Learning Instinct, Overbearing Brother B!

"Force originates from the hips, power issues from the waist, qi flows into the arms, and momentum reaches the blade's edge."

"A weapon is an extension of the body. Only when trained to the point of Weapon as Extension of Body, Force Through Blood and Qi, and Intent Controls Whole Body can one glimpse the marvel of 'Man-Machine Integration' in martial arts."

Inside the Training Ground.

Cheng Ye strode back and forth like the wind, reciting the incantations Liu Bi had taught him while practicing phantom slashes.

Unfortunately, Liu Bi's imposing sword techniques, in his hands, aside from slightly larger movements, felt like chopping vegetables for cooking.

Soft and weak, with no power transmitted.

Thump.

The short blade struck the Ironwood Dummy, bouncing off to the side, leaving an almost imperceptible nick.

"Modern people's courage and killer instinct have long been smoothed over by civilized education. I have to watch half a day of short videos to learn before I dare kill a chicken. As for wielding a blade to attack someone..."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but shake his head. "If I relied solely on self-study, without brute force, I'm afraid even after half a year or a year, I wouldn't have the confidence to deal with Common Infected."

"But fortunately, I have other options."

Cheng Ye put away his short blade and walked to a corner, opening his panel with a thought.

[Collector: Cheng Ye]

[Current Rank: lv.1 Apprentice]

[Life Level: 0]

[Skills: Empty, Empty, Empty (Equippable: Beast Intuition, Basic Strength)]

"Equip, Basic Strength!"

A thought flashed.

Buzz.

Cheng Ye felt as if his mind had been hammered, stars exploding before his eyes, his temples throbbing.

It was as if an invisible pair of hands had lifted the top of his skull and forcibly crammed in a piece of memory that didn't belong to him.

Chopping, thrusting, upward slash.

In his hazy sea of consciousness, a dark-skinned man wielded a long blade, swinging it repeatedly. His movements were clumsy but carried a fierce, unconventional energy.

It felt like an instant, yet it also felt like a month, a year, several years!

When Cheng Ye snapped back to his senses, the man before him had vanished, leaving only the short blade in his hand, slightly raised.

"This feeling..."

Cheng Ye subconsciously swung his short saber lightly. Although his movements were still stiff and awkward, the way he applied force had changed drastically from before.

From the hips, to the waist, to the arms, and then to the weapon!

The line of force he had imagined countless times was finally connected. Cheng Ye felt as if every swing of the saber was like taking a step while running, becoming more powerful and more skilled!

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"

"This is how you apply force with a saber strike. It's not a simple downward chop, but using the hips to drive the waist, and the waist to lift the arms, turning the entire body into a lever to create a force like a heavy hammer striking down."

Liu Bi had taught him three moves in total.

Downward chop, thrust, and upward slash.

Each move was a killing blow from the moment it was executed. Cheng Ye had initially thought these three moves lacked power, but now, with the muscle memory granted by the skill, they were truly imbued with killing intent.

Bang.

The short saber struck the wooden dummy heavily, sparks flying.

Cheng Ye looked down, his pupils contracting. This strike had indeed far exceeded his expectations, leaving a notch a full two centimeters deep. It had already slightly surpassed the minimum requirement for close-quarters combat for the Checkpoint's field agents.

"Unfortunately, my technique is sufficient now, but my physical condition has become the bottleneck."

"If I had Brother B's strength, the power of this strike could at least be increased to five centimeters. Even six centimeters."

After making his assessment, Cheng Ye began to try another skill.

However, before that, he chose to uninstall Basic Strength from his skill panel first.

The tidal wave of muscle memory rapidly receded. The short saber, which he had been wielding with increasing proficiency just moments ago, became awkward to swing again.

The smooth, flowing movements and force application between the three saber techniques also disappeared along with it.

Thud.

He feigned a downward chop and struck the Ironwood Dummy.

Cheng Ye retracted his saber and observed carefully. Just as he had expected, the initial strike had left only barely visible shallow marks, while this one had a distinct chopping mark, about seven to eight millimeters deep.

"If this is the case, then three skill slots are more than enough for me in the early game!"

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, feeling quite pleased.

The equipping of the skill had not only brought him experience in applying force but also the corresponding muscle memory.

After uninstalling the skill, the muscle memory disappeared, but the experience in applying force was completely retained.

To put it more directly.

Equipping a skill is like a Master transmitting merit, allowing one to instantly gain a very high Realm and matching Inner Force.

After uninstalling a skill, the Inner Force is withdrawn, but the Realm, Enlightenment, and other aspects are retained.

"I already have sufficient Realm, I know how to train, how to exert strength, and I can equip skills at any time to find the blind spots in my practice. This is simply more awesome than a Martial Arts Master teaching hand-in-hand."

Cheng Ye was immersed in joy.

While Liu Bi was indeed a top-notch fighter when it came to combat, he was terrible at teaching.

He would just say "learn anger" and "abandon reason."

It was only because of his strong learning and imitation abilities that he wasn't discovered to have a genetic difference.

"That's not right. Isn't this Soul Transmigration? Logically, I should have the mind of a modern person and the combat power of a Wastelander."

Cheng Ye pondered, attributing the reason to his Previous Body's genes possibly being incompatible with this era. Otherwise, Cheng Long wouldn't have sent his son to be raised within the High Wall so early, not even imparting a single combat technique.

He re-equipped Basic Strength, and the familiar Muscle Memory returned.

This time, Cheng Ye only trembled slightly before fully re-integrating all the Muscle Memory into his body.

"It seems that the first time equipping a skill must be done in an absolutely safe environment. After equipping it once, re-equipping has much less impact."

Cheng Ye kept this in mind and quickly clicked to equip Beast Intuition.

"Hmm?"

He had prepared himself for an impact of memories, but after a few seconds, Cheng Ye couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Strange, why isn't there any feeling at all?

He uninstalled and re-equipped it, but still felt no difference from before.

"Could it be a Passive Skill?"

Cheng Ye frowned and pondered.

Just then, the Defense Communicator on the ground beside him rang.

[Liu Bi: I'm at the door, come out for dinner]

To feel the changes brought by the skills, Cheng Ye had come straight to the Training Ground after clocking out, without even eating.

He hadn't felt it while focusing on his Slash, but now, upon seeing the message, he realized he was somewhat Ravenous, as if he hadn't eaten for days.

"It should be the newly added Muscle Memory, it consumed a lot of energy."

Cheng Ye slotted the Training Dagger into the Groove of the Knife Rack and quickly walked towards the exit. From afar, he saw Liu Bi waving at him from their usual spot, holding a bag.

"Brother B, did you strike it rich? Didn't you say you were just bringing me some Nutrient Paste?"

Cheng Ye took the bag and opened it, instantly stunned.

Inside were two full bags of Synthetic Dried Meat and three palm-sized Lye Buns.

Even though the edges of the buns had some Mold Spots, in this current Wasteland era, in Xingfu City, and even within the Inner City, these were rare delicacies!

"The dried meat is Garcia's compensation to you. The buns are from Old Ding," Liu Bi replied sullenly.

As soon as he spoke, Cheng Ye noticed that Liu Bi's mood seemed off today. Despite forcing a smile, a shadow of gloom still lingered in the corners of his eyes.

"What happened?"

"I beat Garcia up and hung him. He's still in the Infirmary getting emergency treatment," Liu Bi said calmly, as if recounting something completely unrelated to himself. Cheng Ye's eyelids twitched.

Dude, you beat the guy to the point of needing emergency treatment, but you sound like he beat you up?

Wait, why did you beat up Garcia? Because I paid him 5 Contribution Points for the person?

That can't be it, right?

"Hold on. It's not because of me, is it?"

"It's partly related, but not entirely because of you," Liu Bi shook his head slightly. "The transfer of Inspectors is within the tacit rules. But that old geezer decided to act up right at the end of his shift, telling everyone that you, a brat who hasn't even grown all his hair, used my name to threaten him. He even spouted nonsense about the East Faction having no capable people. It's laughable."

"Not to mention Brother Long saved Garcia's father's life on a mission back in the day. Just look at how the East and West Factions are at each other's throats now, he shouldn't have jumped out to be the first bird."

"Did Old Ding tell you to make a move?" Cheng Ye was starting to understand, his brows gradually furrowing.

His good mood from his recent strength increase suddenly turned calm.

Logically, this should have been a minor issue, but with the internal conflict between the East and West Factions, everyone had become a pawn for Ding Yishan and Halin.

The East Faction was at a disadvantage. If his card wasn't as strong as Garcia's, and his standing fell, Ding Yishan would naturally play a bigger card to regain the initiative.

"Let's not talk about this. Eat your food, and after you're done, get back to training. No amount of schemes or tricks is more important than raw strength," Liu Bi waved his hand.

The two squatted beside the Bus Stop. Cheng Ye ate quickly, finishing two bags of dried meat in no time. He then ate two slices of the rock-hard Lye Buns before stopping.

"Scholars are poor, warriors are rich." Without sufficient energy replenishment, the body will only become weaker the more it's trained.

"Your appetite has grown so much. It seems the training during this period has been very effective."

Liu Bi was somewhat surprised, but what surprised him even more was Cheng Ye's performance after entering the training ground.

Let's not mention marksmanship training for now; it's a slow process. Even a sharpshooter needs a large number of bullets to be forged.

Close Combat: Yesterday, Cheng Ye was on offense and Liu Bi on defense. Today, the roles were reversed, with Liu Bi on offense and Cheng Ye on defense.

"Here I come!"

Liu Bi shouted loudly, his momentum strong, but in reality, he only condensed a fraction of his strength in his punching arm.

Thud.

A dull impact sound rang out. Cheng Ye took the blow head-on with his elbow, using the momentum to drop his shoulder and elbow, his entire arm whipping down like a whip.

"Brave!" Liu Bi's pupils contracted slightly. He didn't dodge or evade, using his forearm to take the hit and feel the force.

Crack!

Cheng Ye's whip-like punch landed on his dark skin, leaving a slight red mark.

Although his hardened bones blocked most of the impact, the residual force pierced his ulnar nerve like a fine needle, causing him pain.

Finally, some strength!

Liu Bi squinted slightly. The previous two days, Cheng Ye couldn't even break his guard, but today he was causing him some pain.

Such a huge improvement couldn't be described as merely surprising; it was downright shocking.

"Get ready, I'm going to get serious!"

As he spoke, Liu Bi only increased his strength from one part to two parts.

It didn't sound like much, but it was a twofold increase, instantly putting immense pressure on Cheng Ye.

"Brother B has been through life and death for over twenty years, eliminating infected far exceeding five digits. He's too strong."

"But I'm not weak today either!"

Chop, smash, block, swing – the methods of force application from Basic Strength were demonstrated through his fists and arms.

A beast-like aura erupted from Cheng Ye.

Liu Bi was inwardly startled, and the strength in his hands unconsciously increased by half a part, half a part, half a part.

Crack.

Cheng Ye flew out, smashing hard into the Ironwood Dummy, almost spitting out the jerky he'd just eaten.

"Holy crap!"

Liu Bi's face changed drastically. He shot forward like an arrow, catching Cheng Ye.

He didn't know why, but he'd suddenly felt like he was facing a mutated beast, and in a moment of distraction, he'd unconsciously increased his strength to forty percent!

The power of this punch was equivalent to twenty years of training for an ordinary person. How could Cheng Ye possibly block it?

"Brother B. You have to dock this sparring partner's pay!"

Cheng Ye gagged twice, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Only after suppressing the surge of blood in his chest did he manage to grumble.

He had to admit, that punch felt like hitting the jackpot on the highway. He was sent flying without any chance to fight back.

What technique, what power application, what Beast Intuition.

No, it should be more like Beast Mode.

Cheng Ye recalled his state just now. After the first exchange, he felt as if he were possessed. His offense and defense were exactly as Liu Bi had said earlier – he stopped thinking carefully and relied entirely on instinct and intuition.

"My bad, my bad."

Liu Bi apologized repeatedly, but his eyes were full of surprise, completely devoid of his earlier gloom. He chuckled happily, "Brother Long really tricked me again. Your talent is definitely above mine!"

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