Chapter 254
Chapter 254
That’s right!
It was a chilly, fog-shrouded morning in the late autumn of November 2001.
My martial arts cultivation had finally broken through to the hidden-force level.
According to Master, internal martial arts were divided into three realms: overt force, hidden force, and transformative force.
Overt force meant that the strength of every muscle in the body had reached an extremely high level. Each punch was incredibly fast and powerful, driving the air with sharp, explosive cracks.
In fact, overt force did not exist only in internal martial arts. Elite special forces soldiers and champions of various fighting competitions had basically grasped it too; they simply did not necessarily call it by that name.
At the peak of overt force, defeating ten unarmed opponents while barehanded oneself was easy.
Hidden force was far more mysterious.
But put simply and plainly, it was a kind of instantaneous explosive power!
This explosive power was extraordinarily strong. It gathered the strength of the entire body and released it through the limbs, joints, and other points. At the moment it erupted, the stored “heat” and “sweat” held in by the sealed pores also exploded outward.
The sweat shot from the pores at high speed and combined with the strike of the limbs, producing all sorts of seemingly miraculous feats using sheer physical force, such as shattering stone.
So masters who could break rocks with their bare hands did not truly possess bodies of iron and steel. They achieved it through the technique of hidden force!
Some ancient martial arts manuals also described the sensation of being touched by a master as feeling like an “electric shock” or a “needle prick.”
In reality, that meant the master could release hidden force. Using the power generated by the internal circulation of blood and qi, they blasted sweat rapidly through their pores. The faint pain this caused another person felt like an electric shock or the prick of a needle…
That was also why I had seemed to place my palm lightly on the ground without exerting much force, yet left a sunken handprint and sent chips of stone flying. Then my palm had immediately become drenched in sweat.
The “force” had discharged. Enormous power had burst out through my pores, preventing them from remaining closed, so sweat poured out at once!
Of course, I had only just reached the hidden-force level. One discharge of hidden force was enough to leave me completely spent.
Once someone achieved full mastery of hidden force, they could unleash it at will to injure others.
But I was still a long way from that!
As for transformative force?
That remained far too distant. It was not something I needed to consider now…
Whew!
I let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and smiled with satisfaction.
“Now, besides my talisman arts, my martial arts cultivation has advanced another step too.”
Old Cao’s voice came from behind me.
“Honestly, Xiao Wu, you’re pushing yourself far too hard. You were already exceptionally gifted, and now you work this diligently too. How are you supposed to leave any hope for the rest of us?”
I turned around and saw Old Cao standing beside Wang Hu with a broad smile.
His gaze fixed on the sunken handprint in the hard cement in front of me. Shaking his head, he sighed in admiration.
“Ever since the martial branch of the eclectic arts invented the cultivation methods of internal martial arts several hundred years ago, its influence has soared. Martial artists went from practicing some of the most despised trades at the very bottom of the eclectic arts to ranking among its most powerful branches.”
“After the founding of the People’s Republic, peace and stability reduced the number of martial artists. The wider environment needed to practice the boxing arts disappeared as well, and the branch’s influence declined sharply again, dropping back into the middle ranks.”
“So… it has been at least twenty years since I last saw anyone release hidden force. I never expected you to show it to me again, Xiao Wu. Yet you aren’t even a martial artist; you’re a practitioner of magical arts. If true martial artists heard about this, their jaws would probably hit the floor. Hahaha.”
By the end, Old Cao was laughing at his own words.
I could not help grinning too.
Only then did Wang Hu slowly float closer. Still shaken, he said,
“Young Mr. Wu, that final move of yours was terrifying to a ghost! I felt as if I’d been frozen stiff. It wasn’t the power you used to shatter the cement with one palm. It was that invisible, intangible killing intent and the surge of your blood and qi. It felt as if they were going to scorch me.”
I smiled and explained.
“Uncle Hu, living people naturally possess yang energy. Someone with strong bazi and abundant yang energy can already intimidate ghosts to some degree. Even an ordinary man, if he’s courageous and full of vigor, has no reason to fear an ordinary wandering ghost.”
“Internal martial artists go even further by sealing their pores and containing their blood and qi. Their vigorous yang blood and qi are naturally far stronger than an ordinary person’s! When I released hidden force just now, I discharged all the heat accumulated inside me in an explosion of force. Of course that powerful yang blood and qi overwhelmed you.”
“Even a vicious ghost or a ferocious ghost… would probably have its soul scattered if it took that palm head-on! Of course, Uncle Hu, you’ve studied magic under Old Cao and absorbed soul-fortifying incense, so your spirit body is strong. Your attacks might not be as powerful as a ferocious ghost’s, but you may be even better at taking a beating. Hahaha!”
I ended with a little joke.
When I finished, I checked the time. It was already around a quarter past six.
So I went out to buy steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk for breakfast.
After bringing Old Cao’s and Wang Hu’s shares back to the coffin shop, I headed to school while eating my own…
The winter that year seemed exceptionally cold.
Every morning, thick white frost covered the grass along the roadside. The plane trees at school had shed every leaf, leaving only bare branches.
Everyone wore thick clothes. During morning exercises between classes, we could breathe out great clouds of white vapor.
Over the past two years and more, I had earned quite a bit of money by helping Old Cao carry coffins and occasionally dealing with strange, sinister incidents for people in the surrounding villages.
Our finances had improved considerably, so I bought warm, comfortable down jackets for my parents and myself. I had bought one for Master too, a fashionable style I had specially asked Boss Duan to bring back from downtown Yu City.
But she refused to wear it, which secretly upset me for a while…
Ever since my martial arts reached the hidden-force level, I could keep my pores sealed with ease at all times. The heat inside my body no longer escaped, so I barely felt the cold.
Even in the depths of winter, I could manage with nothing but a light jacket. But to avoid drawing too much attention or looking eccentric, I obediently wore my down jacket anyway.
That girl Yao Nan was always suddenly slipping her icy hands down the back of my neck. She wanted to freeze me on purpose and watch me hunch my shoulders and suck in a pathetic gasp…
But she never succeeded even once. Instead, she complained that my body was always so warm.
In the blink of an eye.
Another week or two passed.
It was now late November.
One evening, I returned to the coffin shop after evening study.
To my surprise, Yuan Fei was there, talking to Old Cao about something.
As soon as he saw me, he hurriedly waved me over with a smile.
“Oh, Xiao Wu, you’re back? Perfect timing! I was just asking Brother Cao whether you two want to take on a big job.”
His eyes practically shone with golden light as he spoke. He looked every bit the money grubber.
I deliberately joked with him too.
“Uncle Yuan, you never visit without a reason. You haven’t come to the coffin shop to see Old Cao and me for two whole months, and the moment you walk through the door, you’re dragging us into some big job?”
Yuan Fei spread his hands, putting on an aggrieved, helpless expression.
“Xiao Wu, you’re too young to know the taste of sorrow. Middle-aged men like us have a hard time just earning enough to eat.”
Old Cao laughed beside him and deliberately mocked him.
“You haven’t even gotten married. You only have yourself to feed, so what troubles could you possibly have? As far as I can tell, you’re simply greedy for money.”
Old Cao and I played off each other until Yuan Fei looked thoroughly depressed.
Of course, we had known one another for a long time and gone through many things together. We were friends who had faced life and death side by side, and we were extremely close. We were only teasing him for fun…
Once I felt we had joked around enough, I asked Yuan Fei what this big job actually was.