"Zhang Lei, come here!" Xiong Yong waved from a corner of the classroom.
"What for?" Zhang Lei certainly didn't want to go over there; what good things could possibly come of it?
"Come here when I tell you to, or I'll beat you up if you talk any more nonsense!" Xiong Yong raised his eyebrows, already displaying the authority of a boss at such a young age.
"Oh!" Zhang Lei reluctantly moved over.
As soon as Zhang Lei approached Xiong Yong, Xiong Yong grabbed his collar. "Kid, you've been pretty arrogant these past few days. Want to fight?" Clearly, Xiong Yong, the little tyrant, felt that Zhang Lei was acting a bit differently these past few days and wanted to repeat his lines again. Besides, these lines were supposed to be said every few days to show his unique position in the class.
But Zhang Lei is different now. He has gained confidence and believes that as long as he masters his internal skills, these little rascals in front of him are nothing to worry about.
"I don't want to!" Although it's the same line, the tone is noticeably different; this "I don't want to" carries a hint of provocation. That's how Chinese is—the same words, different tones, can convey countless meanings, even for a child.
"Why?" Although Xiong Yong sensed something was different, he didn't pay attention and continued with the standard refrain.
"No reason, I just don't want to fight. Let go of my hand!" Zhang Lei looked straight at the classmate who usually made him tremble. Although there was still a little fear in his eyes, Zhang Lei decided to make a change starting today.
"Hey?! You little bastard, you've got some nerve! I'm not letting go, what are you going to do about it!" Of course, Xiong Yong wouldn't let go, and with a little force, he pushed Zhang Lei backward.
This is the characteristic of children's fights here. Every place has its own way of fighting. Some places like to grab collars, some like to slap, and others like to wrestle and butt-butt. Here, grabbing collars and slapping are basically the starting points for a fight. After that, it's up to you. Are there some kind of martial arts rules?
"Let go, let go! I'll count to three!" Zhang Lei recalled the grappling techniques he had seen in the magazine. There were at least three or four moves for dealing with a thug grabbing his collar, but Zhang Lei could only use a part of each one. He didn't have the guts to do all of them. It would involve gouging out his eyes, cutting his throat, or striking his temple. If he did all of them, the little bully would at least become a cripple. How could a child possibly do that?
"One, two..." Zhang Lei pressed down on Xiong Yong's hand that was gripping his collar. This was a normal action; many children would do this when their collars were gripped too tightly. This action did not attract Xiong Yong's attention. Suddenly, "three!" Zhang Lei's other elbow pressed against the side of Xiong Yong's arm, and with a quick turn, he pinned Xiong Yong's arm to the table.
This was tantamount to a sneak attack. Xiong Yong never expected Zhang Lei to have the guts to make a move. Although this kind of attack was different from a real fight, it was something that Zhang Lei, who had never thought of resisting, would never have done.
However, being restrained at this angle, with a table underneath him, he couldn't exert any strength at all. Zhang Lei was standing right next to him, so even a trained adult would have a hard time breaking through this situation, let alone a novice like him.
"Let go, you fucking let go of me? Will you let go or not?" Xiong Yong wriggled on the table, looking just like a big fish laid out on a cutting board.
In fact, if it were a real life-or-death struggle, Zhang Lei could have broken his hand by pressing it forward. Unfortunately, this was just between classmates, and they hadn't even really started fighting, so Zhang Lei couldn't do that.
Moreover, Xiong Yong's lingering influence in Zhang Lei's mind was considerable. Zhang Lei was also aware of how much chance and luck had played a part this time. Next time, Xiong Yong would be on guard and wouldn't have a chance to succeed. Listening to the sound of leather shoes coming from the corridor, Zhang Lei calculated the time, suddenly pushed forward, released Xiong Yong's hand, turned around and ran out.
Of course, Xiong Yong dared not let Zhang Lei go and turned to chase after him. If he could not teach Zhang Lei a lesson immediately, he would lose all face. Even his own gang members were already cheering and jeering.
Zhang Lei used his hands to support himself as he jumped over the bench between two tables. It was a two-person bench, and you couldn't jump over it directly.
Xiong Yong caught up quickly. Zhang Lei was the slowest runner among all the boys in the class. If he hadn't jumped over, he might have already been caught. Just as Xiong Yong was about to jump over as well, the hand that had been grabbed earlier went limp. Zhang Lei's final upward thrust was the most insidious. He hadn't felt it while running, but when he really tried to exert force, he found he couldn't muster any strength. Losing his balance, Xiong Yong collapsed onto the bench.
However, Xiong Yong immediately stood up and moved his slightly numb arms. At this moment, he saw that Zhang Lei had already sat down in his seat in the first row.
Just as Xiong Yong was about to run over, the classroom door opened and the homeroom teacher, Jiang Zhiguo, walked in. "Xiong Yong, what are you doing? Class has started, why aren't you sitting down?"
The claim that Xiong Yong's words carry more weight than the principal's is only true in private. In reality, as a student, he is still instinctively afraid of his teacher. Moreover, just because a teacher doesn't like Zhang Lei doesn't mean he will like Xiong Yong. No teacher would like a mischievous student who doesn't do well in school.
Left with no other choice, Xiong Yong obediently walked back to his seat, glaring fiercely at Zhang Lei, secretly holding his anger in, waiting to rush over and teach Zhang Lei a lesson after school.
"We absolutely cannot let this kid get away!" There's a rule here: whatever it is, unless it's a deep-seated grudge, it must be resolved on the same day. If you hold onto something until the next day, you'll be ridiculed for being petty, which is a very bad reputation for these young men who consider themselves men. And this is already the last class of the day.
Episode 1: Internal Strength Like a Drug; Section 2: Establishing Authority
The bell had just rung, and before the homeroom teacher on the podium could even say get out of class was over, Zhang Lei grabbed his schoolbag and rushed out—after all, he was sitting in the first row.
Zhang Lei's height is at a normal developmental level. Since he is about two years younger than most of his classmates, he is guaranteed a seat in the first row.
However, this is where the advantage of being in the first row becomes apparent; at least you can escape quickly. But Zhang Lei's image in Jiang Zhiguo's eyes worsened. What kind of student is this? Running out before the teacher even said get out of class was over—can't he wait that long?
Xiong Yong's seat wasn't near the door or in the first row, making it too difficult for him to rush out like Zhang Lei. Besides, Jiang Zhiguo's expression was clearly unpleasant; if Xiong Yong ran now, he'd likely be made worse and kept after school. Therefore, Xiong Yong could only wait for Jiang Zhiguo, his face pale, to sarcastically announce the end of get out of class.
Zhang Lei wasn't running very fast, and the distance between him and Xiong Yong wasn't that far. More importantly, Xiong Yong hadn't even taken his schoolbag. Of course, his friends would help him carry it. Besides, even if he didn't take it, he wouldn't do his homework when he got home. He always copied it the next day. Zhang Lei couldn't do that, so he could only obediently run away with his schoolbag.
Zhang Lei wasn't a fast runner to begin with, and the added burden of his schoolbag made him even slower. Fortunately, he was safe once he reached the middle school's teaching building. Xiong Yong didn't dare chase him into the teachers' office. Elementary school students often have an innate fear of teachers, and they try to avoid even seeing them on the street.
The layout of Yudian Didi School is as follows: Entering through the main gate facing the main road, there's a medium-sized front playground, followed by the middle school buildings, where classrooms and offices are located. Then there's another medium-sized playground, behind which are two rows of single-story elementary school buildings. Finally, there's a super large back playground, roughly the size of three football fields. Beyond that is a large mountain, without any surrounding wall. It's said that wolves have been sighted at night on this largest playground.
Seeing several middle school teachers playing basketball on the playground in the middle, Zhang Lei felt relieved. These teachers were too lazy to come by, so they must have left the back door of the middle school building, which was usually not open, open. This way, he would have to walk much less distance.
Although it wasn't exactly a leisurely stroll, Zhang Lei wasn't running as fast as before. Judging from the distance between him and Xiong Yong, it was clear that Xiong Yong was in a desperate situation.
"To give Xiong Yong hope, I deliberately pretended to be staggering and unable to run, and then rushed into the door at the last moment and locked it from the inside!" Unfortunately, this was just a thought. The so-called "no more than one day" principle was not written down. If we really went too far and angered Xiong Yong, it would be difficult to get him to retaliate the next day.
However, although Xiong Yong won't openly start a fight, he might deliberately find some excuses these days. If Zhang Lei can't hold back, he can then fight him legitimately.
However, this incident also strengthened Zhang Lei's resolve regarding the energy clusters within his body, because the technique he used earlier was also pieced together from that magazine.
The more you use a superpower, the more proficient you become, and the greater its effectiveness will be as your proficiency increases.
Zhang Lei's self-examination revealed that he felt exhausted after using it for at least two hours. He had never considered it anything special, so he used it very little. He probably used it more recently than he had used it over the years.
In order to observe the movement of the internal energy flow, Zhang Lei would activate this ability every time he practiced. Although he would find it more difficult to move around for a while afterward, he was just sitting anyway, so it didn't matter much.
Logically speaking, whether or not one has this special ability, the guidance of intention makes no difference. However, Zhang Lei still felt more at ease using self-monitoring. Perhaps it was also because of the joy of watching one's internal energy gradually grow stronger. Not to mention a child, how many adults could resist that kind of temptation?
At first, the self-monitoring ability only allowed him to observe the movement of internal energy. After so many days, he hadn't yet seen any effect from the internal energy. However, the ability's effects had significantly increased. Zhang Lei could now not only observe the internal energy flow, but also the subtle changes in his muscle tissue and internal organs were all clearly displayed before him. Fortunately, the child hadn't thought that far ahead; a more complex adult might have considered other possibilities.
Perhaps because the confidence level of this self-created internal skill had been greatly increased, and because it had some similarities with the previously pieced-together grappling technique, Zhang Lei felt a difference when practicing his self-created internal skill this time.
In the past, Zhang Lei would not have any real feeling when the air flowed unless he used self-examination. However, this time was very different. Every flow of air made him feel a sense of pleasure, and the vortex of air rotating in his lower dantian was a continuous source of pleasure.
Zhang Lei was too young to understand what this pleasure was. He would understand when he grew up. It was actually very similar to the pleasure a man felt when he ejaculated, except that ejaculation only lasted for a few seconds, while this qigong could provide Zhang Lei with waves of pleasure every few minutes, lasting for nearly two hours.
Many men live for those few seconds of pleasure; that's why they say men are driven by their lower bodies. Zhang Lei didn't yet understand what that pleasure represented, but he knew for sure it felt good. That day, Zhang Lei unknowingly practiced his skills all night long.
But Zhang Lei felt a slight unease in his heart. Perhaps he was just a spineless wretch who couldn't enjoy happiness? Of course, Zhang Lei himself wouldn't agree with that.
In fact, his self-examination function had been enhanced. Zhang Lei discovered that in addition to absorbing the essence of heaven and earth from the outside world, the flow of energy in his lower abdomen was also drawing vital energy from his own body. That vital energy was originally entangled in the physical body.