"Old man, what do you want?" Anthony said in annoyance.
Dash glanced at his palm nonchalantly and said, "Your buttocks are quite resilient."
Watching this scene, Cheryl blushed and rubbed her hands together. She also wanted to give it a try. Verna's eyes were also filled with curiosity and eagerness.
"What do you really want, old man?" Anthony felt a chill run down his spine. Although this old man spoke like a hooligan in the survivor base, he didn't have such a habit. Why now?
Dash replied unabashedly, "What do I want? Of course, I want to teach you luck!" Then, as if thinking of something, he said with a suggestive tone, "You don't think the old man has any other intentions towards you, do you?"
"Old man, you..." Anthony gritted his teeth in anger. If looks could kill, the old man would have died ten thousand times already.
Dash continued unbothered, "Hard Qi Gong is a method of defense. So, how do you defend? Do you think it's by using your own physical body?"
Anthony, forgetting his anger for a moment, asked, "Isn't it?"
"Wrong! Absolutely wrong!" Dash directly denied it and explained, "In Hard Qi Gong, defense lies in Qi. The true principle is to fill the whole body with Qi. When an external object attacks, the Qi can react and block it. This is the highest secret of Hard Qi Gong. What you need to learn is the first step of Hard Qi Gong, which is Qi reaching by itself. As the name implies, when a certain part of the body is under attack, the Qi from the Dantian can quickly reach that area to resist the attack."
Anthony nodded thoughtfully. The old man's meaning was clear: control the Qi to reach its destination. Dash continued, "The key to Qi reaching by itself lies in 'by itself,' meaning it happens automatically. You need to make the Qi form its own memory so that it can reach its destination without conscious effort."
"And how can I make the Qi reach by itself?" Anthony asked.
Dash smiled mysteriously and said, "Of course..." Crack! The sound of a crisp slap rang out again. Anthony's buttocks were struck hard, causing a burning pain.
Unable to bear it any longer, Anthony shouted, "Old man, what do you mean?"
Dash chuckled leisurely and said, "Naturally, I'm helping you quickly reach the state of Qi reaching by itself."
"You're helping me like this?" Anthony's teeth were almost grinding to dust.
Dash replied, "Otherwise, how would you know to activate the Qi to defend against my attacks? If I don't hit you a few more times, how can your Qi form its memory?"
"In the end, you just want to hit me," Anthony exclaimed. He knew that this old man had a strong vindictive mentality and was using the teaching as an opportunity for revenge.
Dash grinned and said, "You guessed it right, but this is indeed the foundational practice of Hard Qi Gong."
"What about taking off your clothes?" Anthony asked again.
Dash revealed his yellowed teeth and said, "Naturally, it's to get back at you for disrespecting your elders." Without waiting for Anthony to respond, he exclaimed loudly, "Pay attention, I'm going to hit you."
"Damn!" Anthony realized things weren't looking good and immediately activated his Qi. As for the two women nearby, Dash had them practice hitting each other, with a touch of elegance, which was his principle. It had to be said that Dash's method was truly effective.
After practicing for half a day, Anthony's body had adapted to external stimuli, and he was able to quickly react every time Dash attacked. "Alright, let's stop here for today," Dash waved his hand.
Having practiced with Anthony for half a day, Dash felt that his old injuries were about to relapse, but he couldn't help but have an inexplicable fondness for this kid. He had good talent, learned quickly, and was obedient. Following Dash's method, they continued practicing for three days in a row. ...
July 8, 2024. Anthony's injuries had completely healed under Verna's care and the healing function of the hibernation pod. Due to practicing the Qi absorption method, two white Qi lines as thick as chopsticks appeared in his Dantian. According to Dash's explanation, this was a sign of reaching the Second Stage of acquired strength.
After days of diligent practice, Anthony had achieved preliminary results in Hard Qi Gong. Based on force measurements, he had no problem withstanding a force of 1000 pounds without the venom armor. To go further, he would need to rely on the venom armor.
In the gym, Anthony muttered, "System, check my information!"
" [Host]: Anthony
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 23
[Level]: Second Stage of acquired strength, Semi-Awakened
[Spirit]: 0.2 (Increases combat power by 20%)
[Intelligence]: 7.5 (Normal humans: 1)
[Strength]: 21.75 (Normal humans: 1)
[Agility]: 10.75 (Normal humans: 1)
[Mental Power]: 7.8 (Normal humans: 1)
[Virus Resistance]: 0.5 (When reaching 1, immune to first-stage Variant and lower-level common zombie viruses)
[Ability]: (Awakening Degree: 40.0%)
[Overall Combat Power]: 40.3"
"The warrior realm is the Second Stage of acquired strength, reaching the level of a Semi-Awakened individual, with a Spirit value of 0.2, increasing combat power by 20%." Looking at the first item, Anthony was somewhat puzzled.
Dash was a Fifth Stage acquired strength warrior, yet he could directly confront a first-stage Variant. According to the given values, Dash's Spirit value could be around 0.5, increasing his combat power by 50%. The strength of an average person was around 100 pounds, so a 50% increase would be 150 pounds.
Anthony couldn't quite understand and thought he could ask the old man about it later. He continued reading. With a Strength attribute of 21.75, equivalent to 2175 pounds, he had already reached the strength value of an Awakened individual.
With an Agility attribute of 10.75, his speed was 75.25 meters per second, surpassing that of a first-stage Speed-type Variant. The Mental Power attribute remained at 7.8 without significant changes, and his virus resistance had increased by 0.1 to 0.5. This increase might be related to the improvement in his warrior realm.
There was nothing special to mention about the 40% Awakening Degree. After reviewing all the values, Anthony came to a conclusion. He was now capable of taking on a first-stage Power-type or Speed-type Variant in a one-on-one fight, with a chance of killing it. The only unknown factor was the energy point value of the crystal obtained after killing a first-stage Variant.
He still had doubts when facing the Variant at Yanghe School. Additionally, he had lost the watermelon knife during the battle and needed to find a replacement weapon.
With that in mind, Anthony checked his remaining 770.2 energy points and opened the post-apocalyptic base's store. All six items in the store had been updated.
Store items:
Level 2 Ancient Virus Vaccine (2000 energy points)
[An ancient zombie virus vaccine that can eliminate the virus infected by a second-stage Variant in the body. Ineffective against first-stage Variants.]
Level 1 Tang Sword (300 energy points)
[With toughness comparable to a first-stage Variant, it can easily cut through iron.]
Level 1 Armor (400 energy points)
[Can defend against first-stage Variant attacks. Once destroyed, it cannot be repaired.]
Level 2 Doomsday Warrior (5000 energy points)
[Strength comparable to a second-stage Awakened individual, thoughtless, 100% loyalty. Only requires 100 energy points per day to sustain life activities.]
Level 1 Doomsday Bomb (100 energy points)
[Explosive power that can heavily injure a first-stage Variant. Explosion damage radius of 5 meters, one-time use.]
Level 1 Doomsday Pistol (200 energy points)
[Powerful enough to penetrate a first-stage Variant and cause damage. Magazine capacity of 6 rounds, bullet price (20 energy points/round). Note: The bullet item is permanent and can be purchased in the permanent item section.]
"Oh? Permanent item section?"