Chapter 4: The Brother's Pride

Chapter 4: The Brother's Pride

"Brother! Brother! What's wrong with you?"

"Wake up! I promise I won’t tease you on purpose anymore."

"Please wake up!"

"Brother! Brother… Dad! Mom! Come quick, brother fainted!"

Chen Shouyi opened his eyes to see his younger sister’s panicked face looming over him. His eyes widened in shock, and he quickly sat up from her embrace. "What happened? Why are you in here?"

"Brother, you passed out—didn’t you realize?" Chen Xingyue said, her face filled with regret as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Only then did Chen Shouyi remember that before merging with the Book of Knowledge, he had been standing. But after entering that space, he must have collapsed.

Once he pieced everything together, he looked at his sister, who seemed different today, and suddenly realized she wasn’t as annoying as he’d thought.

Flexing his scrawny arm in a poor attempt to show off non-existent muscles, he muttered something even he didn’t believe: "Don’t talk nonsense. Why would I faint? I’m perfectly healthy! It’s just my first day of class, and I’m not used to it—I was just too tired."

To emphasize his point, he added, "In short, I was just too exhausted."

Unfortunately, no one bought his explanation. By the time his parents rushed over, the situation had escalated. The restaurant quickly closed, and he was immediately taken to the hospital for a full-body checkup. Naturally, they found nothing wrong—not a single trace of the Book of Knowledge was detected.

This finally allowed Chen Shouyi to relax completely.

On the ride back, he grumbled, "I told you I was fine. There was no need to go to the hospital."

"Shut up!" Mother Chen snapped. "How could you be sure? You don’t just faint for no reason. We’ll take you to a bigger hospital in Zhonghai City another day."

"I think Shouyi might be malnourished. Look how thin he is. When I go out with him, I’m almost embarrassed to say I own a restaurant," Chen Dawei remarked from the driver’s seat.

Chen Shouyi awkwardly rubbed his rib-protruding frame. After this mess, he decided he absolutely couldn’t enter the Book of Knowledge during the day anymore.

…

By the time they returned to the restaurant, it was already 8:30 p.m.

At that hour, there was no point in reopening for business.

Chen Shouyi and his sister helped their mother clean up while Chen Dawei went back to the kitchen and cooked a lavish spread.

Chen Shouyi stared at the mountain of meat dishes piled in his bowl but said nothing, simply digging in.

"Here, have this!" Chen Xingyue quickly dropped a spare rib into his bowl, then turned her head away, slightly embarrassed.

Chen Shouyi felt a faint warmth in his chest. Maybe his sister wasn’t so bad after all.

"This is how siblings should be. All that bickering before was ridiculous. Your brother is weak and not doing well in school—you should support him more and stop provoking him all the time," Mother Jiang Fen said, visibly pleased by the rare display of sibling harmony.

"Mom, I understand!" Chen Xingyue replied, her face flushing slightly.

Chen Shouyi’s heart twisted with mixed emotions. Should he be happy or sad? In his mother’s eyes, was he really that useless?

But compared to his dazzlingly talented sister, he truly seemed ordinary. From childhood till now, he had never achieved anything noteworthy. The last time he’d received an award was back in kindergarten—and even then, every kid had gotten several.

"Dad, Mom, I haven’t told you the good news yet!" Chen Xingyue blurted out after holding it in for a long time.

"What good news?" Chen Dawei set down his wine glass, looking expectant.

"I’ve been recommended for admission to the Beijing Martial Arts Institute!"

"What?" Jiang Fen, Chen’s mother, exclaimed in delight. "My dear daughter, why didn’t you say so earlier? We could’ve celebrated at a nicer restaurant!"

"Tomorrow isn’t too late," Chen Dawei said with a chuckle.

In today’s society, Martial Arts had become a trend. Even just a Martial Apprentice could easily secure a well-paying position in numerous Martial Arts training institutions or middle and elementary schools, placing them in the upper-middle class.

Not to mention, entering the nation’s top-tier Beijing Martial Arts Institute meant a high chance of becoming a government-subsidized Martial Artist.

"Don’t trouble yourselves, Mom and Dad. Even without the recommendation, I’m confident I could pass the Martial Apprentice Examination this year. We can celebrate properly then," Chen Xingyue declared with unwavering confidence.

...

Her parents beamed with joy and pride!

Chen Xingyue was practically glowing with excitement!

The dining table was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Chen Shouyi forced a smile, offering hollow words of congratulations. The once-delicious meal now tasted like sawdust in his mouth.

After dinner, Chen Shouyi took a shower and returned to his bedroom.

Lying in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

After a while, he abruptly sat up, staring blankly for a moment before suddenly remembering something. He quickly jumped out of bed, assumed his stance, and began practicing the optimized Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques.

Over the past two decades, Martial Arts had developed rapidly, with a myriad of body-refining methods emerging. The Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques, however, was the standard method introduced by the National Martial Arts Administration. It combined the training methods of warriors from the Otherworld, traditional martial arts techniques, Indian yoga, and human biology research, refining the best aspects while discarding the unnecessary.

Now in its third edition, it was even more effective than the previous versions.

Though he might look scrawny at first glance, his frequent training had sculpted his muscles into a tightly woven, wire-like structure. Even without flexing, the outline of his eight-pack abs was visible.

Compared to twenty years ago, his physical fitness would have easily qualified him as a national-level athlete.

For instance, though his strength attribute was only 10.4, he could bench press 110 kg and squat close to 200 kg.

His 100-meter sprint time was also around 10.20 seconds.

But compared to the Martial Apprentice Examination standards—a sub-9.5-second 100-meter dash and a 200 kg bench press—he was still far behind. And that was just the physical aspect; the cold weapons assessment was even more challenging.

...

Following his memory, Chen Shouyi began practicing. The optimized knowledge was etched into his mind like a steel stamp, as if he had practiced it countless times before.

From being extremely awkward in the first repetition, he gradually became more proficient by the second. By the third, he could execute the movements smoothly without conscious adjustment.

He quickly noticed the differences in this version optimized by the Book of Knowledge. It seemed to engage every muscle in his body—and the stamina consumption was significantly higher.

Originally, he could perform ten repetitions in one go before becoming completely exhausted, draining all his strength.

Yet now, after only four repetitions, he already felt on the verge of collapse.

And it wasn’t just that—he noticed that when his movements sped up and the stances flowed smoothly, his body would produce a tingling sensation, almost like an electric shock. It was incredibly peculiar, as if a current of warmth was coursing through him, raising his overall body temperature.

Sweat poured from his body. By the time Chen Shouyi gritted his teeth and finished the fifth repetition, his strength was utterly spent. He could no longer hold himself up and collapsed onto the ground.

He summoned the Book of Knowledge, and soon his attributes flashed in his mind.

The Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques had advanced from (Beginner 5) to (Beginner 12), a full seven-point increase.

In the darkness, his eyes gleamed, bright and intense. He clenched his fists, unable to suppress the excitement surging in his heart—only this could keep him from shouting out in exhilaration.

With the unyielding spirit of youth, even his physical exhaustion seemed to fade for a moment. After resting briefly, he dragged himself up with great effort and forced himself to practice three more repetitions. By the end, he couldn’t even move a finger. He collapsed onto the bed, too exhausted to bother washing up. His head had barely touched the pillow before he fell into a deep sleep.