As for his impression of the gods, Tang Hong would never forget the strange scene that he saw that night.
It was a scorching sun made out of golden flames.
A few weeks ago, when Tang Hong had a cold and a fever, he saw that god in a dream. It was just a nightmare though. That god had long been gone and destroyed.
'How serious of a crisis is this invasion of the gods?'
Tang Hong wanted to ask but he ultimately didn't speak.
He could feel that Fang Nanxun would not answer him.
"Don't daydream."
Fang Nanxun asked calmly. "Didn't you drive the car? Where did you park it?"
"I parked it outside the school. I'm afraid it will be too eye-catching."
Tang Hong took out the car key.
He handed it to Fang Nanxun but the latter pushed it back to him.
…
Yellow River Organization, Yunhai Branch Office.
It was Tang Hong's second time here. Like last time, it was empty. There was no one to be seen other than Fan Yu, who was in charge of the reception desk. She was looking down at something.
"Consultant Fang."
"Tang Hong."
Fan Yu raised her head when she heard the footsteps. She greeted them with a smile.
Fang Nanxun nodded slightly and led Tang Hong into a practice room.
The floor was covered with two layers of tempered glass sandwiched together.
It was extremely strong and it also seemed to be soundproof.
On the surface of the glass, there were many scratches.
There were many scratches on the surface of the glass. Looking closely, it seemed that the scratches were carved out by a knife.
"I'll get the Fist Technique Manual."
"Wait here."
In less than three minutes, Fang Nanxun returned with a booklet and he threw it to Tang Hong.
"First, follow the method of breathing and exert some strength."
"Show me how you do it a couple of times."
Tang Hong flipped through it twice and he soon got a feel for it.
This Fist Technique was a bit like Tai Chi. It was all in slow motion.
"Chop with one palm then move naturally. The slower the better."
Tang Hong couldn't understand but he tried a few chops. They were all very stiff.
"Hey…"
Fang Nanxun couldn't bear to watch anymore.
"Thinking too much is a taboo when you practice this style of martial art. If you think too much, you'll be in trouble. You can even lose control of your own Willpower."
"That's not good…"
"Once you've grasped the concept of how this works, the real Transcendent Training will not be a problem for you anymore. You might not gain much and maybe there will not be any tangible difference for a long time. However, you will not feel tired."
"On the contrary, you will feel energetic. Your body and mind will feel relaxed."
"Training is purely physical."
"It allows you to gather your Willpower while mobilizing your physical strength."
"Chop with one palm. The more decisive the better. Bring your arm back when you should and the order should be precise. If you feel energetic while practicing then you have succeeded. Otherwise, it means that you still haven't grasped the concept."
Hearing this, Tang Hong couldn't help but ask, "If I have to be decisive and energetic, how can I chop slowly? Is there any training that involves mental practice? I think I might be suitable for meditation."
Fang Nanxun narrowed his eyes.
"Meditation?"
"It's too easy to make a mistake with that route. A lot of people managed to train to the point that they were able to reach the realm of Intentional Creation. It drains a lot of their Willpower, so the more sweat one puts into training, the more powerful they would be…"
"It would also decide just how boundless their transcendence would be."
"Don't think too much about it. Just practice this Fist Technique."
"Remember, don't let your mind run wild when you're practicing your chops. Let your hands move as they will. Let it be natural, don't interfere."
"It will be very difficult at first, it will feel awkward…"
"That is because your body is still not used to this peculiarity. Flow with the force exerted. Don't mind the speed or anything else. Practice for a few hours a day. I think you will still have some opportunities to practice this before the training camp.
Tang Hong listened and he finally began to see the light.
However, he still could not understand anything.
"I just wanted to ask if there is any difference between this Fist Technique and this Fist Technique that I found online. It says here that with Transcendent Techniques one should be able to casually throw punches made out of ice and flames."
"There is a difference…"
Fang Nanxun grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"The difference is the method of fully utilizing one's Willpower. A Transcendent Technique is made to break the limits of Willpower. As for coating your fists with flames, you can do it rather casually once you're at my level already."
Tang Hong was surprised. "Can you do it then?"
"Practice on your own! Don't ask too many questions!" Fang Nanxun said grumpily.
"Oh…"
Tang Hong looked through the Fist Technique Manual for the third time.
Swoosh!
He chopped—very quickly and hard. He even felt a little ashamed.
Could he really learn this successfully?
With another chop, Tang Hong frowned.
His whole body had relaxed and his mind became peaceful.
His thoughts gradually became pure.
As if he had suddenly fallen asleep.
The 3rd punch… the 30th punch… Tang Hong laughed unconsciously.
He was like a child who had found a new toy or discovered an interesting game. He felt joy from the bottom of his heart. He reckoned that even if he repeated the same move thousands of times, he would not find it tedious nor boring.
"This is fun."
There was only one thought left in Tang Hong's mind.
Fang Nanxun whispered beside him for fear of disturbing Tang Hong's mental state.
"Steady, follow your feelings. Allow your body's instinct to follow the trajectory of the force…:
Fang Nanxun reminded him softly lest Tang Hong deviated.
Although…
In the end, he still deviated.
His fist stiffened and stopped in midair.
He felt that something was awkward and wrong no matter how much force he applied.
In the end, it awakened Tang Hong from his trance. He drew back his arm.
"Oh?"
It was as if his internal organs were all entangled together and shifting all over the place.
He felt horrible.
He shuddered and felt more comfortable.
"What happened to me?"
"You deviated." Fang Nanxun looked at him blankly. "Don't worry, this is a normal phenomenon. If you deviate, your body will resist it…"
"This Fist Technique is much better than a Meditation Technique. It's hard to get into any trouble with this. If a Meditation Technique deviates, no one can see it, let alone give you a warning."
Tang Hong nodded in understanding, then he asked, "Have I grasped the concept and crossed over the threshold?"
"Almost."
Fang Nanxun ruthlessly shattered Tang Hong's inexplicable expectation of being an extraordinary genius.
"You can't practice anymore today. You must stop practicing once you've deviated. You can only do it again in two days."
"Okay, I will go back first then. I will come back the day after tomorrow."
Tang Hong breathed out. His body seemed to be more flexible than before.
"Go back."
Fang Nanxun looked at Tang Hong's back.
Ten minutes after Tang Hong left—Fang Nanxun was still standing there—unmoved.
He seemed to be confused about something.
After a while, Fan Yu, who was in charge of the reception desk, brought a steaming cup of hot tea. She placed it on the small table next to Fang Nanxun.
When she left, Fang Nanxun sighed and took a sip of hot tea.
He was still doubtful. "Should I test his current Willpower in advance?"
This was not in compliance with the regulations but he was really curious and pleasantly surprised.
It should be understood that the six extraordinary geniuses in Hua Country today were generally the ones who had grasped the concept of how Transcendent Techniques worked.
They crossed the threshold and succeeded in their training after just a short period of time when their Transcendent Training started.
It seemed that Tang Hong was headed in that same direction too.
"This won't do."
"I have to ask around."
Fang Nanxun hurriedly put his clothes on and walked out of the branch office.
What did he want to ask about though?
He obviously wanted to find out exactly how long those extraordinary Transcendent beings took to grasp the concept of their training and cross over the threshold.
…
After returning to school, he went to class as usual. After the bell rang, Tang Hong packed his school bag. He took out his phone and clicked on the Meituan app.
Meituan was originally green and black. Now, it had an extra splash of yellow.
"Choose a restaurant."
"Not too close, not too far, not too expensive."
Tang Hong decided on a grilled fish restaurant with an average bill amount of 76 Hua dollars per head. It was a pity that this grilled fish restaurant did not have any group purchase coupons.
He went at noon, so there were quite a lot of people.
But the restaurant was not so popular that he had to queue up.
After eating silently, Tang Hong frowned. He was a little disappointed.
His Individual Value did not increase. "This is not logical."
The concept of logic was not definite, but rather, it was a way of understanding the world.
Tang Hong still did not understand how Individual Value worked.
However…
Individual Value had a trigger mechanism for its increase.
It had definite and solid rules to follow and those rules were relatively objective.
'Jiang Lulu's dinner treat was able to trigger an increase in Individual Value.'
Tang Hong was still shrouded in confusion.
It seemed that the formula of one plus one equals two had suddenly changed for some reason.
Tang Hong stood up silently and scanned the code to pay the bill. Meituan's payment method was very convenient and it also offered discounts. Soon after, he received messages on the bank's deduction.
So, he changed to another restaurant which was slightly more expensive than this grilled fish restaurant. "Good thing I'm not full yet. I'll order a few more dishes and another bottle of iced black tea."
Iced black tea was a bit cold and expensive. It cost a dozen Hua dollars.
What an unscrupulous restaurant…
Tang Hong was eating and playing with his mobile phone.
All of a sudden, he revealed a look of astonishment. He glanced at the content of the text message and his whole body instantly became excited.
That's right!
He received a message from his bank!
Not from a rebate! It was an inward remittance!
The internship salary had arrived.
Tang Hong clicked and took a closer look.
Once taxes were deducted, he received a total of 25,200 Hua dollars.
He muttered under his breath. 'Why is the tax rate the same as that of a one-time labor remuneration? Shouldn't it be a nine-grade excess progressive tax rate of personal income tax?'
"Makes sense."
"I don't really do any actual work. It should be counted as labor remuneration instead."
Tang Hong didn't think too much about it. He clicked on WeChat and entered the WeChat group chat. 'June Meeting in the Capital. Compiling the Canon of Supreme Mystery Till Heads Are White'. Someone had sent red envelopes.
A total of 14 of them.
He did not claim it.
After receiving the change and withdrawing some cash, he was charged a transaction fee.
"Let's continue trying…"
After closing WeChat, Tang Hong saw a particularly good novel on the Internet.
He used a few votes of recommendation even though he didn't know what the votes were for.
"Good book!"
"It deserves a toast!"
Gulp!
After taking a sip of iced black tea, he was stunned. It looked like a divine light had flashed by.
Tang Hong instantly understood why he was unable to trigger the increase of his Individual Value in the restaurant today.