Ever since his experience in the ruined temple, Chen Ying had formally taken a master and had been practicing martial arts with Wen Ruzhi every day lately.
The training routine had changed, too. According to Wen Ruzhi, Chen Ying had already mastered his forms. From here on, he would have to interpret them through his own experience and develop a style of his own. Simply practicing moves and techniques no longer meant much.
So what Chen Ying had been training lately was force.
He used his fists and palms to lift a large iron ball filled with water, propelling it with hidden force and keeping it rising and falling without touching the ground.
The iron ball alone weighed a hundred jin. With the water inside, it weighed over two hundred.
Once the iron ball was airborne, the water inside would develop its own directional spin as its movement changed. Lifting the ball with both hands was already taxing enough; keeping it from falling was harder still.
So keeping the iron ball in the air required not just the bright strength delivered through punches and kicks, but also the hidden force drawn from within the body.
Only by cultivating both bright and hidden force, bringing yin and yang into harmony, could he keep the iron ball aloft for long.
At first, Chen Ying could only keep it airborne for a minute before exhausting himself. Gradually, he got the knack and could use hidden force to push the ball into a whirl in midair for half a quarter-hour without letting it fall.
By now, Chen Ying could keep the ball whirling in the air for a quarter-hour, only letting it drop once his hidden force ran out.
This method trained the hidden force within his body. His Coiling Python Force had now reached a modest level of accomplishment. With every movement, he could feel what seemed like a giant python lurking inside him, coiling along his spine, ready to strike at any moment.
Of course, Chen Ying was still far from the threshold of transforming strength.
"Some in the martial world call Eight Trigram Palm the Eight Trigram Roaming Dragon Palm. Though that's praise from our fellow martial artists, it also reveals one of the art's core principles."
"Hidden force is divided into Coiling Python, Crimson Viper Force, and Hidden Viper Force, all named after snakes. The real key lies in nurturing and refining that hidden force until it finally reaches the realm of becoming a dragon. That leap through the Dragon Gate is transforming strength. Once you achieve it, you're a dragon swimming in the sea, free to roam the vastness of heaven and earth."
Wen Ruzhi had once explained this to Chen Ying.
"To reach that level, you need both accumulated cultivation and experience. More importantly, you need a chance encounter ordained by the unseen, and some external stimulus is essential."
"This is precisely the sort of thing you can't rush. All we martial artists can do is build ourselves up day after day, revering ourselves as gods, never allowing the slightest slackness. If you think you've achieved a little something and grow arrogant and conceited, trouble will follow."
The martial path was long. Chen Ying had initially learned to preserve his increasingly failing body. Now, with Dragon City Zhong Kui acting as his sponsoring master, he had entered Wen Ruzhi's tutelage according to the rules of the martial world, formally beginning his ascent.
So Wen Ruzhi taught him another martial art. It was widely practiced in the martial world, with many different branches. This newly taught Through-Arm Fist formed an ingenious complement to Eight Trigram Palm.
Unlike Eight Trigram Palm, Through-Arm Fist struck sharply and crisply, emphasizing direct attacks through the center and meeting speed with speed. The martial world had a saying, "Through-Arm never draws back." It meant that the art emphasized hardness, attacking straight through from beginning to end.
Wen Ruzhi taught patiently, and Chen Ying studied earnestly, striving to thoroughly master this art as soon as possible.
"There's no need to worry too much about the baleful qi inside you. All of us martial artists end up with a little of it. It differs from person to person, and so does its use. What was on your friend's arm was merely some evil qi. When your baleful qi hit it, it dispersed on its own. That's perfectly normal."
Wen Ruzhi sipped his tea slowly. "Here are a few medical books. Take them back and have a look. Practice martial arts without cultivating your foundation, and you'll have nothing to show for it in old age. Learn boxing without medicine, and you'll still be muddleheaded as a ghost."
Chen Ying agreed. He had trained until the afternoon that day, and it was time to head back.
"Don't rush off today. That friend of yours downstairs has returned from Dragon City. Go along with him."
Chen Ying looked at Wen Ruzhi.
More than half a month had passed since the incident at the ruined temple. Hua Shanrong had remained in Dragon City all this time while Mr. Lu there handled the aftermath.
The ghost-rearing affair on Rongyi Street could be treated as either a minor or a major matter. At its smallest, it was a sinister practitioner harming others for personal gain. At its greatest, it was stealing from heaven and deceiving earth, triggering a calamity of slaughter.
With such a commotion, no side would stand by and ignore it.
Besides, judging by the current situation, Dragon City might appear to fall under no one's jurisdiction, but behind it stood the Lingnan Jiedu Office. For the sake of local peace, they would get to the bottom of this as well.
Hua Shanrong's return suggested that the investigation into what had happened might be nearing its end.
"That thing was...?"
"A formidable foul thing from the Netherworld. Some evil art must have disturbed it. Someone on Temple Street was using rice divination and the Underworld descent ritual to raise ghosts. Your friend was unlucky enough to run into it."
"Old Lu let him come back this time because the foreign devils intervened and forbade Dragon City from investigating further. They're the ones who call the shots here, after all." Wen Ruzhi then smiled. "Your friend has some luck. Old Lu actually wants to back him. Go along with him and settle that mess inside their Wo On Sing."
"Settle it?"
"By the rules of the martial world, he's borrowing reinforcements. Just consider yourself one of Dragon City's people and settle it for him."
Wen Ruzhi smiled. "Consider this a test, too. You also need to learn how to handle matters in the martial world. Go with peace of mind and keep your eyes open. Old Lu settled everything long ago. Today is just a formality."
Chen Ying agreed.
After going through so much with Hua Shanrong, even if they hadn't been friends, they were now.
He came down from the second floor to find Hua Shanrong dressed in a stylish suit and oversized sunglasses, rolling a string of bodhi beads in his hand. His flip-flopped feet bobbed up and down, and he looked utterly relaxed.
He was sitting there chatting with one of the clinic's physicians.
"Doctor, my kidneys are really weak. What medicine should I take... Wow, Brother Ying, you're positively brimming with vigor."
"Not as much as you, Brother Rong."
Chen Ying looked at Hua Shanrong, who seemed thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Brother Rong, you came to see me today because...?"
"The Wo On Sing elders have arranged a hearing for me today. I'd like you to come help me lay everything out clearly, Brother Ying, and let everyone see whether I'm loyal or a traitor."
Hua Shanrong waved a hand, his spirit soaring to the heavens.
"Sure."
After so much quiet, Chen Ying felt like getting out and seeing more of the world. Besides, Mr. Wen had made it clear that everything had already been arranged.
A car had already been arranged outside the clinic. Hua Shanrong pulled Chen Ying inside and began making introductions toward the front.
"Here, Brother Ying, this is Brother Tai up front. Everyone in the martial world calls him Iron Hand. He's a Red Pole in our Wo On Sing."
The driver glanced back. His temples bulged as well; he was another expert who had thoroughly mastered bright strength.
"I'm Yu Tai. Just call me Tai, Brother Ying."
"You're too polite, Brother Tai."
"Who in the martial world doesn't know that Brother Ying is Dragon City Zhong Kui's disciple? Your Eight Trigram Palm inspires awe far and wide. Even Yisheng's Ren Gang fell at your hands. I'm impressed, truly impressed."
Brother Tai slowly started the car. "I wonder if you'd be interested in transferring to our Wo On Sing, Brother Ying? We could conquer the world together."
Dragon City Zhong Kui's disciple? And I killed Yisheng's Ren Gang?
Where had all this come from?
"Have I done all that?"
Chen Ying shook his head. "How come I didn't know?"
"Senior Lu has already sent out notices making it clear that you're his disciple. As for killing Ren Gang, that's what Yisheng's people are saying. None of it came from nowhere."
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