Chapter 9: In the Men's Restroom…

The Martial Artist Training Camp, as the name implied, was a place dedicated to training and cultivating Martial Artists. As one of Double Bright Base City's seven major Martial Artist organizations, Stellar Hall ran Training Camps with top-tier resources across the board. Once you got in, there was a sixty percent chance you'd come out a Martial Artist. In other words, Candace Scurr had a very real shot. "Congratulations!" "Candace, when you become a Martial Artist, don't forget us ordinary folks." "Kyle Luet's already a Martial Artist. If Candace becomes one too, that's a Martial Artist couple. Like those immortal lovers people used to talk about. I'm jealous." No matter what they thought, everyone's mouths were full of praise and flattery. "Thank you. Thank you, everyone." Candace tried to keep her composure, but the smug glow in her eyes gave her away. "When my Candace becomes a Martial Artist, I'll treat everyone to a real feast as her family. Next time, we're going to Celestial Dome!" Kyle swept his arm out grandly, chin lifted like he owned the room. Celestial Dome was the only seven-star hotel in Double Bright Base City. Only Martial Artists even qualified to book a table there. Compared to Celestial Dome, Dragon City barely counted as more than a dingy hole-in-the-wall. "Celestial Dome! I walked past their entrance once. It was insane. I heard even the greeters at the door are Martial Artists!" "Thanks to Master Luet, we'll get served by Martial Artists too!" "Candace is smart, and Master Luet's got her back. Give it two months, tops. She'll definitely become a Martial Artist!" They couldn't stand Kyle's arrogance, but the moment Celestial Dome came up, excitement spread anyway, and the flattery started all over again. Kyle grinned, basking in it, then suddenly turned toward Ethan Letherdale. "Ethan, I heard you work at Stellar Corporation under Stellar Hall. What's your position again?" "Potion representative." "Potion representative?" Kyle laughed like he'd heard a joke. "That's a fancy way to say you sell Potions. The Potion sales guys who call my mom and me, they all act like obedient little lapdogs." He laughed again, then continued, voice dripping with condescension. "Don't worry. Once Candace graduates from the Training Camp and becomes a Stellar Hall Martial Artist, she'll take good care of you for my sake. You'll be her logistics guy, basically." "Sure." "When we celebrate Candace becoming a Martial Artist, you'd better show up. This is probably your one and only chance in your life to step into Celestial Dome." "Mm." Ethan answered offhandedly, still cracking into a lobster claw with his head down. So much for being a Second-generation Martial Artist. He'd ordered some big lobster, but he wouldn't even spring for the premium kind. More importantly, Lyle Warth had mentioned that none of the people here were doing particularly well. If Ethan wanted to find a way to cash out a formula, this crowd was a dead end. It made sense. The ones who really had connections probably wouldn't bother with a Low-level Martial Artist like Kyle. "Damn, he's really a turtle. He can swallow that?" "What choice does he have? The gap's too big. Kyle's a Second-generation Martial Artist, and he's a Martial Artist himself. What's Ethan?" "Exactly. Being handsome doesn't mean anything. Once you're out in the real world, people only care about strength." "She just got with Kyle and she already signed with the Martial Artist Training Camp. If I were Candace, I'd pick Kyle too." "Give me a break. With your face, even if Kyle went blind, he still wouldn't want you." "Screw you!" A few of them huddled together, whispering. Every so often, they flicked a glance at Ethan, their eyes full of mockery and disdain. So what if he'd been the campus heartthrob? A single year after graduation, and this was what he'd become. "Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom." Ethan couldn't be bothered with their looks. He tossed out the line and stood. "He's running away?" "Probably going to cry somewhere." When Ethan left, the chatter only got louder, more shameless by the second. Kyle looked even more pleased. This was exactly what he wanted. Tonight, he was going to humiliate Ethan properly. Candace stayed by his side, her smile bright. She was about to enter the Martial Artist Training Camp. She was about to become a Martial Artist. Ding! Right as she was riding that high, Candace's phone chimed. She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and her expression changed instantly. "Um… I'm going to touch up my makeup." After a brief hesitation, she stood and murmured to Kyle. "Go on. Make it pretty." Kyle had an arm slung around a classmate's shoulder, bragging. He barely looked up, waving her off. Candace grabbed her bag and hurried out of the private room. At the restroom, she glanced around, then lowered her head and slipped into the men's room. "Here." Her heart was in her throat, terrified someone would walk in, when a voice came from the farthest stall. Candace hurried over, stepped inside, and locked the door. Only then did she let out a shaky breath. Ethan sat on the toilet, looking up at her. Anger flashed across her delicate face. "What are you trying to do?" "What do you think?" Ethan smiled and pointed. He'd eaten those glares all night. His temper had been simmering for a while. Candace bit her lip. After a moment's hesitation, she still crouched in front of him. Even if she entered the Martial Artist Training Camp, she still needed that Strengthening Potion from Ethan. More than before. As she worked, she hardened her resolve. Once she became a Martial Artist, she would repay every humiliation of this month tenfold, a hundredfold. "Got it!" With adrenaline surging under the intense stimulation, Ethan's drained Spiritual Energy recovered rapidly. In moments, it refilled completely. 100/100! "Stop." Ethan grabbed a fistful of Candace's hair, then activated the Mysterious Tattoo, continuing to patch the flaws in the Tao Te Ching. A moment later, after patching twenty more points, his Spiritual Energy ran dry again. "Keep going!" Ethan growled, rough as he shoved Candace against the stall's filthy wall. … More than an hour later. "Why did it take you so long?" Kyle frowned hard when Candace returned to the private room, her face pale. Candace smoothed her messy hair at the temples, dodging his gaze. Her voice came out weak. "I smudged it by accident and had to redo my makeup, so it took longer." "Then why didn't you answer when I called?" "My phone was on silent. It was in my bag, I didn't hear it." "Why would you put it on si-" Kyle started to press, then saw Ethan walk back in. Hands in his pockets. Looking refreshed, almost radiant. "Damn. That's brutal." "Old partners, huh? They play dirty." They were exes. They'd left one after the other, came back one after the other, with more than an hour in between. Only an idiot wouldn't know what happened. Everyone fought to hold in their laughter, muttering under their breath. A minute ago they'd been looking down on Ethan. Suddenly, they practically wanted to kneel and worship. Who stole whose girl? Who played whose girlfriend? Retreat to advance, defense turned to offense. What a move. "You motherfucker!" Kyle had never suffered humiliation like this. He cursed and shot to his feet, swinging a punch at Ethan. Ethan had been ready. His gaze hardened, and he drove his own fist forward. Thud! Ethan staggered back seven or eight steps. Kyle slid back five or six! Ethan still wasn't a Martial Artist, but with the Blazing Sun Body supporting him, his Punch Force had reached two tons. He didn't lose to an ordinary Low-level Martial Artist at all. Kyle was a Martial Artist, sure, but he'd only opened the Three Meridians. When he steadied himself, Kyle stared at Ethan in shock. How was Ethan's strength this ridiculous? He'd just used seventy or eighty percent of his power. "Master Luet, you've had too much," a few guys said quickly, rushing to support him. They assumed he'd lost his footing from drinking. After all, Kyle was a Martial Artist. How could he possibly be weaker than Ethan? "Hmph." Ethan stood at the doorway, glanced at his own fist, then looked back at Kyle with a cold smile. He crooked a finger. "You think you're something special? Come on, then."