Madman!

Chapter 15: Shark Jiu

The moment Chen Wujun began training on the rooftop, his martial arts progressed at breakneck speed.

After all, practicing on the parapet demanded every shred of his concentration, every ounce of his willpower focused to a razor's edge. Each session was a dance between life and death.

One step toward life. One step toward death.

Under those conditions, how could progress be anything but fast?

A week later, when Chen Wujun practiced his forms at the martial arts hall, his presence was entirely different.

His gaze was locked in, razor-sharp. With every movement, his spine coiled like a bow, storing and releasing force naturally. Power flowed from his heels upward through each joint, channeling straight to his elbows and the tips of his knees.

Senior Brother Li stood off to the side clutching his teacup, the tea untouched for a long while.

"Lower body rooted like a mountain. When he throws punches, his muscles stay loose, his skeletal frame braced, his fascia snapping like a spring... There's a real depth and clarity to his technique now..."

"How long has it even been?"

Senior Brother Li thought back to how long it had taken him to reach this stage.A wave of bitter disillusionment washed over him.

After the afternoon training session ended and evening approached, Chen Wujun noticed Senior Brother Li had nothing more to say, so he changed his clothes.

"Senior Brother, I'm heading out!"

"Go on, go on!" Senior Brother Li waved him off dismissively, still feeling that lingering sense of deflation.

After this period of training, Chen Wujun's vitality was brimming, his eyes bright and clear.

His entire bearing had transformed. There was an aggressive, spirited energy about him.

On top of that, he'd been supplementing his diet every day—lunch at the dental clinic plus an extra serving of beef—and with proper nutrition, his muscles had grown increasingly defined.

Back when he was just doing standing post training, it hadn't been so noticeable. But now his presence grew more commanding by the day, his muscles packed tighter, and after all this time drilling punches and knee strikes with such rapid improvement, his confidence swelled—yet he couldn't find opportunities to test his fists and feet in a real fight.

At this point, he'd walk down the street, see a stray dog, and feel the urge to punt it.

He left the martial arts hall and had barely stepped out of the alley when a tall man in his early twenties wearing jeans and a T-shirt blocked his path.

The stranger sported a buzzcut and radiated vitality. His muscles strained against his T-shirt as if ready to shred through it at any moment.

Chen Wujun shifted to the side to let him pass, but the man didn't budge.

Chen Wujun immediately understood—this guy was here for him.

He sized the stranger up while raising his guard, his eyes sweeping the surroundings as his mind raced: 'One of Master Bing's people? Did the hit-for-hire get exposed?'

Seeing no one blocking him from behind put him slightly at ease—he could always turn and bolt back to the martial arts hall.

"Easy there, kid. Someone wants to see you," the stranger said with a smile, having noticed Chen Wujun's wariness.

"Who wants to see me?" Chen Wujun's expression didn't change as he asked.

"Shark Jiu. I'm sure you've heard the name." The stranger didn't beat around the bush.

"One of Hetu's Four Heavenly Kings?" This time, Chen Wujun was genuinely stunned.

What could Shark Jiu possibly want with him? Was she behind that loan shark operation? He'd been told it was some guy called Master Bing.

The ten-thousand-dollar bounty was a huge sum for an ordinary person, but it wouldn't be enough to catch the attention of someone at her level.

"It's nothing bad. Follow me." The stranger flashed Chen Wujun a grin, turned on his heel, and led the way without the slightest concern that Chen Wujun might refuse.

Chen Wujun watched his retreating back, hesitated several times, but ultimately followed.

Mainly because he hadn't sensed any hostility from the man.

The stranger led Chen Wujun onto Lung Tsun Road, weaving through the surging river of people until they arrived at a shop with red curtains hung over its windows.

"In here."

Chen Wujun raised an eyebrow. Everyone in the Walled City knew what shops with red curtains were—strip clubs. No sign out front, but everyone knew.

He'd been curious about them for a while, just never had the chance to go inside.

Well, now he'd finally get to see what one looked like.

Stepping through the door, he found himself in a large open hall. At the front stood a T-shaped stage with steel poles erected on it, ringed by chairs.

In the center of the hall sat five or six tables, each with its own steel pole. Along the wall was a lounge area with sofas, and on one of those sofas sat a short-haired woman in a white dress shirt.

"Shark Jiu, I've brought him," the man announced as he walked over to the sofa.

Shark Jiu turned her head to glance at Chen Wujun trailing behind, smiled, and gestured toward the sofa across from her. "Sit."

That smile told Chen Wujun exactly why she was called Shark Jiu.

He'd never seen anyone whose teeth looked like a shark's.

A full mouth of razor-sharp, pointed teeth.

When Shark Jiu wasn't smiling, she had a refined, almost handsome look to her—delicate features touched with a bold edge. But the moment she smiled, something wicked and fierce bled through.

Chen Wujun settled into the sofa opposite her, though he couldn't help feeling a bit stiff.

This was his first time dealing with a situation like this, and the person across from him was a genuine figure of renown in the Walled City.

A truly powerful figure.

"What'll you have?"

"Soda."

"Get him a soda." Shark Jiu beckoned to the man nearby, then crossed one leg over the other and spoke:

"Not bad. Two months and you've already internalized your kung fu. That's impressive. But you don't need to be so tense—technically speaking, you should be calling me Senior Sister."

Shark Jiu's voice was low and slightly husky, her cadence unhurried, but every word carried weight.

Chen Wujun recognized it instantly—this was the voice he'd heard floating up from below on that day he'd been doing his standing post training.

But what startled him even more were her words.

"Senior Sister?"

"What, Li Yaozu never mentioned his Senior Sister?" Shark Jiu asked with a sly grin.

Li Yaozu was Senior Brother Li's real name.

Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "Well, now you know."

"Senior Sister!" Chen Wujun greeted her obediently. Half the weight on his chest lifted at once.

From the way Shark Jiu carried herself, she clearly wasn't looking to make trouble for him.

And he'd never imagined there was a connection like this between them. One of Hetu's Four Heavenly Kings had come out of their martial arts hall—nobody had ever mentioned it. Senior Brother Li had certainly never said a word.

Then he recalled what Lin Zetao had told him: every other martial arts school had to pay protection money to Hetu and Lidong, but theirs didn't.

If his Senior Sister was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, naturally the hall wouldn't need to pay Lidong a cent.

And if their school had produced one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the hall master's own skill had to be even greater.

"I've heard your name for a long time, Senior Sister. I just never expected..." Chen Wujun trailed off, curiosity creeping into his voice. "How did you come to know about me?"

Strictly speaking, he didn't even have the standing to call her Senior Sister—he was still just a trainee who hadn't even met the hall master.

But since Shark Jiu had invited him to use the title, he was more than happy to climb that ladder.

At the same time, he wondered how she'd learned about him. Had Senior Brother Li told her?

"I spotted you using the Stealing Heaven's Opportunity method on your rooftop. You've got some serious nerve!" Shark Jiu said bluntly.

"Stealing Heaven's Opportunity?"

"It's exactly what you've been doing—standing post and throwing forms on top of the parapet with a lethal drop beneath your feet. One wrong step and you're shattered on the pavement. Training on that razor's edge between life and death pushes your focus and intent to their absolute peak, so naturally your kung fu skyrockets. That's why it's called Stealing Heaven's Opportunity." Shark Jiu explained in an even tone.

"So that's what it's called..." The realization hit Chen Wujun. The method he'd devised on his own had been thought of by others long before him.

But it made sense when he thought about it. He'd only been training for a handful of days before the idea came to him—all those masters who'd honed their skills to the highest levels throughout history couldn't possibly have missed it.

"Did someone teach you, or did you come up with it yourself?" Shark Jiu inquired.

"I came up with it myself..." Chen Wujun replied.

Shark Jiu studied him for a moment, then slapped her thigh and burst out laughing. "I figured as much!"

"Everyone else who uses Stealing Heaven's Opportunity starts gradually, building from shallow to deep, only attempting it after their skills have reached a certain level! And they begin on low heights first—who in the world starts by going straight to the rooftop?!"

Chen Wujun had known none of this. Listening to Shark Jiu now, even he had to admit his boldness bordered on insanity.

"Not falling to your death was pure luck! But I'll give you this—you've got guts. You think it, you do it. That makes you promising material."

"How about coming to work for me?" Shark Jiu cut straight to the point.

"Just because I trained on the rooftop?" Chen Wujun countered. He absolutely wanted to join Hetu—that had been his goal all along.

But it had come so suddenly, it almost felt unreal.

"You trained on that rooftop for seven weeks and didn't fall to your death! You've got courage, and your skills are advancing fast. I'd say you're a talent."

"And in this day and age, what matters most? Talent!"

Only now did Chen Wujun realize that Shark Jiu had known about his rooftop training all along—who knew how many times she'd watched him.

And he'd never once noticed her.

"Just practicing your forms—what made you go so hard, risking your life on that rooftop?" Shark Jiu asked, her expression turning serious.

"I want to make something of myself," Chen Wujun answered without an ounce of pretense.

"That's all I needed to hear!" Shark Jiu laughed, slapping her thigh again.

"But training alone won't get you there. You need to be able to fight for real. And how do you learn to really fight? You practice on people. You use living opponents as your training dummies. That's called Human Head Stake training. You've got no money and no connections—where would you find people to serve as your Human Head Stakes?"

"And the resources you need for martial arts training cost money to acquire. Without money, you have to fight for them. Seize them. Take them."

"What kind of resources?" Chen Wujun was unfamiliar with this part.

"Magnetic Field Crystals," Shark Jiu pronounced, word by word.

"New Arts practitioners need them, and so do we Old Arts practitioners. New Arts, Old Arts—in the end, it's all Different Paths to the Same Destination."

"You haven't met the old man yet, have you? Once you do, you'll understand. He'll tell you the same thing—if you want to go further, you have to compete, to seize, to take."

As Chen Wujun listened, his mind raced. All of this was new territory for him.

Human Head Stake—it was the first time he'd heard the term, and he found it perfectly apt.

Of course martial arts training required fighting real opponents. Otherwise, no matter how much bitter effort you put in, even a lifetime of practice would only produce empty, flashy moves.

But Old Arts required Magnetic Field Crystals? And what exactly were Magnetic Field Crystals?

Was the "old man" she mentioned their hall master?

Compete... seize... take... Those three words alone painted a vivid picture of how brutal this path would be.

Hearing all of this, the only thing Chen Wujun felt was his blood stirring with eagerness.

Yet he also understood that going it alone was out of the question. Even if you could fight, you'd still just be a small-time nobody—unless you could flatten every single person in your way.

You needed power. An organization behind you.

"Working for you, Senior Sister? I'm absolutely willing." Chen Wujun's thoughts spun rapidly before he spoke, then shifted his tone: "I just wonder what I can do to help."

"I've got plenty of people under me, and every one of them has their purpose. I've got that many businesses too—I can't exactly watch over all of them myself, can I?"

"As for you, your kung fu still needs work. But I have high hopes for you." Shark Jiu smiled.

"What about the martial arts hall?"

"No conflict there. During the day you go to the hall, at night you come here and learn the ropes under me. Like I just said—once you meet the old man, he'll tell you the same thing. Compete, seize, take."

"You'll come work evenings with me, and I'll start you at eight thousand a month. As for later, that depends on what you can prove."

Eight thousand was no small sum. Chen Hanliang's dental clinic only brought in five to six thousand a month.

And that was with his own shop, no rent to pay. Otherwise, the income would be even lower.

In the Walled City, factory workers earned only two thousand a month; women workers, eighteen hundred.

Chen Wujun leaned back into the sofa cushion. "Senior Sister, you came to me with this offer—what else is there to say? I'll work hard and learn everything I can."

"Ha! Good answer. Let's grab dinner together in a bit," Shark Jiu laughed heartily.

"Let me call home first and let my family know," Chen Wujun said.