Shaolin Mighty Pill

After reviewing his attribute panel, Chen Jue felt as if he had forgotten something. Before sleepiness could overtake him, he suddenly remembered how his sneakers had rubbed his feet raw during his intense workout earlier that day. Given how much time he spent exercising and practicing martial arts, he knew he couldn’t go without a proper pair of shoes.

He went online to browse those Adidas and Nike models, but felt they weren’t much different from his current Li-Ning pair. Curious, he checked some forums and soon discovered that most martial artists actually preferred cloth shoes. Some experts even recommended specialized training shoes. Chen Jue glanced through the options and spotted a highly-rated pair of martial arts Tai Chi shoes—also from Li-Ning, and reasonably priced. After picking the right size, he ordered two different types, planning to try them both later.

He continued to browse the forum and was surprised to see that his earlier post asking for advice on nutritional supplements had received a flurry of new replies. Clicking in, he was astonished to find someone had actually shared the recipe for the Great Strength Pill! Even more incredible, it was said to come from Shaolin’s Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, which immediately piqued Chen Jue’s interest.

After all, his exceptional constitution was entirely due to practicing the Twelve Forms of the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, that legendary Shaolin technique. He hadn’t imagined there would be a matching Great Strength Pill as a supplement. If the formula was genuine, perhaps his practice would yield even more remarkable results.

He quickly copied and photographed the recipe, planning to visit the county’s herbal pharmacy the next day to see if he could have the ingredients prepared according to the prescription. If it worked, the Great Strength Pill might even replace the traditional Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup.

…

He slept soundly and dreamlessly until dawn. At the rooster’s crow, Chen Jue rose to wash up. Once again donning his workout clothes and weighted sandbags, he began his morning training.

Jogging up to the reservoir embankment, he saw several camping tents already had fires kindled beside them—clearly, the Zhou family, who were here to fish, were preparing breakfast. Chen Jue didn’t go over to greet them, instead finding his own space atop the embankment to practice his boxing.

The Boat Boxing style had only eight forms—simple and easy to train, and when paired with the Eight Immortal Postures, progress came rapidly. After an hour, he noted his proficiency had reached 160 out of 200. At this rate, another two days of practice and he’d make another breakthrough.

At that moment, the uncle with the gold watch had already climbed the embankment without Chen Jue noticing. Seeing Chen Jue finish his set, he hurried over. “Young man, you’re at it again with your martial arts!”

He continued, “Would you mind giving me and my daughter a ride out on the boat later? We’d like to take a few photos in the middle of the reservoir.” The uncle held a camera with a long lens—clearly high-end—while his daughter was squatting by the boat, playing with the water and snapping selfies.

“I can take you, but you’ll need to be careful—the boat’s a bit small,” Chen Jue replied. He led the portly, gold-watch-wearing uncle down the steps, then nimbly jumped onto the boat himself.

The young lady, seeing this, tried to leap aboard as well, but lost her footing and nearly tumbled into the water. Luckily, Chen Jue reacted quickly, reaching out and pulling her safely to his side.

“Oh no!” she gasped, gripping Chen Jue’s shirt tightly, her face pale with fright. “I nearly fell in! That was scary!”

The gold-watch uncle let out a long sigh of relief. While he marveled at Chen Jue’s reflexes, he couldn’t help but scold his daughter, “Jingjing, you’re old enough not to be this clumsy! If he hadn’t caught you, you’d be soaking wet right now.”

“It’s alright, the water’s not too deep here. As long as you don’t get sucked into the floodgate over there, you’ll be fine,” Chen Jue said, nodding toward a persistent whirlpool on the water’s surface.

That led directly to the drainage tunnel beneath the embankment—anyone pulled in would face certain doom. Still, in the fifty years since the reservoir’s construction, no one had ever drowned there, so it was considered quite safe.

Hearing about the hidden, deadly funnel nearby, both father and daughter felt a new wave of fear and repeatedly thanked Chen Jue for his help.

…

With all three aboard, Chen Jue took up the oar and rowed swiftly toward the reservoir’s center. Standing tall and steady at the edge of the boat, he made it look effortless. The gold-watch uncle tried to stand as well, but the boat rocked so violently that he immediately sat back down, terrified.

“Young man, your martial arts are truly impressive!” the uncle exclaimed, giving Chen Jue a thumbs up. He had hefted the wooden oar earlier and knew how heavy it was from years of soaking in water. Yet Chen Jue could row the boat hundreds of meters without breaking a sweat—a testament to his extraordinary stamina.

“Uncle, you flatter me. It’s just a matter of practice,” Chen Jue replied with a smile. “Is here a good spot? You can keep taking photos; I’ll practice while you do. When you’re done, I’ll row you back.”

He set the oar aside and began practicing the Eight Immortal Postures, for the first time in front of two strangers, feeling a bit self-conscious. Meanwhile, the girl—Jingjing—was enchanted by the scenic surroundings. She quickly forgot her near mishap and started snapping photos with her phone.

“Huihui’s still sleeping in, missing all this. She’ll be so mad when she finds out!” Jingjing chatted idly with her father, though her gaze often drifted to Chen Jue as he moved fluidly at the bow.

To her, this boy—about her own age, perhaps a bit chubby and otherwise unremarkable—had a certain comfortable aura about him. Especially striking was his fair, rosy skin. She hadn’t noticed it clearly last night in the dark, but seeing him this morning made her feel a pang of envy.

“What whitening product does he use? How is his complexion so good!” Jingjing wondered, a little jealous.

The gold-watch uncle, after watching Chen Jue’s posture practice with amazement, snapped a few photos of him with his camera, then joined his daughter in photographing the surrounding scenery.

Chen Jue noticed the uncle taking his picture but didn’t mind. He simply focused on his training.

An hour later, after finishing his routine, he found that the Zhou pair had taken countless photos of the reservoir—and quite a few of him as well.

“Young man, let me add you on WeChat. Once I’ve edited the photos, I’ll send them to you,” the uncle offered, clearly intending to befriend this local martial arts prodigy.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse, giving his phone number, then rowed the pair back to their campsite, where their return drew cheers from the other campers. After mooring the boat at the dock, he made his way down the mountain.

The gold-watch uncle invited Chen Jue to share some noodles cooked at their camp, but Chen Jue had plans to head to the county early, so he politely declined.

Back home, he changed clothes, removed his weights, had breakfast in Linjia Village, and then caught a minivan to the highway, where he boarded Bus No. 5 straight to the county seat.