Chapter 9

"Alright, Mom, I'm going to practice martial arts, I'll be back before dinner."

In the United States, school lets out very early, around two or three in the afternoon. The remaining time is for students' extracurricular activities, with those in clubs participating in club activities. It was Liu Nan's first day of school, and he hadn't joined any clubs yet, so he came back early. He decided to go practice martial arts.

"Okay, honey, go early and come back early. I've prepared your favorite steak and Italian stew for dinner today."

"Got it, Mom, I'll be back early."

Liu Nan's martial arts practice place was an abandoned factory a few blocks away. It was spacious and no one ever came there.

However, today there were new visitors. Liu Nan looked at the father and daughter in front of him and couldn't help but think, "Is this really so coincidental? I've met so many 'acquaintances' in just one day, and in the past ten years, I haven't met any of them."

That's right, the father and daughter were Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. They were probably here to practice.

"Hi, um, hello, what a coincidence, you're here to play too?"

Liu Nan didn't know the personalities of the father and daughter, so he could only try to greet them first.

"Hello, we didn't know anyone was here. Sorry to disturb you, we'll leave."

Big Daddy looked at Liu Nan, unsure of the Asian boy's identity. However, his cautious nature made him think it was better not to let anyone know about his and his daughter's practice. If the American Child and Women Protection Association found out about his method of educating his daughter, he would probably have no peace.

"No problem, you won't disturb me. I'm just practicing martial arts here, feel free to do what you want."

Liu Nan quickly stopped Hit-Girl and Big Daddy from leaving, as he had just received a new mission.

"Ding, mission triggered: Establish a partnership with Hit-Girl and Big Daddy within one month. Success: 5000 mission points. Failure: Be hunted by Hit-Girl and Big Daddy for a week."

Damn, there's even a mission like this. Although Liu Nan knew that Hit-Girl and Big Daddy's hand-to-hand combat skills were no match for his, they were skilled with guns. His Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt hadn't reached the level where he could ignore firearms. He could only withstand some low-powered handgun bullets. Big Daddy was a sniper and later had a custom Gatling gun. If he encountered those, he would be dead for sure.

"Martial arts? Alright, then we'll disturb you."

Hearing Liu Nan say he was practicing martial arts, Big Daddy realized that this Asian boy was probably not an ordinary person. He decided to stay and observe. He had come today to train his daughter Hit-Girl's courage, which involved shooting at bulletproof vests. It seemed that today's training plan needed to change.

Since he had successfully attracted Big Daddy's attention, Liu Nan breathed a sigh of relief. However, he wouldn't rely solely on this. If Big Daddy insisted on leaving, he would join Big Daddy's crime-fighting efforts, which would also allow him to get closer to Big Daddy.

After settling Big Daddy, Liu Nan came to an open area and started practicing his punches. However, his goal was not to practice punching techniques but to strengthen his body. He had already reached the level of Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound, where he could use the vibration of sound to strengthen his muscles and bone marrow. This was also a method of washing the marrow according to the I Ching. After washing the marrow according to the I Ching, the body's blood production would be enhanced, and the blood and qi would be more abundant.

The foundation of martial artists surpassing ordinary people is their abundant blood and qi. In China, after the transmission of martial arts, people no longer understood the method of washing the marrow according to the I Ching. After forcibly practicing martial arts, their blood and qi would start to deplete, requiring a large amount of high-nutrient food to replenish it. However, if the intake was insufficient, people would become emaciated like opium addicts. Such martial artists often had short lives. Thai boxers are a clear example. They overdevelop their bodies, depleting their blood and qi, and although their martial arts skills are effective in the short term, their lifespans are pitifully short. After their peak, their bodies would quickly deteriorate and they would die.

Big Daddy and Hit-Girl watched Liu Nan practice martial arts. At first, Big Daddy thought it was similar to the flowery techniques in martial arts schools, but as he watched, his expression changed. Every time Liu Nan punched or kicked, there was a crackling sound, and with Big Daddy's keen eyesight, he could clearly see the dust being blown up by Liu Nan's punches and kicks. Based on the speed and scale of the dust, he could calculate that Liu Nan's punches and kicks were more powerful than those of the best boxers in the world. This boy was indeed not simple.

After completing a set of punches, Liu Nan reined in his qi. A moment later, he exhaled a breath of turbid air, which could almost be seen with the naked eye, extending three feet.

Big Daddy and Hit-Girl also snapped back to reality. They had been so engrossed in Liu Nan's martial arts that they hadn't realized how impressive Chinese martial arts could be, contrary to what they usually saw. This made Big Daddy, who emphasized practicality, start to change his thinking.

"Your martial arts are really impressive. Can you teach me?"

Big Daddy was still thinking about how to greet Liu Nan, but his daughter spoke first.

"Little girl, why do you want to learn martial arts?"

Liu Nan found it a bit amusing. He didn't expect Hit-Girl to be such a martial arts enthusiast, asking him to teach her without even knowing him. Looking at the clearly eleven or twelve-year-old girl, Liu Nan thought she was quite a beauty in the making.

"Little girl, are you looking down on me? I may not be as strong as you, but I'm not to be underestimated."

As she spoke, Hit-Girl raised her hand and threw a throwing star straight at Liu Nan. Wow, what a temper.

"Little..."

When Big Daddy heard Liu Nan call her "little girl," he knew Hit-Girl would get angry. After all, he had taught her to be strong and not show any weakness. "Little girl" was clearly a term for someone weak, which would naturally anger Hit-Girl.

However, before he could warn Liu Nan, his daughter's throwing star was already flying. Big Daddy couldn't bear to look at Liu Nan, but Liu Nan's reaction made his jaw drop. The throwing star thrown by his daughter was firmly caught by Liu Nan with two fingers.

Liu Nan was also a bit nervous. This Hit-Girl was really violent. What was wrong with calling her "little girl"? Fortunately, his reaction was quick, or the throwing star would have hit him. In the future, if he had extra exchange points, he would definitely exchange for Lu Xiaofeng's Lingxi Yizhi to see if it could catch bullets.

"Yay, I knew you could block it. So, will you teach me martial arts?"

Seeing her throwing star easily blocked by Liu Nan, Hit-Girl, who had been tense, excitedly clapped her hands, as if the menacing person just now wasn't her.

"Sorry, I'm Damon Macready, and this is my daughter Mindy. My daughter was being disrespectful just now, but she does like martial arts and has learned many combat techniques, such as taekwondo, karate, and judo. She just hasn't learned Chinese martial arts, so she was a bit disrespectful."

Big Daddy's real name was Damon Macready, a former police officer who had left the force. His personal creed was to fight violence with violence, so he trained his daughter Mindy in various ways to become Hit-Girl.

Seeing Liu Nan practice martial arts today, he saw a different future. Perhaps if his daughter learned Chinese martial arts from this young man, she would become even stronger.

"Oh, it's okay, kids can be a bit temperamental. I'm Liu Nan, a high school student. However, learning Chinese martial arts is very hard. Can Mindy handle it?"

Martial arts had become Liu Nan's way of making friends. It seemed that befriending these heroes wasn't easy.

"Don't underestimate me. I can endure more than you can imagine."

Mindy clenched her small fists, but her beauty made even her anger refreshing.

"Is that so? Then I'll do a move, and you follow me."

Since he was going to teach Peter and David, adding Mindy didn't matter, especially since he had a mission to complete.

"Just one move? You really underestimate me. I'll show you that one move won't be a problem. Go ahead and show me."

Liu Nan ignored Mindy's stubbornness and directly assumed the position of the two-character clamp horse stance, a stance suitable for women and a basic stance in Wing Chun and Hung Kung.

"Pfft, that's too easy. Watch me."

Mindy imitated Liu Nan and assumed the two-character clamp horse stance. Although her movements weren't perfect, her completion rate was about 90%. Liu Nan corrected her a bit.

"What do you think? I did it, right? Was it hard?"

Mindy thought it was too easy and felt that Liu Nan didn't want to teach her.

"Assuming the stance is easy, but I want you to hold this position for twenty minutes. Can you do it?"

"No problem, piece of cake. Just watch."

At first, Mindy didn't think holding the position for twenty minutes was difficult. Damon also thought Liu Nan was underestimating his daughter, considering the level of training he had given her, which was equivalent to that of a professional free-fighter.

However, as time passed, Mindy began to feel what Liu Nan meant. Her legs started to ache and feel heavy, as if she had just completed a ten-mile run. The feeling intensified continuously.

"Done yet? I feel like the time is up."

Sweat was already forming on Mindy's forehead. She felt her legs were about to lose sensation, which surprised Damon. It had been less than ten minutes, and Mindy was already struggling. Could his usual training for Mindy be less effective than this one move?

"Of course not, it's only nine minutes and forty-five seconds. Keep going, you're almost halfway there."

Liu Nan smiled. It's not that I underestimate you, but you underestimate me and the power of Chinese martial arts.