Mastering the Dragon Village Three Thousand Sets

"Ha!" "Hah!" "Yah—!"

The clock hand pointed to five. Dawn had arrived. The last wooden dummy in the temple was struck to the ground. Chu Hengkong withdrew his stance, drenched in sweat. Though a faint weariness lingered in his body, his eyes shone with brilliant light.

He had said he would practice three hundred sets, and he had truly fought three hundred wooden dummies. Chu Hengkong had not rested for a single moment throughout the night. The "comprehension" granted by Mutation Hand was nothing short of miraculous, allowing him to learn techniques at an inconceivable pace. These martial arts must have come from an extraordinary lineage. Every move within them was exquisitely crafted, every motion devoid of the slightest useless redundancy. Without the accumulated toil and wisdom of generations of martial artists across long ages, such wondrous techniques could never have been created.

Thus, Chu Hengkong's heart was filled with satisfaction. He was thrilled to have encountered such marvelous skills, and delighted by his own progress. At this moment, he was far stronger than before—not merely by one level. Later, he would need to find time to carefully review his newly learned techniques. But now, he could hardly wait to show off his skills!

Just then, the floor flipped over and the wooden dummies sank down. In their place, a black iron dummy rose up, waving its arms and legs as though eager for a fight. Chu Hengkong froze for a moment, then turned in delighted surprise. "There's more?"

Ji Qiufeng held a small booklet and smiled. "You've finished the three hundred beginner sets. Next come the six hundred elementary sets. There are a bit more of them. Do you need a rest?"

"No need. You can never have too much of a good thing!"

Chu Hengkong took a deep breath, rallied himself, and threw a punch at the iron dummy!

"Ha!!" "Hah!!" "Yah—!!"

By evening, the final iron dummy had fallen beneath a heavy blow. Chu Hengkong braced both hands on his knees and struggled to steady his breathing.

He had really done it. He had learned another six hundred martial arts sets in less than a day. If he told anyone, they would probably think he had gone mad. There were two reasons he had learned so quickly: first, the "comprehension" had yet to fade; second, it had to do with the contents of these new six hundred sets.

The new martial arts were bizarre beyond measure. Most consisted of only a single posture, or even a single movement. Yet those postures and movements often pushed certain muscles and bones to their absolute limits. A few even had to be performed using one's hair and fingernails. If the first three hundred sets were streamlined, vicious killing arts, then these latter six hundred were like military boxing from another world... except military boxing dismantled down to the level of individual strands of hair...

Even with Chu Hengkong's wealth of experience, he could not figure out for the moment how these stances were supposed to be used in real combat. Still, he had learned them. Whether they were useful could wait until later. Right now, his stomach was growling with hunger, his mind was sinking into sleepiness, and all he wanted was to eat his fill, sleep, then show off his skills again...

At that moment, Jie An came running over with plates and bowls. When he lifted the covers, an enticing aroma rushed into Chu Hengkong's face: braised goose, stewed fish soup, roast duck filled with broth, tender greens cooked in rich stock. A large bowl of rice porridge held medicinal roots and boneless fish slices, with two poached eggs cracked into it, gleaming golden. Beside the assorted sauces and side dishes were slices of sausage.

Since coming here, this was the first time he had seen pork! Chu Hengkong grabbed his chopsticks and dug in ravenously, deeply moved. "This is too extravagant..."

Jie An handed him a cup of tea fragrant with medicinal herbs, his expression grave. "Stop talking and eat quickly. If you don't eat now, you won't get another chance!"

"?"

Chu Hengkong had just stuffed a duck leg into his mouth when he saw the iron dummy flip beneath the floor. Another gleaming golden bronze dummy rotated up. Ji Qiufeng walked to its side and burst out laughing.

"Not bad, not bad. You've got real comprehension! I'll give you ten minutes to finish lunch. Next, you'll learn the fifteen hundred sets in the Analysis Section."

Chu Hengkong stared blankly. "I'll learn them tomorrow..."

"Don't even think about it." Ji Qiufeng's smile became ever more genial. "The hidden mystery of Mutation Hand lasts for its first three days, when your comprehension is at its strongest. Not a second can be wasted. Eat up! Then practice!"

Chu Hengkong wanted to dash out the door, only to discover that Youyou had already planted herself at the exit and blocked the way. He hurriedly lowered his head and ate for his life. Ji Qiufeng was absolutely serious—if he had not finished in ten minutes, the man might come over and snatch his bowl away!

"Ha..." "Hah..." "Yah..."

Who knew how much time had passed? The last bronze dummy had yet to fall, but Chu Hengkong had already collapsed on the floor. His head spun, stars danced before his eyes. There were not truly fifteen hundred bronze dummies beneath the temple, but each one could use at least several dozen moves. And those moves did not possess the slightest practical combat value. One particular move demanded that the muscles in the palm twitch five times within a second, producing the effect of rapidly hooking the little finger. After mastering it, Chu Hengkong stared at it for ten seconds and decided that its likely purpose was picking one's nose at high speed. There were even moves for training the pelvis, the cochlea, and even stimulating the cerebral cortex...

These fifteen hundred sets could be called martial arts anatomy for a new era—meticulous down to the tiniest detail, but useless as crap. He had wanted to stop practicing long ago, but that damned comprehension meant he understood everything at a glance... At this point, Chu Hengkong no longer cared about threats. He simply lay down and began gasping for breath. Ji Huaishu crouched nearby, her face full of sympathy.

"The total has already reached fourteen hundred. Impressive, impressive," she said. "Back then, I was completely done for at thirteen hundred. I couldn't understand anything after that. I didn't have your talent~"

Chu Hengkong was so winded he could barely speak. "How... many... more?"

Ji Huaishu pretended to wipe at the corner of her eye. "Three thousand sets in total."

"Three thousand?!" Chu Hengkong nearly popped his eyes out.

"The three thousand sets of Dragon Village Boxing are an immortal classic compiled by the martial arts ancestor of the Sinking Motion Realm, the Misty Lord of Fate. They are required reading for martial arts beginners of every race." Ji Qiufeng opened the booklet and recited in a sonorous cadence, "As the saying goes: 'Master the Dragon Village Three Thousand Sets, and though you may not understand the martial path, you will still grasp martial arts.' Only by practicing all three thousand sets until they sink into your bones will you have a bright future ahead."

Chu Hengkong's voice was weak. "But this stuff isn't practical... Look, that dummy's even wagging its tail!"

A long tail had grown from behind the bronze dummy, wagging furiously. It looked like some practical motion used by a tailed race when relieving itself. Ji Qiufeng's smile faded, and Sha Qi seeped from between his brows. "Make up for it with your imagination! Less nonsense. Practice!"

Chu Hengkong let out a miserable howl, got up, gritted his teeth, and continued. Youyou leaned over to glance at the contents of Ji Qiufeng's booklet, then whispered, "Aren't you pushing him a little too hard?"

"How is this pulling up seedlings to help them grow? This is fertilizing the seedling." Ji Qiufeng grinned happily.

That little booklet was the complete table of contents for Three Thousand Sets. Beside each section was even a thoughtful note indicating its recommended cultivation stage: "First Three Days," "As Easy as Moving an Arm," "First Understanding of Will and Spirit"... all the way to the final "Refining Technique and Condensing Intent," divided into ten sections in total.

Three Thousand Sets truly was a secret manual every martial artist had to study. But when the old Misty Lord of Fate had compiled it, he had intended for newcomers to practice step by step from Mutation Hand all the way to Point 2. The three hundred sets marked "First Three Days" had already been completed the previous night. Everything left was material meant to be learned over the course of years. This could no longer be called cramming a duck—it was stuffing the duck until it burst.

"Geniuses have genius training methods. Lay down a solid foundation early, and you'll find it easier to develop your own moves later." Ji Qiufeng snapped the booklet shut and shouted, "No slacking! Practice!"

"Urgh..." "Hiss..." "Blech..."

Eat, practice martial arts, briefly close his eyes, then repeat. He had long since lost track of how much time had passed. In the end, even the bronze dummies had run out, and Ji Qiufeng personally took the booklet and stepped in to demonstrate, combining theory with practice—reading from the book, then immediately fighting.

His mind was a muddled haze, yet not a single memory had slipped away. Chu Hengkong discovered sorrowfully that this was how tormenting "good comprehension" could be. Even when all his energy, vitality, and concentration were gone, if he dragged himself through a move a few times, he could still learn it. By the end, the moves were practically forcing their way into his brain. This was not merely swimming in an ocean of knowledge—it was being ravaged and humiliated by that ocean of knowledge!

Still, he had to admit that these three thousand sets truly had substance. Some routines seemed to require limbs he did not possess, yet their essence could be perfectly recreated through imitation with his own body. The moves and memories could no longer be forgotten, as though they had been branded into his muscles and fused into his blood and bones.

"...Finished."

Without his realizing it, the voice of instruction had stopped. Chu Hengkong stared blankly at the ceiling. That abundant "comprehension" had finally dissipated, and for a moment, he actually felt slow-witted and foolish. Yet even that foolishness was something to be grateful for now. He opened his mouth to speak, but strange sounds came out instead. "Wah-oo ah-goo ah-bah."

Chu Hengkong covered his mouth. When he opened it, he had controlled every muscle individually. As a result, even speaking had become manual transmission. He stood up stiffly like a robot, his movements numb and his gaze dazed. Every step he took looked like performance art.

"Ruined from practicin'." Chu Hengkong flopped to the floor with a thud.

"You learned them!" Ji Qiufeng corrected. "Walk around for a few minutes and you'll adapt. Go rest."

He mumbled out his thanks, then rolled and crawled from the temple, using his head to push against the floor as he turned into the elevator. Once downstairs, he finally regained a little sense of himself. Lying on his back, he wriggled forward with his back muscles, then rolled halfway over and began crawling up the wall.

The team members watched, dumbfounded, as this bizarre creature crawled out of the elevator and into the hall. Their eyeballs practically clattered to the floor.

"What evil spirit possessed you?!" "Brother Chu, are you okay?" "Is that Octopus Divine Art?"

"Don't talk." Chu Hengkong's voice was slurred. "I'm recovering."

So everyone fell silent and watched Detective Chu crawl all the way onto the ceiling, then flip over and land on all fours like a toad. At that moment, the police light above the hall reception desk flashed, and an alarm from a patrol member came through. "Someone is deliberately causing trouble at 24 Hidden Spring Street. Both targets are carrying relics..."

"Received." Chu Hengkong flicked out a tentacle and curled the communicator into his grasp. "I'm going!"

He scrambled out of the hall at high speed with hands and feet alike. The team members behind him panicked. "Brother Chu! Your hands! Your hands are still crawling!"

"Oh, oh!" Chu Hengkong immediately flipped upright, then raced out on his right hand and tentacle in a handstand. The team members behind him grew even more frantic. "Wrong way! You're going the wrong way!!"

Unfortunately, their words could no longer reach him. Chu Hengkong was as fast as a whirlwind. Though he was clearly running upside down, he was more than twice as fast as before. As he ran, he touched both hands to the ground and actually launched himself into the air, springing up like a flea.

Chu Hengkong traced a graceful arc over the street. In the blink of an eye, he pushed off a lamppost and leapt onto the roof of a high-rise. Citizens raised their heads and gaped at the sky. Someone sighed, "Detective Chu's divine skills are unmatched!"

At 24 Hidden Spring Street, before an abandoned building, two burly men were screaming abuse at a bloodied construction crew. One team member stood nearby trying to mediate, to little effect. "This is a public area under government jurisdiction..." "Bullshit! This is my family property, passed down from my ancestors." "The two of you have illegally occupied public property for a month! If this continues, we'll issue an administrative warning." "The City Lord's Manor is robbing ordinary folk! Common people have no way to live!"

The two burly men wailed to the heavens and cried to the earth, utterly ignoring the fact that they had just seriously injured innocent construction workers. Lü Xing, who was on patrol, was both furious and anxious. Furious because the two had never been active around this abandoned building before, clearly meaning to obstruct construction deliberately. Anxious because this renovation project was of great importance and had to be implemented as soon as possible. Yet the two were carrying relics, making them difficult to handle...

Just as he was fretting, a green figure fell from the sky. Chu Hengkong landed with his back to the troublemakers, his eyes vacant and his face gray with dust, looking as though he had spent ten years running himself ragged outside. His voice was slow and hoarse. "What... happened?"

"Detective Chu..." Lü Xing raised a hand in delighted surprise, but his expression suddenly changed. "Detective, watch out!!"

Behind Chu Hengkong, two shadows abruptly swelled. The troublemaking brutes suddenly transformed. One became fat and bloated as a pig, both hands turning into dark-red beast claws. The other's muscles bulged as sharp steel teeth grew all over his body. Their vile, arrogant expressions vanished, leaving only icy killing intent in their eyes. Wielding a long staff and a dagger, they sprang forward. Their two relic weapons stabbed toward Chu Hengkong's head and heart!

A chill ran through Lü Xing. He realized that the two men not only carried relic weapons, but were also demon-possessed. They were assassins who had come specifically for Chu Hengkong. Not even the detective could possibly handle such a certain death situation alone!

In his desperation, he lunged forward, hoping to help Chu Hengkong however he could. But then he saw that Chu Hengkong had not moved a single step. The silver tentacle flicked up behind him, cracking through the air like a whip.

Crack!

The demon-possessed men froze. The light in their eyes seemed to have been swept away by that single lash. Their eyes rolled white, and they fell like dead fish. Two phantom demon figures immediately shot out of them. Dust burst up as the hulking men hit the ground, their bodies returning to normal. A silver whip mark was clearly visible across their chests and abdomens.

The team members could not close their mouths. One diligent young man went over to check them, then cried out in utter admiration, "They've lost consciousness!"

Lü Xing hastily stopped himself, still instinctively finishing his unfinished sentence. "They came for you..."

"Good. Means I've made a name for myself." Chu Hengkong said indistinctly. "How much are these two worth?"

After identifying them for a while, the team members said awkwardly, "They seem to be new criminals..." "There hasn't been time to put a bounty on them yet."

"Unbelievable." Chu Hengkong waved a hand. "Charge them with attempted murder. I'm going home to sleep."

Chu Hengkong walked away. The others looked at one another, their faces full of delighted astonishment.

They had all worked for several years and knew the standards for setting bounty amounts. Demon-possessed people with relic weapons started at no less than one hundred thousand Flow Pearls, like Hugos. Such enemies were too difficult to deal with. Normally, aside from Captain Huaisu, the others could not even stall for time. Yet two such people had been instantly defeated in a single move...

When had Detective Chu become this strong?