I Contracted Myself

What does it feel like when your learning ability drops by 90%?

Zhang Ping knew very well that some Awakeners had very stringent conditions for using their abilities, but so far, the only one he had actually seen was Wang Jieming.

Until the end of the class, Wang Jieming still hadn't learned the Ape King Form.

Zhang Ping had to admit that Instructor Bai De's patience was commendable. Despite being visibly frustrated, he persistently broke down the Ape King Form into the smallest details to teach Wang Jieming, but Wang Jieming just couldn't grasp it.

On the other hand, Zhang Ping, who was eavesdropping nearby, gained a deeper understanding of the Ape King Form. He estimated that with a bit more practice, he could master it.

This was Bai De's exact words.

Among all the apprentices, Zhang Ping was indeed the fastest learner.

If it weren't for having to accommodate the progress of all the apprentices, he could have mastered the first three forms of the Beast King Boxing in a single day.

Leaving the Beast King Boxing School, Zhang Ping and Wang Jieming happened to be heading in the same direction.

Through casual conversation on the way, Zhang Ping learned that Wang Jieming's father was a member of the Investigation Team, and he had received elite education from both his parents since childhood.

Recently, his mother had been teaching him the same things repeatedly. He suspected that his mother had nothing new to teach and was just maintaining appearances, so he decided to use his savings to enroll in the Beast King Boxing School.

In reality, Wang Jieming's strength wasn't bad at all.

Whether it was basic boxing techniques or the Ming Fist, he had practiced them to perfection, at least to the point where he could go toe-to-toe with Zhang Ping. However, ever since he awakened his ability, his speed in learning new things had slowed down significantly. So, if he were to rely solely on the Beast King Boxing, he wouldn't be a match for Zhang Ping for a long time.

Halfway through, the two agreed to go to the boxing school together again the next day and then parted ways.

Zhang Ping returned to Iron Soul, skillfully climbed through the window into his room, and saw Liu Sishan sitting at the desk. He first turned around to close the window and then asked, "Sister Sisi, what's up?"

"Did you forget to mention some information?" Liu Sishan asked.

Zhang Ping was taken aback, then frowned and asked, "What information?"

"Besides their inherent racial abilities, does the Tianchang Fox have any other abilities?" Liu Sishan asked seriously.

Zhang Ping nodded and said, "Indeed, some Tianchang Foxes have additional abilities, but the ones I identified for you were ordinary Tianchang Foxes without extra abilities, so I didn't mention it."

"During the recent operation to clear out the Tianchang Foxes, one of them exhibited unusual behavior, and someone got hurt," Liu Sishan said solemnly.

Zhang Ping sat on the edge of the bed, frowning, "Are you sure it was a different ability?"

"Yes, according to the information I received, it seems to be some kind of ability that makes people trust each other through language," Liu Sishan said.

Zhang Ping immediately realized what ability it was and said, "I know this ability. It's called Unexplained Trust. However, the Tianchang Foxes I identified definitely didn't have any additional skills."

"Could they have swapped identities?" Liu Sishan frowned.

Zhang Ping said curiously, "The problem is, I identified the Tianchang Foxes randomly, and you also attacked them randomly. Before you acted, no one should have known who you would target."

"It could also be a prophecy-type ability," Liu Sishan added.

Zhang Ping sighed, "I'll try to observe and see what's going on. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Okay," Liu Sishan nodded.

Then she stood up and gradually became transparent, disappearing in an instant.

Zhang Ping looked around the room and called out softly, "Sister Sisi?"

After a moment, he still wasn't sure if Liu Sishan had left, so he decided not to dwell on it. After all, it wouldn't hurt him either way.

Time for bed!

Actually, he had considered the possibility that the Tianchang Foxes could swap identities, like exchanging the human skins on their foreheads. But he couldn't be 100% sure, so he planned to re-evaluate the previously identified Tianchang Foxes to see if he could find any clues.

The next day, at six o'clock.

After getting up, Zhang Ping first practiced a set of Ming Fist, then practiced the Ape King Form for a while.

Morning exercise finished.

He took a shower and then went out to buy groceries.

Besides his main job of watching the store, he was also responsible for taking care of Liu Tiefeng's daily meals. He usually handled breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In fact, the original owner of his body didn't know how to cook.

But Zhang Ping, in his previous life, was a single guy, so he knew some basic home-cooked dishes. He even had a secret recipe: instant noodles with Lao Gan Ma, pickled mustard, and fermented bean curd.

After preparing breakfast, Liu Tiefeng was already up.

After breakfast, the two went up to the third floor to start their day's practice. While kneading dough, Zhang Ping also prepared some clean flour, planning to make noodles for lunch.

After finishing the dough-kneading practice, they went into the materials room to continue learning how to identify materials.

This was Zhang Ping's favorite part.

Every time Liu Tiefeng explained a material, he would also explain its origin. Whenever it involved Mutated Beasts, he would be particularly detailed, and Zhang Ping could almost visualize the Mutated Beasts in his mind.

"Grandpa Liu, what is this material?" Zhang Ping asked, seeing a deep blue finger sealed on the counter.

The finger looked so much like a human finger that if it weren't for the deep blue skin and the purple-black nails, he would have suspected it was taken from a human.

"That's a finger from an Ocean Man. About sixty years ago, a group of Ocean Men landed from the Changsha River to the east, attempting to invade Mingzhu City. The old City Lord led the Patrol Guard and the Investigation Team to fight them off.

At that time, I was just a rookie, following my seniors and helping out. After the Ocean Men were defeated, their bodies were divided among everyone, and I got a finger," Liu Tiefeng said nostalgically.

Zhang Ping was surprised, "Ocean Men, are they also wild people?"

"It's normal if you haven't heard of them. It was only after Old Scholar Chen searched through countless ancient texts that he found out about them. It's said that a group of people with pale blue skin, red hair, and fangs live in the ocean. They are mutated fishermen who once lived by the sea. They worship sea gods and see land creatures as taboo enemies, hence the name Ocean Men," Liu Tiefeng explained.

Human evolution in this world was indeed diverse.

People in Mingzhu City had a chance to become Awakeners, and there were wild people with unknown power systems in the wilderness. It was surprising to learn that there were also branches like the Ocean Men.

Although wild people and Ocean Men could no longer be considered human, Zhang Ping felt his horizons broadened.

He even started to wonder.

Could there be more branches of humanity?

Forget it.

Zhang Ping decided not to think further, as it was too far removed from his current concerns.

Liu Tiefeng didn't mention the Ocean Men again but returned to the main topic, continuing to explain about the 'Firebird.'

The Firebird is a Mutated Beast that evolved from a sparrow. Normally, it looks no different from an ordinary sparrow, but when flying at high speed, its feathers rub against the air and ignite, making it look like a small fireball.

Its feathers are very special. When added to a weapon, swinging the weapon will produce flames.

There was once a throwing knife expert in Mingzhu City who always carried throwing knives with Firebird feathers. The power of these knives was even greater than that of the Firebird itself.

However, this weapon had a drawback.

Once the speed reached a certain level, it would inevitably ignite, so it required a sheath made of 'Ice Snake' skin.

"Grandpa Liu, do we have such a weapon in our store?"

Zhang Ping felt that such a weapon would be perfect for him, mainly because he had the 'Fire Eater' talent, which allowed him to absorb flames during combat to restore his stamina.

This would be like having unlimited stamina.

"No, Firebirds are extremely fast and hard to hunt. A single Firebird feather on the market costs about a Mingzhu Currency, and it's priceless. Most Firebird feathers are collected rather than used to forge weapons," Liu Tiefeng shook his head and carefully placed the only Firebird feather back into its preservation bottle.

This Firebird feather had been in Iron Soul for a long time, and without suitable materials, the Liu family had no plans to use it.

Zhang Ping felt a bit disappointed.

But he also understood that this was human nature. If he had a precious material, he wouldn't use it lightly either.

At least not until he was 100% sure.

After the lesson.

Zhang Ping and Liu Tiefeng had ramen for lunch.

In the afternoon, Liu Tiefeng, lacking energy, needed a nap, while Zhang Ping, full of energy, continued to practice his Fire Eater ability by the furnace as usual.

Although the Iron Soul shop was open, it usually didn't get any customers. Even if someone came in, they would just look around and leave after seeing the prices.

Most weapon shops operated on a 'three years without a sale, one sale lasts three years' basis. The more precious the weapon, the higher the price. Most of Iron Soul's weapons were small treasures, and there was even one top-quality piece as the store's treasure. Selling just one weapon a year was enough to keep Iron Soul running.

Zhang Ping didn't really need to do much while watching the store.

Until closing time, no customers came in. After dinner, Zhang Ping and Liu Tiefeng closed the shop.

Liu Tiefeng went to bed early. Zhang Ping had already told him at noon that he had enrolled in a boxing school, so this time he didn't need to climb out the window but left through the back door of the shop.

Halfway there, Zhang Ping saw Wang Jieming waiting for him under a tree.

Thanks to the combined effect of the Night Walker and the Assassination Ring, Wang Jieming didn't notice Zhang Ping until he was right in front of him and patted him on the shoulder.

"How did you do that? Is it some kind of invisibility technique?" Wang Jieming asked in surprise.

Zhang Ping smiled, "You were just distracted. Let's go, we don't want to be late."

"Yeah, I hope I can master the Ape King Form today," Wang Jieming nodded seriously.

He had promised Instructor Bai De that he would master the Ape King Form within five days, or he would quit.

The worst part was that when he tried to practice the Ape King Form at home, he couldn't remember anything Bai De had taught him at the boxing school.

The two arrived at the Beast King Boxing School, where today's lesson focused on reinforcing their practice.

This time, Zhang Ping was paired with another apprentice, a man over 25 named Zhou Jielin.

Zhou Jielin was an experienced adventurer. According to him, he had been an adventurer since he was eighteen, which was six or seven years ago. Although he was still unfamiliar with the Ape King Form, his body was stronger than Zhang Ping's, and his combat experience was rich. He could see through Zhang Ping's intentions with every move.

"Don't always stare at the spot you want to hit," Zhou Jielin said, dodging Zhang Ping's punch with a smile.

Zhang Ping jumped back like a monkey, avoiding Zhou Jielin's attack, and asked, "Then what should I look at?"

"Don't focus on one point; look at the whole picture, like you're looking at a painting," Zhou Jielin advised.

Zhang Ping tried to follow Zhou Jielin's advice, but it was easier said than done. Some habits were hard to change, like how untrained people would instinctively close their eyes when attacked.

Without proper training, it was difficult to correct such subconscious actions.