"Wang An, we've been together for quite a while now, and we can consider ourselves friends, right?" Li Xinzhu asked.
"Of course!" Wang An smiled and nodded.
After all these days of getting along fine, Wang An felt that Li Xinzhu was a pretty decent person. What was even more rare was that he was willing to practice martial arts with him. He was almost always there whenever he was called.
"So, do you think friends should be able to express things between each other?"
"We practice sparring together, learn from each other, and progress together. Isn't that good enough? Oh, I see… I'll treat you tonight," Wang An said with a smile.
"A treat is a must, but what I mean is that friends should treat each other sincerely."
"What do you mean?" Wang An asked in confusion.
"You see… My arm is swollen, and you won't explain how those blows you just struck me with work. A few days ago, you grasped the Tai Chi of releasing force, and now you've grasped the Tai Chi of exerting force?"
"Yes." Wang An nodded. "I believe there are geniuses in this world, like me."
"But your progress is too fast. You've made as much progress in a few months as others have in several years. It's as if you were possessed by a Zhang Sanfeng. This is clearly not rational. Do you have any tricks up your sleeves?"
"Practice more, read more books, think deeply, absorb knowledge from books and videos, and combine knowledge and practice. Regularly take stock of your progress every week and every month, and accumulate experiences and lessons. Have a planned and targeted practice schedule.
You need an innovative spirit and divergent thinking. You have to dare to innovate and experiment," said Wang An as he summarized his experience.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Xinzhu rubbed his temples. He felt a headache coming on.
"Absorb knowledge from books and combine it with practice and have a planned and targeted practice schedule… I can understand that. But what the heck is innovative spirit and divergent thinking? We're practicing martial arts, not doing scientific research."
"Let me give you an example. You usually practice martial arts in the gym, right? But what if you practiced somewhere else, like by a river, a lake, or the sea? How did the Half-Step Crumbling Fist become famous? It was practiced in a prison cell while in shackles. Have you ever thought about practicing Intention Fist with shackles? Or with weights hanging from them? Some martial arts masters even go to the zoo to spar with gorillas or kangaroos to improve their reflexes. You can try something like that."
Li Xinzhu stood there in shock.
"The zoo?"
"Ah…" Wang An suddenly clapped his hands. "Why didn't I think of it earlier? You think about it. I'll be on my way."
Wang An turned and left.
"Hey, where are you going?" Li Xinzhu asked.
"The zoo."
"The zoo? What are you going there for?"
"To see the animals, of course! Tigers, bears, monkeys..."
"You better go to the hospital first and check your brain!" A recovered Li Xinzhu shouted at Wang An's retreating figure.
"What kind of random ideas are these? It's like your brain is sick. You're getting too deep into your martial arts practice! And, you promised to treat me tonight. I like seafood!"
Ten minutes later, Li Xinzhu began practicing Intention Fist with dumbbells strapped to his body.
Wang An, on the other hand, went to the zoo. He wanted to observe tigers, bears, apes, deer, and birds. He intended to watch their movements in the hopes that it would help with his watching their movements, hoping it might help with his Five Animal Forms.
Outside the tiger enclosure, Wang An watched the tigers lying lazily on the ground. They hardly moved.
"Hey, folks, don't just lie around, stand up and take a few steps."
Wang An stood outside the tiger enclosure and waited patiently until one of the tigers finally got up from the ground and stretched lazily.
He watched the tiger's every move and observed as it walked slowly.
The king of beasts moved gracefully. It looked dominating as it moved majestically. The muscles under its fur rippled.
Wang An worked hard to imprint every action of the tiger into his mind. Then, he started imitating the tiger's movements.
At this time, it was chilly, and there were not many visitors in the zoo, but there were still zookeepers around.
One of the zookeepers spotted Wang An imitating the tiger.
"Who is that guy over there? What's he doing?"
It was not until the zoo closed in the afternoon that the zookeeper walked over to him and asked him to leave. So, he left reluctantly.
[You have gained an enhancement to your Five Animal Forms from observing the tiger.]
[Five Animal Forms experience +20.]
"It really worked! Hmm, I still feel like there's something I haven't done," Wang An muttered to himself as he left the zoo and rode on his bicycle. "Never mind… I'll stop thinking about it."
Just as he was about to return to his place, his phone rang. He picked it up to see it was Li Xinzhu.
"Hello, what's the matter?"
"It's not me. It's you. Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh, how did you know? I do feel like I forgot to do something."
"There's this guy who talked with me for two and a half hours, said he'd treat me, and scurried off to the zoo after that. Were the monkeys that interesting?"
"Oh, I remember now! What would you like to eat? How about a buffet?"
Wang An smiled as he remembered that he had promised to treat Li Xinzhu to a meal tonight.
"Sure, I know a good buffet restaurant. I'll send you the address."
Twenty minutes later, Wang An and Li Xinzhu were sitting in a rather upscale buffet restaurant.
"The seafood buffet here is unique, but it's a bit more expensive. Will you regret it?" Li Xinzhu asked.
"I won't regret it. They will," Wang An said with a smile.
"That's fine then. Let's go get some food."
In no time, Li Xinzhu brought back quite a few seafood items in a small bucket, including stone crabs, lobsters, and prawns.
Wang An also picked some of the food, including meat, vegetables, and fruits.
"Wait, is that all you're going to eat?" Li Xinzhu looked at the food Wang An had picked and was taken aback.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem? Aren't these foods fresh? They look fine to me."
"It's not about freshness. Are you here just to feed people? Honestly, this is the first time I've seen someone take so many vegetables at a seafood buffet. What are you thinking?"
"I just want to eat a balanced diet of meat and vegetables for overall nutrition."
"Alright. Since you're treating me, I don't mind," Li Xinzhu said with a smile.
He then steamed the seafood he had picked in a pot.
"With so much seafood, be careful of high uric acid. It can lead to gout."
"My level of physical activity is fine for this much. How about some wine or white beer?"
"I don't want to drink." Wang An shook his head.
"If you won't, I will." Li Xinzhu fetched a bottle of white wine and poured himself a glass.
During this time, Li Xinzhu noticed that Wang An's food had reduced almost by half.
"Are the vegetables here that delicious?"
Wang An paid no attention to him and continued eating.