When he got home, Yu Fei quickly made two cold dishes and bought some steamed buns, putting together a simple dinner.
At dinner, Yu Wei stared at the humble meal, picking at the food with her chopsticks. She just didn't have much of an appetite.
"Big Bro, did you sneak off and eat all the meat?"
"Eat it or don't."
"Hmph! I'm not eating, then!"
With a pout big enough to hang a coat on, Yu Wei stormed back to her room.
Mr. Yu looked like he wanted to say something, but held his tongue. He decided he would go buy some snacks later to comfort his daughter.
After dinner, Yu Fei told his parents not to disturb him, just as he always did. He locked the door from the inside and lay on his bed, ready to receive his new talent.
"Mr. Yu, do you think Feifei locking himself in his room is about… *that*?"
Mrs. Yu leaned closer to Mr. Yu and whispered.
"*What* thing?" Mr. Yu asked, confused.
"You know… *that*. Don't you guys sometimes… take matters into your own hands? Feifei's at that age now. Do you think he might be…"
"Oh, honestly... you!" Mr. Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Stop your wild imagination. Just let him be. He's old enough to do whatever he wants in the privacy of his room.
You clean up the kitchen. I'm going to run downstairs and buy some snacks for Weiwei. She barely ate anything tonight."
With that, Mr. Yu got up to put on his shoes.
Mrs. Yu quickly added, "Don't forget to get something for Feifei, too! And bring me back a chicken foot!"
"Got it!"
...
The talent from Jiang Yifan was called [Extraordinary Comprehension]. 'As expected, that kid's brain is really something else.'
[Extraordinary Comprehension]: Massively boosts logical thinking, memory, and comprehension.
On the path of martial arts, many factors determine one's strength and development, but they can generally be summarized as aptitude, willpower, and wealth. Aptitude itself can be subdivided into one's capacity for comprehension and one's physical constitution.
This was also why martial arts classes were typically only offered in high school.
By that age, a person's muscles and bones were mostly developed, so there was no fear of crippling oneself through improper training.
Being sixteen meant one's logical thinking had stabilized, allowing for the comprehension of complex Cultivation Techniques.
And this was no joke. In the entire history of this world's martial arts, not a single imbecile had ever managed to achieve peerless strength.
Those with low intelligence couldn't practice martial arts.
As the [Extraordinary Comprehension] talent merged with him, Yu Fei felt as if his brain was steeping in cooling oil.
An indescribable, cool numbness spread through his brain. It was as if Yu Fei could see his own neurons firing, linking together with flashes of blue electricity in the darkness.
'I'm actually getting smarter!'
The talent loading was shorter this time, finishing in about half an hour.
When he got up, Yu Fei rubbed his head. He felt like he understood something new, yet at the same time, it seemed like nothing had changed at all.
After a moment's thought, he opened his math workbook. There was a problem that had stumped him for a full half-hour during study hall that afternoon, and he still hadn't solved it.
The coordinates of vertex C (x, y) in triangle ABC satisfy the inequality x²..., find the maximum area of triangle ABC.
A simple black pen spun a few times in Yu Fei's hand, and a solution clicked into place. In less than a minute, he had written out the area equation.
He didn't need to check the answer key; he knew his result was correct.
Yu Fei fell silent. 'Is this how Jiang Yifan sees the world?'
"Terrifyingly brilliant!"
He sucked in a sharp breath. The room felt a bit stuffy.
Yu Fei stood silently by the window, muttering to himself.
"Being a top student is so damn awesome!"
He glanced at the noble, blue-colored [Extraordinary Comprehension] talent in his mental space.
A grin spread across Yu Fei's face.
"Starting today, I'm going to be a top student! Hehe~"
In reality, if Jiang Yifan were to solve this problem, he would get it right, but he definitely wouldn't be as fast as Yu Fei.
[Extraordinary Comprehension] combined with [Super Speed Reaction].
These two talents made Yu Fei's brain accelerate as if it had just hit 120 mph.
Pushing the door open, Yu Fei sauntered out to see his parents and Yu Wei sitting on the sofa, their mouths stuffed with snacks.
His mom was gnawing on a chicken foot, Mr. Yu was cracking open sunflower seeds, and Yu Wei had greasy hands, two spicy gluten sticks—one long, one short—dangling from her mouth, and a sausage clutched in her hand!
Seeing him emerge, the three of them stopped mid-chew. Mr. Yu was just about to speak.
Yu Fei heaved a dramatic sigh. "Alas! Having a late-night snack without me. My heart grows cold. In the end, my love was all for naught!"
With that, he headed for the entryway as if to put on his shoes.
Mr. Yu quickly spat out the seed shells in his mouth and said hurriedly, "We saved some for you! It's in the bag on the dining table."
"I'm mad now. I don't want it!"
SLAM!
Yu Fei pushed the door open and left.
"Uh..."
Mr. Yu stood up, his face a mask of conflict, wondering if he should chase after him to clear things up.
Mrs. Yu laughed and pulled Yu Zhiguo back down. "Don't be so anxious. Your son is obviously just teasing you. With his personality, do you really think he'd get angry over something so trivial?"
Yu Zhiguo slowly sat back down and let out a soft sigh.
"I always feel like I haven't fulfilled my duty as a father to Feifei. If anything, it's him who has sacrificed so much for this family."
"Having such a sensible son is a blessing for us. We need to find a way to help Feifei, too. He loves martial arts, so I was thinking, after I get my salary next month, I'll buy him a case of energy fluid.
My performance bonus was better this month, so I'll get an extra 600. If you can chip in 400..."
"Deal."
After finishing her sausage, Yu Wei looked at the empty snack bags, dismayed.
"Dad! Since Big Bro isn't eating, just let me handle his share for him!"
"No way. That's for your brother!"
"But he said he didn't want it!"
"We're saving it for him. He'll be hungry when he gets back from his run."
"But we didn't even finish the steamed buns from dinner!"
"The answer is no!"
"Hmph!"
...
Yu Fei jogged to a park and did some light stretches. He then took out a pre-portioned piece of the Vitality Elixir and swallowed it down with some warm water from his water bottle.
The Vitality Elixir dissolved the moment it went down his throat, and a searing hot fluid spread through his stomach. Yu Fei wasted no time. He sank his hips, took a bow stance, and assumed the opening posture of the Ox Subduing Pile Skill.
As he moved through the stances of the skill, Yu Fei had a new realization.
The stances were fixed, designed to work for most people. However, due to individual physical differences, the effects of the skill varied from person to person.
The warm current in his stomach was rapidly absorbed, transforming into surging waves of Qi Blood.
He quickly finished one set of the stances. After a moment of contemplation, he began his second set, this time intentionally adjusting the fine details of his movements.
Each adjustment was minute—no more than an inch here or there—but he could clearly feel his Qi Blood growing more active and robust, eventually rising to the surface of his skin.
An itching, tingling sensation spread across his skin. Yu Fei gritted his teeth against the strange feeling and simply continued to practice the stances, one set after another.
His movements grew faster and faster. His Qi Blood swelled, becoming exceptionally active.
His superior comprehension, combined with his inhuman reaction speed, allowed Yu Fei to determine the effect of each posture on his Qi Blood in an instant. The results of his practice were remarkable.
After five sets, the effects of the Vitality Elixir were completely exhausted.
If anyone had been there to watch, they would have seen that while his movements looked similar to before, they were now far more fluid and seamless, with numerous changes to the finer details.
Martial arts Cultivation Techniques weren't meant to be followed rigidly.
Being able to follow the description and complete a technique effectively was merely the entry-level.
To have one's own insights and adapt a technique to better suit oneself—that was considered reaching the stage of Minor Accomplishment.
It could be said that he had now reached Minor Accomplishment in his Ox Subduing Pile Skill.
The Vitality Elixir was exceptionally effective. The pill box Teacher Yan Sea had given him contained three Vitality Elixirs. Each elixir was to be divided into ten portions. Taking one portion every two days meant he had a two-month supply. If all went well, he estimated he could break through the "Skin" tempering stage.