Too Tired

“Take it and practice with it.”

His tone was extremely casual.

As if what he had handed over wasn’t a priceless Xuan-grade technique, but a head of cabbage.

Su Yu looked at the "Splitting Rock Palm" in his hands.

He didn’t bring up what happened last night.

Nor did he ask about the origins of this manual.

Some things are better left understood in silence; speaking them out loud only makes things awkward.

He carefully tucked the ancient book into his canvas bag.

Then he looked at Lin Xiaoxiao.

With utmost seriousness, he said one word: “Thanks.”

“Tch.”

Lin Xiaoxiao’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she waved her hand dismissively.

“No need to be polite with your big sis!”

“From now on at school, just listen to me, and everything’ll be fine!”

“Come on! Off to the capital!”

…

The off-road vehicle glided smoothly through the streets of Jiangcheng.

The atmosphere inside gradually relaxed.

“Oh, right.”

Lin Xiaoxiao turned to look at Su Yu.

“When we get to the Capital Martial Arts University, the first thing for new students is to pick a department.”

“What department are you thinking of studying?”

Su Yu was momentarily taken aback.

“Departments?”

“You don’t know?” Lin Xiaoxiao stared at him like he was an alien.

Then she slapped her forehead.

“Right, you never even touched the edge of martial arts before, so you wouldn’t have looked into any of this.”

Lin Xiaoxiao cleared her throat and began to explain.

“The path of martial arts is vast and boundless.”

“Besides basic qi and blood cultivation, there are many ways to fight.”

“The Capital Martial Arts University is divided into several major colleges.”

“For example, the Weapon College, which has the Sword Department, Blade Department, and Spear Department.”

“The Ranged College mainly covers the Bow Department and the Throwing Weapons Department.”

“Then there’s the Support College, with departments like Formation Studies, Alchemy, and even Mech Manufacturing.”

“And of course, there’s the pure Combat College, which focuses on hand-to-hand fighting.”

Lin Xiaoxiao listed them off like she was counting treasures.

“Each department has different resources and mentors.”

“With your qi and blood being so strong, you should pick a weapon or direction that suits you well.”

Su Yu leaned back in his seat.

His deep eyes flickered slightly.

The Sword Department?

A single high-grade alloy sword mixed with star-iron meteorite could cost millions.

Plus you’d need matching sword techniques and a scabbard.

The Bow Department?

That was even more of a money pit!

Forget the price of a special high-grade war bow; just one of those custom alloy arrows capable of piercing the defenses of exotic beasts costs as much as a sports car when you fire it!

That wasn’t archery—that was literally throwing money away!

As for the Formation and Alchemy departments?

Su Yu didn’t even consider them.

Setting up formations required outrageously expensive spirit stones and materials, and alchemy was a bottomless pit—buying herbs, buying a cauldron, and if it blew up, you’d be bankrupt in an instant.

Su Yu silently calculated the twenty-four thousand yuan left in his card.

Poor.

Way too poor.

Those flashy departments weren’t something someone at his level could afford to play with.

Even if he had the system,

money had to be spent entirely on exchanging for cultivation and deducing techniques!

He couldn’t afford to waste it on external stuff!

“Made up your mind yet?” Lin Xiaoxiao curiously leaned in.

“Yeah.”

Su Yu nodded.

“I’m going with fist-fighting.”

“Fist-fighting?” Lin Xiaoxiao blinked in surprise.

“Why?”

“Because I’m broke.”

Su Yu answered bluntly, without any pretense.

“Bows and weapons are too expensive. I can’t afford them.”

“Only fists are something you’re born with.”

“No need to buy them, no need to maintain them.”

“Simple and practical.”

The key point was that his system could deduce any technique.

If he pushed his fist techniques to the absolute limit, punching through a star wasn’t out of reach.

Why waste the money on unnecessary things?

Hearing this reason,

Uncle Lin, who was driving, had his hands tremble slightly on the steering wheel.

This genius, who could kill Zhao Ze with one strike and boast a qi and blood level over a thousand,

chose his department simply because… he was poor?!

Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned too.

She stared at Su Yu’s utterly serious face.

She’d been planning to persuade him to pick something flashier, like the Sword Department.

But the words caught in her throat.

Then a glint of mischief and subtle flirtation flashed in her eyes.

“Right!”

Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly slapped her thigh and echoed him loudly.

“Fist-fighting is great!”

“Fist-to-fist action—that’s real manly romance!”

“What’s the point of playing with scrap metal and junk?”

Lin Xiaoxiao puffed out her chest and declared confidently,

“I’ve decided too!”

“I’m going to train in fists as well! We’ll sign up for the same instructor!”

Up front, Uncle Lin’s mouth twitched.

Miss!

You’re abandoning your family’s inherited top-tier swordsmanship talent?

And instead of going to the Sword Department, you’re following him to train in fists?!

Those delicate fists of yours—are they gonna kill magic beasts or smash steel plates?!

But Uncle Lin dared not say a word.

He could only sigh silently in his heart: a daughter who’s grown up and flown the nest.

Su Yu turned his head.

Looking at Lin Xiaoxiao’s forced agreement, barely hiding her excited fluttering,

he didn’t call her out.

He just nodded.

“Alright.”

…

The off-road vehicle got onto the highway.

They still had a way to go before reaching the Jiangcheng high-speed rail station.

The atmosphere inside grew quiet.

Only the soft hum of the air conditioner filled the space.

Lin Xiaoxiao sat next to Su Yu.

Last night, to completely wipe out the Zhao family, she’d personally commanded the operation, pulling an almost all-nighter.

Now, drowsiness flooded over her like a tide.

Her head began to bob as she fought sleep.

Her body, swaying with the car’s motion, “unintentionally” started leaning toward Su Yu.

A little.

Then a little more.

Finally,

as the vehicle took an extremely gentle curve,

Lin Xiaoxiao’s head lolled and landed directly on Su Yu’s shoulder.

Su Yu’s body stiffened slightly.

The faint, pleasing fragrance of her hair instantly filled his nostrils.

He tilted his head slightly.

His gaze dropped,

looking at Lin Xiaoxiao, who was resting on his shoulder.

Her pure, pretty face was right next to his.

Her breathing was steady.

But,

Su Yu’s extremely sharp martial artist senses clearly caught

the fine, fan-like lashes of her eyes trembling subtly, uncontrollably.

Even her breathing rhythm was a fraction faster than it would be if she were truly asleep.

Faking sleep.

A glint of understanding passed through Su Yu’s deep eyes.

He saw right through it.

For an intermediate martial artist with qi and blood as high as 406, how could she possibly not even notice leaning on someone else?

The act was amateurish, full of holes.

But.

Su Yu didn’t move.

Nor did he call her out.

His mind flashed back to the blood-red news notifications he’d seen this morning.

In a single night,

a local tyrant family had been wiped out completely.

Even if top-tier family experts carried out the execution,

as the one who gave the order and orchestrated everything,

this eighteen-year-old girl, Lin Xiaoxiao, must have borne immense pressure in her heart.

That pressure wasn’t just from the killing,

but from the family responsibility she’d shouldered by force to protect him.

“Too tired,”

Su Yu silently sighed.

Then he calmly lowered, by half an inch, the shoulder she was leaning on,

so that Lin Xiaoxiao’s head could rest more steadily and comfortably.

And Lin Xiaoxiao, who was leaning on his shoulder,

felt that subtle adjustment from him.

The earlobe hidden beneath the strands of hair instantly turned a vivid crimson.

Yet, the corners of the mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

It curved into a deeply sweet smile.