The sharpness in the old man's eyes was gradually replaced by a complex gentleness. Han Feng noticed that the faint black aura between his brows had indeed faded a bit, but the veins on his wrinkled hands were still slightly bulging.
"The three great families..." Liu Shanhe's voice seemed to come from a great distance, "...referring to the Zhang family, the Dongfang family, and the Shangguan family. These three families are recognized as royalty among the hidden families."
Han Feng picked up his teacup, using the rising steam to conceal the glint in his eyes. He asked casually, "Could it be that their cultivation techniques are more powerful?"
"No." Liu Shanhe shook his head, his withered fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. "The lineage of the three great families can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. Their internal energy cultivation methods can draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Those who cultivate to the highest level are said to be able to walk on air and split mountains and stop rivers."
Han Feng's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. He recalled the gene warriors he had encountered in Qi City, especially the knights. Their muscle strength and reaction speed were indeed far beyond that of ordinary people, but they lacked true martial arts spirit and were more like killing machines that had been forcibly modified.
"It sounds like a myth." Han Feng chuckled, setting down his teacup. "Has Grandpa Liu ever seen such a master?"
Liu Shanhe's gaze suddenly deepened: "Sixty years ago, when I visited the Shangguan family with my father, I saw the head of the Shangguan family cleave a three-zhang waterfall with a single palm strike, the water curtain hanging upside down for a moment without falling."
A brief silence fell over the courtyard. A ginkgo leaf drifted down and landed on the stone table, making a soft sound.
Han Feng suddenly changed the subject: "These reclusive families... is it possible that their body-refining techniques could be modified for use on ordinary people?"
Liu Shanhe narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had already anticipated this question.
"What you really want to ask about is the genetically engineered warriors in Qiqihar, right? It seems Xiao Ran has already told you some of the issues he discovered."
Han Feng did not deny it, meeting the old man's gaze frankly. Liu Shanhe sighed, rose, and walked to an old iron cabinet in the corner of the study. He took out a uniquely shaped key from his pocket, and as he inserted it into the lock, the lock cylinder made a clicking sound as it turned.
Immediately afterwards, a hidden door in the wall slowly opened. Liu Shanhe went in first, calling out to Han Feng, who immediately got up and followed Liu Shanhe into the secret passage.
The air inside the stone chamber carried the dampness and staleness of the underground. Han Feng flipped through the yellowed pages Liu Shanhe handed him; the data and charts on the documents looked particularly mysterious in the dim light. His brow furrowed more and more deeply as he read—these test reports on human strength, muscle density, and bone hardening were almost identical to the gene warrior analyses he had seen at the Longyuan base.
"Grandpa Liu, this is..." Han Feng looked up, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Liu Shanhe stood with his hands behind his back in the center of the stone chamber, the light bulb casting varying shadows on his face. "The cooperation between the reclusive families and Longyuan is far more profound than you imagine," the old man's voice echoed between the stone walls. "These are the test results from thirty years ago on volunteers of the essence potion we extracted from body-refining herbs."
Han Feng quickly flipped through the pages, and a black and white photograph slipped out—the human in the photograph had bulging muscles, and spiderweb-like bluish-black blood vessels were faintly visible under the skin, just like the gene warriors he encountered in Zurich.
"Since the effects are similar, why not use the medication directly?" Han Feng's fingertip stopped at a red mark on the data sheet—"Liver fibrosis level: Grade III".
Liu Shanhe sighed and pulled up the only chair in the room to sit down. "Refining potions can be quick, but it's like drinking poison to quench thirst," he said, pointing his withered fingers to his abdomen. "External application of herbs allows the medicinal power to penetrate gently from the surface; internal ingestion of the essence allows the medicinal properties to directly attack the five internal organs, destroying everything in its path."
Han Feng recalled the later medical examination reports of the volunteers in the data—liver failure, myocardial necrosis, alveolar fibrosis... The shocking pathological descriptions all led to the same ending: death.
"What about those genetically engineered warriors overseas..."
"Cultivation methods, though different, all lead to the same goal." A glint of light flashed in Liu Shanhe's eyes. "In China, people soak their bodies in herbs; overseas families use holy water for body refinement. Essentially, both are about stimulating the body's potential. But..." The old man suddenly coughed violently, only calming down after a while, "...they skipped the most crucial step."
Han Feng hurriedly stepped forward, but was stopped by Liu Shanhe's wave. The old man took out a jade bottle from his bosom, poured out a bright green pill, swallowed it, and his complexion gradually returned to normal.
"True body refinement requires first cultivating qi." Liu Shanhe's breathing stabilized. "Only by circulating qi throughout the body and clearing the meridians can one withstand the medicinal effects. Those overseas..." He shook his head, "are nothing more than forcibly stuffing an untamed wild horse into the human body; it will ultimately backfire."
The stone chamber fell silent suddenly, broken only by the rustling of Han Feng turning the pages. His gaze was drawn to the last page of scribbled notes—"Subject 7, the drug's effects lasted only 43 minutes, followed by systemic ruptured blood vessels..."
At this moment, Liu Shanhe continued, "Regarding that gene warrior called Knight, I heard from Xiao Ran that he seems to be a bit more advanced than those gene warriors?"
Han Feng put down the paper in his hand and looked at Liu Shanhe, slowly saying, "Yes, whether it's agility or physical strength, they're not on the same level." Han Feng paused and continued, "Also, I found that the weaknesses of those gene warriors were easy to find, but I couldn't find any weaknesses on the knight. When I killed him, I accidentally discovered that his weakness was actually..."
At this point, Han Feng seemed unsure how to begin. At this moment, Liu Shanhe said, "I know, it's just a private matter, don't be so coy, you grown man."
Han Feng gave an awkward smile: "It's just that I find it a little difficult to say this in front of you, sir."
Liu Shanhe ignored these comments and continued, "This is actually something like a weakness. Ordinary gene warriors, because they have only undergone body tempering, cannot hide their weaknesses. However, after they begin cultivation and draw in Qi, a barrier will form on their bodies to protect them. In the ancient martial arts world, this is called a weakness. That knight must have reached the threshold for starting cultivation through some special means, and naturally opened his weakness. If one does not have strong internal energy, it is difficult to find the location of the opponent's weakness."
"Grandpa Liu, how are the cultivation realms divided?"
"It is divided into the Acquired Realm and the Innate Realm. The Acquired Realm is further divided into four stages: Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, and Perfect. The Innate Realm is the same. Each stage is further divided into nine levels. Many people spend their entire lives trying to break through to the Perfect Acquired Realm. Take that knight as an example; he is roughly at the first level of the initial stage of the Acquired Realm."
Han Feng was somewhat incredulous. Even a knight with such strength was only at the first stage of the Acquired Realm: "Then what realm are you at, sir?"
“The old man has no talent. He’s only at the fifth level of the late-stage Acquired Realm. Those old guys from the Nangong family have already stepped into the perfect Acquired Realm.” As he said this, Liu Shanhe’s eyes dimmed a little. Then he said to Han Feng, “However, with your strength to kill a knight and do it so easily, you should be at the third level of the early-stage Acquired Realm.”
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