Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 90 Tai Chi LV2!

Night fell heavily over the city.

The gentle, meandering skyline of daytime was replaced by countless angular silhouettes of steel and concrete. The entire city seemed to come alive; the interwoven roads and overpasses formed the veins of this colossal organism, and the trails of countless red taillights were the blood of the behemoth.

The night view was reflected horizontally in Lu Mingfei's eyes. He gasped for breath, trying to calm his heart, which was about to burst out of his chest.

A hand was stretched out in front of him.

This is a right hand, without loose wrinkles or dark spots. If you only look at the hand, you might think it belongs to a young person, possessing boundless vitality.

But Lu Mingfei just found out the age of the owner of this right hand... he's almost seventy!

Aside from some freckles on his beard, you couldn't see anything else about him. He's incredibly strong, and his punches really hurt!

"call……"

Lu Mingfei, his face contorted with grief, grabbed it. A tremendous force then came from that hand, easily lifting him up.

"Teacher Zhang...I think..."

Lu Mingfei swallowed hard. He said, "I don't think it's necessary to go to such high intensity..."

The sound of hard objects clashing came from the side; it was Chu Zihang and Ye Sheng sparring. After all, Teacher Zhang was going to give Lu Mingfei "individual training," and it would be a waste of their time to just stand by and watch.

The difference between them and normal people is that they use one of the most common and easiest-to-find "weapons" in the gym—the barbell.

A 20kg barbell is wielded by them like an ordinary wooden stick!
"How can you effectively improve your skills if the intensity is too low? It's precisely because of the high intensity that you can learn something useful!"

Teacher Zhang said in a serious tone that he was truly in teaching mode, and was sharing his knowledge almost without reservation.

Lu Mingfei was speechless.

Teacher Zhang's words are absolutely right... Just like playing a game, the speed at which you hone your skills by spending all day in the highest-ranking matches is naturally different from the speed at which you master your skills by playing in the lowest-ranking matches!

The improvements in gaming might not be so obvious yet, but with Lu Mingfei...

He looked at the proficiency panel.

Tai Chi LV1 - Proficiency 75/200

That's right, it rose 75 points in just one hour!
Lu Mingfei had never seen such a crazy increase in proficiency. The fastest he had ever seen was when he learned piano on his own, with the guidance of Aunt Shan Shan, a pianist who had won a gold medal in an international competition. In that case, his proficiency increased by 10 points in one go.

However, when Teacher Zhang taught him Tai Chi, the increase was 15!

Is this the efficiency boost brought about by a Tai Chi master?

"Besides, your talent is simply too good. It's no exaggeration to say that you're one in a thousand years."

It was during the "group break," so Teacher Zhang chatted with Lu Mingfei for a bit and tried to praise him.

He was a little worried that Lu Mingfei might really be "beaten" to the point of mental breakdown and stop studying... That would be terrible, where would they find such an outstanding student again?
As a good teacher, one naturally yearns for good students. Students who can understand and even master what you've just heard give teachers a great sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

Of course, sometimes students shouldn't be too outstanding. For example, those who are so smart that they learn without being taught... If they do something else in class, the teacher can't say anything. Sometimes they're sleeping and suddenly wake up, and the teacher has to worry if they've said something wrong.

Lu Mingfei hasn't reached that level yet, so he still needs encouragement to face difficulties without giving up and to study hard...

Thinking this, Teacher Zhang walked to the side of the arena, took a bottle of water, and handed it to Lu Mingfei.

"Do you know how many years of training it would take for a normal person to deliver the kind of effortless, deflecting punch you just mentioned?"

"Uh... three years?"

Lu Mingfei wiped the sweat from his brow that was almost dripping into his eyes with a towel, and casually guessed a number that he considered to be quite exaggerated.

"Three years?"

Teacher Zhang chuckled, but knowing that Lu Mingfei was a complete novice in Tai Chi, he wasn't angry and patiently explained it to him.

"Using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds is not a specific technique. It represents the most significant characteristic and core principle that distinguishes Tai Chi from external martial arts that rely on brute force! Have you ever heard the saying, 'Tai Chi takes ten years to master without leaving home'?"

"I've heard it all. Tai Chi masters can stay indoors for ten years, while Bajiquan masters can kill someone in a year!"

Lu Mingfei nodded.

Teacher Zhang's eye twitched. "You only need to say the first half of the sentence."

"Doesn't this make Tai Chi even harder to learn?" Lu Mingfei said with a smirk as he unscrewed the bottle cap.

"Cough cough... It is indeed difficult to practice."

Teacher Zhang cleared his throat to calm himself down before slowly saying, "Three years is the time it takes for an ordinary person to build a foundation. And that requires diligence and practicing the right methods!"

"So exaggerated?"

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment before he started drinking water. "What do you think? It takes three years to lay the foundation, another three years to understand the basics, and another three years to achieve some minor success... By then, you've only basically mastered the application of using minimal force to deflect maximum force, and you can't yet skillfully apply it to every move and technique!"
As for mastering it and using it flawlessly... that depends not on time, but on talent.

Teacher Zhang looked Lu Mingfei up and down carefully again, that uncomfortable gaze, as if he were looking at some strange creature, returned.

"Your ability to deflect a thousand pounds with four ounces of force is a bit strange. It's not that you've completely mastered it and can use it with ease, but in terms of 'using it 100 times in 1000 ways,' it's almost there. And the time you spent learning it was... three hours."

"Pfft...cough! Cough cough cough..."

Lu Mingfei choked suddenly and coughed violently for a while before gradually calming down.

Only at this moment did he realize how astonishing what he had done was!

In an instant, Lu Mingfei recalled how, when he unexpectedly "bumped into" Teacher Zhang that afternoon, he had inadvertently picked up the Overlord Spear, the King of Earth and Mountains, and how it changed according to his will...

"Oh no, is Teacher Zhang going to suspect me of being some kind of superhuman?"

Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat.

Lu Mingfei had previously heard Chu Zihang say that some dragons can disguise themselves as humans! What if he were suspected... wouldn't he be dragged into a laboratory for dissection and research?

This needs to be explained clearly!
But how do you explain that? Saying you actually practiced for more than three hours, and even spent the whole night in your dreams sparring with your "senior brother"? That sounds even stranger!

Moreover, even if it were added, it would only be ten hours at most, still less than a day.

It is truly astonishing that someone could master martial arts skills in less than a day, skills that ordinary people might not be able to acquire in a lifetime.

You can't exactly claim your martial arts talent is as genius as Gauss's in mathematics...

Lu Mingfei's eyes lit up, and he had an idea. He leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Um... Teacher Zhang, I'll tell you quietly. Don't tell anyone else, especially Senior Brother Chu Zihang."

After receiving a nod of approval from Teacher Zhang, he continued, "You know, I'm a bit of a show-off. I was thinking of putting on an act, so I told Senior Brother Chu that I had never practiced Tai Chi before, but actually I have, and I've practiced for a long time!"

"Oh?"

Teacher Zhang nodded thoughtfully, "Then that makes sense. When did you start training? Where did you train? And with whom?"

"They're here, they're here to check my household registration! Teacher Zhang really is suspicious of me. Heaven help me, I'm a pure, native human! At most, I have a tiny bit of dragon blood mixed in..."

Lu Mingfei was naturally fully prepared. He lowered his voice again, making it almost inaudible.

"That was several years ago, right here in the Cultural Square. There I met an old man with a white beard wearing a white martial arts uniform. Although he was quite old, he had a ruddy complexion and was very agile. I could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary person!"

So I begged him to teach me how to do it... Unfortunately, after teaching me, the old man said he had something to do and left.

I never saw him again after that, but I've been secretly practicing ever since!

"..."

Upon hearing this, Teacher Zhang remained silent for a long time before asking with a hint of disbelief.

"Square dancing... old men?"

“Yes! A true master is one who lives in seclusion in the city!” Lu Mingfei nodded vigorously.

Teacher Zhang's eye twitched... So the expert hurriedly left to grab some fresh pork at the market? It's quite reasonable that he didn't reappear afterward; he was afraid the child would come and pester him again, so he moved to a square to continue practicing Tai Chi!
"Have you rested enough? It's time to start training."

Teacher Zhang decided not to communicate with Lu Mingfei about this matter anymore, because that kid never says a definite thing!
It would be better to ask Chu Zihang in detail later.

"Oh, teacher, I'm telling the truth, you have to believe me..."

Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, but his attention was quickly drawn away by the warning message: "Warning, electric shock countdown."

Thus, a new round of practical teaching began.

Fall down, get up, rest... an endless cycle.

Through diligent practice, your Tai Chi skills have improved, gaining 15 proficiency points.

【go through……】

Finally, after nearly three hours, today's Tai Chi session was coming to an end.

Congratulations! Through diligent practice, your [Tai Chi] level has increased to LV2.

You have obtained the entry "[Dark Strength, Level 1]"!

[Entry: Hidden Strength, First Level]

Effect: Your next attack will 'penetrate', directly attacking the target's interior. The power decreases as the penetration distance increases. This attack will consume a large amount of stamina and energy, so use it with caution.

(End of this chapter)