The teacup in Madame Gao's hand paused slightly. Then she smiled, a probing note in her voice. "I wonder what this old woman could possibly have that would interest you, Mr. Wenwu?"
"K'un-Lun's cultivation method!" Wenwu said in a low voice, enunciating each word, his eyes sharp.
"What?!"
Madame Gao slammed her teacup down. Scalding tea splashed onto her hand, but she seemed not to feel it and did not even frown.
"How do you know about K'un-Lun? And how do you know I have its cultivation method?" Madame Gao's voice was icy. Her eyes bored into Wenwu, undisguised killing intent showing in her gaze.
Wenwu chuckled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "I've lived for a thousand years. Naturally, I know a few things!"
Madame Gao's pupils abruptly contracted. It seemed Wenwu really had lived for a thousand years. She instinctively looked at the Ten Rings peeking out from beneath his sleeves, her gaze flickering.
Wenwu noticed her gaze, and the corners of his lips curled almost imperceptibly.
K'un-Lun was a secret realm.
The Hand's "Five Fingers" had originally been five senior elders of K'un-Lun. Coveting the secret of longevity granted by dragon bones and craving the power of eternal life, they had been banished from K'un-Lun's secret realm.
After their exile, they had come to Japan, learned the ways of ninja, donned ninja garb, and founded the Hand, which now had a history spanning several hundred years.
Their ultimate goal was to find sites containing dragon bones to continue prolonging their lives, and to find "Black Sky" to strengthen their organization and rule the world.
Judging by the timing, they should already have found the dragon bones sealed deep beneath Manhattan.
"Then what do you intend to offer in exchange, Mr. Wenwu?" Madame Gao asked darkly.
Wenwu smiled slightly. "Madame Gao, to show my sincerity, I know you're looking for dragon bones. I also know a place with enough dragon bones to last the Hand tens of millions of years!"
Madame Gao's expression changed again, and a bad feeling instantly rose in her heart.
"Mr. Wenwu, where are these dragon bones you speak of?"
"Deep beneath Manhattan!" Wenwu straightened and smiled faintly, his tone utterly sincere.
Madame Gao's expression changed drastically. Her bad feeling had indeed come true! There had to be a mole among her subordinates. Otherwise, how could Wenwu know there were dragon bones beneath Manhattan?
Bang!
Madame Gao slammed her palm down on the tea table. The teacup was instantly pulverized, and the solid wood table shattered.
She knew Wenwu was threatening her-if she refused to hand over the cultivation method, he would expose the dragon bones!
Wenwu calmly raised his teacup and took a sip, paying no heed to Madame Gao's fury.
"Well played, Mr. Wenwu!" Madame Gao said through gritted teeth. "I'll teach you right now. But are you certain what I teach you will be genuine?"
"No. But I trust only the divine artifacts in my hands!" Wenwu smiled slightly and rolled up his sleeves, exposing the divine rings glowing a deep blue.
Madame Gao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. She wanted nothing more than to slaughter the bastard extorting her on the spot.
But after weighing the pros and cons, Madame Gao naturally compromised, though she secretly swore that one day she would find a chance to settle this score.
Next, Madame Gao explained K'un-Lun's secret cultivation techniques one by one. Wenwu did not know whether they were genuine; he simply committed them firmly to memory.
Fortunately, Xu Wenwu already had an excellent memory, and after his soul had fused with him, his memory had become almost photographic!
Madame Gao spoke for nearly three hours, teaching him three times. Wenwu gained some understanding as well, and once he was certain she had not tricked him, he prepared to leave.
"Thank you for your generosity, Madame Gao! I won't disturb you any longer!" Wenwu stood and made a show of thanking her, then turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Madame Gao suddenly called him back. She hurried into a room and only emerged after quite some time, carrying two somewhat old books, each a finger thick, which she handed to him.
"These are the notes I use to teach my disciples. Take them. Don't let your chi go astray during cultivation and then come looking for trouble with me!"
She was afraid she had not explained things thoroughly enough. If anything went wrong while Wenwu cultivated on his own, she would probably be in danger!
In any case, they had already taught K'un-Lun's cultivation method to many disciples. One more person learning it hardly mattered.
Besides, even at her level of cultivation, its power only amounted to so much. A single bullet could still take her life!
She did not care that much!
Wenwu gave her a surprised look and offered a gentle smile. "Then you truly have my thanks!"
"I guarantee that I will never reveal anything about the dragon bones!"
Having given his assurance, Wenwu walked out with the two books.
After leaving the Hand, Wenwu did not return to Southeast Asia. Instead, he took a room at a hotel in Manhattan, New York.
At the same time, he sent people to Harlem to investigate a hoodlum named Luke Cage.
He remembered that this big Black man would later suffer an accident during a prison experiment and gain an incredibly powerful physique. He could smash through concrete walls and withstand exploding grenades head-on. Even armor-piercing rounds from ordinary sniper rifles could not break his skin!
It all stemmed from Dr. Burstein's nanocell experiments on human subjects.
If he captured that doctor and brought him back to the Ten Rings, then had him reproduce an accidental enhancement technique like the one that had transformed Luke Cage, he would gain a body with titanium-alloy-like defenses and super strength. Even without the Ten Rings, he would have enough power to protect himself!
Next, Wenwu began cultivating "chi."
Xu Wenwu had lived for a thousand years and was himself one of humanity's foremost martial arts grandmasters.
With that foundation, Wenwu found it quite easy to grasp.
So-called "chi" was the fundamental energy of life, present within everyone's body.
Through meditation and martial breathing techniques, K'un-Lun cultivated and amplified the "chi" within the body.
The strengthened "chi" enhanced the physique, strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, and so on, taking the physical body far beyond the human peak.
"Chi" could also heal injuries, accelerate wound healing, and alleviate internal injuries. Accomplished cultivators could recover even from injuries to their internal organs, provided they were not too severe.
All its effects were similar to the "true qi" in wuxia novels!
It could also calm the mind for meditation, strengthen the spirit, and resist mental bewitchment and interference from illusions.
However, it also had a fatal weakness-"chi" was one's own life energy. Overdrawing it would weaken the body and could even shorten one's lifespan.
But with abundant energy replenishment, one could avoid overtaxing the body.
In short, achieving success in cultivation consumed an enormous amount of resources.
Wenwu tried cultivating to sense the existence of "chi."
He was already a martial artist who had developed internal strength, so sensing this so-called "chi" was effortless.
This so-called "chi" was actually the qi and blood of martial arts, and was also similar to what science called bioelectric energy.
It merely manifested in a different form when circulated using K'un-Lun's secret techniques.
After circulating it through several full cycles, he finally condensed his first wisp of "chi"!
Absorbed in cultivation, Wenwu cultivated through the night without realizing it.
His "chi" had grown considerably, but he discovered that his body had instead become much weaker. It felt as though he had bedded ten women in one night and been completely drained.
"Damn, just this little bit of chi used up so much? No wonder Madame Gao still struggles to smash through a concrete wall after cultivating for hundreds of years!"
Wenwu shook his head and sighed.
Unfortunately, the Ten Rings could only slow his aging and use energy to enhance his body's combat power. They did not supply the nutrients required by his body's metabolism.
If he did not eat, he would still starve to death.