It was December, and heavy snow had fallen last night. Early this morning, the ground was covered in thick white snow. Under the howling north wind, a layer of ice had formed on the river.
Beside the river, there was a park with a pine forest, which was very quiet at the moment, with few people in sight.
However, near one of the trees, a woman in a white tracksuit and white sneakers, with her hair tied in a ponytail, was slowly practicing boxing. Next to her, a very ordinary-looking boy of about sixteen or seventeen was seriously holding a horse stance.
It was just after six in the morning, the ground was covered in snow, and the north wind was howling. It was quite unusual to see people practicing martial arts here in the dead of winter.
The woman and the ordinary boy stayed in the park for over half an hour. During this time, the woman occasionally gave the boy instructions on boxing, demonstrating various movements.
In the end, the boy left, exhausted but satisfied, while the woman remained standing in place. She scanned the surroundings for a moment, then suddenly called out.
"You've been watching for so long, aren't you going to come out?"
"Hahaha, as expected of the renowned head of the Tang clan, your spiritual perception is indeed extraordinary. I was a full three hundred meters away, yet you still detected me." A hearty laugh suddenly came from the dense forest in the distance. A somewhat slender figure quickly emerged from the trees, moving at an extremely fast pace. Only a blur could be seen, not the specific appearance.
However, from the general outline, it could be seen that this was a young person no more than twenty years old. Despite the cold winter, he was wearing thin clothes. Even more strangely, although he was walking very fast, the footprints he left in the snow were very shallow, only about a tenth of an inch deep.
In less than ten seconds, he had come from three hundred meters away to stand before Tang Zichen. Now Tang Zichen could finally see his appearance clearly. He wasn't particularly tall, but he looked sturdy. His face, which still retained some childishness, carried a hint of sharpness, and his bright eyes contained determination.
This was a dangerous person - this was Tang Zichen's first impression of him, based on intuition. And in this world, no one could match her intuition. Although this person didn't emit any killing intent and seemed clean, Tang Zichen could smell a strong scent of blood, the same kind of scent she herself possessed, naturally produced after killing many people.
After taking a deep look at this seemingly sunny young man, Tang Zichen casually said, "You've been watching me teach my brother to practice boxing for so long. Don't you know that secretly watching others practice martial arts is a big taboo?"
"I believe Master Tang won't quibble over such things with me. Besides, I was watching openly just now, so it shouldn't count as sneaking, right?" The young man smiled, also sizing up Tang Zichen.
"Hmph, who exactly are you, and how did you know I would appear here?" Tang Zichen snorted coldly, exuding a chilly aura as she coldly gazed at him.
"My name is He Heng. I'm not as famous as Master Tang, so you probably haven't heard of me. As for how I knew Miss Tang would appear here, that's not important. What's important is what I want to do," the young man said with a meaningful smile, also releasing a surging aura.
"Then what do you want to do!" At this point, Tang Zichen no longer held back, watching He Heng vigilantly, like a beast lying in wait, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Naturally, I want to spar with Master Tang!" He Heng laughed loudly, releasing a thick killing intent. His right arm bent and shot out, striking swiftly towards Tang Zichen.
He Heng's attack came without any warning. One moment he was chatting and laughing, the next his surging fist was already beside Tang Zichen.
However, Tang Zichen seemed to have anticipated this. As soon as He Heng threw his punch, she had already shifted to dodge, her movements as agile as a mountain cat. While dodging this punch, her left hand suddenly formed a claw, grabbing towards He Heng's chest!
He Heng's expression remained calm as his right arm blocked Tang Zichen's left arm in mid-air. At the same time, his legs swept horizontally, directly attacking Tang Zichen's lower body. Tang Zichen leaped sideways, avoiding He Heng's sweep, while simultaneously launching a "Sideways Hammer" strike at He Heng. Thunder rumbled in the air, filled with crackling sounds!
Faced with this powerful strike, He Heng advanced instead of retreating. He stepped forward to meet it, the veins on his arms bulging as his blood surged, fiercely clashing with Tang Zichen's full-force attack.
Their fists collided with a muffled sound like thunder. Both Tang Zichen and He Heng were forced back three steps by the enormous force, the ground beneath them left in disarray by their transferred energy.
"This kid has such great strength. His boxing technique hasn't reached the Dan Jin level, but he's relying on brute force to match me," Tang Zichen inwardly sighed. Due to natural physiological factors, strength was not her forte. In this hard clash with He Heng, she had actually come out at a disadvantage. There was no help for it - martial arts level was one thing, but true strength could only be known in actual combat. Some naturally powerful individuals could fight amazingly even with a lower level of skill. Today, she seemed to have encountered such a person.
While Tang Zichen was marveling at He Heng, He Heng was equally impressed by Tang Zichen. "This Dan Jin level of national martial arts is indeed extraordinary, concentrating all the body's strength into a single point. Her power is actually not below mine."
It should be noted that due to the nature of this world, internal energy couldn't be cultivated here. However, the He family's body tempering techniques were still effective. Moreover, the He family techniques prioritized health cultivation. Once the body was properly nourished, how could strength be lacking? Although He Heng didn't possess any internal energy in this body, his pure physical qualities far surpassed those in the Great Celestial World, let alone the martial artists of this world.
Even at its peak, national martial arts could at most concentrate the body's strength to about a thousand kilograms at a single point. Tang Zichen had already reached this human limit, with little room for improvement. Beyond this would require the nourishment of heaven and earth's spiritual energy to transform the mortal body.
But the He family's techniques could enhance strength through flesh and blood without relying on heaven and earth's spiritual energy. Currently, He Heng's strength in just one hand was over a thousand kilograms. If he were to achieve the so-called Dan Jin state, unifying his entire body's strength at a single point, he would have at least three to five tons of force. With such strength, even if he hadn't achieved the realm of breaking through emptiness and seeing the indestructible divine, he probably wouldn't fear those who had reached that state.
However, also due to the overwhelming blood energy in his body, it was much more difficult for He Heng to achieve Dan Jin than for ordinary people. Dan Jin required concentrating all the body's blood energy into a single point, and having too much blood energy naturally made this troublesome. That's why he had come to find Tang Zichen today, to meet this woman with the highest mental state in the Dragon Snake Romance, hoping she could help him break through.
"Again!" After glancing at Tang Zichen, He Heng shouted loudly. His blood energy surged and roared, creating sonic booms in the air. He stepped into a Seven Stars Big Dipper stance, his fists combining hardness and softness, interweaving obvious and hidden forces. There was a sense of Taiji creation and destruction, emitting sounds of dragon roars and tiger howls that shook the five viscera and six bowels. He punched towards her like a fierce storm.
"Maoshan Yu Step, Wudang Taiji Force, Tianshi Fu Dragon Tiger Roar!" Tang Zichen's eyes lit up as she immediately recognized the fundamental styles in He Heng's attack, all secret techniques of China's Daoist sects.
However, she had no time to ponder why the true transmissions of several major Daoist sects appeared in one person. At this moment, she hurriedly waved her fists to meet He Heng's fierce onslaught.
"Bang!" The two figures quickly intertwined, fists colliding with muffled explosive sounds. He Heng's fist style was fierce, combining yin and yang, obvious and hidden forces emerging together, using strength to break through all techniques. Tang Zichen's body technique was agile, her boxing skills reaching the pinnacle of subtlety, without any trace of fire, bringing the character of softness to its extreme.
In the midst of their intense battle, He Heng suddenly changed his form. His legs became like a thousand-year-old pine tree, firmly rooted and unshakable. His fist style transformed into a strange crane form, solemnly spreading its wings, cutting horizontally towards Tang Zichen.
This was not a martial art of this world, but a top-tier foundation boxing technique from the He family of the Great Celestial World... the Pine Crane Longevity Boxing!
True to its name, it was fundamentally about nourishing life and extending longevity, cultivating the body. But the extreme of life is death, and as a boxing technique, it naturally had a lethal aspect!
At this moment, Tang Zichen's expression suddenly became serious. She sensed great danger from He Heng's punch, and now all her retreat routes had been cut off! So, she sat firmly in a horse stance, containing but not revealing, her legs rising and falling, using her fist like a spear, fiercely thrusting towards He Heng's abdomen. This was the pinnacle of her boxing technique, the Dragon Snake Combined Strike!
Boom!
With a sonic boom, He Heng and Tang Zichen's stances were completely disrupted. The terrifying force acting on the ground kicked up a cloud of dust. Their fists collided repeatedly as the two figures intertwined. Both of their fist styles changed. He Heng's arm was bent, most of his power dissipated, striking Tang Zichen's chest and shaking her internal organs. She violently coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
Although Tang Zichen's Dragon Snake Combined Strike was also deflected by He Heng, it still struck He Heng's right arm directly, causing it to dislocate and rendering his right hand half useless.
"What an excellent life-and-death transforming crane fist, truly shocking," Tang Zichen said, spitting blood and staring intently at He Heng, full of vigilance.
"Master Tang's Dragon Snake Combined Strike is truly exquisite. I admire it greatly. I've gained a lot from today's battle and won't disturb you further!" Faced with Tang Zichen's vigilance, He Heng suddenly smiled. Cradling his dislocated right arm with his left hand, he strode towards the park exit. Although he hadn't achieved Dan Jin as he had hoped in today's battle, he had gained a great deal, understanding the direction to achieve Dan Jin. If he continued to tangle with Tang Zichen now, he might really end up killing her. Although He Heng didn't mind being ruthless, if he did so, would there still be a Wang Wudi in the future? He Heng had great expectations for Wang Chao.
"Dragon Snake Romance... The Treasure Mirror of All Heavens really brought me to this world. Am I truly destined to be a protagonist, or is there some conspiracy?" Sighing as if mocking himself, He Heng strode towards the distance, facing the morning sun.
"He Heng, what kind of person is he exactly?" Tang Zichen clutched her chest, watching He Heng's retreating figure with a complex gaze.