As Zeru was assessing Xiong Da, he noticed the hungry hippo style that he was cultivating did not seem to be the same hippo style he remembered from years ago. “Student Xiong Da, where did learn your cultivation style?” Zeru gently pushed the warclub away no matter how hard Xiong Da tried to hit him with it.
“From my family…the Wa Family.” Xiong Da gasped his breath as he replied back.
“Wa Family? Hmmm… Would you by any chance know of a person called Wa Kao Wei?” Zeru took the initiative and attacked, which Xiong Da barely defended. He was nearly knocked out of the ring arena if not for the ropes around surrounding it.
“Kao Wei? That’s my grandfather. Cough cough.” Xiong Da began to think that this instructor that Jin introduced was not an AI but a real person instead. “How could an AI be so talkative and even know things that are personal?” Xiong Da thought to himself.
“Ah, your expression gave away your thinking, student Xiong Da. Boss Jin told me to find out more about you so we could put together a detailed plan. If you are thinking along the lines of me being a human, I am sad to say that I am not but just an advanced AI.” Zeru utilised a low sweep and caught Xiong Da off guard again.
“Damn it, Boss Jin! If your AI is this clever, why have you not taken over the world yet?” Xiong Da complained as he fell to the ground.
“I happened to remember that the Wa Family had a history of using the Hippo style but they never stated what kind of Hippo they were cultivating as. However, several hidden records showed that Wa Kao Wei practised the Hotshot Hippo style. That was why I was curious about your cultivation being the Hungry Hippo style instead.” Zeru was basing it off his personal memory but he could not lie well and Xiong Da also felt like something was off. He had seen enough liars to catch one.
“Did Boss Jin dig into my history?” Xiong Da was quite annoyed. No one really knew that his cultivation was different from his family’s except for a select few.
“Yes, I did dig into your history.” Jin came in at the right moment and assisted Zeru in order to not expose the lie of him actually being human. “If not, how would I know whether you were lying or not?”
“Boss! Why would I be of interest to you? Besides, those are confidential secrets. How could you even find out about all this?” Xiong Da queried suspiciously.
“To be honest with you, at first, I did not think it was possible to link you to the infamous Wa Kao Wei. However, I took an interest in reading the diaries of my military grandfather after he passed away. He used to talk about a cultivator named Wa Kao Wei being notorious in the streets. The Hotshot Hippo cultivator.” All the practice of white lying during opening hours had prepared him to create a plausible half-truth.
The truth was that Zeru had told everything to Jin telepathically and what he said was indeed true. Meanwhile, Jin used the cover of his grandfather’s diaries since they were from the same generation and the world was still considered big for them. Xiong Da began to find Jin’s explanation to be slightly plausible.
“So Instructor Zeru, after assessing him, what is your conclusion?” Jin asked.
“He cannot fight for nuts. He said he learnt stuff from the goblin and zombie fights but when he tried to apply them against me in a fight, it did not transfer over well enough.” Zeru’s honest opinion scarred Xiong Da’s weak heart. “Besides, this Hungry Hippo style is not really for fighting. It seems menacing but its bite is nothing compared to the bark it makes.”
“That was the easiest way to shoo my bullies off during school and university without wasting too much time on cultivation. That way I could spend more time on food and studies.” Xiong Da explained to them that he applied some modifications to the cultivation style that he had initially obtained from his family.
“This is troublesome. You not only modified your cultivation, but you have also advanced in that particular cultivation of yours.” Zeru started to crack his head open trying to think of a way to help him.
“Why is that really bad?” Jin asked since he did not have much knowledge of other cultivation styles.
“A modified cultivation is usually good if someone knows what they are doing, but usually you need years of experience to properly modify a cultivation. Xiong Da modified his cultivation for the sole benefit of early easy cultivation at the start, but he had not realised that it would then not be easy for him to cultivate in the future. Also, if I am not mistaken, like a hungry hippo, this cultivation style needs a lot of spiritual force for it to level up. The only good advantage it has is that if he really does level up, he will become a very strong powerhouse and a force to be reckoned with.” Zeru offered his analysis.
“So what Xiong Da needs is to fight in more dungeons? Since our dungeons can give him some spiritual force if he defeats them.” Jin said as they figured out a plan to help Xiong Da.
“Alternatively, I can teach him the ways of the Hotshot Hippo style, but if we did it that way, he would have to unlearn everything and that would need more than one week’s worth of time.” Zeru offered.
“Either way, it will not be easy for Xiong Da. Perhaps we can look into the person that Xiong Da hates?” Jin looked at Xiong Da for any answers.
“Lan Ji Ao? I have plenty of things on him.” Xiong Da grinned widely as he started to list the things verbally.
“He is a cultivator of the Crazy Crocodile Style and he dual wields Sais as his main weapon. The last time we fought, he just used his overwhelming strength to defeat me so I was not able to see any tricks I could use to win against him. However, he did duel with other cultivators before and I had my private investigator spy on those battles. He was really dirty when he knew he could not win.” Xiong Da explained as he sat in the corner of the ring arena and gave them his information about Ji Ao.
“He did things like calling extra hands to come in and beat the person up or pretending to be weak and pitiful then pull out a hidden dagger from his sleeve and throw that dagger into his opponent’s throat. He will use everything and anything to defeat the opponent. It’s despicable!” Xiong Da raged on.
“Well, he is not wrong to use any methods he can to win the fight. It is just that his public image will go down the drain and people would come to despise him.” Zeru said.
“Unfortunately, I agree with Zeru. This is how some people fight. However, that does not mean you do not have any hope. You still have a week to go.” Jin pat on Xiong Da’s shoulder.
“What can I do? If I am not mistaken he is at the very least a Grade 3 cultivator and he might be training towards Grade 3 Peak too.” Xiong Da was worried. He might be powerful with his pen and the law at his back but he was not well versed in his cultivation.
“We will think up something. Besides, don’t think I didn’t notice that you took the initiative to rest when you should not have. Go give me 50 push ups now.” Zeru commanded and Xiong Da immediately acknowledged. He looked at Jin and nodded his head.
“Fine, I guess I have to think up something too.” Jin thought but on the outside, he smiled to them in confidence. After which, Zeru trained Xiong Da on a rigorous physical training routine that Jin joined in for the first hour before he left Xiong Da to the mercy of Zeru.
“Next item on the agenda: the mobile stall and store sign.” Jin wiped his sweat off and proceeded to the first floor, only to hear doorbell ringing once more.
