Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"nothing."

“If there’s nothing wrong, you wouldn’t have this expression.” Zhang Renfeng continued tearing firewood by hand, laughing as he said, “Tell me, why are you hiding things from me?”

The wolf was silent for a moment, then said softly, "We deliberately chose this place for training to maintain a high level of secrecy, right?"

“You saved these hunters today, but who knows if they’ll tell others about your encounter tomorrow? Maybe no one will believe you even if they do, but… one person tells ten, ten tell a hundred, I’m just worried…”

Zhang Renfeng's expression faltered slightly.

"I'm sorry, senior brother, I..."

“No, you’re right, I didn’t consider that. I just saw them about to be killed by the coyotes, and like before, I instinctively rushed out…” Zhang Renfeng sighed, shook his head, and laughed self-deprecatingly, “It seems I’m hard to break my old habits.”

"No! That's exactly the kind of senior brother I need!" Wolf insisted forcefully. "If you weren't this kind of person, you wouldn't have been able to rescue me from that old matchmaker... I wouldn't be here to see you!"

"What I mean is, maybe next time, Senior Brother won't need to show up in person... Isn't there this? Senior Brother has been practicing his archery skills diligently all this time. Even if he hides in the shadows, taking out those coyotes one by one shouldn't be a problem, right?"

She pointed to the White pistol hanging at Zhang Renfeng's waist.

"Damn it... I forgot!" Zhang Renfeng suddenly realized that he still had two real weapons hanging on his waist. He sighed and regretted, "I was fine during training, but when I encountered a real situation, I still subconsciously wanted to use my fists and feet. I need to work harder to practice!"

"Little Wolf, where are the bullets I asked you to buy?"

"They're all inside." The wolf looked worried. "Senior brother, you've been busy all morning, at least have lunch first..."

“No, Hongzhong is already dead. I can’t kill people with my fists and feet unless it’s absolutely necessary! In that case, the only way out right now is to practice my shooting skills hard—bullets can be bought in every weapon shop in every town, and when they hit someone, you can’t tell who shot them.”

Zhang Renfeng's tone was very firm, leaving no room for negotiation: "In the past, I relied too much on the feel of the Volcano pistol. I could only shoot accurately with it. Now it seems that it is far from enough."

"You must practice until you can hit the target immediately, no matter what gun or bullet you use!"

He went inside, changed his bullets, and in no time, he came out carrying a full load of weapons, like a perfectly assembled war machine.

"Don't wait for me, little wolf." He picked up the helmet part of the armor, put it back around his neck, and waved. "You eat first."

……

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

……

The heavy footsteps, like spring thunder, disappeared into the mountains and forests along with his retreating figure.

A short while later, a burst of gunfire erupted from the other side of the forest.

Chapter 598: The Secret of the Sect

Surrounded by the smell of gunpowder, Zhang Renfeng carefully pushed open the door—the weight on his body was too great, and he had to tense his muscles to resist the weight, which might cause him to unconsciously use too much force and remove the entire door panel.

Similar situations have occurred more than once, and Zhang Renfeng regards them as part of his training, at least to improve his control over strength.

The pure aroma of meat fermented and wafted out from the small wooden house.

"Little Wolf, haven't you eaten yet?" Zhang Renfeng asked, as he unloaded his pistol, rifle, and revolver into the box, glancing at the clean wooden table. "I told you, you don't need to wait for me."

"We should wait until everyone is here before we eat," the wolf shook his head and insisted, "That's what my master has always told me."

“Master…” Zhang Renfeng removed the heavy armor from his body piece by piece, sighed deeply, and said with an extremely complicated smile, “I have only been here for two years, and I can hardly remember many of the things that happened back home.”

"But Master's face has always been so clear."

"Senior brother, Master's face... even a normal person would find it hard to forget after seeing it just once. The dense wrinkles on his face, piled up together, look like scales."

The wolf complained irritably, then served him a bowl of meat soup from the pot, broke off two pieces of bread, dipped them in the soup, and ate them—that was a fairly hearty lunch.

If Zhang Renfeng were to wear all of this heavy armor, even if he were unaffected and able to sit down, it would be enough to collapse the chair. After removing everything that could be removed, the two sat facing each other, each ladling out a bowl of meat soup, and began to feast, just like they had back in their sect.

The topics they could talk about at the dinner table were naturally those years they had spent together, an irreplaceable treasure that belonged only to the two of them in this foreign land.

……

"Huh?" The wolf was surprised. "Is there still a choice?"

“Of course, our master taught according to individual aptitude. I remember… he said something like this back then.” Zhang Renfeng coughed lightly twice, mimicking his master’s tone, “‘Feng, now that you’ve become my disciple and donned the belt, you are a martial artist. From now on, you must live with integrity and uprightness.’”

“I have many skills here; choose one you like.”

"What's all there is?" the wolf asked curiously, dipping the leftover noodles in the meat broth and swallowing them in a few bites.

“I don’t remember very clearly. I was too young at the time. He listed more than thirty kung fu styles in one breath, like reciting a menu. It was all mixed up and I couldn’t possibly remember them all,” Zhang Renfeng recalled the scene. “After listening to my master’s explanation, I chose the Prajna Kung Fu, which is called ‘Dragon Elephant Prajna Kung Fu.’ Little Wolf, have you ever heard of this kung fu?”

The wolf shook its head.

"Later I learned that this is a well-known martial art in the industry, and there are quite a few people in the martial arts world who practice it. It seems that there are even people who know this martial art who have come to this country... Last time I was in Lagras, I met a few foreigners who knew Prajna Kung Fu. One of them used a shield as a weapon and had reached a pretty high level."

Zhang Renfeng's way of addressing people is quite interesting. When it's just him and Wolf, he always refers to America as "foreigner." But actually, according to the original definition of this word, Wolf, with his blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, is also a true foreigner.

But the wolf accepted it, even nodding to indicate that it was listening.

"The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill has thirteen levels, and it is a skill that progresses step by step. As long as you spend time practicing, you will make progress every day. Passing through the levels is like climbing a mountain, with each step leading to a new level. It is said that after reaching the highest level, one will have the strength of four dragons and four elephants."

"Four dragons... four symbols?" The wolf couldn't imagine such an abstract scene.

“I’ve never seen a dragon before, but it’s probably like… um…” Zhang Renfeng pondered for a moment, “Stretch out both arms, tie four ropes, and pull four elephants at the other end of the ropes. Even if the elephants take steps forward at the same time, they still can’t pull my arms. That’s the kind of strength they have.”

The wolf's expression was priceless; its little mouth opened into a surprised "O" shape.

"As the saying goes, brute force can overcome any skill. When I reach the thirteenth level, I can smash a stone into powder with a single palm strike! No matter what kind of kung fu you practice, I can crush you with my strength. Isn't that great and exhilarating?"

"But... after hearing my choice, my master said that although this martial art is good, with great strength that can make bricks fly, there are also many people practicing it. Since this martial art came into being, many masters have been repeatedly pushing and pulling this water mill. The further it goes, the heavier the water mill becomes, making it difficult to move."

The wolf listened intently and immediately understood his meaning: "Does it become more difficult to improve one's cultivation level as one progresses?"

“This technique does indeed have thirteen levels, that’s true, but if one really wants to cultivate to that level, at the rate of one step forward per day, it would take at least eight hundred years.” Zhang Renfeng sighed and said regretfully, “My master said that to this day, countless heroes and great men have dabbled in this technique. If one is an unparalleled genius, perhaps it can take less time.”

"He had seen the most advanced prodigies he had ever met, and they had only just reached the twelfth level. As for himself, he relied on the longevity cultivation technique of the Turtle Breathing Skill to advance one level a day, and finally reached the highest level of the Prajna Skill."

"'As someone who's been through it all, let me give you a piece of advice: this skill is not easy to master'—that's what he said."

"After thinking about it, I gave up and instead learned this Qi Hard Qigong."

……

Upon hearing this, the wolf's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and the smile on his face faded, as if he were pondering something.

"Little Wolf, what's wrong?" Zhang Renfeng noticed the change in her expression.

"I...I have a guess, it might be right, it might be wrong..." the wolf said cautiously, choosing his words carefully, "Senior brother..."

"Just say what you want to say." Zhang Renfeng waved his hand. "If the two of us continue like this, how can we live our lives?"

That being said, Zhang Renfeng roughly guessed that if it were an ordinary topic, the wolf wouldn't have such hesitation. This also meant that what was about to be said would most likely be some heavyweight content.

"I think Master might have done it on purpose."

"Intentionally?" Zhang Renfeng raised an eyebrow. "Intentionally what?"

"Intentionally... to prevent you from practicing the Prajna Kung Fu."

"Ha, why?" Zhang Renfeng clearly didn't take this explanation seriously.

"Senior brother has always had extraordinary talent, and I think Master has seen that long ago. Even without practicing the Prajna Skill, he already has a very good level... I wouldn't dare say he's no match for the Four Symbols, but he should be able to easily deal with ordinary tigers and lions with brute force."

The wolf set aside the remaining half-eaten piece of bread and analyzed seriously, "Even if Senior Brother learns the Prajna Skill, what if he only reaches the fourth or fifth level?"

"Qi Hard Qi Gong can make one invulnerable to swords and spears, which is indeed powerful. But if it were Prajna Gong, the opponent might not even have a chance to get close. Throwing out a handful of pebbles would be like sending bullets through the human body. Senior Brother himself said that one force can overcome ten techniques, so what about ten forces, a hundred forces, or even a thousand forces?"

"But...why?" Zhang Renfeng was utterly confused. "Isn't this better?"

“Master doesn’t want one of us to become too powerful.” The wolf shook his head. “A long, long time ago, he made a mistake.”

"Now it seems that he only told me about this mistake."

Chapter 599: You and I, never to meet again, in life or in death.

"A mistake?" Zhang Renfeng's expression was unusually moved, a mixture of surprise, astonishment, disbelief, and many other complex emotions.

In his eyes, his master was no different from a deity, except that he couldn't fly through the clouds or perform the Seventy-Two Transformations. Especially during training, he had sparred with his master countless times, always being the one being fed the blows. Until his master announced that he could graduate, he still hadn't been able to test how deep this bowl of water really was, as if this bowl wasn't a bowl at all, but rather connected to rivers, lakes, and seas.

Still waters run deep, and their depths are unfathomable.

It's hard to imagine that such a living god could make a mistake.

"long long ago……"

"Wait a minute, Little Wolf!" Zhang Renfeng hurriedly shoveled the meat soup in his bowl into the bowl and swallowed it. "I need to ask first, 'a very long time ago,' exactly when is that? Do you know how old our master is?"

Wolf shook his head. "Master didn't go into that much detail, but it must have been before he met Senior Sister Crane."

Zhang Renfeng breathed a sigh of relief and decided to stop worrying about it. Senior Sister He was already over seventy this year, and before her, her grandfather might not even have been born yet.

"To put it simply, the master took in a disciple with exceptional talent and taught him everything he knew."

"Give it all away...?" Zhang Renfeng sensed something was amiss.

"Yes, he taught me everything he knew, without holding back. He taught me almost everything his master knew—those are his exact words. That child was also very promising, learning things extremely quickly and progressing at an astonishing pace. He mastered various styles of martial arts and, at a young age, reached the level of a master who could establish his own school, even creating his own martial art!"

"what……"

Zhang Renfeng remained silent, his mouth slightly open, and he sighed.

As a fellow martial artist, he knew very well the value of creating his own martial arts. Since his master called it "martial arts," it must not be ordinary fist and foot techniques. But he couldn't help but wonder, if he had not only learned one internal energy cultivation technique, but also received his master's complete instruction, what would things be like today?

No, I can't think about it anymore, it feels like ants are crawling all over my mind!

His first reaction was envy—envy of that genius who received his master's full support.

"So far, it seems... there haven't been any errors?"

"It will happen soon." Wolf sighed softly. "The child's dark side has finally been revealed after one success after another. Master said that he is 'the old karmic ties have not been severed, and new hatred has suddenly arisen'. In short... he didn't go into too much detail about the specific reasons. He just felt that when he was with the child, he was not as comfortable as before."

"At that time, my master was studying a peerless martial art. There were still four moves he hadn't figured out, so he didn't teach it to him. But the boy was convinced that his master was deliberately hiding something from him. He didn't say anything, but he harbored resentment in his heart. Even when I explained, he didn't believe me."

"He began to use the martial arts he had acquired to do some despicable things to amass wealth and power for himself... He seemed to be very good at these things, without any teacher, and his methods were far more vicious and ruthless than ordinary people could imagine."

"The master realized that he had raised a wild and untamed wolf, and immediately decided to get rid of it. But the child had already learned most of his martial arts. The two fought for countless rounds, making the sand and stones fly and the sky darken. For a time, they could not determine a winner."

"In the end, my master used battle to hone his skills, and in the great battle, he completed the last four moves of this martial art, thus completing this peerless martial art and winning the battle with it—this is the origin of the [Rama Kung Fu]. He told me this story when he was passing on the skill."

At this point, Zhang Renfeng roughly guessed what his master meant by "making a mistake."

"He didn't kill the child, did he?"

……

“Master said he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He watched that child grow up, and no matter how bad he was, he still…” Wolf sighed, “Brother, if… I mean, if it were you, your own son, and something similar happened when you were in your forties or fifties.”

Are you absolutely certain you can kill?

The air inside the cabin seemed to freeze, with only the ticking of the clock reminding them of the passage of time.

He doesn't have children yet, but upon hearing this analogy, Xiaomei's face flashed through his memory.

Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes; this is a problem without a solution.

"Since then, when Master took on disciples, he set a rule that he would only teach one sect. This was to avoid such situations from happening again. He was also unwilling to take on ordinary people. Even Senior Brother Zhu would be a pillar of strength in an ordinary sect. It's just that Senior Brother and Senior Sister He are so powerful that it makes his aptitude seem mediocre."

"They were already chosen from among the best, what if they turned out to be another invincible demon?"

Zhang Renfeng rolled his eyes at her, thinking to himself that anyone could say that, but you were not qualified. Was your talent tree really that low?

"And then what happened? Did Master mention the ending of this story?"

"..." Many years have passed, and even just recalling his master's expression, Wolf still felt a little sad—his face, which looked like it was covered with dense scales, remained unchanged, except for a ripple in his eyes.

People like Master are already quite rare.

"He banished that child from the land of China. My master didn't go into details, only saying..."

“'I will never see him again, whether in life or death.'”

----

"Boom—!"

In the afternoon, the sky darkened, with dark clouds looming overhead and casting a huge shadow.

Amidst the rumbling thunder, the old man, half-reclining in the armchair, slowly opened his eyes.

"Strange." He looked around and muttered to himself, "How did I wake up here..."