Zhang Lei had suffered enough from this qigong practice, and he wasn't even sure if he had gained more than he had lost, even considering its role in this incident. Therefore, Zhang Lei named this self-created internal energy technique "Ku Yuan Gong," which also carries the wish for a better future after hardship.
After this incident, Zhang Lei made up his mind that nothing was more reliable than his own strength. Since things had already come to this, he might as well take the risk. In fact, taking risks was sometimes the safest approach. Zhang Lei tried to strike again with the same palm strike as before, but he never succeeded.
If something like this were to happen again, Zhang Lei wasn't sure if he would still have that same feeling of divine inspiration. Rather than such a vague opportunity, Zhang Lei preferred to take control of his own destiny, even if it meant taking risks himself.
Therefore, after that incident, the internal energy of Zhang Lei's newly formed tissue suddenly increased to a very high proportion. Although internal energy is only slightly heavier than air, it is different when it gathers other substances to form new muscle fibers. That is real body weight, so it is not surprising that Zhang Lei's weight will increase.
Moreover, since new muscles have been created, there's no reason for the bones to remain the same, so Zhang Lei gradually reinforced the outer layer of the bones as well.
In fact, the reason why we have not done any new muscle fibers in the past is largely because we are worried that our bones cannot withstand such great pressure. You know, the various organs of the human body have evolved to their current state over countless years. Bones and muscles should be paired together. If you just strengthen the muscles, the bones will eventually break.
Where bones needed reinforcement, Zhang Lei used the principle of angle iron to create small ridges. These subtle ridges significantly increased the hardness of Zhang Lei's bones. Of course, this also increased his weight to a new level.
...
Regardless, the sense of superiority among Shanghainese seems to be ingrained. Zhang Lei was unfamiliar with Shanghai, so his mother handled all the school transfer arrangements. Zhang Lei had been accepted into a provincial key high school in Northeast China, but the corresponding municipal key high school in Shanghai refused to accept him, saying they didn't trust the educational level of students from other regions. According to Shanghai's rules, students from provincial key high schools outside of Shanghai could only be transferred to district key high schools.
In fact, the knowledge taught in junior high schools in Shanghai is quite superficial, except for English. Although Zhang Lei was the top student in English in the whole school when he graduated, he has to admit that his English level fell below average after he went to Shanghai.
When Zhang Lei arrived at Zhiguang Middle School, the military training was already more than halfway through. The other students were already quite familiar with each other, which made Zhang Lei feel a bit out of place with those classmates, and he always felt like he couldn't make any new friends.
Zhang Lei didn't feel particularly lonely after moving from Northeast China to Shanghai. Even if he stayed in Northeast China for high school, he was the only one in the entire school who was admitted to Yanbian No. 2 High School. The other two or three were at most admitted through special admission, and it was impossible for them to be in the same class. So Zhang Lei had long been prepared to part ways with his friends and make friends with his new classmates.
But now look at those students, they're all standing in groups during breaks, chattering away in Shanghainese. Even if Zhang Lei wanted to join in, he couldn't understand what they were saying.
At his maternal grandmother's house, everyone tried to speak Mandarin. When Zhang Lei was with his two younger cousins, he was the center of attention. Everyone had to speak Mandarin obediently, or they would get a beating. Educating his younger brothers was the elder brother's duty and obligation, so this was the first time Zhang Lei had experienced this situation.
"Zhang Lei, is that right? Teacher Wu asked me to look after you and show you around during your break!" Just as Zhang Lei was looking enviously at the students chattering together, a voice came from the side.
Zhang Lei turned his head and saw a tall, thin boy standing next to him. His face was slightly sunken, but he didn't look bad at all. He wore a pair of glasses that were hard to describe. "Don't stand there, come with me. We need to rest for more than half an hour. Oh, my name is Lin Feng!"
When Zhang Lei graduated from university in Northeast China, he wasn't considered tall among his classmates, but he wasn't short either. However, after arriving in Shanghai, it seemed that all his classmates were taller than him, and he was only about the same height as the shortest few. The image of the burly men from Northeast China was just a memory of the past. At least in terms of height, the children in Shanghai had better nutrition and grew taller.
Zhang Lei wasn't thinking about such a serious regional comparison at the time. He simply agreed and followed Lin Feng out of the shadows.
“You’re a child of educated youth, right? Me too. I’m originally from Xinjiang, and I came back after junior high school. So Teacher Wu asked me to take care of you. If there’s anything you don’t understand or anything you’re embarrassed to say, just come to me. It’s okay!” Lin Feng said to Zhang Lei as he walked ahead, turning back repeatedly.
"Why don't you come over here? It's hard to talk like this!" Lin Feng slowed his pace and waited for Zhang Lei.
“I went to Zhiguang Middle School for junior high. I was directly promoted here. A few years ago, Zhiguang Middle School was one of the top key schools in the district, but it has declined in the last two years…” Lin Feng led Zhang Lei into a building with a corner.
"This is our school building. Our classroom is on the second floor. I'll take you to see it later!" Lin Feng spoke fluent Mandarin and seemed quite talkative. "Our homeroom teacher teaches math. She just graduated from teachers' college this year, but I heard her grades are always excellent, and she gets scholarships every year... I'm the math class representative, and since I'm also the child of educated youth sent to the countryside, I'm showing you around..."
Lin Feng's mouth never stopped throughout the journey, occasionally throwing in a few words of Shanghainese, but Zhang Lei could generally understand it by referring to the context.
"Let me tell you, you can't get by in Shanghai if you can't speak Shanghainese. You need to learn Shanghainese quickly! At least you need to be able to understand it. Many older teachers still habitually use Shanghainese when they teach. If you remind them once, they'll only last a few minutes before switching back. They're used to it, there's nothing you can do about it. I wasn't used to it when I first came back to Shanghai either, haha."
Zhang Lei didn't know if he and Lin Feng were already friends, but Lin Feng was at least the first person Zhang Lei met in this class, and he had a special feeling for Lin Feng—of course, not that kind of special feeling. Anyone who has dirty thoughts should go and bend their penis. If you don't have a penis, you can bend the one next to it to make up for it. Old Gui doesn't care.
Zhang Lei arrived late, and the military training ended quickly. However, Zhang Lei was still considered lucky because at least he had participated in the military training. If he had arrived two days later, he might have had to undergo military training with next year's freshmen.
Zhang Lei's high school life officially began on this day.
Besides the dozen or so students who were directly promoted from the school or those who returned through the high school entrance examination, everyone was getting to know each other.
Even if they were originally students of this school, they might not be familiar with each other, because they weren't necessarily in the same class before, and they would need to get to know the students who came from outside the school.
No matter where the students are, the first thing they compare before they compare their studies is their strength, and this place is no exception. Amidst a commotion, Liu Chu and Wu Chen, who seemed to be the biggest, were pushed out.
These two people were just being polite when they started competing. In Northeast China, it's called "arm wrestling," while in Shanghai it's called "wrist wrestling." It's the same thing, and it's one of the most common ways to compare strength.
At the beginning, they didn't know each other very well, so the students naturally chose the two tallest and strongest, or rather, the fattest, to compete. Among Asians, especially students, it's hard for anyone other than fat people to have very defined pectoral muscles. Liu Chu and Wu Chen were, to put it bluntly, just two fat guys, very fat guys, tall and very fat guys.
Zhang Lei actually looks quite chubby now. Over the past month, many of his muscles have been significantly strengthened, with the extra muscle fibers taking up a lot of space, making his chest and back appear very broad and thick, and his belly also looks quite large. However, Zhang Lei is too short, and the muscle enhancements he's made in such a short time aren't particularly impressive, so he's not in the running for the title of the strongest man in the class.
The dantian is the most important area, how could Zhang Lei neglect it? It's said that immense power originates from the waist, or from the ground, but regardless of the interpretation, waist strength is the most crucial pivot. Therefore, strengthening the muscles here involves not only power but also rigidity; both are essential. This is where Zhang Lei has focused his efforts the most.
Another issue is the muscles in my chest and back. There's nothing I can do about it; I've learned from past mistakes. Even someone like Zuo Jian, whose muscles were as hard as steel, was killed by me, a guy with only half-baked internal strength, with a single palm strike that could hit a cow across a mountain. It would be foolish of me not to learn from this experience.
Zhang Lei dared not hope that he was the only one in the world who knew internal energy, nor did he dare hope that hitting a cow across a mountain was just an ancient invention that had become a reality for him. Even if Zhang Lei was a fantasist, he knew that was impossible.
Therefore, strengthening the internal organs is essential, and it can't be done by just enhancing their functions as before; their shock resistance and impact resistance also need to be strengthened. However, he doesn't know how to test these two abilities. Zhang Lei dares not use the "hitting a cow through a mountain" technique on himself, even if it's not as powerful as the one he used on Zuo Jian, he still can't withstand it. He'll just train as he progresses, since strengthening the internal organs isn't something that can be achieved overnight.
The desire to be beautiful and avoid ugliness is human nature, and men are no exception. Although Zhang Lei had doubts about his appearance due to the previous events, and had deliberately altered his looks, adding some muscle tissue to his face to protect his mind, he wasn't too worried about his appearance. With his internal energy, changing his appearance would only take a few days, as long as he didn't use his energy elsewhere during that time. Besides, drawing in air was much easier than inflating it.
The two men looked to be about the same size, except Wu Chen appeared to be a bit taller. Their faces were flushed red; neither could gain the upper hand, yet neither was willing to accept a draw, so they could only grit their teeth and persevere.
Looking at the two men, Zhang Lei couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that he wasn't one of them. Judging from their expressions, even if he channeled his inner energy, unless he used it to attack, he probably wouldn't gain the upper hand for a while. This kind of evenly matched contest was the most exhausting in terms of inner energy. Zhang Lei's inner energy was very useful, especially in his internal organs. Zhang Lei hadn't even recovered to his normal level yet, making every bit of his inner energy all the more precious.
"The teacher is coming! The teacher is coming!" The two seemed to hear the command to let go at the same time, and they released their hands simultaneously, each rubbing their arms with their other hand as they walked backward.
The students who had been gathered around the podium scattered in a panic. At that moment, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Wu, walked in. "What's going on? Arm wrestling? Who wins? Who's stronger?"
Seeing the smile on Wu Ping's face, the students became bolder. "Wu Chen, Wu Chen!" "Liu Chu, Liu Chu!" The two of them became modest at this time, but everyone knew that it was fake modesty. Everyone knew that the two of them had just tied.
"Hehe, so you two are the strongest in our class. Hmm, you look pretty strong. Alright, you two are the ones!" Wu Ping smiled smugly. "Come with me to the office!"
She paused deliberately, watching the two students' faces change color slightly, before continuing, "Bring the books over here. I can't carry so many books by myself! Anyone else think they have the strength to help? Your books are all with me. If there aren't enough people, we'll really have to rely on these two superhuman strongmen!" As she spoke, she patted the two big fat men who had already walked up to her.
"Hehe, it feels pretty good!" Wu Ping led the way outside, followed not only by two strongmen. A large group of other boys also rushed out. Leaving a good impression on the homeroom teacher would undoubtedly be very beneficial for their future student life. Why not do something as easy as moving books?
Zhang Lei had originally intended to go along, but after lifting his foot, he put it down again. He didn't know why, but he was just too embarrassed to join in the fun. Perhaps he still didn't feel like he belonged in the group.
Besides Zhang Lei, only a few boys remained in the class. For some reason, they made the same choice as Zhang Lei, but one reason was certain: he was circling around the prettiest girl in the class, not wanting to waste the opportunity. The girl didn't seem to dislike him and kept giggling as he teased her.
Zhang Lei still didn't feel comfortable around girls. Qigong hadn't helped much with this, and he still blushed a little when talking to them. Although he wanted to change this bad habit, it wasn't something he could do overnight. So, Zhang Lei could only lean against the window, pretending to look out, to kill time.
These students had already gotten to know each other during military training, but the short rest time wasn't enough for them to get to know each other properly. Moreover, they were all exhausted during military training, and there weren't any suitable platforms on the playground to rest their elbows, so this competition has been delayed until now.