Start with push-ups to gain experience

Chapter 493 The Movements in the Ideal Land, the Intent of Tai Chi

After several sunrises and sunsets, the scenery outside the window seems to have changed without my noticing.

The room was dark, with no lights on, and the darkness enveloped the space as silently as the deep sea.

Fang Cheng rolled over and stood up, his bare feet stepping onto the soft carpet.

Following my instincts, I walked to the French windows, reached out and grabbed the edge of the velvet curtains, and pulled them apart to both sides.

wow——

With the soft click of the metal slide rails, the first rays of dawn eagerly rushed in.

At the horizon, the originally deep night sky is being diluted, slowly turning into indigo.

The emerald city at the foot of the mountain still slumbers, its skyscrapers silhouetted against the dim light of the scattered lamps.

A layer of grayish-white mist slowly dissipated from the surface of Emerald Lake, rendering the distant shoreline hazy.

Fang Cheng gazed at the somewhat unfamiliar cityscape, his deep pupils reflecting a faint light, as bright as the morning stars.

This is a private holiday home arranged by the Chen family, located halfway up the mountain by Cuihai Lake, offering a wide view and a quiet and secluded atmosphere.

Four days have passed since the meeting held at the Chen family mansion ended.

During this period, everyone followed the established plan, performed their duties, and acted separately, steadily advancing various matters.

It must be said that Chen Xu'an demonstrated remarkable decisiveness when faced with the life-or-death situation of his family.

Taking advantage of the recent unresolved turmoil, he swiftly and secretly relocated most of his clansmen to that secret inheritance realm on the very day the meeting ended.

As for the original servants and guards in the mansion, apart from a few trusted confidants, the rest were all given generous hush money and dismissed, or sent to work in other places under some pretext.

Today, the Chen Family Manor is like a fortress that appears to be functioning normally, but has actually been emptied out.

Only a few unfamiliar faces, urgently transferred from other places, remained, barely managing to keep the daily operations running.

Ye Zhiren, in his capacity as "senior business consultant," stayed by Chen Xuan's side at all times.

This serves two purposes: to monitor the Chen family's every move and ensure their cooperation as agreed, and to observe changes in the situation and adjust response strategies accordingly.

Fang Cheng, Lin Chuqiao, and the others remained hidden in a holiday home less than two kilometers from the manor, waiting for news at any time.

If an unusual situation occurs there, or if a powerful enemy that cannot be dealt with appears.

With Fang Cheng's speed, he could arrive at the scene to provide support in no time.

Of course, the most crucial step was the establishment of an intelligence network.

Previously, in order to find Crow and the Professor, the Chen family had already used their financial power to summon the leaders of several major local gangs for a chat.

Now, with just a slight change to the mission objective, this massive underground machine is running at full speed again.

Gangs and organizations of all sizes sprang into action, deploying countless informants and setting up a city-wide search.

Whether it was brokers who resold information, smugglers operating in the gray area, or even inconspicuous parking attendants and thugs collecting protection money on the street, they all received a death order from above.

In just one or two days, a large-scale surveillance network targeting outsiders quickly covered every corner of the entire Cuicheng.

Their efficiency was so high that it surpassed even the local police's dedication to their duties, putting even professional investigators to shame.

Any unfamiliar face, any person with suspicious behavior, as long as they step into the territory of Cuicheng, will soon be captured by these omnipresent eyes and compiled into intelligence to be sent back to Chen Xu'an's desk.

As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake.

In this city, the Chen family is undoubtedly the Hydra, and this operation further demonstrates their absolute control as the overlord.

No matter how powerful the experts sent by "Utopia" are, they will most likely slip up under such high-density surveillance.

Fang Cheng and his men lay in wait in this holiday home, ready for battle. They waited for four days.

However, during these four days, the entire city of Cui was unusually calm.

There were no noteworthy unusual messages, nor were any traces of suspected "ideal" members found.

Even because all the street thugs are tasked with "keeping an eye on strangers," they don't have time to cause trouble.

Overnight, the security situation in Cuicheng improved dramatically.

Fighting has decreased, theft and robbery have disappeared, and even those urban villages and slums have become places where people don't pick up lost items.

Unsuspecting citizens might think the police had launched a massive crackdown, turning Cuicheng into a national model safe city.

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze from the distance and let out a soft sigh.

The white mist spread out a small, damp patch on the windowpane.

Although we don't know what the "ideal land" is planning, the calm of the past few days seems to confirm the professor's previous speculation.

There are only two possibilities.

First, the bombing at the Grand Hotel was too high-profile and had a very negative impact.

Although the police announced it was a gas explosion, it will inevitably attract the attention of special investigation teams and various forces, who will secretly investigate the truth.

With Chen Xu'an stirring up trouble, the Utopia organization, which was originally hidden in the shadows, was exposed and pushed to the opposite side of the government.

Cuicheng is now a powder keg, with countless eyes watching every move it makes.

To avoid affecting the overall situation and exposing the entire plan, "Utopia" decisively abandoned its subsequent actions there.

Even if they intend to retaliate, they will probably have to wait several months or half a year until the storm has completely passed before they choose to take action.

Secondly, and more likely, it is possible that "Ideal Land" did not attach as much importance to the Chen family as one might imagine.

According to the professor's understanding of the organization, it had a loose structure and simple functions, and was more like an elite club.

The core members of the decision-making body are few in number and usually located around the world, holding different identities, such as leaders of other forces or leaders in the political and business circles.

They are currently planning that so-called "world-shaking" event, and they are certainly short-handed.

Fang Cheng's strength that night was particularly terrifying; he actually shattered the spatial passage with his bare fist.

This made it clear to the other side that if they wanted to take down the Chen family, which was protected by experts of this caliber, they would need to send at least two S-level experts to be confident of success.

You should know that S-class experts are not as common as cabbages on the roadside.

Looking across the entire Xia Kingdom, including powerful families, independent individuals, official agencies, and special investigation teams, the number of such people would not exceed one hundred.

Given the higher priority of the mission, it is clearly not worthwhile to mobilize such high-end combat power at this critical juncture for the sake of the mere Chen family.

Therefore, they chose to remain inactive and temporarily suspend their actions against the Chen family.

Whatever the reason, this temporary calm is a welcome development for Fang Cheng and the newly established Illuminati.

This means they have valuable time to develop, allowing them to prepare more thoroughly and lay a more solid foundation.

While waiting for his target to appear and observing how the situation changed, Fang Cheng took the time to call home to let his family know he was safe.

He told his mother and grandfather on the phone that he had successfully found his uncle.

As for why my uncle went missing some time ago...

Fang Cheng made up an excuse, saying that he went to the deep mountains on the border to investigate the timber business, and the signal base station there was broken, which was why he couldn't get in touch.

They have now returned to the provincial capital, Cuicheng, and plan to spend a few days sightseeing and take care of some final tasks before heading back to Dongdu.

Upon hearing this explanation, his mother and grandfather on the other end of the phone visibly breathed a sigh of relief, but repeatedly reminded him to be careful while he was out and to come home early.

After Fang Cheng agreed, he chatted with the two of them for a while before hanging up the phone.

At this moment, he was thinking that he would wait at most two more days.

If there is still no movement from "Utopia", then lead the team back to Dongdu first.

After all, there's not much point in just sitting here doing nothing.

As his thoughts wandered, a faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon, making the distant city's outline a little clearer. Fang Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he cleared his mind of distracting thoughts.

Time to go for my morning exercise.

During his days of seclusion at the holiday home, he was not idle.

Aside from eating and sleeping, and regularly patrolling the area around the Chen Family Manor, he spent almost all his remaining time exercising and practicing his skills.

Faced with the threat from that legendary, god-like man, Fang Cheng felt no fear whatsoever; instead, he felt an intense and overwhelming desire.

He longed to become stronger, strong enough to have a head-on confrontation with that arrogant being.

Therefore, he was willing to give up all entertainment activities and devote himself wholeheartedly to the tedious practice of cultivation.

No, it should be said that Fang Cheng was enjoying himself.

Every time he saw the skill proficiency on the panel jump "+1", he felt immense joy and excitement.

The feeling of being able to clearly control every bit of your progress is more addictive than any form of entertainment in the world.

Although the current environmental conditions are limited, it is not possible to fully unleash one's potential for high-intensity training.

However, through long-term bodyweight training and repeated practice of moves, his experience in several fighting and fitness skills has increased considerably.

The progress bars for the skills "Running" and "Tai Chi" are steadily advancing as planned and are nearing a breakthrough.

Fang Cheng had a sudden thought.

In the dim air before us, a pale blue light flickered faintly.

Tai Chi Level 1 (246/250)

[Running lv1 (230/250)]

Staring intently at the data displayed on the panel, Fang Cheng's lips curled into a slight smile as he thought to himself:

"Today is the day for a breakthrough and upgrade!"

He then turned and walked to the wardrobe, quickly putting on a loose blue tracksuit and shoes.

Then I went into the bathroom, splashed some cold water on my face to wake myself up completely.

Pushing open the door, the corridor was quiet, with only a few wall lamps casting a dim yellow glow.

In the next room, the faint sounds of Uncle and Pan Wendi snoring could be heard.

The two of them had nothing to do last night, so they stayed up late playing cards and obviously went to bed very late.

The door on the other side was also tightly closed, and it was pitch black under the door. Lin Chuqiao and Bailing were probably still dreaming.

Fang Cheng didn't disturb them. He moved as silently as a cat, quickly crossing the corridor, going down the stairs, and pushing open the villa's door.

The morning breeze carried the scent of grass and trees.

This villa area is built against the mountain and surrounded by green trees, creating an extremely tranquil environment.

It was still early, and the streets were deserted and unusually quiet.

Fang Cheng took a deep breath, and the cool air rushed into his lungs, instantly igniting the heat in his body.

He stretched his arms, loosened his ankles, and then started jogging slowly along the road in the villa area.

The speed gradually increased, and the figure quickly disappeared into the morning mist.

....................................

In early May, Tiannan Province had already shed its springtime reserve.

The morning air was filled with the unique humidity of the subtropics.

Cuihai Lake is vast and boundless, and its scenery lives up to its name, with a deep green color as profound as the sea.

A vast expanse of white mist swayed along the water's surface, obscuring the distant, dark mountains.

The vegetation along the riverbank was extremely lush, with glistening dewdrops hanging on the broad banana leaves, and unnamed wildflowers spreading freely among the grass.

Several ancient banyan trees stand alone, forming a forest. Countless brown aerial roots hang down like long beards, reaching into the water and gently swaying with the morning waves.

Da da da.

A series of rhythmic footsteps broke the tranquility of the lakeside.

On the lakeside running track, a lithe figure in sportswear gradually emerged through the milky white mist.

Fang Cheng had just run nearly fifteen kilometers along Cuihai Lake.

This amount of exercise is nothing more than awakening his dormant body, given his current physique of 67 points.

Only a thin layer of sweat seeps from the skin's surface, which evaporates and dissipates upon contact with the surrounding humid air.

He stopped in front of a secluded grove of trees by the lake.

The terrain here is slightly elevated, and the surrounding dense forest perfectly blocks the view from the runway, making it quite tranquil.

Through the gaps in the treetops, one could vaguely see the pale light spreading across the eastern horizon.

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.

The woods were filled with the fermenting scents of earth and the fresh fragrance of grass and trees; inhaling them filled my lungs with the vibrant aroma of life.

After making a slight adjustment, he spread his feet apart, shoulder-width apart, with his knees slightly bent.

The moment you straighten your back, your spine flows like a great dragon, segment by segment, yet it feels relaxed and natural.

This is one of the starting postures for internal energy cultivation in Tai Chi Chuan, the Wuji stance.

As he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, Fang Cheng seemed to merge with the surrounding moist air and lush trees.

The surging energy and blood that were originally flowing during the run now gently sink into the dantian like rivers flowing into the sea.

As he began to unfold his movements, he slowly raised both arms, his wrists relaxed, and his fingertips slightly extended.

Wild horse parting its mane, white crane spreading its wings, knee-hugging and twisting steps...

Every move was as fluid and unhindered as mercury flowing across the ground.

Fang Cheng's shots weren't fast, but they had an indescribable sense of rhythm.

The weight shifts smoothly between the legs, and the footwork is so light that it seems as if the feet don't touch the ground.

The occasional chirping of birds around him did nothing to disturb his calm and peaceful state of mind.

As his movements became increasingly fluid and effortless, Fang Cheng clearly felt that the energy within his body was like a continuous lake, with a faint momentum of surging forth.

Traditional Tai Chi emphasizes "intention first" and adheres to the principle of "using intention, not force".

Therefore, when practicing boxing in the past, Fang Cheng paid more attention to the harmony between the moves and the artistic conception.

They are accustomed to using their minds to guide their movements, rather than simply relying on brute force.

In this way, although the moves appear graceful and beautiful, and have a profound artistic conception, they lack substantial lethality.

In normal combat, it only relies on the "energy dissipation" effect of Tai Chi to neutralize the opponent's attacks, and can only play a defensive role.

But at this moment, feeling the surging blood and qi within his body, and thinking of his powerful physical strength, Fang Cheng suddenly had a thought.

Now that we have the will and the body are ready, why not take it a step further?

An idea then popped into my mind.

If the invincible true energy within the body is no longer just a simple outburst.

What would it be like if we integrated it into the moves of Tai Chi and performed it naturally?
(End of this chapter)