Chapter 236 - Zeros Signature Moves (1/2)
Hua Tuo looked at Zero's secret martial manual and raised a brow. Zero had decided to demonstrate to his shifu the 'overpowered signature moves' that he invented over the last week with his combat teacher. Hua Tuo flipped through the pages and tried not to laugh at that horrible middle-school syndrome leaking through the naming sense. For all the stages of growth that Hua Tuo didn't mind Zero missing out on like the taking apart his waterwheel and catching of garden pixies in action, he didn't want to miss out on this one.
The delusional middle school syndrome was starting to manifest itself in the teenager's personality. The physician didn't know if this was due to a realisation back in the Lake of Reflection or if being in a teenage body affected Zero's mentality. He would have to check that with Gaia but for now, the doctor was more than glad to film all of it down.
”Move Number Six, Hyper Drunken Fist!”
The physician nearly spat out his tea at the name. While it was true that he told Zero about the legendary Drunken Fist Martial Art, he didn't really know if anyone actually practised it. After all, as a doctor, he condoned the excessive use of alcohol. Most people in their intoxicated state would have reduced reaction time, much less be able to fight. Zero's imitation of that Drunken Fist was amusing but also traumatising. Hua Tuo had never seen anyone enter an intoxicated state by increasing their adrenaline.
A high on adrenaline Zero was a hyperactive Zero with no self-control. It was almost as bad as berserker warriors who felt no fear or pain and would charge straight towards their enemies, mowing them down, or towards their untimely deaths.
Ruth and Mitchnew evacuated the area as Zero screamed in a high pitched voice with exhilaration at the mini-tornado formed by his fancy drunken footwork twisted over each other at extreme speeds. His arms waved in wild circles everywhere and Hua Tuo feared for the survival of his flimsy hut. Was it too much to ask that his humble abode survive a year with Zero? How did taking on a medical apprentice become such a chore? Back in his days, apprentices would serve their teachers like Kings...
The adrenaline wore out soon enough and Zero grinned.
”How was it? I can blow enemies away easily like this without hurting anybody in the process.”
Hua Tuo deadpanned. His teacup was now empty, all the tea was blown away by the ridiculous attack earlier. Zero took one look at his teacher's expression and gulped. Nope, number six was off the list too. Why was it so difficult to create an attack that was acceptable? Zero didn't really want to kill anyone, just punish them if they were nasty. In fact, he was more than willing to spend a little healing magic to fix up anything he'd break if he went overboard. Hua Tuo was simply too difficult to please!
”I'm taking it as a no...?” Zero grimaced but quickly recovered and introduced his next attack.
”Number 7! I call it the Invisible Iron Fist of Love!”
Ruth cringed at Zero's naming sense. Not only were the attack names getting weirder, but common sense was also now a thing of the past. After the third attack, the vampire now understood what was so different about this teenager ever since the first time he saw him. Zero was simply brilliant in a batshit crazy manner. When the world was in despair, he would save it using methods nobody could think of like flooding open an artificial dimension and forcing people to eat miasma. However, when the world was boring and at peace, Zero would liven it up just like the construction going on in Half Moon Village and the poor landscape around Hua Tuo's humble hut.
Mitchnew was interested to know how that brilliant mind worked. She'd never seen anything so absurd work so beautifully in mass destruction. True, whatever magic Zero was used were buff magic types. However, the results were off the charts and if she were to rank them, four out of six had already made it into her list of ”Top Ten Overpowering Moves” the ex-assassin had ever seen. The young doctor was simply on a different level as an individual. While no normal mage could push buff magic to such extents, no sane magician would even think to try it.
Everyone paid attention as Zero took the basic horse stance that Hua Tuo taught him and added a strange buff that covered his entire arm. Nobody knew what to expect as Zero stared at the boulder before him. With an intense concentration, Zero started converting mana and qi into that arm. The fusion of qi and mana almost made Hua Tuo's eyes pop out of their sockets. How was that even possible?!
Stranger yet, the Invisible Iron Fist of Love didn't turn invisible like what Hua Tuo expected. Instead, it was a flurry of fast strikes towards that boulder at a speed that nobody could see. Was this why it was called invisible? What about the Iron Fist of Love?
That question was soon answered. Hua Tuo saw how Zero made many small holes with something akin to a heart shape from the dents made by Zero's fingers. The boulder didn't seem to have taken much damage at first but even Mitchnew couldn't keep her cool when it completely disintegrated after two seconds. All that was left was a pile of dust by Zero's feet and the young doctor turned towards his teacher with sparkling eyes.
”How was that? Technically the heart-shaped marks were made by the indent of my knuckles but I punched it like a full fist.”
Once again, the Sage God was stumped speechless. He didn't know if he should applaud Zero's ability to think out of the box or twist his student's ear off for coming up with such a horrible way to use buff magic and basic combat. While he wasn't denying to the prowess of the move, Hua Tuo simply wanted to erase the existence of every move he'd seen Zero invent so far, including this. There was simply no way the humans would use this as an inspiration to create more trouble after they'd seen it.
”How did you do that?” Hua Tuo asked, indicating at the fusion between magic and qi. For many years, the Sage Gods tried to find a way to let mana and qi coexist but it just simply wasn't possible. Those who cultivated in the ways of mana found that their meridian network became replaced by the chakra network gradually even though the meridian system still remained. It simply became dormant and no amount of cultivation could reawaken it for those who chose to pursue the path of magic. On the other hand, those who cultivated weren't born with chakra channels in them.
Zero tilted his head to a side to indicate his confusion. Hua Tuo walked over and examined Zero's arm with his Medicine Eye. There, he saw the most unusual sight and studied it with fascination. On top of the hill, Mitchnew and Ruth were confused. Why did Hua Tuo stop the demonstration? Zero had created fifteen moves and they'd only seen seven. Had the boy hurt himself with the last one?
”I'm going to check,” Ruth told Mitchnew who nodded with no indication of leaving her spot.