Chapter 29: A Punch That Breaks the Sound Barrier
"If that's what makes you happy, then do what you want." After thinking it over, Shu decided to respect Fu Hua's decision.
Fu Hua nodded and looked at the stick in her hand, and then at Shu. She suddenly had an idea. "Do you want to join me?"
Shu's body stiffened. He quickly waved his hands in surrender. "No, no, I don't have the habit of exercising in the morning."
Fu Hua paused. "Your body… is actually in pretty good shape. You can maintain this level even without training… Do you like exercising usually?"
Exercising?
Shu was silent for a moment before saying in an uncertain voice, "Um… Does playing video games count as exercise?"
Fu Hua: "…" Probably not.
Shu laughed awkwardly. He still didn't know if he was a reincarnation or a transmigrator, but he wasn't much of an athlete. He also hadn't been to a training facility.
So when Shu had time to start thinking randomly, he always marveled at how he had managed to survive in this hellhole. It was truly incredible!
"What about your diet? It must be very healthy." Fu Hua was unconvinced. She couldn't believe that a person who could carry her for most of the day wouldn't have a healthy body.
"One meal a day… Mostly instant noodles and snacks." The more Shu spoke, the more embarrassed he felt. Even in the apocalypse, his diet hadn't changed much. Perhaps that was why he could adapt to this situation so quickly?
Fu Hua covered her face with her hand, silently sighing. She looked Shu up and down again.
Alright, now she knew what kind of life Shu had before. If she was right, Shu probably also often stayed up late. As for alcohol and smoking, Fu Hua was unsure, but he probably didn't have those habits.
A standard shut-in… Wait, had she woken up a shut-in at 6:00 am?
I'm so terrible!
"Forget it, then I'll just go somewhere else." Fu Hua sighed and started limping away from the balcony.
Shu quickly reached out to stop her, "Ah, no, no." He then smiled and moved a stool near the balcony. "I'll just watch you exercise. Aren't you going to practice some moves? I'll see if I can steal some."
Fu Hua: I'm speechless for the third time.
Who would declare their intentions to steal moves out in the open?!
Shu happily sat down, his eyes wide with curiosity as he watched Fu Hua.
He had always wanted to see what kind of person could turn Honkai Impact 3 into Fu Hua 3. Was it the short-range power? Or was it the power to change his perception of the world that the Lord of Sentience used? Or was it the indestructible, waterproof, and eternal steel that Shenzhou created...?
"Short-range power, open the heavens!" Fu Hua put down the wooden stick, got into a stance, and lightly shouted before throwing a swift punch into the air.
"Crack!"
Shu shuddered. He stared at Fu Hua's fist, dumbfounded. What did I just hear? What did I just see?!
A person's fist created a crackling sound in the air? A sonic boom?
A sonic boom?! From a fist?!!
Shu: "Huh?"
Fu Hua retracted her fist, standing in place to cool down. She then glanced at her leg.
"It seems that I have no problem with using force, but my punch speed is a little slower."
Shu: "?"
Then, Fu Hua picked up the wooden stick and gave it a hard shake in the air. The straight stick started to shake like a noodle, appearing bent in Shu's eyes.
Shu: "???"
Shu was completely stunned. His head was filled with the cracking sound and the bent stick. He didn't even see the pole techniques that Fu Hua used. By the time Shu recovered, Fu Hua had finished and was breathing deeply to calm herself.
Shu glanced at Fu Hua's injured leg, and then laughed internally.
*What a joke, "Her usual training routine is a bit excessive for now."
Shu calculated it in his mind. He suddenly realized that perhaps Fu Hua didn't need his help. Perhaps, when she said she couldn't keep up, she was comparing it to Kiana.
Was I just being presumptuous?
"Shu, do you want to learn?" While Shu was spacing out, Fu Hua, holding her stick, stood in front of him. "If you want to, I can teach you."
"Really?" Shu looked up in surprise, and then frowned. "But…"
"Don't worry," Fu Hua smiled and picked up a water bottle. "This isn't a family secret. The idea of 'not teaching the moves to men' doesn't exist. This is a skill anyone can learn."
Shu blinked in confusion. "I know, but…"
"And you don't need to become my disciple, it's just some simple guidance. Personally, I don't like those overly complicated procedures. I can guide you as a friend."
Shu shook his head. "No, it's not that either."
Fu Hua was confused. Was she missing something?
"My problem is... won't it be tiring, or hard?" Shu rubbed his head, embarrassed. "If it's too hard or tiring, I might give up."
Fu Hua: "…"
It shouldn't… be tiring, right? I didn't feel tired when I was practicing.
Fu Hua carefully recalled her childhood when she was doing her basic training. It was indeed not tiring. All she did every day was stand in a horse stance, jump on the plum flower poles, review her moves, and exchange hits with training dummies, her father, and her senior disciples…
And each of these were only for an hour every day.
Shu: "What?! In my high school, I had to sit for 50 minutes straight?! Why didn't you just kill me?!"
"Forget it." Fu Hua remembered that she was talking to a shut-in. She sighed again and asked, "Shu, do you want to learn?"
"I do want to learn," Shu nodded, "but if it involves practicing the basics, I probably won't be able to persist."
Fu Hua threw the long stick in her hand into Shu's arms, then took a step back, getting into a combat stance. "Come on, attack me. I want to see how good you are. Then I can find a technique that suits you."
"Huh?" Shu held the stick, confused. "This, this isn't right, is it?"
Thinking of the sonic boom that Fu Hua had created, Shu swallowed, his face full of fear. "Who wants to hurt me today?"
"It's just to check how your body is doing." Fu Hua said and looked at Kiana, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning as she walked downstairs. "Kiana went through the same thing."
Kiana: "Huh?"
Shu: "Are you comparing me to Kiana? Are you serious?"