Chapter 182: Ordinary Person, Discharged (5k)

Cai Qidong walked away with a beaming smile, hands behind his back, humming a tune and looking super pleased with himself.

Wen Yan felt certain he’d just gotten played by this old fox. Yeah, sure, from what he knew about Cai Qidong, he’d probably scored himself a pretty sweet deal, but he definitely still got tricked by Cai Qidong.

Because Cai Qidong must think the price he paid was absolutely worth it.

Now Wen Yan really felt from the bottom of his heart that he needed to keep learning—never stop.

It’s not just about book knowledge; you’ve got to know other stuff too. Otherwise, whenever someone names a price, you won’t even know if they’re bleeding for you or just trying to scam you.

Seeing Wen Yan staring at Cai Qidong’s back for ages without saying anything, Jiang Yanyan scooted over and whispered.

"Brother Wen, that guy doesn’t look like a good person. How about next time he walks by the river, I quietly invite him to drink some West River water?"

Wen Yan gave Jiang Yanyan’s big head a light smack, both annoyed and amused.

"Don’t joke around. You really think Minister Cai is just an ordinary guy?"

"But, he really just looks like a weak normal dude." Jiang Yanyan looked kinda surprised.

"That’s exactly it—when even someone like you thinks he looks weak, that’s when he’s at his most dangerous."

Wen Yan rolled his eyes. Ordinary person?

Come on, get real.

Wen Yan had never heard any legendary battle stories about Minister Cai—heck, there weren’t even any records in the Scorching Sun Department archives.

But who would actually believe that some middle-aged, supposedly calcium-deficient normal guy could jump off a second floor, land without missing a beat, cross over a dozen meters in a few steps, and then casually punch out a car window—yank a hundred-kilo dude out like he’s picking up a chick, just smooth as silk?

Back then, Wen Yan honestly didn’t think anything of it.

It wasn’t until he practiced boxing himself—especially after mastering the First Phase of Scorching Sun Fist—and looked back at that moment, that he had to admit—

Damn, the whole thing was just effortlessly smooth.

Especially the way he pulled someone out of a car window, not a single pause, and didn’t cause any more injury to the guy. That level of fluidity—it just felt like that’s how the world was supposed to work, so much so that nobody even thought it was unusual at the time.

Not just him—everybody who was there didn’t think anything was wrong with it.

That’s what Wen Yan found terrifying—everything just fitted, even doing damage was so harmonious.

This kind of level? It’s above Qin Kun’s.

When Qin Kun fought, even a blind man could see his presence—like a dragon, a wild tiger charging down a mountain, violent and fierce, scarily intense.

Qin Kun had also lectured Wen Yan about boxing and martial arts—how you had to be tough, overwhelming, like those ancient generals charging into battle. That’s just one style.

Another school of thought considers that a kind of realm too.

For the real masters with high Martial Dao Realms, every move they make blends seamlessly into the world around them, filling the air with this harmonious vibe, so whatever they do never feels out of place.

Those kinds of experts—when they fight, it looks harmless. If you’re not strong enough, your body instinct won’t even pick up any sense of danger or discord. Basically, you’ll never sense the threat.

Rumor has it, back in the early days of Spiritual Qi Resurgence, when martial artists trained purely through physical stamina and blood, the top masters already broke through again as soon as the spiritual energies returned.

A master who walked the path of harmony struck once, instantly killing a demon—the demon didn’t even realize he was dead. His heart stopped beating for minutes before his mind slowly faded out.

That was because, back in those days, martial arts training was a kind of backup plan all the mountain sects had no choice but to fall back on to counteract the Last Dharma.

Lots of things in martial training were seriously affected.

Even theories like Martial Dao Realm were clearly influenced by Taoist concepts, like the Unity of Heaven and Man.

To be honest, when Wen Yan first heard these stories, he thought the same as Old Xi—absolute bullshit, way exaggerated, like those old stories prettied up with fancy writing.

It wasn’t until later, after he’d been training in boxing for a while and had a few insights, that he suddenly realized: I’ve met a true master before.

The moment this thought popped into his head, whatever tiny bit of pride he had disappeared in an instant.

That urge to charge into trouble and fight everyone by himself? Gone too.

I’m still too weak. Unless I’m up against a total pushover, or someone I can crush with my Yang Energy, I better not make a move if I can help it.

"Yanyan, remember—don’t get cocky. You’re not at the stage where you can show off yet."

Wen Yan gave him a serious talking-to. If this was before, Jiang Yanyan would never have said something like that—obviously the kid was starting to get a bit ahead of himself.

"You remember Granny Fox’s grandson?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"That guy got a bit full of himself, got one leg broken, and then I heard he got the other leg busted too. Clearly, breaking just one leg wasn’t enough for him. Who do you think broke his legs?"

"Granny Fox?" Jiang Yanyan sounded unsure.

"Bingo. Aside from Granny Fox, who else could bust his legs and have her laughing about it?"

Jiang Yanyan muttered and didn’t dare say a word.

"If you get cocky and call me ’bro,’ don’t blame me for being ruthless when I break your legs to sober you up."

"But... I don’t even have legs."

As Jiang Yanyan said this, his Golden Body faded and his mind returned to his physical body.

"Then I’ll break your tail!"

Seeing Wen Yan so serious, Jiang Yanyan just nodded honestly. Having his tail broken would definitely hurt way more than losing a leg.

"Wait till the day you can spar with Tuoba Martial God from Nanwu County—then, and only then, you can think about getting a little arrogant."