Chapter 123: My Mother Is a Genius (Extra Chapter by the Guild Master)

"Tiger Roar Fist"—Tiger Charge!

Fang Lin’s eyelid twitched; in a fleeting moment, his mother seemed to transform into a fierce tiger, poised to pounce on him.

Like a flash of lightning, Fang Lin’s feet rapidly stepped back.

Immediately, he raised both hands, ready to block.

But as he retreated, Fang Shuixian pressed forward again.

"Tiger Roar Fist"—Tiger Leap!

A roar!

Leaping into the air, Fang Shuixian’s twin fists shattered Fang Lin’s defense. Startled, Fang Lin instinctively countered with a palm strike.

The palm strike unleashed a fierce surge of energy, slicing through the wind with a thunderous crack.

Regret instantly flooded Fang Lin’s mind—this was his mother. He hadn’t held back; that palm was thrown with full force. Fang Shuixian would surely be hurt!

But then…

A tiger’s roar echoed.

Instead of retreating, Fang Shuixian surged forward, her entire body’s power converging. As she released her punch with a thunderous blast, it collided head-on with Fang Lin’s palm strike midair.

Boom!

The clash of fist and palm reverberated with a muffled thud.

The recoil pushed both Fang Shuixian and Fang Lin backward.

Fang Shuixian stepped back four paces, then spun sharply, dissipating the force.

Fang Lin, meanwhile, stumbled backward three steps before falling flat on the ground with a heavy thud, finally coming to a halt.

He was stunned.

Defeated?

He had actually lost to his mother, who had never trained in martial arts?

No, this was wrong—he seemed to recognize her style. It was "Tiger Roar Fist"!

The "Tiger Roar Fist" of the Miracle Mercenary Corps!

It was no surprise that his mother had joined the Miracle Mercenary Corps, but the problem was, her mastery of this "Tiger Roar Fist" was at a consummate level!

The final move, "Tiger Fury," even carried a palpable threat.

In other words, if he fought his mother, there was a very real chance he would be taken down!

It was unimaginable!

Lying flat on the ground, Fang Lin was at a loss.

Meanwhile, his little cousin cheered excitedly, hopping around Fang Shuixian. "Auntie is amazing! Auntie’s the best! Serves you right, Fang Bighead! Now you know who protects whom, huh?"

Swish!

Fang Lin, just about to get up, flushed crimson with shame.

With Fang Shuixian’s strength, it was truly unclear who was protecting whom!

"Ahem, although Zhenzhen’s words may be debatable, Aunt Fang undeniably has a strong ability to defend herself," Tang Mubai said, stifling a laugh. "Fang Lin, you’ve experienced this firsthand and surely can appreciate it now, right?"

Fang Lin was speechless.

He couldn’t deny it!

His mother was indeed no weaker than him!

"I want to know, Mom, when did you start training? What’s your energy level?" Fang Lin asked, his face tense as he rose from the ground.

"About half a month ago," Fang Shuixian thought for a moment before replying. "Less than a month, anyway."

Pfft—

Fang Lin felt as if an arrow pierced his chest and forced out a dry laugh. "Half a month?"

"Yes," Fang Shuixian nodded. "After joining 'Miracle,' Xiao Bai gave me 'Golden Glow Technique' and 'Tiger Roar Fist.' I practiced and ended up like this."

Practiced and ended up like this?

Half a month to reach consummate mastery in Tiger Roar Fist?

Though the Tiger Roar Fist was only a first-level martial art, reaching consummation normally took a year or more for an average person.

Even those with talent required three to five months.

But his mother did it in half a month…

What did that mean?

Genius!

"My mother is a genius?" Fang Lin murmured as if in a daze.

"As for energy…" Fang Shuixian, not noticing Fang Lin’s reaction, suddenly turned and walked back inside with a smile. "Xiao Bai bought an energy detector. We can check it."

A moment later, she returned to the doorway and called to Fang Lin, "Energy is six units. Son, how many units do you have? I remember you had eight before starting school last year. Now you should have over ten, right?"

"…Nineteen now," Fang Lin replied, finally coming back to himself and exhaling.

Even he wasn’t sure why he exhaled—perhaps fearing his mother’s energy level might surpass his own?

A wave of shame washed over him.

"I want to check too! I want to check!" Lin Zhenzhen shouted, running inside to imitate Fang Shuixian’s earlier actions and measure her energy.

"Fifteen… Ah! Only fifteen? Lower than Fang Bighead! Humph!" The little girl pouted unhappily.

In the hallway, Fang Lin almost tripped in disbelief.

Fifteen units!

Lin Zhenzhen had fifteen energy units?

Impossible!

Fang Lin stared incredulously, then dashed into the room to check the energy detector. The reading was indeed fifteen.

"This… This must be broken! The detector’s faulty!" Fang Lin shook his head vigorously.

He could accept his mother’s six units.

Before reaching ten units, as long as the energy supply was sufficient and the talent decent, nineteen units was easy.

But Lin Zhenzhen’s fifteen units? What a joke!

How old was that little girl?

Even eating fierce beast meat daily, fifteen units was impossible!

"Broken? Fang Bighead, you’re the one who’s broken! Bleh!"

Lin Zhenzhen tilted her head back, frowned, and stuck her tongue out at Fang Lin.

"How about you check too, Fang Lin? Then you’ll know if it’s broken," Tang Mubai said calmly, gently patting the little cousin’s head.

Although surprised by the little girl’s fifteen units, he quickly accepted it.

The reason was simple: her constitution was clearly extraordinary.

Plus, having eaten fierce beast meat daily, her bizarre physiology allowed her to absorb the meat’s energy at far higher rates than ordinary people—possibly even 100%.

That was the most frightening part!

She absorbed everything she ate. Even Tang Mubai couldn’t compete!

Still skeptical, Fang Lin tested himself again.

The result showed nineteen units.

"See? I told you, Fang Bighead, you’re the broken one!" Lin Zhenzhen teased.

"This… this…" Fang Lin was dumbfounded.

"Alright, son, Zhenzhen’s been eating fierce beast meat every day, so this number is normal," Fang Shuixian comforted him.

"But… but…" Fang Lin still couldn’t accept it.

"Come on, let me check too!" The little girl pushed him aside and urged Tang Mubai to test. "Brother, your number has to be higher than Fang Bighead’s!"

"Well, it seems it is," Tang Mubai said, lowering his energy level to thirty-one units using the Blood King Pearl.

"Yay!" Lin Zhenzhen cheered.

"Impossible!" Fang Lin screamed. "This can’t be! It’s broken, the detector’s definitely broken!"

"Son, are you alright?" Fang Shuixian worriedly patted his head. "Xiao Bai is a genius. He used to be lazy, avoiding martial training and liking to play. Now he’s pulled himself together, leading the whole mercenary corps and training hard. These numbers are normal."

"No, no, that’s not it," Fang Lin shook his head.

He had worked hard for a year and only increased by eleven units.

Tang Mubai had started at barely three units, and in less than a month reached thirty-one. How was that possible?

Only real geniuses could achieve that!

Wait…

Suddenly, Fang Lin was struck with realization.

Genius?

His mother was a genius. Little Lin Zhenzhen was a genius. Tang Mubai was a genius!

Since when did geniuses become so common?

…

(Note: This chapter is a bonus update from the captain “Life is like chess, no regrets for the moves made.”)