One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Feng Baobao stuffed the last potato chip into her mouth, and the packaging bag made a soft "whoosh" sound in her hand, which sounded particularly jarring in the silence.

"that……"

A voice suddenly rang out, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

Wang Zhenqiu raised his hand, like a student asking a question in class, a bright, almost inappropriate smile on his face: "We can go over the details of the task later. Xiao Feng—"

He turned around, practically lying on the table, and leaned close to Nie Lingfeng, his eyes blinking with an almost fanatical anticipation: "Look, we brothers haven't seen each other for so long, shouldn't you... do something for us?"

Nie Lingfeng looked at him: "...What does that mean?"

"The Cloud-Dispelling Palm!" Wang Zhenqiu slammed his hand on the table, his voice booming with self-righteousness. "You promised to teach me! Back in the Southwest branch, when I saw you off at the train station, you said, 'Next time we meet, I'll teach you a move!' It was written in black and white, no, you said it with your own words! Now that we've met, shouldn't you keep your promise?"

Nie Lingfeng: "..."

He remembered. A few months ago, when he left the Southwest Branch, Wang Zhenqiu had indeed pestered him to learn the Cloud-Dispelling Palm technique. He had been pestered so much that he casually replied, "I'll teach you a move next time we meet." He thought it was just an excuse, but he didn't expect this guy to have such a good memory and actually take it seriously.

"Brother Qiu, we're on a mission right now, it's not appropriate to discuss this..." Zhang Chulan tried to smooth things over. He could see Nie Lingfeng's embarrassment and that Hei Guan's face was starting to darken again.

"Missions are missions, and teaching is teaching!" Wang Zhenqiu refused to listen, sticking his neck out. "Besides, how is this neglecting my duties? I'm improving the team's overall combat effectiveness! Xiao Feng taught me a move called the Cloud-Dispelling Palm, and with my improved strength, I can play a greater role and complete missions more efficiently! This is clearly active preparation for battle! Black Guan, don't you agree?"

The clarinet gave him a cold glance, snorted, and said nothing.

Xiao Zizai laughed, picked up a tissue to wipe his glasses, put them back on, and looked at Wang Zhenqiu with interest: "Wang Zhenqiu, you really want to learn the Cloud-Dispelling Palm? I remember that your Southwest Region has quite a few well-known magic tricks and witchcraft techniques."

"That's different!" Wang Zhenqiu's eyes widened, gleaming. "Brother Xiao, you haven't seen it with your own eyes! During the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, Xiao Feng's Cloud-Piercing Palm technique was incredibly fluid and powerful! With each strike, clouds and mist arose, the palm force condensed and unyielding, stretching endlessly! That kid Wang Bing was sent flying backward, spitting blood, and even Old Master Lu Jin was forced back three steps by his palm wind! So cool! Absolutely amazing! Much cooler than our mystical magic tricks!"

He whirled around, grabbed Nie Lingfeng's arms with both hands, and shook them violently, his voice almost pleading: "Little Feng! Brother Feng! Master Feng! Just teach me one move! Just one move! Even the simplest one will do! I promise I'll learn diligently and practice earnestly, and I'll never embarrass you! If you can't learn it, I'll write my name Wang Zhenqiu backwards!"

Nie Lingfeng was dizzy from being shaken so much. Looking at Wang Zhenqiu's persistent "I won't give up until I get my way" attitude, he knew that if he didn't give him an explanation today, this guy would keep pestering him until dawn. He sighed helplessly and looked at Hei Guan and the others.

Hei Guan had turned back to look out the window, but his taut jawline relaxed slightly, a tacit approval. Xiao Zizai smiled, a look of anticipation on his face. Old Meng pushed up his glasses, shaking his head with a wry smile. Zhang Chulan covered his face. Feng Baobao… pulled out a new bag of cookies from her bag.

"Alright." Nie Lingfeng finally relented. "I'll teach you a move. But let me make it clear beforehand: the Cloud-Dispelling Palm emphasizes 'intention' over 'form,' and 'momentum' over 'force.' I'll demonstrate it once and explain the key points. How much you can grasp depends entirely on your own comprehension and hard work."

"No problem!" Wang Zhenqiu immediately released his grip, straightened his back, and sat up straight, placing his hands on his knees. His expression was as serious as a primary school student. "Master, please speak! This disciple is all ears!"

Nie Lingfeng shook his head, got up and walked to a relatively open area in the center of the room. Everyone else also looked up, their eyes focused on him—including Hei Guan, who had been looking out the window, turned his head slightly.

"First move of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm," Nie Lingfeng stood still, his feet neither too far apart nor too far apart, his breath sinking into his dantian, and slowly raised his hands, forming a circle in front of his chest. His movements were slow and gentle, as if he were really holding a cloud of invisible and intangible energy in his arms, yet it was real. "Flowing Water and Drifting Clouds."

As he slowly moved his palms, a faint current of air appeared out of thin air in the room. At first, this current was almost imperceptible, but it gradually became clearer—the corner of the map on the table trembled slightly, Wang Zhenqiu's golden hair on his forehead fluttered gently, and a discarded plastic bag in the corner made a "rustling" sound.

"The essence of this technique lies in the word 'following the momentum,'" Nie Lingfeng's calm voice rang out, forming a wonderful harmony with his slow movements. "Palm techniques should be like flowing water, continuous and all-pervasive; body techniques should be like drifting clouds, unpredictable and elusive. It does not pursue the fierceness of head-on collisions, nor does it force a fatal blow. Instead, it is about sensing the flow of the opponent's power, discerning the gaps in their moves, following their force, guiding their attack, using their strength against them, and overcoming hardness with softness. Like a stream winding around a stone, it is not that it cannot break it, but that it does not need to break it."

As he spoke, he drew a complete circle in front of his chest with both palms, and then gently pushed forward.

There was no violent palm wind, no whistling sound of air being torn apart.

But on the wall three meters away from him, an old calendar with the hotel's service phone number printed on it started flipping rapidly without any wind! The papers fluttered, making a series of crisp sounds! And the wall itself didn't even shake!

The force is as fine as silk, and the control is exquisite!

After the demonstration, Nie Lingfeng stopped, his breathing calmed, and looked at Wang Zhenqiu: "Did you see that clearly?"

Wang Zhenqiu's eyes were already wide open, his mouth slightly agape, the lollipop almost falling out. He nodded frantically, his voice trembling with excitement: "I saw it clearly! So clearly! That's the feeling! Flowing like clouds and water, using softness to overcome hardness! I understand!"

"Then you give it a try."

Wang Zhenqiu jumped to his feet, mimicking Nie Lingfeng's stance. He took a deep breath, his expression incredibly serious. He slowly raised his hands, drawing circles in front of his chest, then, imitating Nie Lingfeng's movement, thrust his palms forward—

"call."

A breeze, much weaker than the one Nie Lingfeng had just demonstrated, swept by, stirring a few thin sheets of paper on the table.

And then... it's gone.

The calendar on the wall remained completely still.

Wang Zhenqiu remained frozen in place, his palm strike motion solidifying into a complex expression that mixed confusion, embarrassment, and disbelief.

"Uh..." He scratched his head, his blond hair a mess from being ruffled, "It seems... a little off?"

Nie Lingfeng walked back to his seat, picked up the half-empty bottle of mineral water on the table (whose water was left unfinished), took a sip, and said, "If you could learn the Cloud-Dispelling Palm after watching it once, it wouldn't deserve to be called a supreme skill. Practice more, comprehend more, and experience the meaning of 'following the trend' more in actual combat. When you can unleash a palm strike with a condensed, substantial force that can extend for three zhang without dissipating, and you can control its strength and changes at will, then you can be considered to have truly entered the realm of this move, 'Flowing Clouds and Water'."

"Three zhang..." Wang Zhenqiu sat back down in his chair with a bitter face, counting on his fingers, "Three zhang is about ten meters... My god, how long will it take to train like this?"

"Talent matters, but hard work matters even more," Nie Lingfeng said calmly. "Alright, that's all for now. Let's get down to business."