She reached for the book Constance had given her from beside her pillow.
This one was a collection of illustrated boxing techniques, listing all sorts of punches and moves.
Each figure had red marks showing which muscles would explode with power and how to exert force.
But these moves weren’t combos—each was independent.
That made sense, though.
Combos? Just improvise when the time comes; there’s no need to be bound by set routines.
As for the other book, calling it a book was generous—it was more like a pamphlet.
It was an anatomical chart, and Constance had thoughtfully marked out all the vulnerable spots and vital points on the human body, telling her to memorize them.
Remembering the vital points not only shows you where to attack, but also teaches you how to defend.
After reading for about an hour, Qu Weichen was reminded by Number Nine at just the right time: [Time to sleep.
You have training tomorrow.]
“Okay.”
……
The next morning at six, Qu Weichen arrived at the training room on time in her uniform.
Constance pointed outside.
“Five laps.
Rest for twenty minutes after you finish, then come have breakfast.”
“These are three sets of training clothes.
From now on, just wear these for training.
When you get your salary at the end of the month, you can buy some everyday clothes yourself.”
“Salary?”
“Allowance.
One thousand Yuanlang a month.
After all, you haven’t created any value yet, and you don’t have any other expenses during training.”
After all, during training, food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all covered, plus free one-on-one personal instruction.
Honestly, a thousand Yuanlang wasn’t much, but for Qu Weichen, it was more than enough.
Besides, she hadn’t spent a single cent since being rescued, and the Palace Master had already invested tens of thousands in her.
Qu Weichen didn’t ask any more questions and started running her laps seriously.
……
“Am I just going to be practicing with the wooden dummy for all my training from now on?” Qu Weichen rubbed her reddened fists.
The wooden dummy was completely unscathed, but her hands were almost swollen.
She’d memorized a lot of the moves from the pamphlet, but when she tried them, something was off—her movements and power weren’t right.
She still needed more practice.
“Keep at it for now.
Tomorrow I’ll bring you some combat videos to watch and learn from,” Constance said.
“On Fuyu Continent, many races coexist.
Each race is different, but their weak points are pretty much the same.
Memorize the anatomy chart for now.
I’ll arrange some real combat for you later.”
“The Palace Master has already arranged for you to attend the academy.
Uvino Central Academy starts in the fall, which means you’ll need to report there in three months.” Constance smiled.
“You’ll be a bit older than most new students, but that’s fine.
Just study hard and don’t embarrass the Palace Master.”
“Academy?” Qu Weichen thought of her locked magic talent… Forget it, she’d just act uninterested in magic.
After all, she’d awakened as a martial artist nine times—wanting to focus on martial arts was normal.
Going to the academy was good, too.
She didn’t know much about Fuyu Continent, and she’d barely seen any other races.
Studying at the academy would be a good thing.
“I understand.”
Academy… Qu Weichen didn’t dwell on it.
Instead, she focused on practicing each move, continuing her “battle of wits and strength” with the wooden dummy.
Training, training—repeating the same moves over and over, doing basic exercises until she couldn’t lift her arms anymore.
Every punch, Qu Weichen tried to stir up the “qi” inside her, but that energy just curled up quietly in her body, not moving at all.
Qu Weichen kept up this routine for five days, until Constance couldn’t help but frown.
One afternoon, she interrupted Qu Weichen’s punching.
“These days, have you tried to move your ‘qi’?”
“I’ve tried.” Qu Weichen pressed her lips together.
“But I don’t know how.”
Now it was Constance’s turn to fall silent.
She stared at Qu Weichen, whose expression didn’t look fake.
After thinking for a moment, she asked, “What do you want to do? In the future.
Do you have a dream?”
It was a pretty ordinary question—one everyone faces at some point.
Even if no one asks you, you can’t help but wonder and imagine.
The future? Dreams? Qu Weichen didn’t have a clear idea.
She just wanted revenge, to kill those undead in the Abyss.
She just… wanted to become strong.
“To become stronger.”
Constance was silent again.
She asked, “How did you endure the pain of martial artist awakening?”
“I wanted to become strong.
Awakening was painful, but for someone like me, if I can’t even endure pain… what else can I do?” Qu Weichen was quiet for a moment, then said, “Besides, it’s an opportunity most ordinary people never get.”
The tall giant woman lowered her head and placed her huge hand gently on Qu Weichen’s head.
Constance’s touch was gentle, almost comforting.
Constance understood what an opportunity like this meant for a kid from a remote village—especially after what Qu Weichen had been through.
But even so, even if those kids understood exactly what awakening meant for them and how much it would change their lives, not everyone could survive that inhuman pain.
When opportunity comes, not everyone can seize it.
“I’ve had a lot of dreams—having enough to eat, getting stronger, becoming a healer, becoming a mage.
In the end, I became a martial artist.
Do you know the Qiushi Mountains? They’re on the edge of the Free Plains.
I’m from an ordinary giant village over there.
I awakened as a martial artist at sixteen, two years older than you, but in the giant race, we don’t come of age until thirty.” Constance knew Qu Weichen didn’t know much, so even when telling a story, she explained patiently.
“I made it through eight rounds of awakening.
The reason’s actually kind of funny.
I made a bet with the kids in my village—the prize was smoked meat from their families that year.
Everyone had to give three jin of smoked meat to whoever survived the most rounds of awakening.” Constance couldn’t help but smile, as if she was back in that moment.
“There were sixteen of us in total.
You know, we giants eat a lot.
It’s not like we get to eat our fill of meat every meal.
Forty-eight jin of smoked meat… My family ate for two days.”
Qu Weichen couldn’t help but laugh.
“And then?”
“The village chief said I had talent and should go somewhere with better resources to study.
They raised fifteen thousand and thirty-five Yuanlang for me to go to Uvino Central Academy.
Ten thousand was from the chief and the others, and five thousand thirty-five was my parents’ life savings, scrimped and saved.”
“I crossed the Qiushi Mountains, walked across the Free Plains, and came to Uvino.
A giant, sixteen years old, eight rounds of martial artist awakening.
I didn’t have any talent for magic, but it was enough to get in.” Constance folded her hands.
“When I got to the academy, I realized I wasn’t a genius.
I had no resources, no experience—just went to class every day and practiced on my own, and ended up falling behind.
Back then, I often wondered what I was going to do with my life.
Did I deserve the Yuanlang everyone in my village raised for me? I was down for a long time.”
“I graduated—nothing special.” Constance laughed at herself, remembering those lost years of working odd jobs to make ends meet.
“I worked for a long time to save up enough to go home.
But when I crossed the mountains again, I couldn’t find my village.”
“The Gate of Hell…”
“I don’t really have any dreams now.
My only goal is to kill all those Abyss scum and the demons in this world who wear human skin.”
The giant woman placed her hand on Qu Weichen’s shoulder and smiled at her.
“Getting stronger is a good goal.
Stir up your emotions.
That qi belongs to you—try to sense it, control it.”
“…Okay.” Qu Weichen looked up at the tall giant woman, but in the end didn’t say anything to comfort her.
She lowered her head and looked at her own hands.
What kind of emotion did she need to move it? The desire to fight? In that moment, Qu Weichen thought of many things—her own helplessness, how she’d given everything and still failed to protect anyone, the unlucky caravan and the dead.
She’d seen too much death and parting lately, and suffered too much pain.
Each one of them had been a living, breathing person.
She tried again to stir the qi in her chest.
The warm current seemed to move, but also didn’t respond at all.
Qu Weichen sighed inwardly, finished a whole set of moves smoothly, then sped up and repeated it again.
Qu Weichen thought, if she could never move that qi, she probably couldn’t officially become a first-rank martial artist.
If she just kept practicing moves and footwork, even after ten years, she’d just be a “martial arts expert” at best.
Do your best.
If it really doesn’t work… being a “loser” would be a good cover for her necromancer identity.
But if that happened, how could she be satisfied?
……
Walking through the silver-lit courtyard toward her room, if her body weren’t so tired—or if she’d found a way to control her qi—Qu Weichen might have stopped to enjoy the stars and moon from the garden.
But she was weighed down by worries and exhaustion, and just wanted a hot bath and sleep.
But as soon as she looked up, Qu Weichen froze.
Sitting quietly on the steps outside her door was a woman in a soft white dress.
As soon as Qu Weichen stopped, the woman looked up at her.
Her pale brown eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight, as if a silver river flowed in their depths, quietly drawing her in.
“Palace Master.” Qu Weichen was stunned for a moment, then snapped out of it and bowed.
“No need to be nervous.
I heard from Constance that you’ve run into some trouble?” The Warden of the Sanctuary smiled warmly, showing none of the airs or authority of a palace master.
She stood up from the steps casually, brushed off her skirt, and walked over.
Qu Weichen looked at her savior and lowered her head.
“Sorry, I… don’t have much talent.”
“Talent? No, you’re just a little lost.
Lots of young people are like that.” The Palace Master smiled.
“Look, you made it through nine rounds of martial artist awakening.
That alone puts you ahead of most people.”
The Palace Master stopped in front of Qu Weichen.
Being this close made Qu Weichen nervous, but she forced herself to look up and meet her eyes.
This Palace Master was definitely not an ordinary person.
Why visit so late at night…? Just as Qu Weichen was wondering, she saw the beautiful Palace Master suddenly cover her mouth and laugh, her eyes crinkling.
“But awakening as a martial artist is all about willpower.
If you want to move that qi, you need a strong will and courage, too~”
“Don’t sell yourself short.
Look at me—I’m just an ordinary person.” The Palace Master suddenly lowered her head, her lips almost brushing Qu Weichen’s ear.
“But you… you’re the one I can’t see through.”
The last words were so soft and low that Qu Weichen almost thought she’d imagined them.
The warm breath made her shiver, and the meaning behind those words made her unconsciously take a step back.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but the words “ordinary person” seemed to be bitten off with special emphasis.
