"Crow Sits on the Airplane!!!"

With the young man's roar, Huai Shi descended from the sky, raising his Axe toward the bald head of the musclebound old man and delivering a jumping slash!

In an instant, Luo Lao looked up, his eyes slowly lifting at the corners as he fixed his gaze on the boy's shadow.

This really was... unexpected.

A smile curled at the corner of his mouth, and then, he took a step forward.

BOOM!

The floor trembled.

And then, an uppercut!

The wind rose from the ground as if lava were erupting from the Earth's crust. Amidst the intense heat, that iron-blue fist broke through the hurricane and smashed straight toward Huai Shi's abdomen.

In the nick of time, Huai Shi twisted his body in mid-air like a Flying Bird, using the heavy Axe Blade to control his center of gravity. He executed a Transformation in an instant. Then, amidst his swinging and rotating, he reached out his palm toward the fist rising from the ground.

His five fingers spread wide, as if to defend.

Luo Lao sneered. Should I call this tossing an egg against a rock, or a futile effort? To think a bare hand could block the internal Power harbored by a Drummer, without twenty centimeters of tank-grade Armor? Isn't that a bit too naive?

Immediately thereafter, he saw sparks of iron splinter off and heard the sound of crystal growth as the Sacrificial Knife leaped out of the void. It fell into Huai Shi's palm, was gripped tight, and thrust straight downward.

Iron met fist.

The upward-blazing Iron Fist paused for a moment. Luo Lao's eyes lifted, revealing a hint of subtle astonishment and surprise. Had the boy even predicted my own Transformation? Intuition? Or something else?

He halted his foot mid-step, then paused again. Amidst the roaring, his heavy and massive body slid back three meters without warning, dodging the blade he instinctively knew would shatter. He then regained his footing.

Huai Shi landed, incredulous.

He had prepared several countermoves for his own "Offensive," but the last thing he expected was for Luo Lao to retreat.

Could the Sacrificial Knife injure him? That was simply impossible.

Even without invoking his Stigma, Huai Shi could tell that Luo Lao was at least a Fourth Stage Sublimator, perhaps even one of the peak Powers among them. With Luo Lao's skills and Power, there were countless ways he could have dealt with this strike.

"Why did you retreat?" Huai Shi asked, "Going easy on me?"

"Ah, right. Going easy. Probably giving you leeway the size of the Pacific Ocean," Luo Lao replied mockingly. He relaxed his stance and warmed up his muscles, standing almost defenselessly, letting Huai Shi, three steps away, search for weaknesses and openings.

"You think I should thank you?" Huai Shi asked.

"If you ask me, it's probably just years of experience," Luo Lao said, stretching his neck with cracking sounds that made one's hair stand on end. "You see, if you simply overpower with sheer stats, a battle could end in an instant. But what's decided is only victory or defeat; it absolutely won't bring about any growth. That's not how education should be."

"Ha." Huai Shi chuckled. "I'm touched, old man, but you're just lowering your own Power and planning to toy with a rookie, right?"

Just like the Ugly faces of experts bullying newbies. Scared, huh? No worries, I'll give you a handicap of both arms and legs... I can still demolish you just by staring. Such unpleasant arrogance and confidence. But Huai Shi couldn't refuse. He indeed needed the old man before him to lower his level a bit so he could learn more.

"Isn't that how education is supposed to be?" Luo Lao questioned, quite as a matter of course, "Casting aside all trivial matters, causing maximum pain, teaching fear, understanding taboos... Only after being tamed can you live freely under the rules. Only after realizing your own shallowness and mistakes can you correctly face this world and thereby find a path to victory in Hell..."

Huai Shi was unexpectedly speechless. After a long moment of silence, he commented bluntly, "You, old man, must have a screw loose."

"Who says there aren't? But are there any truly normal people among Sublimators?" Luo Lao retorted, "Little Brag, to live in this Hell-like world, you need more than just courage. Sometimes, you need a little madness... Fortunately, I have that in spades. As a teacher, shouldn't I pass that on to you?"

"How considerate of you," Huai Shi said sarcastically. "Are you sure I can learn it?"

"I reckon you have a natural Talent," Luo Lao grinned, his signature eerie smile appearing. "Since you self-taught the Yu Step pretty well, we'll start today's lesson with the simplest forms and stances of a Drummer—"

As he said this, Luo Lao slowly raised his left hand toward Huai Shi, adopting a peculiar "Offensive" stance, the muscles on his iron-blue face curling into a sneer.

"—As for the teaching method being too rough, don't mind it, alright?"

"This is your house; everything here is yours. Just don't make me pay for any damages," Huai Shi said nonchalantly, slowly spreading his hands to show the knife and Axe. He smiled. "Good thing, too. I've got a move called 'Tornado wrecking the parking lot' I wanted to show you."

The next instant, Huai Shi took a step forward.

Immediately after, the roaring sound of a Space Break erupted.

And so, Huai Shi's happy fifteen-day 'otaku paradise' lessons began.

「 」

"Cave Demon, Cave Demon, this is Cave Fetching. Please respond if you hear this."

"Cave Demon, Cave Demon, this is Cave Fetching. Please respond if you hear this."

"Cave Demon, Cave Demon..."

"Heard you! Could you be any more annoying? Also, what the hell is Cave Demon? And what the hell is Cave Fetching?"

On a bustling street corner, the silent vending machine finally spoke, its voice sounding as if cans of soda and bottles of iced tea were rattling in response. Through the thick casing of the machine, the voice carried a hint of distinctly feminine huskiness and softness, along with profound resignation.

"Isn't this more familiar?" Liu DongLi, a cigarette dangling from his lips, leaned against the vending machine and affectionately patted its top. "Aren't we close? Have you found what I was looking for?"

THUMP.

With a soft clunk, a can of soda fell out of the vending machine.

Liu DongLi picked it up and opened it. Instead of some fizzy, joy-inducing liquid, it was stuffed with a thick roll of paper, which, once pulled out, became a curled stack.

"Everything you asked for is here," the 'vending machine' said.

"Thanks a lot." Liu DongLi whistled.

"Don't mention it. I owe you."

Liu DongLi lowered his head, quickly scanning the complex records on the paper. After a while, he sighed irritably. "It's all just a pile of petty nonsense."

"Isn't it always like that with families and between families? It hasn't changed since the Primitive Era when everyone fought over mammoths. It used to be fighting over water and land; now it's fighting over money. It's all the same," the vending machine said coolly. "The Yin's family is just a small local family in Jinling. The Huai Family... now there's just a seventeen-year-old kid. His great-grandfather, Huai Guang, wasn't any major figure. Although he had a bit of a reputation during the Border expansion era, plenty of pigs can fly when the wind is right. Is there anything about them worth your attention?"

"It's a karmic debt," Liu DongLi scratched his head, sighing helplessly. "It's a long story..."

"I don't mind listening."

"Could we perhaps change the location and setting?" Liu DongLi smiled awkwardly, glancing at the people pointing and whispering in the distance. He murmured with a sigh, "Everyone must think a guy talking to a vending machine is nuts."

"You've always been nuts, Liu DongLi, but it's definitely not because you talk to vending machines," the vending machine suddenly said. "Four years ago, during the Feuerbach Mansion incident, you were at the scene, right?"

"..."

Liu DongLi's smile stiffened. He fell silent.

"A malicious Curse attack, right? Although the Astronomical Society covered it up, some traces, like Spider Silk, couldn't be completely erased," the vending machine said. "Your time is running out. Why bother with others?"

"That's none of your business." Liu DongLi finally stopped smiling, his expression turning cold. "Did you investigate me?"

"Liu DongLi, I thought we were friends."

"I don't make friends with vending machines—" he snapped back coldly, "especially one that investigates me behind my back!"

The vending machine said nothing.

In the prolonged silence, Liu DongLi's expression gradually crumbled, and he looked helpless.

"Okay, my bad. Big Sis, don't be mad," he sighed and lit another cigarette. "Everyone has some skeletons in their closet, kind of like their underwear; it's always a bit embarrassing when they're exposed."

The vending machine wasn't angry. It just said, "I'm waiting for your 'long story'."

"It really is a long story, and there's not much to tell." Liu DongLi scratched his head helplessly.

"Do you think he's like you?"

"...Not really, right? Okay, maybe a little."

Liu DongLi's expression became conflicted. "But... you know, right? That kind of kid seems all smiles and jokes on the surface, but deep down, he's always gloomy, hating everything, including himself. Sometimes it's really annoying, but other times, you just feel like you can't leave him be. You see, having known him for so long, if something were to happen to him in the future and I ended up with lifelong regrets, it would feel like it was my fault..."

"Guess what?" The vending machine's tone turned mocking. "You're not the only one who thinks that way."

The words were clearly pointed.

At this, Liu DongLi was utterly defeated, raising his hands in surrender. "Sorry, Big Sis. Just consider it a final act of kindness, hospice care for the dying, please."

After a brief silence, the vending machine sighed softly. "You've become indecisive, Liu DongLi."

"Doesn't that just mean I've become more like an ordinary person?"

"Yes, congratulations," the vending machine mocked. "Is being a Cowherd really that enjoyable?"

"You think being a Cowherd is enjoyable?" Liu DongLi's eyes widened. "Wrong! The joy of being a Cowherd is something you can't even imagine!"

"So, Mr. Happy Cowherd, what do you plan to do then?"

"How should I know?" Liu DongLi smoked, his head lowered. As an outsider, I have absolutely no room to interfere, okay? What can I do besides worry uselessly?

The vending machine said no more.

She was already gone.

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