Chao waited on the man's judgment, nervous, realizing his defenselessness.
I acknowledge you...Peasant boy. My daughter seems to have also liked you if she helped you awaken as a proper novice martial artist.
"T-Thank you, sir..." Chao said.
"You're one of us now. You will work under my daughter while training and cultivating.
Chao thought for a moment, but in the end, chose to hide his intentions. He had a weaker skill than most and a novice foundation to work from, and in a society of both skill and cultivation, he'd been handed both the easiest and hardest existence he'd ever had to live, considering he already died once.
"Dismissed" The man made a hand gesture that told Chao he was free to go, He walked out calmly, still a bit shaken.
"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Tang Lingyu said, exhaling in absolute relief. "You should get back to cultivating if you ever want to beat that phantom."
Chao nodded, running away, just as he was about to jump, he felt as if all the muscles in his body were working in unison before being launched high into the air.
"WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" This was Chao's first time jumping this high. When he first took over this body, it was weak, only able to find stones to throw, now he was jumping high enough to scale a small building.
He begins falling, and he lands, successfully, doing a squatting stand, before his feet begin sliding, and he falls forward.
"I'm a failure...I can only imagine that sad music playing in the background mid-fall before I hit the ground..." Chao said, making a face of comical acceptance as he fell on his face.
Tang Lingyu laughs while clapping. "I get you're not used to your new strength but I think this might be the funniest failed landing I've ever seen!"
"S-Shut up!" Chao said in a whiney tone.
A while later Chao was meditating, his qi was accumulating, then he shifted his thumb from the skill tree carved into his wrist, his Qi guiding from his skill [Curveball] to a different skill, with a basic martial artist's constitution, it feels a lot easier to gather qi as he breathes in and out, the third skill glowed as energy flowed from the basic [Pitching Technique] like a river to the first skill, [Fastball], then the second filled up, [Curveball], then the third skill [Knuckleball]'s branch lit up with an eerie glow, this was no level up, this was how practitioners gained their first skills, through transferring their qi through their skill tree like a river, then the river continued halfway to the fourth skill before Chao opened his eyes.
"Third skill...not enough to gain the fourth skill..." He jumps up and grabs a small rock
"[Knuckleball] one that has no true direction" The pitch was unnaturally powerful, but slow, and predictable, but upon a hit, as it fell to the ground, it kicked up a large cloud of dust.
"[Fastball] Direct and powerful..." Chao threw a second stone, it had power in it and whizzed through the air, no different than an arrow.
"[Curveball] Deceptive curve." Chao threw another stone, it curved, then hit the ground, hard enough to split into fragments.
"My eyes...They can even see something as small as a shattering stone..."
"Young sir!" A female voice rang out behind the door of Chao's temporary residence.
"That voice isn't Lingyu's...Come in!" Chao's ears twitched slightly. His body didn't simply become stronger; even his senses were sharper.
The larger woman came through the door, Chao stared, mesmerized by her beauty. This woman was clearly older than he was, even in his past life where he only made it to 19 years old, just barely getting into university before coming to this world.
The woman's eyes narrow as she moves in close and gives Chao a small chop to the head.
"Don't you know it's appropriate to greet someone older than you, child?"
"S-Sorry! This little one greets Noona!" Chao's body on reflex, bows to the older woman.
"I-If I may inquire...Who are you...?" Chao's survival instincts were on fire, screaming for him to leave as he could sense the amount of power coming from this woman. She wore dark green silk martial arts clothing, not too tight but also not too loose. She glanced at Chao's arm.
"I should be the one asking you this, kid. But because you were so nice, my name is Tang Lengxin"
"My name is...just Chao." The boy looked at her, despite his firm want to look down in embarrassment.
"Chao...huh?" The woman said, sitting down on the Foyer. "You must be that little kid my little sis picked up."
"That can't be your full name...Even if you're only ten...Did you only learn to say the first part of your name?" The woman's expression seemed to soften, before cupping Chao's little face, a look of sorrow, pity, and slight assumed understanding.
"Listen, kid. Your name isn't just "Chao." It's something more. I don't know if you can't or don't remember the last part, but that's fine. I'll personally complete your name. From here on out, your Chao Wei. Alright, kid?
Chao, now Chao Wei, tasted the name on his tongue. "Chao...Wei..." Chao began to smile.
"Now that's what I'm talking about. You'll be training under me. We, Tang don't pick up random street urchins, we pick up greatness. You are not the first, and you will not be the last, especially in this family of pragmatists There are no free rides. you're gonna have to survive." The woman said, matter of factly, the sternness of her eyes now returning.
Chao Wei clenched his fist and looked at it, then looked at her. "Do What you need to do. I understand." Chao Wei's voice shook with underlying resolve.
"My skill is weak, my cultivation is garbage, But I'm willing to learn."
The woman nods. "You're going to earn the name I gave you." She takes out a manual "You can read, you can cultivate. Read this and cultivate the technique. you have three days."
The book is thrown at his face as he catches it, reading the title slowly. "Ten Thousand Intents"
He retreated back to his room and began cultivating the technique along with the foundational technique, drawing in Qi until either a breakthrough or enough qi to open more nodes.