Tang Zichen (New Book, Please Support)

It was December. Heavy snow had fallen last night, and early this morning, the ground was blanketed in thick white snow. Beneath the howling north wind, a layer of ice had formed over the river.

Beside the river was a park with a pine forest within it. It was exceedingly quiet at the moment, with scarcely a soul in sight.

Yet beside one of the trees stood a woman dressed in a white tracksuit and white sneakers, her hair tied in a ponytail, leisurely practicing her fists. Beside her, an ordinary-looking boy of sixteen or seventeen was seriously holding a horse stance.

It was a little past six in the morning. Snow covered the ground, and the north wind howled. In the dead of winter, there were actually people practicing martial arts here—it was certainly a strange sight.

The woman and the ordinary boy remained in the park for over half an hour. During that time, the woman occasionally instructed him in his punches and demonstrated various movements.

By the end, the boy was drenched in sweat, but he left satisfied. The woman remained standing where she was, her gaze sweeping over the surroundings. After a moment, she suddenly called out.

"Sir, you've watched for so long. Aren't you coming out?"

"Hahaha! As expected of the renowned Tang Sect leader. Your Spiritual Sense is truly extraordinary. I was a full three hundred meters away, yet you still discovered me." A clear laugh suddenly rang out from the dense woods in the distance. A somewhat slender figure emerged from the forest and moved at incredible speed. Only an afterimage could be seen; his features were impossible to make out.

However, from his rough outline, it was apparent that he was a young man no older than twenty. Despite the depths of winter, he was lightly dressed. Even stranger, though he moved extremely fast, the footprints he left in the snow were very shallow, barely a centimeter deep.

In less than ten seconds, he had crossed the three hundred meters and arrived before Tang Zichen. Only then did she clearly see his appearance. He was not particularly tall, but he looked sturdy. His somewhat youthful face carried a trace of sharpness, while his bright eyes held unwavering resolve.

This was a dangerous man. That was Tang Zichen's first impression, born of instinct. And in this world, no one could match her instincts. Though he carried no Killing Intent and seemed impeccably clean, Tang Zichen could smell a dense scent of blood on him. She possessed that same scent herself; it naturally emerged after one had killed too many people.

After taking a deep look at this youth, who appeared somewhat sunny on the surface, Tang Zichen casually said, "Sir, you've watched me teach my younger brother martial arts for so long. Don't you know that secretly observing others practice is a great taboo?"

"I believe Sect Leader Tang won't hold such a trivial matter against me. Besides, I watched openly and honestly. That shouldn't count as spying, should it?" The youth smiled as he sized Tang Zichen up.

"Hmph. Who exactly are you, and how did you know I would appear here?" Tang Zichen snorted coldly, wisps of Cold Air seeping from her body as she stared at him icily.

"My name is He Heng. I'm nowhere near as famous as Sect Leader Tang, so you've probably never heard of me. As for how I knew Miss Tang would appear here, that isn't important. What's important is what I want to do." The youth smiled meaningfully, and a surging aura erupted from his body as well.

"And what do you want to do?" By now, Tang Zichen held nothing back. She watched He Heng vigilantly, like a lurking beast that could erupt at any moment.

"Naturally, I want to exchange a few moves with Sect Leader Tang!" He Heng laughed loudly. A dense Killing Intent burst forth from him as he bent his right arm and shot a fist toward Tang Zichen.

There had been no warning whatsoever before He Heng attacked. One second, he had been chatting and laughing; the next, his surging fist force had already reached Tang Zichen.

But Tang Zichen seemed to have anticipated it. The moment He Heng punched, she shifted aside and dodged, her figure as nimble as a mountain cat. At the same time, her Left Hand turned into a claw and seized toward He Heng's chest!

He Heng remained calm. He swept his right arm through the air to block Tang Zichen's left arm, then swung his legs in a sweeping kick at her lower body. Tang Zichen leaped sideways, avoiding the sweep. At the same time, she flung a Body-Shedding Hammer at He Heng. Thunder rolled through the air, filled with sharp crackling sounds!

Rather than retreat before this powerful blow, He Heng advanced. He stepped forward like an arrow, the Meridians in his arms bulging as his Blood Qi surged and gathered. He fiercely met Tang Zichen's full-force strike head-on.

Fist met fist with a dull boom, like muffled thunder. Tang Zichen and He Heng were both shaken three steps back by the immense force, and the ground was left in utter disarray by the force they redirected.

This kid has tremendous strength. His Fist Technique realm hasn't reached Dan Force yet, but his brute strength alone doesn't lose to mine in the slightest. Tang Zichen sighed inwardly. Due to her innate physiological limitations, strength had never been her forte. In that head-on clash with He Heng, she had actually suffered a disadvantage. It couldn't be helped—Fist Technique realm was one thing, but true strength could only be determined through battle. Some people were born with divine strength; even if their realm was lacking, they could still fight with astonishing power. Today, she had likely encountered such a person.

While Tang Zichen was marveling at He Heng, she didn't know that He Heng was marveling at her as well. So the Dan Force realm of National Arts really is extraordinary. By gathering all the strength of the body into a single point, her power is actually no less than mine.

Because of this world's nature, internal energy could not be cultivated here. However, the He Family's body-tempering techniques still worked, and the He Family's methods prioritized nourishment above all else. Once the body was properly nurtured, how could one's strength be lacking? Though this body of He Heng's possessed no internal energy, its pure physical qualities far surpassed his body in the Great Heaven World. It was even less comparable to the martial artists here.

Even at the peak of National Arts, gathering the body's full power into one point could only produce roughly a thousand kilograms of force. For someone like Tang Zichen, that was already the limit of a Mortal Body, with little room for further improvement. Beyond that, one needed the nourishment of heaven and earth's spiritual energy to transform the Mortal Body.

But the He Family's techniques could strengthen one's power through flesh and blood without relying on heaven and earth's spiritual energy. At present, He Heng could exert over a thousand kilograms of force with one hand alone. If he achieved Dan Force, embracing the elixir as one and gathering all his body's strength into a single point, he would possess at least three to five tons of force. With such strength, even without attaining the so-called realms of Shatter Void and See God Unbroken, he likely wouldn't fear those at that level at all.

However, because the power of his Blood Qi was so immense, it would be far more difficult for He Heng to embrace the elixir than for ordinary people. Embracing the elixir meant gathering all the Blood Qi of the body into one point, and an excess of Blood Qi naturally made that troublesome. That was why he had come to find Tang Zichen today—to meet the woman with the highest Spiritual Realm in Dragon-Snake Romance and see whether she could help him break through.

"Again!" He Heng looked at Tang Zichen and roared. His Blood Qi churned and howled, creating a Sonic Boom in the air. His feet moved in the steps of the Big Dipper Seven Stars, while his fists balanced hardness and softness, light and hidden force intertwining. They carried the appearance of Tai Chi's birth and destruction, producing the roars of dragons and tigers that shook the Five Viscera and Six Bowels as he attacked her like a violent storm.

"Maoshan Yu Step, Wudang Tai Chi Force, Tianshi Mansion Dragon-Tiger Roar!" Sharp Light flashed in Tang Zichen's eyes. At once, she discerned the foundational path of He Heng's martial arts from his attack. They were all secret teachings never passed down by the Huaxia Daoist Sect.

But she had no time to ponder why the true inheritances of several great Daoist sects had appeared on one person. She hurriedly sent out a blur of fists to meet He Heng's Fierce Onslaught.

Bang! The two figures rapidly intertwined, fists colliding with dull explosive sounds. He Heng's fist force was ferocious, yin and yang united, light and hidden force emerging together—one force breaking ten thousand techniques. Tang Zichen's footwork was agile, and her Fist Technique had reached the utmost pinnacle, devoid of any wasted flourish as she brought the essence of softness to its extreme.

In the midst of the fierce battle, He Heng suddenly changed. His legs rooted themselves like an ancient pine that had stood for a thousand years, while his fist force transformed into a strange crane form. He spread his wings with chilling majesty and sliced horizontally toward Tang Zichen.

This was not martial arts from this world, but a top-tier foundational Fist Technique from the He Family of Great Heaven World... the Pine Crane Longevity Fist!

As its name suggested, it was based on nourishing life and extending longevity, conditioning the body. Yet at the extreme of life lay death, and as a Fist Technique, it naturally possessed a side meant for killing!

Tang Zichen's expression abruptly turned solemn. She sensed a tremendous crisis beneath He Heng's punch, and all her paths of retreat had already been sealed! Thus, she settled into a horse stance, restrained without revealing herself. Her legs rose and fell together as she turned her fist into a spear and thrust fiercely at He Heng's abdomen. This was the pinnacle creation of her Fist Technique—Dragon-Snake Combination!

Boom!

Amid a Sonic Boom, He Heng and Tang Zichen both staggered out of step. Terrifying force struck the ground, sending dust Filling the Sky. Their fists collided as their figures intertwined, their fist forces shifting. He Heng's arm bent, shedding more than half its force, but it still struck Tang Zichen squarely in the chest and shook her Five Viscera and Six Bowels. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Though Tang Zichen's Dragon-Snake Combination had also been deflected by He Heng, it still struck his right arm directly, dislocating it and leaving his right hand half-crippled.

"What an excellent Crane Fist, transforming life and death. Truly shocking." Tang Zichen spat blood, her gaze fixed tightly on He Heng, full of vigilance.

"Sect Leader Tang's Dragon-Snake Combination is truly exquisite, reaching the pinnacle. I admire it greatly. I've gained much from today's battle, so I won't disturb you further!" Facing Tang Zichen's vigilance, He Heng suddenly smiled. Cradling his dislocated right arm with his left hand, he leaped toward the park's exit. Though he had not achieved his wish of embracing the elixir in today's battle, he had gained immensely and understood the direction needed to attain Dan Force. If he continued tangling with Tang Zichen, he might truly kill her. Though He Heng didn't mind being ruthless toward a beautiful woman, then would Wang Wudi still exist in the future? He Heng had great expectations for Wang Chao.

"Dragon-Snake Romance... The Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror truly brought me to this world. Am I really destined to be the protagonist, or is there some conspiracy?" He Heng sighed as though mocking himself, then strode toward the distance beneath the Morning sun.

"He Heng... just who is he?" Tang Zichen clutched her chest, watching his departing back with a complicated expression.

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