Chinese martial arts: From being shot and killed by the armed police during a mountain search to bec

The caravan left the city just as dawn was breaking.

A dozen or so horse-drawn carriages were fully loaded with goods, and the guard team had a new look. The old guards were either dead or wounded, and Liu Kun, who had been seriously injured twice, was still recuperating in the backyard. Chen Huaijin had recruited a group of new recruits at high prices: martial arts school disciples, wandering swordsmen, and young people looking to make quick money.

A generous reward will surely attract brave men. Chen Huaijin offered double wages, plus a promise of compensation. With the Chen family's decades of reputation on their side, people lined up to sign up.

Chen Hongwu rode a chestnut horse, a Browning jacket tucked into his belt, followed by more than twenty guards. The carriage wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs, the rumbling sound echoing through the streets in the early morning.

Once outside the city gate, the official road was flanked by the rolling hills once again.

Chen Hongwu, mounted on his horse, had his eyes and ears wide open.

Before he had walked for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly felt a chill down his back—as if something was watching him from the shadows.

Chen Hongwu made no sound, gently patted the neck of the chestnut horse, and the horse slowed down.

He dismounted and told the guards beside him, "Stay where you are and don't wander off."

Before he finished speaking, he moved with lightning speed, rushing towards the left hillside.

The guards exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what had suddenly gotten into this young master.

"Where did the young master go?"

"I don't know, I was just riding a horse a moment ago..."

Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud came from the dense forest on the hillside, like something heavy hitting the ground. This was followed by the sound of branches snapping, trees shaking, and birds taking flight in fright.

The guards' expressions changed.

"Something's up! Grab your weapons!"

More than twenty people pulled the bolts of their guns and aimed towards the hillside.

In the dense forest, Chen Hongwu had already engaged in combat with the mandrill.

The beast hid behind the bushes, intending to ambush the caravan as it passed by, but Chen Hongwu spotted it beforehand. Seeing that its tracks had been discovered, it decided to stop hiding and pounce out of the bushes.

Its body was over three meters tall, with black fur as sharp as steel needles and protruding fangs. Its right arm had been dislocated by Chen Hongwu once, and although it had healed, a hidden problem remained at the joint, causing a slight lag when it exerted force.

But it was more ferocious than last time.

Instead of retreating, Chen Hongwu advanced, meeting him with a tiger-shaped chopping fist.

With a punch, a deep tiger roar echoed through the air, like a fierce tiger howling in the deep mountains and forests.

"Bang!"

As their fists and claws clashed, the mandrill's body jolted violently, and it took two steps back. It looked down at its palm, where the skin was torn open and black blood was flowing freely from its tiger's mouth.

It couldn't believe that in their last encounter, this human needed to throw a series of punches to subdue it.

This time, a single punch cracked its palm.

Chen Hongwu gave it no chance to breathe, following up with a snake-shaped drilling fist. His arms coiled inward like a snake, carrying a spiraling force, and struck straight at the mountain demon's waist and ribs.

The mandrill dodged to the side, but Chen Hongwu's fist seemed to have eyes, changing direction and still burrowing into its ribs.

"puff!"

The hidden force penetrated, and a small hole burst open in the flesh under the mandrill's ribs, from which black blood gushed out. It let out a painful roar and slammed its left claw down.

Chen Hongwu shifted his stance, using the Bagua Step technique to move from the mountain demon's left to its right. His movements were light and steady, skimming across the ground, moving in all directions to seize the flanks.

Then came another tiger-shaped chopping punch.

The mandrill took a punch to the right shoulder, the flesh of its shoulder blade burst open, and its entire arm drooped down.

The caravan's guards stood on the official road, only to hear the sounds of fighting coming from the dense forest. Trees fell one after another, as if two giant beasts were battling.

Suddenly, they heard a heartbeat.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

The sound was like the beating of a drum, deep and powerful, making one's chest feel heavy. The sound came from the depths of the dense forest, one beat after another, as if striking the heart of everyone.

A guard clutched his chest, his face pale: "What was that sound?"

No one could answer him.

That was Chen Hongwu's heartbeat.

The source of hidden strength is the heart; without precise control over one's heartbeat, nothing else matters.

To control the pace of your heartbeat, you can relax your mind and calm your body, which will slow your heartbeat. If you focus your mind, your heart will beat faster, and if it beats even faster, it will pound and you will sweat all over.

Masters of internal martial arts who have reached the pinnacle of their skills can control their minds with their intentions, achieving a perfect harmony between mind and intention, and thus gaining more precise control over their own hearts.

Every minute, you can jump as many times as you want. When you're slow, you gather all your energy and spirit, and your heart beats three or four times slower than an average person. But when you unleash your full power, your heart beats incredibly fast.

The heart is the power source for all parts of the body, including the limbs, bones, and internal organs. Martial arts training strengthens the marrow, which produces blood, and blood is the foundation of power. The heart is the body's engine, and blood is its fuel.

Kung Fu, when applied internally and externally, penetrates the five internal organs, making them many times stronger than those of an ordinary person. If Kung Fu doesn't penetrate the five internal organs, one can only reach the limit of their own potential. Developing and increasing the limits of potential—this is precisely the meaning of marrow training.

Chen Hongwu's body has now reached the limit of Ming Jin Yi Gu Yi Jin, and he has embarked on the path of marrow cultivation. With the constant Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, his bone marrow is gradually filling up, his qi and blood are becoming stronger, and his heart is also larger than that of an ordinary person, beating like a drum.

In the dense forest, the mandrill had been beaten to a pulp.

It had over a dozen bloody holes in its body, its fur soaked with black blood. Its right arm was completely useless, and its left arm had also taken two blows, the bones of which were fractured, making it unable to lift. It leaned against a broken tree trunk, panting heavily, its eerie green eyes filled with terror.

Chen Hongwu stood before it, his breathing steady and his expression normal.

He unleashed over a dozen bursts of internal force, yet his heart remained steady and powerful. The endurance of his internal force was many times stronger than it had been a few months ago.

The mandrill suddenly looked up and let out a long howl.

The sound was sharp and piercing, piercing through the dense forest and echoing through the mountains.

Chen Hongwu frowned.

From a distance on the mountain, a response came.

Equally sharp, equally piercing, but rougher and deeper than the mandrill's voice.

Immediately afterwards, a strong wind arose, and the trees in the forest shook violently. A dark shadow swept down from the mountaintop, moving more than twice as fast as a mandrill.

Chen Hongwu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Another one?

And it seems to be even bigger.

The bushes parted abruptly, and a colossal beast over four meters tall burst forth. It was a size larger than a mandrill, with iron-black fur, dagger-like fangs, and a menacing glint in its eerie green eyes.

The little mandrill saw it and let out a low, mournful whine, like a complaining young wife.

The giant beast glanced at the mandrill's injuries, then turned to look at Chen Hongwu.

Its gaze was icy, as if it could explode at any moment.

Chen Hongwu took a step back and adjusted his breathing.

Bad thing!

Two tigers cannot share one mountain, unless one is male and the other female.

Clearly, this large mandrill is male.

Especially the big one, its imposing presence is several levels stronger than the small one.

The giant beast moved.

Instead of swatting with its claws like a mandrill, it charged straight at you. Standing four meters tall and weighing at least a thousand kilograms, it resembled an out-of-control carriage.

Chen Hongwu dodged and struck the giant beast's ribs with his tiger-shaped chopping fist.

"Bang!"

The hidden force penetrated in, but the beast's body only swayed slightly. A small gash appeared in its flesh, and the blood that had just flowed out was trapped by its muscles.

It turned around and slapped him across the face.

Chen Hongwu crossed his arms to block, but was sent flying, crashing into a pine tree as thick as a bowl, and rolling twice on the ground before coming to a stop.