Chapter 104 Surname

From a practitioner's subjective perspective, the most challenging practice is the Immortality Technique. While the One Qi Thousand Years Technique requires constant sustenance, the practice of self-healing techniques is ultimately a death-defying endeavor. Learning the fundamentals of martial arts one sentence at a time, the process of exploding a good head one by one.

This feeling was not very good. Chu Hengkong tried it thousands of times before he got the hang of self-healing. Then he created the Qi Armor while healing his wounds. After that, he explored the third trick in actual combat.

But his body and spirit were out of sync. No matter how many deaths he endured or how much he learned in his dreams, his body in reality remained soundly asleep. Gradually, he began to multitask: on one side, the fierce battles of the training grounds, on the other, scenes from an unknown time. His movements were meticulous, but he knew he was sleepy. He began to think about things he wouldn't normally think about: a few casual conversations, a few faint memories...

For example, what is your last name?

·

Chu Hengkong's surname is Chu because old man Chu's surname is Chu.

There were numerous martial arts schools near the orphanage, offering styles like Hung Gar, Chuo Jiao, and Tai Chi and Bagua. At five, he'd sneaked out to learn fighting techniques, and within six months, he'd mastered them thoroughly. At six, after watching a few movies, he became enthusiastic about learning to fight in the schools.

This wasn't as exciting as the movies. Masters and instructors were basically defeated with just a few punches, and the few so-called masters couldn't last more than three minutes. They were all just mediocre. In just six months, he had defeated seven of the city's eleven districts. When the remaining four districts were left, the city's masters used all their pride to invite Old Man Chu out.

Old Man Chu specialized in Bajiquan, a man of integrity and strength. He remained unmoved by punches and kicks, yet a backhand elbow to the heart left him embedded in the red brick wall for the better part of a day. Even at the age of seven, he had never been able to defeat Old Man Chu, and after enduring six months of beatings, he finally gave in.

The day he was convinced was the first time he spoke to the old man, and it was also the first time the old man spoke to him.

"What's your name?"

"No name. The orphanage gave me one, but I didn't want to use it, so I threw it away."

"oh."

"Can I take your last name?"

The old man didn't say anything. He was just being clever.

"Master."

"You can take my last name," the old man told him, "but you're not allowed to learn martial arts under a master. You can learn from a carpenter, a computer, or whatever you want. But not martial arts."

"Okay." He agreed without a second thought. The old man smiled for the first time and scolded him for being clueless.

From that day on, his name was Chu Hengkong.

Over the next few months, he actually learned something from the old man. He could tell that the old man had no desire to teach. He could also tell that the old man genuinely wanted to impart everything he knew. The old man told him to read more, which was useful, and to practice martial arts less, which was useless. But the old man himself usually read annotated Buddhist scriptures and a torn copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and his handwriting was ugly. Such words from someone like him were not convincing.

From the age of nine, the old man stopped teaching him. Instead, he took him on tours, meeting all sorts of peculiar old men and middle-aged people. That was the first time Chu Hengkong understood the myriad aspects of life. Some old men lived in grand villas, rich and prominent; some middle-aged men worked in office buildings, their faces shrouded in worry; and many more lived in small streets and villages, living in brick and tile houses, living in poverty. But all of them reacted the same way when they saw him: they marveled, cheered, applauded, then lowered their heads, sighed, and remained silent for a long time.

No one wanted to learn a word, and everyone showed their full potential. There were a few old men who were really good, and they wanted to become his disciples, but the old man and the others wouldn't let them. After much questioning, they couldn't get a single word out, only a single sentence.

Born at the wrong time.

After this trip, the old man said he didn't need to learn anything anymore and could figure it out on his own. By then, the internet was pretty common, so he looked for foreign martial arts books and practiced on his own, without encountering any obstacles.

The old man was a little old and had some minor ailments, but nothing serious. He was strong and full of energy. On his 11th birthday, the old man asked him to have a hand job.

He refused to fight, knowing that the old man would not be able to defeat him this time.

That night, Old Man Chu put on his most ferocious face ever. The tip of the spear he'd used for training grazed his neck and stabbed into the wall. Fight! Why not?! Isn't the whole purpose of training for a single victory? What's the point of training without fighting?

This was the first time he'd beaten the old man. His win was undisciplined, and it had injured the old man. The old man said that discipline was bullshit, and if you couldn't tell the difference between winning and losing, it was a waste of time.

The old man was lying on his hospital bed, laughing heartily, so happily that he burst into tears. He was at a loss.

"I understand! I've learned it! What's the use of it after that? What's the use of it after that?"

"In the future, you can win more," he said.

"Even if I win a lot, can I achieve great things? Can I become famous? Can I beat me? Can I beat a pistol? Can I beat a cannon?!" The old man sobbed, "Kong, what will you do in the future? Will you go to our streets and be a patrol officer? Will you go to make a movie and be an actor? I've studied for all these years, my best years! And it's all been in vain! What a sin! I've ruined you!"

He listened quietly, and when the old man finished crying, he said, "I can win."

He was serious. After hearing this, the old man stopped crying.

After the fight, the old man rested for two months, during which time he endured numerous complaints from the Chu family. He could appreciate the respect and love his descendants had for him, but he also sensed a subtle impatience beneath their worry, like water droplets flowing beneath the surface of ice, silent but ever-present.

One day after being discharged from the hospital, the old man called him over alone.

"Sora, do you know when you will die?"

"A hundred years, maybe. I have no problem living to be a hundred."

"You're just guessing." The old man nodded his forehead. "You're not good enough at cultivating your mind. Once you've cultivated your mind, opened your clairvoyance, and gained the ability to see your destiny, you'll know exactly when your life will end, like a mirror."

"Then you know."

"I know," the old man said, "after a year, my heart, lungs and kidneys are not very good. I can't eat much. I have to spend three months in the hospital every year. The children have to come back from time to time.

In the next two years, I slept more and woke up less, spending less than half of my time in bed, going back and forth between home and the hospital. Whenever the children had time, they would rush home.

"For another two years, I will be bedridden, in a daze. The children and I are like each other, tied tightly to this bed. Whether awake or drowsy, we are all waiting, waiting for the day when we will close our eyes, die peacefully, and all will be well."

He could imagine the sleepy eyes of the old man on the bed and the depressed heart of the young man running around, so he felt indescribably sad. But the old man did not show any trace of distress, and his eyes were as bright as those of a young man.

"Kong, remember, you can't live a cowardly life." He smiled mysteriously, "I'll teach you one last trick. It's better to die well than to live a miserable life."

Suddenly, he remembered a newspaper report about some elderly people living alone who, not wanting to cause trouble for their children, took sleeping pills and left. Words of dissuasion were on the tip of his tongue, but he restrained himself, knowing that Mr. Chu was not that cowardly.

Over the next three days, the old man arranged everything at home, wrote a declaration of war in his own hand, and signed it with his bloody fingerprint. His entire family accompanied him when he left, but only Chu Hengkong was allowed in. They flew to America, to a pigeon-caged arena of life and death, devoid of any spectators. The old man, wearing a Mao suit and carrying a large rifle, faced an elderly Russian man, armed with a single dagger and accompanied by his apprentice.

There was naked hatred in the eyes of the old men, and the first round on stage was a ruthless killing move.

Years of grudges had raged between them, a fight that drew them to the death. In the blink of an eye, the daggers drew blood, the spears pierced a hole, but they wouldn't stop, determined to see one man out. However, the old men's strength quickly dried up, and even the strongest killing intent was like a blunt knife cutting flesh.

The man's apprentice fainted. The Russian's eyes were filled with deep sorrow, and even Old Man Chu's eyes were filled with a bloody sadness. They had fought to this point, but the ending was even more miserable than they had anticipated.

Suddenly, Chu Hengkong understood, completely understood. An indescribable emotion made him clap and cheer as loudly as he could.

He said good kung fu! The old man has great kung fu!!

The two old men were stunned, yet relieved, as if they had suddenly relaxed, letting go of all the burdens—the ones they carried and the ones given by others. They used up their last bit of strength and fell in each other's blood.

Died with a smile.

“——!”

Chu Hengkong turned over and sat up, with a lingering bloodshot look in front of his eyes.

He valued sleep and rarely dreamed before. After his transformation, he could control his body, so there was no need for inefficient short sleeps. But this time, he dreamed within a dream, a rare event that happened long ago. Every detail was so real, exactly as he remembered it.

"Dreams are projections of ghostly bodies. We often say dreams belong to the black moon and the ocean, though a small portion also belongs to shadows." The man handed him a glass of water. "Most of the time, dreams represent the past and misfortunes. Sometimes, they are also seen as omens of the future. This is why the dragon and the moon often clash in dreams."

He took the cold water, and Ji Qiufeng beside him looked normal.

"Thank you, Master..." Chu Hengkong swallowed his words, "Mr. Ji."

Ji Qiufeng didn't care: "What did you dream about?"

"It's not a nightmare," he said. "It ends well."

"Then you should pay attention to the content of your dreams. In my experience, the past is always a harbinger of the future." Ji Qiufeng waved his fan. "Youyou's divination says your trip is unlucky. Whether it's auspicious or not depends on your own efforts..."

"I've studied for two more months in my dreams, so there's no doubt this one will be fine."

Ji Qiufeng sighed deeply: "Hengkong, every time you say that, you fall badly..."

"I didn't lose either." Chu Hengkong got up and got out of bed.

He slowly moved his shoulders. Two months of training in his dreams had given his spirit body more experience than his physical body, making his original body seem a little sluggish. But the immortal machine behind him, activated by his thoughts, far surpassed his own calculation ability and instantly completed the simulation, feeding all the experience gained in the dream back to his physical body.

In Longquan Township, even the most aggressive and hasty warriors would need ten days or even a month to recuperate after leaving the Dream Shadow Dimension. But now, within half a minute, Chu Hengkong's body had perfectly adjusted to the "should-be" state after two months of training. This was the unique adaptability granted to him by the Immortal Mechanical Bones, and it was thanks to this that Ji Qiufeng dared to launch such a radical training plan.

Although his training plan before becoming a Ganggu had never been conservative.

After completing his adjustments, Chu Hengkong looked towards Ji Qiufeng. The City Lord's aura remained unfathomable, like a ball of restrained, scorching fire. In the past, he hadn't understood the City Lord's skills at all, but perhaps because of the two months of beatings he'd endured in his dreams, or perhaps because his enhanced observation skills after becoming a stronger person, he sensed a subtle change.

"Mr. Ji, when will you be promoted?"

"It's probably going to happen this year," Ji Qiufeng said. "Don't worry about being laughed at. I really want you to wait a while before leaving..."

"Even if you upgrade your quality points to 6, Ji Huaisu and I won't become stronger." Chu Hengkong laughed, "Leave the tree matters to us, and you can focus on upgrading. When Ji Huaisu and I have higher quality points in the future, the city will no longer lack people to carry the responsibilities."

Ji Qiufeng watched him leave the temple, thinking that such strong faith was also the source of his strength. Youyou suddenly popped up, full of complaints: "How cruel you are... Huaisu told me she had a dream too. I think we should make some more preparations..."

"They have their own destiny. How can you stop them?" Ji Qiufeng said nonchalantly. "Go ahead! When we left the mountain, we only had 3 points of mass. Not much."

"I was at point four at that time!" Youyou emphasized.

"When you break out of the eggshell, you become point mass 4..."

Chu Hengkong took the elevator to the 20th-floor operations conference room, where everyone was bustling with activity. Ji Huaisu was cornered by Qi Su, who unceremoniously stuffed equipment into him, his demeanor reminiscent of adding armor to a robot. Fan De stared blankly at a ball-like object, refusing to enter despite Jie An's entreaties.

Chu Hengkong's arrival solved his teammates' urgent needs. Jie An rushed over and put his coat on him without saying a word. "Add the Small Qiankun Sleeve, space compression technology, and flow bead drive. All the supplies are inside. This thing has been urgently modified to particle 2 for you. Even if Vander loses it, you can't lose this!"

"Oh oh oh oh." Chu Hengkong nodded continuously.

Qi Su followed and stuffed a white spear with three holes dug into his arms, speaking as fast as a machine gun.

"This Secret Script Enhanced Standard Spear has been specially adapted for you. Its rating fluctuates dynamically with the Secret Script Bead it's embedded in. It's currently at Level 2, so just use one just to be safe! The three of you have too high Destiny Powers, and a powerful relic could easily break it!"

Chu Hengkong continued to nod: "Okay, okay."

"And this..." Qi Su held up a knife, the style was no different from the previous one, "It's a knife reforged with rock knife fragments, a level 2 blank with no special effects. You can use it when you need a knife."

"This is good." Chu Hengkong smiled, "It's practical."

"The boat is about to sail, get ready to go!"

Seeing that the preparation phase was finally over, Ji Huaisu immediately got out of the heavy armor that was like cans embedded in cans, and went into battle lightly. Fan De followed suit and quickly slipped into Chu Hengkong's pocket.

Jie An shook his head helplessly like an old father and shouted at them, "Your life is more important! Keep in touch!"

"If you can't find it, come back quickly. Don't risk your life if you meet a strong opponent!" Qi Su clasped his little hands into a trumpet.

Ji Huaisu pulled him all the way to the port, and only stopped to catch his breath when they arrived.

"If they had waited five more minutes they could have stuffed me into the Yoyo Statue."

"It's a memorable first trip, it's normal." Vander said weakly, "How are you? You've been in Gu Long Miao Miao House for two months. Are you still energetic?"

Chu Hengkong stared at the gun handle and suddenly said, "Do you think my martial arts training is useful?"

His two best buddies acted like he was an idiot.

"Akong, wake up!" Ji Huaisu said earnestly, "Without your skills, we would have been eaten by the fish! Now there's not even a bone left, we're just squid number one, two, and three!"

"It sounds like they can merge into a real squid."

Chu Hengkong laughed, withdrew his thoughts from the dream and looked at reality.

"Yeah... I'm very happy." He said, "Let's go! It's time to go!"

They climbed the long ladder to board the ship and followed the sound of the tide, leaving Huilong City. They left the Senluo Secret Realm and headed for the Dust Island outside their home for the first time.

This would be a slightly longer journey than they expected, but the young people were full of confidence.

Because we are young, we are brave. We dare to leave our homes and run forward.

Returning from migration, resuming update~

(End of this chapter)