Actually, Zhang Lei wasn't unaware of the old man's presence; it's just that his inner energy circle mostly treated the old man as a rock, a trash can, or a toilet—not as a person.
The inner energy circle has a relatively low sensitivity to fixed substances, and this old man took advantage of this. His breathing was so still that it could hardly cause the inner energy circle to resonate. Zhang Lei had made it a habit to use the inner energy circle to detect enemies over the years, so it was not surprising that he did not find him.
After pausing to think it over, Zhang Lei realized that no matter what method he used, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to detect the old man before he spoke. This old man was not only treated as an inanimate object by the inner energy circle, but also by everything else—aura, killing intent, senses, hearing, and so on. Even if one's gaze swept over him, they probably wouldn't notice that there was a person there, even though he had been standing there with his hands folded.
"Is this what they call merging with nature?" Zhang Lei's eyes narrowed. He had heard of it, but had never seen it before.
"Tai Chi Chen?" Zhang Lei suddenly realized who this old man was.
"It's an honor that Blood King has actually heard of this old man's name!" Even after speaking, the old man still gave the impression that he was just part of the background.
Zhang Lei knew that "Blood King" was just one of his nicknames. In his eight years with the National Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, he had carried out countless missions, and Zhang Lei always used bloodshed as a embellishment for his missions. It was impossible for him not to have some kind of nickname, and "Blood King" was definitely one of the most polite ways to describe him. Even though most of the people Zhang Lei slaughtered were from enemy countries, many people still disapproved of his actions. The fact that no righteous people had come to his aid was probably related to Zhang Lei's extraordinary strength and his ruthless approach to everyone he encountered.
However, as Zhang Lei recalled this part of his memory, it seemed that there were indeed such moral guardians, but they had simply become another halo above the Blood King's head.
"Tai Chi Chen, Bagua Li, hum hum, Tai Chi Chen, Bagua Li!" Zhang Lei repeated this mantra twice in succession.
Actually, Li Yang's lineage originally had no connection with the "Gossip Li" lineage. However, there's an old Chinese saying that perfectly captures this: "When you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, everyone knows you even in the deep mountains." Despite sharing an ancestor from who-knows-how-many years ago, when the Li Yang family gained power, the "Gossip Li" lineage claimed kinship with them. Later, Li Yang even became a disciple of the "Gossip Li" lineage, further strengthening the family ties.
"Tai Chi Chen, Bagua Li!" In the martial arts world, these are two pinnacle figures representing internal martial arts.
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More importantly, the two of them had cultivated their bodies to the limit and developed superpowers long before their internal energy exploded. So even though they had no contact with the National Bureau of Extraordinary Abilities due to their identities, they were still renowned in the world of superpowers.
Superpowered individuals can use their abilities to bully ordinary internal energy cultivators, but when internal energy cultivation approaches the limits of the human body, almost everyone will inevitably develop superpowers. At this point, as long as the superpowers are not too useless, these people will be at the pinnacle of human strength, although the number of people at the pinnacle will inevitably be extremely small.
"Senior Chen, I've long admired your name. I heard you've reached the limits of human cultivation. Are you going to protect this beast too? If I'm not mistaken, he should already be at your home!" Zhang Lei took a step back, slightly increasing the distance between himself and Tai Chi Chen, his eyes fixed on him.
Getting too close to a martial art like Tai Chi is not a good thing. Zhang Lei wasn't confident that he could defeat this old man with sheer force. As for his eyes, Zhang Lei really didn't know what to focus on. Shoulders, eyes, feet, waist—none of these might be considered key points in the movements of a true master.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I had thought that there was no room for further progress in my life. It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized that I had only taken a small step on the vast road ahead. The road ahead of me is still very long." He seemed to be talking to Zhang Lei, but it also seemed like he was talking to himself.
What he said was incomprehensible to Zhang Lei, because Zhang Lei had never encountered such an insurmountable obstacle before, at least not yet. He was not like them, who needed to overcome one obstacle after another on their path to becoming stronger.
However, they won't experience the same kind of rapid improvement in strength as them, after overcoming a hurdle.
Zhang Lei would rather not enjoy the thrill of rapid progress, because no one knows if they can really overcome so many obstacles. There are many people who get stuck at each obstacle for their entire lives. Zhang Lei is already satisfied with this steady progress, and as long as he maintains this steady pace, Zhang Lei believes, "I will be the strongest in the world, the strongest in history!"
Tai Chi Chen did not pause because Zhang Lei was slightly distracted, nor did he take advantage of Zhang Lei's momentary lapse in concentration to attack him. Perhaps the negotiations had not completely broken down, or perhaps he simply disdained to do such a thing.
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 80: A Sudden Appearance (Part 2)
"I've gained some simple insights into these things lately. If the Heavenly King is willing to let him off the hook, I'd like to share my experiences with him!" Tai Chi Chen didn't follow Zhang Lei any further. Doing so would be tantamount to declaring war on Zhang Lei, and Zhang Lei wouldn't tolerate being pushed so hard.
What he said was a huge temptation for many people. A master of his caliber could offer just a few words of guidance, saving younger generations from many detours and making their journeys much easier. Therefore, even those scions of noble families with mediocre talent often progressed much faster than those without good teachers. Sometimes, information is indeed a form of capital.
Unfortunately, Zhang Lei didn't care about his insights, because Zhang Lei and he weren't on the same path, or at most, they were two forks in the same path. His insights weren't even of any reference value to Zhang Lei. If he were willing to pass on the essence of Tai Chi to Zhang Lei, Zhang Lei might hesitate for a while, but that would be impossible for Tai Chi Chen. After all, that was their family's top secret, and it was not on the same level as these insights he had gained on his own.
“What if I refuse? Will you stop me then? You’ll still have to fight me, won’t you? Do you think you can stop me without using your full strength? At that point, your so-called insights will be completely exposed to me.” Zhang Lei smiled slightly and took a step to the side and back.
This forced Tai Chi Chen to take action, because if he didn't move, Zhang Lei could bypass him and chase Li Yang. It would be a bit of a stretch for the old man to compete with Zhang Lei in long-distance running. Although Tai Chi Chen felt that the function of his internal organs was gradually recovering during this period, his internal strength may be becoming more and more refined, but his body, especially his internal organs, has not yet fully recovered to its peak state.
Almost at the same time as Zhang Lei took a step forward, Tai Chi Chen also took half a step forward. This half step completely negated the effect of Zhang Lei's previous two steps. By the time Zhang Lei landed, Tai Chi Chen was already in front of him.
"Good!" Zhang Lei couldn't help but shout "Good!" Putting everything else aside, Zhang Lei himself couldn't do even this half step. Although he knew how the opponent lifted his leg and landed, even if the opponent didn't move, Zhang Lei still couldn't do it.
Zhang Lei didn't actually want to fight the old man. He didn't have that kind of battle maniac feeling; he didn't get itchy if he didn't fight a master. Zhang Lei preferred to simulate battles in his mind, but obviously, that way his weaknesses wouldn't be as obvious as when fighting a master.
At the start, Zhang Lei realized that he had indeed neglected footwork. Even if he knew, he couldn't improve it in a short time. For example, the footwork used by Tai Chi Chen was not entirely Tai Chi footwork. It was the summaries of many predecessors. He was just practicing and using it. Creating his own martial art was easier said than done.
Zhang Lei's step back was actually a test of Tai Chi Chen's resolve, a test of whether he would really fight him to protect Li Yang. Zhang Lei wasn't confident of winning against Tai Chi Chen, but he also believed that Tai Chi Chen might not be so confident.
Zhang Lei had considered the possibility of Tai Chi Chen making a move, but he hadn't expected him to be able to close the distance to his preferred range in an instant. Zhang Lei had no choice but to release his arm from the knot, as the rope marker was no longer usable at this distance.
The strongest aspect of Tai Chi is close combat, and Zhang Lei's strongest aspect is also close combat. However, their fighting styles are completely different. One focuses on softness and using the opponent's force against them, while the other has a domineering style and charges forward recklessly. But these two have one thing in common: they are both good at short-range power, so neither of them dares to give the other any space to exert force.
"Whoosh!" Zhang Lei's fist grazed past Tai Chi Chen's ear, startling him into a cold sweat. He hadn't managed to land the punch.
Zhang Lei became increasingly frustrated as the fight progressed. Each punch felt like it was going through a pile of cotton, and he would be exhausted after only a short distance. His inch-force technique was also ineffective. Tai Chi Chuan is, after all, the ancestor of inch-force.
Zhang Lei had been secretly preparing for his punch for a long time. He used his strength to launch seven consecutive short-range attacks from his legs, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists, palms, and fingers. Only then did he barely break through Tai Chi Chen's sticky hand technique. Even so, he was still pulled away from his original position and could not be corrected.
With this punch, Zhang Lei slightly increased the distance between himself and Tai Chi Chen, and began to plan his next attack.
Little did he know, Tai Chi Chen was far more astonished than he was. Tai Chi Chen was essentially still a member of the martial arts world, and those in the martial arts world, deep down, looked down on these superhumans, believing them to be nothing more than a group of lucky individuals, whose fundamental abilities were utterly insignificant.
Although Taiji Chen outwardly disagreed with that view, he actually thought so in his heart. These superhumans were nothing without their superpowers; their foundation was too weak.
But this Zhang Lei!
As soon as Tai Chi Chen's hand touched Zhang Lei's wrist, he felt something was wrong. He tried his best but could only deflect Zhang Lei's force. He couldn't borrow any of Zhang Lei's strength at all.
There's an abridged Chinese proverb: "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Actually, there's a second half to it: "But without that one percent inspiration, nothing is possible."
Just like the oil seller, "There's nothing special about it, only familiarity with it!" There are so many oil sellers in the world, but it's not necessarily true that only he has a good business. Why don't other people have this skill? If everyone had it, it really wouldn't be so surprising.
The same applies to martial arts. There are many diligent people, and many people have the same opportunities as Tai Chi Chen. So why did Tai Chi Chen and Bagua Li become the leaders of internal martial arts in the end?
Because they possess that extra 1% of talent compared to others, Tai Chi Chen no longer uses wooden push-hands targets for practice; he uses high-toughness steel. Even so, he can still draw strength from the steel pillar and break a wrist-thick steel pillar in an instant.
However, he couldn't borrow any strength from Zhang Lei's arm, which was unimaginable in the past. Even if he couldn't borrow physical strength, he could borrow internal strength.
Zhang Lei's final strike, in particular, sent a chill down Tai Chi Chen's spine. There's always a second time after the first; if he managed to break through the Tai Chi sticky hands defense, who knows if he can deflect his punch again next time?
"Beep beep beep!" Just when the two were caught in a dilemma, Zhang Lei's walkie-talkie transmitted a signal requesting to make a call.
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 81: The Second Superpower (Part 1)
"Excuse me, I need to take this call!" Zhang Lei raised his hand and took a step back.
"Please do as you wish!" Tai Chi Chen also took a step back, increasing the distance between the two.