Chapter 6: Man-eating Monster

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Man-eating Monster

"So, it was a close fight, but your opponent got the better of you?"

Gu Qing offered a tactful, conservative reply.

He didn’t want to give the wrong answer and inadvertently offend Xia Shuran, whose entire family practiced martial arts.

However, Xia Shuran was far more open-minded than he had anticipated.

She didn’t try to sugarcoat it at all. With a wry smile, she aired her family’s dirty laundry:

"You’re giving traditional martial arts too much credit."

"It wasn’t a narrow loss. Out of everyone in our entire dojo, not a single person could last more than a few moves."

"Every last one of us was taken down in just a couple of moves by the challenger. We were completely powerless to fight back."

"That’s why I’m saying traditional martial arts is a dying art."

"It’s only good for staying in shape or putting on a show. Those are the only two pathetic uses it has left, neither of which has anything to do with a real fight."

As she spoke, a shadow passed over Xia Shuran’s eyes.

She remembered her grandfather often telling her stories when she was a child.

He spoke of how glorious their family once was, with an ancestor who had been a Supreme Martial Champion, making them a lofty and respected Martial Arts Family.

In those days, even the family’s guard dog was so respected that passersby would have to bow to it.

But sadly, times had changed.

The traditional martial arts they once took such pride in had long been crushed under the wheels of history, reduced to a mere shadow of a bygone era—something not good enough to keep, but a shame to throw away.

The family’s former glory had vanished along with it, becoming a forgotten wisp of smoke.

...

「More than an hour passed in a flash.」

The sun was already high in the sky.

Sunlight cascaded over Xia Shuran. Reflected by a thin sheen of sweat, it made her tanned skin seem to shimmer, giving her a uniquely wild charm.

Gu Qing, however, was in no mood to appreciate her charm.

Instead, he furrowed his brow, a faint sense of disappointment stirring within him.

More than an hour had passed, yet no text notification had appeared.

This meant the mechanism for acquiring Attributes from tags was far stricter than he’d anticipated.

Just knowing each other’s names wasn’t enough.

He guessed they’d have to get to know each other for a while to meet the requirements for acquiring an Attribute from her tag.

’Looks like I’ll have to spend more time with this junior.’

’I need to see just how close we have to get before I can acquire an Attribute from her [Martial Arts Grandmaster] tag.’

"Senior."

As they were about to part ways, Xia Shuran looked at Gu Qing with a sunny expression, her eyes full of anticipation. "You said earlier you’d treat me to a meal sometime. Did you mean it?"

"Of course."

Gu Qing smiled.

Upon hearing his definitive reply, Xia Shuran was overjoyed, her smile exceptionally bright and cheerful. "Senior, I’m free anytime! I’ll be waiting for you to ask me out to eat every single day."

"Don’t worry, I will."

Gu Qing smiled, waved to Xia Shuran, and turned to leave the field.

He wasn’t just being polite; he really did plan on taking this lively, proactive junior out for a meal.

After all, he needed this junior with the [Martial Arts Grandmaster] tag to help him test the system’s Attribute acquisition mechanism.

...

「Back at the dorm.」

His three roommates were already up.

Gu Qing wasted no time, immediately switching into all-day Attribute-grinding mode.

He ate snacks with Qian Duole, the [Big Eater], to grind his Digestion Ability Attribute.

He partied up with Chen Zijie, the [Professional Game Player], to grind his Reaction Speed Attribute.

Once he’d had his fill of food and games, he immediately dragged Gao Fei, the [Basketball Player], out to play basketball and grind his Physical Strength Attribute.

By the end of the day, all of his Attributes had increased considerably.

[Reaction Speed +8 total]

[Digestion Ability +9 total]

[Physical Strength +3 total]

That night, before going to sleep,

Gu Qing lay in bed with his eyes closed.

He quieted his mind and focused his senses,

carefully assessing his current power.

In the pitch-black darkness, he could pinpoint a mosquito’s location by sound alone, pluck it out of the air with two fingers, and casually crush it before tossing it out of his mosquito net.

He had eaten a huge pile of snacks before bed, stuffing himself until his stomach was round. But in just half an hour, all the food was completely digested. His stomach was flat again, and his body surged with energy.

Idly, he rested his hand on his metal bed frame and squeezed gently. He could feel the frame deform slightly in his grip. His strength was becoming absurd.

After taking stock of these changes, Gu Qing couldn’t help but think of the [Martial Arts Grandmaster] tag above Xia Shuran’s head.

Xia Shuran had said traditional martial arts were in decline, and that was an indisputable fact.

’But I’m different from her.’

’The Attributes I get from these tags can strengthen me far beyond the original bearers.’

’For example, take Gao Fei with his [Basketball Player] tag.’

’I only absorbed a few Attribute points from his tag, but now my basketball skills and my Physical Strength both far surpass his.’

’By that same logic, if I acquire certain Attributes from Xia Shuran, I might really become a Martial Arts Grandmaster, just like in the wuxia films.’

’I could fly through the air, move through the earth... be omnipotent.’

The more Gu Qing thought about it, the more excited he became, and he lay awake for a long time, unable to sleep.

And someone else who couldn’t sleep that night was his ex-girlfriend, Bai Ningyu.

...

「In a dimly lit hotel room.」

The atmosphere was quiet and oppressive.

Bai Ningyu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her spirits at rock bottom.

Even though she had deliberately distanced herself for a while to cool things down ahead of time, the withdrawal was still hitting her hard.

It wasn’t something she could get over so quickly.

"What’s wrong? Still hung up on that ex-boyfriend of yours who’s more handsome than a movie star?"

On the adjacent bed, a woman with a mature air rolled over to face Bai Ningyu, a faint, unreadable smile on her lips.

"Yeah."

Bai Ningyu didn’t try to hide it, answering softly.

Her voice sounded calm, but her eyes held a complex, unreadable emotion.

The day before yesterday, when she’d broken up with Gu Qing in person, she thought she’d be able to handle it calmly.

But now that they were truly separated, she found that the sense of loss and regret was far heavier than she had ever imagined.

The woman raised a crimson left arm, its muscles knotted and twisted, and brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. She spoke in the tone of one who had seen it all:

"Don’t get hung up on him."

"At least you ripped the band-aid off now. In the future, if you miss him, you can still check his updates on your WeChat Friends Circle."

"Don’t be like me. I couldn’t bear to stay away from my family, so I kept seeing them in secret. The result? My entire family was wiped out. Parents, husband, kids... not a single one left."

As she spoke, the woman’s tone was breezy, even carrying a hint of amusement.

But to Bai Ningyu, her words carried a sharp, bone-piercing chill.

The color drained from Bai Ningyu’s face, and she didn’t dare to entertain another thought of getting back together with Gu Qing.

"Get some sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow to hunt that monster."

"Don’t stay up all night and be completely out of it tomorrow."

"You’ll make a stupid mistake, and you’ll end up as that monster’s next meal."

With another smile, the woman rolled onto her back, closed her eyes, and seemed to fall asleep instantly.

After her warning, Bai Ningyu didn’t dare let her mind wander any longer.

She immediately pushed all thoughts of Gu Qing from her mind.

She closed her eyes.

And forced herself to sleep.

...

PS: The author is holding out their bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!