achieve Spirit Awakening.
······
"Watch closely!"
BANG!
Mu Wanqing didn't care whether Chen Qi was bluffing; she only did what she had promised to do.
Dressed in her white martial arts uniform, Mu Wanqing thrust a palm forward. The air before her instantly exploded, unleashing a rolling sonic wave.
However, this was merely her way of saying hello to Chen Qi.
The next instant, a sharp screech echoed through the air. A series of white figures crisscrossed the training hall, like a white peregrine falcon had appeared in the gym, diving to hunt its prey.
'So this is Red Falcon Fist?'
'It truly lives up to its name as a Martial Dao discipline renowned for speed.'
His Body Control ability activated silently. After several adjustments by the Puppet Threads, Chen Qi's eyes finally locked onto Mu Wanqing's figure.
Dynamic Vision. This was the third ability developed by Ireland.
But Ireland's development of it had stopped there; it could only capture fast-moving objects.
Chen Qi wasn't content with just that. After his brain's evolution, he could do more, and do it better.
As the Puppet Threads intervened in the neural connections between his eyeballs and brain, Chen Qi's Dynamic Capture and recognition abilities began to increase exponentially.
Supported by his brain's powerful processing capabilities, Mu Wanqing's every instantaneous movement was frozen and analyzed.
In a daze, Chen Qi felt like he was watching a martial arts movie, able to adjust the frame rate at will.
If that was all, Chen Qi would be no more than a high-speed camera at best.
But paired with his brain's terrifying comprehension and learning ability, Chen Qi felt like he had learned it in an instant.
With the manual as a guide and Mu Wanqing demonstrating it personally, Chen Qi could achieve a "perfect copy" the instant Mu Wanqing made a move.
But such a powerful "operation" was not without its cost.
His Body Control, which normally lasted for ten minutes after activation, only held for five.
But thankfully, Mu Wanqing had also finished her demonstration!
······
"Did you see that clearly?"
"This is the fist art of our Red Falcon Sect!"
"Of course, my muscle utilization rate just now was only 15%, slightly higher than an ordinary person's, but it's enough for me to fight ten people at once and completely overwhelm any normal person."
Despite such high-intensity exercise, Mu Wanqing's breathing was still even. Clearly, 15% was just a warm-up for her.
"The manual states that the Fighting Technique has five Realms: Initiate, Skilled, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster!"
"If I reach the Grandmaster Realm, my body's muscle utilization efficiency will reach 30%."
Having seen Mu Wanqing's demonstration of the Fighting Technique with his own eyes, Chen Qi finally understood why the Black Blood Federation's Super Soldier program was targeting Martial Artists.
Just 15% was already this powerful. If it reached 35%, then equipped with a suit of high-tech gear, a small squad could probably wipe out a small country.
A small nation like the Lanyu Kingdom, with an army of only thirty thousand, would definitely not be able to stand against Super Soldiers.
"Hmph. Don't get ahead of yourself. The most important thing for you right now is to reach the Initiate level!"
"The most important part of a Fighting Technique is its Martial Dao spirit! Muscle utilization rate is just a superficial aspect!"
Evidently, Mu Wanqing, or rather, the entire Red Falcon Sect, was quite resistant to the so-called "muscle utilization rate" classification.
Of course, Chen Qi was equally unimpressed by their talk of the Martial Dao spirit.
But Chen Qi had no intention of immediately "performing a Skilled-level Red Falcon Fist" and utterly showing Mu Wanqing up.
His plan was to stall for time, so naturally, he wouldn't "instantly learn the Red Falcon Fist."
Thus, with Chen Qi's cooperation, the learning process went "very harmoniously."
Mu Wanqing discovered that this Chen Qi fellow was quite talented, a genius the likes of which one sees once in a decade. Perhaps she should try to recruit him into the sect again.
Unfortunately, Chen Qi didn't show the talent of a "once-in-a-century" genius, otherwise Mu Wanqing would have had to consider using a honey trap.
The morning's lesson flew by. As the chairman of the Chris Group and a newly-minted Magic Apprentice, Chen Qi certainly wouldn't spend all his time on the Fighting Technique.
He had many other things to deal with!
For example, the negotiations between Taruno and the Firefox Gang had reached their final stage and required his final approval.
However, what Chen Qi didn't expect was that just as he was about to meet with Taruno, he received an incoming communication request from an unknown number.
The caller ID on his communicator read, starkly: Plum Blossom 10.