The morning was clear and bright.

With the new year approaching, even the once-biting winter wind seemed to have softened. Sunlight spilled onto the flagstones of the Martial Arts Arena, bringing a touch of warmth.

After turning in the black stones he had acquired from clearing out the aberrations, Su Yu returned to his residence to focus on his training.

Rewards for missions were usually distributed a few days later. He still had over 4,600 merit points, so he wasn’t in a rush.

For now, he was only using his monthly merit points to exchange for Red Essence Earth Boar Meat. He was saving the rest, waiting to eventually exchange them for a Bone Marrow Cleansing and Bone Forging Pill.

On the Martial Arts Arena, the air whistled with the force of his punches.

As he practiced the White Ape Fist over and over, the Qi and Blood throughout his body surged and boiled.

[White Ape Fist Skill Level +10]

[White Ape Fist Skill Level +10]

...

[Martial Arts]: White Ape Fist (Layer 1) (Skilled 5700/7000)

’There are less than twenty days until the new year. At my current rate, I can increase my White Ape Fist Skill Level by about a hundred points a day. I’ll definitely be able to break through before the year is out!’

Su Yu relaxed his stance, his gaze sweeping over another section of his status panel.

’But before that, my Black Stone Body Forging Skill will be the first to break through!’

[Martial Arts]: Black Stone Body Forging Skill (Layer 1) (entry-level 4700/5000)

’I’ll eat the Treasure Fish Blackfin Pompano and the last of the wild ginseng in the next few days. That should speed up the breakthrough for my Black Stone Body Forging Skill!’

Having made up his mind, Su Yu retrieved the wild ginseng from the storeroom. He then took it to the rear kitchen and gave it to Mu Ying, telling her to stew it together with the Treasure Fish Blackfin Pompano.

After giving his instructions to Mu Ying, Su Yu didn’t rest. He returned to the Martial Arts Arena to continue practicing the Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step.

This movement technique had always given him a significant speed boost. If not for this technique during the Black Water Beach mission, dealing with the Bone Turtle would have been much more difficult.

"Collapsing Thunder Flash!"

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Afterimages flickered across the arena. One moment, Su Yu was on the left; the next, he had reappeared thirty feet to the right, leaving a low, thunderous whistle in his wake.

[Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step Skill Level +5]

[Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step Skill Level +5]

[Martial Arts]: Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step (Skilled 1450/2000)

...

"Brother Su!"

"Brother Su!"

Just as Su Yu was in the midst of his intense practice, two delicate calls, as clear as orioles singing in a valley, echoed from a distance.

Su Yu looked toward the sound, and his normally placid gaze brightened slightly.

At the end of the covered walkway stood the Yang Sisters, looking lovely. They had clearly taken great care in dressing up.

The younger sister, Yang Ai, wore a fiery red martial arts uniform with fitted sleeves. A wide, black, tasseled belt cinched her waist, emphasizing its slenderness to a breathtaking degree.

She wore tight-fitting training trousers tucked into small deerskin boots, which further accentuated her long, shapely, and supple legs. With her hair in a high ponytail, she looked like a dancing flame, bursting with youthful energy.

The older sister, Yang Zhen, was dressed in a simple white martial arts outfit with a cloud pattern. Though it was training attire, she still exuded the dignified grace of a high-born lady.

Her clothes were not as tight as her sister’s, which only served to highlight her soft, curvaceous figure. Her collar was slightly open, revealing a portion of her flawless, jade-like collarbone that rose and fell gently with each breath—at once demure, yet hiding a subtle, almost imperceptible allure.

"What brings you two here today?"

The moment he spoke, he activated his thunderous footwork.

SWISH!

His figure vanished in a gust of wind, reappearing beside the two sisters in the blink of an eye.

"Wow, Brother Su, you’re amazing!"

Yang Ai yelped in surprise before cheering. She took a long stride and threw herself at Su Yu with open arms. "Hehe, I’m going to catch you!"

Su Yu chuckled. ’As if this little minx could ever catch me.’ Pushing off with his feet, his body vanished like a flash of lightning and reappeared behind her.

TAP.

He gave her a light flick on the back of the head.

"Oww~"

Yang Ai clutched her head and spun around, her hands behind her back. Her large, sparkling eyes curved into crescents as she grinned at Su Yu. "Brother Su, you’re such a bully~"

"Alright, what are you here for?" Su Yu asked with a faint smile, reining in his aura.

Yang Zhen stepped forward and bowed gracefully. "Brother Su," she said gently, "we’ve come to ask for your guidance in Martial Arts. My sister and I have both reached the bottleneck of the Three Times of Knocking and are preparing to break through to the Martial Artist Realm. Father told us that this is a critical bottleneck and that we should come learn from your experience."

"The Three Times of Knocking?"

A flash of surprise crossed Su Yu’s eyes. Though the sisters’ innate aptitude was only average, their cultivation speed was quite fast. Apart from the vast resources the Yang Family had invested in them, it seemed their comprehension was also quite good.

"If it’s about cultivation, of course I’ll do my best to help," Su Yu agreed with a nod. The Yang Sisters had helped him quite a bit, so a small matter like this was no trouble at all.

"That’s wonderful!"

The two sisters glanced at each other, a shared, gleeful look in their eyes that spoke of a successful plot.

’Mother was right,’ they thought. ’As long as we say it’s about learning martial arts, Brother Su won’t refuse!’

...

"Brother Su, look at my stance for the White Ape Seal. Is my foundation stable?"

On the Martial Arts Arena, Yang Ai struck a pose, her arms held as if embracing something.

She intentionally straightened her posture, tensing her long, straight legs to perfectly outline their shapely lines.

Su Yu walked over to correct her. "Your center of gravity is too high."

"Like this?"

A sly glint flashed in Yang Ai’s eyes as she suddenly leaned back on one leg.

Su Yu was standing just behind and to her side. With that movement, her supple leg pressed firmly between his thighs.

Through the thin fabric of their training trousers, Su Yu could clearly feel the warmth of her skin and its surprising firmness.

"..."

Su Yu’s eye twitched. Just as he was about to step back, Yang Ai turned her head, a completely innocent and pitiful look on her face. "Brother Su, I can’t keep my balance. Can you help me hold my leg, please?"

Seeing her earnest expression, Su Yu suddenly felt he was overthinking things.

So, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, he reached out and placed a hand on her knee to help her stabilize her center of gravity. "Stand still," he said, his face stern. "Don’t fidget. If your stance is unstable, your Qi and Blood cannot rise from your Dantian!"

On the other side, Yang Zhen also struck a pose.

"Brother Su, for this White Ape Shaking Armor technique, I feel like I’m not using my waist to generate force correctly. Can you take a look for me?"

Su Yu acknowledged and went over, placing his hands on her slender waist to show her how to generate the force.

"Like this?"

With her back to Su Yu, Yang Zhen performed the "Shaking Armor" movement.

As she shook, her plump, pert posterior "coincidentally" bumped right against Su Yu’s lower abdomen.

"Ngh..."

The soft impact at that instant felt like a jolt straight to his heart.

Su Yu had just finished training and his Qi and Blood had yet to settle. Her move immediately sent them surging through him.

Yet Yang Zhen, acting as if she hadn’t noticed a thing, turned to face him, her breath as fragrant as an orchid. "Brother Su, was that right?"

Her turning motion stirred another turbulent surge of Qi and Blood within Su Yu.

If it had been a man with less self-control, he would have likely been standing at full attention by now.

Su Yu hurriedly took half a step back to create some distance, his expression stern. "White Ape Shaking Armor relies on the spine to drive power through the waist. It’s not about shaking your butt..."

"I understand, Brother Su~"

Yang Zhen bit her lower lip, the corners of her eyes crinkling with a smile she couldn’t suppress.

’Looks like Mother was right,’ she thought. ’Brother Su is a normal man, after all. His breathing even became ragged for a moment.’

For the next hour, the Martial Arts Arena was filled with soft, coquettish voices crying out, "Brother Su, is this movement right?" and "Brother Su, please help me."

Su Yu had never found coaching martial arts to be such an ordeal. He struggled to maintain his image as a strict teacher while suppressing the Qi and Blood in his body, which seemed constantly ready to burst forth.

"Sir, a colleague of yours is outside. They said they’ve come to pay you a visit," Li Da said, arriving at the Martial Arts Arena and bowing his head.

"Oh? Who is it?" Su Yu felt a wave of relief. ’If I had to keep instructing these two,’ he thought, ’I really wouldn’t be able to keep my Qi and Blood under control.’

"She says her name is Cai Yun!"