Chapter 52: 51 Ant Moving Mountain Palm

51 Ant Moving Mountain Palm

Tang Zhao returned after finishing his footwork practice, encountering no provocations, just as usual.

Thinking about it, that made sense; even if there were small schemes, they wouldn't show results so immediately, and most likely he would have to wait a few more days.

Tang Zhao saw Wei Zhangle again. Wei Zhangle was packing his things, saying that the Land Inspection Division had already recruited him and would send him to the Training Camp in a few days. When he said this, he was in a very good mood; clearly, leaving Black Spider Villa was a good thing.

Tang Zhao was naturally happy for him, didn't mention the waves in the Grape Courtyard, and only made an agreement to meet again one day in the Land Inspection Division.

Wei Zhangle, however, gave him a large bag of mugwort, saying: "Recently, there are undercurrents in Black Spider Villa, and the front courtyard is a bit volatile. Even though we are small fry, we must be on guard everywhere. Burning this can repel insects, like spiders and such. Smoke it morning and evening to prevent others from playing tricks while you are away."

Tang Zhao thanked him, thinking to himself that everyone knew this fire was about to start, but he wondered if it would be possible to keep the lid on this pot of boiling soup in the remaining few days?

The next day, Tang Zhao burned the mugwort in his room, smoked out some mosquitoes and insects, and then followed Guan Lei to continue pushing the stone.

After a night of diligent practice, Tang Zhao had already practiced that set of footwork steadily and firmly, and first demonstrated it once for Guan Lei.

Guan Lei was silent, no expression visible on his face, and only after a while did he say: "Since you have memorized it, then practice the techniques for your hands."

Hand techniques? Still pushing the stone?

Not pushing, but suction.

Attaching the force of Qi to the hands and sticking them onto the stone, one could actually make them stick tightly without falling, even to the point where one's feet did not touch the ground, supporting one's own body solely by suction.

Guan Lei explained that only the Qi force produced by Ant Strength had this effect.

There was a name for it called "Ant Attachment."

Ant Attachment was the opposite of the usual direction of force, which was very difficult; it took Tang Zhao two days to barely manage to switch between pushing and pulling with ease.

Guan Lei watched from the side, offering no evaluation.

Only after being able to skillfully swallow and spit out the force could one finally move on to the moves... pushing the stone.

This time, he used a single palm to push, switching hands as one pushed and the other withdrew. The hand that pushed had to exert force steadily, while the hand that withdrew had to move quickly and lightly. When the two hands exchanged, the movements had to be even more nimble, with force applied at different angles, sometimes swallowing and sometimes spitting, with all sorts of variations. Pushing and pulling back and forth like this, a palm technique was hidden within it, and when combined with the footwork underneath and the rhythm of breathing, it finally formed a complete martial art.

"Ant Moving Mountain Palm."

Simple and unadorned; profound palm techniques are just this simple and unadorned.

From the first day of practicing footwork to finishing the palm technique, Tang Zhao spent five days.

Of course, he had only learned the movements completely; the real cultivation only began from this moment. A good martial art can be practiced for ten, twenty, or even a lifetime, becoming more refined and pure the more one practices, finally reaching the realm of perfection.

However...

Guan Lei had witnessed the entire process of Tang Zhao learning the palm technique from scratch over these five days. He remained calm and composed on the surface, putting on a high-level, unfathomable air, but upon returning to his quarters, he couldn't help but doubt his life.

"Is there really such a genius in the world?"

"Learning the most difficult essentials in a day or two?"

"Waking up in the morning like a different person?"

"Is this still human?"

This Ant Moving Mountain Palm was no ordinary palm technique; it was a complete secret martial art, with unique aspects from the moves to the footwork to the breathing, and could even serve as the town-gang martial art for a gang or society. If a Disciple of the Five Poisons Society wanted to learn this entire palm technique from Guan Lei, not to mention the at least three years of foundation in Ant Strength, just in terms of moves, learning it fully in three months would not be considered bad.

Guan Lei had always known that Tang Zhao's comprehension was not bad, which was why he intended to risk the tight schedule of the remaining half-month to pass on this palm technique completely. Regardless of whether it could be used this time, it would definitely be useful for a lifetime; otherwise, he would have only taught the basic fist techniques.

But learning it in five days was too much of a challenge to Guan Lei's common sense, and it wasn't a case of swallowing whole; rather, he learned each step solidly before moving to the next. By the start of the sixth day, Tang Zhao's palm technique could already be performed in one continuous flow.

Guan Lei always felt like he was dreaming.

If this was a genius, the appearance of this genius was too simple and unadorned.

It was no wonder he was suspicious; he had no idea there were so many ways to cheat in the world.

Yes, Tang Zhao no longer used an auxiliary cheat; he was using a speed-multiplier cheat.

Every night, he would sneak into the Time Jar to find Ping Jiangqiu, using the extra time to practice martial arts.

Just as Ping Jiangqiu said, jar-aged time, vintage flavor; once you've tasted it, you'll know why it's good, and I'm not afraid you won't come.

Although Ping Jiangqiu's jar world was desolate, it was truly a great treasure trove, with spacious grounds, abundant time, and resources of every kind. Although they had only known each other for a few days and the two were still at the stage of telling each other stories without opening their hearts, and Tang Zhao would not shamelessly accept any resources, Ping Jiangqiu, in order to keep him longer, released jar after jar of time without the slightest stinginess. Unknowingly, Tang Zhao had already enjoyed tremendous benefits.

With time, Tang Zhao could practice palm techniques or sword techniques. The grounds were wide and no one disturbed him, he had an Art Tool in hand, his strength was continuous, and he had Ping Jiangqiu, this Sword Hero expert who was not what he seemed, occasionally offering a word or two of guidance—how could he not progress rapidly?

After only a few days, Tang Zhao was already very proactively entering on time, and because he owed a favor, he took the initiative to tell jokes to amuse Ping Jiangqiu, serving tea and pouring water, doing whatever chores he could; saying he wasn't a servant was about the same.

None of this required Ping Jiangqiu to throw a tantrum to get it.

It was truly because the other party gave too much.

The relationship between the two gradually became closer. Ping Jiangqiu's speech was no longer so obscure, and in his speech, he revealed the demeanor that only a Sword Hero would have.

Many people are serious and mature in front of strangers, and only show their childish side to those they are most familiar with. Ping Jiangqiu was likely the exact opposite; hidden deep within the emotions that had been ravaged into chaos by loneliness was the soul of a Sword Hero who had once dominated the era.

This day, Ping Jiangqiu said seemingly casually: "I've been looking at the books here for so many years and I'm tired of them; I want to see fresh ones. You find me a few new books, something fresh and interesting, and I'll lend you my books to read too."

Tang Zhao heard this, and his heart skipped a beat.

Ping Jiangqiu's collection was not just time. Besides delicacies and pearls and jewels, there was true wealth—knowledge. Tang Zhao believed that this Sword Hero must possess a massive library.

He had actually wanted to ask all along, but felt it was too abrupt and wasn't easy to bring up proactively. Now that Ping Jiangqiu had spoken, how could he not agree?

It was just that books were not easy to get. The fresh books Ping Jiangqiu wanted were exactly what the words meant: astronomy, geography, poetry, storytelling scripts, unofficial histories, and travelogues—these fresh and interesting miscellaneous books. Tang Zhao naturally didn't have these, and Black Spider Villa had no atmosphere for reading.

Perhaps it was Tang Zhao's aloofness as a "former" scholar, but he felt that Black Spider Villa from top to bottom exuded a sense of being "uncultured."

If there was anyone who might have a collection of books, could Guan Lei be worth a try?

It just so happened that this day Guan Lei had finished teaching the "Ant Moving Mountain Palm," the planned teaching task had come to an end, his heart was relaxed, and he was lamenting that "a good disciple is hard to find," so he broke the rules and drank a little wine, and Tang Zhao followed suit by drinking some sweet fermented rice wine.

After drinking a few cups, Guan Lei, tipsy, bragged: "In the future, no matter what profound martial arts you learn, don't put this palm technique aside. This palm technique of mine is a skill that can be practiced for a lifetime. Back then... our Giant Ant Gang had over a hundred mountain-moving experts who razed half a county town in one night."

Tang Zhao vaguely remembered this matter; it was mentioned by Wei Zhangle to illustrate the cruelty of the Five Poisons Society: "Your Giant Ant Gang? Wasn't it said that you released ants to eat the county town empty?"

Guan Lei's face turned black as he said: "Do you take us for monsters? There are termites in the world that eat wood, but where are there ants that eat stone? This rumor is too outrageous. It's just that we were at odds with the government, and in one night, we dismantled half of their city's buildings, that's all."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood; this was at least more reasonable, and he asked again: "Then what about the people living in the houses?"

Guan Lei didn't expect him to focus on this, and because the alcohol had gone to his head, he couldn't recall those details, saying: "Who knows? We started dismantling from the county government office, and along the way, we dismantled all kinds of large mansions, taking away the high walls and bricks and tiles together. What was the point of dismantling those thatched huts? I suppose those people wouldn't freeze to death?"

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Then wouldn't the government be furious?"

Guan Lei said: "The government? What use is the government? We dared to dismantle it, so we weren't afraid of them. You can't imagine the prestige of my Giant Ant Gang back then. And that Great Hero in the county, wanting to challenge us? We made him sleep on the streets too. If it weren't for..."

He raised his wine cup and downed it in one gulp, then slammed the cup onto the table, his tone having already changed: "If it weren't for that damned county magistrate, bringing the Land Inspection Division here..."

Hearing this, Tang Zhao immediately recalled the saying, "Never been beaten by the Land Inspection Division."

The words reached Guan Lei's lips, but he reached out to pour another cup, as if to bolster his courage with wine, gulping down a few mouthfuls before saying: "What business is it of the Land Inspection Division? Aren't they ghost catchers? Why make things difficult for us wanderers of the rivers and lakes? That Land Inspection Division's Town..."

Tang Zhao tried to continue: "Town Guardian?"

Guan Lei slapped the table and said: "Right, Town Guardian, I'll remember that face for the rest of my life. That hanging, creditor-like face, one man, one sword, my brothers, over a hundred brothers were all... all..."

Speaking to this point, his Eye Bead turned blood-red, dyed by dense blood vessels, as if coated in a layer of fresh blood.

Tang Zhao's heart gave a jolt, and he said softly: "So you and the Land Inspection Division... have a grudge."

"A grudge?" Guan Lei suddenly raised his voice, "No, no grudge! I have sin!"

"You... have sin?"

Tears slowly rolled from Guan Lei's eyes: "I have sin... that's what he said, I have sin! I don't have any damn sin, so why did I invite such Heavenly Punishment? His sword is Heavenly Punishment, a strike of five thunders from the heavens!"

Speaking to this point, he was already incoherent; Tang Zhao sensed something was wrong and hurriedly said: "Teacher Guan, are you drunk?"

Hearing the word "drunk," Guan Lei became even more out of control, crying loudly: "Drunk? I have sin... why the hell did I provoke that plague god from the Land Inspection Division? That sword... fell from the sky. My brother's head... rolled down... he said we deserved to die... wuwu... that black and white sword... white... black..."

Tang Zhao felt a jolt in his heart, suppressed his questions, cleared the wine cups from the table, and forcibly helped Guan Lei into the room to rest.

Guan Lei lay on the bed, sobbing incessantly.

Tang Zhao felt both sad and alarmed; after finally pacifying him, he couldn't help but Ask: "What was that Town Guardian's name? Could it be..."

Guan Lei began to snore loudly, having actually fallen asleep.

Tang Zhao had no choice but to swallow the two words that had reached his lips.

I will Ask again later, but will Guan Lei still be willing to talk about that terrifying person when he is sober?