===Chapter 23: The Golden Legend===

The next day.

Chen Yu slept in until late morning.

Drowsily opening his eyes, he checked the time on his phone, got out of bed, and pulled open the curtains.

The bright noon sun instantly shone through, almost piercing through his entire being.

"Nice."

Rubbing his tired face, he quickly freshened up, put on clothes, and walked out of his room, heading to his neighbor's door.

As the saying goes, there's no sadness that a flight can't solve.

And if there is, then take another one.

Chen Yu wasn't sure how devastating the blow of a breakup was for his neighbor.

All he knew was that the neighbor was up watching videos until the early hours of the morning...

Considering his neighbor's hand's up-and-down abilities, Chen Yu was genuinely worried about his physical condition.

He leaned in close, listening for a moment.

No sound.

He cautiously pushed the door.

"Creak—"

The anti-theft door opened without a sound.

It wasn't locked!

Taking a careful step, he entered the room. Chen Yu immediately saw the chubby neighbor sitting in front of the computer desk.

The neighbor had a "fierce" expression on his face, his hands fiercely pounding the keyboard and mouse, controlling the character on the screen to unleash skills.

And the neighbor's title above his head had changed back from "Striving Youth" to "Useless Otaku."

"Progress is not easy, but falling into depravity is damn quick."

Muttering to himself, Chen Yu relaxed when he saw that the neighbor was okay. He walked up and patted the neighbor's shoulder, saying, "Hey, good morning."

The chubby neighbor restrained his "fierce" expression, glanced coldly at Chen Yu, said nothing, and continued gaming.

"Bro, feeling frustrated?" Chen Yu put his arm around the neighbor's shoulder and said nonchalantly, "How about going out for a run?"

"Do you need something?" The chubby neighbor pursed his lips. "If there's nothing, don't interrupt my gaming."

"Are you angry?" Chen Yu was surprised.

The chubby neighbor: "...No."

Chen Yu: "Have you forgotten about your dreams?"

Chubby neighbor: "I never had any dreams."

Chen Yu: "Who said yesterday that you wanted to change completely, to stop being a 'Useless Otaku,' and become a real man?"

Chubby neighbor: "It wasn't me. I'm just a useless person, being a 'Useless Otaku' is fine."

"You've got to be kidding me." Chen Yu didn't hold back and suddenly punched the neighbor, knocking him to the ground.

"What... What are you doing?" The chubby neighbor lay on the ground in a daze, took a while to react, stood up angrily, and shouted, "Do you want to fight me?"

"Great." Chen Yu crossed his arms and smiled. "Still got the temper, there's still hope for you."

"Do you have anything to say or not? Stop bothering me, okay?" The chubby neighbor sat back at the computer desk, his face dark, and continued controlling the keyboard and mouse.

"Clang—"

Chen Yu kicked in mid-air and sent the monitor flying.

Glass shattered on the floor.

Then he grabbed the enraged neighbor and headed out, saying, "What's typing on a keyboard got to do with anything? I'll find a place for you to vent."

"Get lost! I'm not looking for a prostitute!"

"Who said anything about a prostitute? Can that shit even pass censorship?"

Dragging the neighbor out, down the stairs, and into a taxi, Chen Yu confidently arrived at a "Combat Club" in the western suburbs of Qingcheng City. He obtained two membership cards and arrived at a punching bag in a boxing ring.

"Here." Chen Yu picked up a pair of gloves from the ground and threw them to the neighbor. "Punch the bag. It's enough to vent your frustrations."

"..."

Silently, the chubby neighbor glanced deeply at Chen Yu, gritted his teeth, put on the gloves, and suddenly delivered a heavy punch to the punching bag!

"Boom!"

The power and the sound were so intense that it stunned the members around the ring, who turned their attention to them.

"Indeed, a fighting genius." Chen Yu nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. "Keep going."

"Thud!"

"Thud thud thud—"

The chubby neighbor started punching. Although his movements weren't professional, each punch created a gust of wind. As he punched, he growled, "Aren't you afraid I'll punch you?"

    Chen Yu: "You can't go all out."

The chubby neighbor turned his head, clenched his fist, and cursed, "You...!"

"You can't open your mouth." Chen Yu interrupted.

Chubby neighbor: "..."

"Do you know why I'm doing this to you?" Chen Yu took a step back, seemingly unaffected.

Glaring at Chen Yu, the chubby neighbor didn't answer and continued punching the bag.

"Because from the very beginning, I saw that the direction you're striving in is completely wrong," Chen Yu continued to manipulate.

"Don't tell me those useless things," the chubby neighbor accelerated his punches.

Ignoring him, Chen Yu continued, "As a man, as a beacon of humanity who dares to stand up and report me, can you believe your reason for striving is for a woman? Are you embarrassed?"

The chubby neighbor buried himself in his punches.

"I told you from the beginning that the reason I push you and help you is because I admire your courage to challenge darkness and uphold justice," Chen Yu said.

The chubby neighbor buried himself in his punches.

"I don't want someone like you, who has limits, to be retaliated against because of future acts of justice," Chen Yu continued.

The chubby neighbor buried himself in his punches.

"So, I wanted you to become stronger. To give you the ability to face future darkness. That's why you started exercising, losing weight, swimming. But in just one day, you've already deviated from the path," Chen Yu said.

The chubby neighbor's movements paused for half a second, then he continued punching.

"For a woman? Tsk tsk." With his hands behind his back, Chen Yu walked around the ring, muttering, "You should know that the darkness in this world is not limited to violence. Obsessions are also a part of it. A true king should always be clear about his goals. Why do you strive? Why do you want to change? What is the purpose of your training and becoming stronger? Isn't it to strengthen yourself?"

"Ah, with just one girl today, your true intentions are lost. If I give you ten million tomorrow, will you pursue wealth again? If some gang leader offers you the position of vice leader the day after tomorrow, would you pursue status and power? Manipulate authority?"

The chubby neighbor stood panting in place, staring blankly at the punching bag in front of him.

Chen Yu pressed on, "Remember, all your efforts, all your struggles, are for yourself. Not for me as your brother, nor for some femme fatale. It's for yourself, okay?"

"Think about your state yesterday, the day before. Do you think you were normal? You became a pure iron bootlicker! A few simple words from a girl and you're completely infatuated."

"And the truth? She was someone I hired with ten thousand bucks."

"Can you imagine the possibility that some enemy might spend even more money to hire an even more beautiful woman to deceive you? The strength you've built, is it meant to be used as someone else's weapon?"

"Whether you want to become a king or just an ordinary person, there's one thing you need to be clear about."

"The pursuit of beautiful women is not the reason you become awesome!"

"It's because you're awesome! That's why women are attracted to you."

"The same applies to money, status, power, and connections."

"Now think back. You, a 'Useless Otaku,' utterly useless and dirt poor, yet beautiful girls come pursuing you. Isn't that purely a trap?"

"...," the chubby neighbor remained silent, slowly crouching on the ground, lost in thought.

    "Brother." Chen Yu also squatted down, patting his neighbor's shoulder. "Heaven bestows great responsibilities on those it wishes to test, first by testing their determination, laboring their... laboring something. Anyway, it's about making you endure hardships to become extraordinary. By spending a little money today and letting you suffer a small loss, you'll gain experience for tomorrow, so you won't suffer a big loss!"

"...I understand," the chubby neighbor pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and said, "I've been an idiot these past few days. Yu Ge, I understand your good intentions."

"That's right!" Chen Yu nodded with satisfaction. "You learn from your mistakes. It's okay to fall down, but get up and correct your path, always follow your true heart, that's the path to victory!"

"Alright!" The chubby neighbor gritted his teeth, stood up forcefully, and struck the punching bag with even greater force.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump—"

The sound was so loud that it hurt Chen Yu's ears.

"To hell with women!" the neighbor punched aggressively.

"Thump—"

"To hell with girls!"

"Thump—"

"Women only slow down my punches!"

"Thump—"

"Women only hinder my progress in becoming stronger!"

"Thump—"

"I'm doing this for myself!"

"Thump—"

"I'm doing this for my brothers!"

"Thump—"

"But I'm damn sure not doing it for women!"

"Thump, thump, thump—"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah—"

"Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—"

The punching bag flew chaotically, and a female coach couldn't help but step onto the stage, covering her ears as she tried to stop him. "Sir, please calm down. It's rest time right now..."

"Go to hell, woman!"

"Boom!"

The chubby neighbor appeared crazed, turning around and delivering a powerful punch to the female coach!

"Thud."

The female coach fell to the ground, her legs straightened...

Chen Yu: "..."

"Ah!!" The chubby neighbor's muscles swelled, and he clenched his fists, roaring in anger.

He felt as if something was about to burst out of his body!

That boiling and eerie energy made him even more unclear in his mind. He just wanted to release the stifling feeling in his heart.

At the same time, the title "Useless Otaku" above his head rapidly faded away.

Before Chen Yu could react to the shock, that title transformed from "Useless Otaku" to "Someone Not to Be Underestimated" at an astonishing speed!

"Whoosh—"

    Following the dazzling golden light, an even larger text panel "burst" out from the neighbor's body compared to last time!

Dozens of lines filled the space densely, almost covering the entire neighbor.

Among them, the most eye-catching was a text located on his chest!

[(A+ Rank) (Golden) Beast Power: With the accumulation of anger, strength can grow infinitely without end.]

"Oh my god! It's a legendary golden ability!" Chen Yu shouted in disbelief, swearing. "Holy shit!!!"

...