Ye Qiu stood up, pointed at his chest, and said, “Third Uncle, hit me with a punch.”
Ye Wudi looked at Ye Qiu in astonishment, “Why would I hit you for no reason?”
“Third Uncle, don’t ask so many questions, just do it, and make it hard.”
Ye Wudi stared at Ye Qiu, hesitating to act, instead asking, “Are you ill or something?”
“Third Uncle, stop wasting time, hurry up,” Ye Qiu urged.
Ye Wudi asked, “You’re not joking, you really want me to hit you?”
“Really.”
Ye Qiu’s expression was serious.
“Alright then, be careful,” Ye Wudi said, standing up and landing a punch on Ye Qiu’s chest.
“Are you tickling me? That was too light, hit harder,” Ye Qiu said, somewhat dissatisfied.
Ye Wudi threw another punch.
“Still too light, Third Uncle, get serious.”
Ye Wudi increased his strength and struck again.
“Third Uncle, haven’t you eaten? Harder, use seventy percent of your strength.”
*Bang!*
Ye Wudi unleashed a powerful punch into Ye Qiu’s chest.
*Crash!*
Ye Qiu flew backwards, landing four or five metres away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“Are you alright?” Ye Wudi stepped forward to help him up.
Ye Qiu waved him off, signalling Ye Wudi not to come closer.
Ye Wudi, puzzled, asked, “What on earth are you up to, kid? Why aren’t you fighting back when I hit you?”
Ye Qiu didn’t respond, closing his eyes to focus inward.
He noticed the true qi in his body swiftly gathering towards his heart, and within five seconds, his internal injuries had healed.
“Third Uncle, how much strength did you use in that punch?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Thirty percent.”
Bloody hell.
That much force was only thirty percent?
Ye Qiu’s heart jolted.
He realised he’d underestimated Ye Wudi’s power, having assumed that punch was at least fifty percent strength.
Ye Qiu got up from the floor, walked back to Ye Wudi, and said, “Third Uncle, hit me again.”
“This time, use fifty percent.”
“Hurry up!”
Ye Wudi gave Ye Qiu an odd look, asking, “Are you sure you’re not sick?”
Ye Qiu said impatiently, “Third Uncle, are you a man or not? Can you stop fussing like a woman?”
“You’ve got some nerve calling your Third Uncle a woman!”
Ye Wudi raised his hand and struck.
*Boom!*
Ye Qiu flew ten metres, crashing hard onto the ground, spitting blood again.
This time, his injuries were severe.
Sitting on the floor, Ye Qiu closed his eyes and focused again.
He found the true qi moving even faster, healing his wounds in just twenty seconds.
Ye Qiu stood up, returned to Ye Wudi, and said, “Third Uncle, increase the force again.”
Ye Wudi seemed to catch on to something, this time not hesitating, adding another ten percent of strength.
*Bang!*
Ye Qiu was sent flying again.
This time, it took thirty seconds for his injuries to heal.
“Again!”
*Bang!*
Ye Wudi used seventy percent strength.
Ye Qiu crashed backwards, smashing a hole in the teahouse wall, drawing the attention of the security and waitstaff.
“Get out for now, I’ll pay triple for all the damage here,” Ye Qiu said, shooing away the staff, then sat cross-legged on the floor.
It took a full minute.
His injuries healed.
Ye Qiu stood up and asked, “Third Uncle, how much strength was that last punch?”
“Seventy percent!” Ye Wudi replied, then added, “You took a seventy percent punch from me and can still bounce around, your resilience is impressive.”
“Third Uncle, take a punch from me now.”
Ye Qiu wanted to test how much his combat power had grown since breaking through to the third stage of the Nine-Turn Dragon Technique.
“Alright.”
They moved to an open space nearby, then simultaneously threw punches.
*Boom!*
Their fists collided with a thunderous sound.
*Step, step, step!*
Ye Qiu staggered back three steps.
Ye Wudi stood his ground, only his shoulder shifting slightly.
“Huh?” Ye Wudi let out a surprised sound, looking at Ye Qiu, “You’ve broken through again?”
“Yeah,” Ye Qiu nodded with a smile.
“How much strength did you use in that punch?” Ye Wudi asked.
“Fifty percent.”
Ye Wudi, astonished, said, “Increase the force and try again.”
“Third Uncle, be careful,” Ye Qiu warned, then threw another punch.
Ye Wudi met it with his own.
*Boom!*
Their fists clashed fiercely.
*Step, step, step!*
Ye Qiu retreated five steps, Ye Wudi three.
“I used seventy percent that time,” Ye Qiu said.
Ye Wudi’s eyes filled with deep shock, “How are you improving so fast?”
“Maybe because I’m good-looking, so the heavens favour me.”
Ye Wudi: “…”
“Third Uncle, I’ve got a question for you,” Ye Qiu said, “Do you have true qi in your body?”
“How did you know?” Ye Wudi asked, his pupils widening as he spoke, “Ye Qiu, don’t tell me you’ve already…”
“Yes, I’ve cultivated true qi.”
*Hiss!*
Ye Wudi sucked in a sharp breath.
A martial arts fanatic, he’d been called a prodigy since childhood, yet he only cultivated true qi at thirty-three.
Ye Wudi never imagined Ye Qiu, in his twenties, had already achieved it.
Such martial talent was downright terrifying!
“Third Uncle, I don’t know much about true qi, can you explain it to me?” Ye Qiu asked for guidance.
Ye Wudi said, “When martial arts cultivation reaches a certain level, a stream of energy forms in the body, that’s called true qi.”
“True qi is a wondrous thing, beyond boosting strength, it can extend your lifespan, under normal conditions, someone who cultivates true qi can easily live past a hundred.”
“Among the people I know, only Big Brother cultivated true qi at thirty.”
“Apart from him, me, Xiao Jiu, and that lot from the Forbidden City all did it after thirty.”
“That’s why Big Brother was considered an undisputed martial genius.”
“But I never thought you’d cultivate true qi in your twenties, that talent is truly fearsome.”
Ye Wudi continued, “You probably know martial arts has three rankings, from lowest to highest: Tiger List, Dragon List, and God List.”
Ye Qiu nodded.
“Only martial experts who’ve cultivated true qi can compete for a spot on the God List.”
Ye Wudi added, “True qi comes in two types: acquired true qi and innate true qi.”
“What we cultivate is acquired true qi, it mainly boosts strength and combat power, as for innate true qi, it’s the stuff of legends, said to flow endlessly in the body, infinitely profound…”
Endlessly flowing?
Hearing those words, Ye Qiu’s heart raced wildly.
