Beneath the brilliant moon, a lonely, long street stretched out. At the end of the street, a small martial arts hall glowed with dim, yellow light from its doorway. Inside the hall, a person sat silently with his back to the door.
The creaking sound of the door opening filled the air, letting in a surge of summer heat.
The person in the martial arts hall turned around, looking at the newly arrived visitor.
"You came?" he sneered, standing up, instantly rising like a great mountain from flat ground.
"I came!"
"I thought you wouldn't dare to come!"
"I had to come…"
"You shouldn't have come!"
"But I still came… I say, Uncle Wei, do we really have to talk like this?" Yu Lian looked helplessly at the owner of the martial arts hall opposite him, Feifei's father, and one of the elders who watched him grow up, Mr. Willis C. Li.
Yu Lian glanced again at the current layout of the martial arts hall; there was no three-foot green light hanging, nor was there any hot wine being drunk. It was still its usual unremarkable appearance, and he knew in his heart that this uncle was probably acting up again.
"You didn't go to see 'All-Galaxy Hero 3: Origi-Steel Macaque' yesterday, did you?" Yu Lian couldn't help but ask again.
Willis's sharp, focused gaze, condensed with spiritual light, contracted for a moment. He turned his head away and whistled a tune that wasn't quite in key.
If it were in Yu Lian's previous life's hometown, the combination of wuxia dramas and a space setting would definitely make people feel out of place, but in this world, it was very popular among people from all countries in the Universe. This genre of multimedia work was also the most effective cultural export of Earthlings.
The so-called 'All-Galaxy Hero' was one of the most outstanding works among them. The first two parts entered the top five of the All-Galaxy box office rankings that year, and the main creators became famous throughout the Universe.
Of course, this was inseparable from the distribution capabilities of the Commonwealth Universe Group, so by the time the third part was released this year, it simply became a co-production between the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth. Yu Lian and Feifei had already seen it last week. Frankly speaking, the fighting was brilliant and the story was good; it was truly a good work that excelled in both literary and physical aspects.
Additionally, the atmosphere and setting were very provocative, making the dialogue even more so. For literary youths and those with chuunibyou, it was even quite enjoyable. The only side effect was probably making people like Uncle Wei sicker.
"I am a martial artist, so I need to talk like this. This movie has opened a brand new door for me!" he said naturally.
Yu Lian was about to retort when he saw the other party suddenly say, "So, are you ready?"
Yu Lian still wanted to ask what he needed to prepare for, but the other party directly pounced on him.
"If you're capable, don't use spiritual energy!" he shouted loudly.
Yu Lian shrugged, thinking he would just play along. He then lowered his arms and threw a punch.
Yu Lian used the most common military close-quarters combat techniques and did not use any spiritual energy skills. However, at the second ring, his physical quality had long surpassed the peak strength of ordinary people. A casual punch already carried the force of wind and thunder.
However, just as Uncle Wei was about to be hit, he suddenly darted to the side, his left hand reaching out as if to seize Yu Lian's elbow joint, while his right foot flew out, kicking directly at his left hip.
Yu Lian swung his arm, shaking off the opponent's left hand, then drew back his hip to avoid the fierce kick.
However, during this brief moment of imbalance, Uncle Wei had already cut in front of him, delivering more than ten inch punches at close range.
Yu Lian, without using spiritual energy, blocked ninety percent of them, but he didn't expect the opponent's punching path to suddenly twist, as if losing its bones, striking his chest.
Actually, it didn't hurt at all! Moreover, he actually had several opportunities to counterattack just now, but there was a high possibility of injuring the other party. After all, he was Uncle Wei, who watched him grow up, and also his "true" martial arts enlightenment teacher, so there was no need to be so uncooperative.
Not casually ruining an elder's chance to show off, that is the duty of a mature junior.
"See? This is real combat! Showing off strength is just for boorish brutes! Just boorish brutes who use brute force like spiritual energy!" The other party stood with his hands behind his back, adopting the demeanor of a grandmaster, profound and majestic.
Yu Lian nodded in agreement, feeling a great sense of understanding, and thought he could definitely have a few more drinks with Uncle Wei later.
"If you had used the close-quarters technique I just demonstrated when you fought that Morey, forcing him to abandon his wide-open Stone-Splitting Decapitation Sword and switch to the Grand Cross Boxing, you could have brought the fight into your rhythm. Then, if you had incorporated spiritual energy vibrations into every punch, you might have been able to directly damage his mind! Perhaps the fight could have ended within ten rounds." Uncle Wei added.
Yu Lian nodded, admitting that the other party had a point. He had indeed considered fighting that way, but he considered that Morey's brain probably had a slug in it, and if he accidentally damaged it, he would lose the clue.
Besides, he wasn't too confident in his hard power yet. High-level martial arts could only be used for show at the moment; there was still a certain gap between low-level martial arts and spiritual energy, and if Morey caught him off guard and countered, it would be very serious.
"Yes, that's what I was just about to teach you! The core essence of Atomic Fist has these two layers. One is to seize the opponent's weakness and bring the enemy into your own combat rhythm! The other is the perfect resonance with spiritual energy fluctuations! It's not some flashy, impractical elemental simulation or energy shaping, nor does it require any deeper, profound spiritual energy techniques. It's just the most basic spiritual energy fluctuations, yet it can still deliver a real blow to high-ring enemies! As long as you keep counterattacking like this, every punch reaching the enemy, creating an airtight vibration of spiritual energy, it will be very difficult for the opponent to counter with spiritual energy techniques!"
"This, this is my brand new understanding of Atomic Fist!" Uncle Wei continued to strike a profound and majestic grandmaster pose, looking smug.
This time, Yu Lian did not think the other party was simply showing off.
...I'm quite familiar with Atomic Fist! As one of our Earthlings' star martial arts, I, the great hero, also learned it in my previous life, and I never heard of it having such a powerful function!
More importantly, Uncle Wei, you've really kept a deep secret! It must have been hard for you to pretend to be an "ordinary person" martial artist for decades!
"Do you have some secret you want to tell me?" Yu Lian asked.
The other party nodded slightly: "You guessed right, I am also a spiritual energy user. Yu Lian, kid, I heard you joined that messy spiritual energy unit, and the imperial court is still thinking about some spiritual energy user registration act. If you want to report me, feel free."
Yu Lian really wanted to symbolically express shock, but unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to be shocked.
spiritual energy users, while very rare in terms of absolute population numbers, tend to congregate. As the saying goes, 'birds of a feather flock together,' and spiritual energy users probably have a similar aggregation effect.
How does that saying go? Oh, right! When you find one spiritual energy user, it means there are at least ten more hidden nearby.
"Hmph, spiritual energy is nothing more than solidified thoughts, isn't it? What's so great about it? Refining one's spirit and will to the extreme naturally leads to it!"
If it were that simple, the entire Universe would have ascended long ago! You could completely become a saint on the spot with such great merit!
"Feifei is the same; what she lacks now is just a direction. In the future, on the path of cultivation for extraordinary beings, you two should look out for each other and temper each other." Uncle Wei said.
Yu Lian nodded. He would do so even without being told, and Feifei wouldn't even have to worry about the awakening and advancement materials herself.
"However, I also need you to remember that these days, too many spiritual energy users get carried away by a little extraordinary ability and forget the true essence of martial arts! To hone my own martial way, I almost never reveal my power in front of others."
Yu Lian shrugged: "Can I understand it as... after so many years of arduous training, you've advanced the martial arts passed down by your predecessors?"
"Yes! These two layers I just told you about are both my original abilities. Should I change the name to New Atomic Punch in the future?" Uncle Wei thought for a moment, then tilted his head and said, "Or Li Clan Atomic Punch?"
"How about Solitary Nine Punches? I think it has that flavor."
"What does our old Li family's stuff have to do with the Solitary family?" Willis continued to ponder: "Or, closer to the natural essence than atoms, then protons?"
"There's also electro-optic effect, why not just call it Quark? Go all the way!"
"No, no, I am currently searching for the third realm of my martial way!" Uncle Wei shook his head, speaking with a serious, dedicated, even somewhat solemn and martyr-like attitude: "When I reach that realm, no matter what kind of enemy, no matter what kind of environment, I will be able to kill with one blow! Yes, by then, my fist will be able to shatter quarks, and thus shatter everything. Only at that level will I be able to name my martial way, Quark Fist!"
Yu Lian's mouth twitched.
He really didn't know now whether the other party was having a chuunibyou episode or if he could truly achieve this step.
However, looking closely at Uncle Wei's shiny scalp, Yu Lian felt as if he had understood something.
"...Anyway, the name doesn't matter. So, Yu Lian, kid, after seeing my martial way, do you feel an urge to show solemn respect and prostrate yourself?" He grinned, revealing a row of bright teeth: "Want to learn? I can teach you!"
Willis's smile was indeed quite hearty, reminding Yu Lian of Nishita Chairman at the graduation ceremony. Fortunately, this time he didn't feel annoyed at all.
However, before he could prepare to exclaim "My Esteemed Teacher!", the other party directly pounced on him again.
"Still the old rule, no spiritual energy allowed! Use your body to truly feel the essence of martial arts! All martial arts are learned faster through actual combat!"
He remembered that Uncle Wei's teaching methods used to be quite traditional. Perhaps it was because his talent was outstanding and special.
Of course, if he was looking for an excuse to beat him up, Yu Lian would just have to accept it.
However, before Yu Lian could even confirm this, and after only a few rounds, the martial arts hall door was pulled open.
"Dad! I called you three times! Who told you to close the door?"
Uncle Wei instantly retracted his fist, as if nothing had happened, and looked up at the paint chips on the ceiling.
"Yu'er, and you! I told you to call Dad for dinner! Who told you to mess around with him?"
Yu Lian lowered his head, thinking, is this my fault too?
"Yu'er, you said you'd be an adult after graduation! And Dad, you're already old! Do you still need to be called for dinner? Even An'an and Lele are more sensible than you two!"
The two big men were speechless, with no retreat. A surge of emotion swelled in their hearts, so they decided to follow their deepest inner choice.
"...Hehe, daughter, you don't understand, it takes time for men to bond."
"Uh, Feifei, anyway, I was just playing a game with Uncle Wei."