"You could do with being a bit louder, best if you give it a good shout, the effect will be even better!" Zheng Ming spoke and then swung his hand forcefully again, "Ideally, you should be able to yell with a momentum that could fight a bull!"
"Right, just like fighting a bull!"
To add to his persuasiveness, Zheng Ming swung his hand forcefully again, adopting an irrefutable stance.
Li Xiaoduo stood to the side, full of doubts, her heart a little in disarray. She watched Zheng Ming and imagined this woman, more beautiful than a fairy, shouting those four words loudly.
It was almost too awkward to watch!
At that moment, she thought that the Second Young Master was actually a bit mischievous, yet this slight mischief made him seem more approachable than the imposing Second Young Master she was used to.
After hearing what Zheng Ming said, Fu Yuqing's face turned slightly red. She had been struggling so intensely in the quiet courtyard that she hadn't noticed Zheng Ming's arrival.
When the idea of coming out into the world finally prevailed, she couldn't help but blurt the words out loud.
Although she had always focused on cultivation, Fu Yuqing was exceedingly astute. How could she not see that Zheng Ming, with a smile he was trying to suppress, was actually being mocking?
"You're a bad man!" Fu Yuqing glared at Zheng Ming, her words laced with a touch of resentment.
As soon as she spoke, she realized that not only Li Xiaoduo but also Zheng Ming stood there stunned.
To Zheng Ming, it felt like a fairy had descended to the mundane world. Compared to Fu Yuqing's dignified and elegant demeanor in the past, Fu Yuqing now showed a petulant attitude of a spoiled young girl.
Indeed, it presented a different kind of charming grace.
"Li Xiaoduo is the maid I found for you. If you don't understand something, just ask her." Unable to keep standing there, Zheng Ming gave Fu Yuqing instructions and then quickly headed toward his own room.
This woman, she was really a bit too much!
Just as he lamented this in his heart, another thought came to Zheng Ming's mind, if only she were my wife.
Anxious to return to his own room, Zheng Ming then focused his thoughts on the card at the forefront of his mind.
At this moment, in his mind, the Red Card still flickered past like frames in a film. Zheng Ming felt a wave of gloom. All the cards were face down with identical patterns, indistinguishable from one another.
Since he couldn't see any differences, Zheng Ming made up his mind to pick randomly and locked onto three cards.
As the three cards turned over, a sense of disappointment rose within Zheng Ming. The first of the three cards depicted a big man with a full beard, dressed in black, holding two axes in his hands.
"Black Whirlwind" Li Kui, options available: Cang Bear Body, Whirlwind Axe Technique!
In his previous life, Zheng Ming was not unfamiliar with the grim character of Li Kui. Although a fearsome killer, when it came to Martial Arts Skills, he wasn't particularly outstanding.
With no other choice, Zheng Ming turned his attention to the second card, where he saw a man with a snake-like face standing there, exuding an aura of murderous intent.
"Tiger Fighting" Li Zhong, options available: Herbal Medicine of Jianghu, Beginner Fist Technique Mastery!
Seeing Li Zhong's card made Zheng Ming frown even more. He vaguely remembered that Li Zhong did not have much fame in the legends of outlaws. Having drawn Li Kui was bad enough, but why did he have to draw him too?
Couldn't he have drawn some more powerful figures, like "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi or "Panther Head" Lin Chong?
When he looked at the third card, Zheng Ming's heart was filled with a prayer, but his frown only deepened as he saw the card.
"Eight-Armed" Nezha Xiang Chong, options available: Beginner Spear Technique, Beginner Throwing Knife Technique!
Damn it, is my luck really this bad? I thought drawing Li Kui was unfortunate enough, but these last two are even worse.
"Each Basic Card skill can be chosen to integrate into your body and will be effective permanently!"
Hearing this, Zheng Ming put his grievances aside and started reading the descriptions of the three cards carefully.
If it hadn't been for the words "effective permanently," Zheng Ming would have chosen purely combat-related skills, but now he had to think carefully.
The Cang Bear Body was the only card among the three that offered a physique-related option, and in Chuyun Country, an individual's future growth was almost inextricably linked to their physique.
Isn't it true that at six years old, having been assessed with an average physique, despite diligent cultivation, I've always struggled to break through to the second level of the Bear Hug Technique?
First, choose the Cang Bear Body!
As soon as this thought was set in his mind, the Red Card depicting Li Kui exploded in his head.
Countless light dots converged in his brain, forming a massive Cang Bear figure, then disappeared into his body.
I feel nothing, absolutely nothing!
Apart from the fact that one of the three face-up cards in his mind had disappeared, Zheng Ming could hardly sense any change.
Could it be that the Cang Bear Body was completely useless? If that were the case, I would have been better off choosing the Whirlwind Axe.
It might look silly carrying an axe, but it's better than getting nothing. Just as this feeling of regret surfaced, another thought burst forth in Zheng Ming's mind.
This so-called Cang Bear Body, or perhaps I should say the content recorded on these cards, wouldn't be just to fool myself into playing, would it?
If that was really the case, then given that I just broke through the first level of the Bear Hug Technique, it seems like there's no hope in dealing with my third nephew!
Do I really have to watch helplessly as the opportunity my father fought for with his life is squandered away?
No way!
With an unwilling heart, Zheng Ming leaped out of bed and ran quickly to the small courtyard outside the house, where he began to practice the sixteen moves of the Bear Hug Technique.
"Black bear carrying the mountain, bear shakes the four domains, fierce bear extracts heart..."
Upon reaching just the third move of the sixteen moves of the Bear Hug Technique, Zheng Ming felt a stream of heat emerging within his body.
This kind of heat was something he had never experienced in his cultivation before, and with this pleasant surprise, Zheng Ming practiced with even more dedication. By the time he performed the last move, Iron Bear Crashing Tree, he felt that the stream of heat within his body had increased from one to five.
And these five streams of heat eventually merged into one at his back.
The small courtyard where Zheng Ming lived had only one tree, a massive tree that would take two men to wrap their arms around. In the past, Zheng Ming would never dare to ram the tree with his own body, because the rebounding force was very strong.
But now, the heat that had gathered within him gave him a feeling of discomfort if he didn't smash into it.
"Boom!"
Zheng Ming's back collided heavily with the tree. In that instant, he felt the stream of heat from his back surge toward the tree like a tidal wave. At the same time, Zheng Ming also felt a fine stream flowing steadily within his body.
The tree shook violently, and countless branches as thick as fingers fell whistling to the ground. In a short time, the small courtyard seemed to be covered with dry, yellow branches.
But at this moment, Zheng Ming had no time to pay attention to these things, as his heart was filled with excitement understanding the fine stream flowing inside him.
Inner Strength, this is Inner Strength, only achievable after breaking through the third level of the Bear Hug Technique!
Inner Strength, for a martial artist, is not just as simple as breaking through the third level of the Bear Hug Technique, it had a huge significance.
It was about Rank.
Martial Artists of The Thirteenth Level, the first class being the highest, the thirteenth the least. But once one has achieved a Rank, a person's identity and status immediately change.
In the entire Zheng Family, those who had achieved a Rank not only could get a property with three rooms, but also receive ten silver taels of subsidy from the family every month.
I've achieved a Rank, I've finally achieved it! Zheng Ming was ecstatic, feeling an urge to shout out loud.
This was not merely the suppression of many years of cultivation without progress, this was finally having one's own power like a true man!
The beginning of the thirteenth level, I am now at the beginning of the thirteenth level!
With an accurate assessment of his own strength, Zheng Ming once again started performing the Bear Hug Technique in the courtyard. Although they were the same moves as before, at this moment, every punch Zheng Ming threw out, he could feel a fine stream of heat flowing with it.
"Black bear carrying the mountain, bear shakes the four domains, fierce bear extracts heart..."
As he performed these moves, Zheng Ming felt the heat flow inside him grow thicker and more active.
What was once just a proficient Bear Hug Technique now felt like an instinct. When the final move, Iron Bear Crashing Tree, was executed, Zheng Ming felt as if he had become a bear.
A bear rushing toward a tree, yet with a calm heart.
Once again, branches fell to the ground.
"Power condenses like pearls, the pinnacle of Thirteen Ranks!"
When Zheng Ming focused again on understanding his cultivation level, he could hardly believe his own situation; practicing the Bear Hug Technique once more elevated his cultivation level from the early stage of the thirteenth level directly to the peak of Thirteen Ranks!
His own brother, Zheng Heng, took a full year and a half to make this leap, and according to their father, Zheng Gongxuan, it had also taken him two years to achieve.
The talent of these two men was considered above average in the Zheng Family!
I only practiced the Cang Bear Body twice, and I've already reached the peak of the Thirteen Ranks. Isn't this speed a bit too fast?
Without any hesitation, Zheng Ming started practicing the Bear Hug Technique again, but this time, although the inner strength in his body became more refined, it did not break through to the Twelfth Rank as he had hoped.
Biting his teeth with determination, Zheng Ming practiced the Bear Hug Technique over and over. Finally, on the ninth attempt, another stream of inner strength emerged within him.
The power of two streams of inner strength, when combined, was more than twice as powerful as one stream.
The fourth level of the Bear Hug Technique, a single punch can possess the strength of eight hundred jin!
However, after reaching the Twelfth Rank, although the Bear Hug Technique was still effective when Zheng Ming continued his cultivation, it was no longer advancing by leaps and bounds like before.
ps: New book streaking, I hope brothers will recommend and collect, and support a lot!