Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

However, there is still hope... Zhang Renfeng has not been caught by them yet.

The enemy might temporarily detain Mike and his men to force them to reveal themselves. This gives them time to rescue them. The optimal solution right now is to first understand the situation inside the city, figure out their troop distribution, bypass the visible and hidden sentries, and then find a way to release them.

Of course, this was the most ideal situation for Caloway and his group.

He was already mentally prepared to never see his old buddies again.

……

"Right now, he must be somewhere we can't see, gritting his teeth and persevering. He must be even more worried about his missing comrades than we are!"

Xiaomei's tone was very firm, and her aura rose with each word, "He is our backbone, that's true, but Mr. Zhang is also a human being, and he can't stay with us forever."

"No matter what difficulties we encounter, the Mr. Zhang I know will never give up."

"We should be like him!"

----

"..."

Zhang Renfeng sat on the ground, somewhat dejected, his chest rising and falling slightly, his gaze towards the night sky vacant for the first time.

The night wind blew against his face like tiny knives, making his face sting.

"Why...why is this happening..." He looked at his hands, clenching his fists, releasing them, clenching his fists, releasing them, repeating the action over and over. It was as if he wanted to confirm his strength through the feeling of clenching his fists, to make sure that it hadn't slipped away from his hands.

This man, who was never one to engage in internal strife, now spoke with a hint of doubt.

"Before, I was able to dodge all kinds of slashes by neutralizing their force. This can be considered a basic skill of neutralizing force."

"Now, why..."

……

After regaining his mobility, Zhang Renfeng filled his day with a very full schedule.

Because he couldn't be in the open, he chose to study the Rama Technique at night. So, he naturally couldn't waste the entire morning and noon. He also had a skill for neutralizing force. You see, the Rama Technique itself doesn't have any offensive capabilities, so he had to rely on the advanced application of neutralizing force, the Silk Reeling Force, to help him deal damage.

But now, let alone the coiling silk technique, he can't even do the most basic "force elimination".

If Kasim's technique hadn't been so superb that he could have stopped abruptly the moment he realized something was wrong, that sword strike might have actually landed.

He looked at Zhang Renfeng's current state, remained silent for a moment, and then sheathed his sword.

"No!"

Zhang Renfeng stood up unwillingly, gritted his teeth, and said in a deep voice, "Cut him down one more time!"

Chapter 842: Why? Why is this happening!

“There’s no need for that.” Qasim shook his head.

“I can tell what you’re doing… It’s a very sophisticated technique. It fully utilizes every muscle and every bone in your body to make the most perfect movement, twisting and turning. If necessary, you can even dislocate your bones to completely dissipate the force falling on you. It’s a perfect self-defense technique.”

He pointed to the horrific wound on Zhang Renfeng's chest, "The problem is, in your current state, you simply cannot do that."

“The wounds caused by sword energy are not easy to heal, let alone with such high-intensity movements. If even one movement is not executed properly, this smooth and skillful technique will be broken, and the remaining force of the attack will fall squarely on you.”

"Similarly, if you try to use this state of energy dissipation to launch an attack, you will eventually have to deal with this wound—its location is too fatal, almost running across your entire torso, and cannot be ignored. I do not recommend that you make any attempts until the sword wound is fully healed."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Renfeng gritted his teeth and realized for the first time what it meant that "human power has its limits."

There are always some things that he can't change, no matter how hard he tries.

"But... this won't do, this is too slow!" He clenched his fist and slammed it into the tree trunk beside him, making the branches and leaves rustle. "I don't have that much time to wait. Whether it's energy dissipation or the Rama Technique, I must make a breakthrough immediately!"

Qasim suddenly asked a very strange question, "How do you think my swordsmanship compares to the one who left this wound?"

“…” Zhang Renfeng stood there, stunned.

“Such a simple question, yet you hesitated to answer it. I can only assume that you were concerned about saving face for me. In that case, I have my answer,” Qasim said in a deep voice. “Needless to say, my abilities are still far from his.”

"So, even if you manage to neutralize my attack with a bit of force, so what? With this body, do you really have a chance against that Falling Leaf Slash? What are the odds?"

"Moreover, according to your description, that person did indeed say that this was only '90%' of his power."

"In other words, even this astonishing strike is not his full strength. Like all the masters in the world, he still has something to hide. He will never reveal it to anyone unless it is a matter of life and death."

……

Having said all that could be said, Qasim turned and left without another word, leaving Zhang Renfeng alone.

"Senior brother."

The wolf hurried forward, but seeing the somber and troubled look on his face, he stopped, not getting too close, and asked softly, "Would you like to rest for a while? It's still early, we..."

"Haven't I rested enough these past few days?" Zhang Renfeng's face was somewhat gloomy as he interrupted the girl, sat up, and glanced at the horizon—the sun had not yet completely sunk below the horizon, radiating a cold afterglow.

"It's about time, Wolf, let's begin!"

The wolf looked very worried, but in the end she didn't say anything, nodded, and followed him silently into the house.

----

"cough……"

Veins bulged on his forehead. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his cough, but his throat grew increasingly itchy, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of feathers that kept tickling his trachea. The true energy in his chest was restless and surging wildly. Zhang Renfeng tried to suppress it with his physical body, like a volcano trying to delay its eruption through geological movements.

The result, naturally, is...

“Cough! Cough cough cough!!”

Zhang Renfeng finally couldn't suppress it any longer and had to interrupt his cross-legged meditation. He raised his hand to cover his mouth, but ended up coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Looking at the blood in his palm, his hand trembled slightly. First, he was shocked, then incredulous, and finally, he could only smile bitterly.

His body, once impervious to cuts and axes, is now reduced to this state. Perhaps God really did act on a whim and took back all the benefits he had enjoyed over the years.

"Brother, are you okay?"

Wolf quickly pulled out some paper, wanting to help Zhang Renfeng wipe away the blood, but was stopped by Zhang Renfeng raising his hand.

"I've memorized the mental techniques and mantras perfectly. As for this so-called visualization method, although I don't fully understand it, it's all based on your oral and personal instruction, so it should be exactly the same..."

"Why? Why did it turn out like this?" He grabbed his hair, muttering to himself in anguish, pulling at it as if he wanted to rip it out. "Why did this happen?!"

His tone was no longer just complaining; it even carried a hint of hatred.

His primary object of hatred was actually himself.

It's like a top student who's used to solving problems at lightning speed. Most problems that stump ordinary people can be solved with a glance, and the answer is already in their head. This top student is quite satisfied with their abilities, but then, in the most important exam, they encounter a problem they just can't solve.

He began to wonder if there was something wrong with his abilities all along.

……

"Senior brother, don't worry about it!"

The wolf also sat cross-legged opposite him, looking at him with a worried expression.

"This...this is not your problem. The operating principle of the Rama Technique is inherently very complex. Senior Brother has only been learning it for a few days, so it's understandable that he can't grasp the knack yet."

Zhang Renfeng looked at her with a very complicated expression, filled with many emotions, but in the end, he sighed deeply and wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth.

Only after he actually came into contact with it did he realize that the complexity of Ramakrishna was far beyond his imagination.

There are a total of twenty meridians in the human body: the three Yin meridians of the hand, the three Yang meridians of the hand, the three Yin meridians of the foot, the three Yang meridians of the foot, plus the eight extraordinary meridians.

The junction of meridians and blood vessels is the pathway for the flow of internal energy in the Rama Kung Fu, like sailing on a boat, allowing the internal energy to travel in the ocean created by the body. At each checkpoint, there are different mental techniques and incantations to produce different effects.

Ultimately, the order in which all internal energy circulates follows these main positions: Shenfeng, Lingxu, Mingfu, Qihai, and the lower three vertebrae, which together constitute one cycle.

As long as the cycle continues, the Rama internal energy will be officially activated, and repairing injuries and regenerating severed limbs will be no problem.

It looks simple.

But can the complexity of the human body be explained so easily with just words? The twenty meridians intersect with the blood vessels of the human body in hundreds or thousands of places, making it intricate and complex. If the flow of qi is disrupted or there is any oversight in one place, the entire system will collapse.

Zhang Renfeng truly lived up to his reputation as a genius rarely seen in a thousand years. After only a few days of exposure, he had already memorized the mental techniques and incantations perfectly. However, theory is one thing, practice is another, and when he actually started practicing, he found the difficulty to be extraordinary.

It's like a towering mountain blocking my way!

Chapter 843: Tooth Marks

"The Qi Hardness Technique that Senior Brother practiced before is a kind of external skill. Even if he developed internal strength and internal energy, he used it on his skin and muscles. That's why he was invulnerable to swords and spears. When he threw punches and kicks, it was like forged iron hitting someone, greatly increasing the power."

"But the Rama Kung Fu is an internal skill that repairs deficiencies and restores health, operating through the body's meridians and acupoints. This internal and external approach is inherently conflicting, essentially requiring starting from scratch and expanding into a completely different system. For a body accustomed to external martial arts, this process will inevitably be incredibly difficult."

"The Rama Sutra is extremely profound, and what I have explained is not as simple and easy to understand as Master's. It is normal that you cannot understand its mysteries for a while."

Wolf explained in this way, her tone even carrying a hint of guilt, as she felt that she hadn't explained things well and had delayed Zhang Renfeng's progress.

An excellent martial arts master is not necessarily an excellent lecturer, and not all of the disciples trained by a master are top performers in their respective fields.

The wolf's talents far surpassed those of her contemporaries, which was the root cause of her early-onset hysteria—she was like a giant radar, constantly receiving information from the world. She was easily driven to madness by the overwhelming amount of information she absorbed.

Although she explained things very patiently, there were always some points she took for granted and skipped over because she felt they didn't need to be explained. But Ramagong is a complete system of practice; even the slightest confusion can prevent the system from functioning. Or even if it does function, it will be like a stone is stuck in the middle, preventing it from being fully integrated and smooth.

During her training, Zhang Renfeng would encounter many problems, some of which she had encountered before and could answer to some of them.

But most of them were new problems she had never encountered before.

The wolf didn't know how to explain it either, because when she was learning the Rama Kung Fu, many things were simply "letting nature take its course," and that's how it continued. Not everyone is like her master, able to explain extremely profound and exquisite martial arts in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Take Zhu Kuilong, for example. Among this group of monsters, his talent was only average. But his master still taught him the Kunlun Sect's "Wild Goose Skill," making him a first-rate expert. Teaching a genius isn't skill; cultivating an ordinary person into a genius, that's true mastery.

Clearly, wolves today do not possess this skill.

……

“It’s not your problem.” Zhang Renfeng sighed and muttered to himself, “Lu Aniu is proficient in dozens of martial arts techniques, and he can use them with ease, even compensating for each other’s weaknesses…”

He looked at his hands, clenched them into fists with a crack, and said bitterly, "But I just can't do it."

"Senior brother, you can't think like that," Wolf quickly advised. "He has the [Northern Darkness Divine Art] as his foundation. This kind of technique can not only absorb the power of others, but its real power lies in its ability to blend different mental techniques and internal energies into one."

"It's already quite impressive that you can visualize the progress of internal energy when you've just started learning the Rama Technique. We don't have the Northern Darkness Divine Art, so if you want to combine the internal and external techniques, you'll just have to hone your skills over time."

"With your talent, senior brother, as long as you take it slow, you'll eventually..."

"Time, time! There's no time left! How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?!"

Zhang Renfeng suddenly flew into a rage, clenched his teeth, impatiently interrupted her, and slammed his fist on the table leg, making a "thud".

The two were sitting cross-legged on the floor, with a table placed to the side.

With that punch, the table leg snapped, and the items on the table crashed to the ground with a clatter. This series of noisy sounds also brought Zhang Renfeng to his senses, making him realize what he had just said.

From his perspective, he was unaware that the more than four thousand people had already been safely evacuated under Xiao Mei's leadership. Since falling off the cliff, he had been completely unaware of the situation in Oak City, and the longer time dragged on, the more anxious he became.

The immense pressure gradually broke down this seemingly indestructible body, and Zhang Renfeng began to inexplicably become enraged.

"..."

This was the first time the wolf had been yelled at like that by Zhang Renfeng, and it felt a little downcast, lowering its head in grievance.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you!"

Zhang Renfeng stopped sitting cross-legged and immediately moved forward about three inches, grabbing the wolf's hands.

In a sense, it was like holding hands with her.

"I...I'm in a complete mess lately. My wounds just won't heal, and I can't cultivate at all because I'm draining my energy."

"I originally thought I would be able to learn the Rama Kung Fu soon, but I never expected that this Kung Fu would be so profound. I can't even grasp its essence. I have really put all my effort into practicing. If there were fifty hours in a day, I might have devoted all fifty hours to it... But I just haven't made any progress!"

"perhaps……"

"Perhaps, my life before was too smooth. Especially martial arts... I thought I could master any style of martial arts I wanted very quickly..."

"I'm sorry, Wolf, I was too hasty."

He held the girl's hands, apologized to her, his shoulders trembling slightly, "I don't know... how much time we... have left..."

……

The night wind blew.

The windowpanes creaked slightly.

The girl tiptoed forward and gave him a hug.

"..."