Chapter Seventy-Five: The Unity of Gun and Martial Arts

“What’s got you so excited?” Gao Wu asked casually. He didn’t believe Shen Yue could really have anything good happening.

“East River Longteng Company wants you to do an ad, promote their Fierce Dragon Energy Drink. They’re willing to pay eight hundred thousand. If the promotion goes well, there’ll be high bonuses afterward…”

On the other end of the phone, Shen Yue was visibly thrilled, explaining everything in detail.

Ever since that video of Gao Wu slaying the cultist was released, his fans had skyrocketed to over two million. Many reached out for business collaborations.

Most were advertising daily goods—razors, toilet paper, snacks—the usual. The cooperation model was commission plus split profits.

These ads for small products didn’t make much money and were damaging to popularity. Product quality wasn’t guaranteed, and any issues could be a headache for Gao Wu.

Shen Yue wasn’t interested in such small change and rejected all of them.

Yesterday, after Gao Wu won the Xuetao Cup, his fan count surged to four million—a considerable number.

To maintain this wave of popularity, Shen Yue spent his days editing videos—behind-the-scenes footage of Gao Wu, match highlights—each video attracting massive traffic.

Because of this, several companies approached Shen Yue for partnership, the most prominent being East River Longteng Company.

Longteng Company was a subsidiary of the Longteng Group—a sprawling commercial empire spanning fourteen provinces of the Alliance, with immense influence.

Their Fierce Dragon Energy Drink was a new product line developed in recent years, aimed squarely at Taiji Energy Drink.

Taiji Group was world-class in biochemistry and pharmaceuticals, with their energy drinks sold globally. Longteng Group had poured huge resources into promoting their own.

Today, this lucrative ad deal fell into Gao Wu’s lap.

According to the agreement, Shen Yue would get thirty percent of the earnings. If the deal went through, subtracting taxes and platform fees, he could pocket eighty or a hundred thousand.

Though his family was well-off, this was a hefty sum for him—no wonder he was excited.

“Longteng Company?” Gao Wu hesitated. The general manager was Song Yunhe. Was Uncle Song trying to curry favor? That didn’t seem likely...

He now had five million in cash, wealth at his fingertips, and small money no longer interested him. Yet Huang Hai weighed on him like a stone—until that was resolved, he couldn’t feel at ease.

On the other hand, something felt off.

Could Song Yunhe have seen his brilliance and limitless future, and was trying to please him with this ad?

Or was he eyeing Gao Wu as a rare talent, hoping to become his father-in-law and deliberately sending him money?

That was clearly impossible. Song Yunhe was proud and self-assured; he wouldn’t think much of Gao Wu.

Song Mingyue could handle Song Yunhe; Gao Wu was nowhere near.

If the other party wanted to pull tricks on the contract, he could make Gao Wu’s life miserable.

Shen Yue sensed Gao Wu’s hesitation and hurriedly said, “Longteng is a big company, their products won’t have issues. Promoting Fierce Dragon Energy will boost your profile—it's great for you.”

“Don’t rush, I’ll think about it,” Gao Wu ended the call and sent Song Mingyue a message.

Soon, Song Mingyue replied: “My grandfather praised you. My dad probably wants to please him. Don’t overthink it.”

“I see, understood.” With Song Mingyue’s words, Gao Wu felt reassured.

Song Mingyue added, “Tie Dalong has been released.”

“Oh, thank our grandpa.” Gao Wu replied, “Thanks, good friend!”

Regardless of whether it was the Song family’s influence, Tie Dalong’s release was good news.

Business matters were always tricky, so Gao Wu discussed with Shang Qingjun, asking her to handle them for him.

As a top student, Shang Qingjun had self-studied law and economics, and already passed the junior accountant exam. With her help, contracts were no issue.

Upon hearing the contract between Gao Wu and Shen Yue, Shang Qingjun laughed, tapping Gao Wu’s forehead, “My little brother really is a clever one!”

“What?” Gao Wu thought he’d been quite professional, and was a bit unconvinced by her comment.

“There are too many issues, I don’t even know where to begin.”

Shang Qingjun thought for a moment. “Tomorrow, bring Shen Yue along, let’s clarify your relationship first.”

She understood that Gao Wu and Shen Yue were genuine friends.

But since they operated the Kuaiyin account together and profited from it, interests couldn’t be split so simply.

Seeing Gao Wu’s indifference, Shang Qingjun asked, “Setting aside fairness, your contract is too simplistic.

“This isn’t just between the two of you. As profits grow, Shen Yue’s family will get involved and ruin everything. It’ll not only affect your business, but also taint your friendship.

“A proper contract, clear rights and responsibilities, is necessary for both of you.”

“Hmm…” Gao Wu cared greatly for the account; regardless of earnings, the account brought him immense merit, something he couldn’t give up.

“Tomorrow, I’ll talk to Shen Yue. He seems reasonable and good-natured, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Shang Qingjun added, “For this ad, give Shen Yue a bigger share as compensation.”

“Alright,” Gao Wu agreed after thinking it over. It was indeed a problem—delay would only make it worse.

Song Mingyue handled such things well, pricing favors at a billion. No matter the situation, everything could be valued and compared.

It might seem cold, but it was very effective for resolving conflicts.

That night, Gao Wu finished injecting a batch of Prajna Serum. The next morning, his mental strength had increased by 0.1.

He was delighted.

Prajna Serum was highly addictive; with his constitution, ten doses was his limit. Any more, and it would be risky.

Ten doses could safely boost his mental strength by one point—a huge leap for him.

Gao Wu had spent much time with Huang Hai and endured his mental intimidation. Though he couldn’t measure precisely, he estimated Huang Hai’s mental strength wasn’t very high.

This fit his theory about junior warriors: constitution, strength, and mental power all around ten points.

After using Prajna Serum, Gao Wu’s mental strength was close to ten. With effort and a method for refining mental power, becoming a warrior wouldn’t be too difficult.

In the morning, Gao Wu bought some supplements and good wine, and went to Tie Long Martial Arts Hall to visit Tie Dalong.

Tie Dalong had just returned home after two months in detention—he was noticeably thinner, but his eyes were bright, looking even more sharp than before.

Seeing Gao Wu visiting, Tie Dalong was surprised and pleased. He’d accepted Gao Wu as a student only out of respect for Master Shang Hongyi.

He’d always thought Gao Wu’s talent was average, nothing impressive. Far from a genius.

He hadn’t expected that, upon release, Gao Wu would bring gifts. More than anything, this gesture touched him.

After two months in prison, the martial hall’s people had vanished, even his own relatives disappeared.

The fickleness of human relationships left Tie Dalong, a middle-level warrior, deeply moved.

But then he felt something was off. No one else knew he’d been released—how did Gao Wu know?

The Inspectorate was no friendly place; whether or not he’d done wrong, even if released, they wouldn’t make it easy. They’d certainly make him sweat.

Had Gao Wu spoken up for him? But Gao Wu was only connected to Master Shang—he’d have no standing to help.

Tie Dalong said nothing, but resolved to find out—this was a huge favor!

Gao Wu stayed at the martial hall for a while; Tie Dalong was busy restarting everything after two months of neglect, so Gao Wu soon took his leave.

At noon, Gao Wu invited Shen Yue to lunch at Seahorse Buffet, with Shang Qingjun joining them.

After the meal, the three found a nearby milk tea shop to chat.

Before Shang Qingjun could speak, Shen Yue said, “Old Gao, our contract is ridiculous. I don’t dare take so much. Let’s draw up a proper contract. I don’t want equity, just a share of the profits…”

After Gao Wu’s victory at the Xuetao Cup, his fans skyrocketed. Shen Yue knew Gao Wu’s popularity had little to do with him; he had no right to thirty percent.

If he wanted to remain friends and continue making short videos with Gao Wu, he needed to take initiative and only claim what was his.

Shang Qingjun spoke gently, “We need to set up a small company, put Xiao Wu’s personal image and online rights in it, then allocate shares accordingly…”

At eighteen, Shen Yue was still a senior in high school. He knew video shooting and editing, but business operations were a mystery.

Faced with the gentle and beautiful Shang Qingjun, Shen Yue was flustered, listening dazedly and barely understanding, nodding along with a silly smile.

Gao Wu sighed inwardly—this silly kid would count the money even if he was being sold.

Luckily, he wasn’t trying to cheat his friend, just formalize the contract and ensure the account operated healthily.

As for details, Gao Wu wasn’t interested; he trusted Shang Qingjun and left it to her and Shen Yue.

Shang Qingjun was indeed capable, quickly settling everything. The ad contract was signed, earning a million.

To thank Shen Yue for his hard work, Gao Wu and Shang Qingjun decided to give him five hundred thousand out of the million.

The newly established company was named Sunshine Media, with Shen Yue as a co-founder, second only to Gao Wu in rights and responsibilities, and Shang Qingjun as senior partner.

The remaining funds were invested in company operations, with finances managed by Shang Qingjun. Shares for her and Shen Yue were registered through the Business Administration Bureau, legally finalizing the allocation.

The previous paper contract now gained true legal force.

For Gao Wu, these were trivial matters, far less important than the Prajna Serum.

Ten doses over ten days, Gao Wu’s mental stat rose to 9.5—a full point increase, meaning his mental strength had grown by fifty percent.

The most immediate change was that Gao Wu’s senses became extremely acute; his memory improved, and his logical calculation ability seemed enhanced.

With improved mental strength, his Warrior Fist entered the proficiency stage. To him, this increase helped his comprehension of fist intent significantly.

Unfortunately, other martial skills didn’t improve markedly.

Whenever he had free time, Gao Wu visited the martial hall to train Dragon Sword with Tie Dalong. The Tie family’s method was very different from Song Mingyue’s.

Tie Dalong had asked around—it was Song Chunqiu who spoke up, securing his release. He had no ties with the Song family, but Gao Wu and Song Mingyue’s relationship was no secret.

It was easy to connect the dots.

Tie Dalong said nothing, but taught Gao Wu even more earnestly, imparting family secrets without reservation…

At the end of January, Gao Wu received a message from the Hunter Association: the formal hunter qualification exam would be held on February 25, reminding him to register ten days in advance.

To perform well in the exam, Gao Wu began injecting two doses of Vajra Serum daily and drinking two hundred milliliters of Thorn Dragon Energy.

His body quickly developed tolerance to Vajra Serum; two doses no longer provided strong stimulation.

On Song Mingyue’s suggestion, Gao Wu increased the dosage, but the results were poor.

By mid-February, thirty doses of Vajra Serum and three liters of Thorn Dragon Energy were finished—his strength increased by only 0.5, reaching eleven points.

Clearly, junior Vajra Serum had reached its limit in strengthening his body.

With more strength, his fifteen-point constitution released greater energy—even his agility increased by 0.1.

His skin became finer and tougher, muscles more resilient, and bones stronger. Now, even if he punched an iron plate with full force, it would hurt, but his flesh and bones would remain intact, unharmed by the immense power.

If before his body was as hard as iron, now it had reached the level of refined steel—hard yet flexible.

Without detailed stats for a warrior’s physical strength, Gao Wu couldn’t compare, but he believed he now surpassed Huang Hai.

Song Mingyue agreed, even thinking Gao Wu’s physical strength matched that of senior warriors.

Of course, that was without the opponent using source energy.

With his tough body, his strength gained greater destructive power. Against opponents like Tie Biao, Gao Wu could crush them in ten punches!

In the first-floor training hall, Gao Wu performed the heavy machine gun style of Warrior Fist, chasing Song Mingyue with a flurry of strikes.

His punches were fierce, swift, and relentless, truly like a machine gun’s barrage—an overwhelming force that could annihilate everything.

Song Mingyue retreated lightly, her movements graceful and agile like a dragon riding the wind, her evasion faster and more nimble than Gao Wu’s pursuit.

After one hundred and fifty punches, even with his formidable constitution, Gao Wu felt tired. If he activated Azure Dragon Divine Qi Spell, he could keep going, but it would be pointless.

He stopped, breathing heavily.

The machine gun style was simply too exhausting. For elite martial artists like Tie Biao, thirty punches would probably be their limit.

Thirty doses of Vajra Serum, ten doses of Prajna Serum, plus an extraordinary fifteen-point constitution, gave him both terrifying explosiveness and endurance.

“Your punch force should now be two thousand five hundred kilograms—enough to threaten any warrior,” Song Mingyue commented. “But against the powerful beasts of the Void Realm, your strength is still lacking. You need to practice with modern firearms, familiarize yourself with their performance. Good tools can solve many problems.

“And remember, Warrior Fist is meant to be used with modern guns—a combination of fist and firearm. You should spend time at the shooting range…”

“That’s exactly it!” Gao Wu grew excited. “I knew I was forgetting something important. Yes, I need to train with guns—and buy a couple for self-defense!”

Song Mingyue shook her head slightly. “From what I know, the hunter qualification exam has a 17% casualty rate. If nothing happens, fine, but if trouble arises, it often ends in total wipeout. You mustn’t take it lightly.”

“Hm?” Gao Wu was surprised—17% was an alarming figure.

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