Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

PLUNK!

A heavy object hit the water in the man-made lake. Lin Siqi, who was enjoying the scenery by the shore, was startled. She quickly turned her head and focused her gaze.

The previously tranquil surface of the lake was now churning turbulently. Waves rolled in, crashing heavily against the lakeside rocks and sending up splashes.

But that wasn't the most important thing. What mattered most was—

"Where's Zhang Beixing? Lao Zhang, where are you?"

Staring at the lonely little raft floating on the water, Lin Siqi was completely bewildered and hastily called out.

But after shouting for a moment, she received no response.

Seeing this, Lin Siqi's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous thought suddenly sprang to mind. She hurriedly grabbed her phone, ready to call for help.

Just as she was about to press the call button—

"COUGH, COUGH. Over here, I'm here."

Zhang Beixing surfaced, spat out a mouthful of water, and called out to Lin Siqi.

Relief washed over her at the sight. She stood still, waiting for Zhang Beixing to swim over and come ashore.

Lin Siqi hurried over, grabbing Zhang Beixing and looking him up and down. After confirming that he hadn't sustained any injuries and had only accidentally fallen into the water, Lin Siqi breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she asked, "What happened just now? How did you fall into the water in the blink of an eye? Are you alright?"

Listening to this barrage of anxious questions, Zhang Beixing waved his hand and pointed to his neck, signaling that he needed a moment to catch his breath.

Seeing him like this, Lin Siqi felt both distressed and angry. But in the end, her concern won out. She went behind Zhang Beixing, patting his back.

After she patted him for five or six minutes, Zhang Beixing coughed up another mouthful of water. He took a deep breath and felt much better.

Lin Siqi reprimanded him. "You silly boy! I told you it was dangerous, not to fall into the water, and yet you did! Can't you be a bit more careful? If something had happened, what on earth would we have done?"

The incident had genuinely given her a fright. Thankfully, no harm had been done. Otherwise, Lin Siqi truly wouldn't have known what to do.

Hearing her words, Zhang Beixing knew he was in the wrong and said nothing, simply standing there and letting her vent.

Lin Siqi vented for quite a while. Only then did she feel somewhat better. Afterward, she dragged Zhang Beixing away, refusing to let him continue his training.

To this, Zhang Beixing appeared to listen and agree.

But the next day, it was as if he had amnesia; he trained as if nothing had changed.

It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her good intentions. Zhang Beixing knew Lin Siqi forbade him from training for his own good, worried that something might happen to him.

But the problem was, if Zhang Beixing didn't train, he would no longer earn Ability Points!

Every time he improved, his efficiency in gaining attribute points would decrease. When all his attributes had reached 70, his earnings from Yue Family's Continuous Punches had dropped from 0.5 to 0.3 Ability Points.

Now, his attributes were about to reach 80, and his physical condition was changing from healthy to strong. The earnings from Yue Family's Continuous Punches would probably be even lower. Without a fallback plan, the thought of earning a mere 0.1 Ability Points for a full set of Yue Family's Continuous Punches in the future filled Zhang Beixing with despair.

...

Lin Siqi was completely unaware of this. She only saw that Zhang Beixing, after getting an earful from her, not only failed to repent but even went behind her back to train secretly. This made her so furious it felt like her chest would burst! She wished she could just grab him, beat some sense into him, and make him behave.

But alas, with her height and strength, she couldn't manage that. Yet, she couldn't bear to just let Zhang Beixing do as he pleased either. So, with a scowl fixed on her face, she had to follow Zhang Beixing every day, watching over his training. She feared that if she took her eyes off him for even a day, he might very well get himself killed.

This caused Zhang Beixing to feel a strange sense of guilt every day as he trained on the raft. Spurred by this guilt, his training progressed by leaps and bounds.

「Four days had passed since he began training on the raft.」

Finally, on this day, standing on the still raft, Zhang Beixing closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Only after a moment, as if he could sense the ripples under his feet and the wind by his ears gradually ceasing, did his mind become tranquil. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and gazed at the shimmering lake surface.

WHOOSH!

Stretching his body, he positioned himself in the opening stance of the Yue Family's Continuous Punches and, without hesitation, began the routine once more.

Zhang Beixing's footsteps constantly shifted.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The raft, under his movements and the uneven distribution of weight, began to rock back and forth.

Seeing this, Zhang Beixing didn't panic at all. He merely exerted force with his feet, skillfully managing his strength. By slightly tilting his body, he easily righted the swaying raft.

If this had occurred four days earlier, Zhang Beixing would no doubt have been very pleased to resolve such a crisis so effortlessly. But now, for Zhang Beixing—who had lost seven pairs of slippers here, changed the CO2 cartridge of his life jacket thirteen times, and taken countless falls—it was too trivial to cause even the slightest ripple of emotion, because he knew the current turbulence was merely an appetizer.

The real challenge still lay ahead!

Sure enough, as Zhang Beixing's movements became more frequent, his techniques more complicated, and his motions larger, the calm lake surface changed! Like a crocodile, it opened its massive jaws, bit down on the raft, and initiated a death roll against Zhang Beixing!

The raft, under the onslaught of the currents, teetered on the brink of capsizing, so unstable it seemed it would flip the next second, plunging Zhang Beixing into the water.

In response, Zhang Beixing's expression remained unchanged. He simply kept performing the Yue Family's Continuous Punches, as if he had become one with the teetering raft. However it swayed, he swayed with it, yet his fist technique remained unchanged, his form unbroken!

It was as though Zhang Beixing wasn't standing in water but practicing punches on solid ground, perfectly natural.

...

After a long while:

[Detected that the host has completed the suggestion: Martial Arts Training.]

[Reward for the suggestion has been distributed; current Ability Points: 3.6.]

[Martial Arts Training progress has been updated, current progress 0/1.]

With that, he had executed a complete set of the fist forms!

Standing on the raft, hearing the System's voice ring in his ear, Zhang Beixing slowly retracted his stance, finally breathing out a sigh of relief.

It had not been easy, truly not easy at all! To be able to stand on the raft and execute the Yue Family's Continuous Punches, these past days, Zhang Beixing had not only injured his body but also spent money!

But fortunately, his efforts had been rewarded. After all this effort, he had finally tamed the unruly wild steed beneath his feet!

So, practicing punches on a raft isn't so difficult after all!