Chinese martial arts: From human punching bags to martial arts mastery

It was the seventeenth day of the Lunar New Year, in the early hours of the morning.

The night was not yet over, and a biting, cold wind, damp and chilly, lashed against my face.

After a long journey, Chen Feng, Er Gou, Sixth Senior Brother, Hu Tao, Tang Tang, and Hu Mingxuan arrived at a nearby branch of Hu Qing Yu Tang for a temporary rest.

The heaters inside the shop were burning brightly, and the heat instantly dispelled the chill of the late night from everyone.

As soon as Chen Feng sat down, he looked at Hu Tao and the others beside him and thanked them solemnly.

The previous battle at Wuzhen Road and Bridge.

The police were determined to forcibly take him, Er Gou, and Sixth Brother away.

In a critical situation.

Hu Tao and Tang Tang arrived just in time and used their status and influence to forcefully suppress the matter, thus averting the crisis.

Hu Tao explained with a smile, "Tang Tang came looking for you first this afternoon. We noticed you hadn't returned late at night, and after hearing the explosion from the direction of the docks, we were worried and rushed over. Speaking of which, we were able to handle the police station this time entirely thanks to Tang Tang!"

Tang Tang immediately raised her smooth chin haughtily, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Chen Feng, a hint of coquettish boasting in her voice: "Chen Feng, how are you planning to thank me this time?"

Chen Feng smiled slightly, secretly surprised—to be able to silence the police station with just a few words! Tang Tang's background and influence were far more profound than he had imagined.

He didn't say much, but slowly picked up the hot tea on the table, using it instead of wine, and gently gestured to Tang Tang.

Tang Tang looked at the travel-worn but sharp-eyed young man in front of her. Thinking of how he dared to blow up the patrol boat and break the wooden bridge in Wuzhen last night, his courage and ruthlessness made her burst out laughing.

The slightly tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.

Everyone sat around a table, each holding a sip of piping hot tea. The warmth flowed down their throats and into their limbs, dispelling most of the chill and fatigue.

Taking advantage of the warmth, the group started chatting.

Er Gou, who couldn't keep a secret, immediately recounted Chen Feng's experiences from the previous night with great enthusiasm—from the heart-stopping journey to the banquet in Linjiang, to the perilous solo patrol on the river, to the planned counterattack, the clever escape from the ambush, the blowing up of the bridge, and the personal killing of the vulture. Each and every event was thrilling and made the listeners' blood boil.

Hu Tao, Tang Tang, and Hu Mingxuan listened intently, completely absorbed in the story. Tang Tang even clapped her hands and exclaimed in surprise, saying that this experience was a hundred times more exciting than the most popular show in the city.

Hu Tao and Hu Mingxuan exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with undisguised amazement and admiration as they looked at Chen Feng.

This courage, wisdom, and decisiveness made them clearly feel that the young man before them was destined for greatness.

Hu Mingxuan sighed inwardly, realizing that Hu Tao's judgment back then was indeed correct.

A subtle, glimmering light flickered in the depths of Hu Tao's eyes.

At this moment, Chen Feng silently reviewed all the details of last night in his mind, then picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp; the scalding warmth slid down his throat, slightly relieving the extreme fatigue brought on by the battle.

His fingertips gently caressed the rim of the cup, his gaze lowered, his consciousness quietly sinking into the panel on his retina, where lines of pale gold text clearly appeared:

Heaven rewards diligence; success is inevitable.

[Tongbei Quan Minor Mastery: 490/1000]

[Minor Mastery of Hard Qigong: 760/1000]

[Tongbei Quan - Minor Success in Stance Training: 570/1000]

[Sharpshooter Basics (12/500)]

Chen Feng sighed inwardly.

He was only one step away from mastering Tongbei Quan, but after days of bloody battles, he always felt that there was a vague and inexplicable opportunity missing between his muscles and bones, as if there was a thin veil between them. It was clearly within reach, but he could never break through it.

Even more pressing is the imminent life-or-death battle on the second day of the second lunar month.

If he were to focus all his efforts on cultivating hard qigong, he was confident that he could reach the Great Perfection realm before the battle. At that time, he would be able to withstand even the attacks of masters of internal energy.

The problem is that he is now famous, and ordinary underground boxing rings dare not let him enter the ring to fight; and when his fellow students in the boxing gym fight, they are very careful with their moves. Not to mention fighting to the death, even heavy blows are only light and insignificant, which cannot help him hone his skills and break through his bottleneck.

As for the marksman skill, it's even more of a headache.

Firstly, he no longer had any firearms, and his sixth senior brother said it would take a week to get a new one;

Secondly, during last night's actual combat, he discovered that once the bullets were fired at long range or in succession, they would deviate significantly.

He vaguely sensed a mysterious connection between his arm and the gun, but to verify this idea, he needed a gun, and it had to be a powerful, sentimental, and handy one like the Mauser C96.

Just as Chen Feng was frowning and deep in thought, at a loss for what to do, a coquettish voice suddenly rang out.

"Chen Feng!"

Tang Tang pouted, muttering with a hint of reproach, "After our last trip to Songjiang, I told you to come find me as soon as you got back. I even prepared a big gift for you, but what have you been doing? You've been so busy you're nowhere to be seen..."

Followed by.

She then pulled a heavy object from her bag and said with a smile, "I noticed you don't have a suitable cold weapon or a handy firearm. Luckily, I just came back from Germany and brought back some nice little gadgets!"

Before he could finish speaking...

Er Gou slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with surprise. He exclaimed in a trembling voice, "A Mauser C96!"

The sixth senior brother's eyes lit up as well. He shook his head, pointed to the gun handle, and said excitedly, "This is the 'Big Red 9'! An advanced version of the Mauser C96, it uses 9mm bullets, and its power is far superior to the regular Mauser C96!"

Tang Tang smiled and nodded, then presented a delicate tin box with both hands: "There are only one hundred bullets in here. If that's not enough, you'll have to figure out how to get more yourself, or..."

Hu Tao immediately chimed in, jokingly adding, "Or you could go straight to Tang Tang's house. Behind her estate is the Jardine Matheson Golf Course, which is also her father's private shooting range for entertaining distinguished guests. You can practice shooting as much as you like!"

Chen Feng was overjoyed and immediately stood up to express his gratitude sincerely: "Good! Good! Good! I will definitely pay you a visit another day!"

Seeing his delighted expression, Tang Tang couldn't help but smile slightly, her eyes filled with pride.

After a moment's thought, Chen Feng began to arrange the follow-up matters.

He was the first to suggest that his mother and Xiao Aqiao be temporarily placed at the Hu Qing Yu Tang branch, and Hu Tao immediately agreed without hesitation.

Hu Tao also mentioned that Sister Lin was very interested in medicinal herbs during the day and even took the initiative to learn how to process them, which helped the shop a lot.

Upon hearing this...

Chen Feng knew in his heart that this was just Hu Tao being polite, and that Aunt Lin was just restless, but she still thanked Hu Tao repeatedly.

Followed by.

Chen Feng said in a deep voice that he would concentrate all his energy on breaking through the current level and preparing for the life-or-death battle on the second day of the second month!

He entrusted all the river management affairs and the hundreds of river workers to his sixth senior brother and second brother, only solemnly instructing them with two sentences: "For the poor and needy, taxes and fees must be reduced; for the Green Gang, there must be no leniency or hesitation!"

Everything has been arranged properly.

Chen Feng then looked at Hu Tao and asked, "Do you know where I can find a powerful elixir like the Hundred-Year Qi and Blood Pill, which greatly replenishes qi and blood and helps with breakthroughs?"

Hu Tao looked troubled and gently shook her head: "Only reclusive sects could possibly possess pills of this caliber. I'll try my best to find out more, but the chances... are slim!"

Chen Feng nodded slightly upon hearing this, and said nothing more.

Since advanced medicines are hard to come by, we will use the most primitive and brutal methods to forcibly create an opportunity for a breakthrough.

He looked up at the deep night outside the window, his gaze falling on the direction of the most chaotic and bloody underground boxing ring in the city.