Chapter 53 of 100

Chapter 53

14 min read3,494 words

Finally, the three of them casually found a small restaurant to fill their stomachs. As they ate, they chatted freely, eventually talking about the movie they had just watched.

Li Pu watched all types of movies; Xia'er, the class monitor, loved romantic and comedy films but also had a love-hate relationship with horror movies; Zhang Shi, besides action and martial arts films, surprisingly also enjoyed literary movies.

In the eyes of the "Little Fist Saint," the so-called experts in modern action films could hardly last five moves against him, so what was the point of watching them? As for martial arts films like *Once Upon a Time in China*, *New Dragon Gate Inn*, *Tai Chi Master*, *New Shaolin Five Ancestors*, and *The Blade*, there were interesting characters like Nalan Yuanshu, Cao Shaoqin, Dong Tianbao, or Ma Ning'er and Fei Long, but unfortunately, most of these were old films from the last century.

Li Pu's thoughts began to broaden, and he asked enthusiastically, "Do you think Nalan Yuanshu in *Once Upon a Time in China: Men of Honor* is stronger, or Cao Shaoqin in *New Dragon Gate Inn*?"

"Without considering the performance aspect, Nalan Yuanshu can turn a cloth into a staff, indicating his skill has reached the 'rigid and flexible as desired' level of 'external force.' He is at least at the upper level of the transformational force. Cao Shaoqin, the grand eunuch of the Eastern Depot, can turn fine sand into flying projectiles with his sword, piercing through human bodies. This skill is not inferior to Nalan Yuanshu's."

Zhang Shi, surprisingly, was very engaged with Li Pu's topic and answered without hesitation, "But if we have to say who is stronger, I would favor Cao Shaoqin. He is more flexible and adaptable. Moreover, he was besieged to death. Like Fei Long, the bandit leader in *The Blade* who also uses weapons, he is far inferior, relying only on his swift and fierce knives."

"Even the mighty and imposing Cao Shaoqin is only at the transformational force level? It seems that even the exaggerated Huang Fei Hong in the movies is at most at this level."

Li Pu slurped his noodles, "Do any of these characters reach the dan force level? Lin Qingxia's portrayal of Dongfang Bubai, who can wave her hand and cause explosions everywhere, doesn't count."

"Of course there are." Zhang Shi chuckled, "In *Tai Chi Master*, Zhang Junbao after enlightenment! After understanding Tai Chi, he can perform a set of boxing moves at a moderate pace, without touching anything, making thousands of leaves within a radius of several feet swirl around him, gather into a ball, and disperse. This is the entry-level external force skill after reaching the peak of dan force. Speaking of which, his enemy Dong Tianbao's Prajna Palm is also profound, one of the top hard skills in Shaolin Temple, powerful and fierce, somewhat similar to my style."

"Ah, so impressive? Which is stronger, external force or internal force?" Li Pu remembered that Aunt Chenxin could use internal force.

"External and internal force are two sides of the same coin, but generally, one first achieves external force, then internal force, and finally unifies both. There is no absolute superiority, only differences in depth and application techniques."

Zhang Shi paused slightly and explained, "But both require reaching the peak of dan force to use. Even my uncle is still working on this level. As for the 'indestructible' stage, it is hundreds of times more difficult to achieve than advancing from clear force to dan force..."

It seemed that Aunt Chenxin was even stronger than the "Fist Saint," the top Southeast Asian martial artist. Li Pu felt secretly happy and asked curiously, "Are there really people who have reached the 'indestructible' stage in this world?"

"I haven't seen one with my own eyes," Zhang Shi said, "But my uncle once mentioned a hermit in Europe who had reached the 'indestructible' stage, a true immortal. A few decades ago, this person fought against an organization called 'Entwined Snake' and personally killed one of its core leaders."

This was the first time Li Pu had heard insider information about "Entwined Snake" since parting ways with Aunt Chenxin and Xiao Xian. He eagerly asked, "What happened next?"

Zhang Shi seemed to be deeply moved by the topic, shook his head, and said regretfully, "According to my uncle, he died."

"Dead? Was he killed by 'Entwined Snake'?" Li Pu took a deep breath. He was currently at the level of a grand master of hidden force, and he knew how difficult it was to cultivate hidden force. He never imagined that even the 'indestructible' stage could not save one's life.

"The specific details are a secret, but I believe 'Entwined Snake' also paid a heavy price," Zhang Shi nodded and sighed. "It's a pity I didn't have the chance to witness that intense battle. It must have been spectacular!"

Li Pu deeply agreed. The only "Entwined Snake" members he had seen were Di Tianxia and Brad (Peel Walker). Di Tianxia seemed to be on par with Aunt Chenxin. As for Brad, he was surely very powerful. Add to that the expressionless 'assassins' around them... if equipped with military weapons, they could even stand up to dozens of times their number of regular soldiers.

It seemed that Aunt Chenxin's requirement for him to surpass her in strength before considering facing "Entwined Snake" was not an exaggeration.

Qin Xia'er, who had been ignored for a long time, couldn't find a way to join the conversation and finally couldn't hold back, "What are you talking about? I don't understand at all!"

"Because you are very ordinary, it's strange if you understood," Li Pu mocked with a "you are so ignorant" look, but secretly thought: This is a good thing. If possible, I hope you never have to deal with these things.

Qin Xia'er,不服气 (unwilling to admit defeat), naturally started bickering with Li Pu again, and predictably lost, 呜呜呜 (sighing).

In the following half month, for safety reasons, Qin Xia'er could not go to school until the threat from the Wu brothers was resolved; Li Pu, who was not afraid, was happy to have a leisurely time with government backing; and Zhang Shi had to recuperate his damaged tendons and blood.

Apart from Qin Xia'er, who occasionally had to do homework at home, Li Pu and Zhang Shi met frequently, exchanging martial arts insights or chatting idly.

Li Pu's most powerful skill was the set of techniques based on "Shrimp Spring Dog Ancestor Body" that Chenxin taught him over those two months. After Chenxin's improvements, it incorporated several boxing techniques, making it more fierce and versatile, suitable for practical combat.

What he lacked most was real combat experience with true experts. In the past half month, he had sparred multiple times with "Little Fist Saint" Zhang Shi, rapidly improving his combat experience and techniques, and integrating several previously less proficient techniques.

Zhang Shi's physique was astonishing, and with his transformational force, his recovery was much faster. By the fifth day, he was basically healed, much earlier than expected.

In the subsequent sparring sessions, which were not very formal or intense, Li Pu did not use the "100% critical hit hidden force hundred-crack punch" with the God of War's equipment. He used only his fundamental skills against Zhang Shi, who was now more stable and methodical.

During their first encounter at "Tian Chan Yuan," Zhang Shi, who had the upper hand, did not expect Li Pu's explosive power to exceed his prediction, similar to how Vegeta was caught off guard by Goku's sudden power-up with the "Kaioken" in *Dragon Ball Z*. Now, with experience, Zhang Shi began to use his advanced techniques, exposing Li Pu's weaknesses.

However, Zhang Shi did not feel particularly proud. After all, his threefold innate true force was extremely rare. He had started his martial arts journey earlier and had more combat experience, giving him some advantages.

But "Little Fist Saint" could feel Li Pu's rapid progress, which, for the first time, gave him a sense of competition with a peer.

One teenager was determined to catch up to and even surpass the other in martial arts skills.

The other teenager was inspired by the rapid growth of his opponent, greatly igniting his fighting spirit.

Sometimes, Zhang Shi would recall what his uncle had once told him—having a good opponent is sometimes more important than having a good friend.

But Zhang Shi was too strong. His opponents were all seasoned masters much older than him, and there was no one of his age who could match him.

For eighteen years, he had no friends and no enemies. The only ones he looked up to were the so-called seniors he would eventually surpass.

Whether it was a grandmaster like Feng Kuchan (who Zhang Shi didn't even consider a real challenge), the reigning champion of "Ultimate Fighting Arena" Behemoth, or even his own uncle and teacher, "Fist Saint" Zhang Xiezhong.

All his goals stood before him, and he needed only to grow step by step to surpass them.

Under the calm and polite exterior of the "Little Fist Saint" lay a proud and lonely heart.

No one of his age was qualified to be his friend, just as no one of his age could be his opponent.

Until he met Li Pu.

A year younger, with a martial arts realm a level lower, yet able to defeat him head-on with his most proud and fierce fighting style, without any tricks!

Despite his often frivolous talk, which often made his cousin Xia'er bristle like a cat, Li Pu had a straightforward and interesting personality that suited him.

Perhaps, not only his first opponent, but also his first friend.

Mid-month, the provincial public security department notified the city's party secretary, Qin Yuancheng, that the remaining two Wu brothers' domestic criminal organizations had been completely defeated, and Wu Yuanlei and Wu Yuanshan had been killed.

The obedient Qin Xia'er happily returned to school. However, she was accompanied by a 30-year-old female bodyguard sent by the Zhang family. According to Zhang Shi, this woman was a skilled hand trained by Zhang Xiezhong, considered a half-disciple, originally responsible for security at a company in Nanyang. Her transfer to Qin Xia'er's side indicated that Zhang Xiezhong quite liked his young niece.

The government and school commended Li Pu for his "bravery" (mentioning only his rescue efforts, not his killing of several criminals). Mayor Qin Yuancheng praised Li Pu extensively on the city's news, and the municipal government awarded him 30,000 yuan, while the school exempted him from tuition and fees. For a while, Li Pu became a little celebrity in the city.

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