100: Chapter 97 Wow, isn't that Old Wang?

"Changsheng, where did you hear this? This woman is absolutely despicable!"

"Exactly, isn't it? She even hooked up with her boyfriend's younger brother. Isn't that just... you know... that?"

"Indeed, the moral standards of today are truly declining!"

Several old men and women sat on small stools, cracking melon seeds while continuously criticizing the people and events Li Changsheng had described.

"Oh right, Changsheng, whose child is it, anyway? Is it her boyfriend's younger brother's?"

"Yeah, it is. It's definitely his younger brother's." Li Changsheng nodded with a faint smile.

"Then, to get a household registration for the child, she married the older brother, who even had a Beijing household registration."

"She definitely did it for the money!"

"Right! This woman is so shameless."

Watching the old women as they continuously discussed just how terrible this woman was.

Li Changsheng stood up with a chuckle, brushed the melon seed crumbs off his clothes, bid them farewell, and set off to pick up his delivery.

It was quite nice to chat with the old folks in the village occasionally. Retelling a version of Empresses in the Palace proved quite effective; it wouldn't be long before it became a perennial topic of conversation in the village.

There were two packages to pick up today: one was a stack of ordered, bound books by martial arts Great Masters, and the other was a Peppa Pig T-shirt.

There was no helping it; one had been torn yesterday, so he had to buy another. Fortunately, the supplier had stock in Chu Province, so it arrived today.

After bringing the packages home, Li Changsheng immediately unwrapped the books.

He had purchased several books this time, including Internal Martial Arts, written by Huang Baijia of Zhejiang during the Qing Dynasty.

The other two were Truth of Fist Intent and Study of Xingyi Fist. The former contained biographies of various modern martial arts Great Masters and Great Master Guo Yunshen's classification of Realms, while the latter was written by Sun Lutang.

These were quite targeted, all focusing primarily on the methods of Internal Martial Arts, which suited Li Changsheng perfectly, as he focused on internal cultivation, with external techniques as a supplement.

Once he started reading, Li Changsheng became completely immersed, only snapping out of it when the old woman called him for dinner that evening.

After dinner, Li Changsheng returned to his desk to continue his studies.

"According to Truth of Fist Intent, regarding Visible Power: 'The Divine Qi during practice must be expansive and unrestrained; its application must be fluid and lively, never stagnant.' The Fist Classic states: 'That which is round responds to the exterior,' which is the meaning here."

Li Changsheng carefully pondered this statement.

He also reviewed the detailed description of Visible Power below, gaining a slight glimmer of understanding.

"The book's description of Visible Power is still quite obscure, but it does offer an analogy."

The Fist Classic contains sayings such as:

'The foot strikes with the intention of plucking, never falling empty.'

'The momentum depends entirely on the push of the rear foot.'

'The horse possesses the skill of the hoof.'

What did this mean?

This was a practical demonstration described in the book regarding Visible Power and Dark Power, stating that while the footwork for both was identical, the leg using Visible Power made a sound upon impact, whereas the leg using Dark Power landed silently.

"Truth of Fist Intent primarily reflects the understanding of Visible Power and Dark Power in Xingyi Fist by Great Masters like Sun Lutang and Guo Yunshen. Generally speaking, Visible Power makes a sound, while Dark Power is silent.

However, during my battle with Chen Shixing yesterday, my fist strikes were also silent, yet I still hadn't reached the level of Dark Power.

Does it mean my footsteps must also be silent?"

Li Changsheng felt a bit troubled, and his gaze immediately fell upon the Internal Martial Arts book to the side.

"This book says something slightly different; it claims that one's tendons, bones, skin, and hair must reach a state of perfect harmony in movement and stillness. This is the secret of the so-called Internal Three Harmonies.

It emphasizes the purity and firmness of the mind and will, reaching a state where the heart is like steel."

This touched upon spiritual aspects. Li Changsheng certainly understood the Internal and External Three Harmonies, but how was he to achieve the firmness, concentration, and purity described in the book?

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Li Changsheng slowly came back to his senses. He took a deep breath, and his bones cracked in unison while his muscles rose and fell in controlled tension. His chest did the same, and then, he exhaled sharply. The breath condensed into a single wisp as it was expelled, but it quickly dissipated.

This breath seemed to expel all the confusion in his heart, and the daze in his mind faded significantly, leaving his thoughts clear.

He practiced the Longevity Qigong a few times, checked his panel, and seeing that his Lifespan was still steadily increasing, Li Changsheng drifted into a deep sleep.

The next day, Li Changsheng prepared to practice the sensation of silent legs while out for his run. Since this was one of the few useful pieces of information he could find, he needed to hone it thoroughly.

However, he hadn't run far before Li Changsheng gradually slowed his pace and came to a stop. The reason he stopped was that not far away, in the direction of the east side of the village, it seemed...

"Why does that person look a bit like Old Wang?"

Who was Old Wang? Naturally, it was his former neighbor from Shenzhen, that shut-in.

"I must have seen wrong; they just look alike. Old Wang's accent sounded like it was from the Northeast. He couldn't possibly be here on vacation, could he?"

Shaking his head, Li Changsheng dismissed the thought and continued his run.

This time, he didn't aim for his usual speed; instead, he deliberately slowed down, controlling his frequency and force according to the footwork of Xingyi.

However, he tried many times in a row, but failed to achieve silent footsteps even once.

Unless he took off his shoes, but that would be completely pointless.

"Forget it, this isn't urgent. I'll have to take my time; steady progress is all that matters."

With the Sword of Damocles that was cancer no longer hanging over his head, Li Changsheng was in a very good state of mind.

— —

"Old Wang, what are you looking at?"

At this moment, on the east side of the village, not far from Gao Qiang's detached lake-view villa, several men dressed in simple, honest attire were gathered in the courtyard of a rural house.

The courtyard gate faced the cement road in the distance that led to the outside world. Seeing Old Wang staring unblinkingly, several of his companions nearby looked suspicious.

"It's nothing."

Old Wang frowned and waved his hand. He kept feeling that the person running in the distance looked familiar, but it was too far away to be certain.

Besides, rashly mentioning that he'd seen an acquaintance at a time like this was a major taboo.

"Alright, Old Wang, let's go inside and talk. This mission is quite arduous, and I trust you've seen the signal sent from the other side."

The leader was a man with a square face. At 1.7 meters, he wasn't tall, but despite his short stature and rustic clothing, one could still see traces of his past training.

"Yeah, don't worry, I know. This time, I'm responsible for the surveying, and you're responsible for the operation. Let's all strive to complete the mission within half a month."

Old Wang nodded. His tone and demeanor were not submissive; clearly, among the eight people present, his rank was only below that of the square-faced leader.

"That's good. Come on, let's finish breakfast and set off. Everyone will have to work hard these next few days."

— —

He had run for nearly an hour, but unfortunately, he still had no clue how to reach the level of Dark Power where one lands without a sound.

When he returned home and had just finished breakfast, Li Changsheng saw an old man wandering by his courtyard gate, seemingly hesitating about something.