The Reveal

The place they were heading to was about 80 miles further east, where Han Chen's maternal grandparents were buried. His mother, influenced by Confucian principles, wanted to visit their graves to pay her respects, lit incense and pray. It was initially a quiet, reflective journey, one that carried a sense of duty and tradition.

But about an hour into the drive, the conversation had mostly revolved around business and company matters. The road stretched long and arid ahead of them, the landscape barren and monotonous. Han Chen sat quietly in the backseat, seemingly lost in thought. His father, Han Zhong, glanced back at him and broke the silence.

"Han Chen," he began, his tone a mix of curiosity and boredom, "tell us what else you're hiding from us. We don't want to keep finding out things from other people's mouths." He hesitated after he said, expecting his son to push back or respond with teenage defiance. But Han Chen didn't.

"Sounds fair. What do you want to know?" Han Chen replied calmly. Even his mother, who had been pretending to nap, opened her eyes and glanced at him through the rear view mirror.

His father started, "First of all—" but mother interrupted. "No, that won't work. Let him just tell you one by one at a time. Otherwise, he won't answer something we don't know." , clearly knowing his habit.

"First, promise me that whatever I say stays between us. Especially you, Dad," Han Chen said, his tone serious.

His father looked slightly offended. "What did I do? Fine, I promise."

Han Chen took a deep breath. "My realm is higher than what I showed earlier. I passed the Martial Master stage months ago."

...

The car swerved slightly as his father's hands jerked on the wheel. "Son, don't joke around like that. I haven't crossed peak transform jin yet. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm not joking," Han Chen said simply. To prove his point, he summoned a faint glow of spiritual energy in his hand, shaping it into a delicate, tangible flower. He handed it to his mother, who stared at it in stunned silence before it dissipated in her palm. Only a master could visibly detach his internal energy.

Both parents were frozen, their minds struggling to process what they had just seen. "But how?" his mother finally asked, her voice trembling. "It's only been four or four and a half years, right? How did you do it without any resources? Tell us."

Han Chen leaned back in his seat. "Remember when I gave you the modified version of the Crane Style Arts a few years ago? I was already at Transform Jin by then. How do you think I could modify it?"

His father turned to his wife, confused. "Qingyu, what is he talking about?"

His mother hesitated, then explained, "He gave me a modified version of the technique a few years ago. I've been practicing it, and my realm increased faster because of it."

Han Zhong looked back at his wife, baffled. "Hey, wait a minute— you didn't tell me...."

Han Chen cut him off. "I told you I had a bright mind, right?"

"Yeah?" his father replied, still trying to catch up.

"Well, it's not just bright. It's... beyond common sense. I have an extremely high comprehension and talent for learning and practicing. I followed the normal stances and realized they could be optimized further instantly picking up its profound nature. Back then, Mom was close to figuring out my real realm, so I gave her a small modified version to help nourish her body. I have a better one with me now if you want it."

He paused, then added, "Oh, and I can read people's emotions and intentions with just a look. That's why I told you Xue Qing was up to no good.

And why the people we met just before, many of them has malicious intents directed at the two of you. Then at me as I showed them dark jin realm. People's real emotional intentions are open book in front of me... but I can't hear their thoughts"

" Oh .. and never mind..that's all."

His parents sat in stunned silence for a moment. His mother finally broke it. "Are you sure that's all? How did you advance so quickly? Even with better techniques, don't you need training resources like qi beast essence?"

Han Chen shrugged. "I already told you I have some skills in hacking and software. I used those to make some money, bought the essence I needed, and practiced."

For the next five minutes, his parents sat in silence, trying to digest everything he had just revealed. His father finally asked, "How did you get enough money to buy this diet? It's extremely expensive."

Han Chen smiled. " I'm not going into details."

His father shook his head, still processing. "Son, you're probably the youngest Martial Master in the world. Wait... the case... don't tell me you—"

Han Chen cut him off. " Sure, I won't tell you anything else...."

"Heyy.."

His mother looked at him with worry. "Was that true? Did you really... and then trick federal agents?"

Han Chen sighed. "Why are you assuming I'm the bad guy? I never told you anything about that."

His father pressed, "Then why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Han Chen looked at him calmly. "You didn't believe me until I showed you, right? Besides, Dad, if you found out your son reached Dark Jin within months of starting training, wouldn't you have told others as a happy occasion? If I wasn't powerful enough, those federal agents and the Han Family would've been too interested in what made me different. They might've wanted samples or tried to recruit me into some nurturing talents program. I wouldn't have had any control over my life."

His mother nodded slowly, finally understanding. "Yeah, you're right. I get it now. Your intelligence lets you read people. You saw your childhood friend's true intentions. You saw the ugly faces behind the polite smiles, didn't you? ..... Poor thing, you've been keeping all this to yourself." His mother turned around from the front seat, reaching back to give him a tight hug.

"Me revealing this to you doesn't mean I'm ready for the world to know, okay?" Han Chen said firmly. After recent introspection, he realized that with his strength, its better to have backings and playing the loner game alone is only leading to more suspicions. His parents nodded, still trying to wrap their heads around the shocking revelations.

" Wait , the new designs our systems suddenly had...." Looking at Han Chen's nod he excitedly said " I knew it...". What? you knew nothing until I told you.

...

After the initial shock had settled, Han Chen's mother took over driving for the next half of the journey. Meanwhile, his father, still buzzing with curiosity, kept peppering Han Chen with questions about his abilities.

"So, this thing about reading people's emotions and intentions," his father began, leaning slightly toward the backseat, "how far does it go? Can you tell what someone's thinking, like what am I thinking? or is it just... feelings, like reading the face? can you see them if it is covered ?"

Han Chen sighed but answered patiently. "It's not like reading minds or anything. It's more about sensing their emotions and intentions. Like, if someone's hiding something or has a grudge, I can usually pick up on it. But it's not foolproof. If someone's really good at hiding their feelings, it's harder to tell."

His father nodded, clearly fascinated. "And the optimized version of the Crane Style Arts you mentioned—how does that work? You said something about meridian energy routing?"

"Yeah," Han Chen replied. "The standard version of the technique follows a basic energy flow through the meridians, but it's not the most efficient. I figured out a way to reroute the energy to maximize its effectiveness. It's like... instead of taking a winding road, you take a correct path. You get more power with less effort."

His father's eyes widened. "That sounds incredible. Can you show us how it works?"

"Not while we're in the car," Han Chen said with a small smile. "I'll show you the stances and the energy flow later, when we have some space. I will tell you details now : "

"When Qi flows unhindered, the body becomes not just a conduit but a mirror of the heavens. Muscles tempered like folded steel, movements seamless as flowing water—this is not mere discipline, but the very principle of nature itself. Stillness is not idle; it is the coiling of potential, the deepening of intent. Motion is not mere force; it is the unfurling of will, as inexorable as the shifting tides.

True form is not a stance, nor a rigid doctrine. It is an evolving current—soft as mist, sharp as a falling blade, limitless as the Dao itself. The martial artist is not merely a warrior but a sculptor of reality, shaping the world through refinement of the self...... He continued the verse for it.

The conversation shifted to lighter topics after that, but Han Chen could tell his parents were still trying to wrap their heads around everything he had revealed. His mother, who had been quietly listening while driving, finally spoke up. "You've always been different, Han Chen. Even as a child, you were so... observant. I just never realized how much you were holding back."

Han Chen smiled faintly. "I didn't want to worry you. Besides, it's not like I could just walk up to you and say, 'Hey, by the way, I'm a Martial Master."

His mother chuckled softly. "You're right about that. But still, I'm proud of you. Just... promise me you'll be careful. And don't do something you regret ...." She clearly is worried about the previous suspicion.

" Don't worry, the earlier case was dropped due to lack of evidence, besides you don't have to worry, You are assuming things on your own." A neither truth nor lie, may be it will calm her down. Han Chen said, his tone sincere. "Don't worry. Can I be this calm, if I did that?"

As the car continued down the road, Han Chen leaned back in his seat, feeling a strange sense of relief. As he has the ability to truly save himself now, he slowly let go digestible secrets. He had obviously left a protection rune on both their heads without knowing. It will protect them from any unnatural influence and situations

....