Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 431 The Greatest Weakness
"And it also enhances our combat instincts," Thor added, "making us rely more on intuition and experience when there are no laws to guide us."

"Most importantly, let's rethink the essence of combat," Hong's understanding was more profound. "Skill and strength are important, but the most crucial thing is understanding combat itself."

"Very good, your comprehension abilities are all quite good," Qingyunzi nodded with satisfaction, "but this is just the beginning; the real training is yet to come."

"Is there anything even more difficult?" the three asked simultaneously.

“Of course,” Qingyunzi said mysteriously, “Right now you can only attack Hanhan, but you can’t truly defeat it. The real challenge is to completely suppress Hanhan without using the power of laws.”

"Complete suppression?" Thor swallowed hard. "That's a bit difficult."

“It is indeed difficult, but not impossible,” Qingyunzi encouraged. “The key is to find a method that suits you. Although Hanhan is strong, it also has weaknesses.”

"What weakness?" the three asked eagerly.

“You’ll have to discover that for yourselves,” Qingyunzi didn’t answer directly. “Everyone has a different fighting style, and different weaknesses that can be exploited.”

The training became even more intense afterward. The three took turns challenging Hanhan, each time trying to find a new way to break through. Hanhan also stopped holding back and displayed even greater fighting power.

During the continuous battles, the three began to discover that Hanhan did indeed have some weaknesses. Although it was very fast and agile, it would experience brief periods of fatigue after continuous high-intensity movement. Moreover, while its attack patterns were varied, it would exhibit fixed reactions in certain specific situations.

“I noticed it makes a very short pause when turning,” Rowan shared his observation. “Although it’s less than 0.1 seconds, it’s enough to seize the opportunity.”

"Moreover, when facing attacks from multiple directions, its priority is fixed," Hong also discovered, "always dealing with threats coming from the front first."

“Most importantly, while its stamina is excellent, it's not limitless,” Thor added. “After a period of continuous combat, its speed will noticeably decrease.”

Based on these findings, the three began to develop more targeted tactics. They no longer challenged others individually, but instead tried to cooperate and exploit the weaknesses of the simpleton.

“The three of you working together is indeed more effective,” Qingyunzi observed from the side, “but you haven’t truly grasped the core of this training.”

"The core?" The three stopped their attack and asked Qingyunzi for his opinion.

"The purpose of this training is not to have you defeat the fool, but to help you rediscover your own bodies and instincts," Qingyunzi explained. "When you can fight entirely based on your physical instincts, you can unleash extraordinary combat power even against stronger opponents."

Indeed, after several days of training, the three of them clearly felt that their combat senses had become much sharper. Although they did not use any laws of power, their reaction speed, predictive ability, and physical coordination had all improved significantly.

"This feeling...it's like going back to when I first started practicing martial arts," Rowan sighed. "Back then, there were no complicated techniques, only the purest passion for fighting."

"Now you understand," Qingyunzi said with satisfaction, "the highest realm of martial arts is not about mastering many complex skills, but about returning to the source and unleashing the strongest power in the simplest way."

This principle sounds simple, but it is very difficult to truly understand and put into practice. Modern martial artists often become obsessed with various profound rules and techniques, forgetting the most basic things.

"So, do we consider ourselves to have passed the training?" Thor asked.

“Almost there,” Qingyunzi chuckled. “One last challenge: the three of you together, without using any laws of power, get Hanhan to admit defeat.”

"Admit defeat voluntarily?" Hong was puzzled. "How can I get it to admit defeat voluntarily?"

"You'll have to figure that out yourselves," Qingyunzi said mysteriously. "The hint is: a true strongman doesn't conquer his opponent with force, but rather wins their respect and admiration."

This final challenge made the three of them think deeply. To get Hanhan to admit defeat willingly, it was clear that they couldn't just rely on force; they needed something deeper.

The challenge of getting Hanhan to concede defeat left the three of them deep in thought. They sat around in the pavilion, sipping Enlightenment Tea and racking their brains for possible solutions.

“Forceful suppression definitely won’t work,” Luo Wen said, ruling out the most direct method. “Senior Qingyunzi said that a true strongman wins over his opponent’s heart and soul, not conquers them by force.”

“Then we need to find what the simpleton truly cares about,” Hong analyzed. “Every living being has its own desires and needs; as long as we find its weakness, we can win without a fight.”

“But Hanhan seems to have everything he needs,” Thor said, somewhat troubled. “The environment here is so nice, and it’s Senior Qingyunzi’s pet; it shouldn’t lack anything.”

Indeed, in this idyllic paradise, Hanhan's life was carefree. It had wide meadows to run on, clear streams to drink from, and Qingyunzi's meticulous care. On the surface, it seemed to have no obvious needs.

“Let’s take a closer look at Hanhan’s daily behavior,” Rowan suggested. “Maybe we can find some clues in the details.”

The three returned to the Spirit Beast Garden, not to fight, but to observe. They hid in the distance, watching Hanhan's every move with the most meticulous eyes.

Hanhan was leisurely strolling on the grass, seemingly in a good mood. Sometimes it would lower its head to sniff the flowers and grass, sometimes it would look up at the sky, and occasionally it would interact with other small animals. Its carefree demeanor made it hard to imagine its ferocity in battle.

“It looks normal,” Thor observed for a while and found nothing unusual.

"Wait a little longer, maybe we'll make a new discovery," Hong said patiently as he continued to observe.

Just then, Qingyunzi's voice came from afar: "Hanhan, it's time for a snack."

Upon hearing this sound, Hanhan, who had been leisurely strolling, underwent a dramatic change. Its eyes lit up instantly, its entire body trembled with excitement, and it rushed towards Qingyunzi at an astonishing speed.

“I’ve never seen it run so fast,” Rowan exclaimed in surprise. “It’s faster than when we were fighting.”

"And his expression was completely different," Hong keenly observed, "his eyes were full of longing and excitement."

Qingyunzi took out a delicate little pouch from his robes and retrieved several translucent fruits. These fruits were only the size of a thumb, pale golden in color, shimmering with a soft light, and emitting an enticing fragrance. "What kind of fruits are these?" Thor asked curiously. "The fragrance travels so far; we can smell it even here."

Indeed, even from a distance of a hundred meters, the three could clearly smell that unique fragrance. This fragrance was not only alluring, but also seemed to have some special effect, making people feel happy upon smelling it.

When Hanhan saw the fruit, it acted like a child seeing its favorite toy. It circled around Qingyunzi, making soft purring noises, its eyes fixed on the fruit in Qingyunzi's hand, its mouth practically watering.

"Here you go, you little glutton," Qingyunzi said with a smile, handing the fruit to Hanhan.

Hanhan carefully took the fruit and then eagerly began to eat it. Its expression was one of pure enjoyment, as if it were savoring the most delicious food in the world. After finishing one, it looked at Qingyunzi with lingering anticipation, clearly wanting more.

"You can only eat three. More than that will be bad for your health," Qingyunzi said firmly, and gave Hanhan two more fruits.

After receiving the three fruits, it lay on the ground contentedly, slowly savoring them. Its expression was one of utter bliss, as if the whole world had become a better place.

"Found it!" Rowan said excitedly. "Hanhan is a complete glutton, and he's especially obsessed with those golden fruits."

“Indeed, its behavior just now completely revealed its true nature,” Hong agreed. “Its craving for food outweighs everything else.”

"Then our strategy is clear," Thor concluded, "As long as we can get our hands on that fruit, we can make that simpleton admit defeat."

But a problem immediately arose: this fruit is only found in Qingyunzi, and it seems extremely rare. Obtaining the fruit from Qingyunzi might be even more difficult than directly defeating Hanhan.

“We can’t just ask Senior Qingyunzi for fruit directly,” Hong said, somewhat troubled. “That would defeat the purpose of the challenge.”

"Furthermore, since Senior Qingyunzi has set this problem, he certainly won't easily offer us help," Luo Wen analyzed. "We must find a way to solve it ourselves."

“Then there’s only one way,” Thor said in a low voice, “to steal the fruit from Senior Qingyunzi.”

"Steal?" Hong hesitated. "That wouldn't be right, especially considering how kind Senior Qingyunzi has been to us."

"It's not real theft, but a challenge," Rowan explained. "Since Senior Qingyunzi set this challenge, he must have anticipated that we would do this. It's also part of the training."

Indeed, given Qingyunzi's intelligence, he couldn't possibly have overlooked Hanhan's weaknesses. Since he allowed the three of them to act freely, then any method should be permitted.

“But obtaining the fruit from Senior Qingyunzi might be more difficult than we imagine,” Hong said worriedly. “His strength is unfathomable; our every move is likely within his perception.”

“That’s precisely the difficulty of the challenge,” Rowan said firmly. “If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge.”

The three began to devise a detailed plan. First, they needed to understand Qingyunzi's daily routine and find the time when he was least vigilant. Second, they needed to determine the location of the fruit and how many fruits Qingyunzi might have. Finally, they needed to develop a specific action plan to ensure their success in obtaining the fruit.

After a day of observation, the three discovered that Qingyunzi's daily routine was very regular. Every morning he would tend to the plants in the garden, take a nap in the pavilion at noon, go to the library to organize books in the afternoon, and sit quietly by the lake to meditate in the evening.

“Lunch break is the best opportunity,” Luo Wen analyzed. “Senior Qingyunzi seems most relaxed during his lunch break, and he habitually keeps a bag of fruit by his side.”

“But even during his lunch break, his senses won’t completely disappear,” Hong cautioned. “We must be extremely careful and not make any noise.”

“And we only have one chance,” Thor added. “If we fail the first time, Senior Qingyunzi will definitely be on his guard.”

After finalizing the plan, the three waited for the right opportunity. The next day at noon, Qingyunzi came to the pavilion for his usual afternoon rest. He placed the small bag of fruit on the stone table beside him, then closed his eyes and began to rest.

“The opportunity has come,” Rowan signaled to the other two with a hand gesture.

The three men stealthily approached the pavilion. Their movements were extremely cautious, each step meticulously calculated to minimize the sound. After several days of training, their body control had significantly improved, enabling them to move truly silently.

When they were ten meters from the pavilion, Luo Wen stopped. He felt a subtle sense of oppression, as if an invisible gaze was watching them. But Qing Yunzi kept his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

"Is it just my imagination?" Rowan wondered to himself, but he still cautiously continued forward.

The feeling intensified as the distance closed to five meters. Luo Wen realized that even though Qing Yunzi appeared to be resting, his perception still covered the entire area. Retrieving the fruit without being detected was virtually impossible.

But it was too late to back down now, and the three of them had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue forward. Just as Luo Wen reached out to grab the bag, Qing Yunzi suddenly opened his eyes.

"You want this?" Qingyunzi smiled and picked up the bag of fruit, showing no sign of anger.

"Senior, we..." Luo Wen was a little embarrassed, not knowing how to explain.

“No need for explanation, I understand,” Qingyunzi interrupted him. “You’ve discovered Hanhan’s weakness and want to use these ‘Star Spirit Fruits’ to make it admit defeat, right?”

"Star Spirit Fruit?" The three of them were hearing this name for the first time.

"This is an extremely precious spiritual fruit, containing pure star essence," Qingyunzi explained. "Not only does it taste excellent, but it's also very helpful for cultivation. Hanhan has always loved this fruit since he was little; you could say it's its greatest weakness."

Hearing Qingyunzi's explanation, the three were both excited and embarrassed. They were excited because their suspicions had been confirmed, but embarrassed because they had been caught red-handed.

“Senior, we didn’t mean to steal your fruit,” Hong explained sincerely. “We just wanted to complete the challenge you gave us.”

"I know, this is part of the challenge," Qingyunzi said nonchalantly. "To get the Star Spirit Fruit, you have to take it from me. That's much harder than just defeating Hanhan directly."

(End of this chapter)