Zhang Lei felt that the irritability caused by low blood pressure due to lack of sleep during the initial period of training was actually a good thing. Moreover, in retrospect, it seemed that Lei Xiaofeng's actions were somewhat like Lei Xiaofeng accompanying him during his training. Of course, Zhang Lei would never be grateful to Lei Xiaofeng in any way.
If it weren't for those two unfortunate misfortunes, Zhang Lei wouldn't have been able to use his internal energy so skillfully (at least in Zhang Lei's eyes right now). He might still be alive like Song Yadong, and in Zhang Lei's current opinion, living like that would be worse than being dead.
Many things in life are like this: they may make you furious when they happen, but if you look at them from another perspective, they might be a form of training. Of course, if you put yourself in someone else's shoes, you'd want to minimize such training. But just as jade needs to be carved to become a valuable object, who in this world can avoid some kind of training? However, whether training is truly proportional to achievement is another matter.
Lei Xiaofeng or Xiong Yong certainly didn't intend to train Zhang Lei; they weren't that great, it was just a byproduct.
On a grand scale, war is the most effective way to advance technology; countless technologies have been developed for the purpose of war. On a smaller scale, even battles between children are the most effective way to improve a person. Without his daily battles with San Leizi, Zhang Lei's mastery of internal energy would never have been as proficient as it is now, and many of his skills might never have appeared in his lifetime. He might even have taken a completely different path in life.
Leng Weifeng told Zhang Lei that after the failure of the last "bilateral meeting on the toilet," Xiong Yong mentioned that everyone should deal with Zhang Lei together, but they were still looking for a suitable opportunity to make Zhang Lei be a little more careful, although the plan had not yet entered the substantive process.
Regardless of Leng Weifeng's initial motives for approaching Zhang Lei, the two are now truly good friends, belonging to different factions. Sometimes, Zhang Lei even feels that Leng Weifeng is closer to him than some of his other friends. Leng Weifeng has said that if Zhang Lei and Xiong Yong's group were to fight, he would definitely not take sides. He would never fight his other friends for Zhang Lei's sake, but he also wouldn't lay a hand on Zhang Lei.
Zhang Lei was also grateful and repaid kindness by sharing his reference books with Leng Weifeng. Since Zhang Lei's parents were both teachers, many of the books he had were books that students couldn't buy even if they had money. Not to mention that Leng Weifeng's family had been experiencing some difficulties since their family's misfortune. However, this might have been the reason why Leng Weifeng was motivated to work harder. The saying "a loss is a gain" didn't only apply to Zhang Lei.
Xiong Yong hesitated to fight Zhang Lei one-on-one for one crucial reason: in the physical education exam, Zhang Lei and Zhao Luwei were the only ones in the class to get a perfect score in the shot put, and Zhang Lei didn't even seem to be using his full strength. Someone with that kind of strength couldn't be easy to beat, and Xiong Yong had witnessed Zhang Lei's fight with San Leizi before; Zhang Lei didn't seem like someone with only brute force. Especially the ruthlessness Zhang Lei displayed at the end—Xiong Yong admitted he wouldn't dare use that kind of ruthlessness. Facing Zhang Lei head-on was indeed a bit nerve-wracking for him.
In fact, it's only natural that Zhang Lei performed well in shot put. Shot put is arguably the most suitable test event for Zhang Lei at his current level. The triceps in his arm are the muscles used most often in combat, and Zhang Lei has focused his efforts on strengthening them, perhaps even surpassing his previous normal development.
In addition, the shot put requires very little time. Even if Zhang Lei is in a state of instantaneous enhancement using internal energy for this short period of time, it doesn't matter. It's normal for him to achieve good results.
Moreover, Zhang Lei's 100-meter dash is now quite good; perhaps the only thing he fails is the 1000-meter dash.
During his fight with San Leizi, Zhang Lei learned to use his internal energy only at the moment of exertion, thus conserving a lot of energy. Just like computers were initially used in the military, but that didn't stop their development in civilian applications, internal energy is the same. You can use it this way when punching, and you can do the same when running. So for Zhang Lei, one or two hundred meters is no longer his limit.
But one thousand meters is still a distance. Not to mention that Zhang Lei's internal energy wouldn't allow him to maintain such a distance, even if it did, his heart, lungs, and trachea wouldn't allow it.
Zhang Lei had discovered this problem more than just a day or two ago. However, strengthening internal organs is much more complex than strengthening muscles and bones, and each type of internal organ, and even each part within an internal organ, requires a different way of strengthening.
For example, if you only strengthen the heart without strengthening the blood vessels, the blood vessels can easily burst from the force of the heart's pumping blood. The heart needs to be strengthened not only in terms of its resilience but also in its ability to contract and expand. However, this won't work for the blood vessels. If their resilience or elasticity is over-strengthened, the blood vessels will constrict, especially the capillaries, which can easily become blocked if not handled properly.
The same applies to the remaining organs such as the stomach, intestines, spleen, lungs, liver, and gallbladder. Their structures are so complex that Zhang Lei has to strengthen them based on the most meticulous self-examination each time. Often, after several hours, one-tenth of the organs are still not fully strengthened. However, these internal organs are things that cannot be strengthened by strengthening only a part of them.
Take the stomach as an example. Once, Zhang Lei only strengthened one-third of the stomach before stopping. When he checked the next day, a crack had appeared between the strengthened and unstrengthened parts. If he had stayed up any longer, the stomach might have perforated. Terrified, Zhang Lei stayed up all night to strengthen the entire stomach.
Moreover, the heart and blood vessels, alveoli and lung lobes and trachea, nose and tonsils, liver and gallbladder, gastrointestinal tract, etc. are all part of the same system. After strengthening any one of them, the other must be strengthened immediately. If this goes on for too long, problems will arise.
Even so, the effect of the same internal energy on the internal organs is far less than that on the muscles and bones. After all, the muscles and bones are the parts that easily absorb vital energy. Not many people practice martial arts to the point of affecting the internal organs, otherwise martial arts such as "hitting a cow through a mountain" would not have their purpose.
Zhang Lei used to be somewhat skeptical about the technique of "hitting a cow through a mountain," until he himself used it.
Zhang Lei had already thought of channeling his internal energy into his fist and unleashing it the moment he threw a punch, but the success rate was never very high, so it lost its value in actual combat.
However, its power is truly immense. If used, it would definitely knock out someone without real martial arts skills, like Lei Xiaofeng, in one blow. However, the consumption of energy is enormous, and Zhang Lei needs to immediately channel his absorbed internal energy back to other parts of his body to strengthen himself—in other words, to save his life. Therefore, Zhang Lei has always been reluctant to practice it.
However, people are all impatient for quick success. It's like asking someone to do 100 sit-ups every day, knowing that they will have a beautiful eight-pack in a year or even less. Many people can stick to it for a day or two, but very few can stick to it for a year.
But if doing a thousand sit-ups a day would guarantee success, then probably at least eighty out of a hundred people could stick to it.
This internal energy burst is something that produces immediate results once it's used. Although Zhang Lei knows that gradually strengthening his internal organs and body is the most important thing, it's too painful to be unable to use all his internal energy.
Although the amount of internal energy absorbed each day is increasing, there is still a certain limit to its quantity. If you use too much here, you will inevitably use less there. Everyone will probably adjust according to their current needs.
Because of this total limit, Zhang Lei had to strictly control himself. The internal energy he used for practicing boxing each day could not exceed one-tenth of what he absorbed that day. If he said he wouldn't exceed it, he wouldn't. He couldn't make up for missed days. Zhang Lei knew that once an exception was made, it would happen again, and soon the original rule would become worthless, especially a rule he had set for himself.
The internal energy used in practicing these punches is mainly used to practice punches until the energy explodes. At the beginning, Zhang Lei's daily limit was only two or three punches. As the total amount of internal energy increased and his proficiency improved, the amount of internal energy consumed each time also decreased, and the number of times he could use it within the limit gradually increased.
Everything is like this. If there is a chance of something happening after a lot of times, then that chance will actually happen. Because the time it takes for the fist to contact the target is very short, if the internal energy is too early, it hasn't been released from the veins yet, and if it's too late, it has already been lost control. Right now, Zhang Lei doesn't have the ability to control the internal energy that has already been released from his body.
Speaking of chance again, it really was just a chance encounter.
Zhang Lei took a deep breath in front of the sapling. The strength of his fist had been specially enhanced, even more so than his triceps, since this was the part that would directly contact his opponent.
Two thin layers of paper were nailed to the small tree in front of him. This wasn't the yellow paper used for practicing boxing; it was just a used, unused exercise book. Zhang Lei had once read in a book, "No matter what weapon you use, there will be times when it's not at your side. Only your fists are always with you. Even the Sword-Unraveling Cliff of Wudang can't make you leave your fists at the foot of the mountain!" Zhang Lei deeply agreed with this, so he decided to make his fists his primary weapon.
There's another reason: when students fight, it's a common, minor incident since no one uses weapons. But if weapons are involved, things get complicated.
Driven by his internal energy, Zhang Lei's fist, whistling through the air, traced an accelerating arc before slamming into the sapling, causing it to shake violently. Zhang Lei sighed inwardly; he hadn't succeeded again. The power might still be somewhat lacking, but the success rate was far too low. He had clearly prepared himself, the internal energy ball he had prepared beforehand already waiting in his arm's meridians to be ready to burst out at the moment of impact, yet he still couldn't master the timing. Even when he succeeded, it was mostly by chance. He still hadn't found the secret, truly resembling Duan Yu's Six Meridian Divine Sword.
Just as Zhang Lei was feeling somewhat discouraged, the sapling suddenly shook violently again, and a not-so-loud but very crisp cracking sound came from behind the tree.
Zhang Lei moved behind the tree and saw that a palm-sized piece of bark had been blasted open with several cuts, clearly a recent injury. Tender sap was seeping from the cracks. While it wasn't a particularly spectacular effect, it was still enough to shock Zhang Lei. Even a successful punch would only blast off a few pages of a practice book. Zhang Lei had tried hitting small trees before, and even then, he only managed to remove a tiny bit of the bark, and only the very tender kind.
Although the bark isn't as obviously damaged as an egg, it's clear that the inner protection is much weaker than the outer protection, therefore the same amount of internal energy can cause far more damage.
Zhang Lei carefully recalled what had happened. Just now, his internal energy was slightly delayed, and he issued the command to unleash it when it was about to leave.
Everything has a slight delay. This group of internal energy received Zhang Lei's command to unleash its power, but it didn't explode at the very tip of Zhang Lei's fist. Instead, it exploded a certain distance ahead, creating the effect of hitting a cow from across a mountain.
However, knowing this is one thing, but this kind of burst of energy is even more demanding in terms of timing than what Zhang Lei used to practice. Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened only once after so many practice sessions. But in any case, Zhang Lei already felt like a martial arts master, and his gaze towards his classmates unconsciously carried a sense of superiority.
...
Zhang Lei's parents are both at the school, which is a form of support for him, but it's not always a good thing. For example, there's Lei Xiaofeng, and then there's the physical education teacher in front of him.
Zhang Lei is a bit pragmatic. He strengthens the muscles he uses most often in fights more frequently, which slows down their weakening. He's even managed to turn one or two muscles around. However, he strengthens the muscles he doesn't use as often because he rarely uses his legs in his fights with San Leizi, so his leg muscles have lagged behind in strengthening.
This is a small school, and one physical education teacher is enough. So, all matters related to physical education are decided by this physical education teacher. The 1,000-meter run is a mandatory event for middle school students to pass the physical education standard. In previous years, even if a student failed, he would just let it go with a stroke of his pen. But in Zhang Lei's class, he insisted on his principles. Later, Zhang Lei heard that he started to wield his pen again in the following class.
Fortunately, although every school says they will consider the physical fitness requirements, schools generally don't take this into account except for students admitted through special programs; as long as the grades meet the requirements, that's enough.
Zhang Lei's grades were of course not a problem. Although at most one or two students from this affiliated middle school could get into the only Han Chinese provincial key school each year, as long as there were students, Zhang Lei would definitely get in. Back then, Zhang Lei got into Yanbian No. 2 Middle School without any trouble. Based on his usual grades, even if he didn't perform well, he wouldn't fail the exam.
Leng Weifeng didn't take the high school entrance exam because of family reasons, but he was admitted to a vocational college specializing in electrical engineering. Don't underestimate this vocational college; its admission score is higher than that of Yanbian No. 2 High School every year.
Tian Zhiguo didn't get into Yanbian No. 2 High School; he went to Longjing, to a regular high school there. The other students also went their separate ways.
It's worth mentioning Xiong Yong. He was admitted to the power plant technical school in the provincial capital, which wasn't easy to get into. However, Xiong Yong's family did have some influence, and when he took the entrance exam, he was placed among several of the best female students, easily squeezing out several other promising candidates.