Even with Chen Chao's exceptional hand skills, capable of splitting bamboo, wood, and bricks, it's still far from being able to dig a few finger holes in a stone; they're not even in the same league.
Chen Chao then asked, "Mr. Zhou, your kung fu is truly the strongest I've ever seen. I wonder how you mastered it? I'm really curious. Also, Mr. Zhou Xuan, are you a chef? The soup you make is so nourishing, it has greatly improved all of us and helped us overcome our bottlenecks!"
Zhou Xuan was very clear about the bottleneck. He had encountered such a situation many times with his own superpower. Every time he encountered an insurmountable bottleneck, he had to put in countless efforts to overcome it. As for reaching his current level, he never dared to even think about it before.
Take the ability of gold transformation for example. I used to think it was only temporary. Such a heaven-defying ability should not be perfect. It would return to normal after 24 hours. I always thought that no matter how much he trained or what level his superpower reached, this gold transformation would not be permanent. But now he has actually reached that level!
This level was reached unintentionally, not by Zhou Xuan forcibly pursuing it. In fact, Zhou Xuan no longer pursues the level of his superpowers. It was precisely because of this calm mindset, coupled with the medicinal power of He Shou Wu, that Zhou Xuan's superpowers truly crossed that hurdle, were purified again, and took a big step forward.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment before replying, "Brother Chen, to be honest, I've only practiced Qigong, which is what the martial arts world calls internal Qigong. It's different from your hard Qigong. They say you train your muscles, bones, and skin externally, and your breath internally. What I practiced was just that breath. After my health improved, I got used to it. The old Taoist priest never taught me martial arts; he only taught me this breathing method. As for my profession, I used to work in the antique pawnbroking business, not as a chef. But as for the tonic soup, hehe, I used to know a little bit about medicine. Besides teaching me the breathing method, the old Taoist priest also taught me medicine, so I have some understanding of medicine. Although I'm not very proficient, I can still be of some help!"
"Mr. Zhou, you are too modest!"
Chen Chao's admiration was genuine, and his praise came from the heart. Over the years, he had encountered countless martial arts masters, some of whom were stronger than him, but none of them could have subdued him so easily and casually after he used his hard qigong to defend himself.
Moreover, Zhou Xuan didn't use any fancy tricks; he directly targeted the area where the opponent's energy was most concentrated, yet it still didn't hinder Zhou Xuan's acupoint strike in the slightest.
Chen Chao had actually heard his master mention acupressure before. It was a powerful skill, but far less unpredictable than Zhou Xuan's. Chen Chao's master had said that if their hard qigong was practiced to perfection, they could even block the impact of a pistol bullet at a certain defensive point. Of course, it couldn't stop some sniper rifle bullets. Chen Chao had actually achieved this ability after drinking Zhou Xuan's tonic soup. It was a pity that his master was already dead, otherwise he could have seen the person he wanted to see.
In this world, there are indeed people who can reach a level of skill that they could never even dream of.
The Fu family has a total of sixteen bodyguards, twelve of whom are Chinese, most of whom are martial arts masters. The others have also trained in Wudang and served in the military, so they are very skilled. The other four are retired US special forces soldiers, who are extremely experienced in firearms, ambushes, and other methods.
Zhou Xuan had a very pleasant chat with them, discussing martial arts and marksmanship. Although he didn't know much, his insights, aided by his special abilities, were often incisive, giving the bodyguards a sense of sudden enlightenment.
To be honest, Zhou Xuan also wanted his bodyguards to improve their skills and become more capable. They were the safety guarantee for his family. Zhou Xuan was willing to give them far more money than others, so that they would have no worries. Moreover, Zhou Xuan never treated them as servants, but as equal friends and brothers, which is why he was able to earn the respect of these bodyguards.
Take the soup-making a few days ago, for example. The bodyguards were so reserved with him only because he was the grandson-in-law of the Fu family and the future leader of the Fu family. But Zhou Xuan had no arrogant attitude at all, which was very different from the rich second generation they had met.
In fact, none of them realized that Zhou Xuan's wealth was all earned by himself. Strictly speaking, he was not a second-generation rich kid, but a pioneer, and his wealth was accumulated by his first generation.
Zhou Xuan talked for an afternoon and finally came up with that idea. He went to the backyard and took one ginseng, one he shou wu, and one ling zhi. He washed them, sliced them, and made them into soup. He never gave the soup to Wang Sao and her family again. This highly nourishing soup was no longer effective for them. Too much nourishment is poison. The nosebleeds last time showed that their bodies had already been nourished to the optimal state.
He distributed the soup to the sixteen bodyguards, and then Zhou Xuan used the pretext of acupressure to massage and unblock their meridians, improving their physical condition and further enhancing their skills.
The effects of Zhou Xuan's treatment were obvious. After consuming the tonic, the martial artists absorbed its power. Moreover, Zhou Xuan also mutated their physiques, resulting in even stronger progress. They practiced martial arts in the courtyard and were overjoyed. Thanks to Zhou Xuan's tonic soup and acupressure massage, their abilities improved dramatically, reaching a new level compared to before!
Chen Chao's external hard qigong even reached the level of skin vortex, which allows him to concentrate hard qigong in a certain position and make the qi swirl there, as hard as steel.
Chen Chao was absolutely certain that his position was more than enough to block a pistol bullet, and that his senses in his eyes, ears, and body had also been greatly enhanced. He could feel all of this. Zhou Xuan's tonic soup was truly a priceless treasure.
As we all know from TV shows and movies, those elixirs that can enhance a person's physical abilities are priceless treasures, things that are hard to buy even with a thousand pieces of gold. Even if they exist, they are sold at high prices. People like them can only hear about them but cannot see them, and besides, they don't have the financial means to buy them. Even if wealthy people can afford them, they would never make them for their bodyguards and servants. Yet Zhou Xuan actually used such good elixirs to make soup for them. Just thinking about it makes it worthwhile to do this for him. A scholar will die for one who understands him. This is the principle.
The next day, the effects of the drug on the sixteen bodyguards took full effect, allowing them to enjoy the joy of their greatly improved skills. Combined with the improvements Zhou Xuan made to their bodies the day before, their kung fu skills made a qualitative leap. They got up early in the morning to practice in the backyard and training room.
At the Fu family home, Fu Tianlai had built a special room for them to practice their skills, including shooting, boxing, and fitness. After breakfast, only two bodyguards were left at home to guard the house, while everyone else, including Wang Sao, went out to sea. Wang Sao was a good cook and her barbecue skills were actually quite good, the only difference being the control of the grilling temperature.
This time, they sailed the Fu family's second yacht. The most luxurious and largest one was too big to be convenient for barbecues and leisure trips, so the 30-meter-long second yacht was just right. There were 14 bodyguards, 2 yacht drivers, 6 adults and 2 children from the Fu family, plus Wang Sao, making a total of 23 adults and 2 children, sailing on the 32-meter-long luxury yacht.
This time we sailed further away from the coast, more than thirty nautical miles away, and the coastline was no longer visible. The azure sea and the cloudless sky were picturesque.
After stopping the yacht, the fourteen bodyguards divided up their tasks: four people did the barbecue, four people were responsible for security, and the other six people took out their diving suits and prepared to go into the sea with Zhou Xuan to catch fish.
The others sat on the deck enjoying the scenery. Two more parasols were raised on the deck, and Fu Ying and Zhou Cangsong, along with Fu Yuhai, sat under the parasols with their children to cool off. Fu Tianlai took a fishing rod and started fishing.
Zhou Xuan was no longer as conspicuous as he was yesterday. Like the bodyguards, he was properly dressed in a diving suit. These diving suits were high-tech diving equipment that Fu Ying and Li Junjie had bought earlier. They could dive deeper than ordinary diving suits. The diving suits included communication equipment and underwater guns. However, the water guns were too powerful. Except for dealing with tiger sharks like the one Zhou Xuan caught yesterday, they were a bit of a waste for ordinary large fish.
However, catching sharks in the ocean is extremely difficult. It's not that you can't catch them, but it's very difficult to even encounter one. Yesterday, Zhou Xuan jumped into the sea to catch fish and was lucky enough to encounter a few tiger sharks passing by. But now, he might not be so lucky.
Zhou Xuan was about to go into the water, but suddenly stopped the other bodyguards and said, "Wait a minute, judging from the ripples in this area, there aren't any fish. Let the yacht captain go a little further out to sea and try our luck."
The yacht driver, of course, wouldn't object. He would do whatever the boss wanted. Fu Tianlai immediately put away his fishing rod, as fishing was not allowed while the boat was in motion.
As they sailed deeper into the sea, Zhou Xuan used his special ability to probe with all his might. Within seven or eight hundred meters of the surface, there were quite a few fish, but none of them were what he wanted. Ordinary fish didn't taste good and weren't anything special. He even encountered a large school of fish passing by once, but Zhou Xuan didn't stop. The fish in those schools were generally only about two feet long. Fishermen would love to encounter them, but Zhou Xuan didn't need to. There was no point in catching a few of those fish.
After sailing another five or six nautical miles, Zhou Xuan suddenly shouted, "Stop, stop, stop..."
The bodyguards immediately ordered the driver to stop the yacht. Zhou Xuan then instructed the bodyguards, "Give me the ropes, the long ones. Get them ready on the yacht. The rest of you, come down with me!"
After saying that, Zhou Xuan put on a diving hood and jumped into the water. The other six bodyguards followed suit. They didn't know what Zhou Xuan had discovered, but the sea was calm and nothing could be seen.
This time, Zhou Xuan detected two great white sharks, one large and one small. The large one was over seven meters long, while the small one was only a little over three meters long, chasing some fish.
Overjoyed, Zhou Xuan immediately used his supernatural power to freeze the two sharks. Of course, he didn't freeze them completely, but only restricted most of their mobility. Otherwise, if they were completely frozen, the sharks would sink back to the seabed.
After jumping into the water, Zhou Xuan grabbed one end of the nylon rope and then dived down into the sea. The other six bodyguards followed behind him. When they reached a depth of seven or eight meters, they were shocked to see two sharks swimming around. They panicked immediately. On land, they could remain calm when faced with danger, but in the water, they completely lost their usual composure and immediately grabbed water guns and aimed them in that direction.
However, Zhou Xuan was in the lead and was heading straight for the two white sharks. The six bodyguards were terrified and dared not fire their water guns. Because Zhou Xuan was in front, they could only keep a close eye on him and fire at the slightest opportunity.
Zhou Xuan used his supernatural power to thaw the great white shark slightly. The two sharks, one large and one small, immediately turned their heads and swung towards him. Zhou Xuan pointed with his finger. Even though they were three or four meters away, the bodyguards behind him could see that the seawater in the direction Zhou Xuan pointed had turned into an actual ice line. As soon as the ice line touched the great white shark, the shark stopped moving and sank straight into the water.
This is the great white shark that's over seven meters long. Zhou Xuan didn't want to touch it. Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to get it onto the yacht because it was too big and too heavy.
Zhou Xuan was dealing with the smaller one, which was only a little over three meters long. Even with this small one, it would probably take some effort. He would need to point his finger and control the small white shark. Apart from its tail being able to move slightly, the small white shark's head was completely immobile, so it couldn't open its mouth to bite Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan stepped forward and used a rope to tie up the small white shark. The six bodyguards behind him were stunned when they saw this. Zhou Xuan had subdued the two white sharks so easily. The larger white shark had already been stunned by Zhou Xuan and sank into the sea.
Moreover, the direction Zhou Xuan pointed out caused the seawater to freeze into a line like ice, striking the white shark directly. Presumably, the white shark's body must have been injured by this kind of qigong.
Chen Chao was truly shocked and bewildered. The force Zhou Xuan used on him was clearly far less than what he had used before. If he had used such strong internal energy, he would definitely have been injured. However, he was even more curious and impressed by Zhou Xuan's acupoint striking skills. It goes without saying that Zhou Xuan could strike people, since he was familiar with the acupoints and meridians of the human body. But this white shark was an aquatic animal. How could he strike the white shark's acupoints so accurately?
At this moment, they had no other thoughts but admiration. In a moment of stunned silence, they saw Zhou Xuan turn around and wave to them. Realizing what was happening, they quickly stepped forward. The others saw that the white shark had been controlled by Zhou Xuan and could not move at all, so they swam forward and surrounded the little white shark, then tied its body with ropes.
Zhou Xuan breathed a sigh of relief after he tied up the white shark. If the white shark had sunk to the bottom of the water and they hadn't tied it up with ropes in time, they would have had no chance of lifting it up in the water.
After binding the great white shark, Zhou Xuan detected some fish being chased by it. On a whim, he immediately used his special ability to freeze a few more fish. After a great white shark has eaten its fill, it usually chases fish with delicate flesh and delicious taste, which it prefers. At this moment, Zhou Xuan could detect that the fish had very fine flesh, unlike ordinary sea fish. He just couldn't recognize them. They were also very different from the sea fish he had caught when fishing in the South China Sea. Since the great white shark liked to eat them, they must be the right ones.
After Zhou Xuan froze, he beckoned two or three people to come with him. The three bodyguards were a little worried. They had just seen Zhou Xuan catch the white shark and then submerge it in the water. If they went over, would another shark appear?