Breakthrough

After fully charging up, Zhang Shuai began practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist again. This time, he linked all seventy-two forms together. The entire set roared with power, his body like a swimming dragon, his fists like rushing thunder.

A series of crisp crackling sounds, like beans popping in a pan, rang out—it was the sharp cracking of Zhang Shuai's bones as he practiced.

The wind from Zhang Shuai's fists periodically produced deep booms in the air, like muffled thunder. The sight was exceptionally startling.

Zhang Shuai was somewhat astonished. It seemed the Big Dipper martial art released by the Dragon Kingdom government was far from simple. It might truly be an internal martial art from Dragon Kingdom legend, one capable of cultivating miraculous inner power.

But how could the government so readily release such a precious internal martial art to the entire population?

Were they not afraid that other countries would steal the Dragon Kingdom's martial arts heritage? Dragon Kingdom kung fu was renowned across all of Blue Star, and many foreigners coveted it. An internal martial art tied to such an important cultural inheritance should never have been allowed to be learned by other nations.

Still, the doubt merely flashed through Zhang Shuai's mind. Decisions made by those at the top were not something a lowly member of society like him needed to worry about.

For the next three days, Zhang Shuai kept practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist here. His weight dropped from seventy-five kilograms to seventy. With his current figure, he no longer needed to fear being called fat when walking down the street.

However, he had lost weight far too fiercely these past few days. If he ran into Wang Qiang now, Wang Qiang might not recognize him unless he spoke.

Late one afternoon, as evening approached, Zhang Shuai was completely absorbed in his practice, throwing a set of Big Dipper Long Fist with roaring force. His bones crackled like frying beans, and the longer he fought, the more energized he became. He felt as if he had inexhaustible strength throughout his body when, all at once, a surge of heat rose from the soles of his feet and shot straight toward his head.

In an instant, Zhang Shuai felt the world spin. His head swam, his heart pounded wildly, as though it were about to leap out of his chest.

Had he practiced too hard, causing his body to exceed its limits and suffer a backlash?

The next moment, Zhang Shuai's vision suddenly went black, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

Only after quite a while did Zhang Shuai slowly come around and regain consciousness.

Sitting up from the ground, Zhang Shuai suddenly discovered that his body had undergone a miraculous change. The world before his eyes seemed to come alive, utterly different from how he had seen it before.

His eyes had become incomparably sharp. He could see everything hundreds of meters away with perfect clarity.

The cicadas in trees hundreds of meters away and the insects in the grass were all visible to him down to the finest detail.

Looking into the distance, Zhang Shuai could even clearly see a train speeding along the railway several miles away. Inside one of its carriages, a Little Boy sat by the window watching the scenery flash past outside. Zhang Shuai could even make out the Doraemon-patterned short-sleeved shirt the Little Boy was wearing.

Not only had his vision improved, but Zhang Shuai's hearing had also become extraordinarily sharp. Every rustle of wind and grass within a hundred meters entered his ears with crystal clarity.

The chirping of cicadas, the croaking of frogs in the distance, the sounds of insects hunting, and the flutter of wings from all kinds of birds passing overhead—so long as there was the slightest movement, Zhang Shuai could immediately identify its location.

What astonished Zhang Shuai even more was that his sense of smell had also become incredibly sharp. The stench of sweat on his body, the scent of grass beneath his feet, the smell of earth, the odor of rotting tree roots nearby—everything was so distinct.

Yet this strange vision, hearing, and smell were merely a flash in the pan. His body soon returned to normal.

Zhang Shuai was somewhat puzzled. Had those miraculous abilities just been an illusion?

However, when he focused his attention and deliberately watched and listened, that astounding vision and hearing appeared in him once more.

Zhang Shuai was overjoyed. It seemed he could control this miraculous ability at will!

What did this change represent? Could it be that his Big Dipper Long Fist had broken through its shackles and reached an exceptionally profound realm?

If so, then he counted as a martial arts master now, didn't he?

Zhang Shuai picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground, placed it in his palm, and exerted a little force.

Very quickly, the stone was easily crushed into powder in his hand.

Zhang Shuai was ecstatic. With strength like this in his hands, would he still have to fear being unable to make money? Even if he entered boxing matches, he could surely earn until his bowls overflowed and his bags bulged.

Who would have thought that the Big Dipper Long Fist released by the government would be so miraculous? If that was the case, the Dragon Kingdom would embark on the path of nationwide martial arts practice in the future. Then the rumor that everyone in the Dragon Kingdom knew kung fu would become firmly established in the understanding of every country in the world.

Yet Zhang Shuai still had one question in his heart. He had practiced the Big Dipper Long Fist for less than ten days and already experienced such miraculous changes, while the Dragon Kingdom government had released it more than three months ago. Why had he not seen any online news or videos of people becoming martial arts masters through practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist?

Was it because others lacked his talent for cultivation and had not yet reached his level?

Or were those who had become experts through practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist all keeping a low profile and not publicizing it?

The Dragon Kingdom was the only great nation on Blue Star with thousands of years of cultural history and an inheritance that had never been severed. In such a vast and mighty nation, talent abounded. There should be plenty of people gifted in martial arts. There was no way he alone had become an expert through practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist!

There were only two possibilities: either all the experts were deliberately keeping a low profile and had not revealed themselves to the outside world, or it had something to do with the miraculous changes in Zhang Shuai's body!

This world probably had only one person who needed to replenish energy by charging himself, didn't it?

It was still too early to draw a conclusion. Zhang Shuai did not dwell on it. No matter what, he still had to continue practicing his fist techniques and do his utmost to improve his strength, practicing until he reached the next bottleneck.

So Zhang Shuai remained there for another day. Before long, he discovered that practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist no longer had the effect of cleansing his marrow and opening his meridians. After practicing for an entire day, he had barely expended any energy and did not need to charge himself. He had not even sweated a single drop, and his weight remained at seventy kilograms without dropping further.

Without a doubt, his Big Dipper Long Fist had reached a bottleneck.

Since that was the case, Zhang Shuai decided to go home.

Before returning home, Zhang Shuai went to the reservoir and took a thorough bath, changed into clean clothes, and then began charging himself to replenish his energy. To his surprise, this charge took Zhang Shuai a full eight hours.

Zhang Shuai was rather astonished. It seemed that as his body changed, the amount of electricity it could store had increased greatly, multiplying several times over from before.

To put it simply, he had previously been like a three-thousand-milliamp battery, but now he had suddenly upgraded to twenty thousand milliamps. That meant longer standby time and longer battery life.

Zhang Shuai packed up his tent, tools, clothes, and toiletries, then mounted his electric scooter and set off on the journey home.

On the way back, Zhang Shuai was in an incomparably cheerful mood. He was twenty-five this year, with no money, no car, no house, and no girlfriend, but he believed that he would soon have all of it.

With the abilities he now possessed, he was confident that he could make money one way or another. He definitely was not going to keep working as an electrician—it had no future and earned hardly any money. As for exactly what he would do, that required careful consideration.