SWDnovel Chapter 59 A Handshake of the Way, an Unfathomable Bottom
Chapter 59 A Handshake of the Way, an Unfathomable Bottom
Fengzeyuan, "Auspicious Purple Qi from the East" private room.
The aroma of Shaoxing wine filled the warm pavilion, mingling with the rich, savory flavor of braised sea cucumber with scallions.
But the atmosphere at the table was strangely stagnant.
Li Sanye's hand, holding the wine glass, froze in mid-air.
His old eyes, clouded yet shrewd from decades of boxing practice, were fixed on the nonchalant young man opposite him.
"Practicing blindly?"
Li Sanye chuckled twice, his face wrinkling up, clearly showing his disbelief.
"Master Lu, are you making fun of this old man?"
"To sense danger and avoid it within five steps—that's the 'Way of Utmost Sincerity' that only a Grandmaster of Internal Energy possesses. You're telling me this is something you just figured out by yourself?"
"It's like someone making bricks at home, and while they're making bricks, they end up building the Forbidden City. Do you think that makes sense?"
Zhao Shanhe, standing beside him, also kept his head down, refilling Lu Cheng's tea, but in his heart he was thinking: This Master Lu is too good at pretending. Even if you start practicing in the womb, without a famous teacher to guide you, without decades of practice, you can't even get close to this level.
Lu Cheng didn't rush to explain.
He picked up a piece of braised sea cucumber with scallions; it was soft and tender with a rich scallion flavor.
The chef at Fengzeyuan Restaurant is truly skilled; this one plate costs five silver dollars, enough for an ordinary family to eat for three months.
After swallowing the sea cucumber, Lu Cheng put down his chopsticks and looked at Master Li with his deep eyes. His gaze was clear and filled with an undeniable sincerity.
"Master Li, I am an opera singer. On the stage, we emphasize 'truly listening, truly seeing, and truly feeling'."
"That day at Guanghe Tower, the moment Zhang Xiaolin drew his gun, I didn't think much about it."
"I just feel... a throbbing sensation in the flesh between my eyebrows. And a chilly feeling in the tendon at the back of my head."
"My body moved faster than my brain, and I instinctively swayed to the side."
"As for the so-called 'Way of Utmost Sincerity' and the so-called 'Transformation of Internal Energy,' I really don't understand them."
Lu Cheng shrugged, rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of his muscular forearm.
"How about you take a look?"
"Want to lend a hand?"
This is a rule in the martial arts world: "to lend a hand".
They don't actually fight; they just touch wrists to hear the opponent's strength. You can tell what kind of person they are with just one touch.
Master Li's eyes narrowed.
This is an opportunity.
He desperately wanted to know this young man's true strength. If he was truly at the Transformation Realm, then he was like a dragon whose head is seen but not its tail, his power perfectly smooth and flawless, impossible to fathom.
"Then... I apologize for the intrusion."
Master Li apologized, stood up, and adopted the air of a grandmaster.
Although he was only at the peak of internal strength, he was still a prominent figure in Beijing and had a good eye for people.
Their hands gently touched above the mahogany round table.
The instant of contact.
Li Sanye didn't feel any overwhelming force; instead, he felt that Lu Cheng's wrist was soft and boneless.
"Um?"
Master Li frowned slightly and tentatively unleashed a burst of "drilling force".
This energy, the foundation of Hung Kuen, was like an awl, trying to drill into Lu Cheng's pores.
If it were a Ming Jin hand, one would instinctively use explosive force to resist.
If it's a hidden force technique, this one move can "hear" the opponent's strength and weakness.
But just as this energy entered the body...
boom!
Master Li's expression changed instantly.
It was deathly pale.
He felt as if his energy had stepped into a powder keg.
The immense and terrifying force within Lu Cheng's body was completely unruly and unrestrained.
Like a mad dragon trapped in a cage, sensing an external provocation, it instantly erupted!
"collapse."
There are no special moves.
It's pure, immense, and irrationally powerful... hidden force!
Li Sanye felt a violent jolt in his hand, and half of his body went numb instantly. The recoil shot up his arm and straight to his heart, making his throat taste sweet and almost causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Thump thump thump".
Master Li stumbled back three steps and slumped into the armchair, making the solid wood chair creak loudly.
"Master!" Zhao Shanhe exclaimed in alarm and was about to draw his sword.
"Don't move!!"
Master Li shouted to stop him. He clutched his chest, panting heavily, his eyes filled with horror, and a hint of... chilling dread.
He stared intently at Lu Cheng, as if he were looking at a monster in human skin.
"This...this power..."
"Pure, so pure! Ten times purer than what I've cultivated for forty years!"
"But this force... is dead, it has no eyes!"
Thinking of this, Li Sanye's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and a chill ran down his spine straight to the top of his head.
He sat in the chair, his body trembling uncontrollably, his mind churning with turbulent emotions.
A rite of passage?!
This is absolutely the legendary initiation technique! But... how is this possible?!
The fear in Master Li's heart was magnified infinitely at this moment.
It is important to understand that martial arts training is a process that requires taking one step at a time.
Ming Jin trains the bones, An Jin trains the marrow, and Hua Jin trains the spirit.
Ordinary masters of internal strength cannot transfer their power to others, as they would die from depletion of both qi and blood.
Even a master of internal energy, who has reached the level of "not a feather can be added, not a fly can land," has only cultivated his internal energy to a superb level. It is absolutely impossible for him to achieve this kind of "fate-defying" initiation!
It's impossible... absolutely impossible! To perfectly seal such vast, pure, decades-long internal energy within another person's body without harming them in the slightest...
This requires mastering the control of Qi and blood to the point of "locking in the golden elixir," which is a prerequisite for breaking through the void and achieving immortality!
This is... the Embracing Elixir!
The moment those two words appeared in his mind, Li Sanye felt as if his heart was about to stop beating.
Grandmaster of the Elixir of Immortality!
That's a legendary realm, that's a true immortal on land!
Looking across the entire Central Plains martial arts world, perhaps only a few living fossils who have secluded themselves in the deep mountains and forests and have half their bodies buried in the ground possess such extraordinary abilities.
Such a person values their skills more than their own life. Unless they are a biological son or the only successor who can inherit their mantle, they would never sacrifice their own cultivation to help others.
The successor... Could this Lu Cheng be the successor of a Grandmaster who has reached the Core Formation stage?!
The more Li Sanye thought about it, the more frightened he became, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
To mess with the disciple of such a person is to create an irreconcilable feud with a Grandmaster of the Elixir Realm.
If someone wanted to destroy the Iron Fist Gym, it would only take them a breath!
No, if he had been trained from a young age, Lu Cheng shouldn't be so clueless about how to circulate his internal energy. This energy, though strong, is chaotic, indicating it's only recently been acquired…
Looking at Lu Cheng's young, handsome face, which exuded a certain charm, Li Sanye suddenly thought of something.
Yes! Talent!
Lu Cheng's opera singing is exceptional; it's a gift from the patriarch. Opera singing emphasizes "emotion," while martial arts training emphasizes "comprehension." Those with unparalleled talent often possess extraordinary comprehension.
Could it be... that Lu Cheng's astonishing talent while performing on stage attracted a passing Taoist master who had achieved the highest level of spiritual cultivation?
Seeing his exceptional talent, like a rough gem, that powerful being, on a whim, and without any apparent intention, casually bestowed upon him ten years' worth of cultivation?
Thinking of this, Li Sanye not only did not relax, but became even more terrified.
Did you do it on a whim?
What kind of realm and what kind of spirit must that be?
This is even more terrifying than careful cultivation! Because it means that Lu Cheng is the chosen one by "Heaven", with a god standing behind him that even Li Sanye is not qualified to look up to!
Although Beiping City is large and has experts at the Transformation Realm, he had never even heard of a celestial being at the Core Formation Realm.
That was terrifying... I just had a brush with death!
Li Sanye wiped the large beads of cold sweat from his forehead. When he looked at Lu Cheng again, his eyes held not just awe, but rather the gaze of someone looking at a god walking among men.
Lu Cheng withdrew his hand and looked at Li Sanye's ever-changing and fascinating expression. Although he didn't know what the old man had added, he knew that the effect had been achieved.
"Master Li, have you figured it out?" Lu Cheng asked calmly.
Master Li suddenly snapped out of his daze, quickly picked up his teacup, his hand still trembling violently, took a sip to calm his nerves, and his tone became more respectful than ever before, even humble.
"Master Lu... Master Lu."
"I'm being presumptuous, but I'll speak the truth."
"Your kung fu is so eerie, so incredibly eerie."
"The hidden energy within you is something countless people dream of; it's incredibly pure, almost like... like a blessing bestowed by heaven and earth."
"But you... are indeed missing something."
Lu Cheng leaned forward, his expression solemn: "What's missing?"
Third Master Li took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and pointed a finger at his forehead.
"Lacking 'meaning'".
"meaning?"
"Yes, the heart of intention, the intention of thought."
Master Li sighed, finally letting loose, and began to tell Lu Cheng a long story.
"Our internal martial arts emphasize the 'internal three harmonies'."
"The mind and intention are in harmony, the intention and the spirit are in harmony, and the spirit and strength are in harmony."
"You are now strong and energetic."
"But your heart and your mind are not aligned."
"It's like you have a million-strong army, each one a fierce and powerful force, but there's no marshal in the command tent!"
"With so many soldiers and no leader, won't they just end up fighting each other?"
Lu Cheng listened with rapt attention.
Isn't this exactly his current problem?
Ming Jin (manifest strength) is hard, An Jin (hidden strength) is soft.
These two forces within his body hindered each other because there was no unified "commander".
When you want to be forceful, gentleness holds you back; when you want to be gentle, force emerges.
"Then... how do you practice this 'intention'?" Lu Cheng pressed.
This is a major event concerning whether he can advance further, or even whether he can live a long life.
After all, even an iron body can't withstand two opposing forces fighting each other every day.
Master Li fell silent.
He looked at Lu Cheng, his eyes flickering.
This is an immense favor.
If I can help Lu Cheng get through this hurdle, then I'll be considered a mentor to him!
In this chaotic world, if a grandmaster who is suspected of having a high-level Dan-level expert behind him can owe a half-master's favor, then the Iron Fist School will be able to do whatever it wants in Beiping City from now on!
"Master Lu".
Third Master Li gritted his teeth and lowered his voice.
"This practice of 'intention' cannot be achieved by talking about it or by practicing boxing forms."
"It depends on 'visualization'."
"In ancient times, masters had to study the 'fundamental diagram' in order to master the true essence of the art."
"The fundamental diagram?" Lu Cheng was taken aback.