Testing New Abilities

After climbing down from Azure Dragon, Lin Hai dealt with Village Chief Old Chen, whose favorability toward him seemed to have already maxed out, only to find himself surrounded by the enthusiastic villagers of Ta Lo Village.

These simple villagers eagerly competed to touch the "Divine Dragon's envoy." Some even knelt and bowed directly, forcing Lin Hai to bend down and help them up again and again. It was not until lunchtime, after repeated persuasion from Old Chen and Lin Hai, that the villagers finally dispersed reluctantly.

During lunch with the villagers, Lin Hai was seated at the place of honor, with Ta Lo Village's specialty dishes spread before him. The villagers occasionally cast reverent glances his way, leaving him both touched and somewhat at a loss.

After the meal, Lin Hai finally got some time alone. He eagerly headed to the training ground not far from Old Chen's residence and began studying the changes brought about by obtaining the Divine Dragon Heart.

Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the ancient locust tree in the training ground, casting mottled shadows across the stone slabs. Lin Hai sat cross-legged within those inconspicuous patches of light and shadow, his eyes closed as he sensed the new energy flowing through his body.

First, Lin Hai could sense Azure Dragon's emotions. He could clearly feel that Azure Dragon was resting in a distant lake, and he could even experience that lazy, contented mood. This unprecedented mental connection left Lin Hai both delighted and fascinated.

Second, Lin Hai truly had not noticed any obvious changes in himself. But he soon remembered that some Ta Lo Village villagers, after obtaining what they called the Divine Dragon Heart, could use natural magic—such as the water magic and wind magic shown in the movie. If that was the case, could he do it too?

Lin Hai took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and assumed the Tai Chi opening stance he knew best.

Whenever he practiced Tai Chi before, he relied on its techniques and the meditative state he entered while practicing to cultivate the energy within his body. It was not as if he had never tried releasing that energy outward, attempting moves like Kamehameha, Hadouken, Great Fireball, air blasts, and other techniques that required energy projection.

But unfortunately, he had been unable to do it when he had first gained his powers. Even after his abilities evolved following the incident with Ego's Flower Bud, he still could not do it. Every time, he would strain until his face turned red, yet not even a trace of energy would leave his body.

But this time was different. He had a feeling that he should succeed. Besides, the movie clearly showed Ta Lo villagers attacking with energy projection techniques, so Lin Hai was very confident this time.

But he soon had no room for such thoughts. As Lin Hai calmed his mind and assumed a Tai Chi stance, his thoughts gradually emptied. At that moment, there was no Divine Dragon Heart in his mind, no natural magic, and no flashy techniques born of energy projection. There was only Tai Chi—only the Tai Chi he had practiced countless times.

And as the Life Force within Lin Hai, now mixed with Dragon God's Power, was guided by the Tai Chi movements as usual, what Lin Hai could not see was that the fallen leaves around him had begun to dance along with his motions.

Leaves of golden yellow, dark brown, and deep green seemed to be drawn by invisible threads. At times they spiraled lightly like butterflies, and at times they flowed around him like a stream. When this unprecedented sensation pulled Lin Hai out of his meditative state, he was astonished to find himself standing in a wondrous space formed by swirling fallen leaves. But Lin Hai did not stop. He chose to move as his heart guided him, doing as he pleased.

After finishing one round, Lin Hai slowly withdrew his stance and exhaled a breath of stale air. The fallen leaves around him also slowly drifted back to the ground. Though it was not energy projection in the true sense, it was already a huge improvement over when he could only manipulate plants.

As Lin Hai savored the feeling, several unforgettable scenes surfaced from his memories—scenes from the kung fu film Tai Chi Master, starring Kung Fu Li as Zhang Junbao, after Zhang Junbao learned Tai Chi, accompanied by the background song Follow Fate.

The first was when Zhang Junbao drew intersecting circles with both hands inside a water vat filled to the brim. When the water formed a vortex, he shook his hands, causing the vat to shatter as the water surged outward in every direction. Many people had tried recreating this classic scene at home using water vats or washbasins, and quite a few had probably been beaten by their parents for it.

The second was Zhang Junbao practicing Tai Chi in a forest, eventually gathering all the fallen leaves around him into a ball. That ball of leaves danced with Zhang Junbao's movements and exploded when he withdrew his stance. At that moment, the grass beneath Zhang Junbao's feet formed a perfect circle, while the fallen leaves landed outside it, signifying that Zhang Junbao's Tai Chi had reached perfection.

Lin Hai possessed Life Force and knew Tai Chi. It would be a shame not to pay tribute to it. He could not exactly destroy a water vat, but fallen leaves were everywhere. Let's do this! This is how I play... Wrong channel~

When Lin Hai began the second round, he did not sink into a meditative state. Unlike before, he deliberately guided the power that now contained the attributes of Dragon God's Power from his dantian to both hands. When he unfolded his moves, a strange phenomenon occurred once more—

The fallen leaves within thirty feet of him moved without wind, slowly rising into the air along the path of his palms. A dead leaf brushed past his fingertip, yet it circled his wrist three times as though supported by an invisible hand before floating down.

As he continued practicing the Tai Chi movements, his hands emitted an emerald glow, and the fallen leaves on the ground gradually began gathering according to Lin Hai's will.

"It really works!" Lin Hai suppressed his excitement and continued practicing Grasp Sparrow's Tail. More fallen leaves joined the dance, forming a green vortex around him. Most astonishingly, when he performed White Crane Spreads Its Wings, several leaves that still looked emerald green suddenly accelerated and embedded themselves in a tree trunk ten feet away like flying knives, sinking three inches deep.

This was also one of the abilities possessed by the Ta Lo warriors in the movie—Qi Manipulation.

Lin Hai quickened his movements. The fallen leaves on the ground began gathering along more precise and faster trajectories, soon forming a ball of leaves just like the one Zhang Junbao had created in the movie.

This level of fine control far exceeded what the movie had depicted. Lin Hai realized that the rounded, harmonious essence of Tai Chi had produced a chemical reaction with the agile nature of Dragon God's Power.

Having fulfilled a childhood dream from his previous life, Lin Hai felt utterly at peace and could not help letting out a long laugh as he prepared to scatter the leaf ball in his hands.

"Scatter!"

With a sharp shout, Lin Hai spread his hands, and the entire ball of leaves exploded. Yet the leaves did not fly everywhere chaotically. Instead, they landed precisely outside a circle with a two-meter radius centered on Lin Hai, forming a perfect ring. Even more remarkably, the dust on the stone slabs within the circle had been swept by the air current into the pattern of a Tai Chi yin-yang symbol.

After successfully controlling the fallen leaves, Lin Hai's confidence soared. He began trying to release the energy within his body directly and form a tangible attack. Standing in the open space, he took a deep breath and slowly raised both hands. Following Tai Chi's method of exerting force, he tried to gather the energy inside his body into his palms before suddenly thrusting them forward—

However, the expected energy blast did not appear.

"Strange..." Lin Hai frowned and tried several more times, but no matter how he adjusted his breathing or changed the way he exerted force, the energy in his body could only cling to his surface and could not truly leave his body to attack.

"Could it be that my method is wrong?" He scratched his head in frustration. Logically, since he could manipulate external objects, launching an energy attack directly should not have been difficult. Yet he simply could not do it.

With his doubts in mind, Lin Hai returned to Old Chen's residence. Old Chen was drinking tea in the courtyard. Seeing him return, he asked with a chuckle, "Little friend Lin, what can this old man do for you?"

Lin Hai sighed and explained how his attempts at energy projection had failed. After listening, Old Chen frowned slightly and pondered for a while before saying, "This old man does not dare jump to conclusions. How about this? Perform a round of Tai Chi before me first, and let me see where the problem lies."

Lin Hai nodded without any pretense. He knew that as the village chief of Ta Lo Village, Old Chen was highly knowledgeable, and Ta Lo Village itself possessed methods cultivated by qi practitioners for thousands of years. Old Chen might not necessarily think much of his Tai Chi. So Lin Hai walked to the center of the courtyard, calmed his mind, and slowly assumed the Tai Chi opening stance.

Old Chen sat to one side, his gaze intently observing Lin Hai's every movement. Lin Hai's Tai Chi flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, balancing hardness and softness. With every motion, the energy within his body circulated as well, and a faint emerald glow appeared around him. The longer Old Chen watched, the more astonished he became. Though he had learned of Tai Chi from the materials brought by S.P.E.A.R. Director Zheng Xian, witnessing Lin Hai practice it in person still broadened his horizons.

After Lin Hai withdrew his stance, Old Chen pondered for a moment before finally speaking. "I think I understand where the problem lies."

Lin Hai's eyes lit up. "Please enlighten me, Old Chen."

Old Chen stroked his beard and said, "Your Tai Chi belongs to the internal martial arts. It emphasizes overcoming hardness with softness and borrowing force to return force. Though it can be used in actual combat, at its core it is more inclined toward cultivating oneself, nourishing one's nature, and harmonizing internal breath rather than being purely offensive martial arts. Moreover, your Tai Chi has no corresponding method for energy projection. So even though you can manipulate external objects, you cannot directly launch your energy outward."

Lin Hai suddenly understood. "So that's it!"

Old Chen smiled, rose to his feet, and entered the house. A moment later, he returned with an ancient bamboo scroll and handed it to Lin Hai. "This is a cultivation method passed down in Ta Lo Village. You may borrow it for reference."

Lin Hai was somewhat surprised, but he still accepted the bamboo scroll with both hands. "Is this... really appropriate?"

Old Chen waved his hand with a smile. "You are someone acknowledged by the guardian Divine Dragon. That means you have rendered a great service to Ta Lo Village. A mere cultivation method is nothing. However, this old man does not recommend that you switch to our method. Instead, draw upon its means of circulating energy, combine it with your Tai Chi, and create something suited to yourself."

Lin Hai nodded solemnly. "Thank you for your guidance, Old Chen!"

Now that he had a direction, Lin Hai decided to stay in Ta Lo Village for a few more days. Fortunately, he had plenty of time during winter break. Otherwise, he truly would not have had the chance to study this in depth. Borrowing Old Chen's satellite phone, he called his parents and briefly explained that he would need a few more days before returning home.

After hanging up, Lin Hai threw himself wholeheartedly into researching the cultivation method. Over the following days, he studied the Ta Lo Method during the day and tried incorporating its techniques for energy projection into Tai Chi at night. Progress was slow at first, but as his understanding deepened, he gradually found a path suited to himself.

Perhaps... like this?

One morning, Lin Hai stood in the training ground and slowly drew circles with both hands as the energy within his body circulated according to the new method. When he suddenly thrust out his palm, an emerald energy wave burst from it and slammed into a massive boulder nearby, leaving behind a clear palm print!

Delight flashed through Lin Hai's eyes. "Success!"