Tangtang was definitely a smart woman.
She knew what she could and couldn't do.
She wholeheartedly supported her younger brother and ran the household frugally.
You could say she was a very sharp girl.
But she was inevitably limited by her experience.
In Tangtang's eyes, for a young woman like Zhou Bing to be eating at another man's house meant one thing for sure: she definitely wasn't married.
She never would have guessed things were so complicated.
"Three fiancés? An ability? A husband killer?"
After hearing the story, Tangtang sat on the stool in a daze. "Is this Martial Arts? Isn't this just screwing people over?"
Looking at the crestfallen Tangtang, and then at Tang Wen, whom she had just "warned," Zhou Bing found it amusing. 'They really are brother and sister.'
In truth, she had grown somewhat used to it over the years.
'The worst that can happen is I'll be alone for the rest of my life.'
'Maybe I'll die on some mission soon enough. That would save me the trouble of growing old all alone.'
SLOSH. Tangtang poured herself a bowl of wine too.
She raised her bowl and clinked it against Zhou Bing's. "Heaven is jealous of great talent! Jealous of great talent!"
The alcohol was getting to her, and she started downing bowl after bowl.
In the end, Zhou Bing didn't leave. Tangtang went ahead with her original plan and put the tipsy Zhou Bing to bed on her brother's bunk.
Then, she shooed her brother into the unoccupied inner room.
The next morning, Captain Zhou woke up and noticed something was off. 'Why do these blankets smell like a man? Like Tang Wen?'
'No way.'
'Wasn't I clear enough with them?'
'Do they not believe me?'
"Sister Bing, you're awake? Did you sleep well? Were you cold? I drank too much too and forgot to give you my bed," Tangtang said as she got up and dressed.
Zhou Bing got up as well, putting on her clothes that had been warmed on the heated bed. She had to admit, it felt nice.
Much better than just making do on her own.
But after getting off the bed, she couldn't help but feel strange looking back at the bedding.
Zhou Bing and Tang Wen didn't eat breakfast at home.
The two of them set out for the Inner City Guard Camp.
Tangtang waved to them from the doorway. Once they entered the city, she took Tang Wen's identity pass from the medical hall and headed toward the Inner City.
Her pace was brisk as she muttered, "I have to ask around. How can there be such a strange ability? It clearly defies common sense. Has no one ever been suspicious?"
Tangtang believed that three of Zhou Bing's "fiancés" had died, but she simply didn't believe such a strange ability existed in the world.
On the way, Zhou Bing felt a strange unease. She had slept in Tang Wen's bed all night.
And now he was walking right beside her, and he would be sleeping in that same bed tonight.
The thought alone made her skin inexplicably start to burn.
WHOOSH! 'Zhou Bing, stop letting your mind wander. Get a grip.'
She shook her head, cleared her throat, and expertly put on her icy demeanor. "Tang Wen, starting today, we'll begin training your Pile Skill. We'll start with one month."
"Alright! Thank you for your guidance, Captain Zhou." Tang Wen was thrilled, completely unaware of the turmoil in her mind.
"It's my duty."
Arriving at the camp, Tang Wen held the door open for Zhou Bing.
The warm sunlight happened to fall on the side of his face.
Zhou Bing suddenly froze. 'Ebony-black hair, bright, lacquer-black eyes, a handsome, straight nose with a hint of fine hair just beneath it, and lips like flower petals.'
WHOOSH!
Zhou Bing forced herself to look away. 'Zhou Bing! Get a grip, Zhou Bing! He's still a kid! You'll only bring him harm!'
She didn't look again, taking long strides as she quickly entered the room.
After eating breakfast at the camp, Zhou Bing led Tang Wen to a training hall.
This was a space shared by Hunting Team One and Team Two.
Stone locks, wooden racks, long benches, and all sorts of other training equipment were readily available.
Zhou Bing began to explain the Earth Fire Stance to Tang Wen.
"The Earth Fire Stance uses your legs as a foundation, rooted in the earth, while your Power erupts like fire, spreading to every corner of your body. You use a horse stance, but it must be a living stance—you must truly embody a horse. As the saying goes, 'With Earth Fire as the root, and a waist like a galloping horse, through Meditation and Visualization, divinity shall grace your form'!"
Zhou Bing spoke slowly and clearly, enunciating every word. "Meditation is the shortcut for Pile Skills. If you want to break through from a Martial Disciple to a Martial Artist, besides just arduously building up your strength over time, you can achieve a rapid breakthrough if you can enter Meditation while visualizing the Earth Fire Stance. It can even make learning Fist Techniques, like the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, twice as effective with half the effort."
Tang Wen's heart pounded with excitement as he listened.
A month ago, he had successfully entered Meditation with his Health Maintenance Stance under Commander Zhao's guidance.
His Health Maintenance Stance had transformed into [Visualization Meditation Stance].
Afterward, he meditated daily by visualizing a Silver Wolf, and his experience points rose quickly at first.
But after a few days, the experience for his [Visualization Meditation Stance (1000/1000)] maxed out and stopped moving.
Now he understood. Although he could enter Meditation through Visualization, the Health Maintenance Stance alone wasn't enough. He needed to practice it in conjunction with the Earth Fire Stance for it to be effective.
He listened even more attentively.
Zhou Bing continued, "Meditation is very difficult. There were several hundred Martial Disciples in my cohort at the Martial Arts Hall. In the three years we were there, only a dozen or so managed to achieve Meditation. Even now, the total number wouldn't exceed fifty. The rest have never broken through the threshold of a Martial Disciple to become a Martial Artist in their entire lives."
After her explanation, she began to demonstrate. "When you first start to visualize something in your mind, it should be an object you're extremely familiar with. For example, I visualize a wooden scabbard I've had since I was a child."
She settled into a horse stance, her waist swaying gently. Her ponytail bobbed up and down with her movements, like ripples on a lake stirred by a gentle breeze.
Tang Wen didn't overthink it. Watching her posture and feeling the rhythm of her breathing, he became somewhat mesmerized.
He involuntarily squatted down, mimicking her, and naturally began to visualize the Silver Wolf in his mind.
In less than three minutes, just as Zhou Bing opened her eyes and stood up to say something...
Tang Wen's body began to rise and fall faintly.
'What?'
'He succeeded in entering Meditation on his first try?'
Zhou Bing held her breath, a tsunami of shock crashing through her mind.
'Back then, it took me three months to achieve Meditation, and my master at the Martial Arts Hall called me a genius.'
'It's said that Her Majesty the Queen achieved Meditation in a single day when she first began her Martial Arts Training, making her a peerless genius.'
'But Tang Wen... he did it in a single attempt!'
'Doesn't that mean his Talent surpasses even the Queen's?'
'Is that even possible?'
Half an hour later, Tang Wen slowly opened his eyes.
[Visualization Meditation Stance → Earth Fire Stance (Meditation), Mastery (1/3000)]
"Did you... could it be?"
"Captain, I successfully entered Meditation."
Seeing the utter shock in her wide eyes, Tang Wen explained, "I've successfully entered Meditation before. Commander Zhao guided me to visualize a Silver Wolf for Meditation, and I've been practicing for a long time."
'In reality, when his Eight Vajra Techniques had broken through, his Spiritual Power had surged. It only took him a few short hours to achieve Meditation.'
'He hadn't even been practicing for more than a few days.'
Zhou Bing's expression softened. "So that's how it is. That's good... wait, no!"
Her voice suddenly jumped several octaves. "You visualize a Silver Wolf? A Mutated Beast Silver Wolf?"
"Uh, yes."
"Then you must be able to resist the roar of a Silver Wolf?"
Tang Wen nodded. That was the whole reason he had started practicing it in the first place.
Zhou Bing smiled, her face blooming like a spring flower. "I've hit the jackpot! I've really hit the jackpot! The other two commanders will regret this to their dying day. No wonder Commander Zhao insisted on recruiting you, even passing over that girl An Lei."
Through her words, Tang Wen gradually began to understand.
The Silver Wolf Pack and the camp had a long-standing feud. For the past few years, the wolves had come to prey on people annually.
Humans had Martial Arts, and Mutated Beasts had Talent Abilities. The Silver Wolf's Talent Ability, besides its formidable physique, was its headache-inducing Sonic Attack.
Whenever they roared, forget the Guards who were merely Martial Disciples—even the Martial Artist Level captains leading the teams couldn't withstand it.
Dozens of captains had already died to the Silver Wolves.
For this reason, General Zhou and the others had captured Silver Wolves multiple times for research, trying to find a way to resist their roars.
They later discovered that besides arduous training to increase one's strength...
...there was another method: find a Martial Disciple who had not yet achieved Meditation and have them visualize a Silver Wolf to enter it.
Visualization was a way to train one's Spiritual Power. Visualizing ordinary objects could make one's Spiritual Power purer and stronger.
But visualizing a ferocious, living Silver Wolf? If one could successfully enter Meditation that way, they would naturally absorb the Silver Wolf's aura for their own use. The next time they faced its roar, they would no longer be afraid.
However, this was only possible in theory; in practice, it was nearly impossible.
A Martial Disciple who hadn't yet achieved Meditation couldn't get close enough to a Silver Wolf to observe it. The moment it roared, a Martial Disciple who didn't piss their pants was already considered to have strong composure.
In two years, no one had managed to do it.
Not until Tang Wen, who first possessed powerful Spiritual Power and then went to observe and visualize, had anyone succeeded.
GRUMBLE...
His stomach rumbled. Tang Wen's face stiffened. 'Food. I need to eat, quickly!'
[Body: 4.0 → 5.5]
[Essence: 4.08 → 6.08]
Zhou Bing didn't know how Tang Wen had succeeded. She instructed, "In any case, success is all that matters. While you're in the zone, you should consolidate it a few more times now!"
RUMBLE...
A wave of hunger washed over him, and Tang Wen's face turned pale.