Liu Yun stood up and sighed deeply, saying, "Instructor Linghu's move always seems incredibly powerful. He demonstrated and explained it to us in the same way back then. It's just that last time I couldn't see his trajectory clearly. I thought I had improved a lot and should be able to grasp some clues, but now it seems I can see it even less clearly. The speed at which you self-monitoring ability users improve is truly enviable!"
"This should be similar to hitting a cow across a mountain, except that hitting a cow across a mountain releases power from the inside, while Instructor Linghu's 'thousand-pound pressure' should achieve the same effect by using huge pressure from the outside!" Zhang Lei casually inserted a steel bar into the cement slab. Sure enough, except for the outer shell which still had a little resistance, the rest had already turned into powder.
Episode 3: The Bloody Road to Growth, Chapter 36: Progress C - Obstacles
My mom has gone back to Northeast China, and the housekeeper is now the one who does all the cooking. The housekeeper was alright at first, but after a while, I realized that she could only cook a few dishes that she was good at, and they were all dishes that she liked to eat. She just kept reheating the same few dishes over and over again.
This was unbearable for Zhang Lei, who loves good food, and he was considering hiring a part-time chef.
As Zhang Lei walked along the road, he couldn't help but keep gesturing with his hands. Linghu had been feeding Zhang Lei a lot of information these past few days, and Zhang Lei even felt a little overwhelmed, something that had never happened before.
It's not just a matter of special moves; there are many other aspects as well. Linghu Zaichong had Liu Yun demonstrate, and when his flamethrower was activated, it could indeed completely block Zhang Lei's path. If it weren't for the demonstration, Liu Yun could have easily roasted three Zhang Leis during the time his power was activated. Zhang Lei would have no way to get close except to try and escape his attack range. Given Zhang Lei's current level, he would have virtually no chance of getting close.
While self-examination is powerful, it lacks a means of long-range attack. The most convenient way to solve this is, of course, to use a pistol. However, pistols are often inconvenient to carry, and ordinary pistols are indeed somewhat insufficient in power for these superhumans.
The fact that Zuo Jian was killed by a child with a single palm strike, while partly due to chance, at least shows that his strength wasn't that great. But even for him, a pistol bullet wasn't a significant threat.
He was just an ordinary cultivator with no special abilities whatsoever. He was nowhere near the level of those who had developed special abilities. If Zhang Lei wanted to kill him now, as long as he activated his self-examination, Zuo Jian would have no chance at all.
Furthermore, Linghu taught Zhang Lei a method to deal with bullets, which is to use the self-inspection characteristic to quickly vibrate internal energy to consume the bullet's kinetic and thermal energy when the bullet is coming. Once you are skilled, you can easily make the bullet not even be able to penetrate the oil cover without the guidance of self-inspection. This applies not only to pistol bullets, but also to high-powered anti-material guns.
Almost every superpower, including those outside of combat, has its own way of dealing with bullets, and most of them are quite effective. Therefore, firearms, apart from playing a role with the assistance of superpowers, rarely appear in combat.
Linghu's solution was a specially made triangular dart, but everyone's method is different; what suits him might not suit Zhang Lei. At the very least, a dart specifically designed for his hand shape would definitely be inconvenient for Zhang Lei to use. These are the clearly defined areas for public funds. As long as Zhang Lei finds a solution that suits him, he can utilize the military industry to produce similar items for him.
"You're Zhang Lei?" Just as Zhang Lei was pondering a suitable ranged attack that would allow him to unleash his full potential, he was awakened by the calls of the children in front of him.
Actually, if you call someone a child, they should be about the same age as Zhang Lei, or even a bit older. It's just that Zhang Lei has been dealing with adults a lot lately, and has unknowingly separated himself from his teenage self.
The group of three or four young people were wearing uniforms that looked like either karate or taekwondo, and they seemed quite arrogant. It's true that if you saw them walking down the street, chatting and laughing, singing and cursing, not many people would dare to walk around them.
However, even if Zhang Lei tried to avoid them, it probably wouldn't work. These kids were clearly after him, but he didn't know who had sent them.
"I am who I am! Where did you guys come from?" You can tell at a glance whether they're friendly or not. There's no need to be polite with them; they're clearly here to cause trouble.
However, Zhang Lei really doesn't care about them at all right now. What a joke! There are several levels between them. Those who practice authentic internal martial arts look down on these Japanese or Korean show-offs. And those who have superpowers and whose superpower index exceeds one thousand look down on those unlucky guys who have worked hard to practice internal martial arts but haven't developed any superpowers. To deal with them, Zhang Lei doubts whether he needs to use his internal energy right now.
"You know what you've done. We're here to teach you a lesson. Don't blame us, blame yourself!" The four men quickly surrounded Zhang Lei.
"Hurry up, everyone! Finish and leave, don't wait for the police!" One of them had a black belt around his waist; he looked like he might have reached a certain level of skill. Zhang Lei didn't know much about that. He was the one who spoke up to remind his companions that although this place was relatively remote, it was still a small street, and if they beat someone up here, someone might get involved and call the police.
"Ah-da!" The young man to Zhang Lei's left had a red belt around his waist. After shouting, he performed a few leg tricks and then stomped down on Zhang Lei's shoulder with a high split.
Seeing the leg flourishes, Zhang Lei understood. This person practiced Taekwondo, and the red belt seemed to indicate they were close to achieving a Dan (rank). However, Zhang Lei didn't understand. If it was Taekwondo, why imitate Bruce Lee's "Ah-da-ah-da" style? Wasn't that an insult to Bruce Lee? And why bother with those fancy leg flourishes? Did they think they couldn't kick people without doing that?
Zhang Lei suddenly moved closer to him. After this period of training, even without the aid of internal energy, Zhang Lei's muscle mass was already far superior to that of an ordinary person. The training effect under self-monitoring guidance was at least dozens of times greater than ordinary training. Of course, this kind of pure training is not limitless, but Zhang Lei is still far from that limit, so he is currently in a super-fast growth period.
Taekwondo has essentially become a competitive sport. Taekwondo matches are all about hitting points, and the effectiveness of the strikes has been completely ignored. Except for a few particularly powerful leg techniques, the power of the other techniques is basically negligible for Zhang Lei.
High splits are intimidating, but they're vulnerable to close-quarters combat. However, Taekwondo has many commendable techniques. The red-belt kid twisted his waist, and his leg, which had been high up, quickly descended, meeting Zhang Lei's oncoming chest head-on. This is a unique Taekwondo technique that uses the center of gravity to change the trajectory of the kick. Taekwondo almost never uses fists, relying solely on legs; their research into kicking techniques has truly reached its pinnacle.
However, its path is no longer about fighting; it's more like a performance by two people than a real fight.
Zhang Lei completely ignored the kick aimed at his chest. His clothes were already quite dirty from practice. This wasn't a competition, and there was no rule that a kick would score a point. It was uncertain whether his full-force kick would have any effect on the unprepared Zhang Lei. What else could a kick that changed direction on the spot do besides adding a small footprint?
Zhang Lei gently nudged the boy's leg, causing him to stumble. Before he could regain his footing, Zhang Lei wrapped his arms around the boy's raised leg, turned around, and flung him away.
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Growth, Chapter 37: New Mission A
When facing an attack, one cannot stand still. Although Zhang Lei held a contemptuous attitude towards their offensive power, there's a famous saying: "Despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically." No matter how much Zhang Lei looked down on them before the battle, he had to take them seriously once it started. There were countless examples of people being caught off guard and defeated. Come to think of it, quite a few had fallen into Zhang Lei's trap before, from Xiong Yong to Lei Xiaofeng, and then to Zuo Jian. Zhang Lei didn't want to repeat their mistakes.
Therefore, although Zhang Lei didn't use his internal energy, he was always prepared to prevent them from feigning weakness and then taking advantage of him. Besides, how could such valuable practical training be wasted?
Tianxiao's ability index is less than 1000, so her actual combat ability is negligible compared to Zhang Lei when he activates his self-monitoring. In this state, Liu Yun is no match for Zhang Lei if he doesn't use his ability, but if Liu Yun does use his ability, Zhang Lei has no chance of fighting him. As for Linghu, that freak, there's no need to say more. Therefore, Zhang Lei simply cannot find a sparring partner in actual combat.
The red ribbon was thrown behind Zhang Lei and collided with the yellow ribbon. At this moment, the other white ribbon and the black ribbon were able to turn around and face Zhang Lei, who had changed position.
Zhang Lei didn't know the names of these people, nor did he intend to ask them for their names, so he could only distinguish them by the belts they were wearing. Fortunately, none of them were wearing the same belt, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome to identify them.
Zhang Lei didn't know much about Taekwondo, but he at least knew that those wearing black belts were the more formidable ones, and that without using internal force, he might not be able to subdue them quickly. So, with the momentum of throwing people away, he rushed towards the white belt.
Using internal energy isn't impossible, but it's more troublesome. Although the effects are different from before, it's also easier for those with ulterior motives to connect the dots. Linghu Zaichong's self-examination doesn't have the ability to change his expression like Zhang Lei. Zhang Lei's method was a branch developed from repairing his body with his own internal energy; his internal energy doesn't have that effect, so naturally, he doesn't have that ability. Otherwise, he probably would have already suspected Zhang Lei. However, it's uncertain whether such a minor case is enough to alarm Lord Linghu.
The white-belted boy wasn't panicked when he saw Zhang Lei rushing up; instead, he seemed excited, as if he couldn't wait to show off. Zhang Lei understood this mentality: beginners especially wanted a chance to demonstrate their skills, always feeling that the one or two moves they had learned were enough to get by.
"Haaah!" With a thunderous shout, White Ribbon jumped up, spun around on the spot, and executed a beautiful 360-degree spinning kick in the air. To be fair, his waist strength was quite good; he could perform a standard spinning kick without any preparation. It seemed he could at least satisfy his partner in bed. Unfortunately, this wasn't the bed, and Zhang Lei showed him no mercy.
Zhang Lei, of course, had no idea that he had been practicing the White Belt move for three days straight, all for the sake of showing off. Now that he had the chance, how could he not show it off? In his mind, even if Zhang Lei didn't scream and fly straight out, he should at least retreat three feet with awe in his eyes and never dare to provoke him again, so that he could also show off in front of his companions.
Unfortunately, his attempt to charm the blind man failed him. Zhang Lei showed no interest whatsoever, merely shifting his body angle slightly without altering his running speed. Before Bai Daizi could fully extend his legs, Zhang Lei's shoulder slammed into his hips, sending Bai Daizi swaying and flying away like a kite tethered by a ribbon.
Before the two people who had been rolling together could stand up, another one flew out from the other side. In a short time, only the one with the black belt was still standing out of the four people.
He rushed to Zhang Lei's side to help the white-belted guy, but when he saw the white-belted guy being sent flying, he was clearly stunned for a moment. Zhang Lei, of course, wouldn't let such an opportunity pass, and delivered a long punch right to the white-belted guy's nose, which looked even more prominent than Zhang Lei's. "Damn it, I'll teach you to stand tall!"
The nosebleed was like a train bursting out of a tunnel, whistling as it rushed out. Blackie's tears streamed down his face. This was beyond his control. A nosebleed is commonly known as a sour jujube, and even the most patient person might not be able to hold back their tears. Moreover, Zhang Lei's blow probably had more than just a sour feeling.
"You, you fouled!" The black belt squatted on the ground, covering his nose. Taekwondo matches do not allow punches to the face.
"Idiot!" Zhang Lei walked past the two people who were entangled together, and the more they tried to get up, the more they became tangled up and couldn't get up. He kicked each of them to separate them. Of course, after they were separated, the two of them started rolling around on the ground, not appreciating Zhang Lei's kindness at all.
"Idiot, who's going to compare Taekwondo with you? Even if it were Taekwondo, you guys broke the rules first. There's no such thing as four people fighting one person in Taekwondo!"
Zhang Lei had already left, but suddenly remembered that this line must have been really cool, so he turned around and came back. He kept tapping the black-haired guy's head with his knuckles as he spoke, and the thumping sound was like a small waist drum, which was quite pleasant to hear.
Just then, Zhang Lei's phone, which was clipped to his lower back, rang.
"Get back to the training base immediately, we have a mission!" Liu Yun's somewhat helpless voice came from inside.
There was no further explanation, just this one sentence.