Completing this mission triggered not one but two new missions.
The new Mission One was basically an extension of the previous one, requiring him to continue waking up early and training for a full week, now specifically using the newly acquired "Eight-Section Brocade" technique.
The reward was substantial, though.
An increase in vitality by percentage, much like the memory boost, would be immensely helpful in real life—at least next time he'd get through the school fitness test without feeling like death.
For a student bad at physical education, the agony of the fitness test was hard to put into words.
One week before the test, you'd start panicking, then pray for rain the day before gym class, struggle to breathe before the 1000-meter run, and even feel an urgent need to use the bathroom.
Then, when you finally finish the 1000 meters, panting and tasting blood in your mouth, you think: Thank f it's over; I'm alive.
They say college guys have to run 3000 meters each semester, and just thinking about that made Lin Li want to die.
Training!
Starting tomorrow, it'd be seven days straight!
Lin Li had a gut feeling that tomorrow morning would be brutal. Today's workout was bound to leave him with sore, lactic-acid-filled muscles tomorrow, but he didn't want to postpone it. Taking a break tomorrow would only make it easier to find excuses in the future.
Once you start, you've got to keep it going!
Even if his body screamed at him to rest tomorrow, Lin Li resolved that he'd still at least sit down in the park.
But that decision could wait; right now, he turned his attention to the timed Mission Four.
This mission's reward was a first: an "ability." How could he miss out on something like that?
Martial youth? Who?
Lin Li looked around, then did another scan of his surroundings, and yet another.
The only person nearby was the elderly man who'd just finished his tai chi session, standing there upright and full of energy.
Him? Martial youth? Does it mean I have to spar with him?
Lin Li wasn't underestimating the man—quite the opposite. He was very aware of his own level. He hadn't missed the sound of the old man's powerful punches earlier and was genuinely worried he'd be sent flying with one hit.
Shouldn't the system have matched him with a kid still in training pants, calling them a "martial youth" and setting him up for an epic battle with a toddler?
So now it was changing things up? This dumb system had hit new lows.
It was at this moment, as if he'd noticed Lin Li's gaze, that the elderly man took a deep breath, assumed a stance, and resumed his punches.
After watching for a while, Lin Li's previous worry about getting knocked out with one punch was actually replaced with relief.
—Now he was sure that one punch would definitely knock him out.
This elderly gentleman was fit as a fiddle, while Lin Li himself looked like a fragile flower wilting in the wind.
Still, he had a solution in mind.
After all, wasn't he a genius too?
"Grandpa…" Lin Li approached him, calling out.
"Not taking any disciples," the old man replied flatly. "But I could use a mount."
Lin Li: "…"
Wait, he wasn't gaming, so why the sudden taunt?
Was QQ Farm about to tell him his crops had withered, too?
"Young man, just a joke. I've been gaming lately, and they taunt me like that all the time, so I thought I'd try it myself. Feels pretty good—I get it now," the elderly man said, scratching his head with a grin.
It seemed like he'd used a couple of idioms wrong, but Lin Li realized that the old man had a youthful spirit. At least this would make communicating easier.
"Did you need something from me, young man? Interested in tai chi?" the old man asked warmly.
"No, Grandpa, I want to challenge you to a martial arts sparring match!" Lin Li cut to the chase.
"Eh?" The old man scratched his head, genuinely caught off guard, then pointed at himself in disbelief. "A martial arts match? Me? But I'm not exactly an expert in the Eight-Section Brocade…"
"That's okay, Grandpa. I know a bit about tai chi," Lin Li said confidently.
"Oh? Are we talking wellness tai chi or real tai chi?" A spark of interest appeared in the old man's eyes.
Lin Li's understanding of tai chi was based on wisdom from Master Zhao Benshan, who'd once said tai chi was all about shuffling, dealing, drawing, looking, drawing again, and—winning.
"Let's go with wellness tai chi," Lin Li replied.
"As expected." The old man nodded. If Lin Li had truly trained in real tai chi, he wouldn't have struggled so much with the Eight-Section Brocade just now.
"Well then, let's spar a bit," the old man said, assuming a stance with a smile.
This young man was indeed a promising talent.
The stance he took was more of a push-hands style for tai chi, with both of them pressing one foot against the other to gauge their strength and exchange energy. It was a safe method for testing martial skills without risking serious injury.
Then… the old man saw Lin Li assuming a Wing Chun stance that was poorly executed, making little "whap-whap" sound effects as he tried to hype himself up.
"Tai chi style—Lin Li!"
The old man: "…"
Kid, what kind of "tai chi" do you even know? Are you just here to mess with me?
"Young man, you…"
Before he could finish, Lin Li swung a fist toward him.
These young folks have no respect, resorting to sneak attacks!
Quickly, the old man put up a defensive move, instinctively neutralizing Lin Li's attack with a counter.
Hold on—where was the power?
Tai chi is all about soft overcoming hard, leveraging power, but the kid's punch… was there any power in it at all?
Did he not eat breakfast?
Puzzled, the old man's hand reflexively landed on Lin Li's shoulder.
"Shoooom—"
Lin Li flew back instantly, rolled twice on the ground, and then lay there, looking as if he were coughing up blood—though it looked more like spit.
The old man: "…"
He hadn't even used any real force.
Wait.
The old man's eyes widened as a horrifying realization struck him.
This brat was a scammer!
He scanned his surroundings, twelve times over—there were no surveillance cameras in the park!
This kid came here to scam him!
Outrageous! Upside-down morals! Society was really crumbling! Just when he'd admired this young man, too!
What a pillar of society? This kid was a super parasite!
Morals were declining, indeed. So it wasn't that bad people were fewer—it's that they were younger!
The elderly man, who had remained hale and hearty for over sixty years, suddenly felt tightness in his chest for the first time.
If magic beats magic, then scamming meets scamming. After a moment of thought, he decided to lie down as well.
"Ohhh~~ ohhh~~"
Lin Li, who had already gotten up with a smile, froze when he saw the old man lying down and quickly raised both hands, taking a few steps back to show his innocence.
"Grandpa, are you trying to scam me? Don't do this! I didn't even hit you! It's broad daylight; there's no need for this."
Lin Li was a bit disappointed. People really couldn't be trusted these days. He'd thought this was a friendly old man, and now he was pulling this on him? And they were probably neighbors, too—how could he go that far?
Society was really crumbling, indeed. So it wasn't that bad people were fewer—it's that they were older!
Feeling out of breath, the old man was furious beyond words. What a classic case of the thief yelling to catch a thief! He pointed a trembling finger at Lin Li: "You, you—"