Afternoon, at the Jingwu Athletic Association's Western Sciences lecture hall.
"Mr. Young, what happened to you..." Zhao Jian looked at Jack Young, hesitating. "Why are you all bruised up? Did someone beat you up? Don't be afraid, sir—if anyone's bullying you, just say the word. Everyone at Jingwu will make sure you get justice!"
"N-no need, it's just a misunderstanding." Jack Young struggled to explain, "I was just practicing boxing..."
As soon as he opened his mouth—hiss—Jack Young sucked in a breath. His face was swollen from an accidental fall, and now it hurt to even talk. But as a Western sciences instructor, teaching was non-negotiable. After all, if you’re eating their food and drinking their tea, you’ve got to do your job.
Jack spent the whole morning doing 'horse stance on the jar.' The rim was narrow and slippery, especially steep inside. And then that shameless Dr. Tang went and poured oil into the jar, making it even slipperier!
Standing steady for fifteen minutes wasn’t impossible, but that was just the warm-up, not the real goal. Dr. Tang weighed stones in his hand, muttering books under his breath, and spent the whole morning tormenting Jack. Luckily, when it was time for Jack’s lecture, Dr. Tang let him go and said, 'That’s enough for today. Go do your own thing.' Which led to this very scene.
Enduring the pain, Jack finished his lesson. The Jingwu students, seeing him work so hard, secretly felt inspired to push themselves too.
After class, Jack rubbed his shoulder and kneaded his legs as he walked forward, making sharp sucking sounds with every step.
That Tang guy really doesn't hold back! And what’s with all these weird training methods? What’s the point? What do they even do? I’ve never seen Henry Huo train like this! He’s just messing with me for fun!
Fuming inside, Jack walked past the Jingwu training ground. He looked up and saw the Jingwu plum blossom stakes—tall and short, thick and thin, some round, some square.
"Now this is what I call a proper pole! None of that Barrel Balance Stance nonsense. One day, I’m gonna pull a Sima Guang and smash that barrel!" Jack grumbled to himself, sizing up the Blossom Balance Poles. The tallest was over one and a half meters—a real challenge for beginners. After a day of standing on barrels, seeing these classic poles made Jack’s feet itch. He hopped right up.
Step by step, he quickly reached the highest pole.
"Compared to that giant barrel, this pole is seriously—pathetic!" Jack stood firm, feet apart on the pole, stretched his arms—White Crane Spreads Its Wings! Then, Wild Horse Parts Its Mane!
Jack strutted along, showing off the park-style Tai Chi he’d learned from the old guys at the park. His feet never stopped moving, shifting and striking as he went. It was his first time on the Blossom Balance Poles, but he stood steady, barely making the wooden poles tremble. Suddenly, Jack twisted his foot, shifted his weight, and glided forward with a graceful step—effortless.
"Whew—" Exhaling deeply, Jack felt a wave of relief wash over him.
With his mind clear, Jack cooled down. Moving so smoothly on the Blossom Balance Poles today—he knew it was all thanks to the Barrel Balance Stance. Dr. Tang’s training might feel like torture, but at least for today, it really worked.
Five minutes later, freshly tidied up, Jack returned to Dr. Tang’s little courtyard.
"Hmph, I refuse to give up!" Jack climbed onto the rim of the giant barrel, gritting his teeth and starting another round of practice.
"Just in case I really do drown in this barrel one day, I’d better sneak in some extra practice while that guy’s resting. That way, even if I fall, it won’t be a big deal. I’m a genius, ha ha ha!" Jack was laughing maniacally when a sharp pain shot through his swollen cheek. His foot slipped, and—splash!—he tumbled right into the oil barrel.
Luckily, there was plenty of oil in the barrel to cushion the fall, so it didn’t hurt too much. Jack listened carefully—no sound outside. Sure enough, extra practice like this wouldn’t get him punished if he messed up! Teachers love students who go the extra mile!
Just as Jack was thinking, Dr. Tang’s head popped down from above, smiling with that signature gentle warmth: "Instructor Young is so dedicated, if I slack off now, I’d be ashamed. Fine, tonight I’ll risk my life to keep you company." With that, he grabbed a bucket.
"Sir, could you please just take a break for once?" Jack made one last desperate plea.
Splash! Four buckets of oil came pouring down, drenching Jack from head to toe. "The oil’s up to your thighs now, be careful," Dr. Tang reminded him calmly.
Jack wiped his face. "Sir, could you at least put some emotion into your voice? And why do I feel like I’m being buried alive here, like my time is almost up? Hey, c’mon, at least argue back or something—don’t just ignore me!"
Late at night, Jack flopped onto his bed with a thud.
Dead. I’m really about to die this time. Today was just the first day—if this keeps up, I’m doomed…
Half-asleep, Jack drifted off, as the energy from the Relic Pearl slowly spread out, healing his wounds. Outside, Dr. Tang’s eyes flashed with insight; he nodded thoughtfully, put away the ointment he’d brought, and slipped away quietly.
The next morning, Jack leapt out of bed. He touched his body—no pain! Even his Titan Spirit Method seemed to have made a little progress.
"Awesome! Saint King really came through for me. Today, I’ll face whatever comes with my brand new self! You’ve got this!" Jack ate, drank, tidied up, slapped his face for encouragement, and dashed off to Dr. Tang’s courtyard.
Jack felt overflowing with energy and spirit. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he pointed, "Let’s go! Today I’ll show you I can stand steady on that barrel!"
"Oh? You’re full of spirit today, that’s good," Dr. Tang replied, lounging lazily in his rocking chair. "Yesterday was all about standing on poles, so today we’ll switch things up." He rolled his book into a tube and pointed to the side. "Today, we play with this."
Jack looked over and saw that overnight, a wooden frame had appeared in the courtyard. Two ropes dangled two rings, looking just like the gymnastics rings from the Olympics.
Although the rings seemed a bit far apart.
"Do you know what these are for?"
"Uh, I guess you’re supposed to grab them and pull yourself up?" Jack tried them out. The rings were pretty far apart, making a big V-shape when he grabbed them. "Yeah, way harder than the vertical ones." Jack did two pull-ups—thanks to Saint King’s Relic Pearl, he was much stronger now. Before, he wouldn’t have managed it.
But Dr. Tang shook his head. "Wrong. You’re not supposed to grab the rings with your hands."
"You’re not?" Jack asked. "Then what do you use?"
Dr. Tang smiled, and it felt like a cold wind blew through the courtyard. "Your feet, of course."
"My... feet?" Jack started to feel a familiar ache in his soul.
"That’s right, and we’ve got plenty of new tricks today. Let’s tackle them one by one!"
ps: Dr. Tang can go take a break now, but dear readers, don’t you rest! Twenty chapters in, it’s time to ask for your support—favorites and recommendations are much appreciated!