Chapter 33: Tutoring

Chapter 33: Tutoring

"Mom!... It's not cold at all! No need to send Little Sister with clothes for me."

At a street barbecue stall in the evening, just as the owner had served the skewers, Chen Shouyi received a call from Chen Mu.

"I still have enough money. Food and lodging are covered, so I don’t really spend much."

"Everything’s fine over here. The teacher takes good care of me!"

"I’ve made a lot of progress! I’ll probably pass the assessment after it’s over."

Chen Shouyi spun lies while munching on his skewers.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out nearby. Frowning, Chen Shouyi quickly covered the phone’s microphone and moved aside to continue the call.

By the time he hung up and returned, two groups were already brawling.

The table he’d been sitting at was overturned, his skewers scattered across the ground. His heart clenched, but he soon spotted his briefcase still in its original spot, untouched by the chaos.

Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

He hastily pushed past a few people blocking his way, grabbed the briefcase, and turned to leave the scene.

But often, trouble finds you even when you don’t seek it.

A young man, staggered by Chen Shouyi’s push, flew into a rage. "Fck your mother! You looking to die?"

As he spoke, he grabbed a beer bottle from a nearby table and hurled it at Chen Shouyi’s back.

Chen Shouyi sensed something flying toward him and instinctively sidestepped. The bottle whizzed past him, shattering on the street.

At that, Chen Shouyi’s temper flared.

A full beer bottle wasn’t exactly light—weighing at least half a kilogram. For an ordinary person, getting hit by it would leave bruises at best, or worse, put them out of commission for days.

In an instant, he turned and closed the distance with the aggressive young man. His left hand seized the guy’s face, slamming him headfirst into the concrete with sheer force. Before the young man could even struggle, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out cleanly.

The scene erupted like a stirred hornet’s nest. Several youths nearby charged at Chen Shouyi, shouting curses.

Chen Shouyi spun and delivered a roundhouse kick.

A burly young man who’d tried to ambush him took the full force to his head. Staggering back dizzily, he collapsed onto his rear, foaming at the mouth, unable to stand again.

This young man had trained in Martial Arts and had been dominating the earlier brawl, even holding his own against three opponents. Yet now, he was downed in a single strike.

The crowd, witnessing such ruthless efficiency, shuddered. Both sides instinctively halted their melee.

Truthfully, even Chen Shouyi himself might not have noticed—since killing those two barbarians the day before, a trace of ferocity had unknowingly seeped into his demeanor.

Fortunately, he still had his wits about him and held back. With strength rivaling that of a Martial Artist, no one could withstand a full-force strike from him.

His icy gaze swept the area, and the surrounding youths recoiled, chilled to the bone.

Without delay, Chen Shouyi quickened his pace and left the scene.

If he stayed any longer, the police would arrive.

...

After finishing his interrupted dinner at a noodle shop, Chen Shouyi waited until past six before calling the tutor.

"Hello, Teacher Wang, I'm Chen Shouyi. We agreed to meet yesterday. Are you free now?"

"Then come over!"

...

The Shanshui Residential Area was considered a mid-to-high-end community in Dongning City, with a beautiful environment and well-maintained greenery.

After getting off the bus, Chen Shouyi searched for a long time before finally finding Building 12.

The door was opened by a middle-aged woman who still retained her charm. She glanced at Chen Shouyi and immediately smiled. "You must be Xiao Chen, right? Ruyue is in the training room. Come in!"

So the beautiful instructor's name was Wang Ruyue.

Chen Shouyi noticed that her features bore some resemblance to the instructor's—this was clearly her mother. He quickly said, "Auntie, hello!"

"What a polite boy!" the middle-aged woman chuckled.

A pair of paper slippers had already been placed by the door. He took off his shoes and stepped inside.

Once inside, he realized her home was quite spacious. The living room alone was about 30 to 40 square meters, and the decor was modern and stylish.

Chen Shouyi glanced around briefly before averting his gaze.

By then, the middle-aged woman had already opened the door to the training room for him.

He walked in. The training room was roughly 50 to 60 square meters, equipped with a weapon rack and a human dummy—nothing else.

At that moment, the beautiful instructor was holding a real sword, practicing her strikes with deliberate slowness and fluidity. Her muscles moved like flowing water, as if she were carefully adjusting her force.

"Leave the slippers outside, close the door, and come in barefoot!"

"Got it." Chen Shouyi immediately removed the slippers, stepping onto the soft rubber floor in just his socks.

"Go grab a wooden sword!" Wang Ruyue glanced at him and spoke coolly.

Today, the beautiful instructor gave Chen Shouyi a completely different impression. Her tone carried a hint of coldness, a far cry from the gentle and approachable demeanor she had in the training class.

He had a feeling—perhaps this was her true self, while the image she presented in class was just a professional facade.

Chen Shouyi picked out a hardwood sword and stood to the side, waiting for her to finish her practice.

Fortunately, she didn’t take long. She stopped her movements and picked up a wooden sword from the weapon rack as well.

"Come at me!"

For a moment, Chen Shouyi thought he’d misheard. He gaped in shock. "With wooden swords? That’s too dangerous."

Wooden swords weren’t like the safety swords used in the training class. With the terrifying explosive speed of Martial Arts strikes, a thrust could be just as lethal as a real sword.

"Your first lesson with me is to show you what real combat is like. Only danger can stimulate a person’s potential."

"Come on!"

"Are you sure?" Chen Shouyi asked again for confirmation.

"Such a young age, yet so much nonsense. When I tell you to attack, you attack! Do you really think you can hurt me?" Wang Ruyue said impatiently.

"Fine, here I come!"

Provoked, Chen Shouyi pushed off with his foot. In the next instant, his body moved like a phantom as he slid forward, thrusting his sword like lightning.

Wang Ruyue tilted her body slightly, dodging his attack, then swiftly pivoted and stabbed downward. Her wooden sword shot toward Chen Shouyi’s calf like a flash of light.

Chen Shouyi lifted his foot and retreated a step, easily avoiding it.

He realized that fighting with wooden swords felt entirely different compared to wearing protective gear and using safety swords.

Every move and every stance carried a sense of heart-pounding tension. Chen Shouyi worried that a moment of carelessness might lead to uncontrolled strength, injuring his opponent, while also fearing that a single misstep could cost him his life.

The Wooden Swords sliced through the air with sharp "whoosh" sounds.

Wang Ruyue noticed that Chen Shouyi was fighting with unexpected ease, matching her blow for blow. Her lips pressed tightly together, her expression growing colder as she gradually unleashed her full strength.

In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged over a dozen attacks.

Their speed increased relentlessly, to the point where an ordinary person could barely track the trajectories of their Wooden Swords. Each strike and stance flickered like fleeting shadows, vanishing almost as soon as they appeared.

By now, Chen Shouyi was under immense pressure, far from the earlier sense of control. Every hair on his body stood on end, his mind completely cleared of distractions. The foolish notion of holding back had long been discarded—he was fighting almost at his full capacity.

He realized that compared to these seasoned Martial Arts apprentices, his only advantage lay in his superior physical attributes. In terms of technique, he was still far behind.

Even when executing the same thrusting sword technique, the same Basic Steps, her strikes were faster, her footwork more agile.

Finally, with a sharp crack, the two Wooden Swords collided.

The swords shattered, sending countless wooden splinters flying in all directions.