Gao Wu: Ten years of sparring experience, one move and the world knows him.

Chapter 26 Dark Alley
The fallen sycamore leaves cast dappled patterns of light, like copper coins, stretching lazily across the blue brick floor like a long river.

The sound of cicadas pierced the sweltering heat, blending into a desolate symphony between the concrete buildings.

Zhao Rui accompanied Sun Tiantian and the other two to take some photos on campus to reminisce about the time. After making a promise to meet again before the start of the new semester, he rode his bicycle away from the campus.

With this, his high school career was completely over!

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nostalgic, but life is a long journey, and he has a brighter future to explore.

After leaving the school, Zhao Rui rode his bike for more than half an hour until he arrived at his residential area. Soon after, Bai Xuening called.

Are we friends?

the girl asked softly.

"Of course it counts!"

Zhao Rui replied, "How can it not count? Although we've only known each other for a short time, she's a girl I can get along with."

"That's good, see you at university!"

Zhao Rui was slightly taken aback, then laughed heartily and said, "See you at university!"
Bai Xuening has always been mysterious, giving people a sense of elusiveness and an inscrutable, elusive feeling.

She was a transfer student who came to the class in the second year of high school. Her beautiful appearance and extraordinary temperament made many girls in the class jealous.

He joined the class halfway through, and being rather aloof, he didn't know any classmates, so he was constantly ostracized by the girls.

I got to know her because during a class practice session, I accidentally touched her sensitive area, which led to some interaction between us.

To be honest, we only really got to know each other well starting last month when we went to the riverbank for practice, which is quite a short time.

After they finished speaking, they each hung up the phone.

Zhao Rui locked the car and went upstairs.

After filling out the application, all that's left is to wait for the admission notice to arrive.

Of course, it's possible that you won't be able to get one, but the probability is extremely small, since there's always a second choice as a backup.

With nothing to do during summer vacation, Zhao Rui no longer had to worry about school, so he devoted himself wholeheartedly to martial arts training.

Brilliant skylight, Showa sun and moon!
Time flies, and peach blossoms bloom in profusion!

On this day, Zhao Rui sat cross-legged by the riverbank, bathed in the light of the early morning sun, nourished by the river, and drawing upon the Qi of Guanyuan to circulate throughout his body.

Suddenly, all the acupoints in his body vibrated, like the roar of tigers and leopards, or the beating of drums and gongs, with a faint sign of internal energy overflowing outwards.

At this moment, the red sun was rising in the sky, and a ray of light pierced through the clouds, slanting into the river and reflecting on it.

"Ten years of hard work begin here; I will traverse the clouds and seek the golden seal!"

Zhao Rui snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, as bright as the rising sun.

"Although my master is unreliable, this ethereal divine skill is truly ethereal and boundless!"

Zhao Rui finished his practice and exhaled, then began to ponder the situation that had just occurred.

After nearly half a month of practice, he gained three more advancement points on the system panel, two of which he used to increase his internal energy.

He tentatively added a point to the Zhongfu acupoint on the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

The martial art he practiced, Cloud Hands Plucking Stars, follows the Taiyin Lung Meridian, one of the three Yin meridians of the hand. The lungs are the mother of Qi movement.

The "Cloud Hands Plucking Stars" technique involves following the Lung Meridian, connecting with the universe and one's own vital energy to transform into clouds, absorbing the Qi of the entire universe, and refining oneself through the process of inhalation and exhalation.

When it reaches its full potential, all the acupoints of the Taiyin Lung Meridian will be connected, and one will naturally possess inexplicable true energy and great power with every gesture.

However, this "great achievement" was just what Li Da Nao said; he didn't know the specific level.

When his disciples asked him how many acupoints he had opened, Li Da Nao stammered and changed the subject, giving no definite answer.

At this point, everyone thought that he was probably just bragging, either he didn't create the martial art himself, or he was just making things up.

Even the eldest brother, who had practiced martial arts for twenty or thirty years, had not opened up a single acupoint, let alone the other senior brothers and sisters.

In short, nobody took it seriously.

However, today, with the help of the system, Zhao Rui successfully opened the acupoints and, with ten years of cultivation, traversed the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin. Only then did he suddenly realize that it seemed to actually work.

The internal energy emanating from the Zhongfu acupoint clearly felt like it was communicating with the true energy of heaven and earth; this hazy feeling was extremely wondrous.

When he performs the Cloud Hands to pluck stars, a misty cloud aura naturally arises.

It is not an illusion.

"Could Li Da Nao be the legendary master who lives in seclusion in the city?"

Zhao Rui couldn't help but think to himself, after all, there were quite a few such reclusive masters in the novels of his previous life.

However, when Zhao Rui thought about Li Da Nao's usual style of doing things, he felt that it didn't seem like him.

Whether it is or not doesn't matter. No matter how powerful it is, it can't be more powerful than the system panel!

After Zhao Rui finished practicing his skills, he looked around and found no one there. Only duckweed floated on the river and swayed gently in the wind, while tall reeds grew on the bank.

He had carefully selected this place, which was already more than ten kilometers outside the city.

The surrounding area is all hills and riverbanks, with sparsely populated villages.

It's a great place to experience nature and cultivate inner strength alone.

After quickly packing his bags and tying them to the back of his bicycle, Zhao Rui rode along the riverbank towards the city.

Although it lacks the comfort and enjoyment of a sedan, being able to get close to nature is still quite nice.

Zhao Rui watched a car whiz past him on the road and couldn't help but console himself.

"You little punk, how do you ride a bike? Spit!"

As Zhao Rui was riding his bicycle, a car turned from the intersection on the right, forcibly blocking his bicycle and driving across the intersection.

As they passed each other, the driver leaned out of the window and spat at Zhao Rui.

"Pooh!"

The phlegm fell weakly onto the car door, dripping a wet trail down the car body. "Damn!"

Enraged, Zhao Rui stopped his bicycle, picked up a stone from the roadside, and smashed it against the bicycle's rearview mirror with all his might.

With a loud crack, the rearview mirror was smashed squarely into pieces.

The car suddenly stopped, and the door was flung open by the people inside. After they peeked out and glanced at the rearview mirror, they quickly retreated back into the car.

Then he stepped on the gas and drove off into the distance, instantly reaching 100 miles per hour.

"Damn, we've run into someone who knows martial arts!"

Zhao Rui, the perpetrator, was also a little embarrassed. He had momentarily forgotten that he was a martial artist and thought he was just throwing a stone at the other person as he had done in his previous life. He figured it was just a scare tactic since the stone wouldn't hit him anyway.

Unexpectedly, now that he possesses internal strength, with the force of a thousand pounds, he can not only drill through the rearview mirror, but also the car door.

Zhao Rui clicked his tongue in disbelief, secretly feeling a chill run down his spine. He realized that Zhao Rui's temperament was still unstable and his spirit was not strong enough.
This is the drawback of merging memories from two lifetimes; it often leads to a loss of focus and a forgetting of one's own surroundings.

Zhao Rui has this one good quality: he is good at thinking and reflecting.

Knowing your weaknesses will allow you to train more effectively in the future.

Zhao Rui jumped onto his bicycle and was about to turn onto the road when he suddenly caught sight of a group of people carrying machetes rushing out of an alley not far away.

His aggressive demeanor really startled him.

Fortunately, after leaving the alley, the group hurriedly turned into another dark alley, where the sounds of chopping and hacking, as well as chaotic shouts and screams, could be heard.

Zhao Rui's face instantly turned ugly. Although he had encountered "Fire Cloud Evil God" causing trouble at Xiaoyao Pavilion last time and killing many people, he was far away at the time and had many people around him, so he was not greatly disturbed.

But this time it's completely different. It's like watching gangster movies and having a blast, but when someone actually starts wielding a knife and hacking at you in front of you, the feeling is completely different.

"Help!"

Just as he was about to leave the place, two people, covered in blood, rushed out of the alley and stumbled and ran wildly.

However, the direction it was running was directly towards Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui had recovered from his earlier discomfort and quickly grabbed his bicycle with one hand, leaping to the side of the road.

Both men had already been stabbed several times and had barely managed to escape. One of them reached the middle of the road, but he was exhausted and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

It blocked the cars coming from behind.

Upon seeing this, the other person didn't hesitate for a moment and ran away.

At this moment, the pursuers behind them had also closed in, a large group of more than a dozen knife-wielding thugs.

The momentum is terrifying.

Zhao Rui stood by the roadside, feeling a chill run down his spine. Was this still the world in broad daylight?
How could they be so ferocious after only ten miles outside the city?
Although these people were clearly ordinary thugs without any internal strength, their ferocity was far beyond what one could imagine in a peaceful and prosperous city.

Just as Zhao Rui was about to ride his bike away from the area, the sound of police sirens came from not far away, and a patrol car came speeding by.

The group of thugs immediately stopped in their tracks and scattered like birds and beasts.

"Everyone, stop!"

The police car arrived quickly, its tires screeching as it braked. The door opened instantly, and a young female police officer in a well-fitting uniform jumped out, gun in hand.

Following her were several police officers who got out of another car with guns.

The thugs wouldn't listen and ran away.

The police officers did not fire their guns, but instead followed closely behind the group and gave chase.

Zhao Rui crouched down slightly, picked up a handful of pebbles from the ground, and trembled his wrist slightly.

In an instant, pebbles shot out and struck the Huantiao acupoints of several fleeing thugs.

The group of people suddenly froze, cried out in pain, and fell to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the police officers leaped forward, handcuffed the men behind their backs, grabbed them, and dragged them to the roadside.

Seeing this, Zhao Rui didn't linger any longer. He leisurely got on his bicycle and rode along the road towards the city center.

At this moment, Xiu Mei, the female police officer who had just called for backup, looked around with a puzzled expression. Apart from the passing vehicles, she did not find anything unusual.

He couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

……

That night, the stars were like a curtain, and the clouds shrouded the silver plate of the sky!

Zhao Rui, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, strolled into an old urban village in the city.

This is the very alleyway that Zhao Rui passed by after taking the promotion exam.

The roadsides were still piled with all kinds of garbage, and swarms of flies and mosquitoes buzzed around, making the already dim streetlights even dimmer.

"Brother Hong? Why did you arrange to meet here?"

Zhao Rui glanced at the scarred-faced youth smoking under the streetlight, puffing out clouds of smoke, and quickly walked over.

Hong glanced at him with his cold eyes and casually threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

He said, "Come with me!"

Zhao Rui said "Oh" and quickly followed.

The two walked around a small path and gradually ventured into a small alley.

Shops line both sides of the alley, with various food stalls emitting steaming heat, and many customers scattered in front of the shops.

These guests were all bare-chested and tattooed, behaving casually and rudely, with shouts and curses rising and falling.

Without saying a word, Brother Hong walked straight past the crowd.

Zhao Rui didn't dare to look too closely, only glancing at it twice before looking away.

(End of this chapter)