188: Chapter 188 Tai Chi Chuan Upgrade: "Energy Dissipation"

Chapter 188 Upgrade Tai Chi to "Force Dispersion"

Splash—

In the pitch-black corridor, the sound of the iron gate being pulled open rang out.

The room was brightly lit, and the television was playing a recently popular drama, emitting a burst of dialogue.

Grandma Zhou, who had returned from praying and chanting scriptures at Gufeng Temple, wore reading glasses and sat on the sofa in the living room, staring fixedly at the male and female protagonists on the screen.

Fang Cheng walked out the door, turned to look at Zhou Xiumei who was seeing him off, and exhorted:

"Remember tonight, don't forget to close the iron gate again."

Zhou Xiumei nodded with a "Mn", her cheeks slightly tinged with shyness, and then said softly:

"I will remember, and you should be careful too."

Fang Cheng smiled and replied:

"With so many police officers guarding downstairs, we can at least have a peaceful sleep tonight."

After bidding farewell to Zhou Xiumei, Fang Cheng took out his keys and walked towards his own home.

With a "creak", he pushed the door open and entered.

In the darkness, the room was completely silent.

The furniture and decorations were just as they were before he left, motionless and completely unchanged.

Fang Cheng did not turn on the lights.

Instead, he pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, then quietly walked to the balcony and looked at the situation downstairs through the window glass.

Although the rain had eased a bit, the police officers on duty were still there.

Vaguely, three plainclothes detectives could be seen sitting in a car eating instant noodles.

According to Zhou Yongnian, this lockdown would last for at least three days or so.

As for the specifics, it depended on whether the so-called "source of infection" still existed in the Tubular Building.

Of course, a mere few police officers simply could not stop someone's freedom to come and go at will.

However, thinking of the two Special Investigation Team commissioners who appeared at noon, Fang Cheng still couldn't help feeling a bit worried.

From the overheard words, it could be inferred roughly what those two came here to execute their mission for.

Aside from helping the criminal investigation team inspect the scene and confirming there were no other hidden "monsters",

it seemed they were mostly targeting the Masked Man who fought with the Ghoul last night.

That was—Fang Cheng himself!

Drip, drop.

Raindrops slowly slid down the glass surface, and the street seemed covered in a layer of dark, hazy mist.

The inside of the house was also pitch black, and Fang Cheng stood in front of the window, thinking silently.

When he raised his head, he suddenly caught sight of a faint, flickering red light in the opposite building.

It seemed... someone was using equipment like night vision goggles to observe the scene over at the Tubular Building.

Fang Cheng's heart tightened, then without changing his expression, he slowly drew the curtains closed.

Then he turned and walked to the living room, pressing the light switch on the wall.

Click.

The warm, pale yellow light instantly illuminated the dim rented apartment.

Fang Cheng turned on the television, sat on the sofa, and watched the soap opera that Zhou Xiumei and Grandma Zhou next door were also watching.

His gaze stared at the tragic drama performed by that pair of infatuated men and women on the screen, but inwardly he was thinking about his own affairs.

Although he couldn't be sure whether the people from the Special Investigation Team stayed around to monitor,

the bit of red light he saw just now served as a reminder to Fang Cheng.

To avoid triggering any response from them, he didn't linger his gaze to check carefully.

In a hurried glance, he only vaguely saw a blurry figure located in a room of the opposite building.

Fang Cheng tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, his brows slightly knitted as he fell into deep thought.

No matter what the actual situation was.

Under this kind of environment where he might be spied on at any time, it would be best to temporarily suspend the training plan for a period of time.

At least, he needed to make corresponding adjustments.

To avoid his overly shocking physical training being accidentally discovered by others and thus leaking his secrets.

Furthermore, after the Tubular Building was locked down, the food stored at home could not guarantee the nutritional supply required for high-intensity training.

If he blindly ordered takeout or made large-scale purchases, it would inevitably arouse police suspicion.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng's heart stirred slightly.

A light blue light screen then emerged before his eyes, blocking the television screen.

Looking at the various skills listed on the panel, after reviewing them repeatedly, his gaze landed on two of them.

[Speed Reading lv1 (203 / 250)]

[Tai Chi lv0 (78 / 100)]

Combining the current environment and actual conditions, these two skills were obviously most suitable for him to practice during the lockdown.

Tai Chi was already in the plan to intensify practice.

Speed Reading, in fact, had been close to upgrading as early as a month ago.

It was just that after synthesizing the "Omniscient Language" talent, he hadn't focused much of his attention on learning, hence he had neglected it.

Now that he had ample time, he could completely take the opportunity to Breakthrough the skill, further enhance his mental attribute, or obtain a new skill effect.

So...

next, he would put his main energy into these two skills and strive to complete the Breakthrough in a short period of time.

Having planned properly in his mind, Fang Cheng immediately got up, turned off the television, and walked into the bedroom.

Looking at the stacks of textbooks and academic works on the bookshelf.

He then selected two thick heavy tomes from among them and pulled them out.

"World History" and "Criminal Psychology".

These two books belonged to extracurricular reading; he had casually flipped through a few pages when he was free before, and now it was just the right time to read through them thoroughly as a whole.

Fang Cheng placed the books on the desk, sat upright, and put on the appearance of preparing for self-study.

Then he glanced outside the pitch-black window and drew the bedroom curtains closed.

Next, he first opened the title page of "World History", his gaze fell on the table of contents, and he chanted silently in his heart:

"Speed Reading skill, activate."

In an instant, Fang Cheng's eyes calmed down, and he immediately entered a state of learning.

His fingers quickly flipped through the pages of the book.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

The continuous sound of page-turning rang out promptly, turning every three seconds.

At the same time, his eyeballs moved rapidly, constantly scanning back and forth over the dense text on the paper.

In a little over half an hour, the thick book had already been flipped to the last page.

[Speed Reading Experience + 2]

"Hoo..."

Fang Cheng let out a light breath, feeling very relaxed.

The biggest advantage of using a single mental skill alone was that the experience efficiency also doubled or so.

With his current mental attribute, even without using the Focus Skill, he could maintain a relatively concentrated mental state.

Of course, the prerequisite was that the surrounding environment must be quiet enough to be able to plunge into study so wholeheartedly.

After reading, Fang Cheng closed his eyes and casually recalled a certain page or paragraph in the book.

He was able to recall at least about eighty percent of the specific content.

Compared to before when he swallowed whole dates without chewing and could only remember the summary, the effect had improved quite a bit.

Obviously, after breaking through 40 points in mental attribute, his memory had also been greatly enhanced.

After a brief rest.

Fang Cheng then opened the second book, "Criminal Psychology", and continued to practice the "Speed Reading" skill.

About three hours later.

Clack.

The book was closed, Fang Cheng let out a long breath and gently rubbed his forehead.

A few prompt messages of experience increase drifted before his eyes.

[Speed Reading Experience + 7]

[Speed Reading lv1 (210 / 250)]

After being repeatedly studied for three consecutive times, the two thick academic works could be said to have been thoroughly mastered, just like being engraved in his mind.

Recalling any section of content, Fang Cheng could accurately grasp the sentences and recite them fluently.

Even when cross-referencing with the book, there were almost no omissions or errors.

The slight deficiency was that every time he read it once more, the experience gained would become less and less.

The first reading, experience + 2; second reading, experience + 1; the third time, the two books combined only yielded 1 point of experience.

It was estimated that by the fourth time, there would basically be no experience increase.

Check every single error, first release, and content!

After all, he had completely remembered the contents of the entire book.

Fang Cheng raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the stacks of textbooks, dictionaries, and literary works on the bookshelf.

Over the next two days, he could reread these books and memorize them all in his mind, which should enable him to upgrade smoothly.

He just didn't know what kind of outstanding effect the Great Master-level "Speed Reading" would have?

Feeling a slight mental fatigue, Fang Cheng put away the books, stood up, and gave a satisfying stretch.

Then he looked at the window blocked by the curtains, his pupils hidden behind the lenses flashing with a faint light.

Although he didn't know what special abilities the Special Investigation Team commissioners actually had, and whether they had mastered Heaven-Defying skills like "perspective".

Acting with caution could never be wrong.

Now that he had studied hard for several hours, he naturally needed to exercise his body and stretch his muscles and bones.

Practicing a bit of Tai Chi shouldn't be considered too excessive, right?

Fang Cheng swung his arms and kicked his legs.

Simply within the cramped bedroom, he leisurely began to practice a set of twenty-four-form Ma style Tai Chi.

Every Move and stance had a measured advance and retreat; it looked soft, but it was extremely Xiaosa and graceful.

Because it didn't emphasize strength like past fist training or pursue a one-hit kill,

Fang Cheng instead had a feeling of becoming more fluent and more relaxed the more he practiced.

His figure stretched out slowly along with the Moves and routines, resembling a mass of cloud fluffs floating with the wind, or like a gurgling stream of water.

Accomplished in one go, continuous and unending.

His entire body was exceptionally relaxed and natural.

Gradually, even his state of mind began to settle down.

All the various dangers hidden in the external environment and the many anxious thoughts accumulated in his heart were constantly dissolved and washed away along with the flowing-water-like movements.

In this deliberate slow-paced Punching techniques practice, an unprecedented feeling vaguely emerged in his heart.

Fang Cheng suddenly remembered the usual teachings of Ma Jianguo and Wu Datong, and gradually gained a deeper comprehension in his heart.

Tai Chi was a punching technique that gave equal weight to martial arts and health preservation.

During the process to Cultivate, "slow practice" was regarded as a crucial principle.

This training method was not only related to the refinement of skill, but also contained profound Daoist philosophical thoughts.

That was the so-called overcoming the hard with the soft, controlling motion with stillness, the mutual aid of Yin and Yang, and the unity of inside and outside.

Reflected in the Moves, it used soft and slow movements to deal with hard and impetuous attacks, thereby achieving the effect of borrowing force to strike and striking only after the enemy has struck.

Various combat arts throughout ancient and modern times, both domestic and foreign, all pursued strength and speed, emphasizing the large defeating the small, the fast defeating the slow, and the strong defeating the weak.

Only Tai Chi went against this trend, viewing size, speed, strength and weakness in confrontation from a dialectical perspective, believing that there was no eternal and immutable strength and weakness; when strength reached a certain degree it would become weak, and when weakness reached a certain point it could also defeat the strong.

Therefore, if one wanted to truly master this special punching technique, one couldn't think about how to knock down the opponent as quickly as possible like learning Boxing or Sanda.

One must abandon the inherent habits formed over a long period, and Cultivate the courage and state of mind of being unhurried and remaining calm even if Mount Tai collapses before one's eyes.

To achieve this point was extremely difficult.

An old saying goes: "Tai Chi does not leave the door for ten years."

What it meant was that the practice of Tai Chi needed to go from basic skills to combat practice, to facing the enemy in battle; the time required was very long.

First, one had to learn stance standing and routine Moves, overcome the rigidity of one's limbs, and achieve coherence, fluency, and flexible ease in movements.

Then came practicing Tai Chi pushing hands, two-person combat, mastering listening to force, receiving force, guiding force, neutralizing force, and emitting force, constantly verifying what one had learned; this required a great deal of effort.

And if one wanted to reach a higher level and be able to use Tai Chi techniques in fierce actual combat fighting, one must by no means be constrained by the Moves themselves; instead, one must forget all Moves and face the enemy with the heart.

Fang Cheng had panel assistance, and every practice could gain significant progress.

Right now, his techniques were extremely proficient, and it was also time close to a Breakthrough, reaching a higher level.

Through the Punching techniques practice slower than usual, Fang Cheng vaguely figured out a bit, but it wasn't quite thorough.

At this thought, his eyes condensed slightly, and he had a plan in mind.

"Focus, activate!"

With a silent chant, all the environmental noises around quickly faded away.

Fang Cheng seemed to enter a space that belonged only to himself.

His gaze was placed on the man standing tall in front of him, resembling a small mountain.

This man's head almost touched the ceiling, his whole body's skin was blood red, and his bare muscles were as developed as dozens of crisscrossing steel bars, full of a sense of oppression.

It was precisely the formidable enemy Fang Cheng had fought against back then, that experimental body with terrifying strength.

He saw this old opponent rolling his bronze-bell-like eyes, grinning a mouth of gleaming white teeth.

Immediately, like a beast, he let out a low roar, suddenly waving his winnowing-basket-like large hand, clenched into a fist, and heavily smashed over.

This time.

Fang Cheng did not dodge, nor did he collide head-on with the opponent; he only practiced Tai Chi unhurriedly.

When the experimental body's fist was about to attack right before his eyes, his body instantly made an almost instinctive contingency measure.

He chose to withdraw half a step along the direction of the opponent's punch and turn his waist sideways.

Then he gently caught his fist, and utilizing the inertia brought by the impact, slightly added a bit of guiding force, instantly turning his attack into the end of a spent crossbow, deviating in direction, and ultimately hitting only air.

The experimental body missed his strike, and immediately let out an extremely tyrannical roar, wanting to forcefully twist his body to execute a backward wrapping kill.

At this moment, Fang Cheng actively leaned against him, following the power of his retraction, suddenly emitted force, and with a shake and tremor of both arms, leaned against the opponent making him stumble and almost tumble over.

The experimental body couldn't help but appear even more furious, attacking madly once again, rolling over like a mountain.

And in Fang Cheng's eyes, there was still no fluctuation, like the calmest lake surface, dealing with it calmly and unhurriedly.

Gradually, the proficiently wielded Tai Chi Moves seemed to be completely forgotten, only changing as the posture and movements of the imaginary enemy changed.

With both hands pushing and yielding, it was as vast as the sea and sky, unrestrained.

His figure retreating and advancing, like flowing water without form or shape, finding peace wherever he went.

Just as a certain martial sage said.

Water was always naturally relaxed, but at the same time always ready to rush forth; in the seemingly calm waiting process, it never gave up its flowing nature.

It could be the water in a cup, the water in a pot, the water in a bottle; as still as stagnant water, as dynamic as a fountain.

When you hit the water surface violently, the water would not be injured, because it looked so fragile, yet it could penetrate the hardest substances.

Fang Cheng raised his hands and waved his palms, lifted his knees and took steps, and the casually wielded movements unfolded slowly like flowing clouds and running water.

Looking unhurried as he practiced Tai Chi, he had entered a wondrous state of enlightenment of Dao.

At the same time, prompt messages of experience growth also flowed past like running water.

Suddenly, the panel flashed with an extremely dazzling light.

[Congratulations, you have deeply comprehended the Profound Truth of Tai Chi, the skill has reached the Expert level]

[Tai Chi lv1 (0 / 250)]

[Obtained reinforcement reward, skill effect "Force Dispersion"]