“I need to settle things with Zhang Hongqing,” Su Shilin said. “He challenged me to a life-or-death battle long ago. This fight is unavoidable. I know you’re close to his daughter…originally, I arranged for you to be with Song Qiong, but the two of you didn’t click. That’s quite unfortunate. If I kill Zhang Hongqing, or if Zhang Hongqing kills me, there will be a great rift between you and Zhang Manman that cannot be bridged.”
“Can’t this be resolved peacefully? It’s better to settle grievances than to perpetuate them,” Su Jie said helplessly.
“If you can convince Zhang Hongqing to reconcile, I’d be happy to do so,” Su Shilin waved his hand.
Su Jie was about to say something, but then he remembered how Zhang Hongqing had attacked him…vicious and ruthless, every move aimed at his life, with no mercy whatsoever. He knew it was impossible to resolve this enmity.
And someone like Zhang Hongqing, a true master with unwavering resolve, was essentially unshakeable once he’d made up his mind.
“Dad, if we stay in the country and don’t go abroad, Zhang Hongqing can’t do anything to us, right?” Su Jie asked.
“That’s not necessarily true. He’s begun infiltrating the country now. Having an enemy like that is like a fishbone stuck in the throat. Think about it…if he appeared while you were fighting Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting, wouldn’t you be doomed?” Su Shilin said. “Besides, your father isn’t the type to shy away from trouble. This matter has to be resolved eventually.”
“Didn’t you… neuter that Zhang Hongyuan back then?” Su Jie recalled seeing Zhang Hongyuan, the current steward of the Zhang family…clean-shaven, lacking yang energy, with physiological issues.
“He had designs on your mother back then, so I gave him a lesson he’d never forget. Because of that, Zhang Hongqing has been determined to kill me, and he hasn’t let it go all these years,” Su Shilin said. “It’s time to settle this. The longer it drags on, the more troublesome it becomes.”
Su Jie was at a loss, unable to think of any good solution.
In truth, the only way to resolve this was to convince Zhang Hongqing…but that seemed utterly impossible.
“Don’t worry, I can handle this. You don’t need to get involved,” Su Shilin said. “As for your sister, over the next few years, she won’t be in any danger…she’ll actually be doing quite well, receiving the best training, the best medical care, and the best conditions for life evolution.”
“Typhon Training Camp treats their scientists that well?” Su Jie asked skeptically.
“Correct,” Su Shilin said. “Once your sister is inside, her physical condition will improve dramatically, and her research capabilities will soar. In a few years, we can find a way to extract her. Those years of training will be enough to make her a true great scientist.”
“Typhon Training Camp’s power is growing too large. I’m afraid my sister won’t be able to get out,” Su Jie frowned.
“Three years from now, where do you think your strength will be?” Su Shilin asked.
“I’ll definitely reach the Enlightenment realm. As for Emptiness beyond that…that’s hard to grasp. To realize Emptiness, to achieve that kind of power…that would be like causing a commotion in heaven itself.” For now, Su Jie was still following Liu Guanglie’s Seven Characters of Minglun.
“The Seven Characters of Minglun have their logic, but they’re not necessarily perfectly correct,” Su Shilin said.
“For now, it’s a good path,” Su Jie said. “In fact, I feel that the contribution of these Seven Characters to psychological cultivation is on par with Newton’s discovery of gravity. By the way, Dad, in the dark world, did you used to wear a dragon mask? When I was in San Francisco, a young man in a dragon mask suddenly appeared and fought me…nearly killed me too.”
Su Jie remembered all the masters he’d encountered. Currently, the “exceptional” experts he’d fought were only a handful: Feng Hengyi, Zhang Hongqing, the dragon-masked young man, Wen Ting, Yang Shu (barely), and now his father Su Shilin.
The only one he hadn’t fought was Liu Guanglie.
Everyone else…even Liu Long…was clearly far inferior.
Only those who had stepped into this realm understood the difference…everyone else was just ordinary.
“Such a thing happened?” Su Shilin was slightly surprised. “It seems that young man has gone out of control. But it’s understandable…once someone reaches this level, they develop a strong sense of self and won’t follow my path.”
“What? That person is your disciple, Dad? I could tell your movements had similar spiritual qualities…especially that leg technique,” Su Jie said. “I’ve also heard many things about the dark world. Larry has extensive archives, and I’ve studied them all. Twenty years ago, the number one in the dark world was a man in a dragon mask…was that you, Dad?”
“The number one in the dark world?” Su Shilin chuckled. “That’s just showing off. The world is full of strong fighters. As the saying goes: beyond the heavens, there are still heavens; beyond the mountains, there are still mountains. The worst thing is to become proud and complacent.”
“That may be, but martial arts is still a sport. In any sport, there’s always someone who’s the best…otherwise the Olympics would be meaningless. In the world today, Eastern or Western, who is the strongest in martial arts?” Su Jie asked, hoping his father might know.
“The strongest now should be the supreme leader of Typhon Training Camp…but few know his name, what he looks like, or even which country or ethnicity he belongs to,” Su Shilin said. “There’s very little intelligence on him. Yet he probably knows everything that happens in the world.”
“What about Odell, then?” Su Jie asked.
“Odell taught you, didn’t he?” Su Shilin said. “I’ve met him once, but we never fought. He pursues something different…he has the spirit of a true seeker, incomparable to anyone else. However, he only trained you in the basics, guiding you onto the proper path of physical movement. Your mental cultivation and psychological training came from your own understanding.”
“That’s about right,” Su Jie nodded. “Dad, since you won’t join me against Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting, I’ll have to find my own way.”
“This is a test you must pass,” Su Shilin said, patting Su Jie’s shoulder. “Without strong pressure, where would motivation come from? That young man in the dragon mask you mentioned…I did train him, but he’s not my disciple. I was just his coach. The dragon mask is only worn by the strongest in that organization.”
“What organization?” Su Jie frowned. There were too many mysterious organizations in the world.
“It’s an organization completely different from Typhon Training Camp,” Su Shilin said. “Our existence is very ancient…dating back perhaps a thousand years. But like Typhon, we trained experts for assassination, espionage, infiltration, and protection. Our patron was a very early-established foundation. The organization is extremely complex…I was just a coach there, responsible for training new recruits, but I left long ago. That organization has since put a kill order on me. Over the past twenty years, I’ve dealt with quite a few of their people.”
“So we still have hidden enemies out there?” Su Jie calculated and found his enemies were numerous…and all of them powerful.
“That’s why I had your sister enter Typhon Training Camp…so no one could harm her. As for your mother, I can protect her without issue. And you can protect yourself now,” Su Shilin said.
“I understand.” Su Jie slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll head back to uni now.”
He had just flown home, talked with his father for a while, and now had to fly back again.
But at least he’d had a good fight with his father, gaining much insight. The footwork variations and combat experience would need careful digestion…once fully understood, he could take another step forward.
Good opponents were hard to find, especially for someone like Su Jie…worthy adversaries were rarer still.
Su Shilin said nothing more, simply watching his son walk out the door with his backpack, flying from S City back to B City, returning to uni.
After returning to uni late that night and resting, Su Jie went to Liu Long’s club the next day to train in hidden weapon techniques.
He hadn’t managed to recruit his father, so now he had to face Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting alone. No matter how strong his bare-handed skills, two fists couldn’t fight four hands. His only option was to rely on hidden weapons.
Hidden weapons were indeed the best method for fighting multiple opponents alone.
Su Jie chose needles as his weapon.
First, he was already most proficient with toothpicks…and toothpicks were a type of needle. But toothpicks were wooden, too light, lacking power and range, only suitable for short-range surprise attacks. Iron needles, similar in shape, were different…they carried more force and were easy to carry; a handful held dozens.
In ancient times, hidden weapons were mostly throwing darts, but they were limited in number. There were also iron pellets, but they lacked the penetrating power of sharp weapons.
Ordinary people couldn’t generate much force with needles. But Su Jie was different…immense strength, explosive power, and exquisite technique meant his needles could even pierce the heart and kill instantly.
Whoosh!
In Liu Long’s club’s training room, a wooden target stood before him, marked with tiny dots the size of sesame seeds, scattered in different positions.
Without even moving his arm, Su Jie flicked the needles with his fingers.
All five needles embedded themselves precisely into the sesame-sized dots…perfectly on target.
From ten paces away.
“Your hidden weapon technique is practically divine,” Liu Long said, shuddering. He felt that if Su Jie aimed needles at his eyes, he probably couldn’t dodge.
“This is still far from enough.” Su Jie shook his head and prepared to train further.
This level of hidden weapon skill was sufficient against ordinary masters…but against Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting, it fell far short.