Ch.12: Hard Working Genius... You Don't Mean Cheating Hard?
Looking at Lu Sheng sprawled on the ground as if all strength had left his body.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, every ounce of energy spent.
A strange warmth stirred in her chest.
Part of her was dumbfounded by his sheer natural aptitude; another part quietly delighted in having found such a disciple.
At the beginning, she had only considered him among the more promising talents of his age.
Yet as their training continued, his progress grew sharper, faster—so much that even she began to feel a spark of excitement.
Without realizing it, she had raised the gravity to eighty times, partly for her own training and partly because she was enjoying herself far too much.
By the time they stopped, the sun had already climbed high, and Lu Sheng lay there, spent, drenched, and utterly exhausted.
Still, she was deeply satisfied.
Satisfaction bloomed deep within.
In instinct and combat flair, this child rivaled her own younger self—a mirror of potential, untamed and vast.
Yet seeing his face relax into gratified relief, eyes screaming finally!
As if he'd escaped some cosmic peril, an irrepressible urge to tease welled up.
"Okay," she said lightly, "let's start the follow-up."
The color drained from Lu Sheng's face. His exhilaration vanished, replaced by sheer horror.
"No! Master! You can't do that to me!" he blurted out, trembling as her grin grew even wider.
"I'll die at this rate. It's still the first day!" He shouted on top of his lungs.
He loved progress, yes, but that didn't mean he was a masochist.
At heart, he was still the same lazy procrastinator.
The type to take a break the moment others did.
He could push through pain, but never endlessly.
His will, for all its spark, was still human.
He wasn't like other reincarnators from those novels or fanfic.
Who upon reincarnating directly start with mass murder and train hard for 16 hours a day.
Though he was the memory recovery type not a transmigrator.
But he still wasn't formidable enough to leave the world around him and just work hard like cattle.
He was still sane not the kind who only opened mouth to state ancient poems or say "Courting Death!"
Zhou Yueling wasn't having any of that.
Seeing his helpless smile, she finally felt a quiet satisfaction settle in her heart.
And she so decided to make true of her words.
In a blink, she vanished from sight.
Even with senses honed sharper through the morning's ordeal.
Lu Sheng detected nothing.
No trace of movement, no whisper of presence.
He strained, searching the air, but found only void.
Danger deepened, coiling like shadows in the soul.
Killing intent surged, not in targeted bursts as before which were like set of warnings.
Warning like telling the opponent to protect his head, neck, heart, stomach.
This time it wasn't a single path warning but as an omnipresent tide.
For the first time, Lu Sheng felt what true terror meant.
Before absolute power, instinct meant nothing.
Talent meant nothing. Even divine spirits seemed silent.
It was the quiet reminder that in every pursuit of strength, there lies a truth,no matter how far you reach, there will always be something just beyond your grasp.
As that thought passed through his mind, the space before him rippled,and with the pulse of danger closing in, Lu Sheng's eyes hardened.
He activated his martial spirit: Deoxys.
A pale golden aura enveloped him, metallic silver lines and rune-like symbols flowing across his body like living circuits.
A strong aura spread outward.
Pressure.
In that instant, his small frame lengthened slightly, his muscles tightening with a raw, tempered strength.
His senses sharpened to an edge that bordered on unbearable clarity.
His eyes, now glowing with cold golden light, saw everything.
The blurry motion of a hand slicing through space, aimed straight at his head.
Time itself seemed to slow.
He could see the attack, could trace every motion, every fluctuation in energy.
Yet, his body refused to move.
He stood there, frozen, staring helplessly as the hand drew closer.
He simply wasn't fast enough to move at such speed.
But when it touched him, the killing intent, the suffocating fear, all vanished like mist before the sun.
What remained was a gentle warmth—a hand ruffling his hair, and a calm, elegant voice breaking through the silence.
"Alright, brat. That's all for today. Now go wash up. We still need to verify your first martial spirit's attributes for the ring and find a suitable meditation technique."
Her tone was casual, but to him, it felt almost divine.
Zhou Yueling withdrew her hand and turned away, walking away almost vanishing in the morning mist and sunshine.
Lu Sheng stood there, unmoving.
His muscles were still locked tight, his aura still flaring, his martial spirit still active.
Like a bow drawn to its limit with no arrow to release, tension humming through every fiber.
In that suspended moment, where perception outpaced action and power confronted its own limits, the system stirred him awake.
{Sign-In Function Activated}
{Daily Sign-In Reward: Sir Aaron's Guide to Mastering Aura (For Humans and Pokémon)}
{Congratulations, you have trained hard for the first time, creating a milestone for [Hardworking Genius]}
{Surviving a life and death moment through instinct and perception, you have obtained insights into Fighting, Killing Intent, and Instincts}
{You have obtained skill [Fighting Lv. 1]}
{You have obtained skill [Killing Intent Lv. 1]}
{You have obtained skill [Instincts Lv. 1]}
A torrent of memories, information, and experience flooded his mind—like living those skills hundreds of times over.
Lu Sheng stood frozen in daze, words failing him, until the absurdity struck.
"Hardworking Genius... are you sure this isn't cheating hard?"
...
Few moments later.
Lu Sheng sat cross-legged in the Zhou family's main hall, still feeling sore from the "training" session that had nearly killed him.
Across from him sat Zhou Ming and Li Xueya, with Zhou Yueling lounging casually to the side, a teacup in her hand.
The topic for the day wasn't rest or recovery, it was which of his martial spirits he should cultivate first.
"So," Zhou Ming began in his usual calm tone, "you possess twin martial spirits, Deoxys and Rayquaza.
"Which do you plan to develop first?"
Lu Sheng hesitated.
"I'm not sure. Both seem... strong."
Li Xueya smiled lightly, tapping the arm of her chair. "Strong is an understatement. Even the pressure they give off without activation is terrifying. But you'll need to prioritize one. Balancing two from the start is reckless."
Before Lu Sheng could reply, Zhou Yueling leaned forward slightly, her sharp eyes fixed on him. "You should choose the one that fits your current body and control."
"Yeah," Lu Sheng muttered, remembering the surge of energy he felt when it first stirred within him.
"It feels like a walking disaster waiting to happen. Probably better to save that one for later."
Lu Sheng nodded, mentally comparing the attributes of both martial spirits.
"Then Deoxys first?" Zhou Ming concluded.
Lu Sheng nodded after a moment's thought. "Deoxys feels more balanced. I can use it for both offense and defense while I'm still building control."
"Reasonable," Zhou Ming said approvingly.
Afterall he remembers the time of martial spirit awakening, the dragon type clearly had a more destructive aura which will make it hard to control early on.
Just as the atmosphere began to settle, Zhou Yueling suddenly asked,
"Speaking of your spirits... does Deoxys have any special abilities? Apart from the one you used this morning, I mean."
Lu Sheng blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean, Master?"
Even the old couple had a curious expression on her words.
Zhou Yueling tilted her head slightly, recalling the morning's spar.
"When you possessed your martial spirit earlier, the energy I was consuming increased. Not just against your attacks, even maintaining my gravitational field around myself took nearly twice the normal amount of energy. I had to adjust on the fly."
Lu Sheng's eyes widened, surprise hitting him in layers.
First, the realization that Deoxys' Pressure really wasn't just psychological.
Its actually the same as that of Ability of Pokemon: Deoxys.
One that actively doubled soul and spiritual power costs for everyone in its field, a subtle drain that could turn battles into wars of attrition.
And second...
He paused, then added under his breath, "And you were using gravity the whole time?"
Zhou Yueling smiled faintly.
"Of course. I added eighty times gravity for my own training. You didn't think I was going easy on myself, did you?"
Lu Sheng froze.
That explained everything.
He wasn't just fighting his master, he was fighting someone under eighty times gravity, treating their spar like morning exercise.
He suddenly felt like a frog that had been proudly croaking in front of a dragon.
He scratched his head awkwardly, realizing just how far the gap between them really was.
Looking at his embarrassed expression, he held her head even higher.
"I never skip training even if I have other work."
Looking at her proud expression as if saying, 'praise me.'
Another thought took root in his heart.
He could only think that, 'Not only is she a sadist but also a masochist, both at the same time.'
But just as he thought that the smiley face toward him turned into a glare.
"Are you thinking something bad my dear disciple?"
"No, no, how could I." He shook his head hard.
"I was just thinking how hardworking you are."
"Good, if you know..."
At that point, Zhou Ming spoke again, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"Lu Sheng, try possessing your martial spirit again. Let's see the actual effects."
Lu Sheng stood up, exhaled slowly, and activated Deoxys.
In an instant, the air shifted.
Pale golden light enveloped him again, with silver metallic circuit like line followed by runes flowing like water over his skin, even his height and muscle mass had increased by a notch.
Zhou Ming felt the weight of the room double.
Li Xueya's eyes narrowed slightly, sensing the sharp resistance spreading outward.
"This is..." Zhou Ming murmured.
Lu Sheng's gaze steadied as realization dawned.
"It's not just pressure. The field forces anyone inside to use twice as much soul power and spiritual energy for every action."
"It does seem like an innate domain, very versatile kind. Just the existence of this domain makes you a valuable teammate in group battle no matter how high leveled the opponents are."
Li Xueya said realizing she herself as a level 86 spirit douluo was experiencing the 'twice energy consumption' penalty.
"For the other abilities," he said, his voice steadier now, "I can change forms. This is the base, normal or balanced form anything you like to call it. And then there are speed form, defense form, and attack form, each shifts my stats to specialize."
He said changing to different forms as the rune symbols, metallic lines and armor like aura and even his body features changed accordingly to match those forms.
Li Xueya raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Four adaptive combat modes? That's not a martial spirit. That's a tactical nightmare for anyone facing you."
Zhou Ming chuckled softly.
"Provided he learns to use them before his spirit power runs dry."
Lu Sheng sighed, half-proud, half-exasperated. "That's the plan. First learn not to die, then think about fighting properly."
Zhou Yueling smirked behind her teacup. "At least you've started thinking correctly, brat."