Wu Jing

The next morning, Li Xian woke up surprisingly clear-headed after a night of drinking.

Feeling refreshed, he decided to go to the office and search for the person who might provide an opportunity to leverage his increased strength.

If it seemed like a good chance, he planned to quit his job, believing it would only hold him back. But if the opportunity didn't pan out, he was okay sticking with his current job to make ends meet.

"I'm going a bit early today, guys! I've prepared some breakfast, by the way."

Li Xian announced to his still-sleeping buddies, who probably didn't feel like waking up after a night of heavy drinking.

"It's already time for work? You..."

After Li Xian left, Kang Li reluctantly woke up. He checked the clock, which showed 9 am. Despite his usually mild personality, Kang Li almost cursed at Li Xian for being up so early.

"Hi, Li Xian! Long time no see."

Li Xian's workplace was also in the Nanming district, only about 2km from their house. As soon as he entered the store, someone greeted him.

"Manager Ma! Thanks for approving the leaves."

Li Xian expressed his gratitude upon seeing the middle-aged man.

"Not a problem! But, you know, Li, your promotion will be jeopardized again due to these long leaves. I came to this branch after you, but you stayed in the same position, while I saw others climbing their ranks... Sigh!"

The middle-aged man couldn't help but sigh. He had planned to promote Li Xian this year due to his experience, but now the extended leaves might complicate matters.

"It's alright, Manager Ma! But thanks for taking care of me so far."

Li Xian acknowledged, aware that the man had been supportive over the years.

"Alright! Go on, start your work. I'll do my best."

Manager Ma encouraged Li Xian, who expressed his gratitude before heading to the staff area to change into his work attire.

Li Xian was unsure how he would face Manager Ma if he decided to leave the job. However, he shook off those thoughts, realising that his priority for the day was to talk to Wu Jing.

Wu Jing was the person Li Xian wanted to inquire about the dark web.

Right after he entered the staff area, Li Xian spotted Wu Jing, who was smoking in the designated area.

He gave a polite smile to others who greeted him as he made his way to the smoking section.

"Hm! Li Xian? I never knew that you smoke."

Wu Jing looked at the new person entering this area, something that rarely happened in this store.

He couldn't help but be a bit surprised to see it was Li Xian, with whom he had little communication even though both of them worked in the same place.

Li Xian simply gave a nod as he sat beside him, uncertain how to broach the subject.

"Looks like you are not here for a smoke. Is there anything you want me to help you with?"

Wu Jing asked, handing a cigarette to Li Xian, even though he knew that Li Xian's purpose was different.

"I'm not here for a smoke! Yeah, but once in a while is quite good to have."

Li Xian responded as he took the cigarette, lighting it up. He then took a deep puff, almost finishing a third of the cigarette.

Li Xian used to smoke a lot, but he had reduced it to occasionally due to constant nagging from Ji Yan. Now he wasn't afraid of the smoke at all, as his body metabolism had completely changed and was ever-growing.

"Oh! Then tell me now."

Wu Jing urged, feeling a bit curious about what this seemingly ordinary colleague of his had in mind.

"Well! I will be straight to the point. From my childhood, I have been practicing martial arts; you can even say that I am a master martial artist."

Li Xian's statement stunned Wu Jing for a second. His cigarette fell out of his mouth due to the sudden news, something he never expected from this guy.

"Do you know what you are talking about, Li?"

He didn't bother about the cigarette anymore, his face turning serious.

"Yeah..."

Li Xian, a bit taken aback by this sudden reaction from Wu Jing, responded somewhat self-doubtingly.

"Sorry about that! Don't claim things like that, Li. The society that you see isn't what it seems. It's okay if you are saying this in a joking manner, but don't do it seriously, or else you will face trouble."

Wu Jing explained seriously, making Li Xian feel a bit bemused.

"I'm not really joking! I have been practicing martial arts from a very early age."

Li Xian repeated his conviction, as he genuinely needed a channel for income. From Wu Jing's reaction, he understood that there may be true martial artists in this world, which surprised him a bit, but not too much.

Li Xian already had a guess, as there used to be martial artists in the past according to history. And there are famous schools like Shaolin, etc.

"Hm... Well! It will be simple to know. You said that you are a master-level martial artist, right? Then that means you can defeat me, an early-stage novice martial artist, easily, right?"

Wu Jing said, his eyes turning sharp as soon as he finished his words.

Li Xian, on the other hand, was dumbfounded by this sudden revelation. He always thought that Wu Jing was a scum of society trying to live in the light through this job.

Before Li Xian could say anything, he saw Wu Jing's hand punching towards his face.

But all Li Xian saw was a slow punch moving towards his face. Li Xian simply lifted his left hand to hold off the fist while, with his other hand, he took a puff of smoke from the cigarette again.

Wu Jing's eyes went wide open with surprise. But he didn't stop there; he tried to stand up to kick Li Xian. However, as he tried to move, he felt an enormous weight forcing him to stay in the same place.

Li Xian lifted his head with a smile on his face. He looked at Wu Jing as he took the last puff from the cigarette.

He then clenched the butt of the cigarette with his middle finger and thumb before throwing it into the glass ashtray using a little force. The tray cracked as soon as the cigarette hit it, shattering into seven or eight pieces.

Everyone outside looked inside as they heard the glass-breaking sound. But Li Xian had already let Wu Jing off as he stood up to pick up the glass pieces.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I was working with a master martial artist."

Wu Jing didn't bother with the glass pieces or the people who were looking at them; he was very excited right now.

"Even my master is just a peak-level novice martial artist. Master Li! I'm glad to meet you here today."

Wu Jing said as he tried to bow to Li Xian in a respectful manner.

"Alright! Stop with the nonsense. Also, just call me as usual; I'm not your master or anything."

Li Xian's face twitched as he hurriedly pushed Wu Jing back into the seat.

"Ah! It is the etiquette that we have to follow in martial arts society."

Wu Jing cried out as he fell into the chair, unable to resist the strength from Li Xian's hand.

"It doesn't matter! I don't know anything about martial arts society or anything like that. I don't even know the rankings you're talking about, such as early stage or peak stage, whatever. My master told me that I am at the master level before he died; that is the reason I said I am a master-level martial artist."

Li Xian lied as he also sat down again after picking up the glass pieces.

"Oh! Then... I will call you Li as usual. Li, how come you have never known anything about martial artists? I mean... You are after all someone with such great strength."

Wu Jing said again, making Li Xian a bit annoyed as to how this guy kept asking the same thing that he had already explained.

"Ah! Haha... I know you gave an explanation. It's just, you don't know the value of yourself in society; that's why you won't understand my shock. There are three levels of martial artists: Novice, Master, and Grandmaster. The three levels are again divided into four stages such as early, intermediate, advanced, and peak..."

Wu Jing gave a brief explanation about martial artists to Li Xian, which made Li Xian think that they were pretty similar to Orion martial levels with a bit of difference.

"Li! Why are you working in this place? I mean, with your talent, you should be pursuing your strength instead of wasting your time here."

Wu Jing said again, as he couldn't understand Li Xian. Li Xian was at least four to five years younger than him, and he was already at the Master level. With such talent, anyone in the martial society would pursue a higher level with their full heart.

"About that! That is also the reason I want to talk with you."