Chapter 31 – Learning Martial Arts

"Wait! Leo! My dear big brother! I was wrong! Let me go!" Glottis let out a desperate shout.

"Let you go? I think that now that you're a cultivator, you need our spar more than ever," Leo hissed at him, "Look how poor your martial arts skills are, they are unbecoming of your cultivation stage," Leo kicked him, throwing the poor young man back to the floor.

"Wait, I want a restart!" Glottis demanded, making Leo grit his teeth.

Those were the rules of the spar. If someone asked for a restart after falling, the opponent had to cooperate. This rule was meant to prevent the winner from kicking the loser when the latter was already down and could not react; there was nothing to learn from in such a situation.

"Fine. Get up and take your stance. I'm coming at you in five seconds," Leo walked back to his starting position. This time, he knew, he wouldn't go easy on his little brother for a single moment.

"How the hell can I beat you?" Glottis asked in annoyance. He got up from the ground with a pained grunt, staggering back to his position.

"You just need to spar with me more often until your martial arts improve," Leo smiled wildly, like a tiger that offered a lamb to play together.

However, Glottis wasn't listening; the question wasn't even directed at Leo. He was reading the words of the translucent screen that only he could see.

+--------------------------------+

| -System Notice |

| Practice martial arts |

| Diligence is always rewarded |

+--------------------------------+

"Screw diligence! I'm not doing that painful bullshit!" the younger man shouted at the futuristic window.

"Huh?" Leo looked at him, confused, "What diligence? And this painful bullshit is for your own good. How else can you improve?"

"I want a shortcut!" The other demanded, ignoring his brother.

"There are no shortcuts, the only one is letting you win, which I'm not going to do."

+--------------------------------+

| - Shop |

| Basic martial arts – 20 FP |

+--------------------------------+

'Damn, that's expensive,' Glottis pondered, unsure if he should get it or not. After all, he could purchase a pill to get stronger at this price. In a sense, martial arts were much less useful than an improvement in cultivation. No matter how expert a mortal will be, he will never beat Glottis in his current stage. At least, that was Glottis' mentality.

"Five seconds passed, Little Brother!" Leo yelled and dashed forward. His first kick already put Glottis on the defensive.

"FUCK! I WILL TAKE IT!" Glottis screamed in panic as a leg sweep threatened to break his balance.

Loads of information started streaming into his mind, assaulting him with a horrible headache. He could not resist the pain, shifting his concentration from the fight entirely.

"Ah!" Glottis yelled.

"Take it?" Leo was confused again.

*Thud!*

A clear shot connected with Glottis' ribs, sending him away.

"Are you dumb? Why would you take it instead of blocking or dodging?" Leo asked in dismay, "There's nothing manly about it if that's what you thought."

He stopped attacking, waiting for Glottis to answer.

"Oy, Glottis? Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. He might have enjoyed using his little brother as a punching bag, but he never meant to cause a concussion.

"Haaaa…" Glottis exhaled as he opened his eyes. His brown eyes focused and he suddenly felt like he knew what Leo's weaknesses and openings were. Furthermore, he knew his own mistakes earlier.

"I'm fine, Brother, time for a rematch," he grinned.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. We already agreed on a minimum of fifteen minutes. If you aren't coming, I will!"

Glottis sprinted forward and jumped, sending three consecutive kicks. Leo ducked to dodge the first and was about to counter the second when it changed its trajectory and hit his chest. Using it as a chance to remain in the air, Glottis spun again and delivered a kick straight at Leo's face.

"Hahaha, Leo, did you get too tired?" Glottis laughed as he followed the stumbling opponent, barraging him with punches to the ribs, guts, kidney, and liver. Leo was protecting his face and throat, leaving those unprotected.

"Haaa!" Leo tanked the blows and tried to land a hit of his own.

"No can do!" Glottis used his elbow to deflect the blow and used the swing to land the other elbow on Leo's chin, disorienting the man.

"Time to end this!"

This time, nothing was there to protect the groin. Glottis gave a ruthless kick. It was brutal.

"AHHHH!" Leo screamed as he folded. His eyes widened, his body shook. He froze on his spot, unable to even blink as the pain filled his brain as though it was the only sensation available to humankind.

Glottis simply crouched and swept the other's legs, making him fall.

*Thud*

Leo remained in the position he fell into, holding his balls in his hands while taking sharp breaths, his mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Hehe, Big Brother, I think you are unable to fight anymore, so I will let you rest," Glottis gloated openly.

"Pi… Pill…" Leo said weakly.

"What? I didn't hear you. You must be tired, I will be going now to sleep. Good night, Leo."

"Give me a healing pill!" Leo did his best.

Glottis' hearing sense was strengthened. He obviously heard the first attempt. He ignored the request on purpose and returned to his room, a smug smile all over his face despite the numerical bruises on his body including a cracked bone or two.

"It was worth it," he told the empty air, convinced by the ingenuity of his purchase. Annie was asleep, so he just changed his clothes, washed the blood off his face, and went to sleep, giving up on a night bath.

---

"Harv, I have your first mission for you," Glottis called his new hacker first thing in the morning. "I will give you thirty grand, use them to buy new equipment. I'm counting it as your payment for the month."

"Yes, Young Master!" Harvey answered enthusiastically. Thirty thousand dollars was more than he imagined earning in a whole year. He used to do small scams, but he always felt guilty about stealing from private people or small businesses. As for the bigger corporations, those had heavy security, and his old equipment did not allow him to hack them safely.

'I wonder what he wants me to do,' the geek thought excitedly, feeling a rush of adrenaline. 'Maybe he will ask me to steal a competitor's secrets or remake the defenses of his family's corporation!'

"Good, I see you have the motivation. This is very important to me, you must not screw it up. You have 8 hours to complete it."

Harvey's eyes widened in astonishment and nervousness, "Young Master, this deadline is too close! Hacking safely requires more time!" He stopped in the middle of wearing his pants, holding his phone with two shivering arms.

"I don't care. You will do it, I'm paying you."

"But Young Master, if it's so important it must be complicated, I also need to go to school! I also need time to purchase all the devices required!" Harvey protested. His voice was weak, but he was afraid of impossible tasks. He fell on his bed, his pants still only covering one leg.

"Shut up, will you? It might be complicated," Glottis admitted. He knew nothing about technology or hacking, and it did sound complicated in his mind. The young master did not know even where to start if he was asked to perform the same job.

"Ok… wha- what is the task?" Harvey stuttered. He suddenly quivered from a cold wind that came through the window, reminding him to wear his pants.

"I want you to get me Sheela Petit's phone number. She is hiding it from me!" Glottis instructed confidently.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Young Master… Do you mean Sheela Petit from school? The belle who sat by your side during Miss Rosemary's Math class?" Harvey wanted to confirm, pausing the movement of pulling the pants up again.

"Yes, her. If you know her, it makes things much easier," Glottis nodded to himself, reaffirming his belief he had chosen the right subordinate. 

"Why? Does she have a secret phone number? Does she have a secret background the normal students are unaware of?" Harvey speculated.

He just couldn't wrap his mind around what was going on. Nobody paid thirty thousand dollars to a hacker to get a girl's number, no matter how hot she was. Especially not when they could meet that girl every day for the next year. As he was racking his brain, he let his pants go again, letting it fall back to the floor.

"What secret background? Harvey, you watch too many movies. She is just a normal hot girl. Anyway, let me know when you are done, I expect great things from you," Glottis spoke with great self-importance.

"Um, Young Master, I'm already done, I can give it to you if you want…" Harvey gave the news hesitantly.