Chapter 20: Mastering the Dragon Country 3,000 Sets
“Hah!” “Ha!” “Aiya-!”
The clock struck five, the dawn had already broken. The last wooden figure in the temple fell to the ground. Chu Hengkong retracted his stance, sweating profusely. Although he felt a hint of fatigue, his eyes shone brightly.
He said he'd practice three hundred sets, and he actually beat three hundred wooden dummies. Chu Hengkong didn't rest a moment that night. The "comprehension" brought on by his skillful transformation was miraculous, allowing him to acquire techniques at an incredible speed. These martial arts must have a profound origin. Every move was exquisitely refined, and no movement was redundant. Without the painstaking efforts of generations of warriors over countless years, such profound techniques would never have been possible.
Chu Hengkong was filled with satisfaction, excited to have access to such a wonderful skill, and delighted with his own progress. He was now much stronger than before. He would need to find time to review his new skills in detail later, but now he couldn't wait to show off his skills!
At this moment, the floor flipped over, the wooden man sank, and a black iron man emerged, dancing and eager to try. Chu Hengkong was stunned for a moment, then turned around in surprise: "There's more?"
Ji Qiufeng held a small book in his hand and said with a smile, "I've finished the introductory 300 sets, and next is the elementary 600 sets. It's a bit more, do you need a break?"
"No need. Such a good thing, no amount is too much!"
Chu Hengkong took a deep breath, cheered himself up, and punched the iron man!
·
“Hah!!” “Ha!!” “Aaaaaaaaa!!”
As evening approached, the last Iron Man collapsed under a heavy blow. Chu Hengkong supported himself on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
He had truly accomplished this, learning another 600 sets of martial arts in less than a day. If he told others about this, they would probably think he was crazy. His ability to learn so quickly was due in part to his lingering "comprehension" and in part to the content of these new 600 sets.
The new martial arts were truly bizarre, with most consisting of a single posture or even a single movement. Yet, these postures and movements often pushed muscles and bones to their limits, with a few even relying on hair and nails. If the first three hundred sets were a streamlined and brutal killing technique, the last six hundred were like a military boxing from another world... or a military boxing stripped down to the finest detail of a hair...
Even though Chu Hengkong was experienced, he couldn't figure out how to use these moves in actual combat. But he had learned them, and whether they were useful would be decided later. Right now, he was hungry and drowsy, so he would eat and sleep before showing off his skills...
At this time, Jie An came running over with large and small plates. When he opened the lid, the tempting aroma filled his nose: braised goose meat, stewed fish soup, roast duck in soup, tender Chinese cabbage cooked in broth; a large bowl of rice porridge with herbal roots and boneless fish fillets floating in it, two golden eggs beaten in it, and sliced sausages next to various sauces and side dishes.
This was the first time he had seen pork since arriving here! Chu Hengkong grabbed his chopsticks and devoured the meat, feeling deeply moved: "It's so luxurious..."
Xie An handed him a cup of tea with a medicinal aroma, his face heavy with sorrow. "Stop talking and eat quickly. If you don't eat now, you won't have another chance!"
"?"
Chu Hengkong had just stuffed the duck leg into his mouth when he saw the iron man flip under the floor and a golden bronze man turned up. Ji Qiufeng walked over to the bronze man and laughed.
"Not bad, very insightful! I'll give you ten minutes to finish your lunch, and then you can learn to disassemble 1,500 sets."
Chu Hengkong's eyes were dull: "I'll learn it tomorrow..."
"Don't even think about it." Ji Qiufeng smiled even more kindly. "The first three days before the transformation to a skilled hand, the secret of the lost secret has not yet been dissipated. This is when your comprehension is at its strongest. Not a single minute can be wasted. Eat quickly! After that, practice!"
Chu Hengkong wanted to rush out, but he found that Youyou had already sat down at the exit, blocking the way. He quickly lowered his head and ate his food desperately. Ji Qiufeng was absolutely serious. If he didn't finish his food in ten minutes, he would come over and grab the bowl!
·
“Drink…” “Ha…” “Yeah…”
It was unknown how much time had passed before the last bronze man fell, but Chu Hengkong had already fallen to the ground. He felt dizzy and his eyes were full of stars. There weren't even 1,500 bronze men under the temple, but each one could use at least dozens of moves, and those moves had no practical value. One move required the palm muscles to move five times per second, effectively making the pinky finger curl rapidly. After mastering it, Chu Hengkong stared at it for ten seconds and concluded that it was probably just for quick nose picking. There were even some exercises for pelvic floor exercises, cochlear exercises, and even for cerebral cortex stimulation...
These 1,500 sets could be considered a modern-day martial arts anatomy, highlighting a meticulous yet ultimately useless technique. He'd long since given up on practicing, but his damned comprehension allowed him to grasp it instantly... By this point, Chu Hengkong no longer cared about the threat and collapsed to the ground, panting. Ji Huaisu squatted beside him, his face brimming with sympathy.
"The total has reached 1,400. I admire you." She said, "When I reached 1,300, I was completely out of luck. I can't understand what's beyond that. I don't have your talent~"
Chu Hengkong gasped: "How many more...?"
Ji Huaisu wiped his eyes hypocritically and said, "Three thousand sets in total."
"Three thousand?!" Chu Hengkong almost popped his eyes out.
"The 3,000 sets of Dragon Country Fist techniques are an immortal classic compiled by the founder of Shendong Realm martial arts, 'Piaomiao Fate Master.' It's a must-learn for all races seeking to learn martial arts." Ji Qiufeng flipped open the small book and read in a rhythmic voice, "As the saying goes, 'Master the 3,000 sets of Dragon Country Fist techniques, and you'll master martial arts even if you don't know the Dao.' Only by ingraining the 3,000 sets will you have a bright future."
Chu Hengkong said weakly, "But this thing is unrealistic... Look, this dummy is shaking its tail!"
A long tail sprouted from the bronze figure's back, twitching vigorously, like some kind of tailed creature using the toilet. Ji Qiufeng's smile faded, a murderous look etched in his brow. "Use your imagination to make up for it! Stop the nonsense and practice!"
Chu Hengkong howled dryly, stood up, gritted his teeth and continued. Youyou came over and glanced at the contents of Ji Qiufeng's little book, whispering, "Are you a little too aggressive?"
"How can this be called forcing things to grow? This is fertilizing the seedlings." Ji Qiufeng smiled happily.
That small booklet is the general catalog of "Three Thousand Sets", and the recommended training stages for each part of martial arts are also marked on the side: "The first three days", "Using it like one's own arm", "Getting to know the spirit"... until the last "Refining skills and concentrating the mind", which is divided into ten sections in total.
While it's true that "Three Thousand Forms" is a must-learn manual for martial artists, the venerable Master Piao Miao compiled it to guide newcomers, starting with dexterity and gradually working their way up to particle 2. The three hundred forms from the "initial three days" had already been completed last night, leaving the remaining material for years of study. This couldn't even be called cramming; it was simply forcing the duck to burst.
"Geniuses have their own training methods. Lay a solid foundation early on so you can practice your moves later." Ji Qiufeng put the book away and shouted, "Don't be lazy! Practice!"
·
“Ugh…” “Hiss…” “Ugh…”
Eat, practice martial arts, close your eyes briefly, and repeat. It was already lost track of how much time had passed until the bronze men were finally defeated. Ji Qiufeng personally took the book and practiced in the battle, combining theory with practice. After finishing the lesson, he continued to fight.
His mind was groggy, but his memory remained intact. Chu Hengkong sadly realized that being "fast in comprehension" was such a torture. Even if you were completely drained of energy and had no focus, you could still learn by practicing a few times. In the end, the moves were essentially being forced into his head. This wasn't just about swimming in the ocean of knowledge; it was practically being trampled and insulted by it!
Yet, he had to admit that these three thousand sets of techniques truly had something to offer. Some of them seemed to require coordination from his nonexistent limbs, yet he was able to completely replicate their essence through physical imitation. The techniques and memories were impossible to forget, like they were seared into his muscles, woven into his blood and bones.
"……Finish."
The voice of the teacher stopped before he knew it, and Chu Hengkong stared blankly at the ceiling. His overflowing "understanding" finally dissipated, and for a moment he felt dull and foolish. But now, even this foolishness made him grateful. He opened his mouth to speak, and a strange sound came out: "Wow, Agu Aba."
Chu Hengkong covered his mouth. He controlled every muscle when he opened it, and even speaking became a manual transmission. He stood up stiffly like a robot, his movements numb and his eyes dazed. Every step he took was like performance art.
"I'm done with my training." Chu Hengkong fell to the ground with a thud.
"I've practiced it!" Ji Qiufeng corrected. "You'll get used to it after just a few minutes of walking. Go take a rest."
He mumbled a thank you, tumbled and crawled out of the temple, and used his head to push the floor to turn into the elevator. After going downstairs, he finally found some feeling, lay on his back and used his back muscles to move forward, then turned half over and began to crawl on the wall.
The team members watched helplessly as this strange creature crawled from the elevator into the hall, its eyeballs falling to the ground.
"What kind of evil spirit possession is this?!" "Brother Chu, are you okay?" "Is this the Octopus Magic?"
"Don't talk." Chu Hengkong's voice was vague. "I'm recovering."
Everyone fell silent, watching Inspector Chu crawl all the way to the ceiling, then flip over like a toad, landing on his hands and knees. Meanwhile, the police lights at the lobby reception desk flashed, and the patrolmen's sirens blared: "There's a deliberate disturbance at No. 24 Fuquan Street. Both targets are carrying relics..."
"Received." Chu Hengkong pulled out the communicator with his tentacles, "I'm coming!"
He used his hands and feet to quickly crawl out of the hall. The team members behind him saw him and got anxious: "Brother Chu! Hand! The hand is still lying down!"
"Oh oh!" Chu Hengkong immediately turned over and stood up, using his tentacles and right hand to run out upside down. The team members behind him were even more anxious: "We're going the wrong way! We're going the wrong way!!"
Unfortunately, his words were no longer audible. Chu Hengkong's speed was as swift as a whirlwind. He was clearly running upside down, yet his speed was more than double that of before. As he ran, he touched the ground with both hands and suddenly rose from the ground, leaping up like a flea.
Chu Hengkong drew a graceful arc across the street, and in a flash, he leaped from a lamppost to the roof of a building. Citizens looked up at the sky with their mouths wide open, and someone exclaimed, "Inspector Chu, your skills are unparalleled!"
At No. 24 Fuquan Street, in front of an abandoned building, two burly men were yelling at a bloodied construction crew. A team member tried to dissuade them, but to no avail. "This is a public area under government jurisdiction..." "Bullshit! This is my ancestral property." "You two have been illegally occupying public property for a month! If you keep this up, I'll issue you an administrative warning." "The City Lord's Mansion is settling a robbery privately! There's no way for ordinary people to survive!"
The two burly men cried and wailed, completely oblivious to the fact that they had just severely injured an innocent construction worker. Patrolling Lu Xing was both furious and anxious. He was angry because these two men had never been around the abandoned building before and were clearly deliberately obstructing the construction work. He was also anxious because this renovation project was of great importance and needed to be carried out as soon as possible. And the fact that these two men were carrying relics made them difficult to deal with...
Just as he was getting anxious, a green figure descended from the sky. Chu Heng landed with his back to the troublemakers, his eyes dull and his face dusty, as if he had been out and about for ten years. His voice was slow and hoarse: "What... happened?"
"Inspector Chu..." Lu Xing raised his hand in surprise, his expression suddenly changing, "Inspector, be careful!!"
Behind Chu Hengkong, two shadows suddenly surged forward. The rioters' forms suddenly shifted. One grew as fat as a pig, his hands transformed into crimson claws. Another's muscles bulged, razor-sharp fangs sprouting from every part of his body. Their malevolent, arrogant expressions vanished, leaving only cold murderous intent in their eyes. Each armed with a long staff and a dagger, they charged forward, thrusting their two relic weapons into Chu Hengkong's head and back!
Lu Xing's body went cold as he realized that the two men not only carried relic weapons but were also possessed by demons. They were assassins sent specifically for Chu Hengkong. Even the inspector couldn't handle such a deadly situation alone!
In a panic, he rushed forward, trying to save Chu Hengkong. But at this moment, he found that Chu Hengkong did not move a step. The silver tentacles lifted up behind him, making a crisp crack.
Bang!
The demon-possessed individuals froze in their tracks, the light in their eyes extinguished by the whip. Their eyes rolled back as they collapsed like dead fish. Two demonic phantoms suddenly emerged, sending up a cloud of dust as the massive figures fell to the ground. Their bodies returned to their original state, revealing a silver whip mark across their chests and abdomens.
The team members were all speechless. A dedicated young man went over to check and shouted in awe: "He's unconscious!"
Lu Xing quickly stopped, still unconsciously saying, "They are coming for you..."
"Good news, it means I've made a name for myself." Chu Hengkong said vaguely, "How much is the bounty on these two?"
The team members identified him for a while and said awkwardly, "It seems to be a new criminal..." "We haven't had time to offer a reward yet."
"I give in." Chu Hengkong waved his hand. "Just let them count it as attempted murder. I'm going home to sleep."
Chu Hengkong walked away, and everyone looked at each other in surprise.
They'd all been working for years and knew the standards for setting bounties. For a demon-possessed individual with a relic weapon, the minimum reward would be a hundred thousand Flowing Pearls, like Hugos. This kind of enemy was incredibly difficult to deal with, and normally, unless Captain Huaisu stepped in, no one else could stall for time. And yet, these two were killed instantly...
When did Inspector Chu become so powerful?
(End of this chapter)
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